Tag Archives: cute

My Happy Pillow: A Fun Way for Kids to Show Emotions

A toddler’s emotions are about as stable as nitroglycerin in a monster truck rally. I’m assuming we all have our days, but for kids, it’s just routine. Lucky us, huh? If only we could get in our kid’s mind to know how they’re feeling when they can’t or won’t say it themselves.

Enter My Happy Pillow! They are a small, family-owned business making fun and adorable animal pillows with dual expressions. One side has the animals in their happy state, and the other has them mad/sad/bored/scared depending on which animal you have.

my happy pillow

The pillows allow kids (and adults) to express their feelings without saying a word. Your kids can show their feelings by revealing a certain side of the pillow and then we know if it’s playtime or bedtime/cheer up time/hold close time/keep your distance time!

What makes My Happy Pillow extra special is that these pillows were created by a precious 6 year old girl who wanted a way to express her feelings. It’s like getting inside information for what kids want from a kid! This was something I had to try with Avery, and was ecstatic when they agreed to send me one of their pillows for review. I even had a kind note from Wendy upon opening the package.

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And then a not-so-kind Sunny the Bear showed his face….

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I quickly flipped him over so we all could be happy though!

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Phew! The stitching and fabric is all high quality and soft to touch. Both extremely important for a pillow and for kids who like to “test” the durability of their toys.

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If you were wondering, Sunny passed the test. In order to show her acceptance, she brought him to her favorite chair for a big a hug…

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….and even let him sit there! Obviously, this made him happy.

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Avery still hasn’t caught on to using pillows when sleeping in her crib. Despite our efforts at putting him in there at night, he always ends up on the floor along with anything else we put in there. But when on her blanket pallet, she enjoys cuddling close to her bear pillow.

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And, after taking too many pictures and testing her patience, I’d say she learned how to express her feelings without saying a word.

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Loud and clear!

Since a lot of my time is spent in the kitchen dealing with food prep, Avery found a wonderful way to keep me company and stay comfortable on the hard floor. Pillows are great for more than just your head!

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Of course, as I posted on Instagram, Sunny makes a perfect pillow too.

As you can see, we’re enjoying our fun and emotional pillow over here, and I’d say it’s worth picking up one (or several) for your family too. I think we all need a wordless way to show our feelings, so why not make it fun with a pillow?

My Happy Pillow currently has Sunny the Bear and Zee the Monkey for purchase, but have a panda, dog, lion, and giraffe you can pre-order now. Check them out here. For a better look, here’s the graphic from their About Us page with all of the animals and story of how they got started.

My Happy Pillow

I have a feeling your kids will love these pillows just like Avery since one of their kind created them. It’s genius! We all like the pillow and Avery has it with her every day now. I can’t find anything bad to say except that I really wish they would come out with a turtle pillow.

So, Isabella, if you’re reading this, please please PLEASE make a turtle pillow! I’ll be your first customer!

Make sure to keep up to date with My Happy Pillow and like them on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram.

Which pillow do you think your kids could use the most?

What about you?

Any other animals you’d like to see created by My Happy Pillow?

The Parent-Toddler Communication Barrier

“Avery.” I said in a stern, but not scolding voice, “Please pick up your duck from the kitchen and put him in your basket or I’ll take him away.” Never thought that would be a sentence I’d have to say.

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Avery’s resulting facial expression said it all….

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After repeating myself just to give her another chance and waiting for 5 minutes (felt like an hour!), I had to take the duck and put it on top of the bookshelf.

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You’ll notice the bag of blocks already there from a similar standoff we incurred earlier in the day.

And before that, we received a package at the door so I let her play with the box. I told her as long as she keeps off the couch and doesn’t tear the things off the box, she can play with it. I should’ve known better….

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She also handed me a piece of tape and cardboard strip she tore off. She’s lucky she’s so cute!

This, along with 10,000,000,000 other standoff-type occurrences have become part of the daily routine. Going Mom and I try to maintain composure and do quite well most of the time, but, well, c’mon, patience can only be tested for so long.

Parents, I am sure you know exactly what I’m talking about here. And to think we only have our one, my heart goes out to you with multiple! Your patience must be like that of iron! Or just really good. 🙂

I assume the communication barrier parents face with their toddlers is a commonality we all must experience to turn our hair gray at a faster than normal rate fully appreciate parenthood. It may not be needed (or necessary), but I took it upon myself to create a visual representation of the barrier with a quick video. By simply taking a ball and asking Avery to catch it, you see the barrier in full effect.


What do you think? Did I capture the parent-toddler communication barrier accurately?

It does help to keep calm and politely ask your little one to do as told. Then, once (if) they follow through, be sure to praise them and let them know how good they are. You just might be rewarded with super cuteness!

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Do you have any parent-toddler communication barrier examples of your own?

What ways do you find best to get them to listen better? Or are you still searching?

Swimming With The Cutest Little Fly Catcher

I don’t know about where you live, but the heat wasted no time making its way to Texas. Good thing Avery loves swimming, as I have a feeling we’ll be making use of the pool in our neighborhood quite often. Notice the pics of her in the pool, and then the one back in the stroller.

Where does she look the most comfortable? Hint: NOT the stroller!

We’ve already made several trips to the pool and summer hasn’t even officially started yet. I have a feeling we’re in for a long, hot summer. Oh wait, that’s how it is every year. Meh, I complain too much about the cold, so bring on the heat! But, please, not too much because A/C = $$$$$$$$$$$ if you know what I mean.

Trying to get a good picture of Avery in the pool is like, well, trying to get a good picture of her anywhere; she hardly looks at the camera! But, Going Mom and I made sure to flash our squinty smiles for a family selfie in the pool the other day.

Our Family at the Pool

Avery was apparently lost in deep thought. Probably trying to figure out why the other kids weren’t in a cool inflatable thing with a canopy.

Avery Looking Away in Pool

This is how she looks about 80% of the time while we’re at the pool. We tell her she can get out once she learns to swim. I have, actually, taken her out and started getting her to kick her legs as I skim her across the water. She doesn’t kick long until I’m just dragging her around and doing all of the work, but hopefully she’ll get a grip and swim like a pro in no time.

Speaking of “grip”, she definitely keeps a firm hold on my hands when I try to throw her in the air. Really makes it difficult to get a good launch, so I tried giving more force in the pool and, viola!, she let go and flew a little higher than expected.

Oops. Didn’t seem to bother her though.

What has been bothering all of us are flies in the house! Between letting the dog in and out and constantly opening the door to get something while working out in the garage, we have quite the collection of flies. Seeing as to how I stay home most of the day, the little pests are driving me mad and have me swatting like a cat throughout the day. At least Avery gets a kick out of watching her dad swat the air like a lunatic, and she’s even caught on to helping me out.

Don’t worry, that really was just fuzz she handed me, but we got a real live…errrr, now dead, fly right after.

It looks like she’s saying I’m her hero, right? Hey, let me pretend!

She’s been helping me spot flies at the dinner table too, and I’m keeping her new skills sharp even at the pool.

Yeah, Instagram video overload, I know. But it’s hard to resist this cute little fly catcher. She has yet to “catch” her very own fly, but the day is fast approaching, I’m sure of it. I’m also sure there will be more family pool time this weekend, so look out for Instagram overflow! Ha, get it? Pool….overflow….water….eh?

Quick update before I’m out. My staph checkup was moved from last Tuesday to this upcoming Tuesday, so I still haven’t heard the word from my butt doc yet. All I know is I’m feeling almost 100% and hopefully I can put it all behind me. I’m leaving on that note, have a wonderful weekend!

One last thing, please, if you can, help needy families by donating to the #MilkDrive campaign I’m a part of. It would mean so much to families missing out on important nutrients that they usually depend on for their kids while in school.

Just click here and you will go right to the donation page.