One word – Avon. Almost all women are familiar with this brand and know that it has been around for a long time. If you think Avon is only for your mom or grandma…think again!!!

Avon, the company for women, is the world’s largest direct seller. All over the world, our great products and proud record of service depend on the entrepreneurial efforts of our more than 5 million independent Sales Representatives in 100 countries. Our network reaches into the heart of every community – selling Avon to families and friends in neighborhoods, colleges and workplaces. For each of our Representatives, Avon is a global name but a local business – their own business.

Avon’s product line includes beauty products, fashion jewelry and apparel, and features such well-recognized brand names as Avon Color, Anew, Skin-So-Soft, Advance Techniques, Avon Naturals, and Mark.

I absolutely love getting offers to try products for me (and you) so when Avon contacted me and asked if I’d like to try some of their new products I was so excited.

Let me tell you…I was definitely NOT disappointed! These products are not only fun and hip but they are comfortable and beautiful as well.

Here’s what they sent me (and what I thought of each item)…

• The MagiX Cashmere Finish Liquid Foundation was luxurious and definitely did not feel heavy or clog my pores! And I love that it has an spf as well.
• Glimmersticks Diamonds Eye Liner was so fun, they sent me a more traditional color, but they also sent me an oh-so-fun Sugar Plum Glimmerstick and I love wearing it! I love wearing it and though I’m traditionally the type that only wears eye liner on special occasions, I have been wearing this one a lot more often.
• Their SuperExtend Mascara is fabulous. I love it, no clumping, no crazy mess, just smooth and effortlessly applies. I will have to say that it is a little challenging to remove but totally worth it! My new favorite mascara…need I say more.
• Ultra Color Rich Mega Impact Lipstick is the last item they sent me to try. Honestly, lipstick is definitely the most difficult thing for me…finding a color is definitely a challenge, but finding something that wears nicely and isn’t overwhelming is also challenging. I found this lipstick to be smooth, not heavy…just fun.

Well, there you have my thoughts on these lines, but be sure you check out their other great products as well. Skin So Soft is legendary and with summer being upon us it’s definitely time to stock up.

Oh and right now, you can save 41% on Avon’s Glimmersticks Diamonds Eye Liner and their SuperExtend Mascara…just visit Avon.com and go shopping to take advantage of that offer.

Now for the super fun part…Avon asked me to choose my favorite two products and offer three of you the chance to win! Let me tell you, the choice was definitely not an easy one, but I chose (queue theme music here)…the eyes!

So, that means that three of you will be chosen as winners…each will receive a SuperExtend Mascara and a very fun Glimmersticks Diamonds Eye Liner.

To Enter:

Make sure you visit Avon.com and look around. When you’re done, come back here and leave a comment telling me what your favorite Avon Products are.

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 May 28th, 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.  Avon contacted me 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.

In case you are wondering what I’ve been up to over at Mom Central Food…today is your lucky day (if you haven’t been wondering, please bear with us).

If you are finding meal planning to be more than a little challenging, then you are in luck. I shared some great resources {in book form even} to help busy moms out!

Also, for those of you who love good food and other great recipe sources, be sure to check out my post highlighting KraftFoods.

While you’re there, and since I forgot to tell you all what I wrote about last week, there’s a post about Ellie Krieger {food network star and registered nutritionist} and my very own yummy mocha recipe.

Happy health and cooking ladies!

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

Ok, to squelch all contemplation at the title of this post…no frogs were actually eaten.  Now we can proceed with this week’s silly kid conversation.

Monkey: *cough* *cough* “Mom, what made me cough like that?”

Me: “um, I’m not sure hon”

Monkey: “Oh yeah, that’s right I ate a frog”

Me: “A frog?”

Monkey: “yeah”

Me: “Oh, you mean you have a frog in your throat!”

Monkey: “Yeah that…A frog in my throat”

LOL!!!!

When going certain places with our children I have certainly found myself wondering what we would do if they got separated from us.  Sure we teach our children what to do if they don’t know where we are but that can still be very scary for them and for us.

With our twins we have especially found this to be a problem. They are adventurous and curious wanderers that aren’t afraid of …well pretty much anything. So, when I was asked to try out SafetyTat and their temporary kids’ safety tattoos I was definitely interested.

At first, I understand the idea may seem potentially unsafe, but I highly recommend that you visit their site, particularly the Safety Tips page and read up about them, their products and how they keep your kids safe.  The two most important things I’d like to say about the safety of these tattoos are…

1. You do not put the child’s name on the tattoo…only your cell number (using a permanent pen that is safe for your child).
2. They offer tips on teaching your children about safety in a way they will understand.

In a nutshell that should help relieve the initial hesitation about this product! It did for me. They were even mentioned in Parents magazine.

So now, when we go to the Science center, the zoo, the water park and the fair we have just a tiny bit more reassurance that if we become separated it will not be for long.

SafetyTat has offered all of you a 10% discount on any order $15 or more to try out their products! Just be sure to use the code AFrogInMySoup (case sensitive) and it’s good through May 17th so be sure to take advantage of this offer!

They have also offered 2 of you the opportunity to win a sample pack of their Quick Stick Write-On! You choose: Boy, Girl, or Multi design pack.

To enter:

Make sure you visit SafetyTat and look around. When you’re done, come back here and leave a comment telling me what you love about this product and/or which product you want if you win.

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 May 19th, 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.  SafetyTat contacted me and asked me to review a complimentary sample pack in order to provide you with an honest review of their product. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

{Scraphappy Wednesday}

This week I have been having a TON of fun playing with SAS design’s new kits (see below for where you can buy her kits).  Apparently I needed to make up for lost time creatively…I hadn’t scrapbooked for several weeks due to computer issues and was finally able to start doing so again…sooo exciting.

Because I’m going to list all the stores where you can purchase SAS Design’s below, I will simply give you the name of each kit and you can go from there.  Don’t forget to check out my Scrap Gallery (the pictures below will take you there if you click on them) where you can see all of my very favorite layouts!

Using the kit Tweet Times (and Layered Masks kit)…

Using her Argh kit (very very fun for boys)…

If you noticed that I went with a grungier look this time…you’d be right!  I was having a lot of fun with her masks! There are a couple very nice ones in the Argh kit and she has a very fun Layered Masks kit that will go with any scrapbook layout that you want to create a simple grungy look

Where to buy SAS Designs…

• Bits 2 Kits
• ACherryOnTop.com
• My Life & Scrap

Loads of fun things are coming up, including a very fun boy qp and girl qp freebie using the tweet times kit……stay tuned.

You never know when it’s gonna strike. The middle of the night stomach bug is likely to rear it’s ugly head when you least expect it.

Around here that’s definitely the case. we always feel fortunate if only one child ends up sick in the night once it starts. Doubly fortunate if they actually didn’t throw up on their bed.

That wasn’t the case last night (this morning actually, around 1:30am to be exact).

The problem is my stomach hurts too and though I am extremely tired, sleep is elusive. And so I write to all of you.

I have to admit that despite it all sitting here in the stillness is so refreshing in it’s own way. Reminding me that without some time spent in quietness I cannot rejuvenate.

How often when I’m at my most overwhelmed do I remember that moms need time outs too? Never, or very rarely.

So this week as I muddle through the daily schedule, I’m also challenging myself to take plenty of time outs as well.

WooHoo! It’s that time of year again! The one day where we have a legit excuse for our scrapbooking.  This year you’ll notice it’s iNSD or interNational Scrapbooking Day (be sure to stay with this post to the end for a fun freebie in honor of iNSD).

But whatever you choose to call it, pull up a chair, grab snacks and a couple of friends and mingle with your memories!  Even if you can’t join a group to scrap spend some time reminiscing and enjoying your creative side sometime soon!

It’s also a great opportunity to plan something for your friends to get together and scrapbook! Or a day away alone to scrap even…however you love to scrapbook now is your chance.

Here’s a couple simple simple layouts I’ve been working on the last few days with several more to come….

All the hoodlums boys! Taken at Great Wolf Lodge in December and using a brand new kit by SAS Designs called Blooming Blossoms (font=segoe script, nothing fancy)

Sweet Little Miss is truly growing up too fast for my liking…already a year old at least she’s still tiny!  Also using the beautiful Blooming Blossoms by SAS Designs (font: SP Pretty Purkey).

AND…to kick things off I have a fun scrappy freebie for you!!!  Just click on the image below and you will be taken to a site to download the QP for your own personal use. Once it’s downloaded, simply unzip and use with your favorite image editing program.

It is a full 12×12 page and all you do is simply place the photo behind the quick page and print it out at your favorite local photo printer.  Please enjoy!  Page created by me using Natural Symphony by SAS Designs.

Natural Symphony Quick Page Freebie

When I was contacted about Tea, I have to admit I thought they were offering me tea to review. I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that Tea offers very fun collections of children’s clothes and baby clothes.

I love that they offer complete matching clothing sets for boys and girls! I ordered the very fun Chin-Hae set for the twins and they LOVE it!

Finding very cute and affordable clothes for boys has been a challenge ever since I had my first son.  So I was delighted that the sets (especially when on sale) are particularly fun and affordable.

These clothes are cute, trendy, affordable and durable. They are also super comfy!!! I think that’s what the twins love most about them. Soft tagless fabric with fun prints was so appealing to us all.

Oh and never fear their girls’ line is adorable as well! You aren’t going to find ordinary clothes here, they are unique botique style clothing for what Tea calls “little citizens of the world”. So cute.

Tea is offering one of you a $100 credit to go shopping through them (credit code must be redeemed by phone, but don’t worry the process is extremely simple – I know first hand because I did it myself!). I know…how fun is that?!?

So, to enter, visit their site and tell me what you would purchase if you won this $100! Want extra entries (of course we 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 May 13th, 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.  Tea Collection provided me with a $100 code to shop at their store.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

Today is Earth Day. In fact it’s the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day which is pretty impressive in my opinion. So to celebrate the amazing innovations available to us in taking even small steps to protect our Earth, today I’m talking all about Bento Boxes at Mom Central Food.

Earlier this week I talked a little about simple yummy foods like a homemade Bruschetta. Don’t get overwhelmed by the stigma some foods seem to have, just because they sound gourmet doesn’t mean your children won’t want to eat them or that they aren’t simple to make.

Fun things to try out…see you there!