Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo is a fun app for kids for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod. Team up with Putt-Putt to save the Cartown Zoo at its grand opening. Help Putt-Putt and Pep gather all the animals, raise the food supply, and keep everyone happy. From playing ice hockey with a polar bear to dancing with penguins, and more, this game is sure to keep kids of all ages entertained.

My children loved this game! I had intended for it to be for my 4 year old, Quinn, but I think Avery, my 9 year old, liked it much more. It’s cute, fun, imaginative, and definitely keeps their attention. Avery loves the mini-games and Quinn loves the music videos and the interaction with nearly everything in the zoo. I like that it’s cute, features cameos by Freddie the Fish, and the touch-screen navigation makes it easy for even little ones to do, even if they don’t get the concepts. Overall, it’s a great game for kids and reasonably priced at $1.99.


You can purchase Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo for your iDevice on the iTunes store.


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

Since our nearly 8 year old son is just starting to take interest in live action films, Spy Kids 4:  All The Time In The World is the first and only Spy Kids movie he and his younger siblings have ever seen.  That actually goes for me, as well.

Knowing that this movie was made with children in mind, I wondered how much a grown spy movie fan like me would enjoy this DVD.  Well, Spy Kids 4 turned out to be a very entertaining movie for the whole family.  It had three key ingredients that make any spy film successful . . . a strong and beautiful heroine, lots of action scenes, and super-cool spy gadgets that even James Bond would be envious of.  There is one more thing that made this film great for children.  That thing is a set of boy-girl twins who end up effectively fighting bad guys, something most children fantasize about doing at some point.  Now throw in some comic relief from the talking robotic dog Argonaut and the movie is complete.

Although the story is completely unrealistic, I do think that moms can relate to the character of Marissa (played by Jessica Alba) . . . well, not in a being drop-dead gorgeous way.  This character tries to do everything by juggling her family life and her work life, ultimately deciding to give up her work life.  In the end, she proves that she can do both well, something most working mothers hope to achieve.




Something that seemed interesting for existing Spy Kids fans is the return of the previous generation of Spy Kids from the first, second, and third movie . . .

Aside from being entertaining, Spy Kids 4 may also speak to children who are dealing with changes in their families, such as one of their parents remarrying.  It also encourages siblings to work together rather than compete against each other.

Of the four bonus features on the Spy Kids 4 DVD, our children's favorites were the "Deleted Scenes" and the "Spy Gadgets and More!"  I must say that those were my favorite, as well.

You can find Spy Kids 4:  All The Time In The World most places where popular DVDs are sold.  It is also available in a Blu-ray/Combo pack.  To learn more about the Spy Kids films, visit www.SpyKidsMovie.net.


Thank you to Click-Communications for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

Our nearly 8 year old son is no stranger to the members of the Justice League.  Between our 3 children, we have multiple Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman action figures, and now we have added Green Lantern to that collection.  One thing our oldest son has not experienced is the art of DC comic books.  He has read a small handful of children's graphic novels, but none of them offer the do-good action of the Justice League.

Our son's first four DC comics are exclusively found in specially marked boxes of Big G cereals.  Of the four, he said his favorite was #4 "Breakout!" because Aquaman and Batman prevailed against the bad guys even though they were outnumbered.  I like the fact that he is pleased when the good guys win.

If you think your child would enjoy these comics, for a limited time, you can find 1 of the 4 in each specially marked box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Honey Nut Cheerios, Trix, Golden Grahams, Reese's Puffs, and Cocoa Puffs.  Your children can collect all four and trade with their friends to complete their set.


For more information about these DC Comic books, visit BigGCerealHeroes.com.

Product, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills and DC ENTERTAINMENT through MyBlogSpark.

One of our local radio stations began playing nothing but Christmas music at the beginning of November.  Whenever we are in the car with the children, we always turn the radio to this station.  No, we are not sick of listening to holiday music yet.  Ask me again in a few weeks!

One day, all five of us were in the car together and the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" came on.  Our nearly 5 year old daughter shouts to us from way back in the 3rd row to turn up the volume.  Why?  Because . . .

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!

LeapFrog is a leader in toys for young children and a brand most people trust. Recently, LeapFrog was nice enough to send us a Peek-a-Shoe Talking Octopus to try out in my daycare. I’ve come to expect a certain standard from my LeapFrog toys, and this didn’t disappoint. It is well-made, sturdy plastic that is sure to last a while with regular playtime.

With this toy, the kids drop one of the balls into either of two “chutes” and it spins through the inside and out one of five feet at the bottom. It talks to children the whole time and sings a song. When they lift the shoes to find the ball, it either tells them the color or number of the shoe they’re lifting, depending on the mode it’s set on.




We’ve played with it on both settings, and, because of the age of the two most interested children, they like the color mode best. Both are 2 years old, so the numbers are a little advanced for them right now. My 4 year old son was too old for this toy. This toy is adorable, brightly colored, and teaches children while playing. My only complaint is that the volume is a bit loud, even on the low setting, but the toy works well without batteries for anyone who doesn’t like the volume.

The Peek-a-Shoe Talking Octopus would make a great gift for any infant or toddler, 9-36 months old, in your life. You can purchase this and all LeapFrog’s toys at most major retailers nationwide such at LeapFrog.com, Amazon.com, Toys R Us, Target, and Wal-Mart. This toy retails for approximately $29.99.

Thank you to LeapFrog for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon and for providing an additional product for our contest prize.

Our twins are about to turn 5 in January.  This year was the first that they each wrote their own letters to Santa.  No, they each are still not able to write many words on their own, aside from their first names.  That is why I came up with these free printables for young children to trace their letters to Santa Claus.  There are four blank spaces where a parent would need to help out by dotting out the characters for their child to trace . . . the year, "boy" or "girl", what the child would like for Christmas, and the child's name.  I also made two versions . . . one with some Christmas cookies clipart and one that is blank so that your child can add his or her drawings or stickers.

Our preschoolers were thrilled to finally be able to write their own letter to Santa instead of having their big brother write to Santa on their behalf.  I hope your child experiences the same sense of pride and accomplishment.  It is very important for you to remember to send a reply letter to your child from Santa to help keep the magic of Santa alive.

The newest Family Movie Night film from Walmart and P&G, Game of Your Life, does an excellent job of engaging the general population of tweens, teens, adults.  This movie is centered around gaming, a pastime enjoyed by people of all ages.

There are three concepts in this movie that makes it successful in speaking to today's youth.  The first is that geeks are cool!  In fact, there are several references made in the film that only a true geek would understand and appreciate fully.  The second is the idea of an elite gaming academic program in college.  What hardcore gamer has not dreamed of going to school for game design and then ultimately being paid to create the same games he or she loves to play?  The third concept that many young people can relate to is the pressure of having to contribute financially to help their family in today's struggling economy.

Two important themes introduced in this film that will open opportunities for discussion with your children are plagiarism and what it really means to be on a team.  It is a common misconception that the team members who perform better are more important than the others.  This film shows this to be untrue, but rather every team member is important to the success of the whole team.  Other themes are having to experience the loss of a parent and the inner struggle of deciding when it is acceptable to break the rules.

As an adult, I found this movie to be very entertaining.  I never found myself to be bored or to be looking at the clock.  I would recommend it for anyone from middle school age to adult.

You can catch the premiere of Game of Your Life on NBC this Friday (Dec. 2nd) at 8pm ET/7pm CT.  Visit FamilyMovieNight.com and Family Movie Night on Facebook to learn more about this and past Family Movie Night films.


I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of P&G and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

If you can believe it, I completely forgot to take any photos at Thanksgiving dinner.  I did remember to take photos of the Peanut Butter Oreo Butterfinger brownies I baked earlier that day though.  Look for the recipe coming soon!

This is a photo of our very laid back cat Sagwa.  I think she was getting bored watching me do a monotonous project last week.  Next time, I'll have to remember to be more entertaining.

Thanks for taking the time to view my favorite photos from last week!  Click here to view all my past favorite photos.

One of my son, Quinn’s, delays is in fine motor, a problem many children on the spectrum struggle with. Because of this delay, any activity that exercises his pincer grasp is great for him, such as small puzzles, lacing cards, or any kind of manipulative, like a sorting set.

We were sent the Super Sorting Set from Learning Resources to try out and review. This set comes with over 600 pieces that help to teach children to differentiate colors, start simple math skills, and improve fine motor skills. It contains animals, dinosaurs, links, circles, vehicles, fruits, tangram-type pieces, sorting bowls, a large sorting tray, and a set of activity cards to enhance play. It even came with strong, zippered bags to store the stuff in and a large, sturdy box to hold the entire set. I labeled all the bags with the words and pictures to make putting it all away easy for Quinn and the daycare kids who’ve also played with it, so there’s no confusion as to what goes where.

We’ve had hours of fun with this set already. There are so many options that the possibilities are nearly endless. Certain parts of it, like the small circles and links, have really helped to improve Quinn’s hand strength along with his hand/eye coordination. He has loved making patterns, sorting by color or type, and doing simple addition with it, and he hasn’t even realized how much he’s truly learning from it all.


I love that the set is very well made from good quality plastic and rubber, and the options with it are amazing. My only complaint is that the orange and red are a little too similar in color, therefore sometimes it confuses the children, but that’s the only thing I dislike. Everything else about it is great and would be wonderful for any child, whether they are on the Autism spectrum or not.


You can purchase this and all Learning Resources products on their website, www.learningresources.com. This set retails for $74.99.


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

I have nothing against candy as treats around the various holidays.  For my children's advent calendar though, I wanted to have something more than candy for them.  So I thought it would be fun to put a few pieces of a jigsaw puzzle in each box so that they could add to the puzzle everyday from December 1st through the 24th.  I really could not afford to put one toy for each of our three children in every box for 24 days, so this is an inexpensive alternative and a great non-candy option for those who want to avoid putting sweets in their children's advent calendar.

I bought this robot jigsaw puzzle at Target for under $5.  It has 100 pieces, so I put 4 pieces in the first 23 boxes and then 8 in the very last box.  If you have a single child who is younger, a 24-pieces puzzle would work out perfectly . . . one piece for each day.

If you would like to try this, the first thing you would need to do is to assemble the puzzle.  Then you need to select pieces that all join together at some point to place in the first box.  The second box would need to contain pieces that all join together, but also has at least one piece that connects to one of the pieces in the previous day's box.  That way, your child can add to the puzzle everyday without having odd pieces that do not connect.


If my children enjoy this activity, I intend to make it a tradition and will select a new puzzle to include next year.

Having three children, I have found it difficult to find an advent calendar that could be used for multiple children without having to make each child take a turn in a rotation.  Last year, we used a Playmobil advent calendar, which had one or more items in each box meant for a single child, so I ended up trying to squeeze 3 candies into each box.  That way, even though our children had to take turns to get the toy, they would each get a little treat daily.  Like with most advent calendars, the boxes were not designed to accommodate three children, so I had a hard time fitting 3 candies into every box.

Because of this, I decided to solve my own problem by making my own advent calendar.  I was able to find a couple of the key items at Discount School Supply, where I found the inspiration to make an advent calendar that looked like a collection of books.  Books would likely fit into any home's decor and you could even empty out a shelf to house them for the month of December.  We decided to put ours on top of a bookcase, but they would also work on a sofa table or a mantel.

Step 1:  Cut a piece of wrapping paper for each book leaving a 1.5" border at the top and the bottom and a .75" border on the left and the right.

Step 2:  With the wrapping paper right-side facing down, crease and fold the top and the bottom, making the entire length of the paper the same height as the book.


Step 3:  Use the glue stick to apply glue onto the entire perimeter of the wrapping paper.  Then very lightly apply glue to the rest of the paper.  (Too much glue will cause your paper to wrinkle.)

Step 4:  Smoothly wrap the paper around the papier-mache book, leaving some overhang along the edges of the front and back cover.

Step 5:  Wrap the overhang around each edge, pressing it down firmly in place.

Step 6:  Use your bottle of all-purpose glue to glue down any corners and edges that need securing.


Step 7:  About an inch from the top of the book, apply the poster tape starting on the inside edge of the front cover, wrapping it around the outer cover, and ending on the inside edge of the back cover.

Step 8:  Using the permanent marker, write the number "1" on the poster tape along the binding.


Step 9:  Repeat steps 1 to 8 with the next 23 books, numbering each one a different number from 2 to 24.


Step 10:  Cut an 8" piece of ribbon to make a bookmark that will help your children keep track of which day they are on.  (I used a scrap piece of patterned ribbon I had leftover from another project, dovetailed the ends, and tied a knot at each end.)

Now comes the fun part . . . filling each book with surprises for your children.  As you can see, these books are large enough to fit Tootsie Roll Pops, so you really are less restricted with what you can fill them with.


Ways to make this project your own . . . 

I like craft projects that are quick and easy, but there are many ways you can customize this craft to fit your own tastes, such as:

• Decoupage scraps of wrapping paper onto the cover instead of using one piece.
• Use fabric to wrap the books instead of wrapping paper.
• Use calligraphy to write the numbers on the binding.
• Use decals for your numbers instead of writing them by hand.
• Tie a small charm onto one end of the ribbon bookmark.
• Instead of wrapping the books, have your children paint them and decorate them with Christmas stickers.