The Mimmo Caddy: Solving the "My Car is a Hot Mess" Problem

I received a product for free in exchange for this review.

A few months ago I saw a blogger I follow post about the company Mollie Ollie and specifically their Mimmo Caddy. It has a number of different functions, but I personally thought it looked like the perfect thing to keep in my car for general trips and also our longer drives to Texas. I reached out, and they kindly sent me a Mimmo Caddy to review. Excuse me while I'm awkward need R to get in the photo with me ;)

Before I go any further and you start skimming (I see you), I wanted to let you know that they are having a Prime Day Sale! Today and tomorrow (July 15 and 16) get 10% off 1, 20% off 2, or 30% off 3 of the Mimmo Caddy! If you miss that or don't want to buy right away, you can use the code 10LadyOkie for 10% off starting July 17 and going for 2 weeks.

What I love is that it stays in shape even when it's empty. There are velcro inserts, so you could keep them out and have an even larger center area, or you can have dividers like I did. 

I really like the outside zipper pocket, which has these elastic pieces to hold smaller items, maybe pens or nail clippers or just whatever you think you'll need. And the material is soft and chemical free! 

I'm thinking this will be great for our road trips to Texas and keeping handy in the car for being out and about. My little Ford Focus has treated us well, but that thing is a hot mess and needs all the help it can get.

For now I added a few diapers (actually pull-ups, because A Certain Someone is peeing in the potty holla!) and a thing of wipes, a set of extra clothes for each kid for emergencies, plus some books and a car toy. It will be great for keeping their water bottles handy and any snacks I pack for longer trips.

If you're interested in checking out the Mimmo Caddy for yourself, don't miss their Prime Sale July 15 and 16! Or, use the code 10LadyOkie for 10% off starting July 17 and running for 2 weeks. Thanks to Mollie Ollie for letting me try out their Mimmo Caddy!

4th of July Weekend: The One Where We Did All the Things

Hello! Did all my American friends have a good 4th of July? And did all my non-American friends have a good 4th of July minus the fireworks and the waving of American flags? ;) 

Both Jordan and I were off work Thursday and Friday, and it was the best 4-day weekend I can remember in recent history. Mostly because I can't remember the last time I had a 4-day weekend. We ate popsicles on the back deck, went to the park multiple times, went to the science museum, went to a 4th of July party, stayed up late to watch fireworks, had a friend come over, got ice cream, and I took an afternoon nap every. single. day. while J napped and R watched Daniel Tiger (she hasn't napped in over a year and a half; we've tried), and I have no regrets about any of it.

I also love that the kids get more time to be together. Since they are at daycare all day during the week in separate classes, sometimes I feel guilty and wonder if it's going to hurt their relationship at all. But they really do love each other, and there are some super sweet moments. Of course, they also can get into it pretty hard, but we always make them apologize and give hugs, and I pray they will grow up knowing they always have each other.

It's crazy hot here in Oklahoma, and I don't even care. Summer can stay forever as far as I'm concerned, minus my most hated of all things: mosquitos. I tried to sit out on my deck last night after the kids were in bed and they destroyed me. They don't care one squat about Jordan, which he claims is from all the garlic he eats constantly (seriously never met anyone who loves garlic as much as that guy does), but they have always loved me, and I do not share their feelings.

Over the weekend we discovered our bird, which we were told was a boy when we bought him a year ago, is actually a girl. Jordan came running in shouting something about Moses having laid an egg. AN EGG. I was like, what? Apparently they can lay unfertilized eggs, and the kids were very confused and excited about the sudden appearance of an egg in the cage. Jordan was like, "I had suspicious... I never could get her to sing like male birds are supposed to." I said, "What do girl birds do?" And he said, "They lay eggs." There are currently three eggs. So that's happening apparently. 

I pretty much don't watch TV these days, but my long afternoon naps the past few days have given me the ability to stay up past my usual bedtime, and I've been watching the Netflix show Dead to Me. I don't know if watching 6 episodes in 2 days is a true "binge watch," but that's certainly more TV than I've watched at one time in a very, very long time. I was a little scared because it's Netflix and rated TV-MA, and I was prepared to turn it off if it was bad, but I was surprised to find that so far, the worst of it is really just a fair amount of the F word. I don't say that lightly, of course. I don't like the F word. However, if I have to choose that over nudity and a lot of crude sexual references, I'll take some cursing. Anyone else watched it? I have a few episodes left still!

Jordan and I also watched the new Netflix movie with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston Murder Mystery. We are really living up our long weekend! We never watch movies! It was ridiculous as expected but mildly entertaining, and I didn't hate it. I wouldn't watch it again, but it was amusing and not as dumb as other Adam Sandler movies I've seen (I've just never been a fan of that type of humor.)

I read Daisy Jones and The Six in about a day over the span of two days. The kids have been loving our splash pad in the backyard, and I got some good reading in on Thursday while they played for an hour or so. Here's my Goodreads review if you're interested. Basically, it is getting a ton of buzz right now, and it's legit. Super creative, unique book. I read it, but I think it would be an excellent book to listen to on audio.

On July 4th, I took engagement photos for a friend of Jordan's. Or, should I say I took photos *of* their engagement. So far in 2019 I've now taken photos of a home water birth and a live engagement. These type of events are stressful! Like, if you miss the moment it's over and done, and you can't be like, oh wait, yeah... my setting was off and the photo is blown out. Can you get down on one knee again, and can she act surprised?  Or, So, the photo of your baby coming out of you was way too dark. Can you please put him back in? I don't think so! But thankfully she said yes, and everything went well, and I think I got some good ones. Really expanding my photography portfolio this year! Not that I'm going to quit my job and be a professional photographer, but it's fun.

I'm not happy our holiday is over and it's back to the daily normal tomorrow BUT, my birthday is on Wednesday, so that's fun! The kids have swim lessons all week, so I think we will probably just wait and go to dinner to celebrate next weekend. We are going to try a new-to-us pizza place! I love doing something new for my birthday. But on the actual day, I'm thinking I'll take a half day in the afternoon, and maybe leave work and go home and take a nap before picking up the kids. Although honestly I'll probably cave and go pick them up immediately because I can't handle it ;)

Hope you had a great weekend and have a great week!

Birthday Boy!

A couple of affiliate links used in this post. Sharing a few things we've been loving this summer!

We've had such a busy week and a half since I last posted! Our sweet ginger baby turned 2! We had his party with family this weekend, and it was so fun. I went pretty low key with decorations and food, and we only invited family, but somehow it still felt like a lot to prepare. Maybe that's because I only started buying stuff two days before ;)

His favorite present was a big blue ball. He opened that first and then pretty much didn't care about any other present. I'd try to get him to come over and open something else, and he would shout "Goal!" and run around the corner. R didn't mind, because that meant she could open more of the gifts. My brother and sister-in-law got R and J a combined gift of an OKC zoo membership. I'm so excited! We have science museum passes and love it, and I can't wait to go to the zoo more. So fun.

After cake and ice cream, we turned on the splash pad in the backyard. My friend showed me one that she bought her kids, and I had never seen anything like it. I bought one the next day. We got this one, and I really like that the bottom fills up with water too, so they can play in it like a little pool. I turned our Little Tikes slide into it, and they have a blast sliding down.

(This picture is from a week or so ago, not the party. It's fun to get out for a bit after we get home from work/daycare before dinner! p.s. This is the tarp I bought for the deck. It's the 10x13 size and has been working well!)

I actually have no idea what J's 2-year stats are for height and weight because I forgot to schedule a 2-year checkup! We will be going in a week to finally get that taken care of. Only almost a month late ha!

He's super sweet but also super feisty. He's a mama's boy through and through. When everyone was singing happy birthday to him, he got bashful and hid his face in my shoulder and it was the cutest thing. We love him so much and are so thankful he's part of our family.

Now it's officially time for Jordan and Amanda birthday month! Heyyyyyyy.

Swimsuit Reviews

If you follow me on Instagram, then you probably know I've been on the hunt for a swimsuit. I have one I bought a few years ago from Target, and I like it fine, but it's a little bit big, and I'm just in the mood for something new. Now that the internet is onto my search, I am seeing nothing but ads for swimsuits on all my social media accounts. I've checked out so many sites! And I would be up for trying out some of these shops, but I think any store that sells swimsuits online should offer free shipping and free returns. It's so hard to find suits that fit, and I need an easy return process if something doesn't work out.

With that said, I know of course that all body types are different and suits are going to fit people differently, but I thought it might be helpful to share a few of the suits I've tried recently!

*There are some affiliate links in this post. Thanks for supporting my blog!

TARGET

>>>> Women's Color Block One Piece Swimsuit ($34.99)

I bought this without trying it on when I was in Target and saw it on the model. I got a size Medium. The size was correct, but unfortunately this didn't work for me and I took it back.

PROS: 

-Price

-Fun colors and design

-Free shipping + returns

CONS:

-Skimpy butt coverage

-Wasn't long enough in the torso, so it pulled down in the front, even after adjusting the straps all the way.

SUMMERSALT

>>>> The Sidestroke ($95)

I first saw this suit when a blogger I follow posted a photo wearing it. I have never in my life spent this much on a swimsuit, but it has amazing reviews, and I figured I could at least try it. I filled out their fit guide, and it recommended I get a size 6, but I bought a size 8, and I'm glad I did. It was a good fit for me. That said, I was super sad this didn't work because I truly loved it.

PROS:

-Extremely easy return process + free shipping back to them

-Love the colors

-The design is fun and unique. LOVE the one-shoulder strap and how the back looked.

-SUPER SOFT. The softest swimsuit I've ever touched.

-Loved how it fit on my upper half.

CONS:

-Skimpy butt coverage (the website says this is a "C" butt coverage, but there's not way that's true)

-No cups built in, so I looked "cold" all the time even when I wasn't, if you know what I mean. Also the white band hits right on the *ipple, so that's a huge concern. I could have lived with the butt coverage, but for the price, I didn't want to be constantly worried about headlights. <-- a few of the reviews mentioned this, but honestly I'm shocked more people didn't have this issue. Or maybe they just don't care?

-Shipping to me cost $8. Boo. Free shipping back, but really $8 shipping is a ripoff for how expensive the suit is.

AMAZON

>>>> Hilo Women's One Piece Front Crossover ($29.99)

This suit was recommended by a friend of mine. I purchased a version of the same suit just without the ruffle. I think this has potential! Unfortunately I don't know what Amazon's problem was, but it had been over a week and hadn't shipped, so I cancelled the order because it was coming with something else I needed that wasn't going to arrive in time. I haven't reordered the suit yet, but I still might. It has good reviews and looks promising! Sorry I can't actually review this one, but I know someone in real life who has tried it and loved it! Just make sure and look at the sizing guide. This runs suuuuper small.

ATHLETA

When I posted about swimsuits on Instagram, I had numerous people recommend Athleta, so I figured I would give them a try. With free shipping and free returns, I didn't have anything to lose. And I actually found something to keep! Here's what I ordered:

>>>> Loop Back One Piece (Tranquil Blue color on sale $64.99)

I ordered a Medium Tall in the Tranquil blue because that color was on sale. The red and black were both $108. I loved the detail on the back, and after the Summersault problem, I was happy this suit had built-in cups. Unfortunately, it was horribly unflattering. I am not a large person, and this suit made me look extremely poochy in the stomach area. I don't understand what kind of photoshop magic they did to the models to make it not look awful in these photos.

PROS

-Price

-Cute detail in the back

-Built-in cups

-Adjustable straps

-Tall options for longer torsos

CONS

-VERY unflattering color and design; I don't think a different color would have looked any better.

-The chest area bunched up horribly and looked silly

-Butt coverage was still not as much as I'd prefer but was ok

>>>> Cloudbreak Rib Bottom (sale $29.99)

I bought these bottoms to go with the top below. They were comfy and I liked the material, but I didn't keep them.

PROS

-Price

-Material

-Design (I liked the little cutouts on the leg; it was cute without being too much)

CONS

-Skimpy in the butt (are you noticing a pattern???)

>>>> Gold Coast Floral Blousy Tankini (sale $41.99)

Heyyyyyy we have a winner! Yes, I kept one finally! Although I had been looking for one-piece suits, I loved the look of this tankini top. It had an athletic vibe without looking like something an Olympic swimmer would wear. Plus, a fun design!

PROS

-Price

-Long enough to cover my stomach even with a longer torso

-Cute design

-Built-in bra (you actually purchase by bra size)

-Adjustable straps

-Fit perfectly!

CONS

-None!

Since I obviously returned the bottoms I bought to go with this top, you're probably wondering what I'm wearing with this. I actually have 2 bottoms that will work that I've had for years from Target. One is a blue bikini bottom. The other is a black swim skirt. It's really cute, and I love that my entire butt area is covered by the skirt part! 

And maybe you're thinking I'm a grandma and should calm down about my constant need to cover my butt. But I really don't think I'm asking too much to find a swimsuit with enough material to cover my bottom so I don't have a wedgie after taking 5 steps. I'm going to be bending down to pick up my kids and running to play with them, and I just want my butt covered, dang it! It really should not be that difficult.

I've checked out a number of other options for swimsuits besides the ones above. If you're going to suggest it, I'm sure I've looked at it. But after finding the Athleta tankini, I think I might be good for now. I've burnt myself out on suits for the moment, and surprisingly many of these other sites don't offer free shipping or returns! I already lost money paying shipping for my Summersalt suit, so I'm not eager to repeat that mistake.

All that to say, where is your favorite swimsuit from? What are you the most picky about when trying on suits? What is your preferred swimsuit style?