Our boys love to talk to us, some of them more (ok, MUCH more) than others. Today as I was checking email my little Bug came up and stood right next to me.

Bug: “Mommy look.”
Me: “uh huh sweetie” (not really paying attention)
Bug: “Watch me Mommy, watch me” (in his happy little voice)

At that moment a light bulb went on. Not only did I realize that I needed to drop everything right then and there and listen to one of my little 4 year olds, but I also realized that we all need to be noticed.

Whether we realize it or not, there is a definite need to feel like you are important to someone in life. As a mom, I need to recognize those great moments to offer my boys my undivided attention.

Not only is this good for their emotional well being, but it also shows them how much I love and respect them as a human being. It’s something they crave… it’s something we all crave… and for now it’s something that they mainly receive from mommy and daddy.

Down the road though, I can only hope that our example of showing them love through these moments of undivided attention will also make them realize just how much that need can be filled by turning to God.  Without Him, that and many other needs we have as humans will never be filled, we will always feel empty, never satisfied.

With 5 brothers to contend with my children definitely have to learn to share the spotlight (so to speak). But among all the other little ways I can show them how much I love them, I’m honored to get the opportunity to spend a few moments getting a glimpse into their little brains by just listening.

The heart…

The heart begins beating less than a month after conception and continues (of course) until the day of our death. It is one of the most incredible muscles of the body and was perfectly designed.

It is what we refer to not only for it’s technical life giving aspect, but also in regards to relationships, love, feelings, and much more. I guess you could say that much of our lives rotate around the heart.

When the heart begins to fail… both physically and relationally it is a major wake up call. In the physical aspect we have been thrown a few curveballs lately.

As we begin to tackle a major heart condition with my Father-In-Law as well as a problem with high blood pressure for my husband it has made me think about the relational side of the heart as well. For my husband, we are hoping that a simple diet change will solve the issue. For my father-in-law however, many tests and at least one surgery are staring him in the face.

Through it all I have realized how easy it is to let things go. Not just physically, but relationally as well. I love my husband more now than I did the day we were married, 17 years ago. But I’m realizing that even I have been very lacking in the romance department (I know…gasp!).

When we were first married I told him I loved him all the time, kisses weren’t few and far between. So many years later I know we have fallen into that comfortable place of just dwelling, living life day to day and not realizing that we don’t say how we feel out loud very often anymore.

So, I will continue on with what needs to be done in our now even busier every day lives, but with a little reminder of the importance of sharing the other matters of the heart as well.

I the neglectfulness!! I guarantee you all that I’m still here but I have truly just been trying to enjoy the summer with my kids right now.

There has been some sickness thrown in this last few weeks and as all moms know that definitely puts us behind a bit.

I’m currently struggling a bit as I realize just how close back to school is. I’m not so sure I’m ready for the end of summer just yet. August always seems to feel much more like a precursor to school starting than it does part of summer break.

It’s definitely time to start gearing up for school though so I hope to offer some thoughts about that over the next few weeks. as for the question of when I will resume regular posting… I anticipate everything returning to normal the second week of September.

Until then I will definitely try to offer a few things each week for all of you to chew on as well as a few giveaways. Talk to you soon.

This week has been pretty busy for us. Between CJ’s football readiness workouts every morning at the High School and VBS at church we have been hopping, but the kids are having a great time!

In a couple weeks my soon to be high schooler and soon to be junior higher will be going to summer camp so there doesn’t appear to be an end to the busyness in sight and that’s ok. We have cut a few things out this year just for the sake of sanity so it isn’t as bad as it could be.

August holds not only Summer camp for the oldest two, but minor surgery for me and high school registration and the beginning of football practices for CJ.  Just dealing with one child entering High School will definitely be enough for me this year. Next year, Salesman will be entering Jr High (it starts in 7th here) and the twins will be entering Kindergarten so I’m definitely glad we don’t have everyone with big school changes all in the same year (phew!).

Meanwhile, I have definitely not been writing here much (and thanks so very much to those of you who are faithful readers and have noticed…you guys are the best!!!) but I think you will all agree that the opportunity to hang out on a blanket in the sun with my kiddos is definitely a worthwhile adventure.

I have so many reviews/giveaways to offer all of you and I am sorry I’m so behind! But never fear, I’ll have a full week of them coming soon and I think you’ll LOVE what I have to offer!

So as I enjoy just being a mom, I hope you are having a great summer filled with little daily adventures too!

Creating memories is something that summer is capable of offering us unlike any other time of the year.  Although there are some families that will go away on an extravagant vacation, you do not need to feel like you are slighting your children if that’s something you can’t do!!

I know that for us, a day-cation is all we can usually pull off with a family of 8.  As I was doing a little writing this week for Mom Central Food, I had yet another fun summer adventure idea that is so simple yet memorable that I had to share it with you.

This week, my posts at Mom Central Food are very Fruit and Summer focused.  One of them is about Smoothies and offers a great Blueberry Banana Smoothie recipe, and the other is all about making homemade popsicles.

But here’s the super fun part, you can create an amazing experience for your children just centered on making them fresh homemade popsicles. How? you may ask….. Here’s how to create a Fruity Summer Adventure for your kiddos.

• Find a local farm that has a u-pick area. Check for season information so you know what berries are available when.
• Tip: Go in the morning, fairly early with well fed children that aren’t desperate for a nap. This also avoids being caught in what can often become unbearable heat if you aren’t careful about your timing.  Make sure to still bring sunblock and hats for all.
• If you aren’t familiar with picking berries, most farms will have an employee that can tell you where to go to find them and even basics on how to pick them.  If you don’t bring your own containers for the harvest you pick, most farms will have them available there. Tip: Keep in mind that what you picked gets weighed before you pay so although this is intended to be a fun experience for the kids, don’t let them pick the field dry (hehe).
• Once you get home from berry picking {tip: you will have some very colorful and sticky little ones so you may want to bring along wipes for the trip home}, you will want to start by cleaning the berries thoroughly.
• From here you simply process the berries as needed. If they are for smoothies, lay them on a cookie sheet and stick them in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours until firm then move them to a gallon size zipper bag for storage and return to the freezer. If you are using them for popsicles you can simply store them in a container in the fridge until you are ready to make the popsicles {tip: best if you can use them within a day or two for freshness}.

The best part about all of this is that the kids were involved in the process from start to finish.  They can help with not only the berry picking, but consider taking them to the store with you to pick out the other ingredients (if necessary for the intended purpose), and even have them help (or watch) you puree the fruit and make their treat!!!

Kids love this and they love being involved. It makes them feel important and “big”!  They are far more likely to try anything that they have been involved in the creation of, so for picky kids that aren’t used to what you are making this is a great way to try new things.  You can’t go wrong when you know what’s in your children’s food.

Overall I think this is a fantastic way to create a very fun and memorable summer experience for your children.

Earlier this week I wrote about the different summer activities I have in mind. Of course, as any mom knows, going on any day-long expedition with kids means that food must be part of the plan or you will have very grumpy kids.

Buying food while out and about may be an option for some, but not only do I find it terribly expensive (two tweens and a teen who eat a ton aren’t cheap to feed), but I also find it to be quite inconvenient. So packing up the troops with great food for lunch and snacks is a must.

Costco and I are great friends through the summer in particular! So when I was sent a summer snack pack with Fruit Rollups and Nature Valley granola bars I was very excited (though they didn’t last long at all around here).

Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix Bars are filling and nutritious and in my boys’ opinion (well ok and mine) very yummy. Packed with almonds, peanuts, raisins and cranberries these will stick with kids and their activities.

Simply Fruit Roll-Ups come in a variety pack of strawberry and wildberry flavors. Made with 90% real fruit and fruit juice, your kids are getting a full serving of fruit with each roll-up. They are also gluten-free.

Personally though I wouldn’t stop there! Because those two options are a little higher in the sugar content department, I’d definitely stock up on drinks (horizon organic chocolate milk, yum), crackers, fresh fruits and veggies, homemade trail mix and much more to make sure that I’m not caught empty handed when the hungries strike one of the boys and we’re at the zoo.

Giveaway

I am so very excited to offer one lucky reader the same snack pack I received which includes 1 box of Simply Fruit Roll-Ups (42 ct), 1 box of Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix Bars (48 ct) and a $25 Costco gift card.

To enter, simply leave a comment below telling me all about your favorite snack foods to pack when your family goes on a day-long adventure.

Want extra entries (of course I do that!)? Here’s what you do, just make sure you leave a NEW comment for each new entry!

• Become a Facebook Fan of A Frog In My Soup!!!
• Tweet It: Just tweet this giveaway with a link to this post and make sure your comment has your twitter handle in it.
• Blog It: Write a post about this giveaway (with a link to this post of course) on your own blog, make sure your comment has a link to your post.
• Stumble It, Kirtsy It, Digg It, Submit to Mommy Blips: Submit this giveaway to any of these sites and earn an extra entry for each one…and make sure your comment has your Username.

It is void where prohibited, be sure to read my giveaway policies here.  Be sure to enter by July 6th, 2010.  This giveaway is open to US addresses only.

Disclosure: I always give honest and forthright reviews and will not present something that poses a conflict of interest &/or that I do not like.  MyBlogSpark contacted me on behalf of General Mills and asked me to review the items listed in the review…these were provided to me in order for me to offer you with an honest review of their product. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

Today is the first day of summer vacation for most of my kids. The challenge is to make sure that today isn’t the end of all sanity for me. Coming up with plenty of activities for the boys to do is definitely key. From the 14 year old to the 4 year olds, if they aren’t kept busy we definitely have issues.

So to keep my sanity intact and help them have a fun summer experience, I have a few little ideas…

The Not-So-Nice Days

I have to face the fact that living in the Pacific Northwest we tend to get a lot of weather variations. There are almost no months during the summer where you can truly predict that it will be sunny, though August is usually nice.

So when the weather isn’t so fun we have a couple of choices…

• At Home: crafts, inspired projects (these are when I give them an idea, like “create a board game” and letting their creativity flow), games, or even a movie day occasionally complete with popcorn (this is usually something we’d do on a dismal Friday if they have earned it).
• Daycation: indoor destinations such as the Science Center, Children’s Museum, Aquarium, library, or even a planned trip to grandma’s house (they really think this is fun).
• Staycation: local indoor waterpark (though we will not be doing this ourselves this summer it is a fun idea I thought I’d share) stay one night and play in the waterpark for two days. These parks often have an indoor and outdoor area. So if you live where weather can be unpredictable this is a lot of fun.

Nice Weather activities…

• At Home: water games and sprinkler fun, pool party (just your family or invite the neighbors &/or cousins to join in; make it fun with lemonade and mini sandwiches), chalk art (sidewalk, driveway, etc kids love sidewalk chalk and letting them be very creative with it is a fun summer activity). My kids will also spend a lot of time roaming the “forest”, riding bikes, golfing in the yard and much more.
• Daycation: zoo, parks (check your community for parks that might even offer music and/or movie activities for the family), waterslides, beach (sandcastle competition anyone?)…anywhere you can go as a family that you can just spend the day having fun together and making a memory.
• Summer nights: One thing we love to do as a family at least once during the summer is go to a drive-in movie. They do still exist in some areas so do a little research to see if there’s one near you.  They are much more affordable than going to the theater, and usually feature two movies so check listings. The first movie will often be a child/family movie and the second will typically be a more adult movie. Either we leave before the second movie or often the children fall asleep between movies anyway so we can enjoy the second one too.!

I hope this offers you a little inspiration as well to help you have a great, fun, memory-filled summer!!!

Recently during lunchtime the Twinkies started singing this age old classic rhyme. It was so cute.

They sing all the time and I am forever stopping to either listen or join in throughout the day. It’s the little things like this that are so fun!

Trying to enjoy all those moments can be difficult in the midst of housework, meals, deadlines and to-do lists but they are oh-so-important.  They are just as important for you as a mom as they are for the children.

Sure, you don’t get to pick when they decide to burst into song…and you typically don’t get to pick (though children are usually very open to suggestions) the song they sing.  But hearing those sweet little voices singing a song, made up or known it doesn’t matter can soften the heart and is just such a sweet thing in the midst of life’s chaos.

I hope you can enjoy those moments today!

I’m pretty sure there comes a time in every blogger’s life where they aren’t entirely sure what they will share or even if they should. Although my blog started so small, I know that now there are many that actually read it and I want to make sure that the things I share are an encouragement not a downer.

That said, life happens. I have found it necessary occasionally to put down the blog and pick up my kids. That would explain my absence last week. They needed me…and…well…you didn’t so much.

I am so close to feeling normal again, it has been very nice. We still live in our cramped little house as a family of 8 and that still makes me a little crazy from time to time but the laughter has come back and that’s what I love.

Depression is an ugly word and can do very ugly things to a person’s life. I won’t (and don’t) talk about it often here because it is so heavy and in many ways just too personal and even difficult to explain. I will say this though, as a mom of so many my biggest frustration was wanting things to be back to “normal” for my kids!

But I digress….I really just wanted to say thank you to all of you for hanging in there as things have been fairly inconsistent. This week there should be yet another great giveaway for all of you to participate in so I will talk to you all again soon.

Until then, be blessed and hug your family!

Teenagers…possibly one of the most difficult categories in the digiscrappers (and parents) world! Not only do we have the initial challenge of even getting a photo (you try getting a good one while attempting to catch a teenager off guard…trust me it isn’t pretty), but then we have to find a “look” that works for a teenager.

I’m not saying that there’s a magical way to suddenly make our teenagers love photos and their scrapbook…I generally think that for many teens it’s simply a period of time where they can’t appreciate it as much as they will when they are older.  I guess I see my job right now as simply trying to quietly document these years.

Finding good kits to portray a teen in a complimentary and “hip” way can definitely be a challenge. So here’s a few tips when you are looking…

• Look for bright/dark colors that have depth and texture.
• Look for elements that are a little different…no more cutesy bows and buttons, they want metal brads, splatters, etc.
• Keep it simple: combine the papers and elements in a very simple way using a fun/funky font to complement and enhance the layout.
• Look for templates: there are a lot of great templates out there and this can be a great place to start for teen pages if you are stuck!

This week I created a page of my 14 year old using SAS Designs’ Bits In Between kit:

I have more fun ideas in my scrap gallery: here, here, here and here.

Great fonts to use in teen scrapbook pages:

I actually almost forgot to expand on one of the most important parts of a teen page…great fonts! Quick suggestions: it’s hard to go wrong with a simple typewriter font; anything that is a little grungy usually will work.  Fave sites to get fonts….

• www.1001FreeFonts.com
• www.DaFont.com