I thought it would be fun to give you all a great tip this week ~ ok 2!  I’m forever talking about menu planning (and have the resources for a few great ones in my right sidebar), but there can still be some complications if you don’t have a few things organized.

Tip One ~ Organizing the meal plan:

If you are using a meal planner, print out that week’s meals and assign a day to them all, write the name of the meal on your calendar and have a specific spot you keep each week’s recipes.  It’s best if you have one day set aside that you read through, organize and shop for the following week’s recipes.  This also applies to those who would like to print out meals a month in advance and for those who are not using a meal planner.

Be strategic about the meals you assign to each day, keeping in mind variety, activities and meat thawing time (see below).  You may have family members that do NOT want to have chicken 2 nights in a row and if there are 2 mexican meals you may want to spread those out a bit too.

Tip two ~ the answer to a common problem: not getting out frozen meat in time to thaw in the fridge. 

Gone are the days where were we could pull meat out of the freezer in the morning to thaw on the counter for that evening’s meal.  Now we are supposed to thaw all of our meat in the fridge which requires a lot more planning ahead!  Most meat takes 24 to 48 hours to fully thaw in the refrigerator, more if it is a very large item like a turkey. 

There are quick ways to thaw meat and it isn’t unheard of to use the microwave’s defrost settings, but I personally don’t love the inconsistent temperature of the meat I pull out (the edges are cooked and it’s still frozen in the middle making it a funny combination of rubbery and not ready)

So, here’s my recommendation:  As you are going through that week’s recipes write a note on the recipe telling yourself what meat you need to get a day or two before!  So if you’re going to need that frozen chicken on Friday and it takes 2 days to thaw write it down on the bottom of the meal page for Wednesday.  If you aren’t using recipe pages you can also write this information on your calendar!!!

Another tip along these lines would be to plan meals using fresh and frozen meat strategically so that you are using up the fresh meat at the beginning of the week and giving yourself plenty of time to get the frozen meat thawed for the end of the week meals!

Happy Meal Planning!

Today began in a rather odd way for me as my oldest son (age 12) announced from the shower that he now has armpit hair.  (UGH!  Really? EEEEK!)  I was standing at the sink (remember, we only have one bathroom) putting in my contacts as he made that announcement. 

He promptly continued . . . “Ya wanna see it?” 

I’m thinking, UH, UMMM, UH ~ panicking a bit . . . I mean I don’t even have my contacts in yet for Heaven’s sake!  I don’t want to face that now too!  So I respond “You’ll have to show me after you’re done with your shower, your brother needs to get in there now.”  (Good save huh).

As I’m still recovering from that little moment, I walk into the kitchen where hubby is breaking into a box of Organic Toaster Pastries (LOL ~ something we NEVER have in this house by the way . . . seriously very odd). 

“Couldn’t resist them anymore huh?” I ask him with a grin. 

He replies and I quote, “The best part of Folger’s in your cup is what you dip in it.” (with an even bigger grin on his face as he happily dips his pastry in his coffee).  Now, the funny part about this conversation is that he isn’t usually home during the morning hubub so the entire event was out of the ordinary for sure.

Now here we are, many hours from the morning festivities mentioned above and I of course still have much activity going on all around me . . . namely my Dynamic Duo!  Here’s a look at what they have been up to just in the time I have been writing this post:

1. Begin in bedroom window playing, chatting, knowing full-well that mommy doesn’t want them there.
2. Both babies climb into Baby Bug’s crib and decide it’s a good time to bounce. 
3. Suddenly in a stroke of genius Little Monkey (oops, nope, it’s Baby Bug . . . why am I not surprised), decides that he should no longer be wearing a diaper.
4. A few minutes later they decide they should definitely move on to bigger and better things and will try out the top bunk.  (Yes I promptly removed them from bunk and put a fresh diaper on Bug ~ aren’t I fast!  :roll: )
5. I pull them both out of the room, close the door and wait.
6. Sure enough they head back to try and start all over . . . now if I could only find Baby Bug’s pants . . . . . .

So I will continue my ever vigilant watch for the next adventure to begin ~ hoping and praying that it will be something that does not involve jumping off, climing in, taking off or destroying anything (I can always hope!).

Oh, and for all those still wondering, yes, my son did show me his armpits and I’m sad to say that yes indeedy my little boy does have armpit hair (part of me is crying and another part of me strangely is saying “Ewww” LOL). 

I’m off now to brave the great outdoors with my three youngest children - wish me luck!

Soooo, my camera’s batteries went dead right after this pic. was taken or you’d have a lovely sequence of pictures where you could more and more paint all over everything but the paper. 

I had literally just handed them each a brush and turned around to grab my camera and Baby Bug already had begun painting his face.  Silly me for assuming that they would understand that paint is supposed to go on the carefully layed out abundance of paper NOT on the walls, bench, table and face . . . silly, silly me!

Happy WW!

This contest has ended and the winner has been announced!  We have plenty of other great contests going on though (look at the left sidebar) Winner is #118 Shay! 

I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s always fun to stumble upon a brand new company that offers unique and fun products for children!  This is definitely the case with Time 4 Felt where Awnya offers unbelievably fun products for the whole family as a consultant for Story Time Felts.

I was fortunate to be able to ask Awnya a few questions about the company and their products:

Why did you join Story Time Felts?

I joined because I knew that imagination was something that I wanted in the lives of my children. I saw the potential for the products and I saw how my son reacted to them. It was love at first sight! The business aspect is just a great way for me to stay home with my kids, still earn money and get great products for free!

We’d love to know a little bit about the products you offer.

We have many products to choose from including felt “paper dolls, hand puppets, finger plays, story boards, felt boards, religious sets, and much more! I think that my best sellers are the Toggle books (felt quiet books) and then the Castle Tales set for girls and the Dinosaurs set for boys.

Is there anything else you’d like my readers to know about the business?

I would just like everyone to know how EASY it is to have a business with Story Time Felts. In addition to the great benifits of being a Work at Home Mom and earning a great extra income every month, I earn things like a trip to Disney World for free (all expenses paid!)!

I had never heard of Story Time Felts before, so when she offered to let my kiddos try them out I was thrilled . . . then they arrived and we had so much fun with them!  They truly do inspire creativity in my children both young and old.  I loved that I can sit and tell a story using the board and felts with the little ones, but that I can also hand it over to my 8 and 9 year olds to create a fun and unique story of their own with them.  It’s always fun to see what they will come up with in their own little minds!

I personally was very thankful for the story ideas that came in the kit, but the boys just loved touching it and playing with the animals.  I can truly see many more interactive and educational opportunities happening with these products!

Awnya has been very gracious and just in time for Easter she is offering a Peter Rabbit Felt Story for one lucky commenter!  To enter the contest please follow these simple steps:

1. Visit www.Time4Felt.com and choose your favorite product.
2. Come back here and leave me a comment mentioning the product you chose.

It’s that simple!  The contest ends on February 28th at 10pm, so be sure to leave your comment by then!

If you would like to go shopping at Time 4 Felt please 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 for the Regionz Kidz giveaway!!!  Really quick though I’d like to remind all of you to hop on over to www.RegionzKidz.com and go shopping!!  Be sure to enter the code FROG into the cart before you check out to receive a 10% discount on your order!

And the winner is . . .

#33 ~ Amanda Perron

Congratulations Amanda!  I have sent her an email and hopefully will hear from her soon, please remember to make sure that you put my email address (shera at afroginmysoup.com) on your safe list so that my emails get to you!

We have even more great contests going on right now, so be sure to visit our homepage for all the latest!

As I am having a bit of a “browse” day I realized that I need to do a little housekeeping and catch up on some bloggy business . . . namely the Linky Love tag sent to me by Beth aka SportsMomma. 

Those of you who aren’t used to me participating in a meme . . . well, that would be because I rarely do, not because I dislike the tagger (I love my taggers), simply because I find myself in a major state of time deprivation these days trying to offer you quality Mommy posts and Contests!  But I digress . . . 

I have added the 5 on the very bottom so please visit their wonderful blogs!  I have found many amazing women through my readers/commenters here at A Frog In My Soup and surprisingly also through the Sweet ‘n Simple designs I do for mom bloggers.  I actually had to select them randomly since I cannot share them all with you.

Here’s the details that are passed along with this meme:
(Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes we hope it will be a long list!)

It’s real easy!

*Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially!
*The benefits of Viral Linking:
1.One of the fastest ways to see your technorati authority explode!
2.Increase your Google PageRank fast
3.Attract large volume of new traffic to your site
4.Build your community
5.Make new friends!
Linky Love Tag

The Strategist Notebook
Link Addiction
Ardor of the Heart
When Life Becomes a Book
The Malaysian Life
Yogatta.com
What goes under the sun
Roshidan’s Cyber Station
Sasha says
Arts of Physics
And the legend lives
My View, My Life
A Simple Life
Juliana RW
Mom Knows Everything
Beth & Cory’s Mom
A Mind Forever Voyaging
enjoying the ride
Jennifer’s thoughts
Mom of 3 Girls
Amanda
Don’t Make Me Get The Flying Monkeys
ExPat Mom
Just Jessie
Wilson Six
Kristin
Nuttier Than You
Shonnte
Summer’s Nook
Laura Williams Musings
Melissa’s Idea Garden
Eve at Confessions of an Everyday Housewife
ChristiS of the Blah Blah Blog
Stephanie at Stop the Ride!
Diane at Soap, Blings & Girly Things
Amanda at Amanda:Mama’s Musings
Kristin at An Ordinary Life
Mama Zen at The Zen of Motherhood
Atomik Kitten
The Sassy Southerner
A Room of Mama’s Own
Exploring Autumn
Immoral Matriarch: Catechizer
Real Life
Boogiemum
Living and loving every minute of it
Huckdoll
The Daily Rhythm
The Rocky Mountain Retreat
Peace is Every Step
Life According to Lizzy
Following Forward
Boys Rule My Life
A Quest for Relevance
Not Trying for a Boy
The Gaspards
Orryally’s journal
My Life with Boys
The Truest Thing
The Potter’s Hand
Permission to Peruse
Live Laugh Blog
Pianomomsicle
Heather’s Hot Mess
Kevin and Paula
SmatterdayGuidance for Victory
Sports Momma
Pensieve
The Home Team Wins
Sisters of a Different Order
Chased by Children
A Frog in My Soup

My Spunky Monkey
Tara’s View of the World
Living A Mom’s Life
Dawn-Sweet Pea Cakes etc Blog
True Tales of A MiniVan Mama

Please take a few minutes to visit some of the blogs listed above.  Even if you don’t see your name on the list- you can still participate in the meme and keep the Linky Love Tag going!

Hubby and I went away for the weekend.  It was for a wedding, but we made it a “trip!”.  Just the two of us for three whole days (almost) and oh-my-goodness was it ever nice.  Yes we missed the kids.  I had never been away from the twins overnight so that was a smidge nervewracking, but all in all it was a wonderful, relaxing and connecting weekend.  And to answer all your questions . . . yes, we found PLENTY to talk about other than our children! 

So I find myself Tackling a Tuesday this week.  A strange tackle to be sure, but I know I’m not the only mom who has major damage control to do after a weekend away!  It’s not just getting the kiddos back on track with their routine and home-life, but it’s the overwhelming catching up on laundry, cleaning and such after such a weekend that can be the “straw that broke the camel’s back”. 

I’m trying to stay positive and maintain the wonderful outlook on life and family that I gained during our weekend away . . . how long will it last?  I simply need to stick to the plan, maintain my focus.  I almost feel like I’m a player on a sports team (LOL) and have to “keep my eye on the ball”.   It is so easy for me to get distracted by everything around me and I simply must keep the focus I have established. 

I would like to begin making a schedule for myself each day.  I often end up feeling like I didn’t accomplish anything and that really stinks.

So this week I’m tackling coming home, getting laundry done (ha), getting everyone back on track with the routine, get my meals printed out for the next week (thank goodness I don’t have to completely tackle that task, it’s done for me woohoo!) and catch up on designs.  Oh, and I almost forgot, I also need to compose another review/giveaway to begin tomorrow!  Whew!  And when I’m done with all that I’m going to try to grab a cup of coffee and sit down to visit each and every one of your blogs so I can say hello to all of my wonderful readers!

What are you tackling this week?  For more tackles be sure to visit 5 Minutes for Mom!

You’ve probably heard the motto “Life Happens!” .  I know that there are many forms of that one, but I think that applies to my thoughts for today.  Life simply happens and you will find yourself somewhat altered along the way because of it. 

Let me explain . . . when Hubby and I were first married I loved action/adventure movies and shows!  I honestly did!  Nothing horrific, sci-fi or thriller, or even too dramatic, just action/adventure!  During my pregnancy with our third son (Tater) I found myself in an odd position.  The combination of pregnancy hormones and the fact that I had given birth to son 2 (the salesman) only 6 months previously was doing quite a number on me physically.

As the pregnancy progressed the hormones began affecting me more and more.  I actually woke up in the night a few times screaming, not to mention the overall tendency I was beginning to have toward anxiety and other issues.  My hubby had never seen anything like it before and never has since, so it truly was a strange time for us. 

As the weeks after his birth progressed and the excess hormones worked their way out of my body I felt more normal again.  I have found though that I am much more prone to getting a stomach ache (one form of anxiety for me) if I watch something that is too intense and my love of anything action/adventure has long since gone.  I still enjoy an action flick every once in a while, but it’s different and I have to guard myself more.

That’s just one example of how little things in life can change us.  There are many more, some are painful and detrimentally affect us, some are simple and almost impossible to see, but we’re changed somehow.

The question is how do we handle these changes?  I could easily have given in to the anxiety, I could have dwelt on it, accepted it and never recovered from it.  Not to say that there aren’t people who truly struggle with it and need help, but I knew that this was temporary and that I needed to give it to God!  We don’t give him enough credit, we don’t trust him with our needs enough!  He has made it very clear that he wants to help us, after all He DIED for us!!!  He knows what we need and when we need it . . . WE DON’T!  We really are not doing ourselves any favors by tring to “fix” it ourselves. 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

Until we are willing to give our ALL to Him we cannot find rest and healing!  In the act of laying it all down before Him . . . all our cares, worries, disappointment, failure, pain, sin, addictions, etc . . . we cannot live the fullest life He has in store for us. We cannot experience the healing (physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually) that He has ready and waiting for us to receive.  Because until we are capable and ready to put ourselves in that lowly position we are not truly ready to receive all He has for us!

Are you ready?  I pray that you are and that you can experience the fulness of His love and all He has in store for you.  Living in Fulness!  Maybe, just maybe we can actually move from a statement of “Life Happens!” to “God Happens!”  What joy that would bring!

I simply cannot resist adding an ultra-delightful moment to your day!  I think you will find this video highly amusing.  I was practically rolling on the floor . . . . ok, not exactly rolling, but it is very funny! 

Besides having a very fun name, My Little Monkey Boutique offers a variety of products particularly for moms of infants, toddlers and preschoolers as well as many perfect baby shower and newborn gifts!  I am very excited to be sharing this boutique with you and would like to introduce you to the owner, products and offer you a chance to win something too!

April opened My Little Monkey Boutique in August of 2007 and although the shop itself is new, April has been creating personalized keepsakes since 2004!  This is what she had to say about her shop:

I became interested in creating keepsakes after the birth of my son. This was a way for me to use my creative skills in graphic design along with my new found interest in everything baby! I have been a graphic designer, writer and photographer for the past 10 years, and started the online boutique as a way to be able to stay at home with my son, instead of going back to work full time for an employer.

Most of my products are created by myself or other work at home moms and include personalized keepsakes, clothing, baby gear, mommy calling cards, teacher gifts, room decor, gift baskets and more.

Some of the most popular products at My Little Monkey Boutique are their Teacher Note Cards, Custom Wall Clocks.  Another of their most popular products is the Personalized Name Meaning Prints which I encourage you to take a look at!  They are unique and my favorite is the Photo Background Print which offers you the opportunity to use a photo of your child with their name’s meaning!!! 

I always like to take a look around the shop and share my personal favorite product and this time it really was difficult to choose.  I have to admit that I have two top choices, the Personalized Name Meaning Prints that I mentioned before and The Peanut Gift Basket!  This basket is very cute and filled to the brim with fun baby products all with a uniform theme, and I just adore the peanut onesie!! 

For those of you who would like to shop at My Little Monkey Boutique April has been kind enough to extend a 10% discount on my readers’ purchases if they enter the code FROG10 as they check out!!!  Thank you April!

Now, how about that contest . . . April has been very generous and has offered a set of Mommy Calling Cards for a giveaway. These can be personalized to resemble the winner and her family according to her specifications (be sure to click on the link to see all the fun features available)! I am sure that you will love this prize and here are the instructions to enter (it really is quite simple!):

• Visit My Little Monkey Boutique and find your favorite product.
• Come back here and leave a comment telling us what you chose.

That really is pretty much all there is to it!  If you are a blogger it would be a kind gesture to let others know about April’s generosity by talking about this contest on your blog and linking to My Little Monkey Boutique!  You must enter this contest by 10pm Feb. 26th to be eligible to win.  The winner will be chosen using random.org and announced on Feb. 29th.

Click here to visit our contest page.