My kids were SOOOO excited about Ninja Camp. We recently got the game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge and not only was it really fun to play - you can play with up to 6 players for a chaotic hilarious time - but the kids became obsessed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Of course I went through my own TMNT phase back in the 90s so they just brought me right back to my youth. Anyway, the prevalence of TMNT in our house made choosing the first theme for our backyard summer camps super easy! And the best part is, you can join Ninja Camp in your own backyard or house!

I LOVE children's books that support mental and emotional health. I feel it's a topic that was completely overlooked when I was growing up and I personally don't have a great handle on stress and anxiety or fully understand what really makes me, me. So when I find books like "Stressy Jessy" by Carmel Shami and Rani Bar-Segev, I get really excited! 

A post for "Stressy Jessy" popped up in my Facebook feed one day and I immediately said, that's a book I need to read and share! As a mom, my brain is constantly filled to the brim and bubbling over with tasks, ideas, worries...you name it! And I am definitely not the best at focusing on the most important things and setting the rest aside. There have also been times Lil C couldn't get to sleep at night because she couldn't stop her brain from thinking. I figured if Lil C and I had trouble quieting our brains, I knew there had to be lots more people out there with the same struggles! So I reached out to author Carmel Shami and she was generous enough to send me a copy of her book to share with you all!

After reading the book, I am certain that "Stressy Jessy" is an amazing resource to add to your bookshelf. Jessy's story is simple, straight-forward, and relatable. He has typical kid stresses - an argument with a friend, a teacher who yells, difficult homework - and when all those thoughts won't stop swimming through his head, he turns to his mom to help him quiet them. Mom's strategy is simple, yet effective: organize your thoughts like you organize the things in your room. Make a list of thoughts and sort them into categories like fears, tasks, problems, dreams, and ideas. Then, you can figure out what to do about them.

One of the things I've learned in trying to cope with my feelings of anxiety and overwhelm is that simply writing down or sharing things can make a BIG difference. It sort of makes it tangible and easier to deal with. Now that it's written down you don't have to stress as much that you'll forget about it. And sometimes, the thought just wanted to be heard and you can say, I heard you, thank you but this is not something that needs my energy. Carmel also suggests writing down happy thoughts and things you are grateful for - this can help you realize that even when bad things seem to be piling up, there's always good in your life as well. 

One thing I wasn't expecting was for "Stressy Jessy" to touch my heart! Carmel uses the Hebrew word balagan which means mess. My mom, who passed away several years ago, used to use that word all the time when she was telling me to clean up my messes! I had completely forgotten about it! Reading that word brought her right back to me. Apparently balagan is not only used in Hebrew, but in various eastern European countries as well. My mom's family was from Ukraine so that makes sense! She used to also tell me I had a золота верба (zolota verba) growing behind me because I would randomly leave things all over - I knew золота meant golden but I never actually knew what a верба was! According to Google, it's a willow. But now, with the help of Stressy Jessy's strategies, I have more confidence that I can tackle my mental and physical balagan and prune that golden willow! 

I hope this book finds its way to all those, young and old alike, who need a little help settling their thoughts. And don't forget to check out these other awesome books that support mental and emotional health:

Makeup artist, mom, and author Lauren Vena is back at it with her second book, "My Dad...the Best Dad Ever." This book celebrates the endearing and sometimes weird imperfections of dads that make them so lovable and super to their kids.

Like I said about moms in my review of "My Mom...the Best Mom Ever," the roles and expectations for fathers have also changed through the generations. While the norm years ago was fathers earn the money and mothers raise the children, now I see the roles more blurred a lot of the time. And I think it's awesome! While I haven't met any stay-at-home dads in my little circle yet, we do know tons of families where both parents work and both share the job of raising their children. 

Just like us moms, all those dads out there haven't figured out how to be perfect parents (and they never will!) but on the whole they are much more involved in their kids' day to day lives than generations before. But we all know it doesn't matter exactly what you do or don't do, when you truly love your children they know it and that will make you the best dad ever in their eyes. Here's some proof:

"He makes the best pierogis and makes us multiplayers [servers]." - Lil C, 10

"He plays games with me like Minecraft Dungeons and other video games, Nerf wars, tag, and hide and seek. And he's better at putting maple syrup on pancakes!" - Squidgy, 6

"I think Daddy is really cool. I love Daddy's really stupid funny dad jokes. I like all the cool creative things I do with him. I like when I went to Home Depot and Target with Daddy. I got to listen to Encanto and Hamilton the whole car ride." - Chloe, 12

"I like asking him cool science questions. I also loved going to Sonic 2 with Daddy in NYC. I also like throwing footballs or basketballs with Daddy." - Ben, 6

"He likes to play with us, like board games, wrestling, nerf, and video games." - Logan, 10

"He lets us have dessert and buys us ice cream." - Alice, 6

Activity: Tell your Dad what makes him the best dad ever! Download and print the Best Dad Ever Drawing Page then fill it out and give it to your Dad on Father's Day! And if your child would like their drawing featured on the Cardboard Mom Facebook page, please scan and email their drawing to cardboardmom@gmail.com with their first name/nickname and age.

"We Are Water Protectors" by Carole Lindstrom and Michaela Goade is an absolutely beautiful story illustrating the Native American - especially Ojibwe - love of and relationship with water as well as their protest to protect the waters on their land from oil contamination.