I don’t know if it’s because they are the last of all my boys, because they have so many big brothers or if it’s because they are twins, but I do not remember ever having funnier children than my Twinkies! 

They do the most peculiar things and the things they say have always been very amusing.  They talked much sooner than any of their siblings . . . BY FAR!  People were always shocked at what was coming out of their 15 month or 18 month old mouths ~ no not because it was terrible, but because it was strange to hear complete sentences with full words, clearly audible in a baby voice!  I know I had nothing to do with it though based on our history with the other boys and lack of talking . . . it’s just them or any number of the thoughts above.

Anyway, one thing we have always done around here from the time CJ was a little one is to use “Raggies” for runny little noses when they have a cold.  Kleenex just isn’t always handy, so they carry around a raggy to wipe the constantly leaking nosie.  Raggies are large burp cloths or cloth diapers and are either kept with me or if they are old enough (2 to 3 years) tied in a belt loop for easy access.  The second is a little easier to keep track of with our twosome. 

This week Baby Bug and Little Monkey have had some seriously icky noses and Monkey’s has been particularly sore, bleeding a smidge yesterday morning.  So first thing this morning I decided it was time to get out a couple of raggies and as I handed them each one they got all cuddly with them . . . “raggy - my raggy” LOL! 

The funny part was that this continued the rest of the morning!  Competing over who’s raggy was who’s (”my raggy”, “no my raggy”, “no it’s my raggy”) after a while I started feeling just a little crazy about the raggies and just had to laugh at them and their rediculous little Raggies. 

Have a great weekend!

We’ve always loved the Baby Einstein videos and have enjoyed them since the Salesman was a baby!  So when I heard that they had come out with yet another one I couldn’t wait to see what my little ones thought about it!  This latest DVD is called Baby Einstein ®: Baby’s First Moves - Get Up and Go! 

This video is for ages 6 months plus and I’ll have to say that even my 4 year old enjoyed and interacted with it.  Maybe he did that more for the sake of my 2 year old twins, but still.  The twins loved the movement and I loved that it was so interactive.  It helps moms see the different activities they can do with their babies and young children, moving and dancing with them and even just simple activities for the youngest ones.

Baby’s First Moves:

A playful, interactive celebration of babies’ movement milestones - including first steps, clapping, jumping, dancing and more.

Of course there’s plenty of beautiful classical music in this DVD ~ Bach, Vivaldi, Beethoven and Mozart. We also really enjoyed the special features! Let’s pretend, puppet shows and a great extra called Move With Me where parents are taught some great movements they can do with their little one! 

Be sure to visit their website at www.babyeinstein.com to learn more about this video and all the other titles they offer!

I am a whole food advocate, and to some this may be stretching it a bit, but I have to admit that we do occasionally allow our children to eat Pop Tarts for dessert or maybe even a snack.  Not often, but the kids think they are the biggest treat ever!  So when I heard that they had come out with Whole Grain Pop Tarts we had to try them!

They taste wonderful and my family is so used to whole grains they didn’t think anything was different at all!  For many Pop Tarts recall fun memories . . . or maybe just for me?  I remember getting to eat these when we were travelling or on special occasions.  Hubby ate them all the time growing up, so he admits he has a hard time leaving them alone (thus the reason they are not often in the house LOL). 

So in case you wanted to give them a try here’s one more reason!

 I want to thank Awnya of Time 4 Felt for this fabulous contest and remind all of you that when you place your order be sure to mention Frog In My Soup in the comments area as you check out to receive a 10% shipping discount!

 We have a winner . . .

#118 ~ Shay

Congratulations and make sure you check your email for the announcement!

Thank you to all those who participated in this wonderful contest!  The contest is over and the winner has been announced! 

I am so excited to introduce a wonderful new site to all of you . . . dekoposh, Inc.  This is a family owned store that offers “Posh” products for the whole family to enjoy!  From their Build A Purse Kit for little girls and their Got Text?? shirts especially for Tweens and Teens to their luxurious Lolliposh ™ Minky Blankets for baby there really is something for everyone on your list!

When I talked with Dina (founder of dekoposh, Inc.) I asked her to tell us a little bit about her company and it’s vision!

I started this business in October of 2007, because I saw an opportunity to make a difference in today’s world by creating an environment to inspire, motivate and empower a generation of do-ers; our Youth— our future leaders. The common thread with our product offerings is that they have the ability to bring meaning to what is going on in everyone’s lives. For example, our Build a Purse Kit gives an opportunity for a young girl to spend time with a loved one designing and putting together their very own Designer Handbag. Our Got Text?? Shirts show how Tweens and Teens use technology today to interact with one another. Our designer Lolliposh™ Minky Blankets help build security for that brand new baby.

We’ll be getting to know quite a bit more about dekoposh, Inc. over the next couple of weeks, so I thought I’d pick a product to focus on today and I couldn’t resist talking about the Build A Purse kits (the purse to the right is the Samantha, cute huh?)!  What a fun activity for a little girl and her mom, grandma or friends to do together, or if you’re looking for the perfect activity for a tween’s birthday party!  The kit comes with all the materials necessary to build the purse you chose - the purse (a food grade 4″ x 6″ metal tin), designer felt, designer ribbon, gems, buttons, glue & instructions.   I personally had a lot of fun browsing around in this whole category and looking at all the fun designs (I may just have found the next great gift for the neices - YAY!) and I encourage you to do the same!

We are so delighted to be able to offer you the opportunity to win a Posh Mini Purse!  The winner of this contest will have the opportunity to pick the Build A Purse kit of their choice!

Dina has been very generous and has offered a few products that you will have the opportunity to win, so be on the lookout for more great giveaways and offers from dekoposh, Inc. in the near future!!! 

To enter:

1. Visit dekoposh, inc.
2. Come back here and leave a comment mentioning your favorite product!

It’s really that simple.  It would be wonderful if you would honor the generosity of dekoposh, inc. by posting about them and this contest on your blog. 

If you’d like to shop at dekoposh, Inc., Dina has extended an amazing 20% off discount to all my readers through April 30th on anything in the store!!!!  Just enter the code Posh before you check out! 

Please make sure to leave your comment by 10pm on Tuesday March 11th!

I thought I would share something fun with all of you today.  I recently read this post at 5 Minutes for Mom introducing all of us to a website called blogged!  I hopped over there to check it out and was shocked to discover that A Frog In My Soup was already listed and had been reviewed by an editor. 

It was WAY back when I had my winter froggy design up though (oh so long ago haha) and I got a 7.0 . . . hmmmm!  Not too shabby!  Doesn’t put me in the top 100 (not even close), but I thought it was decent nonetheless!

Soooo if you have a spare minute today you may have fun checking them out at www.blogged.com.  See you there!

What would life be like with 4 big brothers to dote on you and tell you how cute you are every minute of every day?  This is just a glimpse of that life!

It’s always fun to post about the winner of a contest!!!!  I am happy to announce that the winner of the My Little Monkey Boutique contest for a set of personalized Mommy Cards is . . . .

#3 Brandy!!!!  Congratulations!

Now, I know that the rest of you are a little disappointed that you didn’t win, but I have great news for you!  You can still take advantage of the wonderful 10% discount for my readers!  Just make sure you enter the code FROG10 into the discount area of the cart before you check out!

We still have 2 great contests going on and another will start on Thursday!

This contest has ended and a winner was chosen! Thank you and be sure to enter our latest contests! 

All of my regular readers know how much I love menu planning, but it’s not every day that I get to feature a review and giveaway for a company that helps you create and plan great meals!  So when Mary Lou contacted me and told me that she is a consultant with Homemade Gourmet I was intrigued.  Then she asked if she could sponsor a giveaway for all of you and I was ecstatic! 

Before we get to the contest I would like to tell you a little bit more about Mary Lou and the wonderful company she’s part of!  Here’s a little bit of my interview with her:

Could you tell us a little bit about Homemade Gourmet?

Homemade is a meal solutions company, not just a food company. We are unlike other companies because we offer more then just ‘party food’. We also have a 100% guarantee all of our products! Dinner time can be stressful without the right tools or planning….Homemade Gourmet is the solution!

I LOVE the 4 Meals in 4 Minutes idea! Could you share a little more information about that?

It’s a quick and easy, value packed collection that allows you to make as few as 4 great tasting meals in 4 quick minutes or as many as 40 plus meals to stock your freezer! Comes complete with FOUR Homemade Gourmet® Pantry Staples containing enough seasoning for 40 - 50 meals depending on the recipes chosen. Each Pantry Staple contains:
~ A sturdy plastic container with easy snap lid for storage
~ Package of bulk seasoning
~ Handy scoop for either one or two tablespoons
~ 15 recipe cards with ideas for entrees, side dishes and appetizers
~ individual mixes allowing for 4 meals and 4 bonus meals
~ 7 side dish mixes
~ Meal Planner detailing recipes and menu ideas and complete Grocery List!

Wow! That’s incredible! What a huge help for busy moms who really need to throw together a quick meal during the week!

Before we go, would you mind telling me a little bit about why you joined Homemade Gourmet?

I joined Homemade Gourmet in October of 2003 after attending a Home Show. I ordered a few mixes and I was hooked! Everything I tried was so yummy and so fast to make! I was looking through my catalog to place a reorder and realized I wanted to try everything! That’s when I knew I had to sign up as a distributor. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would join any type of a home-party business. Homemade Gourmet was different. Everyone has to eat. Plus I would get a great discount on my personal use and maybe make some money on the side.

Four years later and I still love Homemade Gourmet and I love what I do because it allows me to show others how to save time and money! It’s such a heartwarming feeling when busy Moms tell me how much I have helped their family!

Mary Lou has offered a mini 4 Meals in 4 minutes collection! It will include a Sunday Roast seasoning mix, Southwest seasoning mix, Garlic Lemon seasoning mix, and a Garlic Basil seasoning mix, plus the 4m4m meal planner!  Here’s what you need to do to enter:

1.  First, visit Mary Lou’s Homemade Gourmet consultant website at www.HomemadeGourmet.com/marylou and take a look around.

Second, come back here and leave a comment telling us what your favorite product is! (please note that due to entry issues we do require that you mention a product in your comment)

It’s that simple!  You have until 10pm on March 6th to enter this one, so be sure to tell all your friends!  

Her generosity doesn’t stop there though! She has also offered a 10% discount until March 31, 2008. In order to take advantage of this discount offer you must email Mary Lou at (mlgkng24 at sbcglobal.net) to place your order and mention the code:FROG, she’ll invoice you through PayPal to complete the order. You can also join their customer club ~ HGPerferred and get a 20% discount on all online orders….it’s free to join. Please visit www.homemadegourmet.com/marylou for all the details.

Today you may be visiting my blog in search of wisdom (haha), encouragement, inspiration and depth . . . instead you will encounter this post that can only fall under the category of Life With Boys!  Nothing deep, and probably not even that inspiring, but it is an interesting and unexpected part of life with boys!

Sunday night found me and the older 4 boys getting home late from a meeting and rushing to get the kids to bed by 9 pm.  Around here that is L-A-T-E!  I was trying to “roll” with it, but as the babies (who had been asleep) began waking up my nerves began to fizzle.  They had stayed home with Daddy because of runny noses and a cough.  By the time I returned they were sleeping on Daddy (not in their jammies) and Baby bug was having a rough time of it.

So I finally did get the older boys in bed . . . only to have Monkey wake up thinking that he had just taken a lovely nap and was now ready to cuddle and play.  This was followed by a crying fit by Bug and oh-my-word this was going to be a long night!

We finally got everyone settled in again and Hubby headed off to bed.  A few minutes later Sir Lion walked out of his room very asleep and obviously headed for the bathroom.  I was trying to get his attention to steer him the right direction as he appeared to be heading behind the couch (a dead end) instead of around it toward the one and only bathroom in our house.  Suddenly he stopped, faced the couch and I found myself in a semi-shocked, semi-aware state of mind where I instinctively knew what he was going to do but could not believe it was possible.

You see, Sir Lion was our biggest potty training success.  Of course he was our latest (he was 4  :oops: ) potty trainer and as our most strong-willed child he pretty much just decided one day (after a few attempts by me) that it was time to potty in the toilet and . . . . well, he just did!  No nighttime accidents, no nap-time accidents, occasional “other” accidents, but for the most part he was all set.

So as the reality of his stance beside the couch truly sunk in I couldn’t help myself I began to laugh.  Here’s this 4 year old child standing next to the couch as if it is a urinal and he is obviously sound asleep.  There’s really nothing I could do, he’s huge I can barely lift him let alone run lickety-split across the house while he is peeing.  Nope the best thing to do at that moment is simply laugh. 

Have I lost all reason?  All sense of reality?  My sanity?  Maybe, but more than that, I found my sense of humor in the midst of a trying evening and was reminded that I am NOT in control, that life is full of surprises and that I have a choice in how I react to each circumstance.  So as I watched the “fountain” of Lion (LOL!) I simply approached him, took his hand and began walking him to the bathroom.

About halfway there I heard giggling behind me . . . Sir Lion had awakened and realized what had just happened and was highly amused!  I washed his hands, and walked him back to bed where he continued to giggle.  I laughed as I told Hubby about the event and I have to wonder (again) if he maybe thought I had finally lost it. 

The evening continued well into the night with one baby who didn’t feel well and another who thought it was the middle of the day NOT the middle of the night.  So I wish you good morning and hope that you had a little less eventful night than I did.