Compression Pants and Active Top Sample Share from Old Navy

Can I just say how much I LOVE Old Navy? Not only do they have adorable clothes for my kids and I, but now they have a wonderful line of Active Wear. I recently was chosen to participate on the Old Navy Style Council sample share for the Compression Pants and a Active top.



I was also able to share this sample share with a friend, who was SO excited to be able to get new workout clothes!

I went to Old Navy on a date night with my husband as I have 3 young kids and going to try on clothes with them all with me is impossible! I was so excited to get some workout clothes as I am working on getting rid of the baby weight from my last baby. I found some pants and went and tried on the two sizes that might fit. I found the ones that fit me best and then tried on a couple of Active shirts that I liked. I finally narrowed it down to a v-neck long sleeved shirt. I loved that it had thumb holes in the sleeves. Genius idea!! I did have a problem though when it came to checkout time. The compression pants wouldn't ring up as free, although the shirt did. The manager came up to the front to help the cashier and we managed to work it out. I love the gray and pink colors on my outfit and love the way they fit!

Thank you again to Old Navy and Crowdtap for providing me with the opportunity to try your products!

Old Navy Flip Flop Sample

As part of the Old Navy Style Council, I was recently chosen to test a pair of their newly designed flip flops. I gave them my size and a couple of weeks later, received my flip flops in the mail. I love wearing flip flops. They are easy to put on and go. I received a pair of black flip flops in size 11. Yes, I have big feet ;) I have been wearing them for the past week non-stop. I was a fan of Old Navy flip flops before and am still a fan. They are inexpensive, so I can get them in multiple colors. I haven't really figured out the newly designed part of the flip flops though. I just bought 2 pairs from Old Navy about 2 months ago and they look the same to me. Regardless, they are comfortable, and I love my Old Navy Flip Flops!!!

Old Navy Jean Sample

Jeans are a necessary part of my wardrobe. As in, I wear them every.single.day. Unless it is over 85 degrees ;) As a rule, I do not like low-cut jeans. I am not a plumber and so I'm sure people appreciate this about me. Unfortunately, the style right now is jeans that ride as low as possible, as to give others a scary view of the world of crack. One of the places I love to get jeans is at Old Navy because they offer many different styles of jeans, including mid-rise jeans. So when I was selected to be a part of the style council to sample a pair of jeans for Old Navy, I was ecstatic!! What was even better, is that a like-minded friend of mine was able to get a free pair too!!

Both my friend and I are stay-at-home moms of busy boys. So it is necessary for us to have clothes that we are able to move in... and move fast! My friend has been a huge help in the last few months to me as our family has moved and so I was so excited to be able to share this opportunity with her. She was in desperate need of some new jeans too, so we decided to meet at the local Old Navy to find ourselves an adorable pair of jeans.

We got to the store and set out shopping. I loved that Old Navy had signs to point us to which jeans had the different fits. Both of us steered clear of the low-rise jeans. We're both on the floor with our kids often or bending over to get stuff off the floor to grab toys, so a higher-rise was a must. We both quickly found what we were looking for. The Dreamer Boot-Cut jeans. We grabbed a couple of pairs to try on and headed to the dressing room. We had a wonderful time, laughing, as we tried on different pairs of jeans. We showed each other our choices and found that both of us had the same pair of jeans!! It worked out wonderfully!

Here was our choice:



Of course, while I was there, I couldn't avoid the jean sale going on. My oldest son is growing taller... "every tomorrow morning" as he likes to say. So he was in desperate need of some new jeans for this winter. What luck that I was able to find 2 new pairs of jeans for less than $10 each!! I was ready to go!

We checked out and had no problems with the store clerks as we gave them our coupons for the jeans. They were just as excited as we were! We were in need of some refreshment after that, so we headed to the local Starbucks. We were able to spend some much needed adult time together with no kids. It was a great time and experience for both of us. I love my new jeans and am so glad I was able to share in this sample for Old Navy!

Old Navy Embellished Tank Top Sample

I was so excited to be chosen for the embellished tank top sample for Old Navy recently. I have had a rough couple of weeks and when the e-mail arrived saying I had been chosen, I was ecstatic! I asked a few of my friends on Facebook if they would like to go with me to get some free tank tops. Of course, they said yes!!!



We all met at the Moscow, ID Old Navy store at about 2:30. And it was also Stock Up time!! What luck! We wandered around the store, looking at the cute new clothes and dreaming up outfits for each of us. I'm a stay-at-home mom, so I love comfy clothes that I can lounge around in. My other friend is a work-at-home mom but loves to be more stylish. Another is a teacher who needs clothes that are stylish, yet functional in the classroom. The last friend is a nanny but loves to have fun. Each of us had fun picking out clothes that fit our styles. We finally came upon the table with all the embellished tanks. I loved all the variety that was available. It was so much fun to try them on and see how they looked. I was definitely surprised to find that I needed a size smaller than I would normally wear. How exciting!!

Here is what I chose:


Two of my other friends chose this tank:


And my other friend chose this tank:


We are all thrilled with our choices. We had so much fun hanging out together as we picked out our new tanks and showing each other the outfits we had picked out. I, of course, stocked up on the $3 and $5 t-shirts too while I was there. What a deal! After our party, I went out for ice cream with one of my friends to celebrate our deals :D I hope that I get chosen for the style council again soon!

5 days down...160 more to go...

Although I am hoping for MUCH less time on bedrest, I am trying to prepare myself for the worst. It has been a boring couple of days, but I am reminding myself that my baby is totally worth it. I wouldn't want to be the reason that I lost my baby. So, I am taking one day at a time. Right now, I have an ultrasound scheduled for the 5th of May. They will be evaluating me pretty closely. My dr told me that in the last 8 years, he has only had one patient that didn't have their placenta move up. Be praying that it moves up soon!

Rudi's Sandwich Bread

The last couple of weeks have been a difficult couple of weeks for one reason: fresh honey. And fresh honey requires nummy toast. And I haven't been eating toast because of my gluten-free diet. It has been a sad couple of weeks. So, yesterday, I went to the local food co-op determined to find some more gluten-free products. In the freezer section, I found a section with gluten-free bread... What kind should I pick? There were 6 different flavors from 3 different brands.... So I did a little eeny-meeny-miney-mo and Rudi's Sandwich Bread was the winner. The bread slices looked REALLY small, but so did the rest of the bread. I went along and finished my shopping (which included tons of different new flours... I'm so excited!). I got home, put the kids down for a nap, and myself down for a nap (which I wish I was doing right now!!). When I got up from the nap, I remembered the bread. It was perfectly thawed, so I threw a piece in the toaster, and set about making myself some peanut butter and honey for the top... Oh my! The toast came out of the toaster, got slathered with some butter, and then the peanut butter honey. Perfection!! I was so afraid it was going to be something better off used to feed the pooch, but it was really good!! John even liked it! So next time you're shopping for gluten-free bread... Rudi's is really great!! I even made a sandwich from it today and still pretty darn good!

Starting a Gluten-Free Life...

Two weeks ago, I started on a new adventure in my life. I cut all gluten out of my diet. It hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be. Many restaurants now have gluten-free dishes on the menu, which helps a lot! I went shopping in Spokane last weekend with my mom, sister and aunt and was able to stay on the gluten-free diet the whole time. I ate a gluten-free dish called Pannini with Marinara sauce and a chicken breast at Red Lobster. While not the best dish I have ever had, it wasn't bad for being gluten-free. I had a gyro salad at the Pita Pit that was nummy. The best part of all of this is that I am feeling SO much better!! I have more energy, less headaches (which were an every day occurrence, and don't feel like I am going to keel over if I don't get a nap. I made the best discovery this last week though... Gluten-Free Bisquick. I made waffles from it on Thursday morning and they were a huge hit. Seriously, the best waffles I have ever had. The Big Boy ate 2 whole waffles by himself and the Little One ate one. So good! Tonight, we had these Garlic Biscuits... http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/gluten-free-cheese-garlic-biscuits/781e1a42-c051-4ab9-bd5e-ac38c7588bc0 And we had homemade spaghetti sauce on rice noodles.

My Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb ground beef, extra lean
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
1-14 oz can tomato sauce (I used organic)
1-14 oz can diced tomatoes (I used home canned tomatoes from our garden... NUM!), drained
1 small can sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 cup sugar

Brown the ground beef with the onion. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Serve over noodles.