I talked a bit last week about being in a holding pattern and making a more conscious effort to find the good in each and every day.  Today the Twinkies are 4 years old and although there are many descriptive words I could use when talking about them and what they have brought into our lives, there are two that stand out most… amazing and funny.

We are forever amazed by the things that these two little boys are capable of.  This amazement isn’t anything new though, they have been shocking us with their minds and abilities since before they turned one, it is simply incredible. But as they get older, their thoughts are so much more amazing even.

Each and every day they say or do things that are worthy of a true ROFL (roll on the floor laughing).  From the incredible dreams that they have to the random thoughts that they share, they keep us on our toes.  Even though I’m describing them basically as a pair, they are very much individuals and proud of who they each are.

Yes, life is extremely chaotic sometimes and they tend to have more than their fair share of complaints in life a lot of the time. They are stubborn, strong willed, opinionated and even mouthy.  But through all of that they have also brought so much joy and laughter and they love hard.

They get offended if they don’t get a hug and blow kiss from Daddy before he leaves for work each morning.  They get upset if their big brothers are gone for too long and especially if CJ is spending too many nights with grandparents.

Through everything, we are thankful for these little bundles of energy that keep us on our toes and bring us amazed laughter every day.

Life is such an interesting complex mix of events isn’t it? We’re still dealing with far too many illnesses and injuries to count, but i’m trying to also find the fun little things mixed in. This has been a huge challenge for me as the natural course of things when you are in the midst of depression is to see the negative and feel overwhelmed.

That said though, I am definitely trying to make a purposeful attempt at finding at least one good or funny thing each day. To move out of a state of negativity for even a little while and remember all of the blessings and happiness we can have in life if we only put our minds to it. Attempting to get myself into a holding pattern of sorts that includes positivity each day.

Seeing these things in the past hasn’t usually been much of an effort, just a natural course of each day in life, but that was before depression overcame me. I still don’t love sharing about it much but it’s a huge part of what i’m dealing with in life right now so although I won’t focus on it, I’m also not going to pretend it doesn’t exist.

I would love to move past this, to suddenly feel normal again and go on with life like depression never entered the picture. But I’m still on this road of overcoming and it’s a process I cannot avoid or dismiss. Finding the little things in each day is a small step for me to see the brightness and beauty of life again.

Again, although that’s something that was everyday 6 months ago, it’s an effort now. Finding humor in the crazy things the kids do and say… yeah, trying to get that back too. If you are dealing with any form of depression or feeling overwhelmed, I’d like to encourage you to consider taking this approach as well.

Throughout the day remind yourself to look around and find something good, allow yourself to be amused by something that happens or spend a moment doing something fun to make a good thing happen in each day.

I hope and pray for continued blessings for all of my readers and would like to thank all of you who have offered me such wonderful support and encouragement as I move forward and leave depression behind.

The twins are quickly approaching age 4 and their latest love, especially Bug is to cut their hair. Bug did this twice within about a month and I did what I could with his hair buzz cutting it and trying to still keep it looking cute.

Then about 2 weeks ago Monkey decided to do it as well but instead of cutting a reverse mohawk as Bug has Monkey cut it straight across the front close to his head. Equally terrible looking lol, but Icould work with that a little more… until yesterday.

As most of you know, I have been cutting all my guys’ hair since shortly after my husband and I got married.  This has saved us a ton of money and headaches over the years and it’s a quick job to do at home.

I had cut my husband’s and 3of the other boys’ hair the day before and apparently I had left the clippers box on the counter. Yes you guessed it, in their infinite wisdom, the twins found that box (though the height of the counter is at forehead level) opened it up and proceeded to clip hair.

Now, the crazy part is that, as usual, they were only in there for a few moments before Salesman and I heard and registered the noise in the kitchen. As we investigated, sure enough we found that Monkey had taken the clippers to the front middle of his head and had a crazy looking front only reverse mohawk look going. Bugs had only a tiny section cut out of the front as well, but it was enough to require a full shaving.

As CJ begged to shave them it is the first time that I’ve ever been able to say yes lol. After all what more could he do to them, they already looked terrible. So excitedly CJ prepared the clippers and a twin and began shaving. The twins weren’t thrilled with the process, but they hated afterward when they saw themselves completely sheared down to the scalp.

They kept asking for us to put the hair back on (which we all fell on the floor laughing over of course) and informed me that CJ is never to cut their hair again. To which I replied that as long as they did not cut their hair again I would make sure CJ didn’t have the opportunity to cut their hair again.

This turned into an excellent way to try and keep them from cutting their hair again. Knowing that they would look as they do now and endure another haircut by big brother may very well be my ticket out of the crazy haircut stage.

We will see……

Yep, it’s been a few weeks since I’ve shared a song that is speaking to me, here’s this weeks though. Safe by Phil Wickham from his album Heaven & Earth.  I hope it blesses you today.

There are a few events as a child that ever stand out in my mind… going to the circus, a baseball game and seeing the Harlem Globetrotters.  For years now I have longed to take my oldest boys to see them, especially our second son who loves basketball.

So when I received an email offering me the opportunity to go see them I jumped at it!  We are so excited to take the boys to see this great entertaining event in a nearby town.

This is their 84th season! I remember the show being funny, exciting, awe inspiring and just plain old fun, so I hope for the very same experience for my own children.

Want to know more about the Harlem Globetrotters and their tour? Well here’s some basic information, but be sure to visit their website to learn even more and to see if they are coming to a town near you.

Their 2010 U.S. “Magical Memories” tour began on December 26th and continues through May 2nd, and will makes its way to 216 cities—with the Globetrotters taking on their arch-rivals, the Washington Generals, at each stop.

They are offering a code that readers can use to get a $7 discount for each ticket purchased (Note: Not valid on VIP or courtside seats. Available online only. Valid until the day before the show.) Ticket prices do vary slightly at the various arenas, but they typically average $25 each, thus allowing a family of four to save $28 in total. Readers can simply visit www.harlemglobetrotters.com locate a game in their area and purchase tickets using the promotional code: HGMOM to redeem the coupon.

They are also offering a giveaway which includes a Harlem Globetrotter mini-basketball, authentic Globetrotter wristbands, an autographed Harlem Globetrotter team photo and a 2010 game program. To enter simply visit their site to see if they are coming to a town near you, then come back here and leave a comment telling me why you’d like to go.

There are some great extra entry opportunities as well of course, feel free to take advantage of all of the entries for as many chances to win as possible.…Just be sure to leave a NEW comment with each entry…:

• Become a Facebook Fan of A Frog In My Soup!!!
• Tweet It: Just tweet this giveaway with a link to this post and make sure your comment has your twitter handle in it.
• Blog It: Write a post about this giveaway (with a link to this post of course) on your own blog, make sure your comment has a link to your post.
• Stumble It, Kirtsy It, Digg It, Submit to Mommy Blips: Submit this giveaway to any of these sites and earn an extra entry for each one…and make sure your comment has your Username.

It is void where prohibited, be sure to read my giveaway policies here.  Be sure to enter by January 28, 2010.  This giveaway is open to US addresses only.

Disclosure: I always give honest and forthright reviews and will not present something that poses a conflict of interest &/or that I do not like.  Harlem Globetrotters is providing our family with free tickets to attend a local event, information and tickets through Coyne Public Relations.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

Life isn’t perfect. We live in an imperfect world filled with imperfect people and things. That is just the way it is. We all have to come to terms with that sooner or later in order to move on and enjoy life despite it’s imperfections.

As a mom, one of the most difficult parts of life is the fact that we cannot always protect our children from illness, injury and emotional hurt.  I’ve talked about this difficulty before, primarily in reference to the emotional horror of my oldest son’s schooling. But lately it has been injury and illness that have me completely baffled.

We now have a new record for most stitches (for a child) in our home. Little Monkey recently injured the bottom of his big toe at his grammy’s house and ended up with 8 stitches.  He still walks with his foot a little sideways to keep pressure off it and the skin around the injury is peeling like crazy, but it is healing and his stitches are out.

That was the conclusive event for a string that has been going on for a few months illness then injury, illness then injury… repeat.  We all know that when illness starts around here we have no idea how long it will take us to get it out of the house.

I found myself falling deeper and deeper into depression in the middle of all of this. Something that I have only experienced temporarily in the past became a part of daily living for months on end.  Even though I knew I was falling into an abyss, I let it go… I am the mom after all and I must care for everyone around me first… right?

There has to be balance, we cannot be moms who only take care of others and we cannot be moms that only think of ourselves first. We must ensure that we are healthy (mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually) in order to properly care for our family and we need to do that in a balanced way.

It’s a tricky requirement that many of us at one point or another fail miserably at.  I did, and I’m still trying to come out of the fog. I’m very fortunate to have family around me that noticed what was going on and went out of their way to make sure that the problem was addressed and a resolution found.

I don’t like posting about things like this. I like for you all to know that I am an imperfect human, just the same as the next guy over but I also like to leave all of you with hope and encouragement. Today though I find myself with only one question to ask…

Do you ever feel like a failure… as a mom, in your home?

I think in everything that I’ve been working through lately that’s the one thing that has been the most difficult for me to face.  I’m reminding myself (please take this encouragement for yourself if you answered yes to that question) that I too am an imperfect woman living in an imperfect world with a family filled with other imperfect people.  But because of the grace and mercy of God, I have a ‘hope and a future’.

Wow, another year has come and gone and here we are… one full decade into the 21st century. I sincerely hope that your 2009 was a great one… and that 2010 is even better.

We’ve had an interesting few months, if you happen to have noticed a serious decline in frequency of posts, you are not mistaken.  Between the holidays, illness and far too many injuries, I found myself needing a break (don’t worry, it’s only temporary).

Do you have fresh goals or prayers for the new year?

For me, they are fairly simple… to remain sane and get my house under control (lol). I’m also praying for less injuries and the health of my family.

All in all though, I wish for you and your family the greatest of years in 2010.  Blessings to you all!!!

My new favorite Christmas song!!! Sung by Audrey Assad on Chris Tomlin’s new Christmas album, Glory in the Highest.

In an effort to make my home as chemical free as possible, I’ve continued to be a little frustrated as I look for just the right products to help me do this.  Often, even if I find a product that’s less harmful for my family and the environment I still worry about the chemicals that it contains.

Then there’s the deep down yuck that accumulates, especially places like the kitchen and bathroom and finding a product that works quickly and effectively poses yet another problem if I don’t want chemicals involved.

So, when I attended the EuroPro event in Sept. and was introduced to the Shark Steam Pocket Mop I was thrilled. Not only is it small and portable, but it uses steam from water only to completely clean and sanitize your home.  Comes with a variety of tools, extensions and cleaning pads (that are reusable, just pop them in the washer) to cover any cleaning project.

It’s such a simple concept but offers us so many more options without the potential for harming any of your family.  What a great product!  Check out www.SharkClean.com for all the details about this product.  It makes a perfect gift for almost any occasion (birthday, Christmas, wedding) or if you’re tired of wasting money on all those products and just want to purchase something that will last, this is the product for that.

If you need a full size vacuum with all the features of the super expensive ones but at a more reasonable price, make sure you check out the Shark Navigator.  Yes, yet another vacuum from Shark’s amazing line of vacuums, we couldn’t be happier with ours.  Sure that cordless and ultra-lite are nice too but sometimes large rooms and big messes require more out of a vacuum.

Here’s some of the great features….

• Provides high level of agility without sacrificing power. Less than 15 pound weight allows for easy lifting and swift maneuverability.
• Infinity Technology with 21 cyclones traps dust and dirt so the Navigator never loses suction.
• Two power settings offer deep carpet and superior bare floor cleaning.
• Lifetime filter traps dirt in the large bagless no-touch dust cup.
• Accessories include: Pet Hair Power Brush, crevice tool, extra 24” crevice tool, dusting brush and cleaning wand.
• Pet Hair Power Brush easily picks up pet hair from upholstery.
• Navigator features ergonomic grip for comfortable hand position.
• Features 30-foot-long power cord and the Super Stretch Hose with 12-foot cleaning reach.
• Purchase includes 5-year warranty.

This vacuum really does the job and it’s easy to maneuver which is a user friendly feature I love!  Suggested retail price is only $199.  Available at Bed Bath & Beyond and online at www.sharkclean.com. Find us on Twitter at @SharkCleaning or check out our Shark Cleaning Facebook page.

Disclosure: I received a Shark Navigator in order to present my honest opinion of the product, you can find my full disclosure policy here.