I love getting mail. More specifically, I love getting some of the coolest new products for babies and moms delivered to my door in an adorable box.

TeetheMe is a subscription service and community for moms to help us wade through the zillions of baby products flooding the market. Every month, 4 or 5 of the hottest items are shipped right to your door, hand picked by in-the-know moms and tailored to your child’s age (anywhere from newborn to 3 years).  Then you can log in to their online community to rate and give feedback on your items and discuss everything kid and baby related with other Teethers. At $24 a month, it would be a fantastic shower gift!

But I know what you really want to know is – WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

Here’s the full scoop on what I got (for the record, this box was specifically for Caroline):

Earth Mama Angel Baby Bottom Balm – a company I already love and trust and perfect for Caroline’s super sore bottom.

NurturMe organic, gluten-free dried fruits and veggies – Four packets of NurturMe dried organic baby food (2 peas and 2 apples). Since we’re past the pureed food stage I mixed the apples with yogurt and the peas with mac’n’cheese and the kids LOVED it.

Dr. Bloom Chewable Jewels – Rectangle pendent necklace and a bracelet that are 100% safe for teething babies to chew on. Caroline LOVES these sort of a ridiculous amount, especially with her canines coming through.

Dr. Robin for kids – Samples of their all-natural, chemical free lotion, baby shampoo and sunscreen.

Bridgewater Candle Company – a votive sized spring-scented candle from a company that is working to end child hunger.

Greenleaf Scented Envelope Sachet – OH MY GOD, the whole box smelled FANTASTIC thanks to the classic linen sachet. They suggest putting it in the bottom of a trash can, diaper pail or hamper but I tucked mine into a bookcase and shake it every couple of days to refresh the scent.

Since the Chewable Jewels on their own retail for about $20, I’d say this was a great deal. I also loved learning about new products – I never would have known about NurturMe baby food and now I can’t wait to sneak more peas into the kids. And if you get something in your box you really really love, you can visit TeetheMe.com to buy more!

Here’s Caroline checking out some of our haul:

Uh, maybe we should open that before you try to eat it?

That's much better for biting!

If you’re ready to be a Teether too, sign up on the TeetheMe website! If you buy a six month membership you get 1 month free and if you buy a whole year’s membership you get 2 months free! Like I said, this would be a GREAT shower gift – what new mom doesn’t want to try out all the hottest baby stuff?

Disclaimer: I was provided with a 1 month trial of TeetheMe free of charge for review purposes, but no other compensation was provided.  All opinions and photos are my own.

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I’m currently in an exercising up-swing and feeling pretty good about it. I don’t exactly like working out but I don’t dislike it enough to quit doing it entirely, so I’m feeling Healthy and Strong and Inspired To Eat Better and all that other stuff healthy living experts are always shouting about. I’ve been going to Stroller Strides and not looking for excuses to slack off anytime there is any running involved (“Do you need a snack honey? Or a drink? Or potty? Do you want to go to the potty again? Oh no, you dropped your toy, let me take 5 minutes picking it up!”) but there are a lot of classes we can’t make it to because of nap times/gymnastics/distance. So to meet my 5-days a week exercise goals I’ve been doing a DVD at home.

Image from Amazon

I got this when I attended a class from Bob Harper himself (NAME DROP) at BlogHer last year in San Diego, but I didn’t try it until a couple months ago. I took yoga as an elective in college (one of the perks of a degree in underwater basket-weaving) and for a few months before my wedding but haven’t done much since. The prenatal yoga DVD I half-heartedly rolled my eyes through a few times was mostly hippy-dippy connect to the sooooul insiiiiide you stuff and barely counted as being AWAKE, let alone working out. But I like yoga and I like Bob so I thought I’d give it a shot.

And it’s good! It’s not easy, deep breathing yoga but it’s not impossible either. I’m still doing some of the easier modifications and there is NO WAY I’m ever going to be able to do some of the stretchy stuff because I am just not that flexible but I’ve been doing it regularly and I’m getting better. There is no jumping around, which is a big plus for me because I always feel foolish jumping around in my living room (Oddly, I don’t feel foolish trying to wrap myself up in a pretzel, even though I am sure I look ridiculous). Bob is very encouraging and I have no desire to mute him – unlike some OTHER popular Biggest Loser trainers on their DVDs. And although I immediately resented the girls in the video for being impossibly thin and good-looking, it’s nice that they struggle through some of the poses. I’ve decided not to hate them.

I would say if you’ve never done yoga, this isn’t a good place to start. There isn’t much explanation of the postures and correct forms and it would be easy to spend half the video twisted around trying to watch the screen. Personally, I spend a lot of time twisting around to watch the count-down clock in the corner. The cover says there are “2 sweat-making workouts!” but really there is one hour-long yoga routine and one 15 minute ab-work routine. There’s about 40 minutes of hard stuff, 5 minutes of abs and 15 minutes of stretching in the 60-minute workout, so in my head I’m counting towards the 45 minute mark as soon as it starts. But I am Making An Effort and Being Healthy and blah blah blah so this is a nice-but-challenging at-home option.

(Not-a-disclosure-disclosure: I got the DVD for free at BlogHer as a reward for getting up at 6:30 am for a yoga class but no one asked me/told me/encouraged me/paid me to review it in any way – unless you count getting to meet Bob in person which wasn’t exactly a hardship.)

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I participated in another book club selection for BlogHer recently, this time it was The Kid, a sequel to the novel Push by Sapphire (you may have seen the movie, Precious, which was based on Push). If you’ve seen or read the first one, you can imagine why my review started like this:

I have never struggled so hard to finish a book as I did with The Kid by Sapphire. In fact, it took me a full 3 weeks to read the 370 pages because I could only handle it in small, small doses, like a medicine you know is good for you but tastes awful. This story is not for those with a weak stomach or a weak heart.

Read the rest of my review here…

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A few weeks ago, all my friends started pulling out these adorable Planet Wise wet/dry bags at play group and my inner green eyed monster immediately started gnawing on my common sense and INSISTED I had to get one too, even though I already had a wet bag and didn’t really need to be spending money on frivolous things.

But I bought one anyways, at my local fabulous baby store Papoose, and DUDE. It was SO NOT A FRIVOLOUS PURCHASE.

First off, it’s totally leak-proof, due to some sort of magical seaming and sealing process. Which means my biggest cloth diapering fear (carrying around a dirty diaper and having everyone think that smell is me) is totally gone. No poop smell or other kind of leakage. Exhibit A:

Magic non-PVC waterproof lining

Second, it has TWO POCKETS, one with the waterproof lining for wet stuff and one unlined pocket for your clean stuff. Brilliant. For someone who cloth diapers it means no digging around in my bag for the wipes and the extra insert and the diaper which is now full of Goldfish crumbs and sand and how did that green paint get in there? You could even do what my friend Megan has done and downgrade your GIANT DIAPER BAG to a cute little handbag and just use the snappy handle thing to attach it to your stroller or bag or whatever when it’s full. Exhibit B:

My cutest cloth diaper & my wipes case in the pocket.

Third, it’s freakin’ adorable. And large – 13″ x 16″. Exhibit C:

And just in case you thought I was lying about all my friends buying them first, Exhibit D:

Just from last week's playgroup, our collection of Planet Wise bags. Thanks to Connie & April for letting me be a weirdo and take pictures of your dirty diapers.

I sent Planet Wise an email letting them know I was going to sing their praises on the interwebs, for no other reason than I spent FOREVER looking at stuff like wet bags and diaper pail liners when we switched to cloth and I wanted to make it easier for anyone else trying to do the research. I also hinted at maybe doing a giveaway if they did that sort of thing and would be willing to work with a teeny tiny blogger. Shockingly, Lori emailed me back and said YES. I’m afraid she might be suffering from a head injury of some sort.

Which means YOU my friend, might be the proud new owner of one of these adorable bags in the pattern of your choice. Even if you don’t cloth diaper, these bags are perfect for dirty gym clothes, wet bathing suits, potty training, running clothes, or anything else that’s damp and possibly smelly. They’re cute and spacious and machine washable so you can just toss them in with your diapers/dirty stuff – even in the dryer.

TO WIN: Just leave a comment. That’s all.

If you want to check out the Planet Wise website and tell me which pattern you would pick, feel free. If you want to tweet about how awesome I am for giving you a chance to win the best wet bag ever, that’s awesome. If you want to like me on Facebook or vote for me on Top Baby Blogs, I’d appreciate it. If you want to tell me how much you hate these stupid reviews and giveaways, I’ll accept that too. But you only get one chance to enter with one comment. US addresses only please. (EDITED: OK MY DEAR CANADIANS! If you want to enter I will have Planet Wise ship the bag to me and I’ll cover the cost of mailing it to you. Because THAT is how much I love you!)

Good luck! And I’m wicked jealous of whoever wins. Free stuff is cool. Contest ends at midnight, July 29th. Winner announced first thing Friday morning! GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED. SORRY :(

p.s. If you DON’T win, don’t despair! You can find a retailer near you here. Of course, Papoose also has an online store. Just sayin’.

Disclaimer: I was in no way compensated by any business mentioned in this post for my opinions. I’m not getting anything for free or at a discount for this review and spent my own cash on the product mentioned. YOU’RE the only one getting free stuff. Because I love you.

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Comment #10 belongs to Holly from A Baby Grows in Brooklyn! Congrats Holly! I’ve sent you an email with details on how to claim your prize.

Thanks to everyone who entered, I appreciate you taking the time to comment and I enjoyed hearing about how you recycle! It inspired me to actually wash out my last peanut butter jar.

My next giveaway is all ready to go and I’m super excited – it’s something I own and love and I specifically begged requested the company work with me to offer. I’ll put it up on Monday July 26th!

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As a housekeeping note, I had some trouble yesterday with my posts disappearing/not showing up in readers, so if you didn’t read my story about E’s decision to re-enlist or see the gratuitous men-in-uniform pictures, please scroll down (or click through) and check it out. I think E’s a little sad no one said how handsome he looked.

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