Ready for Summer...thanks to Old Navy and Crowdtap!

I was SO EXCITED to find out I was accepted into Old Navy and Crowdtap's latest Sample and Share! I've received a lot of goods throughout the past few years through these Sample and Shares, but the swimsuit one is always my favorite because it means summer is here! And in NM, it's actually been here for about a month, we're already melting in the heat!

 

My friends Tai, Kim, and Elysee were so excited that I invited them to join me. We are all moms on a budget and being able to get a new swimsuit, instead of pulling out last year's worn out suit, was great news for all of us. Add a free beach towel, bad, and flip flops and were were all over the moon! What a great way to start summer

 

Here is Tai and Kim showing off their eagerness to get started shopping!

 

 

This is the swimsuit Elysee picked...same one as me! We forgot to take pictures of her in the store, so she's showing it off outside the store :)

 

 

I was the only brave one willing to take pictures of me in the swimsuit. The keyhole cutout in the cleaveage area was a little more than I'm used to showing off, so I'm planning on buying some material in a blue color and sewing a little fabric across the front. Modesty is more my style, but I love the print! 

 

 

This is the other one I was considering. I was loving the blue! However, it didn't hold up my chest very much, and I could see a wardrobe malfunction in my future.

 

Kim checking out. I got the same bag but in orange. So did Elysee!

 

This is the swimsuit Tai picked out. I loved it but I have a little more weight to lose to pull this particular one off!

 

Tai is wearing her swimsuit at the pool, except she's wearing her coverup over it! She tells me she's had a lot of compliments on the swimsuit, making me think I should get it and use it as motivation to lose these last 10 lbs!

 

Thank you Crowdtap and Old Navy for another great shopping trip!

My lucky/unlucky day

I will always remember this date : August 23, 2012. Always.

 

Why? I got in TWO car accidents that day! Two!!! One on a freeway, another involving a semi, and all I got was whiplash. I can't decide if I'm lucky or unlucky...

 

The first one was on my way to work. There was stop and go traffic on the on-ramp to the freeway, but unfortunately the guy behind me didn't see the rest of us stop. I had just started accelerating when I got hit, I didn't even see it coming because my rear view mirror is always facing the back so I can see my kids (who luckily were not in the car). The impact pushed me forward, and I accelerated right into the car in front of me. Officers decided none of it was my fault and my car was driveable. Jeremiah met me at the crash site and drove behind me to work so we could take some pictures of the car. I was a wreck (no pun intended). By this time my adrenaline was gone and my head hurt bad. I was still shaking. I got to work late and expected to be there only long enough to get a few things done before going home and resting....

 

...and of course that didn't happen. Three of my foster children who had been sent back home with their parents needed to be removed from their home because their parents were being arrested, so my coworker offered to drive a work van to help me transport the children. After we had the kids in the car, we drove them to McDonalds to get them some lunch. As we waiting at the light to get back on the main road, a semi in front of us started to reverse. My coworker couldn't reverse because we a had a large truck behind us too. She was honking and swearing and I got out of the car to make this guy stop. His back end had pulled up onto the hood of our car. Luckily there was no impact but we were freaking out at what could have happened if the truck had backed up much further. We waited for TWO HOURS for the police to arrive to take our statements.

 

Needless to say I didn't get home from work until well after 5pm that night. But yes, I took the next day off. Apparently it's required of us as employees to see a doctor after a car accident, no matter how small, and I was able to get medicine for my whiplash headache.

 

I spent the next few months at doctor's and chiropractor's appointments (LOVED my chiropractor) but now, 9 months later, I'm much better. Except if I get into an almost accident, or think there is a small chance that I just might get into an accident. In that case I freak out, start crying, adreline is pumping and I immediately get a whiplash-like headache again.

 

And yes, the Quest is good as new now, too. After $10,000 in repairs, that is!

 

Biopark Zoo

I'm coming up on a year behind my blog! I feel terrible, although not many (no one?) reads it anymore, it's a great way to publish memories. Who knows, maybe one day I'll actually get around to making a scrapbook of sorts out of my blog posts :)

 

In working with Children, Youth, and Families Dept here in Albuquerque, I run into a lot of people - clients (aka biological parents), children, and foster parents. My foster parents are amazing. They are kind to me and treat me like a friend. One foster parent in particular works for the local zoo, and gave me free passes to the zoo's night of music. We got to go into the zoo after 6pm and check out the animals before the jazz music started at 7pm. The boys had been to the zoo for field trips, but Jeremiah, Aubrey, and I had never been inside before.

 

The first thing we saw were flamingos. They were so fun, and yes, they do stand on one leg!

 

 

 

I love that Aubrey will look straight at the camera when I bring it out. She could care less about the animals when there's a chance to pose!

 

This is a vulture! I tried to get a photo of it flying, the wing span was amazing, but my camera would try to focus on the fencing and not the bird, so this is the best I could do.

 

Story of my life, no one wants to actually SIT in the stroller (except me) but everyone wants to take turns pushing it (except me!).

I'll admit I don't think I've ever seen kangaroos in a zoo before. They were a lot of fun to watch, there were babies and adults. We watched them for awhile because it was so fun to watch them hop around. 

 





 

We ended up finding a table at a cafe just outside the field where the music was playing. And it was loud even where we were. We forgot blankets and the grass was wet so I was happy to have a table. There were birds of different kinds walking around the cafe eating little scraps of food. The kids chased them a bit, but the birds were so tame they didn't seem to mind too much.

 

We didn't stay for much of the music, it was really loud and it was getting late. The kids had a blast looking at the animals and we can't wait to go back since we only saw about a quarter of the actual zoo!

Swimming with Friends

 

So we have our own pool at our apartment complex, but I'm pretty sure we've visited our friends' apartment's pool more often. Swimming is so much funner with friends! Our apartments neighbor each other and the pools are exactly the same. My friend, Tai, has four children who are besties with my kids, so it's only natural that we spend time together!

 

And no, my kids don't know how to swim yet. I think Hayden would if he had more confidence, but he freaks out when he's in deep water and then splashes around like he's dying. Roman is sort of the same way, but like I mentioned way back in his swimming lesson post, he'd have a smile on his face even if he was drowning. Something about swimming makes that boy so happy! Aubrey is a pro at swimming around with an innertube. We put arm floaties on her and she wasn't so sure anymore of her swimming abilities, but she's probably my bravest in the water!

 

 

 

Check out the slow-motion pictures...jumping (while holding nose, of course) and splashing!

Hayden's a bit more adventurous in his jumping...it's more of a run and jump technique.

 

 

This is one of Aubrey's besties, Railynn.

 

The other bestie, Jocelyn...and I know I spelled this wrong because Tai has made it her personal mission to spell her children's names all unique just to drive me insane :)

 

Amaia...she's my bestie. Isn't she super cute?!

 

Aubrey coming to me after freaking out post-arm-floaties.

 

Activewear Sample!

Oh my gosh, I figured out how to add pictures. I am amazing.

 

Thanks again to Crowdtap and Old Navy I was selected to try out some Old Navy Activewear with Tai. With the new year here, we were excited to get some work out clothes in hopes that it will convince us to keep to our New Year's Resolutions to be healthy.

 

It was no surprise that Tai went straight for the purple jacket. In fact, she was kinda bummed that they didn't have any purple pants, too!

 

 

And...is it any surprise I went for the black and grey combo? I really should branch out and try some more color, but the jacket was so comfy and the pants slimmed me down.

 

 

This is the jacket I got (I think...)

 

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=69873&vid=1&pid=250660082

 

I love the compression feel, I felt so slim in the jacket. It has several pockets and thumb holes to help keep my hands warm.

 

Here are some of my other faves:

 

Boot cut compression pants:

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=69873&vid=1&pid=865679052

 

V-Neck Seamless Tanks:

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=84254&vid=1&pid=329951032

 

Bubble Tanks:

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=53934&vid=1&pid=330705012

 

Shoes...love the funky colors!

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=41581&vid=1&pid=569037032

 

 

Bug Free

I'm really frustrated with blogger right now. The option to add a picture is not working. Ugh. At least this isn't my Disneyland post, right??

I have to share my new favorite thing. Ever.

Zicam Rapid Melts. They are these sweet-tasting (literally) melting tablets that reduce the symptoms of the common cold. Or, in my case, completely get rid of the cold.

I take them at the first sign of the cold - sore throat, sniffles, whatevs. And it works. I usually find these symptoms flare up at night, so I take one of this little miracles and by morning I wake up feeling great!

Every year since Jeremiah and I got married (10 years ago) at least one of us has been to the doctor's office around this time of year for antibiotics due to some sort of strain of something that is killing us. Brochitis, pneumonia, and severe colds are the most common.

This year is the first year EVER that we have not made a trip to the doctor's office yet. Jeremiah takes Zicam when he starts getting a cold, he takes them every 4 hours while he's awake for a few days in a row and the most he's had this year is a little bit of congestion and a lot of sneezing. No coughing or sore throat.

I'm so seriously amazed right now.

Check it out.

Many thanks to Crowdtap and Zicam for letting us try it out this year, we're Zicam's newest fans!

Dress it up

Once again, Crowdtap has seen fit to allow me into one of their sample shares. While I've received jeans and tops and accessories, my favorite is always their dresses. Their dresses are always fit so beautifully on me and are so comfortable all at the same time. And while I think they are a bit pricey (or maybe I'm just cheap) they do have some great sales!

 

The first one I tried on was a stripes long sleeve dress with a belt. It wasn't my favorite. I'm not a huge fan of tight sleeves. However, I liked the belt. Who knew? I've avoided belts on dresses and tunics forever!

 

 

This is actually the one I ended up getting. I loved the color and the fit. It is so comfortable on, usually I end up changing as soon as I get home from work but with this dress on I wear it until bedtime! It's my absolute new favorite dress to wear!

 

Tai picked this dress. It looks so cute with black leggings or black boots. She tried on so many dresses I know it was a hard choice for her! Aubrey had to be in the picture, too. Too bad little girl's dresses aren't included in the sample share, Aubrey found several she wanted!

 

I had to try on one last dress, just to be sure I was making the right choice. I was! This dress was beautiful on the hanger...not so much on me!

 

This is the dress I got (http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=86263&vid=1&pid=330134022)  but in a more wine/purple color, not this bright purple...although I do like that one too!

 

Thank you again Old Navy and Crowdtap for an amazing sample share!