Today I thought I’d take a few minutes to introduce you to all of the frogs that mix in my soup on a daily basis - ie. my sons!

Son1 is our Golden Retriever - Age 11.5 as of this post. He is a hardworking, fun loving, often annoying and somewhat resistant young man who loves his baby brothers like no one else and has a passion for football. Unfortunately for me he is also a very tall young man! As I said he is only 11, but he wears size 9 in men’s shoes is now over 5 feet tall, has gone from a size 10 to a size 16 pant in the last year and he started wearing contacts this year. We have enjoyed watching him grow since his infancy and have taken each stage as a new horizon. I hope and pray that this continues!

Son2 - also known as OtterBoy - will be 9 in June. He is super outgoing, somewhat dramatic, a bit of a rollercoaster ride at times, loyal, friendly, highly intelligent, can be a hard worker (note that I say can) and is obsessed with basketball. He too will be playing football this year though, and I think it will be an adventure for us all! He has a tendency to forget things and to look at you while you talk without hearing a word you are saying LOL! But he is a good friend and a good son! He has also been known to go by the nickname Donald Trump - need I say more (oh and it has nothing to do with the hair)?

Son3 - the Beaver! He is 7.5 and thinks he rules the world! He is currently going through an interesting stage and could definitely be coined as being passive-agressive. He was our quiet child until about a year ago when he suddenly found his voice. Being little for his age I think he suddenly decided that he had something to prove. So, he is either whining (has even been known to make himself cry) to get his way or he is ordering the troops like a dictator! But, he loves to be cuddled still and is the touchy feely type. It isn’t unusual to suddenly find him sitting right next to you on the couch rubbing your arm or playing with your hair - it’s uniquely him!

Son4 othewise known as Sir Lion is our super-ultra strong-willed boy who will be 4 in July! He is either a marshmallowy cuddlekins or is stomping his foot (or screaming) in defiance! You give him a line in the sand and he is sure to put his hairy little toe across that line and look you square in the eye! But we love him despite it all and through it all! He is a rough and tumble guy, so we have to watch him every moment with the babies! Our goal with him is to help shape and steer his will towards good not evil!

The Peas: Our twins M and E were born Feb 1st 2006! They were 6 weeks early and spent 2 weeks in the NICU learning to eat. Once they came home the loving began! I have never seen two more catered to, kissed, hugged and generally spoiled babies in my life! They are adorable despite it all and are developing some intensely unique personalities that are all their own. So different in fact that if one of the boys cannot tell them apart immediately by looking at them all they have to do is notice how they talk and act and they can always get it right at that point. I am having a lot of fun with them though and enjoying each new stage! I am a little sad that I didn’t keep a journal with them for the first 7 months or so, but I have chronicled everything since then with a vengeance at their blog http://twinjourney.blogspot.com. We recently found out that they are identical and I have to admit that it came as a bit of a surprise, I can tell them apart so easily I honestly had begun to think they were fraternal! They are sweet and sassy and a wonderful blessing to us!

Well, that about sums it up for now! Welcome to the Land of Frogs!

“Brother for Sale! I have a brother for sale! Anyone? A penny? A nickel? A dime? Anyone?” Laughter. Today this was a happy scene! The boyz in the kitchen eating breakfast and our 11 year old pipes in with all of this in a funny and teasing manner!

Now I have to say here that this isn’t always the case! Much of the time it is not done nicely (they all found this one funny though) and frankly is usually intended to hurt or as revenge. It saddens me to no end that they do this!

We try always to encourage them to handle their anger appropriately and give them the tools they need to do so. To help them to understand the consequences of “revenge” and hateful words. And then we pray! What more can we do? Hubby and I don’t fight so we know they aren’t picking it up from us - we tease and every once in a while have a difference of opinion. So, we pray and read the Bible to discover the basics of rearing boyz!

That said, there are also many wonderful tools out there to help parents - often written from the perspective of someone who’s “been there done that”! We can learn from those more experienced than ourselves! I’m going to consider this my “Fun Finds Friday” post even though I went about it rather oddly - and below I’m going to list some websites and books that we have used and read over the years!

Books:

• Parenting With Love And Logic (Updated and Expanded Edition) - This is one of the first books that I was introduced to as a new mom and I love the ideas they present to train your children to think for themselves and make decisions based on choices.
• The New Dare to Discipline - one of Dr James Dobson’s most known books, but I appreciate the candor and challenges he poses to parents who are shy to discipline their children.
• The New Strong-willed Child: Birth Through Adolescence - We have a Strong-Willed one and this book offers great strategies and tecniques to use for them.
• The Power of a Praying® Parent Book of Prayers - This is a new one for me, but I am familiar with The Power of a Praying Wife and love it!
• Bringing Up Boys - Offers deeper insight into the minds and hearts of boys!
• Feed Me I’m Yours - Revised - Great information, suggestions, and recipes for feeding your baby healthy homemade foods!
• Taming of the C.A.N.D.Y. Monster*: *Continuously Advertised Nutritionally Deficient Yummies (Lansky, Vicki) - Fabulous recipes for alternative snacks and desserts to keep your family healthy while still offering foods that your children will actually eat!

Websites:

• Focus On The Family - Dr James Dobsons well known ministry - articles and resources are available here on a large variety of topics for the family!
• Focus On Your Child - A division of Focus on the Family that is specifically geared to parents as they raise their little ones!
• Plugged In Online - Unsurpassable resource for insight into all of the new movies, videos and TV shows from a Family Friendly Perspective!
• All Mom Info - I know that this is my own website, but I actually have access to great parenting information and articles, so I use this for myself even LOL! Some of the resources such as recipes and more are still at www.AllMomShops.com.

That will do it for today! Have fun today and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!