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Thank you for the Parents Magazine Nomination!

How exciting…

I just received an email from one of my favorite places, Parents Magazine, that someone had nominated my site for the Best All-Around Mom Blog Award!

Dear Sunshine Fan Who Nominated Me,

You are amazing, and totally rock my socks.

Thank you,

Meagan

Check it out on the site-

If you’re a fan of this site, check out the profile on Parents Magazine, and give it a vote if you have the time. I’m just pretty darn excited to know that one of you awesome peeps out there took the time to nominate me- You guys totally rock. You know that, right? :)

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Trading Up: How to Turn a Paperclip into a House

It started with a post on Craigslist:

This red paperclip is currently sitting on my desk next to my computer. I want to trade this paperclip with you for something bigger or better, maybe a pen, a spoon, or perhaps a boot.

If you promise to make the trade I will come and visit you, wherever you are, to trade.

Hope to trade with you soon!

Kyle

PS
I’m going to make a continuous chain of ‘up trades’ until I get a house. Or an Island. Or a house on an island. You get the idea.

Watch the video to learn what came next…

This is an AMAZING story, love it!

You can read more here- Trading Up: How to Turn a Paper Clip into a House, and visit his website, OneRedPaperClip.com.

He even has a book about his whole adventure- One Red Paperclip: Or How an Ordinary Man Achieved His Dream with the Help of a Simple Office Supply

Someone sent me an email with his story tonight, and I thought it was SO cool, that I had to share it. There are so many things about it that are amazing…

My Favorites Parts of this story:

  • How ANYONE can make things happen, if you believe you can do it. Does that sound cheesy? Of course. But so many of us have dreams and goals that we don’t think we can achieve- if he can pull this off, then sister you better get rockin’ on your big ideas too!
  • That he didn’t just do this as a selfish thing. As it evolved, he realized that he could find the perfect person for each swap, and really make dreams come true. Awesome.

What do you think?

This is an old story, and many of you may have heard about it before. I hadn’t though, so I figured there might be some of you too that would love to hear about it. Share you thoughts in the comments- I’d love to hear them. And feel free to share the post on Twitter or Facebook with the social buttons….

Share YOUR opinions, get FREE stuff! What’s to lose? Check it out now and get started today!

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The Brain Behind the Brand: BooginHead

Check out Sari, the owner of BooginHead!

Are you a fan of BooginHead products? They’re the brand that brings you great stuff like the SippiGrip, PaciGrip, and the PaciBed– which are all such great solutions to the challenges moms face each day. Check them out- you’ll love ’em!

Sari Crevin is one of the amazing mom’s whose products are included in our HUGE Mompact event that’s going on this week.

Watch the video to learn more about Sari, and how she balances being a mompreneur while raising a family-

Did you know…

Moms are not only responsible for over 80% of consumer spending, but they are also starting new businesses at a faster rate than any other group.

It’s time for moms to support other moms in business the way we do in motherhood. The compassion we feel when we meet a mom in need of encouraging words at the check out line, or struggling to quiet a fussy toddler at a restaurant, is the same kind of compassion and connection moms have in business. We know what the other mom is going through: how she has to juggle work and family, sacrifice financially, and learn along the way.

Mompact – Moms helping Moms!

Mompact is all about moms supporting moms in business. If you want to support other moms by being a customer of a local mom business, buying products invented by moms, or contributing to mom charities, we can connect you.

Enter to WIN some great prizes!

Now that you know more about Sari, head of BooginHead, enter to win one of her products in my Mompact SplatMat Review and Giveaway. After you enter, you can hop on over to the next blog, to enter for a chance to win another great prize.

Or, head over to the main Mompact page to find over 100 more giveaways, all great mom-invented products. This is a great way to support other moms- by checking out some great mom blogs, learning about some amazing mom-made products, and maybe winning some fun stuff too!

You can also stay updated on the event by following Mompact on Facebook, or looking for us on Twitter with the #mompact tag!

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Style Genius – The new tool that finds YOUR perfect fit!

Who else has a tough time shopping for clothes online?

I don’t mean I have a hard time finding stuff I want. Or that I don’t buy stuff all the time {lol}. I mean, it’s tough to know if something is going to FIT when you shop online, right? Especially if you haven’t worn the brand before. And DOUBLE especially when you have any type of “fit” issues– which since the baby, I definitely do!

Fashion Genius to the Rescue!

This fall, Lane Bryant and sister brands Sonsi, Catherines and Fashion Bug, are launching a breakthrough technology that will make shopping for clothes online a cakewalk for plus size women, because it solves their biggest dilemma: the dreaded FIT issue. The new online technology is truly revolutionary. In just 3 minutes, with no measurements required, plus size women will have access to a world of plus size fashions that cater to their unique body shapes and style preferences. This has never been done before.

It’s taken the biggest names in the plus size fashion industry, a team of mathematicians and computer scientists to finally solve the fit issue for millions of plus size women.

The new “Math meets Fashion, Fit meets Style” technology goes live September 12— Today!! So check it out- You will love it.

Here’s how it works:

Head over to Sonsi to get started. Right away you’ll see the Fashion Genius box in the middle of the page- Click the “Take our Fit & Style Survey Now” button, then choose which survey to start with.

What’s super cool about this, is that the questions really do narrow down what pieces are going to be the best for you. For the Tops Survey, it asked me things like, “When you try on button-up shirts, how do they usually fit your bust?” and give you options to answer like, “Too tight – pulls across my bust, Ok, or Too Big-Loose.” And instead of making you take your measurements {which I never seem to get right anyway!} they have you pick which body shape is closest to yours. They get more detailed with questions about the size of your arms, how do tops fit across your hips, and more.

Then they give you a list of different styles of tops- and have you choose any that you would NEVER wear, so they can just weed those out of the selection completely- saving you time when browsing! Love it.

Three Surveys- Take just one, or all three!

There are three surveys- Tops, Bottoms, and Bras – and after you complete them all, the tool has a really good understanding of what you like. And let me tell you, it’s really accurate!

Once you start shopping after doing the surveys, the tool marks each item with two plus-marks if they think it’s PERFECT for you, and one plus-mark symbol if it’s something they suggest. This really helps narrow down the TONS of choices. And the outfit that I put together above, using the Fashion Genius Tool, is SOOOO me, and it all came from pieces that the tool suggested to me. Love it, right?

More cool stuff:

  • You can save your outfit to “My Wardrobe”, to shop for pieces later.
  • You can email it to a friend, if you want to get an opinion on it. Or even put together a fun outfit for a friend and send it to her. I know I’d LOVE getting that from one of my girlfriends!
  • You can read your “Style Profile”, including tips customized for you, your style, and your body shape.
  • You can browse other outfits too! This is my favorite way to shop online, and I love when sites show items in outfits. It gives me more creative ways to wear something, that I may not have thought of on my own! Very cool.

Check out Style Genius yourself, and I’d LOVE to hear what you think!

If you’re super excited about the outfit that YOU make, use the tool to send it to me too! sunshineandsippycups@gmail.com – and I’ll let you know what I think :)

 

{Disclosure: This post was made possible by Mom Spark Media. I was compensated for my time investment and work on this campaign. But ya’all know my opinions are always 100% my own!}

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{Rafflecopter} elevencupcakes Sesame Street Party Planning Kit Giveaway!

Sesame Street Party Planning Kit

Sunny Days…sweepin’ the clouds away…on my way to where the air is sweet… Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?

How can you not smile when you hear that song, right? And who doesn’t LOVE Sesame Street? Even the Grouch loves Sesame Street- and he’s the grouch! So what better theme for a kids party?

The lovely ladies at elevencupcakes have created the most adorable Party Planning Kit ever- and it includes everything you need to put together an unforgettable kids party!

What you get:

Party Guide: 24 pages of step by step instructions and beautiful pictures that walk you through everything you need to do to prepare for your party! The guide gives you directions on how to create all of the super fun stuff you see in the picture, like-

  • Happy birthday party banner
  • Party centerpiece
  • Decorative ribbon wall
  • Kid friendly finger food ideas
  • Colorful cupcakes and toppers
  • And more!

Trust me, even if you’re not a crafty type, these are all totally do-able. The instructions are simple, the ideas are super fun, and with the printables included- it will be so easy to put together! You even get ideas for games and kids activities, as well as some cute trivia for the grown-ups.

They include helpful things like a party timeline to help you plan, cool party tips, ideas for do-it-yourself favors and a resource guide- everything you need to stay organized! And think of how much money you can save by putting this together yourself, vs buying a bunch of overpriced supplies at your local party store? Plus- this is much cuter than anything you’ll find in a big store, for sure!

Create and Celebrate!

Look at the TON of great printables you get with this kit-

  • Customized invitations
  • Customized welcome sign
  • Happy Birthday Banner
  • Customized food labels (14)
  • Customized cupcake toppers
  • Birthday party hats (elmo, cookie monster, big bird, oscar & zoe)
  • Thank you notes
  • Customized water bottle labels
  • Kids games
  • Adult trivia
  • Customized thank you tags

Sounds like a good time, right?

The ladies at elevencupcakes put a ton of time into making these party printables- they hand-cut each character individually from textured papers, and then scanned in those images. What that means is that you can really see all of the fun textures and details, making these a really unique printable. So cute!

When you order your kit, you get to customize it too- You give them the following info, and they’ll create a personalized party set just for you kiddo:

  • Child’s first name
  • Child’s age (that they will be turning)
  • Party date, time, and location
  • RSVP date and contact (phone or email)
  • 14 food labels (character name for the top and food for the bottom).

The party guide is just packed full of fun ideas– This would be a great Birthday Party, obviously. But it would also make a super fun playdate, mommy group meeting, or for any other event you want to celebrate. And since you get the PDF files for all of the printables- you could most of them again- since you can print as many as you want. Awesomesauce.

Win a Sesame Street Party Planning Kit!

To win the Customized Sesame Street Party Planning Kit, use the Rafflecopter form below to get your entries in! And you can come back each day too, for the daily entry options– Good Luck!

[Read more…]

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Baby Billie Jean- Dancing Babies Video

There are so darn many cute baby videos.

Someone emails you ONE cute baby video. “I have a minute, I can watch this real quick” you say to yourself.

The problem is, there are ALL those other cute baby video’s on the sidebar, and you watch another. And another. It can be a trap. An adorable trap, but definitely a time-wasting trap.

Since it’s Saturday, it’s ok to waste a little time, right? So…

Check out Sunshine’s pick for “Adorable Baby Video of the Day”:

Love it? Hate it? Let me know in the comments…

And leave me a link to YOUR favorite baby video on YouTube, and maybe I’ll feature it next, and credit you with finding it. Fun, right?

Love adorable babies? Then help pick the new Munchkin Bunch! My little one- Abby Piper– is one of the 10 finalists, and needs YOUR votes each day to be one of the top 5 cutie’s that get a spot in the bunch! Vote on the Munchkin Facebook page, 5 votes per day! Thank you for your support! It takes just a second- but makes a world of difference for us!

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Daily Sunshine….

Today’s Quote:

“Delight in the little things.”

-Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936); poet and author.

It’s true… delight in the little things. Enjoy the sunshine, the last fall flowers, playing in the grass. The little things ARE the big things.

Make it a great day…

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