Wordless Wednesday- The Pond

Water running into the pond, the pond at my mom's and Peanut watching the little fish swimming. Check out all the other Wordless Wednesday posts at 5 Minutes for Mom.

~Dawn

P.S. Please stop by my 100th post party that's going on right now to win some prizes and play some games. Click here to head over!

Here it is.. post 100!! Party time!

Well it's been quite the road in the blogsphere this year! It started off with just a simple pink little blog with a post here and there. I wasn't sure who read it, what to write and even to go and read others. But after being involved with The MomPack and meeting mom bloggers, I have been introduced to the world of blogging. I found out about the product reviews (with help from Olivia owner of BabyCandy), contests, where to submit my products too, meme's, carnivals, stories and getting to make friends with other moms! It's been such a great experience. I also gave my blog a makeover courtesy of Shera from Sweet 'n Simple Designs, started offering product reviews, and hanging out at 5 Minutes for Mom!

So here it is post #100! I was trying to decide what kind of party to throw, what food to offer and prizes to giveaway! First, being its summer I think it's only fitting to have a beach party right here right now! So grab your bathing suit, towel, sunscreen and beach balls and lets held out to get some sun, drink some lemonade and relax by the pool. I have some ice cream sandwiches, cookies and fruit pizza for us to snack on!

Now on to prizes... I didn't even realize how close I was to #100 til it was too late. Otherwise I would have searched high and low for sponsors and giveaways and what not. But instead we are headed to the prize closet to see what we can pull out and giveaway! I have one last copy of The Baby Gizmo buying guide, $5 gift card to Starbucks, $15 gift certificate to Sweet Pea Cakes, etc. and a custom onesie size 0-3 months for the little baby. So now let's see what you have to do to win...

we are going on a scavenger hunt! You must go to all 5 places and come back here with all 5 CORRECT answers to win! Then I will draw 4 winners to receive 1 prize from the list above on July 9th! Winner will have 3 days to claim prize before I draw another winner! Good luck to everyone! Have fun and thanks for celebrating with me! *** NOTE it has been changed so that no one copies anyones answers, I am requesting that instead of leaving a comment here that you email me your answers and I will draw the names. My email is sweetpeacakesetc (at) yahoo (dot) com. I have turned off the comments but still have the people who left one in the drawing! Thank you! ***

1. Visit Monkey-Toes and look around. How many different pairs of shoes do they offer?
2. Visit Baby Candy and check out the organic onesies. Finish this saying "Sugar in ......."
3. Hop over to A Frog in my Soup. How many little "frogs" are there and are they boys or girls?
4. Munchie Mallow offers adorable accessories for your little girls. Name 3 things from her site.
5. When you can't have edible cake, you can have non-edible at Sweet Pea Cakes, etc. How many items come hidden in the cake? Name one.

OK that's it! Have fun and good luck! Check back to see who wins. Make sure to leave a valid email address in your comment so I can contact you. Watch for an email from sweetpeacakesetc (at) yahoo (dot) com!

Thanks!
~Dawn

#99 and when we hit 100 It's party time!

This post right here is post number 99! I can not believe it. So I thought when I write post 100 it should have some kind of celebration... a party.... maybe a giveaway of sorts. So you will have to visit back this weekend and see what happens!! Up ahead I will have a product review for Parking Pal!! I just need to get some pictures of the kids and get that posted up. You will love this one!

This week I have been slacking a bit in the blogging department. I didn't get a Tackle it Tuesday post up, I got the Wordless Wednesday up DURING the day on Wednesday instead of Tuesday night, I didn't even make it to Works for Me Wednesday! It has been a bit crazy. I have been trying to come up with some new cake designs for the website. I have also been trying to "find" my website on Google. Just a few weeks ago I was bouncing between page 2 and page 3 for diaper cakes, THEN I DISAPPEARED. I have no idea what happened. I show up on page 2 for diaper cake centerpieces, I believe page 3 or 5 for diaper cupcakes, page 1 for wedding towel cakes and organic diaper cakes and so forth. So I have no idea what happened. I am trying not to lose sleep over it but I am. I am still working on getting my products into gift shops and they are now in a hospital gift shop in New Hampshire. :) I also have about 10 websites drop shipping the exclusive diaper cakes. I decided to design cakes that were only for whole sale and drop shipping and not available on my site to keep people buying from the other retailers and not traveling over to shop. So we will see how that goes.

Now onto the next thing: my part time job. I got tired of my child support coming in whenever it wanted and I was also nervous how my sales would be this summer since last summer was beyond SLOW. But of course the first weekend of June I had multiple orders every day and I actually got child support. And now I am stuck with a job. It's not too bad just a few hours a day in the afternoon while Peanut naps at Grandma's and Monkey plays with the neighbor kids. I make calls for an Insurance company and then go back home to work on Sweet Pea Cakes. I guess as a single mom you've got to do what you got to do right?

UGH then there is all the cleaning and laundry to do which is just not that fun during the summer months when you want to take the kids to the pool, park, zoo, museums and everything else OUTSIDE. How does one stay motivated?!?!? I have been enjoying penciling in some time for myself to read each night. I find it helps clear my head and relieve some stress. I am hoping to finish a book a week for the rest of the summer. **crossing fingers**

This weekend I am going to be setting up a booth at the local park for a summer event by my friends realty group. I am hoping it brings in some good exposure and that I don't get sun burned. I also am joining in with a great group of WAHM for a Summer Sample Sale at a local cupcake bakery in Denver. I am really excited about this. I think this will be a fun way to display some great local companies and enjoy some sweets too. We haven't done this before so it will be a great way to see what this brings for each company.

So how is your summer going? What are some unique ways you are having fun? What would you like to see at the 100th Post Party??

Hey can you believe all these floods and tornadoes? The economy stinks and now we have Mother Nature kicking us while we are down? What can we do to help???

~Dawn

Wordless Wednesday- Flowers

Taking some pictures of the beautiful flowers at my mom's house. Check out other Wordless Wednesday posts over at 5 minutes for mom!

Sensational Sunday

With yesterday being Father's Day, I did not get the Sensational Sunday post up! But here it is anyway, just a day late.

When it comes to love and our children, love is not hard at all. While they try our patients, create messes, run and scream, at the end of the day they are still our children we love deeply. At times it can be straining to give all children their own undivided attention, especially if you have several children, but how important it is that we do. While being present with them at the dinner table, at bath time, cleaning up after them is part of the daily routine, actually spending quality time to find out who they are is number 1, and often the last thing done.

Finding activities to do as a family is a great thing to do. But I have found too that I must schedule play dates individually with each of my girls. Not only because of their age difference but because they have very different personalities. My little one gets her one on one play time, walks, reading and cuddle time, while my oldest gets trips out and about, talks over ice cream, spending time writing together and reading.

As they get older and hit the teen years, I am hoping we continue to do this. I want to be able to protect them and for them to seek comfort in their family life instead of adding to their already stressful teen years. What are you doing with your children? How are you creating a trusting, loving environment to soften the busy work week?

At church our pastor played a video, to remind parents on protecting their children with their "wings" just as Jesus did with his. Instead of adding heat to our children's desert, we should be a spot for shade and rest. Here is the video:



I love this song too. It's "Everything" by Lifehouse. :)
Have fun with your kids this week!
~Dawn

Winners and Contests

The winner of the Sweet Pea Cakes, etc. contest for a $50 gift certificate is....

comment #13- Mattie. Winner has been left a comment on her blog and has 5 days to claim her prize!

Thank you all for stopping by! This month we will be offering FREE SHIPPING and other giveaways! Be sure to check Sweet Pea Cakes, etc. often!

In the meantime, here is another contest you can enter:

Little Ladybug Designs is giving away a custom mommy calling card design to one lucky winner! The contest ends June 30th at 6:00pm. The design is designed with Vista Print's specifications so that you can print your own cards.

Visit http://www.littleladybugdesigns.com/contact.php to Enter the Little Ladybug Designs Mommy Calling Card Design Contest!!! Please put Mommy Calling Card Contest in the comments box. All contest entries will be added to our newsletter list. Winners will be picked randomly. Only one entry per per person.

Have a great weekend! Stop by tomorrow for Sensational Sunday and new updates!
~Dawn

Wordless Wednesday- Baseball Games

Date night for Monkey and I at Saturday night's Rockies Game. We had amazing seats down the first base line and watched the Rockies hit a Grand Slam in the first inning. Truly amazing! Such a fun night! Check out all other Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom!

~Dawn

Sensational Sunday

This Sunday I just want to put in a little saying or quote if you will, that can get you inspired to think about where you are at in life. How do you react when something goes wrong? How do you handle pressure? When you get stressed out do you find yourself taking it out on the kids? Your husband? Your wife? Anyone around you? How do you "reconnect"? I have found breathing deep, listening to relaxing music, lighting some candles and meditating has really helped me reach a new found sense of clarity, calm and reconnect to what is important to me.

"Faith is our direct link to universal wisdom, reminding us that we know more than we have heard or read or studied- that we have only to look, listen, and trust the love and wisdom of God working through us all."

Can you tell when you have a "sign" in your life? Can you follow your gut instinct? I find it can be hard to catch the signs unless you are clear and looking for them. Is it a sign from God that I should meet this person or my own attraction? Should I be doing this job because I am meant to do it or it's testing my faith in the job I am at now? It's hard to know what is or isn't. But giving faith and praying can bring unexpected answers.

~Dawn

Lemonade, baseball and fun!

I haven't gotten to post much lately since the big day was finally here! Yes that's right Lemonade Days arrived! It was finally time for Monkey to set up her charity lemonade stand to raise money for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation! There was a lot to do to prepare for it and the last finishing touches on the stand needed to be made. Friday morning we were running a bit behind trying to get balloons and ice and get set up that we missed FOX news! But that's ok our local paper came to take pictures and Saturday came to interview us. It was HOT on Friday and Monkey ended up a bit sunburned after being outside for 5 hours! But day 1 was busy and we had a decent turn out. On Saturday Channel 2 News came out and we ended up on the 9:00 news! Very exciting. We had a better turnout although we were hoping to have a flood of people. But there is always next year. We are still excepting donations online til early next year. Our plan is to set up the lemonade stand every year and help collect money to find a cure for childhood cancer! Maybe we will get others to hold one too. It was very enjoyable and I had a great time hanging with my daughter knowing she was doing something good for other children. It wasn't about her it was about what she can do to help others, since she is a smart and healthy girl! I hope that she feels inspired to do more as time goes on.

After we shut down the stand on Saturday, we ventured out to the Rockies game to try and get a Tulo bobblehead doll. They were OUT when we got there. Amazing. Luckily, Grandpa got their early and got us one! We enjoyed the game- just the two of us- while Peanut stayed home with Grandma. In the first inning the Rockies hit a Grand Slam followed by another home run ! It was very exciting. What a fun game to go to.

Today we enjoyed some good weather and sporting our new dresses for church. Then of course there was the cleaning to do, grocery shopping, diaper cake making and all of the "usual" duties! Now here is it late and I am trying to get all the blogging done, pictures loaded, get a couple of loads of laundry done and that's about it! Check back for Wordless Wednesday to see some more pictures.

Have a good one!

~Dawn

And the winner is..

Hey everyone sorry to take forever to announce winners! This week has been crazy (posts on it will be coming up shortly!) But I do have the winners for the Inspired by Angels contest and for Mainely Naturals!

So first off is the winner for a free design or 50 business cards from Inspired by Angels..

comment #6 Kristinia!! I have left a message for her and wait to hear back!

The winner for the $20 gift certificate for Mainely Naturals is...

Comment #8 Jinxy and me! I have left a message for her as well!

If I don't hear back from either winner in 5 days I will draw again!

Don't forget to enter into the Sweet Pea Cakes, etc. Contest for a $50 gift certificate good for anything in the store- diaper cakes, swaddle blankets, towel cakes, and more!

Thanks everyone for entering!

~Dawn

Works for Me Wednesday- Mom I'm Bored

Well for this special edition of Works for Me Wednesday, it's about handling that oh so famous question, "Mom I am bored! What can I do?" Now my daughter is constantly saying that to me and I can not figure out why she could possibly be bored. I go through the list every time of what she can do with the various toys she has, books she can read, coloring books to color, games to play and so forth. She usually ends up making some fort thing with pillows, bringing out stuffed animals to travel in it, or playing with a ball or a box. So really why do I get toys????

So of the things we do to fill out the time during the summer months are to totally take advantage of the free days everywhere. Most museums and zoos post them on their website. We actually have a free day on a Wednesday to the museum in a week or two. Saturdays are free days at the art museum and the first Monday of the month is free day at the Denver Botanic Gardens. I have also done searches that pull up all sorts of summer festivals and events all over Colorado during the summer months to take the kids to. This makes up the "field trip" part.

Now for when we are at home and not going anywhere, out come all the crafts. I like to stock up on things from Hobby Lobby, Michael's or Jo Ann's and save for a "I'm Bored" day. They have lots of wood pieces to paint, those plastic cups to decorate, stickers, scrap booking pages, and so forth. We have gotten window art, magnets, ornaments and things like that, as well as t-shirts to dye, put paint on or draw on with markets. Now if you are not into the crafts, you can always grab journals for the kids to write in and draw in, when you go for walks, or if they go outside to record all the things they see.

Taking household items and having the kids race to see what they can make out of them is also a fun game. Stacking up the Tupperware to see who makes the tallest tower, or who can make something usable out of paper plates, cups, spoons, and straws.

Building forts and clubhouses out of boxes is great too. Kids love to decorate them and bring their stuff inside and play in those things for hours!

So what do you do when your kids tell you they are bored? Do you have any special tricks to entertain them? Let me know! I am always looking for new ideas!

Oh and don't forget to head over to Rocks in My Dryer and see all the other wonderful Works for Me Wednesday posts!

~Dawn

Wordless Wednesday- Zoo Trip

I got to be the parent helper for Monkey's class zoo trip. Here was our little group pic at the Denver Zoo. It was a beautiful day out and we had a great time seeing baby animals, the Lions and having lunch!

Check out our past Wordless Wednesdays and don't forget to check out all the other Wordless Wednesday over at 5 minutes for mom!

Happy WW!
~Dawn

Win a Graco Pack 'n Play!

Would you like to win a Graco Pack 'n Play?? Right now over at From Dates to Diapers and Beyond you can enter to win one for your new baby! You also get three chances to win! Simply head over and get the code for the banner you see above, post that on your site. Then write up a post telling about the contest, and link to From Dates to Diapers and Beyond as well as to Graco. Now go and leave a comment about why you should be the lucky winner!!

I don't need one but I am entering to win one for my aunt. They are pregnant with a (suprise!) baby #3. The oldest has a big girl bed and their soon to be 18 month old has the crib. Where will the new little one go? Wouldn't it be nice to show up with a suprise like this and take away the stress of having to go and buy a new bed?!!? I just think this would work out great til either the crib is free for the new baby or until the new baby is just too big to sleep in the Graco Pack 'n Play. So that is my goal. To win and to give. Who would you want to win it for or why would you like to win?

Good Luck! Contest ends June 20th!

~Dawn

Sensational Sunday

When things go wrong in life, or get hard or don't seem to be going "our" way, we begin to doubt, to over analyze, to second guess and to proceed with caution. Throwing caution to the wind, giving our faith and trust into God (insert whatever best suits you if God is not right for you) and walking forward in life with confidence and self assurance doesn't happen.

Have you ever noticed how children just love? Or how they just believe? They never withhold their love, or only give it to one person. They are always sharing it with whomever they come in contact with, as well as pets, and toys. Can you get your mind set back to a child's who is eagerly awaiting Santa Clause. There is no doubt in their minds that Santa will be there, the stockings will be filled and he will eat the cookies they worked so hard on baking. There is no doubt in their minds that the Tooth Fairy will come and take away their little tooth and leave behind money in their place. There is no doubt in their mind that God is in Heaven and that is where we will be one day.

I asked my daughter today during our little "Date", should we follow our hearts or our minds when we do things? And she of course replied, "with our hearts." So many times we listen to our logic, our thoughts to guide us through this life, instead of our feelings, our gut instincts, our signs from God. Often times, we get overworked, stressed out, and focus on what we have to do, what we should do, what we need to do. But often wind up hating the very thing we are doing. Wouldn't it be nice to be loving what we do, loving our work, loving our lives? If we all took a moment every day to pray and to seek the answer, and then when the answer is given to FOLLOW it, would we be living a different life?

WE HAVE ONLY THIS MOMENT.

~Dawn