A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a very fun Spring Soiree put on by Cascade Ice and hosted at Mane Blow Dry Bar in Seattle. This was a very fun event and surprisingly educational.

Although I showed up at Mane being very familiar with Cascade Ice, I learned two things – Cascade Ice can be used to make very fun mixed drinks in addition to just being enjoyed as is… and what a blow dry bar is.

Cascade Ice

For those of you who may not be familiar with Cascade Ice, it is a flavored sparkling water with ZERO calories that’s also free of sugar, gluten, sodium and carbohydrates. It’s so very tasty!

What I loved was seeing first hand how simple and fun it is to make these flavored sparkling waters into very fun, yummy cocktails and mocktails for any occasion. You can even find great recipes on their blog - my favorites are the yummy lemonade recipes!

Mane Blow Dry Bar

Now it’s likely that if you live near any major city other than Seattle, you probably know what a blow dry bar is and wonder where on earth my head has been buried. Before you judge me too harshly, let me remind you that Seattle is a very wet and windy place… not somewhere that one typically expects a beautiful hairstyle to last so we tend not to put a ton of effort into it (we are not famous for casual Friday for no reason people, it was out of sheer necessity).

Even the owners of Mane Blow Dry Bar will admit that it was a new idea to introduce to the Seattle area, and that I’m not alone in my… ahem… need for an education on this particular style of service salon (so there!!). Regardless of all that, I’m sold! It’s the most amazing idea!

More Details

For all those Pacific Northwesterners who happen to be reading this (hi Mom!), Cascade Ice is available for purchase all over the Northwest, including Albertson’s, GFC, Fred Meyer and WinCo as well as online. For those of you who live in other parts of the country be sure to check out Cascade Ice’s website for locations to purchase.

Want to like or follow them? Here’s there details:

• Cascade Ice Facebook Fan Page
• Cascade Ice on Twitter
• Cascade Ice Blog

Thank you’s and Credits: A huge thanks to Cascade Ice for inviting me to the Spring Soiree, also thanks to Mane Blow Dry Bar for hosting the event and the amazing hairstyles we all were able to leave with. Photos are all courtesy of www.clanegessel.com (yep, I took my own but hey…I’m not in any of them lol).

Disclosure: As with all features, product and/or compensation was received in order to present this post. All opinions expressed are honest and exclusively those of the author. For our full disclosure policy please go here.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of holding a MAM “Smile, Baby, Smile” party.  In conjunction with MAM and Child’s Play Communications, I was able to have a whole bunch of my mommy friends over for some fun while we learned about how to get our little one’s off to the right start in the oral care department.

First, I have to say, my wonderful friend Shera, who you all know as the mom behind A Frog in My Soup, happens to be an amazing graphic designer, and she whipped up this adorable invitation for my friends.  It set the tone for the party, and my friends were super impressed and excited when they received it.  Check it out!  I love it! It is so fabulous!

MAM was kind enough to provide me and my friends with all sorts of oral care products!  We played games where we learned about how to keep our kids gums and teeth strong and healthy.  I was very impressed with my friends’ knowledge about baby teeth!  I had no idea how many teeth a toddler had!  I guess I never really stopped to think about it – at least not after baby 2!

Here’s a look at the goodies that decorated my table…everyone was able to go home with a massaging brush, a training brush, and an oral care rabbit all by MAM.

This was my little set-up for the treats.  We had so much fun learning about all of MAM’s fabulous oral care products, sharing tips on how to get our little ones to say “ahhh” when it is time for teeth brushing, and just catching up!  I can honestly say that I have been a fan of MAM for as long as I’ve been a parent – it is the only brand of pacifiers that my kids would ever take, and I’m excited to still be using their products as my kids get older.  MAM is a brand that I trust to be high quality, innovative, BPA free, safe, and stylish – what more could a mama ask for?!

On Wednesday I introduced all of you to the Stress Relief Toolkit by Darlene Berkel. The beauty of this toolkit is that it’s packed with information, but it’s not intended as something you just sit down and read. Here’s a little more information straight from Darlene about this great program.

Remember, you can find all of this information and much much more including testimonials from other women on the Stress Relief Toolkit’s website!

Program Set-up

This is a very enlightening program, which is designed to last 8 weeks.

Each week you are provided with a tool that helps relieve stress and you are shown how to incorporate it into your daily routine. In fact there is detailed information about the benefits of each tool in terms of health and mental well-being.

The duration of each session is just right. You have a week to implement the tool before moving on to the next one. Each session is accompanied by a worksheet which helps you to identify the stressors in your life and to create a plan for dealing with them effectively.

The weekly modules are very effective, and most moms find it really useful to take time out each week to reflect on what was causing them stress and to plan what they could do differently to improve their stress levels over the coming week.

Long-term value of this great educational tool

I’ve put together a comprehensive educational program to help moms cope with any anxieties
they could ever experience, by giving them the tools to respond to stress in a different way. The program also empowers moms and teaches them practical ways to minimize whatever triggers
their anxieties – whether it’s money, their love life, their mothers, their jobs, their health or the health of their loved ones, or anything else. It’s the type of product that a mom could pick up at any time in the future if she feels overwhelmed and need more inspiration for stress solutions.

That is long-term value at its best!

If you haven’t already, be sure to hop on over and enter to win one of 5 Toolkits we are offering as a giveaway here at A Frog In My Soup. Tuesday is the last day to enter so don’t wait! 

Toolkit Contents week-by-week

Want a little preview of what’s in the Toolkit? Well here you go!!

• Week 1: How To Live Life With Zero Regrets.
• Week 2: The Power of Laughter
• Week 3: How to Remove Toxic People From Your Life.
• Week 4: The Importance of Solitude
• Week 5: The Importance of Prayer.
• Week 6: Combating Depression & Anxiety
• Week 7: Transforming Stress Into Success
• Week 8: How to Achieve Lasting Stress Relief.

Last month I had the amazing opportunity to attend a fantastic event in Seattle featuring Hallmark’s Moments and Milestones. It was so fun to go and hang out with other local bloggers and learn about all of Hallmark’s fantastic products. There was great food, tons of cards and amazing Hallmark representatives, including some writers.

We had the fun opportunity to meet Keion Jackson (humor writer, who constantly had us all cracking up), Derek McCracken (Creative Director, who is so down to earth and totally relatable) and Molly Wigand (writer, who is so genuine and funny and creative) who were all such a delight to get to hang out with. At the center of it all though, was Hallmark’s Moments and Milestones featuring amazing everyday products that truly just meet people where they are at.

You may have seen Hallmark’s national Tell Me TV Commercial, but here’s a fun video that they put together featuring the Seattle bloggers and totally driving home the relativity of the products that Hallmark creates for us…

In an age where families are often spread out and may not see each other as often, it’s more important than ever for families to have ways to connect. What I love about Hallmark is that they offer so very many ways to really do this in a very personal way.

Sure, we all know them for their cards that basically can be found to suit any situation or need. But to be honest I had no idea that it went so far beyond that.

My favorite idea is honestly the recordable storybooks. This is such an absolutely amazing gift for a child, especially when someone is going to be away. It’s a great way for a child to hear their favorite people read them a story. If a parent is in the military or will be away on a business trip, this is the perfect way to still be there for the end of your child’s day. Or maybe the long distance grandparents who want their grandchildren to feel them close by.

We also got to meet Nugget the adorable interactive stuffed puppy with a line of storybooks that make him come alive. From their fun Story Buddies series, these make such a great gift! Personally I’m on the continual lookout for an App to be released to go with Nugget!!! Yep, there are free apps available that work with each character and when used with the right one, they also become interactive.

The highlight (and most hilarious part) of the event had to be a brief trip into the world of becoming a Hallmark card writer. Each table was grouped up with one of the attending Hallmark writers and it was a hoot! Our table was teamed up with Keion (he is so hilarious) and we had a funny photo of an elderly couple. We were given the task to “write” a card to match the photo. It was so fun… crazy, but fun!!

A huge thanks to Liz (Fleishman-Hillard) and Hallmark for inviting me attend the event and learn more about all the amazing products they offer! I definitely suggest all of you check out the amazing lines of cards and other great products that they offer for the next time you have need to encourage, support or simply celebrate someone special!

Disclosure: Hallmark sponsored and held the event and invited AFrogInMySoup to attend. As with any event or feature, we were supplied with a variety of products relating to the event. This post is entirely the opinion of the writer and is written honestly from their perspective. You can read our full disclosure policy here.

Hello everyone, it is that time of year again and the Ultimate Blog Party 2012 is upon us (well actually it started midnight on Friday), brought to us all, of course, by my absolutely beautiful friends Janice and Susan of 5 Minutes for Mom. So once again it is time for me to reintroduce myself and my little corner of the blogosphere.

My name is Shera and I’m the mom behind A Frog In My Soup (yes, I really do have 6 sons). This blog was born in September 2006 as an outlet to journal about my boys. My love of writing quickly took over, and when that was combined with my passion for interacting with and supporting other moms, the site became oh-so-much-more! Feel free to read about me and about my Frogs while you’re here.

I welcome you to browse around all the topics we cover here. We talk a lot about Family, Cooking (and meal planning and recipes) and amazing Products. We do a lot of giveaways and love to talk about many other great topics from travel to health.

I’d also love to introduce you to my amazing assistant Nancy, who has a great blog of her own called Stuff Mom Loves. Nancy really helps keep things flowing ever so nicely around here as my Review Coordinator among other things. I especially love her amazing tips and info on great family travel destinations. In fact, I’m so excited to see what she shares with all of us in the near future about their family’s recent trip to Aruba!  I’m so totally jealous hehe!

I have been so very blessed to have been part of the mom-blogging community for so long. The friendships I have made through the years from working with bloggers (like Janice and Susan in various capacities as a writer at 5 Minutes for Mom) and meeting bloggers at various events is simply priceless!!

Please feel free to subscribe to A Frog In My Soup, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and/or follow us on Pinterest for all the latest updates. We’d love to have you along for the ride as part of our family .

A word of warning… the ride is often crazy, nutty, silly and almost always completely and totally unpredictably wild!!! As my little Bug would say…

“That’s just how we roll!”

Congratulations to the winner of this giveaway – Lisa L.!  This winner was chosen using random.org.

If you are looking for a super fun way to spice up your kids’ bags, I’ve found it!  Gutzy Gear is quickly becoming the newest trend among kids of all ages.  These super soft, and high quality strap covers turn the strap or handle of any backpack or rolling bag into a fashion statement, an expression of individuality, and a display of patches, called ”Gutzies”, to trade and collect.

The strap covers will fit almost any backpack, messanger  bag, or rolling bag.  The Gutzies stick on really well insuring that your kids won’t lose their patches, but they can tug them off to rearrange them or trade them if they want to.  Both of my kids decorated their backpacks with Gutzies before we went on vacation last week.  They took their bags through the airport, on the plane, through the resort, and back home again without a Gutzie even shifting.  This was after a road trip with these bags, many redecorating sessions, and trading with their friends and cousins.  I loved how easy it was to spot their bags, and they had so much fun showing off their patches to everyone who asked where we got these awesome strap covers.

I love how affordable Gutzy Gear is.  The straps, which come with 2 surprise Gutzies, are only $9.99 and each pack of Gutzies, which contains 2 patches, are only $4.99!!  It is such a fabulous incentive for your kids to work towards – whether it be by getting good grades, helping around the house, or improving behavior – you can give your kids an exciting reward, and let them proudly display it on their bag.

Right now, there are so many cool Gutzies to choose from, I am having a hard time picking my favorites to share with you here!!  Here are a few of my kids favorites – both from their bags and their wish lists.

Gutzy Gear is always coming out with new patches, so you can always find new ones for your kids to collect, share and trade.  These would make awesome birthday gifts, party favors, Easter Basket treats, or report card rewards!  I can’t say enough about how cool Gutzy Gear is and how wondrful their customer service is.  It has been such a pleasure working with them on this review and I am so excited that I get to give one lucky reader a set of Gutzy straps and 2 packs of Gutzies!  Here’s how you can enter!!

Each of the following count as one entry.  Please leave a separate comment for each of the following that you complete.  This contest will end on March 30th, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST.   A winner will be chosen at random and announced shortly after.  This contest is open to residents of the US,aged 18 years or older.

• Leave a comment on this post telling us what it means to be Gutzy and which patch is your favorite.
• “Like” Gutzy Gear on Facebook.
• Follow Gutzy Gear on Twitter.
• “Like” A Frog in My Soup on Facebook.
• Follow A Frog in My Soup on Twitter.
• Tweet about this giveaway or share this giveaway on Facebook and tag A Frog in My Soup and Gutzy Gear.  (You can do this everyday for an additional entry, just be sure to leave a separate comment with a link to your post each time!)

Good luck and happy entering!!

Disclosure: At A Frog In My Soup we believe in presenting products to you that we have tried and truly love. We were sent strap covers and Gutzies to try out.  As always, all opinions, views and thoughts are honest and entirely our own. You can read our full review policy here.

Ok, I will admit I have a growing addiction for Pinterest… but I know I’m not alone! As many of you know I’ve been carefully pinning fun things on Pinterest for a few months now and I’m really enjoying it!

It is simply an absolutely amazing way to share things I love with all of you in an incredible visual form. I am such a lover of all things color and photography so you’ll see that pop up often in my pins, but you’ll also get some great sneak peeks at sales, new products, great family destinations, handmade things I love and much much more.

Feel free to join in and follow afroginmysoup on Pinterest and get ahead of the game when entering our great giveaways here on the site… yep, that’s right, being an afroginmysoup Pinterest follower will now be one more entry for that next prize that you would LOVE to win!!!

I have even begun recently to contribute to the Top Mom Bloggers board for Circle of Moms which is very fun!

I would love to know how many of you use and love Pinterest… and even what you use it for?

I absolutely love the company that I am about to tell you about.  Both of our “fun finds” this week are such amazing brands in that they want to help people who are not as fortunate build their economy and communities!

Tegu is an amazing company that began because one of the owners, Chris Haughey, was on a business trip to Honduras and decided that he wanted to do something to help the country.  He decided to do this by creating a for-profit company based in Honduras.  Chris got together with his brother, Will, and discovered that Honduras was home to many beautiful hardwoods, and thus began Tegu – “a toy business founded to address unemployment, neglected natural and human resources, and the need for entrepreneurship in Honduras”.

When I first came across Tegu’s magnetic block sets, I knew that I had to try them with my children.  These blocks are safe, non-toxic, and natural.  They also bring our kids back to basics with their simple concept, however, the imagination that I have seen within my children as they play with these is amazing.  I love to watch my son try to figure out which ends of the blocks will attract or repel each other, and my daughter is amazed how the blocks can ”grab” each other off of the floor.  There are so many fabulous sets, but my personal favorite are the Tegu Tints.  While the natural, mahogany, and jungle sets are also great, I personally love to see what my kids do with the colors.  I wish I could take credit for the gorgeous peacock, but this is just one of the beautiful designs that you can see on Tegu’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

In addition to Tegu’s basic block sets, they have just launched a line called “Mobility” that combines these amazing blocks with magnetic, wooden wheels.

I am writing this and thanking my lucky stars that I had a pouch of Tegu Tints wit me on our trip to Aruba!  We have been playing with our blocks this entire vacation – on the plane, at restaurants, in our hotel room, and by the pool.  They are so compact, easy to clean up, and entertaining for both me and my kids!  We have so much fun with them and they are going to find a permanent place on my packing list for trips near and far!  If you are still looking for a really great addition to your little one’s Easter basket, Tegu Tints are they way to go!  They are sure to be a hit and the gorgeous colors will fit the spring theme perfectly!

Tegu has generously offered to give one of our readers a Pocket Pouch of Tegu Tints!  This is even more awesome because they are extremely hard to get your hands on!  Even Oprah mentioned them in O Magazine!

Here’s how you can win your set…

Each of the following count as one entry.  Please leave a separate comment for each of the following that you complete.  This contest will end on March 28th, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST.   A winner will be chosen at random and announced shortly after.  This contest is open to residents of the US aged 18 years or older.

• Leave a comment on this post telling us how you would play with your Tegu Tints.
• “Like” Tegu on Facebook.
• Follow Tegu on Twitter.
• “Like” A Frog in My Soup on Facebook.
• Follow A Frog in My Soup on Twitter.
• Tweet about this giveaway or share this giveaway on Facebook and tag A Frog in My Soup and Tegu.  (You can do this everyday for an additional entry, just be sure to leave a separate comment with a link to your post each time!)

Good luck and happy entering!!

Disclosure: At A Frog In My Soup we believe in presenting products to you that we have tried and truly love. We were sent a Pocket Pouch from Tegu to try out.  As always, all opinions, views and thoughts are honest and entirely our own. You can read our full review policy here.

I love spring, but it’s taking it’s good sweet time to make an appearance in our area this year. Earlier this week we actually woke up several mornings in a row to massive snowflakes and snow on the ground. Not enough this time to mess with life too much, but enough for the boys to start asking me a ton of questions… thank you so much Mother Nature (insert sarcasm here)!

The older kiddos are walking around mumbling under their breath about how “the weather is broken”, “Mother Nature is messing with us”  and “isn’t it supposed to be spring?” and the little ones are Ooohing and Aahing over the white stuff outside. It’s a comedy of sorts to watch all their reactions.

I on the other hand am actually relishing the cool mornings because somehow I enjoy that warm cup of fresh coffee that much more on days like this! It’s the one thing in the middle of the crazy morning bustle that I am able to just relax while the whirlwind swirls around me at a dizzying pace.

So when I heard that to celebrate the beginning of spring, International Delight is making a splash with their Spring Into Free Flavor Sweepstakes, you can only imagine how fun that sounded to me.

All you have to do is “Like” International Delight on Facebook and you’ll be entered to win creamer for a whole year! Better yet, the first 50,000 of you who do so will receive a coupon for either free creamer or International Delight’s new Iced Coffee—just in time for those warm spring days!

Spring Into Free Flavor Sweepstakes Prizes include:

Grand Prize – A one-year supply of free International Delight Creamer

First Prize – (12 winners) One-month supply of free International Delight Creamer

Free Coupon Offer:

Updated: It has come to my attention that all 50,000 free coupons that were offered were actually claimed within 3 hours of the opening of the offer last night. Make sure you still enter to win the other great prizes they are offering though!!!!

International Delight is giving away 50,000 free coupons!  The first 50,000 participants will receive a coupon for their choice of a free quart of International Delight creamer or half gallon of International Delight Iced Coffee (in participating states due to dairy regulations).

*To enter, user must ‘Like’ International Delight on Facebook; Winners will be randomly selected; One entry per household.

With these great chances to win, I would love to know: what’s your favorite International Delight flavor? Join the conversation and make sure you hop on over to their Facebook page and enter!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine. Spring Into Free Flavor Sweepstakes Rules.

Updated 3/11/2012 – Congratulations to the winner of this giveaway who left our 17th comment, Jen!  This winner was chosen using www.random.org.

Itzy Bitzy is mom owned shop that was born out of a desire to give back to the many wonderful organizations that offer research of craniofacial conditions and support to families who are affected by them.  Michelle Ruesch is the proud mother of 5 beautiful children.

Her last two children are twin girls, one of whom was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome.  Treacher Collins is a condition that causes the underdevelopment of facial bones.  Because of this, Michelle’s daughter Sydney, had trouble breathing and eating by mouth.  This condition also causes trouble with hearing and speech.  Sydney spent the first four months of her life in the NICU where she had the first of many reconstructive surgeries that she will have to endure throughout her life.  Despite all of this, Sydney is a bright, happy, and determined little girl with a great spirit!

Michelle decided that in order to help educate people about craniofacial conditions and Treacher Collins, she would create her own business where she would sell some of her favorite things that she had for her twins, including Squeaky Shoes, headbands, and hair clips.  A portion of each of these sales goes to support The Treacher Collins Connection and the Children’s Craniofacial Organization, two organizations that Michelle is grateful to have found to give support to her family.

In addition to selling adorable shoes and accessories, Itzy Bitzy has just launched a new program called the Klippie Klub!  The Klippie Klub, which launched officially on March 1st,  is a monthly subscription that allows members to receive huge discounts on the newest hair accessories!  You not only get HUGE savings, your first month comes with $65 worth of free product, including a Klippie Klutch Hair Accessories Organizer and Travel Bag.

As the mom of a little girl, I know how frustrating it can be to try and travel with all of her clips and bows.  I don’t want them to get lost, stained, smooshed, etc. and the Klippie Klutch has been a life saver.

These bows are just gorgeous!  I have already used every single one in my daughter’s hair, and in addition, I have used a few myself.  (Not in my hair, of course, I’m not as cute as she is! )  I actually thought that the bow in this picture to the left was so beautiful that I used it to hold together one of my wrap sweaters.  I can’t tell you how many compliments I got!  Unfortunately for me, my daughter did not want to share and immediately took it off and put it in her hair.  Ha!

My first delivery of the Klippie Klub came with the gorgeous Klutch and beautiful bows shown above.  There were a few other surprises as well, like a beautiful headband that can be used with any of the clips.  There are three different Klutch designs to choose from and two different types of memberships, the Krazy membership and the Kasual membership.  Both memberships offer huge discounts with different levels of commitment.  Right now, if you join the Krazy Klippie Klub which requires a 6 month commitment, your first month is free!  All you have to pay is $4.99 shipping.

Giveaway Details!!

But even better, you can a Klippie Klutch and everything included in the first month’s package here!!  Woohoo!

Here’s how you can win!

Each of the following count as one entry.  Please leave a separate comment for each of the following that you complete.  This contest will end Friday, March 9, 2012 @ 6:00 pm and a winner will be announced shortly after.

• Visit Klippie Klub’s website and tell us which membership and klutch design you like best.
• Like Klippie Klub on Facebook.
• Sign us for the Klippie Klub Newsletter.
• Like A Frog in My Soup on Facebook.
• Follow A Frog in My Soup on Twitter.

Good luck and happy entering!!

Disclosure:  I was provided with a Klippie Klub membership for the purpose of this review.  All opinions expressed are solely that of the writer.  You can read this site’s full disclosure here.

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