More Halloween Fun!

Pictures of Monkey and Peanut enjoying carving pumpkins at Grandma's house and going trick or treating! How was your Halloween this year? Any big plans for the upcoming holidays?

~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

Kaleigh's lemonade stand for charity

Here is a video of Kaleigh telling about her lemonade stand to raise money for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, which uses the money for childhood cancer. If you would like to donate you can go here or click the donate banner on the left. Thank you.



Thank you and please spread the word to check it out!

~Dawn
Sweet Pea Cakes, etc.

Mother's Day weekend!

The weekend has finally come where it is the weekend just to celebrate being a mom. Now for most moms your day will be filled with family, doing things with the kids, maybe going out for dinner or enjoying a home cooked meal. But maybe, just maybe, you are one of those moms that get to take the day off. You are off to the spa, after getting to sleep in, while your hubby is at home cleaning, cooking and taking care of the kids. You might possibly be curled up in a chair somewhere reading a book. I know for me I am working from home so I can be with my kids every day. I spend time with the them each day, reading every night, finding family activities to do on the weekend, enjoying church together and just being a family. So really for me, Mother's Day is not different from any other day. But it is a day for me to remind my mother how much I appreciate her and everything she has done for me. It is also a day for me to reflect on the kind of mother I have been, the kind of mother I want to be and what I can do to show my own children that I truly appreciate them. For me, it's a day to slow down and truly enjoy what motherhood is all about.

So to kick of Mother's Day weekend, Monkey and I read Why a Daughter needs a Mother. We read half of it last night and the rest tonight. It was very nice to go over the lessons mothers should teach their daughters, remind your daughter why you love her, and just spend quality time together. This morning we then got up to participate in the Run, Walk and Waddle, that raises money for postpartum depression. I packed Peanut in the stroller, and Monkey walked with me. It was windy beyond words. Which also brought up a strange bitter cold! Had I know I would have packed the girls in their snow suits! It was a pretty cold walk. We finished the 3K walk in an hour and I ended up carrying Peanut wrapped in a blanket for the last mile. Talk about a work out!! But it was really great to get the fresh air and exercise, as well as help with a great cause. As mother's we have so many highs and lows, and for some its harder than we know. So anything that can help out someone else, should be done. If you want to see more info on the walk click right here.

The day continued at home with lunch and nap time. I got some cleaning done (not as much as I had hoped) and quite a bit of work done. Now as the kids sleep I am trying up some loose ends on the computer, then I plan on sewing and ironing a bit before reading and going to bed. Tomorrow will be church, lunch with my mom, and taking the girls out to the park or zoo. Tomorrow night I think we will venture out for dinner, just the girls and I, before heading home to tackle some laundry and bedtime. Monkey already gave me one of her gifts she made. How sweet it is when they are so young and excited. These gifts truly are the best since it takes their time and dedication to make these gifts filled with so much love. One day it will be so nice to look back through all these gifts to see how they change over the years.

What are you doing this Mother's Day? Do you have a special day planned? Are you doing the usual or do you do something new each year?

Whatever it is you do tomorrow, I hope you have a wonderful day. Happy Mother's Day to you and your own mother. May you have a great day as well as a great rest of the year!

~Dawn

Good morning.. is it Friday yet? All About Me Part 2

Ok so the week hasn't started off that bad that I am hoping for it to be Friday but really it's that I have been so busy lately and I only have more to do this week that I can't wait for the weekend. First I must say to everyone that won a book from here and won the Bloggy Giveaway, I am sorry you have not received them yet. I just mailed them. I know I know its later than I said and I should have made it to the post office days ago. But it has been crazy. But the gifts are on their way and I thank you for your patience!!!

Now on to my other news of the day... I just found out yesterday that a close friend of mine had her husband die over in Iraq on May 2nd. THey are both in the marines and have only been married a short time. They were both stationed over there and planning on coming home in December to move to their home state, Colorado, and truly begin their family and life together. My heart just breaks for her! I can't believe her best friend, her soulmate, is gone and she will have to bury him this young in their lives and marriage. (be forewarned strong feelings coming up) I HATE the "war" in Iraq. I don't even call it a war but America sending over our people to die while cleaning up the mess of another counrty. Why don't we keep our people here to better our own country? You know we have highest crime rate in the world? That is INSANE. There are so many things I love about America but so many things I think we lack on and are behind with. Like maternity leave, family values, the drinking and drug problems, crime, school systems, work and unemployment, immigrant problems, gas prices, the list goes on and on. I am counting down the days til the election. I really hope that we get our people out of there and back home. On that note I am happy to remote that another friend of mine will be having her husband return home to her on Friday from his year long adventure being in Iraq.

Ok enough on that... just makes me sad and angry. So on to my books.... I haven't read a thing this weekend. I just didn't have time and now after reading several other opinions, blogs, and thinking about things I am not sure whether I will read the books or not. I might just read them anyway so that I have an understanding of the books and where they are coming from. I like to be educated on both sides and then form an opinion afterwards. So if you have any good books you recommend that are fullfilling, enlightening and move you pelase leave a comment and let me know.

Now to add on a bit more in my All About Me series.. being the only girl and middle child has given me quite the seat in life. I tend to take on the motherly role to everyone I meet including my own mother. Not because I am bossy (well maybe I can be) but because I have this nuturing side I just can't control. I was always good with children and children were drawn to me. I baby sat my own life and if I could have kept doing it while being a mother I would have! I loved watching children grow, learn new things, say the funniest things, and have so much energy. This love and passion made for one sure thing- I was going to be a mother. I didn't know what else I would do in life but I knew for sure that I was going to be a mother. And now that I am a mother of 2 I think it has been the most eye opening experience in my life. It constantly challenges me. I have to always be thinking that someone is watching every move that I make and that I must be doing the right thing to ensure these little girls do the right things as they get older. Have you ever wondered what you look like as a parent to your child? Wait til they are older say 5. When my daughter used to get in trouble I would have one hand on my hip and one finger shaking telling her no no no that is not ok. Well years later at age 5, I said something to my daughter only for her to turn around, hand on her hip, shaking her finger at me saying " no no mommy!" Wow is that what I look like? It is so easy to get lost in those moments. Over the years, I have seen more of myself in my daughter and it is quite frightening. But having these experiences are what keeps me going in life. It's what drives the fire. I know now that I have to finish school to show my girls that one day no matter what happens to them in life they can still finish school and it's important to do so. I know that I want to do well with my business, to show them that when they believe in something and are truly passionate it about it, success will come there way.

As you can see in part two, I am pretty passionate about motherhood and really underneath that I am passionate about being a strong woman. Believing in who you are, where you want to go, and knowing that you can do it on your own, is a message I try to live by, one I want to share with others, and an example I want to set for my girls.

There you have it. A little look into my weekend, today's thoughts, and little bit more about me. This week I have some more reviews, contests, and stories to share. I hope you decide to come back and hang out for a bit. Grab some coffee, I might long winded. ;)

Have a wonderful day. What is moving you this morning?

~Dawn

All about ME part 1

Ok so after visiting so many blogs over the past several months and completely getting involved in this blog world, I knew I needed to add a personal post to my blog each week or even each day. Somehow the months have passed with just a touch here and there but nothing "Deep". It was always, I will do it later, I don't have time, I have to get this review up first, and every other excuse. Now having asked my question for the Bloggy giveaway, I know it is now time to start telling you all about me. I will offer several posts in a series to get to know the mind behind the blog, the reason for the blog and then move onto my little sweet peas- Monkey and Peanut. Once we have that covered it will be on to funny stories, my life as a single mom, the never ending messes that happen and my hunt to find love. Oh I might throw in some info on my charity events, business, thoughts with God, and so forth. I invite you to grab a cup of coffee ( I already had a few), get a cushion under you since you might be here awhile.

Who am I? I often find myself asking that question. There is the obvious answer of I am a woman, single mother of two, business owner, full time student, daughter, sister, friend, and a blonde! But really that just described all of my jobs and roles in life. All my roles that I take very seriously and have been blessed with. Being a single mother, a young one at that,( I will be 27 on August 18th at 8:18 A.M. if you need my address to send flowers let me know ;) ) I have gotten the "looks", the pity and the strength to keep going and show my daughters how to make wise

choices, believe in themselves, and find a partner that is equal in their strength to walk beside them not in front of them. I have loved being able to see the world again through the unbiased eyes of a child. Visiting the zoo, laughing at ourselves, walking to the park and fully believing in Santa. Isn't it amazing that children never doubt? That is a whole other blog post that I will soon get too.

I come from a Catholic/Christian home and have explored the aspects of church, God and prayer my whole life. I have had many angry moments with God while losing numerous friends, and family over the course of my life. It's been a long journey but with out those trying moments and having faith where would I be now?

My parents are divorced and remarried so I have quite the extended family and you will hear about the nutty stories and things that happen over holidays and our weekly visits at Grandmas. I am blessed to have my mother as my best friend, and silent business partner with Sweet Pea Cakes, etc. My girls love being close to their family and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I have two brothers- one older and one much younger. I "mother" them as much as possible and took on that role at age 1. My grandmother said I have an old soul and was really a 35 year old at age 2. I knew what needed to be done and let everyone know it. *sigh* some things never change. I like things done my way, I often feel it won't get done RIGHT unless I do it myself. I am a clean freak, and afraid of germs. I am a night owl and have to have coffee to function in the morning. I spent a lot of time after school as a child for talking too much and as I have gotten older I have just gotten more talkative and some say louder.

I loved college at CU Boulder although I never finished. I am glad I got the break to work and be a mom. I enjoy my online classes far more now then when I was there. I hope to finish sometime soon to show my daughters that you can finish school no matter what and that its important to do so.

I can remember where I was for the OJ Simpson trial, the Oklahoma City bombing, when the news broke that Princess Di was gone, the Columbine shooting ( I was a senior in high school at the neighboring school Chatfield High School- we were down the street when it happened) and of course 9/11. These are images and events that have changed my life, my views and the way our society works and how we should raise our children. I can tell you stories and thoughts and experiences about these. Just ask.

I am a Leo. I have a thought on everything, and am open to everything. I believe everyone has a chance to change and their mistakes never define who they are. We live and we learn and we make mistakes. Learn from it, better yourself and pick someone up and help brush off their knees on the way. Keep yourself positive, smile its good for you and always say thank you.

My children were the best blessings in my life. They keep me going from day to day. They are the reason I do what I do and why I am here today. I hope I can bring to their life the same amount of greatness that they have brought to mine.

So that is an overview of me. I will go into more and tell some stories. I love sarcastic humor and you will find it often. I love to laugh. I like to think that's why I look so young! HA!

I look forward to welcoming you into my world and in return joining you in yours. I hope you leave a comment from time to time to say hello. These personal posts will start popping up like weeds now that I have gotten this first one out. I feel refreshed and excited. New addictions are always so uplifting. ;)

Have a great weekend!
~Dawn