Earth Day is around the corner (April 22nd) and besides the various activities that will be going on probably locally as well as worldwide it is also a great opportunity to teach your kids (and educate yourself even!) on the importance of taking care of the Earth with which God has blessed us! Thank-you to Free Homeschool Deals for sharing Free Earth Day Printables on Christian Preschool Printables. We only have one preschool age child, but after looking at the printables I decided they were many that are appropriate for use with our 5 and 6 year old as well! Make sure you click on the different pages! There are 4 pages of the free Earth Day printables that can be easily overlooked. So be sure to look next to the title “Earth Day Bible Printables” to view the different pages. There are coloring sheets, projects, music, and more! It’s a great find!
I will be posting some ideas for Earth Day activities tomorrow!
Along with Earth Day is the Great Cloth Diaper Change! It’s tomorrow! Will you be participating? We participated last year and came home with new fluff to add to the collection. Unfortunately, I’ve decided not to participate this year. I’m definitely still a cloth diaper advocate, and I still have one in diapers, but that one in diapers is almost 3! I can hardly believe he’s going to be 3 next week! We got a few strange looks when we participated last year with an almost 2 year old, so I imagine participating with an almost 3 year old would really be strange! He has been “ready” to potty train for a long time (which I attribute to the cloth) but because of his special needs he is having a hard time actually following through. By having a hard time following through I mean if I ask him if he wants to use the potty he SCREAMS at me! From experience with the other two I have learned pushing is a BAD idea, and so I will gladly change more fluff until he is ready. I’m going to sew some cloth trainers for him, and one is a Cars (like the Disney movie) print, so I think that might add a little encouragement! I have to admit I will miss the fluff when it’s over! Here were the super cute diapers we got at last year’s Great Cloth Diaper Change:
If you’re a cloth addict like me here is another great Earth Day find: Head over to GreenMommy for a free fitted diaper! You just pay shipping and handling!
Their diapers:
– Easy to adjust to fit baby from 8 to 33 lbs
– Easy to adjust waist and leg
– Super absorbent 3 layer Bamboo insert
– Soft inner is gentle on babies skin and keeps babies skin dry
– Waterproof outer PUL to prevent leakage
– Gender neutral design
– This product is a washable, adjustable, and above all – Eco-friendly!
Don’t miss out on these great Earth Day finds! If I find more I will definitely share! As I mentioned I’ll also be sharing some Earth Day activity ideas tomorrow!
Crazy Busy
Wow. The past 2-3 weeks have been crazy. We’ve been getting over the tail end of a cold or flu. We’ve been trying to get into our new routine with the homeschool Co-Op (which we ended up even missing once already because we were sick!). Plus I’ve been having technical issues with my site. So you may have noticed my posts were less frequent as of late. I still worked REALLY hard to keep everything up to date so there wasn’t too much of a lag despite everything. I’m extremely thankful for your patience, understanding, and prayers!
So the good news is everybody seems to be feeling better! We had a random incident last night with our oldest saying his stomach hurt, but today he is perfectly fine! Our schedule is also lightening up this week. Whereas we usually have the kids’ therapy on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the boys’ speech is now also switching to Mondays, which means the boys will “switch” on Mondays like they do on Wednesdays (one is in Speech while the other is in OT then they switch). So now we will only be having their therapy on Mondays and Wednesdays. This is a huge relief because I often feel on those days I am squeezing our homeschooling in, so I feel relieved we’ll have extra time to do more and take our time instead of feeling like we have to rush through it! It’s not that we’re not getting it done – it’s just that I’m not a fan of rushing through things. Although, sometimes I think they are! 😉
The technical issues on my site seem to be resolved as well. At least the main issues. You may notice my page speed is rather horrendous right now, so please bear with me as I continue to work on this. There was a javascript issue, which is what was making it difficult for me to make posts without a lot of random, unneccessary steps. It was exhausting and time consuming. I lost a lot of posts, too. They just disappeared. Not fun when you just typed A LOT! Add Fibro flare ups and migraines to everything, and there were days I was ready to throw in the towel! OK, I wouldn’t have REALLY done that, but I sure felt like taking a break for a while at the very least! Perserverance paid off, though, because here I am and everything is OK. 🙂 I’ll continue to work on the page speed, and I’ll be working on a few other things on my site as well! Stay tuned!
Some other exciting news? It’s also been keeping me busy, but it’s exciting nonetheless. As you know I have participated in the Fort Hood Army Wives Expos in the past with direct sales, which by the way, I have felt a HUGE relief since deciding to no longer actively pursue direct sales! Phew! What a great decsion! Rabbit trail aside, this is the first Expo I’ll be participating in as Pea of Sweetness. Yes, I will be representing THIS site as well as my personally made products. This means I need to get to sewing and printing and cutting more decals. This, in essence, is almost forcing me to FINALLY get going with my shop! This is super exciting for me! I’ll be making some cloth diapers, nursing covers, car and wall decals, aprons, swaddles, bibs, flower clips, and anything else I may come up with before the Expo! I’m also working hard on their website to get it up and running by the Expo as well! So yes, I’ve been busy in so many ways, but it’s so exciting! Want a sneak peek at some of the diapers I’ll be making? Check out the super cute prints!
Cute, right? I can’t wait to share the finished products! 🙂
Making Changes
Well, I’ve left some people in suspense as I made it clear that I will be making some changes to begin the New Year. I am not sure anybody that doesn’t know would suspect what these changes may be and others might have seen it coming as soon as I said I was going to be making changes. Obviously our family has some big changes coming up as well, but this is specifically regarding me and Pea of Sweetness.
Change #1
The first change is in regards to this website/blog. I originally started Pea of Sweetness to be more of a business blog, but it CLEARLY took a different turn. I LOVE what Pea of Sweetness has become! I love writing, and I feel like my writing can come through so much more now! So, instead of having a parenting, homeschooling, overall lifestyle blog plus small business and business tips I will no longer be including small business in my blogging. I WILL still have sponsor and advertising options and reviews and giveaways. What I will no longer have is my blog posts with business tips, business decisions, etc. I will be focusing my niche more as well on parenting, homeschooling, and Eco-friendly living. Of course, special needs will be incorporated as well! There will be one exception – mentioned in Change #3.
Change #2
I will slowly, but surely, be updating things like my “About Me,” my Facebook fan page and Google + cover to reflect the changes mentioned in Change #1. I will also be updating my PR information and including a Media Kit. I have revamped my advertising options already, so definitely check that out! I will also be changing the look and feel of the Small Business Directory as well as adjusting advertising rates for features in my Small Business Directory. (Those that are already in the small business directory WILL get information on these changes, so be looking out for it in your inboxes soon!)
Change #3
I will (finally) start focusing more on my personally made products like cloth diapers, nursing covers, and wall and car decals (these are the products I currently can take custom orders for), and I’ll be bringing some other stuff your way as well – to be determined! Because I feel my personally made products still fit the niche of my blog I may feature posts here and there and will have a link to my products for purchase or order as well as a link to my Etsy shop when I get it set up. I will be using the name Pea of Sweetness for my business because that IS why Pea of Sweetness was created! 🙂 I’m excited to get back into things I enjoy and sharing them with you! I will NOT overrun my blog in these type posts because it is not my intent to keep Pea of Sweetness as a business blog, but as I mentioned, I will make it easy to find these creations and share them in a way that fits with my niche!
Change #4
This is probably the hardest change for me, but probably the best change for me all the same. I will no longer be pursuing direct sales businesses as a mean to help support our family financially. Financially, it hasn’t been that beneficial for me, and if you ask the experts – it’s all my fault. I’m OK with admitting this isn’t the right path for me. There are a variety of reasons for this decision. Some are more specific to the company or companies I was representing. A lot has to do with time as direct sales do take A LOT of time to be successful, and I feel like it is taking from the things that are more important to me and our family. Some of the decision basis is more due to the industry in general. I really don’t feel the need to go into details (well, I did initially want to, but after praying I feel it is best not to), but I can say I have had some bad experiences over the past year. I can’t do things “half way,” and I’m finding that even if I try to keep a business “casually” or “for the discount” I am still getting slightly antsy and/or bothered by things. It really isn’t worth the time and stress for me. If I choose to keep any casually I will no longer advertise it. I cannot say I’ve made a decision 100%, though I do know FOR SURE that most will be gone by the end of December. If you are signed up for my newsletter for a specific business you will receive an announcement via e-mail specifically for that business to make you aware of the changes.
I’m really excited (and relieved – like a weight has been lifted) about the upcoming changes. As always, if you’d like more detailed information about any of my decisions, things to come, etc. I’m a friendly person, so feel free to contact me for more!
Merry Fluffy Christmas – Cloth Diaper Giveaway (ends 12/17)
Welcome to the annual giveaway frenzy known as Merry Fluffy Christmas!!! This event runs one week. Be sure to come back every day for extra entries. Follow the linky below to find other great giveaways.
This giveaway is made possible by the wonderful and generous sponsors below, who will make someone’s cloth diaper dreams come true. Package includes 8 cloth diapers, 6 wool dryer balls, cloth wipes and wipes solution, enough to get you started on the road to saving the planet and your baby’s bottom 🙂 Head over to Mama Papa Barn to read all product reviews.
Enter on the Rafflecopter form below. Be honest and only click ‘done’ on those entries you have fully completed. GOOD LUCK and Merry Fluffy Christmas.
*Ended*
Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this publication. My opinions are mine and may be different than yours. Pea of Sweetness is not responsible for sponsor prize fulfillment.