Tickle Monster Kit

Check out this Tickle Monster Kit. What a fun way to brighten a day! Find it HERE

On Our Bookshelf :: Raising Happiness

Paperback copies of this FABULOUS book are on pre-order now! Order from this link and proceeds go to help the Greater Good Science Center.

I highly recommend this book and Christine is going to be the keynote speaker at the Mother's Symposium as well.

Here are her book's ten simple steps for more joyful kids and happier parents:

Step 1, Put on your own oxygen mask first -- 

Step 2, Build a village -- 

Step 3, Expect effort and enjoyment, not perfection -- 

Step 4, Choose gratitude, forgiveness, and optimism -- 

Step 5, Raise their emotional intelligence -- 

Step 6, Form happiness habits -- 

Step 7, Teach self-discipline -- 

Step 8, Enjoy the present moment -- 

Step 9, Rig their environment for happiness -- 

Step 10, Eat dinner together.

I also recommend taking a look at her BLOG

Take a look at this video clip on happiness and gratitude

How Can YOU Teach Gratefulness?

Keep a gratitude journal (e.g gratitude at the dinner table)

Slow Down and Smell the Roses: Savor the positive (e.g. three good things at bedtime)

Write Gratitude Letters (teachers, family for things they did, not things they gave) 

Have a Growth Mindset (you tried really hard) vs Fixed Mindset (you're smart) 

and  her post about Amy Chua's article Tiger Mother

On Our Bookshelf :: The Slow Race

A mama recommended this lovely book to us this weekend at the Ohana Family Gathering. Hopefully, it will be on our bookshelf soon!

What a simple, ingenious idea. You use the wood pieces  to recreate the story as it unfolds, shaping it into a butterfly, boy, bicycle, etc.

Wilbur

Gracie (aka Fern) is so in love with Charlotte's Web and Wilbur these days. So much so, that Emily is sometimes her "brother Avery" because Fern has a brother, not a sister. She made a bottle for him (out of tape, a yogurt container and a pacifier) so she could give him milk three times a day. She is going to be an amazing mama someday! Actually, she already is. 

On Our Bookshelf :: Long Life Noodles

Here is a fun recipe from a fun book called The Story of Noodles.

Long Life Noodles:

1 pound cooked spaghetti (whole wheat, brown rice, buckwheat, angel hair, whatever is your favorite)

for the sauce:

4 green onions, white part only, chopped (I may use this as a garnish as Gracie does not like onions...yet)

4 small cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup smooth almond or peanut butter

1 cup coconut or soy milk

2 Tsps lemon juice

2 Tsps soy sauce to taste (or salt)

garnish:

1/2 cup roasted nuts

1/2 cup dried cranberries

On Our Bookshelf :: Living Simply with Children

WOW! I love this book and highly recommend it to any parent out there, even if not living the "simple life." I picked it up a the library and finished in two days. That good. Next up... Your Money or Your Life.

On Our Bookshelf :: Jerry Pinkney

We are loving Jerry Pinkney's illustrations!

He has illustrated over one hundred books, received a Caldecott Medal (our favorite way to select books, just look for the gold or silver medals,) five Caldecott Honor Medals, five Coretta Scott King Awards and for Coretta Scott King Honor Awards.