It’s been a while since I’ve sent you around the blogosphere to pray for a family, but there’s a family I’d like to introduce you to.

Little Ethan is 6 months old and at 11 weeks he was diagnosed with a rare form of infant lukemia. His mama Kasey has been blogging about it since pretty much day one, but I only met her recently. For all the details and information be sure to visit their blog at http://www.ethankrawiec.blogspot.com/.  

There’s a very specific reason I mention this family now. They will be heading into the front lines of battle with Ethan’s cancer starting on Monday. I know for a fact that they would appreciate all prayer, covet it even!!

He will begin radiation Monday, which will be followed later in the week with chemotherapy. All of this will be done to prepare him for a cord blood transplant that he desperately needs.

This family has been so very inspiring to me! There is no sorrow or mourning going on as Kasey relays the information. In fact despite it all Kasey recently wrote an amazing post about how blessed they truly are with Ethan’s condition.

Through their story you will learn a lot. About yourself, your family and how blessed you are. You may learn something unexpected too, like I did today as Kasey briefly explained what cord blood would do to help her son. I never understood the broader scope of possibility when saving a child’s cord blood! It honestly didn’t occur to me that it could be used not only for my children if needed, but to save the life if a little one like Ethan as well. I honestly couldn’t afford to store it when my little ones were born or I would have, but this sheds even more light on the possibilities for those who can!

If you are a blogger I encourage you to read their story and share it with your own readers. Better yet, hop on over to Faith Lifts and grab Ethan’s button or the button of another child for your sidebar from our Prayers for Children page. If you want a code to use on your blog, just contact me and I’ll put one together for you!

As we get into the last month or so of summer many moms start feeling a little overwhelmed.  It’s a common problem as kids suddenly decide that they are bored.  There are many things you can do, but I just stumbled upon a very fun offer from the gals at Menu Planning Central!  It’s called the Free Summer Stress Package for Mom.

So, click the link above to hop on over to a page with great FREE reports that give you tons of ideas for summer activities, meals for the rest of the summer and much more!  Did I mention that they are FREE!!!!  I’m just waaaay too excited about that!

It’s already time, summer is almost over, I can’t believe it! This summer has practically flown by and I have little to show for it! So, as I begin thinking of back to school supplies and gear I wanted to share a great resource I recently found.

Like many parents I want a deal, but with the expense of gas I don’t want to shop all over town tracking them down in 10 different stores.  So, here’s the skinny … check out www.EZSchoolSupplies.com!  Seriously!  There are many benefits, first, if you use the code on the button above you’ll get 10% off your order, second, if your child’s school is already signed up with them (a super easy process that I’ll talk about in a minute) you can pretty much simply click a button to order your child’s entire supply list!!!!  How exciting is that?

Even if your child’s school isn’t signed up, you can still shop with them.  I love that I can sit with the list and simply type in what I need, order all of the items and know that they will safely arrive in a great box just in time for school!  EZ School Supplies was gracious enough to send me an example box of supplies to check out!  This box is perfect for saving each year’s memories in for your child.  It is sturdy and a great size for storage.  Inside, all of their supplies are carefully wrapped and neatly placed.  All of the supplies are great quality while still being very affordable.

Schools have nothing to lose, in fact they have everything to gain by signing up at EZ School Supplies!  Sure, parents get a wonderful convenience of having their child’s entire list right in front of them with the click of a button, but schools earn 10% of EVERY sale for their students!  What a great fundraiser!

I’ll be approaching my kiddos school first thing this year to let them know about it, since it is just too great of a deal not to! 

Remember, you can save 10% when you use the code EZMB004.  So be sure to hop on over to www.EZSchoolSupplies.com to see what they have to offer!

Here’s a fun recipe, I hope to start offering them more often! 

One thing that we do fairly often is have “theme” dinners.  I like to offer my kiddos diversity in their meals, and one fun way to do that is to tell them something like “Tonight we’re going to Mexico” or china, or wherever! 

So, the recipe today is for some yummy enchiladas, you can always add browned ground beef or shredded chicken to this as well if you’d like, and of course you could replace the cream cheese with sour cream if you absolutely must :) 

For a family our size (8) this recipe would simply be doubled.

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (softened)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup green onions (thinly sliced)
6 flour tortillas
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa of choice

Place cream cheese in bowl and beat with electric mixer until smooth. Add 1 cup of the cheddar cheese and onions. Mix well. Spread each tortilla with a portion of the cream cheese mixture down center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam side down, in a baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas until cream cheese mixture and tortillas are used up. Pour salsa over tortillas. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese over salsa and tortillas. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 20 minutes or until everything is heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

* Serve with your favorite Mexican toppings and a side salad.

There is nothing more frightening than a child making his or her way into your household cleaning supplies. It’s a parent’s worse nightmare! So, I understand how important it is as a mom to find alternative ways to clean my home without jeopardizing the health of my children and family. We are all trying to become more environmentally aware of the dangers of toxins, not only in our home but as it relates to polluting our air, waters, and landscape.

Are your household cleaners safe? If not, here are some measures you can take to make your home a healthier one.

This is what absolutely amazes me … Vinegar, Borax, Lemon Juice, Olive Oil, Salt, and Baking Soda are all the ingredients you can use to clean your entire home. They are safe, non-toxic, and can do just as good a job as your more toxic household cleaners.  Simple easily purchased items that can keep your home and children healthy.

I personally struggle with products that contain bleach, I know what that can do to people and the horrible caustic side effects of breathing it in, especially for someone who may be prone to asthma.  My sis and I completely cleared our homes of it when her youngest son started having severe asthma issues.  It’s just not worth it to have such questionable substances in the home.

Let’s begin with windows. Instead of using a popular brand of glass cleaner, use water with vinegar and lemon juice to spray onto your windows. Vinegar can also be used to clean surfaces in your kitchen and bathroom; just add salt and water. If the oven needs to be cleaned, use liquid soap, Borax and warm water. Borax can also be used as a disinfectant in hot water as well as for cleaning toilets.

Polish your furniture with olive oil and lemon juice. You can also use lemon juice to polish copper kettles; just add a bit of salt. For use in the bathroom, use baking soda and warm water. This can also be used to unclog the drain by pouring the baking soda down the drain with a cup of vinegar.

I’d also like to point out that many stores are carrying a wide variety of organic and safe cleaners in it’s own section and I HIGHLY recomment Mrs. Meyer’s products!!!!!

At a time when pollutants are contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer; while gas and oil fumes are literally killing our natural resources; it is time to take a hard look at what we can do as individuals to decrease the toxins from our air and water. Perhaps if we begin to use alternative methods to using brand named household cleaners, we can send a clear and definitive message to these companies that toxins are no longer an acceptable form to be used in any capacity. It all begins with us taking a stand; it all begins at home.

Challenging, time consuming, overwhelming, confusing, enjoyable, crazy … just a few of the words that I hear describing parenthood.  There are a lot of positives too, but we all know that sometimes they are hard to see.  There’s a little trick though that can make some of the most annoying and crazy things your kids do a little less frustrating. 

While we’re busy trying to pick our battles, we often need to stop and assess a situation as though from the outside.   For instance, it makes me a little more than crazy that all of my older boys have a serious tendency to miss when using the toilet …. and miss often! 

If I were to just get frustrated or angry with them and give them a lecture, I’m simply wasting my breath.  I’ve been pretty relaxed about it lately trying to come up with a solution that requires no lectures or yelling on my part, but really sends the point home. 

Solution - the older boys will each be assigned a day of the week to wipe down the toilet area.  They are all old enough.  The idea here is that if they have to clean it up they are less likely to me as careless, and if they are still careless, I’m not the one having to clean it up every single day. 

Yes, it isn’t foolproof, and I still need to wipe down the seat every time I go in there, but it definitely was a much better solution to this annoying problem.  There are so many other problems like this that again, if we step back and look at it from a different perspective we may come up with a much better and more creative solution.

The point is not to get so caught up in the frustrations of parenting that we can’t see solutions that may be right in front of us.  I’m speaking from experience here!  It is all too easy to just react to a situation or a common issue with each child instead of being PROactive about it!  I learn this over and over again each and every day. 

Sure, it definitely helps if I can start the day ahead of my kiddos … things are always a little rougher if I don’t get up before the twins are wide awake.  This can be another challenge, but it is important or I feel like I’m playing catch up all day.  Also starting the day with prayer is HUGE!  I’m often so busy trying to get ahead of the younger kids that it’s all I can do to send up a quick prayer and that’s if I remember at all.  But again, taking that few extra minutes can make all the difference in the world. 

Do your children do something that is very frustrating right now?  Maybe take a second and step back, looking at that problem objectively …. any new thoughts?

Have I mentioned that I now offer custom (or premade) designs for Typepad too???  Well I do!  I know that I talked a couple days ago about the new site for my premade designs, but I think I should mention this too.

Basically, I can take any of my designs (custom or premade) and customize it to the sizes required at Typepad and coordinate all of your blog’s colors as well.   This is only available for Typepad members that have a Plus or higher membership.  Pro and higher members can even have a background to match!

Custom Typepad Design is offered at www.sweetnsimpledesign.com and premade designs are at www.snsblogdesign.com.  These are created with my usual passion that each mom’s design should be as unique as she is!

I know I was MIA for most of the beginning of this week, but in addition to trying to finish up a couple of designs I’ve been finishing up my own little venture.  Now, please understand that I’m not REALLY adding yet another site to the mix, it is simply making a site I already had up and running a little more formal! 

Most of you are aware that I own www.SweetnSimpleDesign.com and there I offer a wide variety of design options for moms and wahms.  From shoppe designs and business cards to mommy blogs and mommy cards, you’ll find it there.  Here’s the problem …. although I have offered premade and custom blog designs there the whole time, the premades get ENTIRELY lost in the shuffle.  Sooooo, I decided long ago that they simply needed to have their own home. 

I now focus exclusively on custom blog designs at Sweet ‘n Simple Design and now offer all of my premades (well I’m getting there anyway) at www.SNSBlogDesign.com!!!   If you have a chance hop on over and take a peek and let me know what you think! 

Here’s a fun little extra to all of my readers … starting tomorrow at www.FroggyReviews.com I’ll be introducing this site there as well and asking everyone to tell me what they want to see me offer at the new site.  Everyone who leaves a comment telling me their favorite design or what they’d like to see will be entered to win a design!  So be sure to enter.

A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. (Proverbs 15:13 NIV)

The grumpies have struck … full force.  Myself and all of the children are infected with this nasty disease! 

It’s the truth though isn’t it?  Grumpiness is just like a virus, it starts with one person and spreads to everyone else.  As a mom, it is difficult for me to admit, but the grumpies usually start with me!  I know, gasp!

We are all prone to the grumpies, but when we have so many little ones in our care, they are bound to “catch them” if exposed long enough by the very mother that wants so terribly to do everything “right”. 

I worry because one of our twins tends to be grumpy much of the time.  But the other one is a very happy guy.  I could sit around and meditate on this concept all day long, I could worry and blame myself, wondering where I went wrong and how to fix it.  This wouldn’t be entirely unusual for me, but it isn’t what I need to do.

I simply need to go to God and ask for help.  Yes, I’ll need to work at getting rid of the grumpies too, but asking for a pleasant and peaceful spirit will definitely help.  Giving the stress behind the grumpiness (or the hormones) to Him doesn’t hurt either. 

Whatever is done, they need to leave, the environment is stifling and yucky.  I fear that an undertone of grumpiness has been around for quite a while and that it only occasionally shows it’s true colors.  I may even need to ask my kiddos for forgiveness.  That is something that can be such a learning experience for both parent and child.  As we realize that we need to be ”real” with our children and as they realize that everyone makes mistakes but there’s better ways to handle it. 

So how do you handle the grumpies?  Are you infected right now?

This contest has ended, thank you for participating! Please be sure to check out www.FroggyReviews.com for the latest contests and information!

Tiny Prints is a very cute shop offers a great selection of party invitations, holiday cards, photo birth announcements, thank you cards and much more!  Creative, personal, custom and VERY fun for your family! 

If you are planning a baby shower or expecting a baby you will definitely appreciate Tiny Prints’ Baby Shower invitations and Birth announcements.  If you’re looking for a great gift for an expecting mom, they even offer gift certificates!  Personally, I have always found it difficult to find a good selection for twins (or higher order multiples).  Tiny Prints has a beautiful selection of twin Birth Announcements that are very fun. 

I also really like the personal feel of their party invitations!  They offer a wide variety of birthday party invitations for boys, girls, even a line of gender neutral.  Their Summer Party Invitations are very popular right now.   I’m also told that their Halloween Party invitations are quite popular.

Tiny Prints offers a great selection of cards, invitations and more just for the holidays!  We give out Photo Christmas Cards to all of our family and friends each year and I have to say the ones offered at Tiny Prints are fun, beautiful and simple!

Tiny Prints has also offered a $50 gift card for one of you.  All you have to do is visit Tiny Prints and take a look around.  Be sure to come back here and leave a comment telling us what your favorite item is and/or something you’d like to see at the shop.

This contest will end on July 28th.  If you have a chance to blog about it and let others know that’s always appreciated by these great contest sponsors (but not required to enter).