Teaching gratitude to children isn’t always easy, but a necessary thing for them to learn to be productive, respectful adults. Mary O’Donohue’s book, When You Say “Thank You,” Mean It, gives parents and caregivers the tools they need to teach their children to be grateful, say it, and genuinely mean it. With such great ideas as making a gratitude board, creating respect tiles, and making a compassion in action calendar, this book opens a dialogue with adults and children about why everyone should take time to be thankful and to help those who have less to be thankful about than ourselves.

Mary’s writing in this book is superb . . . informative and filled with experience, but not preachy. Her system of teaching gratitude and compassion is easy to understand, follow, and put into practice. My children and I loved doing the exercises and they really learned a lot about why they should be thankful.

You can find more information about When You Say “Thank You”, Mean It on O’Donohue’s website, www.maryodonohue.com. You can purchase this book on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Borders.


Thank you to Adams Media for providing a complimentary review copy of this book for us to base this article upon.

koobli is a specially designed unisex cover up to protect clothing from spills, messes, and bodily fluids. Made from soft yet strong breathable and washable 100% micro polyester suede and available in blueberry and cherry, anyone with children could find a use for the koobli. It also comes in three sizes, so there’s sure to be one to fit any member of your family. koobli is also water and stain resistant, non-toxic, features two large pockets for storing pacifiers, tissues, etc., and completely folds into itself, so storage is easy.

Since there was a long wait to get new business cards from work, my husband was given permission to have his own printed.  I created the design for custom business cards from Zazzle myself in 300dpi for both the front and the back.  I had the idea to print my husband's work schedule on the back since it was unused space.  I made sure I left plenty of room for jotting down notes.

Last fall, we had the pleasure of reviewing a men's geek t-shirt from Zazzle and both my husband and myself were  extremely impressed with the print quality.  I was expecting the same quality with the business cards.  There were two areas where I was disappointed.  I created my images in the exact dimensions of the business cards, building in a white border.  Still, both the front and back designs were printed very close to the edges, with the text being cut off on the back.  Had I been offered a preview or an electronic proof, I would have gone back and resized my image making the white border even wider.  The second thing that made me slightly disappointed is that some of the cards had faint lines on them, as if the ink from the back of one card transferred to the front of the adjacent one.  Other than those two issues, the cards were decent quality for the price.  The cardstock was a good weight and the printing was clear.

I do want to point out that we received my husband's cards quickly and there is even an option to rush the order.  You also receive a volume discount when you order two or more packs of 100 cards, which we took advantage of.  The cards we made were 3-1/2" x 2", but both the custom cards and select pre-designed cards are also available in 1" x 3" and 2-1/2" x 3-1/2".

Zazzle offers much more than just t-shirts and business cards.  They have some unique products that are available in both pre-designed and custom designs, such as postage stamps, several styles of Keds canvas sneakers, round and square pendants, photo sculptures, iPad and iPhone cases, and even skateboards.  Visit Zazzle.com to view the full selection of products.

Thank you to Zazzle for providing a complimentary product sample to base this review upon and for providing a gift code for our contest prize.

During the month of March, the Worcester Art Museum had a student exhibit where each art teacher from participating schools could choose 3 pieces of art to submit for showing.  Our 7 year old son was one of the students who were honored by having one of his paintings  selected.  Since the end of the month was quickly approaching, we made it a point to visit the museum this past weekend.

The museum visit started off with promise.  After we saw all the student artwork, we moved onto the main museum galleries.  The children made it through the modern art exhibit without any fussing and even seemed impressed by the 3D art, the installations, and even paintings, such as one by Andy Warhol.  After that, things started to go downhill.

Aside from this suit of armor, we were not able to impress the children with anything . . . not even authentic Paul Revere silver.  After struggling with these three lying on the museum benches, running about, and complaining how bored they were, we gave up and decided to go home.  Before we did, we visited the museum gift shop to look for souvenirs for the children since it might be some time before we dare bring them back.  What did they end up choosing?  Some postcards of artwork?  A replica mask?  No!  They ended up choosing a light up soccer ball, an Automoblox Mini, and a plush duck . . . all things they could have gotten at any local store.





If you have a Silly Monkey Story to share, sign Mr. Linky below with the link to your blog post (not the link to your main blog page). Please do not forget to visit the other participants and leave them comments to let them know you stopped by!

I recently received a breakfast gift package from a representative of  Log Cabin Syrup as a thank you for helping her with a recent campaign.   Amongst the items were three bottles of syrup each tied with a pretty red ribbon like this one.

How do you suppose she knew red is my favorite color?

Did last week just fly by for anyone else?  Well, it did for me and I found myself scrambling on Friday when I realized I had nothing yet to share for Weekly Winners.  Here is what I came up with . . .

I am a sucker for trying Green cleaning products, so when I was offered Clean+Green Furniture Refresher for Dogs & Cats, I was thrilled. We have three dogs, two of which are little enough to be allowed on the furniture.   I also own a daycare, so our furniture takes a beating. We get all kinds of stains on our couch and have to clean it regularly. We don’t usually use harsh chemicals to clean in our home, but sometimes, when it comes to the furniture, we have to. I was very pleasantly surprised when Clean+Green thoroughly cleaned all the spots on my furniture without any of the toxic chemicals seeping into our home or environment.

Clean+Green Furniture Refresher can be used for many more things than just furniture such as pillows, carpets, trash cans, clothing, and more. For a limited time, this product is on sale for $7.99 on their website OdorAndStainRemover.com.  You can receive Free Shipping on an order of $30 or more.  Clean+Green products are also available for purchase on Amazon.com, CSN Stores, and at Petco.

Thank you to Clean+Green for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

I really thought nothing else could top my children's list of favorite Playmobil toys since they first played with the Playmobil Wild Life Care Station, but this new toy Pool With Water Slide has done it!  Perhaps it is because there are not too many water toys out there that are not made exclusively for the bathtub or for outdoor play?  Our three children (ages 4, 4, and 7) could not get enough time with this toy.  I would say this is a perfect toy for rainy days or for taking along on a family vacation.  The building aspect is great for older children and the play is enjoyable for children ages 4 to about 9 or 10 years old.

This Playmobil set has 133 pieces.  The instructions were very clearly illustrated in the manual.  I think that my 7 year old son would have been able to put this play set together by himself for the most part, but it would have taken him a long time.  I think two was the perfect number of people for this job.


After the main structure had been assembled, it was fun to see how many accessories there were, including 6 figures, a boombox, floating pool toys, a beach bag, and much more.  Once you are all set up, you can fill the main pool and the kiddie pool with water.  If I recall correctly, it took about 2-1/2 to 3 cups of water to fill both pools.

There were two parts of this pool that were clearly my children's favorites . . . the slide and the working shower.  They never got tired of sending the Playmobil figures down the slide to splash into the water.

The shower works without any batteries by using a simple pump.  It was extremely easy to set up.  The pump takes some strength to push down repeatedly.  My 7 year old son could do it, but he grew tired after awhile.

If you have owned Playmobil play sets in the past, then you know there are usually many small parts with many potential choking hazards.  This particular set has more tiny parts than usual.  All the little flowers are separate pieces.  There are even some extra flowers included in the set in case some get misplaced.

The Playmobil Pool With Water Slide retails for $39.99.  You can learn more about it by visiting store.playmobilusa.com, where you can also shop for Playmobil products.  You can also purchase this play set on Amazon.com, at Toys "R" Us, and other select retailers of Playmobil toys.

Thank you to Playmobil for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

I have not kept it a secret how picky our preschool-aged twins can be when it comes to food.  They will eat one type of the same food, but not another.  This is true with the most kid-friendly foods, like macaroni and cheese, chicken tenders, and even pizza.  So when we were invited to try Dr. Oetker's Pizza Ristorante, a new line of frozen pizzas in the U.S. that already sells in over 30 countries worldwide, we knew who would be the toughest critics.

Dr. Oetker's frozen pizza is available in 6 varieties . . . Pizza Mozzarella, Pizza Quatro Formaggi, Pizza Spinaci, Pizza Funghi, Pizza Vegetale, and Pizza Speciale.  We received the first two to try.  Let's see what my family thought about Dr. Oetker's pizza . . .

Both my husband and I thought the pizza and its ingredients looked surprisingly fresh for a frozen product.  We thought both the Mozzarella and the four cheese variety were delicious.  Most importantly, even though our 4 year old twins were hesitant to try this pizza because it looked different than what they were use to, when they did try it, they ate it all up without a fight.  I think the fresh ingredients and the thin crispy crust are what made this pizza a hit with my family.

I do want to point out that the suggested serving size is 1/3 of a pizza.  That may work if you were serving this pizza with other foods, such as a little pasta and some salad, but I personally would eat more than half of one pizza.  My husband would be able to eat a whole pizza by himself.  I can see 3 children sharing one pizza or a couple sharing one pizza along with a salad.

Dr. Oetker Pizza Ristorante products sell for approximately $4.99 and $5.99 each.  For the amount of convenience, quality, and taste these frozen pizzas offer, I think the price is right.  This brand of pizza is currently available in the Northeast regions of the U.S. at supermarkets, such as Roche Bros., Shaw's, Stop & Shop, Market Basket, and more.

Visit Oetker.us and TheMotherhood to find out more about this delicious pizza!

Thank you to Dr. Oetker for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon and for providing additional product for our contest prize.  This post is part of a paid campaign for TheMotherhood.com.