Paw Print Palace is a brand new online pet boutique that offers pet owners some of the most luxurious products available. You can find apparel, aromatherapy products, collars, harnesses, leashes, sets, beds, costumes, carriers, food & treats, stairs, strollers, toys, etc.

My readers can get 15% off right now by using the code frogsoup. To read more about it and enter to win fun products click here!

Are you enjoying all the new contests the last couple of days???? There’s one here and 2 at Froggy Reviews with a third to be published in the morning!!!! Fun Fun! All of these contests end on June 13th so tell all your friends.

As most of you are aware I am involved in a couple other sites and I wanted to post a couple of things about those:

~ The Sampler went up today at 5 Minutes for Mom and it is a FABULOUS post by Robin of PENSIEVE. Again, I truly encourage all of you to hop over there and read it and make sure you leave a little comment love for the author and check out her blog! I am always looking for great submissions for this column, so be sure you visit the guidelines (linked to in the post) for all the details!

~ BloggedIn News & Networking is an online magazine that is the hub of the Family Friendly Blogroll.  I am one of the co-hosts of the weekly column “Highlights” where we feature published posts by members of the blogroll (opposite of what I do at the Sampler LOL).   Well, I need some blogs to feature!!!!  If you have a GREAT post on your blog and you are a member of the Family Friendly Blogroll and would like to have your post featured there PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!!  

~ That brings me to the biggest announcement of all …. I am the new administrator for Faith Lifts.  This is a ministry of 5 Minutes for Mom that offers devotionals to encourage and uplift other moms every day!  It is a huge task and not one that I readily or quickly took on.  After much prodding and prompting from the Lord and asking him many times to re-confirm this decision I told Janice and Susan that I was willing to take it on. 

We are so excited to be publishing devotionals on the site again!  I encourage you to stop by and even to sign up for updates so that you can get each day’s devotional delivered to you by email or in your blog reader . 

My Mommy’s Bracelets is yet another great WAHM shop that was begun to facilitate a moms desire to stay home with her little ones. This great shop offers custom designed and personalized jewelry for Mothers, Grandmothers, Little Girls, Babies as well as special occasions, awareness, loss, remembrance and much more!

My Mommy’s Bracelets is offering my readers a 10% discount by using the code FROG …. but hurry, this is only good through June 13th The are also giving away a very cute bracelet! Click here to find out how to enter to win!

Bella Symphony offers unique and custom made products for babies and children.

Go shopping with Bella Symphony through June 30th and use the code A Frog In My Soup to get 10% off your order!

To read the full review and enter the contest for a very fun blanket Click Here!

Because last week was almost a complete bust I have had a lot of catching up to do this week.  I’m offering a few giveaways all in a row (not that you’ll be too disappointed about that LOL). 

I have just published one for today and I’ll be posting introductions for two more that I’ll be featuring over at Froggy Reviews.  These are really great contests so you’ll want to make sure you enter quickly!

I recently had the opportunity to review a new book by Heather Gibbs Flett and Whitney Moss titled The Rookie Mom’s Handbook, 350 Activities to do with (and without!) your baby.  This fun book takes new moms from birth through the first year of their baby’s life! 

This book gives specific activities for each month, month one offers 20 activities that support you as a new mom and gives you great ideas of ways to take care of yourself as well as your baby!  Though not every activity will suit all new mamas, there are many unique and fun ones that offer positive ways to enjoy your new life as a mom!

One thing that stood out to me are all of the fun “crafty” activities throughout the book!  The first month it’s making a swaddle blanket and a time capsule.  Month 6 teaches you how to decorate your baby’s clothes with fabric paint. Month 7 teaches you how to sew kids’ pants out of t-shirts. 

I am a very practical mama, so I enjoyed reading the activities that offered practical solutions to everyday needs!  Activity #157 offers suggestions on putting together a clothing swap party, activity #147 tells you how to blend your own baby food and many of the activities offer stage appropriate answers to problems like breastfeeding, getting to know your gear, cooking, etc.  There are even great suggestions of photos to take of your baby at each stage as well as stage related “reality checks”, baby development and mom’s new skills and fears.

I cannot honestly say that I loved every suggestion, but most of them are very worthwhile and truly do make sense.  Overall, I recommend this book for new moms - to keep them thinking about things they can do to make the first year with their baby comfortable, calm and to help them have reasonable expectations for themselves and their new life!

I have a copy of this book that I’m giving away.  If you’re interested please leave a comment telling me your favorite “new mom” suggestion! Just be sure to enter by June 13th when I’ll choose a winner.

For all of you who have wondered what it looks like when 6 boys sit down to eat . 

Incidentally, this wall will be painted very soon

Ok, so about a month or so ago I told all of you about the family joining the local YMCA.  I worked hard to go every Tuesday and Thursday to at least do a little something.  There is a yoga class on those two mornings and I thought that would be a great way to break myself (and the kiddos) into a little regular workout without it being overwhelming.  I was wrong!

Not being accustomed to using weight or cardio training equipment I really was limited to going only on the days a class of some sort was offered in order to feel comfortable.  But then there’s the whole twins and childcare issue …. ugh!!!

They have a tendency to HATE childcare of any type.  Nursery … went nuts any time they saw the hallway that led to the class - even if I was working in there!  Two year old class room … Bug has warmed up to this idea a smidge.  I go in with them and he hangs on me for a second and then goes merrily on his way - coloring, drawing, etc.  He does not like to see me leave though, so as long as I sneak away he’s happy.  Monkey though … now that’s a whole different ball game! 

He will scream and cling and act like he is being killed … dead!!  I’ve mentioned this problem before and it DOES NOT GET BETTER WITH CONSISTENCY.  The only consistent thing I’ve learned about my little Twinkies is that there isn’t any merit to being consistent with them - ugh!  Being my last children I suppose they felt it necessary to make sure that the mold that we were ever so comfortable with was completely shattered! *Sigh*

So try as I would taking them every Tuesday and Thursday was becoming more and more stressful.  Not to mention the fact that if there was a green gooey nose or any other remote inkling of an ailment I refuse to go anyway and expose others to it.  So here I was … STUCK!

Thankfully our friends who live down the road are members too and we had been going together as often as we could and she recently met with a great Personal Trainer at the Y.  One day as I told her my dilemma of being stuck only going when a familiar class was offered because I don’t know anything about the equipment, she quickly recommended that I meet with this Trainer.  So I gave her a call and set it up. 

My blessed neighbor offered to watch the little darlings while I met with her this morning … she did it while we were all at the Y though, so it simply reinforced why I must have more freedom to go there when I want.  Thankfully the gal is also a mom and totally understands that I have limitations.  Maybe a few more than most with 6 kids, but she was quick to offer me great exercises to do at home as well as a plan to do while I was at the gym. 

It was a little daunting, but overall I was soooooo happy I had done it.  I simply must point out that the ellipticals have tv’s!  Seriously LOL!  We got on them to warm up and it was so funny because mine was on the Food Network … I simply had to laugh.  Making yourself drool over fattening food while you work out seems a little ironic, but it is one of my preferred channels so I was happy!

I left there with a renewed purpose.  No more time on my hands, but more freedom to go to the gym when it works for me.  Thank goodness.  Summer break is quickly approaching and I need that flexibility. 

Just wanted to give all of you a little update!  Hope you had a great weekend.  Oh and for those of you keeping up with the computer saga, it continues and looks like it will be continuing for a while. 

Day 1 of a three day weekend has been very busy!  An amazing thing happened today, we worked hard all day and got absolutely nothing done. 

Then suddenly this evening, hubby, now armed with a Paint Sprayer (thanks Dad!) has been able to paint most of the house … in the dark, mind you, but still!! He spent the entire day painting by hand and had only been able to do the garage (with the help of 4 boys) and half of the front of our house.

I spent the entire day over at my parents’ house with the twins … working on my computer and a few designs.  Hubby and I had gone to the store last night and picked up a few “necessities” … for us anyway!  A major hard drive and a battery backup that monitors and adjusts the incoming voltage for our computers and supplies!  So I was trying to get all of that setup.

The entire day I tried to get my computer downloaded onto the hard drive and accomplished NOTHING!  I did a little work on my computer, transferred it to one of my brothers’ memory sticks and moved it onto another computer to put it online.  It was a major workout with little to show for it LOL! 

Then I got home and suddenly I was accomplishing tons.  I was able to get contents downloading as I did housework.  I’d return to my room to continue the process and move on to another project around the house.  It was incredible. 

So now that I have a chance to sit back and breathe for the first time today I’m realizing that basically hubby and I spent the entire day (from 9:30am until 6:00pm) working hard but getting nothing accomplished.  We didn’t have the right tools to do the job efficiently.  Once we did … LOOK OUT!

I wish I could see this in other areas too!  I talked the other day about my love of lists, but I equally love the idea of being organized - if I could actually GET organized that would be lovely!  Here’s another great result of organization … efficiency!  Getting something done quickly, easily and a job well done!  I love that feeling! 

I just hope that the inability to be productive will not follow us for the rest of the weekend! 

In the life of a Mommy blogger and a Graphic/Web Designer, one of the worst things that can happen is for a computer to be out of commission!  This is where I have been for a week now.  In the middle of several projects with more coming in.  Contests that are supposed to be featured, but can’t.  UGH!!!

Last weekend my computer’s AC adapter completely stopped working.  It is only 5 months old so I called the manufacturer.  “No Problem” they told me … it would arrive in 3 to 5 business days.  OK, I thought, I’ll stick it out and be patient.  And I was … until Thursday afternoon rolled around and nothing arrived. 

By mid-morning today I was frantic and called the manufacturer again to check in and see that the parts had been sent as I was told.  Yes, they shipped out on Monday, but are not scheduled to be delivered until next Tuesday.  SAY WHAT??????  I was astounded, shocked, mouth-hanging-agape and horrified.  you have got to be kidding me.  What am I supposed to do?  I spent the entire coversation asking for a solution and NOT losing my cool and they offered me NOTHING! 

Meanwhile it is all I can do to ’save face’ with my lovely new customers and try to find the best way to facilitate all of their needs through this ordeal.  My Dad has a computer by the same manufacturer and since my hubby’s adapter isn’t compatible, my computer has made a little trek over to my parent’s house to see if there’s hope!!! 

I’m praying that his cord works and my little computer will be fully charged in the morning.  If so, I will be able to transfer everything over to the brand new, lovely little external hard drive we purchased this evening (much to our pocketbook’s chagrin LOL).

This may seem like a silly thing to get upset about, but integrity means a lot to me.  I work hard to create beautiful designs for my customers in a very short period of time, which they greatly appreciate.  The idea that this process may be messed up - even for a moment is very difficult to swallow.

This is not a coincidence in my opinion however.  As you will find out over the next couple of weeks, my computer’s power cord stopped working almost exactly the moment I said “yes” to supporting and helping lead a ministry.  I’ll tell you all more about that another time, but the point is that this isn’t the first time I’ve had computer problems shortly after taking on a new ministry responsibility!

So, I was hoping to offer some great good news today, with the promise of some great pictures of things we’re doing around the house, but that will still have to wait a bit.  I truly hope you all have an amazing Memorial Day weekend!