Sure, Purex Complete 3-in-1 is a brand new product, so your initial reaction may be quite a lot like that of my 13 year old son…”you mean the ones we saw on the commercial?  Are you really going to fall for what they say and run out to buy it?”   He was a bit astounded to say the least, that after years of mom talking them out of the many horrid commercials for junk during the kid’s shows, I (of all people) would listen to a commercial. I proceeded to tell him that I was sent a box to review and we would make a decision after we had used it for a day or two.

We then proceeded to open up one of the containers and I was immediately impressed with the simplicity of it all…and the amazing smell (LOL).  We popped in a load of laundry, one of the sheets and pushed the button on the machine…voila…nothing else would need to be added to the washer or dryer.  It’s also an “he” product so it works perfectly for my washer and dryer.

Purex® Complete 3-in-1™ Laundry Sheets are a load’s worth of detergent, softener and anti-static all in one powerful sheet. Simply drop laundry sheet into washer, the detergent is released during the wash cycle. Once wash is complete, transfer the laundry sheet with clothes to dryer. The stripe is heat activated by the dryer to soften and remove static. It’s that simple.

Don’t believe me, well, pick up a box for yourself and give it a try!  Seriously, I checked the price at my local grocery store and they were under $5 (wow).  I love the way they make our clothes smell and the different scents are great if you have a preference.   Buy the starter kit first (container plus 20 laundry sheets) then you can buy refills later (24 sheets in each refill pack).

For most families, these packs will last a while and you’re eliminating the need to purchase the three different products that this one laundry sheet has built in!  When space is as much of a commodity as money it is huge to have one little container sitting on the shelf instead of 3 or 4 bottles of detergent and a box of dryer sheets!   Yay!

One lucky commenter will win a starter box of Purex Complete 3-in-1 laundry detergent (Spring Oasis).  To enter, be sure to check out their website, then come back here and leave a comment telling me why your laundry routine needs to be simplified.

Want extra entries?  Here you go (just remember to leave a new comment for each one)…

• 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.

This giveaway is open to US addresses only.  Entry deadline is July 22nd.  It is void where prohibited, be sure to read my giveaway policies here.

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.  Mom Select sent me this product to try for myself and one to giveaway to my readers.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

It’s funny how you sometimes don’t realize that you have a great tip because it happens to be every day life for you…well, this is one of those times.  This time we’re looking at ways to budget in and spread out shopping for these expenses to help you save money and even time!  Keeping in mind of course that every once in a while there will be a sudden need (for instance if your sons decide to use your measuring cups in the sandbox then throw them in the creek when they are done with them – no, I’m so not speaking from experience *sigh*).

For those of you who want to move to the meat and potatoes of this tip and avoid all the fluffy stories and ramblings of Me, here they are:

• If you don’t already have it factored in, set an amount for clothing into your budget on a regular basis.
• Keep a running list of the items needed around the house.  Particularly kids clothes and shoes and kitchen tools (these seem to be the main things that need to be purchased most frequently).
• Check regularly for these items.  Either plan a trip to your favorite store (online or in your town) or peek at that list before you make a trip to a store like Costco or Fred Meyer and spend a few moments going through the clearance sections of that store.  I like the latter option only because it isn’t out of the way and doesn’t require any extra trips or time out of my schedule.
• Stick to the basics – what do your children really need?  Make a list of the basics that they need to have on hand and stick to that list.  It may seem simplistic, but for those of us who cannot afford (or for heavens’ sake, even have the room) for each of our children to have 5 pairs of shoes and 6 pairs of designer jeans, this is definitely the most frugal and sensible way to go.

A couple years ago I began purchasing clothing and shoes year round.  Now, for some families this is not a problem and they do this type of thing simply to keep their 2.2 children in the latest fashions, that is NOT what I’m talking about.  No, I’m talking about the fact that even though money is tight, we cannot completely rely on birthday and Christmas gifts to get them through the year (or a month for that matter), especially the children that are growing fast, or who happen to have a need.

For example:  a need when the child that has one pair of tennis shoes and decided to wear them outside to play one day and “happened” to stumble down to the creek…thus making said pair of shoes completely worthless as something that can be worn to go anywhere (well, they could wear them out, but everyone they pass would pass out from the stench).

Another example: our oldest son has been grown 8 1/2 inches in the last 2 years (5 inches from August ‘07-Sept ‘08 alone and he does most of his growing in Feb./March & July/August ).   Yup, AAAAAAH!  Trying to keep up with that human weed has been nearly impossible.  Add to that the fact that he is now a teenager and starting to have some definite ideas about what he’s comfortable in and what he likes to wear (style-wise).  So, if I were to try and purchase him an entire wardrobe, I’d be spending hundreds of dollars every 3 months…on only ONE of my SIX sons!

Every family is so different…in size and financial status…so it is impossible to give one set solution that will work for all of you.  I’m not saying that there aren’t a couple times per year that I do a little more focused clothes purchasing, but for the most part it will be completely spread out.

We do have a fair amount of hand-me-downs to go around, but depending on how many boys they have gone through (some of the clothes start as far up as my 18 year old brother and just work their way through the group) and how rough one particular boy may be on their clothes, there will always be someone that needs something.

Back to school is a great opportunity to get some basics and we have a pretty set list of things that we purchase for the boys at that time … but ONLY if they need it!  Otherwise, I’ll spread out the purchasing based on how often my hubby gets paid.

I shop at Fred Meyer almost once per week.  They always have some clearance on hand (actually, I think there is ONE week per year that they do not), sometimes their clearance is as much as 60% off.  I know that there are other stores that run great deals, like Kohls, but personally I have ONLY found good deals on clothing for my husband and oldest son.  I do not pay more than $20 to $25 on a pair of Sketchers (not that I buy name brands often, but it’s a good example of the savings when these shoes usually cost about $50)…but typically I don’t spend more than $10 to $15 on a pair of shoes period!  Know your store, they will almost always have the clearance clothing and shoes in the same areas of each department, so don’t even bother going to the other parts, just the clearance.  You can go through these sections every time you are at the store and pick up only the things your family needs and would love.

This is just one recommendation though.  Many people live very close to some great secondhand stores.  I do not, but my sister can almost always find brand new or like new clothes for her children at these stores!

We’re coming into it about halfway through, so jump in now and get in on the action!!! So, how does it work?

Judges will select 20 recipes to be placed online at www.bakeoff.com in pairs – two weeks for each pair. Consumers can vote for their favorite recipe in each pair. The recipe from each pair that wins the most votes will earn a spot in the final competition, April 11-13, 2010, in Orlando, Florida.

Voting is limited to one vote per person per each pair of recipes. Voters must be registered members of www.pillsbury.com and 18 years of age or older as of May 1, 2009, to participate.

The first pair of recipes was posted on May 14, 2009 and a new pair of recipes have been and will be posted every two weeks (specifically: May 28, June 11, June 25, July 9, July 23, August 6, August 20, September 3 and September 17, 2009). The voting period for the tenth and final pair of recipes will close at 11:59AM CDT on October 1, 2009. Visit www.bakeoff.com for the official rules.

Before you cast your vote though, you may be curious about how the experts evaluate a recipe. If that’s the case, I invite you to watch this short video of Jann Atkins, Bake-Off® Kitchens assistant manager, as she shares some tips for evaluating a recipe. It just might help you decide which recipe deserves a shot at the million-dollar top prize.

I’m so excited to announce that TWO commenters will receive prize packs featuring a magazine of past Bake-Off® recipes and a Pillsbury Doughboy giggle doll.

I love this magazine and I have to say that the boys and I have spent hours and hours pouring over the recipes (well, in truth, I’m the only one looking at the recipes, their mouths are just watering from the amazing photos).

To enter, please visit the You Be the Judge! site and take a look around.  When you are done leave a comment here telling me about your favorite recipe (if it is a past Pillsbury Bake-Off recipe, even better).

There are many opportunities to get extra entries as well…just be sure to leave a new comment with the necessary information for each one:

• 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.

This giveaway is open to US addresses only.  Entry deadline is July 20th.  It is void where prohibited, be sure to read my giveaway policies here.

Disclosure:  My Blog Spark sent me the same products that are included in the prize pack.  I always give honest and forthright reviews and will not present something that poses a conflict of interest &/or that I do not like.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

…but you’ll have to wait for a second because I am bursting to share this week’s favorite digi page with you!!!  I cannot resist this adorable little girl (though it had a very strong contender who will be featured below in the challenges section)…

Kit: Dollhouse Garden by Chelly Designs and yes, this is my Little Miss (niece)

Most of the great scrapbooking forums (challenges are always in the forums – usually connected to stores – I’ll list a few of my faves at the bottom of this post) have fabulous challenges.  I personally love the challenges at Faith Sisters most, because I am so time-challenged, their challenges are actually the only ones I currently participate in.  But more than that, I love them because they challenge me to incorporate our faith into as many aspects of my childrens’ scrapbooks as possible – LOVE IT!

For instance (and because it really is kind of fun to show you a few more layouts) here are a couple of challenge layouts I did just over the last two days and they were super fast and fun to do because with challenges the basic guidelines are laid out for you . 

This layout was part of the latest Get Scrapped (speed scrapping – read all about it here) at Faith Sisters…

Kit: On the Forest Floor by 4 Shades of Blue (baby is my little Monkey when he was 5 months old)

Then this one was part of one of their regular Digital Template challenges for this week (you can read all about them here – the basic idea though is that each week a designer chooses one layout from the gallery that they love and they turn it into a template for everyone to use as part of the challenge…it’s very fun) …

Kit: Berries & Butterflies by Dielle Designs…Fonts: Ravie & SP Pretty Purkey (featuring Little Miss of course)

Ok, so I know this is getting long and for those of you who were stopping in for WW and didn’t expect three photos, I apologize…but, since I promised, here are some of the forums that I have found to be helpful (there are tons more, but I do not have time, so if you are part of one that you love, please feel free to leave a comment with a link or information).

• Faith Sisters
• Gotta Pixel
• Digiscrap Addicts
• DigiShop Talk

As always, please feel free to leave a comment with your beginner digi-scrap question and I’ll do my very best to answer it!

She often found herself redirected or scooped up and hauled away though if she tried to touch anything, especially dirt or sand.   As the only child for this couple as well as the only grandchild for that entire family, she is watched like a hawk.  Her mom and dad are still trying to figure out this whole parenting thing and tend to see most things as potentially evil.

My hubby and I were talking about it later and were reminded of how very over-protective you are with your first child.  Not to say that you don’t protect all your other kids too, but it’s different.  With your first child, you’re protecting them from all the possible evils that may (or may not) exist…in your mind anyway.

Just wait though, it is exhausting to keep up the vigil day and night.  Then one day you realize that there’s nothing wrong with a little one sitting down in a pile of dirt and playing hard…even putting some in their mouth (GASP).  As a brand new parent with your first child, that is unthinkable and horrid!  After a while you do eventually realize that everything and everyone is not out to kill them.

Once you have more than one child, although you still watch them like a hawk, your attention is divided.  At that moment though, you begin to see them interact with their world through new eyes and it is an amazing process.  I daily watch as my very independent twins take on the world.  They do it with vigor and gusto and complete abandon.

They still (even at age 3) have no clue that life is fragile.  I have nearly had ten zillion heart attacks to prove their lack of fear.  For a while they were convinced that the reason they were not allowed to play in the front yard is because the road is THE funnest place on earth to play…and they were forever trying to sneak away to get to the road.

They are convinced that climbing a mountain is something that must be on their “to do” list.  They have been informed that they are welcome to climb the mountain…when they are as big as Daddy!  They discuss this at length every time we drive to my parents’ house.  They can clearly see a huge group of mountains as we get within 5 minutes of my parents’ place and the discussion begins…”Mommy, we’re going to climb the mountains.”  “Can we climb the mountain today Mommy?” “We have to be big to climb the mountain.” “Mommy, I’m bigger, can I climb the mountain?”….on and on it goes.

It’s probably a good thing that the Twinkies were our 5th and 6th sons.  If they had been our first, I think we would have lost our minds (LOL).  Independence is simply not something that is going to go away with them.  As they get older, they are going to be more and more independent, but in their case that will probably lead them into high mountains and deep oceans (you have no idea how much I’m not kidding here).  I will not at all be surprised if they choose lives of adventure as adults, particularly Monkey (though Bugs might be happy to tag along for the ride).

Independence can be good…or bad, it’s all in how we look at it and handle it (how’s that for a contradicting segue?).  If I try to stifle every ounce of independence I see in them, to keep them safe or out of trouble, they will rebel in frustration and I will be overwhelmed and frustrated too.  If I give them too much independence, they will not learn lessons that even at a young age can help them for life.

Of course, balance is SOOO the key here!  If I allow my children to be just independent enough, but still know their boundaries, they will see the world as an absolutely incredible place and it even opens up amazing opportunities for me to teach them so much more, especially about God and His creation.  It’s sometimes hard to remember to look at the world through the eyes of a child, but when we do, we can be much more effective as parents too!

You can even get a great discount for being an A Frog In My Soup reader…bet ‘ya didn’t know that.  When you use the code MOMDESIGN during checkout you’ll get 15% off your order at www.SweetnSimpleDesign.com.

I have also decided make a few changes at SNS Blog Design (my premade design site).  You’ll still find the fun adorable designs that are uniquely mine, but they will now be Limited Edition designs instead of One of A Kind.  It is a little sad for me to do this since I’m such a believer in each mom having their own unique blog design, BUT…I also totally understand that the economy is not being friendly to so many families.

You’ll find all of the Limited Edition designs for $25 each (no more than 4 of each design will ever be sold) and you still have the option to pay extra to make it One of A Kind if you would like.  Being the people pleaser that I am, hopefully this will help solve a few problems all in one fell swoop .  These changes should all be updated on the site by Monday, in the meantime if you want to purchase one of them, just click on “Contact Me”, fill out the form and let me know which design you want.

Just in case you haven’t been by the site recently, I thought I’d share just a few of the latest designs.  Oh, the discount mentioned for Sweet ‘n Simple Custom Blog Designs doesn’t apply at SNS Blog Design due to the low prices that are already in effect.

I am LOOOOvin’ this kit!  Just released it’s called “Your Planet or Mine” by 4 Shades of Blue!

You may notice that many of my digi WW layouts are by 4 Shades of Blue…well, she’s having a great sale through the 4th that you’ll definitely want to take advantage of if you like to do digital scrapbooking.  This is a great sale and 4 Shades of Blue offers some great style for creating beautiful pages for almost anyone!  Happy Scrapping!

If this post has encouraged or blessed you please share it with others:

If you have a friend that is expecting a baby…give them this book, if you have just become a grandparent or have friends who recently had a child and you would like to give them a great book just because….give them this book.   Get the idea…buy this book for every parent you know.

It’s funny, intelligent, witty, honest, medically balanced and definitely a great read!  You won’t find this to be one of those boring medical how-to or info books that you can read to go to sleep!  With this book you’ll be sucked in and drawn to read chapters on subjects that you know you may never need to know about, but it’s funny to hear what she has to say about it anyway.

Just an example….as I was reading through it to present to all of you, I stumbled upon the section on Colic.  If you have never had a child with colic, or been very close to someone who has, you will have absolutely NO understanding or appreciation for the amazing advice being given in this section.  I called my sister…the queen of daughters with colic (and figuring out how to cope with it) and read the entire section to her knowing full well that she would LOVE it…she did!  She especially loved that Dr. Zibners mentioned the only book that has gotten my sister through her two girls with colic.  Prompting me to give Dr. Zibners two thumbs up…and a big ole hug from my sis!

Author, Lara Zibners, MD (an emergency room pediatrician) has seen far too many children taken to the ER who didn’t need to be there. I love her grounded advice on everything from what to keep in your medicine cabinet (even this experienced mom could use a refresher course in that from time to time), how to tell if the situation is really an emergency or not and if you do have to go to the ER, what to expect when you get there.

I really do encourage families do their research ahead of time. I know it isn’t something that any of us want to think about ever needing to do, but much like finding a qualified pediatrician, it does help to know up front what your best options are. Many parents don’t know that there are some hospitals that have pediatricians on hand and some that don’t…if your child doesn’t have a life threatening emergency, you should always take them to the hospital that offers pediatric care. For instance, if there is a Children’s hospital in your city, take them to the ER there. Many ER’s aren’t really equipped to be the best option for childrens’ care, especially if there are many higher level pediatric facilities within the same city…so do your homework.

You can read an excerpt from the book HERE. Dr. Lara Zibners has a great website too where she answers some great questions, has more information about her book and even has a section where you can ask a question or tell your story.

If you would like to win a copy of this book for your family bookshelf (or a friend), be sure to check out Dr. Lara Zibners’ site, then come back here and leave a comment telling me why you’d love to have a copy of this book.

There are many opportunities to get extra entries as well…

just be sure to leave a new comment with the necessary information for each one:

• 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.

This giveaway is open to US addresses only.  Be sure to enter by July 13th.  It is void where prohibited, be sure to read my giveaway policies here.

*Disclosure:  My reviews are honest and forthright.  Although companies are required to send me products to review in order to be featured here, I will not post about a product that I do not like.  You can see my full disclosure here.

My friends and family have been raving to me about The Cheesecake Factory for years, but I have just never had the opportunity to go.  There are a few nearby so it’s really just a matter of getting a sitter and going.

If you have been to The Cheesecake Factory, you know how fun it can be and right now you can “Share Your Celebration” and be entered to win one of several AMAZING prizes…

• Trip for 4 to Florida – Airfare, Hotel, Disney Resort Passes and $1,000
• Chance to instantly win a $25 gift card, $500 in gift cards.
• Cheesecake for ONE YEAR!!

All you have to do is grab a photo of you celebrating at The Cheesecake Factory (if you don’t have one, it’s a great excuse to visit and create a celebration).  Put together a story mentioning the role The Cheesecake Factory played in your celebration and submit it to be entered to win those great prizes.

Since I tend to be the one to plan our anniversary I thought it would be fun to do something different this year so when I was asked to share this great contest with you, I thought it was a great opportunity to hear from my readers about their experiences with The Cheesecake Factory.

Share your best story to enter to win one of the prizes of course, but if there’s a dish you love there and think we should try when we go next month, I’d love to hear about it!

*Go HERE for my full disclosure policy statement.

It isn’t uncommon for moms to lose a bit (or a lot) of  themselves along the way.  To suddenly find one day that most people know them as the mom of so-and-so, not knowing who we were before children or who we are when the children aren’t around.

As you reach this realization, you may feel many different ways, but many of us end up feeling a little lost.   It is also very common for moms who have suddenly “lost” themselves to begin the search…the search for “me”.

I’d like to suggest something potentially unique today…you can find yourself through motherhood, you just need to know where to look.  It really isn’t about going back and trying to reclaim who you were once upon a time, it’s about realizing that we all become different people through the years and we just need to redefine what it means to be the woman we are today (which may very well be defined primarily by my status as a mom) and understand that although this moment is fleeting it will define who we continue to become.

Your life isn’t over, you don’t have to achieve everything you dream of right now.  It’s ok to wait until your children are a little older to pursue those things that suddenly seem very important for you to do!  Being right here, but wishing I was over there is the angst of many moms…whether they are willing to admit it or not.  Just when that feeling becomes almost unbearable is the moment when we need to take a step back and re-evaluate why we feel that way.

I was shocked recently when I felt like I was trapped in my own motherhood.  Shocked!  All I ever wanted to do was be a mom…I chose to be a stay-at-home mom to completely raise them and instruct them…yet here I was, suddenly dissatisfied with “just” being a mom when I saw all that the other women were doing around me.

Wake up call:  What better thing in this world can I do?  As far as eternal value is concerned, I could not do anything better than to invest my time and energy into the 6 young men that I will someday send out into the world.  It’s what I’ve been called to do!  I have been given these children merely for a short season in life…though it may seem long to me now…and I must rise to the challenge!

If you are feeling particularly lowly in your role as a mom I hope you will feel encouraged by what I’m sharing here today!  I’m not perfect, I have huge gaping character flaws that I take before God  daily (when I remember…see flawed).

If you have stopped seeing motherhood as the greatest gift in your life and have started wishing you could be doing other things instead, it might be time for a reality check!  Here’s the bottom line…I can wait until next year or even 5 or 10 years from now to write that book, start that business or go on that trip!

Since God has given me this moment to be a mom, I guarantee that if I stop focusing on all I’m “missing out on” and start focusing on being the best woman I can be right now for my family, I’ll be able to do all the things in life that I could dream of ….and more!