Over the years I have purchased a LOT of water guns for my kids. None of them have ever lasted. Then, this week in France, while on vacation, we came up with the indestructible replacement.

Enjoy this short video!
(And tell me if you’d like to see more video)

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while. Recently a good friend of mine, who is also a BlackBerry user, told me about a new game that had been released. The game is called Baby GO!

How many times are you out shopping for groceries, and when you get in line your toddler becomes bored, and you wish you had something to keep him or her busy. Or how about Saturday morning … you just can’t seem to EVER have time to talk to your spouse while you both enjoy a hot cup of coffee! You know what I’m talking about! Your kids are asking for things constantly, and by the time you remember you had that cup of coffee waiting for you on the counter, it’s cold. Microwave time. Yuk.

The guys over at Zeebu Mobile came up with a really cool solution. Baby GO (free version) and Super Baby GO ($3.99) keeps your toddler occupied. You fire up the game, and give your BlackBerry to your child. No need to worry – they won’t be able to email your boss, or delete calendar appointments. The only keys that work while the game is active are numbers / letters.

The game is really simple – which is also why it is so effective. Kids press keys, and block letters or numbers appear along with a child’s voice recording, dictating the name of the character.

Head on over to BlackBerry App World to download it. The free version is … well … FREE. The paid version, should you choose to upgrade, is really quite cheap.

You’ll be thanking me for recommending this (and the folks at Zeebu for making it)

Now go enjoy that hot cup of coffee.

I was reading Parent Hacks today, and found a great post on how to keep your kids entertained this winter without spending money. The idea presented was to make your own bowling set.

Here’s how: take empty juice or water bottles, and fill them partially full with uncooked beans (ultra cheap!). Just fill them up to about 1/3 full, enough to weight down the bottom. Use any decent-sized ball (such as a foam Nerf soccer ball) to knock over the pins.

We have one of those toy bowling sets at home, with 10 colorful pins and 2 black plastic bowling balls. It probably cost $20 at Toys’R'Us. I don’t really remember. But come on … how hard is it to take a bunch of empty water bottles and partially fill it with beans (or rice, or rocks, or sand). Parent Hacks says to tape the lids on. I say GLUE the lids on so your kids don’t pour out beans on your carpet.

Now you have a toy that is cheap and reliable. Kids LOVE playing with these types of homemade toys, and they really don’t notice that it didn’t come from a store.

If you are dealing with the terrible twos, make sure you check out my audio course for parents, and get the free lesson.

During the summer we tend to spend as much time as possible in the water.  We love swimming in our family.  I am a self-admitted “big kid”.  I like to play games and goof around.  Toys that  help you soak someone else with water are always fun!

Check this out:  I found a toy called Geyser Gushers at my local toy store.  That link is straigth to Amazon, where they are also available.  This toy reminds me of one of those orange construction pylons.  It is c0ne-shaped with a 1″ diameter hole at the top, and it has handles at the wide part of the cone so you can hold it.  If you learn how to use it properly, you can shoot a HUGE 1″ jet of water about 30 feet.  You’ll soak anyone around you.  What an awesome toy for the pool or the beach.

I’m thinking there *has* to be an easy way to make these at home using some kind of stiff plastic.  But I haven’t figured out how to do it quite yet.  If I can’t make my own, I’m going to buy these for the next time we take the kids away for a sunny vacation in the middle of winter.