There you are, a new mom. You’ve got a squishy, perfect baby in your arms. You smell their head and snap a million and one photos. “Time is fleeting. Enjoy them while they’re little.” This phrase is one you hear so frequently. As I sit here now, with a pre-teen and a newborn, (and practically every age in between..) it hit me.. Enjoy them while they’re little because…
All too soon that sweet baby smell you loved so much is gone. What remains is sweat. Yep. Sweat. Trust me, you won’t be leaning in to take a deep breath of that. You’ll spend your time at the grocery store looking for any and every air freshener or deodorizer (I recommend Fresh Wave !!), you become fond of candles, you research which laundry detergent is best at odor removal, you suddenly realize why your grandmother has a love of potpourri, and you leave presents of deodorant and bath soap around the house just hoping they find it.
The adorable clothes? Replaced with screen print tees, hoodies, and run down athletic shoes. (Those also smell.. Did I mention Fresh Wave? They have little odor absorbing packets to put in shoes!) They might cave and let you pick out an outfit for family photos.. But I assure you, more than once you will receive raised brows, tantrums, and eyes rolls. “MOM! Seriously? Why can’t I wear my tennis shoes?” Enjoy your matching outfits now, it doesn’t last forever..
Mealtime. The days of gourmet baby food are gone. One day you’re dicing organic fruits and veggies, throwing them in the baby bullet, freezing them in organized ice cube trays, so pleased with your dietary rainbow. Suddenly, they’re eating you out of house and home.. But! Only if it’s on their list of currently approved, ever-changing, this-better-not-be-vegetables, foods. Preferably fried..
Toys. Oh the toys. You used to have cute little stuffed animals and shape sorters. Eventually they’d get into dolls and Legos.. Then all too quickly, it takes a sharp turn. “Toys? We don’t want toys! We want tablets, laptops, phones, drones, and cameras.” I’m fortunate that my boys like books as well, but that doesn’t mitigate their desire for all things tech.
Their rooms. Once a sweet nursery you spent months planning, organizing, and decorating.. It’s now the forbidden land of deceased toys and laundry. Sometimes, I question where all the stuff came from? I could not possibly have allowed that much *stuff* to accumulate, could I? Don’t think you can just clean it up, though. I mean, it’s “organized chaos” to them — and heaven forbid you want to throw anything away.
Time is fleeting, moms. Enjoy them while they’re (letting you dress them, smelling good, easy to clean up after, and content playing with boxes) little.
I just had baby number five. FIVE. I’m well seasoned in this mom game and newborns are like second nature to me at this point. I can translate cries easily and change diapers faster than Mark Zuckerburg. I know that newborns tend to want 3 things: Food, clean diapers, and to be cuddled. This is where swaddling comes in.
My previous two babies had an exaggerated Moro Reflex. I am going to guess many of you haven’t heard of a “Moro Reflex” but perhaps know it as a “startle reflex” — or perhaps you don’t know it as anything and just think your newborn is a particularly jumpy little human. The Moro Reflex is a reflex typically found in newborns – usually present until baby is around 3-5 months. It’s a natural response to the feeling of falling, or a sudden loss of support. Baby will flare their arms out, contract them back in, and fuss or cry.
Think about it, when you depend solely on someone else holding you and supporting you, and suddenly you feel like that support is gone, you’d panic a little too. This often happens while babies sleep, and frequently startles them awake. My boys would have this reaction if you even walked while holding them.. Just imagine what nights were like. Until our pediatrician recommended swaddling. It gives babies that feeling of security and combats that reflex action. I knew how to swaddle and did it sometimes, but it wasn’t something I was religious about. Especially at night. All that blanket wrapping and tucking, making sure baby was positioned correctly, things were snug but not TOO snug. Then the moment you aced it, baby would poop and you’d have to undo your efforts and start over again. We found a couple blanket options that were said to make all of this easier.. But they either didn’t fit right or they were just as inconvenient. However, swaddling was the best comfort for our babies when they were in that Moro Reflex stage. Well, that and the feeling of being held.
When baby number five came along, I got an email from Nested Bean asking if I’d be interested in trying one of their weighted swaddle blankets. The Zen Swaddle. I was familiar with the brand (hello: did I me ion I’m addicted to baby products?) but I’d never used it before. The idea intrigued me, but I wasn’t quite sure how it would work for us for a couple reasons. First, I had used Velcro swaddles before, and like I said.. Hadn’t had much luck with them. Second, my newest baby was a “small for gestational age” low birthweight baby. Surely these blankets would be much too big for him, at a little under 5 pounds. Knowing how our previous babies were, however — and the fact that I don’t judge one product on my experience with another — I decided to give them a try.
I have never been more happy with a decision. Ever. When it first arrived, my first observations were aesthetic. It was so cute! I mean, if you’re going to put an adorable squishy baby in something, it should at least be cute, right?!?
The next thing I noticed was the instructions for using it on a smaller baby. WHAT?! Yes!! I followed the directions and was amazed that it fit! Wonderfully. Snug where it needed to be snug, relaxed where it needed to be relaxed. A good, SAFE swaddle for my tiny little man! (Yes. As with all things baby related, there are safe and unsafe ways of swaddling.) I was very happy at this point.
The only thing better was when I got baby to sleep, set him down in his crib, and he slept there for two SOLID hours. I would be lying if I said I didn’t go in and check on him a million times. He’d never slept that long out of my arms since we brought him home!
The Zen swaddle has 3 sections of weighted beans. One on the chest, mimicking a hand resting on baby. Then one on each side of baby. They feel held and snuggled while swaddled. I imagine this is what contributed to his sudden willingness to sleep on his own for that duration of time! It also calms him down, even when I don’t necessarily need him to sleep. Wrap him up into a Zen swaddle burrito, give him his pacifier, and suddenly all is right in the world.
The fabric is so soft. The Velcro is STRONG. (My only advise is, don’t swaddle on something it can stick to. It will stick! Hahaha!!) It works for babies of a wide variety of sizes. It says 0-6 months.. It very likely will last most babies that duration of time! It’s one of my favorite baby staples. Likely a product I will include in baby shower gifts and recommend to new moms! “This! Go buy this! You’ll thank me later!!”
Note: Nested Bean provided me with a Zen Swaddle to review. My opinions are my own and I was not otherwise compensated.
There are many side effects of pregnancy that no one really focuses on. Everyone commiserates about nausea and heartburn, how their bladder now resembles an over-filled water balloon, and how swelling and the inability to bend over have made flip flops the only shoe option.
Let’s talk about digestion for a second. Pregnancy makes our digestive track work slower than a slug racing a snail. Unfortunately, this brings on a whole bunch of fun other side effects. Constipation? Hemorrhoids? Ugh. Best part? These are things I that don’t miraculously fix themselves the moment you deliver your baby like many of the other above symptoms do.
Enter the new Premama Digestive Aid chews. I received these from Premama and Mom Select a few weeks before giving birth and they not only helped immensely during those last couple weeks.. But they were fabulous immediately postpartum. That “please don’t make me use the bathroom..” phase was a bit less terrible!
It’s a simple vanilla flavored caramel. Uh. Yes, you read that right. It’s like candy. Candy that helps your digestive track function like a normal human. WHAT?!? I know. My mind was blown. We love Premama prenatal vitamins because it allows us to take the vitamins without feeling like we’re taking them. This is the same! Like a special treat that helps your body work. It’s not only a fiber source, but a probiotic as well. So, while you’re suddenly feeling better — your body is defending itself better, too!
Trust me, this is a product you will want to take during pregnancy — and you’ll definitely want to pack it in your hospital bag! Plus, just stock up on it for postpartum as well. I would even say you don’t need to be pregnant or postpartum to take them. I mean, it’s just fiber and probiotic. Who couldn’t use that in their life?!
Note: Premama Digestive Aid was provided to me to review by Premama and Mom Select. My opinions are my own and I was not otherwise compensated.
I always swore I’d be a “house proof the baby, not baby proof the house” kind of parent. Honestly? This method worked for our first 3 kids. They were respectful of their boundaries and never pushed them. Then along came little boy number 4. Our daredevil, boundary pushing, toddler tornado. If he can climb it, he will. If he can open it, he will. If he can reach it, he’ll try to eat it. He is the reason why I immediately had to run to the store and buy cabinet locks. Why I had to move everything climbable away from our built-ins… And ultimately the reason we had to start looking at gates for our stairs.
There were two issues when it came to looking at stair gates. First, we have banisters. There aren’t a lot of options on the market that will work with a banister staircase. Second, there are so many ugly gates on the market! When gating your stairs, it’s typically in a place that is highly visible to all who come into your home.
I was asked if we would be interested in reviewing The Stair Barrier and, after looking at them, jumped on the opportunity. When it arrived we were definitely impressed by the quality and the style of it.
It was a little involved to mount. We have a wall-to-banister situation, so we had to drill into our wall to anchor the mounts in. Not a huge deal, because once it was done it was insanely secure.
It is a fabric gate, but it has metal supports inside the fabric to prevent any pushing and bending of the gate when it’s secured and securing it is actually very simple. You wrap the webbing around your banister side and then simply clip it in place.
There are a couple design enhancements that would be great.. Like a way to secure it once it’s rolled up and not in use (though, it rolls nicely and doesn’t fall) but that is a little detail that doesn’t effect my opinion of the product. It’s a gate worth having if you have banister staircases!
I am confident it will keep our little daredevil at bay!
Have you ever heard of The Stair Barrier? Do me a favor and go look at their site (https://www.thestairbarrier.com) and come back and tell me which is your favorite design!
Note: I was provided admission to a screening of this film for this review. All opinions stated are my own.
Well, hello there! It’s time for another edition of Dad’s Diaper Bag Confessions, guest posts brought to you by the male contributory arm of The Diaper Bag Confessions. In this post, I’ll share with you my SPOILER-FREE review of Disney Pixar’s Finding Dory.
I know many of you want to know the answers to a couple big questions. So, channeling my day job where I often have to take big complex situations and summarize into straight-forward executive summaries, here’s what I think most of you want to know:
Is this movie good = YES
Is this a proper sequel to the excellent Disney Pixar classic “Finding Nemo” = YES
Will my kids enjoy this movie = YES
Okay, now that you know the big points, let’s dig into this big list of “YES” Or is it.. “Nope! Nope! Nope! Nope!” (not a spoiler per-se, just an inside joke you’ll be in-on after you see the film) 🙂
Is this movie good?
Oh man is this movie good. Disney Pixar has been knocking hits out of the park for a long time now, so we all know to expect some level of greatness with every release. But for me some Pixar animated films are great, some are amazing, and some are epic. Finding Dory fits somewhere between amazing and epic!
Finding Dory has all the components of the best Pixar films… Captivating story? You got it. Witty and hilarious one-liners? Absolutely. In fact, it’s taking all my being to not quote them all here! I guarantee when you exit the theater though, you’ll be exclaiming all the silly character-defining lines that are running through my head as I type this!
Finding Dory carries forward the Pixar tradition of top-notch voice talent, welcoming Ellen DeGeneres (“The Ellen DeGeneres Show”) and Albert Brooks (“This is 40”) back to the sea as favorite fish Dory and Marlin. Joining the crew for this sequel includes Ed O’Neill (“Modern Family”), who lends his voice to “septopus” Hank, Kaitlin Olson (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) who voices whale shark Destiny, and Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”) voicing beluga whale Bailey. Portraying Dory’s parents Charlie and Jenny are Eugene Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”) and Diane Keaton (“Love the Coopers”). And while the story takes place not long after the events of Finding Nemo, we are talking 13 real-life years later. So we welcome 12-year-old Hayden Rolence (“Beta Persei”) who stepped in to help bring Nemo to life. And each of these characters, new and old, animate on-screen with such realism and intrigue, where you can see the hard work of Pixar’s many animation teams pay off in a great way for the entire cast on-screen!
Is this a proper Finding Dory sequel?
This is what I am pretty sure most of us are watching for, at least among us who were old enough in 2003 to appreciate the depth of Finding Nemo’s heart-wrenching story (see what I did there? Ocean deep joke… Anyway..). I was more than relieved as the story unfolded, where we pick up not long after Finding Nemo left off. This time, the focus turns to our favorite Blue Tang Fish, in an epic adventure where she endeavors to find her family – and as an effect, herself. Finding Nemo was a heartstring-pulling, family-appreciating, family adventure whose story stands today as one of the most memorable among any animated film to-date. It would take an equally warming tale to truly do justice to Finding Nemo’s great storyline, and Finding Dory certainly EXCEEDS this standard. It unashamedly structures as a true sequel to Finding Nemo, even though the spotlight is truly for Dory this time around. Because it isn’t afraid to acknowledge itself as a sequel, Pixar was clearly focused on making it the best darn sequel that could be made for Nemo. It succeeds in answering so many questions in the Finding Nemo universe about Dory, even several questions I’ll bet you didn’t even knew you wanted to know about her!
Another thing that was big to me as a Finding Nemo and general Pixar fan, I was curious to see how they would handle the major advancements in digital animation between 2003 and 2016. The untrained eye might not have taken any notice, but because digital animation has evolved SO MUCH in the past decade I truly believe many of us would notice if Pixar had simply done one of two very-valid options: Maintain a 2003-like animation quality & style to closely resemble what Finding Nemo looked like… Or just go all-in and acknowledge it’s 2016, and animate the sequel as such. I really believe the problem with the latter is that, whether we know it up-front or not, making a sequel 13 years later look as much better as animated movies in 2016 look, will take away from the plot that is supposed to occur not long after the original story.
Instead, Pixar appears to do something pretty magical (as Disney movies do) where they blend an animation style that mimics very much what Finding Nemo looked like, but with just enough added detail that is possible in today’s standards to make you not feel like you’re just watching a decade-old film. But then, there are several scenes, particularly outside open ocean waters, that pull us in with so much fine detail and quality even more than the best digitally animated films of today – all while somehow blending back-and-forth without feeling like any of this is going on! I may be overthinking this, but I will say however they did it, they managed to pull off managing the risk of an animated sequel nearly a decade-and-a-half later.. Both in story and in technical advancement!
Will my kids like this movie?
Have you seen her?
I get the idea behind it, but I am surprised to hear a lot of people out there wondering if anyone as a kid after the 90’s or so, those who were old enough to understand Finding Nemo when it came out, would even enjoy this movie. All I should have to say is a quick reminder that this is a Disney Pixar movie after all – you know they’ll all love it! Will they get every joke or reference if they’ve never heard Dory “just keep swimming”? No, but that won’t stop them from appreciating Dory’s innocent lovability! Plus, this film is full of new characters, such as the “septopus” Hank, whale shark Destiny, and beluga whale Bailey – all those fun new characters stand on their own in this story! We took our youngest two (of 4) boys to see this movie, at the ages of 2 and 4 that I can guarantee were not around when the original came out! Sure, they have seen Finding Nemo at on home video, but at 2 and 4 even if they saw Nemo in theaters at first, Finding Dory would have been just as new to them regardless. This is truly a film for nostalgic Nemo fans to appreciate in parallel to the next generation of Dory fans to join in!
I agree with this so much that I’m sharing with you here a few free printable Finding Dory activities for your littles – enjoy!
So again – You’ll love this movie. Your kids will love this movie. And it more than just did Finding Nemo justice… It gives us a new love and appreciation for Dory’s story that we’ll be referencing for years to come!
Oh, and about the Short
I can’t leave this without a quick comment about the short film featured before Finding Dory. The short — “Piper” – touched my heart and visually fascinated me ALMOST to the fault of distracting my mind for the first couple minutes transitioning into the main attraction. Among my favorite Pixar shorts to date, including For the Birds, La Luna, The Blue Umbrella, and last year’s Lava… Piper is my new top fav. It’s beyond adorable, but what really did it for me was the incredible realism. I couldn’t help but think of how we continue to push the envelope of something artificial looking so real to the extent that you start to lose that clear definition/difference between what’s real and what’s not. There’s something about the ruffles in Piper’s feathers, the bubbles in the water, the sand… Oh the sand… until the birds started making faces in that anthropomorphic way I had to genuinely ask myself whether I was watching animation or video footage, and even then it was subtler unrealism as opposed to say, human-like in Zootopia (also a great film in a different way)! We’ve come a long way, and Disney Pixar is leading the path to the future of our animated entertainment.
And this isn’t a one-off masterpiece – some of these advanced techniques are clearly applied in the great animation we see in Finding Dory itself! I also saw this and Finding Dory in 3D – While Dory looked great in 3D (echolocation Oooh’s coming at ya!), Piper was truly the first animated film in some time that I truly recommend seeing in 3D! The last animation that utilized 3D this effectively was Walt Disney Animation’s “Get a Horse!”. So while most films these days I would suggest saving a few bucks and watching in traditional 2-dimensions, if you’re even somewhat considering it – go watch both “Piper” and “Finding Dory” in 3D!
FINDING DORY is now playing in theaters everywhere!
That time has come. If you’re anything like me, you’ve been anxiously anticipating it. Summer.
There is so much to love about the arrival of summer. The warm sun, allowing for more time outside. (The rare time of the year we Pacific Northwesterners get enough natural vitamin D and maybe even a sun tan?) A break from wrangling children to and from school. More daylight to take advantage of.
This year, I have been anticipating the arrival of summer for quite some time. Summer means the final stretch of this pregnancy. I’m THAT much closer to a baby in my arms and not in my rib cage. Woohoo!
Pregnancy, though.. Pregnancy brings a lot of cravings. Both in food and in life. Summer also allows me to indulge in more of those cravings, too! Like fresh summer berries. My favorite way to eat those berries? Mixed into Stonyfield’s Whole Milk Greek Yogurt.. on top of granola. (My granola cravings vary from Honey Almond to Vanilla.. But the yogurt and berries always stays the same! SO GOOD!) Another summer pregnancy craving has been egg salad. I know, I know. When you swap out the mayo for Stonyfield’s Plain Whole Milk Greek yogurt?? Not only does it fulfill a craving.. but it gives a light, protein packed option that I won’t feel guilty about later! (Especially when you step on the scale!) On crackers or as a sandwich.. such a good summer staple.
What else do I crave? Besides food, I mean? Being able to enjoy the sun outside without overheating in an instant. The last week here has been in the high 80’s and 90’s and those temperatures while 33 weeks pregnant? Yuck. I was able to go outside and enjoy time with my family in the sun thanks to my Quinn dress from prAna. No, it is not maternity, but it slides nicely over the baby bump, even accentuates it in all the right places. I’ll be wearing this for the last short bit of this pregnancy, and then will continue to wear it after! It’s light. Comfortable. Cool.
What sort of summer cravings do you have? Maybe it’s a poolside barbeque with your toes in the water while you enjoy a turkey burger and homemade potato salad? A hike up to a waterfall with a chicken salad picnic lunch? A simple playdate at the park, enjoying your kids and some frozen yogurt? (Great, just typing this all out has me craving every single bit of it…) Whatever it is — Stonyfield and prAna want to help you enjoy it comfortably and in style! They have kindly given all of my reader’s a 15% off code for prana.com
SCS16TRMC ** Code valid June 1- July 7 ** Not valid for Influencers, on Gift Certificates or valid with any other offers
They have also given one of my readers the chance to win a Quinn dress (Just like mine!) of their very own! The perfect dress for summer. Leave me a comment telling me what you crave this summer and how Stonyfield and prAna can help you fill those cravings… then enter using the rafflecopter below. (Open to US Residents Only)
Note: I was provided admission to a screening of this film for this review. All opinions stated are my own.
Welcome to the inaugural post of Dad’s Diaper Bag Confessions, the new male contributory arm of The Diaper Bag Confessions. I couldn’t be more excited to kick things off with my SPOILER-FREE review of Disney Marvel’s latest major motion picture release, Captain America: Civil War.
Get Ready
I’ve seen all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films released to-date, with the one exception that I somehow missed out on Thor: The Dark World (…or I miiiiiight have rented it once on a flight and fell asleep watching it, if I can be honest)… Otherwise, I’ve got a good grasp on what’s going on with our favorite Avengers and other various Marvel movie characters coming in to Civil War. However, in doing my homework before watching Civil War, I stumbled upon this article from Gizmodo that does a great job summarizing, without Civil War spoilers (though possibly some spoilers for previous films), where each known character is emotionally & physically at in the Marvel Cinematic Universe prior to this latest film. I highly recommend it as a separate primer before seeing this movie, though I suppose watching all the previous flicks wouldn’t hurt either!
Alright already – Suit up!
Let’s finally get to the point… I am SO glad to share with you that Captain America: Civil War is exactly what I expected out of a Disney-owned Marvel movie, and that is such a good thing! Civil War is the next great Avengers movie we crave for and expect, and the transition to MCU Phase 3 that we need. Let me elaborate…
Disney-Marvel Goodness
If it’s anything we have come to know about Marvel movies since being independently developed through Marvel Studios and subsequently under the parent Disney ownership, it’s that we’re getting top-notch budget and quality in our ears and eyeballs with every release. Civil War is certainly no exception, and this is great considering anything less would be a big disappointment this far into the franchise. While some great movies out there become cult favorites on tiny budgets, that’s not what we pay to expect for this caliber of a film. Marvel cannot afford to step off the podium they made for themselves, from the original Iron Man motion picture in 2008 all the way through to-date, where big budget has consistently equated to quality writing, giant-but-believable special effects, and top-quality acting. Captain America: Civil war followed suit (haha, like a super suit) just perfectly, mixing thrilling action sequences with Hollywood’s best acting talent and tossing in light-but-punchy humor from end-to-end. The very opening sequence of the film draws us right to where we left off after Captain America: Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron, quickly reintroducing us to Captain America, Iron Man, and most of the Avengers to-date using an action scene that was filled with explosions, tons of background information, and hilarious one-liners that inflicted humor to the entire theater I was in. The best part is that this movie managed to keep it dialed to 110% from that opening scene all the way to the credits (I’ll leave it to you to decide whether or not to stick through the end credits on whether Marvel continued their tradition of post-credit bonus teaser scenes). 😉
It’s a long movie, 2 hours and 26 minutes runtime not including your usual barrage of pre-film advertisements, so make sure you’ve hit the potty beforehand because you’re about to be in it for the long haul! I know that by the time I finally got out, it took a moment to settle back into reality (and out of the imprint I started on my seat) because it was just that immersive throughout the film.
Reach out!
I watched this movie in 3D, and while I am a strong believer that 3D in-general is losing its luster in the theatrical world, this opening scene alone gave me some good reason to appreciate 3D’s additional immersion. Without giving anything away, there was this one scene that captivated me merely because of how the film allowed us to feel how the flight of a particular character’s accessory was critical beyond the abilities of your full-sized super human. Again, I do think this movie would be just as enjoyable in traditional 2D, but this scene is certainly one among a few in this film where the 3D effect helps pull you in deeper to the action!
Welcome to Phase 3
For the uninitiated, Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (which from here forward you’ll see as MCU… because acronyms are cool) is notoriously structured in three phases.
Phase 1 is all about origin stories and laying down the early world of MCU as we start to understand and explore how the typical human-led world we live in is shaken up with the existence of other worlds, and humans on this planet with extraordinary abilities of various forms. Ever wonder how weird it would be for a flying Iron Man or freeze-restored crazy-old-but-still-young-adult-hot Captain America to actually exist in the world you and I live in today? Phase 1 was all about getting us as an audience to accept this alternate universe, introducing us to a world where Iron Man, War Machine, Hulk, and Black Widow exist among the rest of us.
Phase 2, on the other hand, starts to build us into why we should care about their existence, bringing us movies like Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and Winter Soldier… All movies that build onto deeper stories after the events of New York in the first Avengers movie – the movie that really set us into a global awareness of the existence of superhumans and aliens. We are also introduced to movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man, which brings in additional characters to MCU that serve supplemental or secondary roles, at least in the world to-date. All this culminates in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, which introduces us to yet a few more key characters while closing out Phase 2 acknowledging that we do indeed live in a world populated with superhumans and aliens, but cliffhangering us at the end of Age of Ultron (plus the post-credits at the end of Ant Man) on how we come to manage coexisting in this mixed-up world.
By contrast, Captain America: Civil War gives us a proper dropkick into Phase 3, by diving our beloved Avengers into two separate groups, split based on a moral opinion and related decision that essentially divides us (both as in-movie characters and audiences alike) into a #teamcaptain vs #teamironman situation. This is also something I extensively love about MCU – in this event, we have an opportunity to see each of the current/existing Avengers and how their individual stories and sense of moral drive which side they end up joining. One side is driven by the confidence that freedom and autonomy is necessary to use their super powers to stop evil, the other side is driven by data-driven observations that The Avengers’ autonomy to-date has caused way too much destruction and unplanned deaths, and that government oversite is necessary to oversee that the Avengers keeps things “in check.” And while this may seem cut-n-dry, another reason I enjoyed this movie that the sense of evil/bad is never just clear & dry. I jumped into this movie with my personal affiliation to Team Iron Man, based on my following of his sense of morality and known individual decisions made prior to this movie, but I can assure you that more than once in this film I have had to question my own choice of which team to root for! You have to remember that at the end of the day, both “teams” are filled with Avengers, both original and new, and in their own ways each mean to do “the right thing.” There are clear enemies in this film, and they aren’t Avengers. But in the events that go down in Civil War, characters are still divided into teams by their morality differences, and you’ll find yourself questioning at least once (2-3 times likely) which team is more “in the right.” Perhaps that means that in the end, no one was right, or maybe both teams were right in different ways. You’ll have to see for yourself and I’d love to hear how others found themselves questioning/altering their favorite/aligned “team” throughout the movie! I encourage comments below, but remember to keep things SPOILER-FREE!
This division kicks us off on the start of a larger plot that will clearly carry us through Phase 3, and actually it introduces a few new branching stories that will all contribute to the greater actions that I’m sure will lead us into the Avengers: Infinity War movies scheduled for 2018 and 2019.
ALL the Avengers. Okay, minus some. Add others.
This includes new characters to the MCU, Black Panther and Spider-Man, who we already know have confirmed movies of their own focus & title in the next few years as part of Phase 3. Black Panther is new to me entirely, but Spider-Man was of particular interest since prior to this movie I’m still largely influenced by Sam Raimi films where Tobey Maguire donned the webbed suit (circa 2002-2007). I didn’t get into the Marc Webb-edition of Spider-Man that featured Andrew Garfield in the same mask in 2012-2014. With these two established “versions” of theatrical Spider-Man stories out there, it was key that Marvel find a way to make a clean reset of the franchise for this key younger superhero. This meant that Civil War had to be yet-another origin story for both Black Panther and Spider-Man, and this movie amazingly managed to do well for both of them, smoothly integrating both characters into the fold of these growing list of Avengers.
In the meantime, characters only recently introduced towards the end of Phase 2 such as The Falcon, Scarlet Witch, The Vision, and Ant-Man managed to receive their fair share of supporting content so they too can integrate into the overall fold. And not to be left off, our Phase 1 mainstays of Iron Man, Black Widow, and Captain America continued to build upon their deep-rooted storylines in this film, heavily influencing key decision points through the story.
Phase 1 supporting characters of War Machine and Hawkeye even folded deeper in, with War Machine now a full-blown and influencing Avenger himself, and Hawkeye’s relationships with the various lead characters and his own story adding depth to this already deep cast of characters. What may seem like a whole mess of individual storylines for each character here, actually resulted in the film in a symphony of subtle story blending in the midst of nonstop action – even writing this review, I reflect on trying to understand how this single movie managed to cram so many characters in with sufficient storyline and screen time for each, not feeling like we were just overwhelmed with character after character for the sake of doing so! And where blatant “hey, it’s THAT character” callouts were needed, the movie shined with the signature self-aware humor audiences have come to know from an Avengers movie.
Yes, this is certainly titled as a “Captain America” movie, and it certainly does The Cap justice in his own struggle and evolution kicking in to Phase 3, but you saw all the characters I listed off (and that’s not all of ‘em! I think..) – this is just as much an Avengers ensemble flick as the original and Age of Ultron! It’s also very much an Iron Man movie in its own right, driving much of what we want to find out about Tony Stark’s story to come in the films ahead. Even the few lead characters we’ve come to know so far that aren’t in this film, were called out as such knowing we’ll need to soon find out after this movie where they’ve been and what they’ve been up to.
So yes, Captain America: Civil War was everything I wanted / expected / anticipated and more. It’s the type and scale of movie that you didn’t need me to tell you to decide whether to go see it – You’ve read this far and I’m sure you knew before reading this whether you were going to watch this film – But I hope you find it reassuring that this movie does not disappoint! For me, as a Marvel Cinematic Universe-focused fan, it gave me just enough closure to Phase 2 and all the intrigue and anticipation for what Marvel will do with the Phase 3 movies to come.
I also was excited to bring my good friend to see this movie with me, who unlike me is a long reader of most Marvel original comics and graphic novel series. Knowing MCU movies consciously take alternate paths based on the graphic novel characters and stories, he too had a blast with this film. As I’m sure was their goal, we both cannot wait until the next few Marvel movies to come as we see what happens coming out of this next evolution into the divided Avengers world and the growing cast of cinematic Marvel characters!
Little baby shoes have always been a favorite of mine. Those tiny toes can get cold, dirty, you name it. A lot of shoes on the market for babies and toddlers aren’t really practical, though. Many have , some don’t stay on, some are too heavy for little legs. When moccasins came into style, I was thrilled. Light options to keep feet warm, stay on the foot, and look adorable while doing it — BUT they had to be quality. My kids are small and slow growing, they are also ALL boys, so we enjoy the ability to hand things down if possible. This means I look for shoes, particularly, that are well made, durable, and can be used for long periods of time. Enter in Freshly Picked.
I bought my first pair of Freshly Picked Moccs for our little one’s first birthday. He was gaining mobility but was still too small for most hard sole shoes. The quality leather and construction of the FP moccs allowed him to toddle around as he pleased, but still protect his little feet from the elements. They didn’t form holes or anything. Just cute indentations of toes and footprints in the sole. We were constantly being stopped and asked about his tiny little moccasins. The best part? They go with pretty much any outfit we put him in. Jeans? No problem. Casual clothes? Still work. Dressy clothes? Still no problem.
We have since gone on to own more pairs of FP moccs and I am not disappointed in the slightest. Many people are surprised I put them on my boys, but seriously, they might be the most gender neutral shoe out there. Most recently, we got the “Let it Go” moccs, they are an icy goldish/silverish/iridescent color and our little boy rocks them like no other! They also do a great job offering a wide variety of color options for all preferences.
I am SO in love with Freshly Picked and I can’t wait to buy some of the newborn crib moccs for our new baby boy on the way. (I might even get the newborn bringing home baby bundle! It’s too cute!!)
Our little boy has his variety of developmental delays and one of them has been his ability to self feed. He longs for independence. He wants to do things on his own. It’s something we are working on, but it’s been a process. A slow process.
Recently our friends at Stonyfield and OXO Tot sent us some amazing goodies. Age appropriate products that I was thrilled to put to use to assist him in his self-feeding development. We received a wide variety of products, but I’m going to feature our favorites here. The divided plate with removeable ring, the fork and spoon set, and the roll up bib and spoon set. We also can’t forget our little boy’s favorite meal accessory.. the Stonyfield Kids YoKids Squeeze pouch. Seriously, he would eat one at every meal if I let him!
I was so pleased with these OXO for products. Our little guy was actually able to maneuver the utensils and get food from plate to mouth. The deep grooves and the high curved lip of the divided bowl helped him succeed in getting food from plate to fork. The bib? I think I will be stocking up on these bibs. They caught everything his mouth didn’t, and it was sturdy enough that he could assert his independence and stick the fork straight into the pocked and continue eating everything he dropped. (He wastes nothing! I’m pretty sure he’s going to cost me a fortune in food bills when he reaches that teenage stage.) He was eating a deconstructed turkey taco and mandarin oranges, so the fact that he was able to feed himself any of it, let alone the majority of it, made me quite pleased with the products. The OXO Tot products are easy to clean and easy for toddlers to use. Exactly what we needed for a little boy who wants so badly to be independent but is struggling to do so. We will be added many, many more OXO Tot products to our cupboards. The mere fact that, since adding these products to the line up, our little one has grown even more determined to figure out how to use them? Win in my book.
Note: This post was sponsored by Stonyfield and OXO Tot. Products were provided to me for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.
As LÍLLÉbrities (LÍLLÉbaby Ambassadors) we have a deep seeded love for LÍLLÉbaby. (Affiliate) They are carriers we trust and believe in. When we found out they were nominated for a Cribsie Award this year, we knew we wanted to help spread the word! As a baby industry super fan, I have followed the Cribsie Awards for many years. It thrills me to see the brands I love nominated!
What isn’t there to love about LÍLLÉbaby? From 6 carry positions, no need for an infant insert, fun print variety (including Tokidoki!) and multiple fabric options for optimum versatility. From a 7 pound Newborn to a 45 pound toddler, the LÍLLÉbaby Complete has you covered!
We’re on a mission to help LÍLLÉbaby win a Cribsie this year. This obviously means we want to give you a chance to win a LÍLLÉbaby of your own, and other fun accessories to go with it! (Custom Accessories from RockerByeBaby and Jamberry Nail Wraps) All you have to do is VOTE and enter below!
If you win, which LÍLLÉbaby (Affiliate) style and color/print will you choose? Tell me in the comments. Enter to win below! Open to US and Canadian Residents 18 years of age and older.
**Thanks to Lillebaby, RockerByeBaby and Jamberry at Midnight for sponsoring this giveaway. I was not compensated for this post and all opinions expressed are my own. This post does contain affiliate links.**
