Blog Posts by Charlene Prince Birkeland, Shine staff

I'm clearly on some sort of first-aid kick because I keep coming across these undeniably adorable products for cuts and bumps.

My latest find is Rainbow Monkey Bandages. What kid wouldn't feel better with a little monkey love on a boo boo?

Fun colors, cute expressions and no Spiderman-Lightning McQueen-Cinderalla characters in sight. Personally, I wouldn't be embarrassed if I had to sport the Monkey bandage in a moment of "Where the eff are all our regular band aids?"

You can buy them at perpetualkids.com, US$3.99 for 15. I'd suggest buying a few packs because you just know someone's gonna' want to fix up an injured stuffed animal once they spy these bandages.

If you haven't been paying attention to your kid's school calendar, I'll break it to you gently. You're either at or approaching a single digit when it comes to how much time is left is before summer vacation.

Breath. Take an Om Moment if you must.

So it's not going away, this "school's out" thing. But this other thing called summer camp? It's pricey. Even YMCA camps, the typically affordable solution, can cost upwards of $250 per week. That adds up, especially when you have several children.

And sometimes when you've finally convinced yourself to pony up the cash for eight full weeks of day camp you decide too late and they're all full. (I call that one "The Summer Never to Be Repeated.")

You're in a pickle. You want to make the most of having your child at home but you also need a little personal space. If sending your kids to summer day camp isn't an option, here are some tips that helped me (during that summer never to be repeated).

• Create a daily schedule. It sounds

A good friend of mine runs an organic pizza dough business and she's definitely inspired and challenged me in trying to come up with new ideas for toppings. This week she posted about making Arugula Pesto Pizza, which sounds so delicious that I can't wait to try it over the weekend after a trip to the farmer's market.

What I love most, however, is this photo of the arugula pesto. That perfect shade of chartreuse. So very spring.

For the love of Pete, do the Wonderpets have to be so damn cute and loveable? Even I, the mom without a television, have allowed my kids to become smitten with all things Wonderpets. Yes, the theme song can be utterly annoying, but admit it -- you'll bust out the operatic voice when you want your little ones to do the "teamwork" thing.

Every episode has the Wonderpets -- Linny, Tuck and Ming Ming -- working together to save another animal from a precarious situation. On Monday, April 21, Nick Jr. unveils their latest rescue operation with Wonderpets Save the Beetles (Hah! Just in time for National Turn-off Week!)

And they dress up like The Beatles.

Jessica in Health said her preschooler is so excited about it that they've marked the show date on their calendar. But if you're like me and don't have a TV, you can buy the DVD. They eventually make it to iTunes as well, which is where we get our Wonderpets fix.

Even a Wonderpets hater has to admit the idea and photos are clever. You

Kristina Sauerwein over at Momformation posed a fantastic and fun question earlier this week when she posted about the things women miss while they are pregnant. The non-maternity clothes. Our pre-pregnant bodies (I'm still missing that one). Real, high-octane coffee. Sleeping through the night.

Me? When I was pregnant I missed sippin' an ice cold gin martini. Mind you, I am allergic to juniper and get fully congested when I have gin. But when I sported the a baby bump, I would get giddy just hovering my nose over a nicely-filled martini glass. It's twisted, I know.

What did (or do) you miss while pregnant?

When you think about teaching your kids to be eco-friendly, it's easy to focus on symbolic gestures like going to the beach to participate in shoreline cleanup efforts. But like most everything else in life, it's the little things that can matter.

Kids can learn early on how to be earth friendly in simple ways as part of everyday life. And isn't that the way it should be anyway?

Check out these five easy ways for kids to start on their merry, green way:

• Turn off the lights. I can hear my dad's voice saying this to me from the time I have memories until just recently when I was visiting my parents. Teach your kids to turn off lights when they are not in use...like when they leave their bedroom, the bathroom, the garage. So long as they're not leaving anyone else in the dark.

• Ease up on the water use. Okay, I'll even admit this is a tough one since most kids -- especially young ones -- love playing with water. If my kids are in the backyard it's only a matter of minutes

Retro icebags are soft on the noggin.When kids bonk their heads or injure some part of their body enough that it requires a bag of ice, "mommy fix it" mode usually jumps into high gear.

For toddlers there's boo boo bunnies, but older kids would cry from the added embarrassment of mom putting a cold stuffed animal on their head. Well, at least my boys would. Sure, a bag of frozen corn or ziploc full of ice will work fine. But I dunno, something makes me want to go all June Cleaver and take care of my boys with a touch of glam.

I adore this Retro Ice Bag (US$13) from Gal Pal and the funky designs have zero to do with it.

It's the ease and longevity factor. First, it doesn't have to sit in the freezer all the time waiting for an injury to happen. You just fill it with ice (or hot water depending on whatcha' got goin' on) when you need to use it. And they will forever be age appropriate -- from toddlerhood through the adulthood. Plus, a retro bag is way more comfy than a plastic bag wrapped in a towel that never manages to

Wish Jar via littleelephants.typepad.comVeronique over at Little Elephants inspired today's activity for Week of the Young Child.

Check out the Wish Jar that her kids made for a school project. All you need is a small jar and a piece of paper that can fit inside the jar when rolled up. Or like Vero, you can attach their wishes to the jar with ribbon.

Such a sweet idea, and wouldn't it be fun to keep their wishes as they grow up?