This summer we’ve had rain, rain, and more rain! So what do you do when you have whole days indoors because it won’t stop raining. So what have we been doing when it’s too cold and rainy to hit the pool or the park?

Hit the local library, most have summer reading programs for kids with daily or weekly activities. There are also tons of books and magazines to browse through and talk about.
Go bowling! Many bowling alleys have discounted rates during summer weekdays, since it’s their slow time.
Go see a movie, there are several summer blockbusters for kids this year. …read more

International Playthings provided me with an iPlay Air Hockey Game for my 3-year old triplets to test.  Following is my review of this super cool toy.
Let me start by saying I had reservations about the iPlay Air Hockey Game before I received it.  My kids love to go to the arcades at Walt Disney World, which is less than a half hour from our house.  Recently, they have become obsessed with the air hockey tables at the Walt Disney World resorts, but they’re still too small to use them correctly and really enjoy them. 
When I saw the iPlay Air Hockey …read more

Connect Four was one of my favorite games ever when I was younger. It was always the most popular game for indoor recess on rainy or snowy days. I think I liked it best because the kid I happened to have a crush on also liked the game. I remember getting in trouble one day because we were both singing, “Help Me Rhonda” at the top of our lungs while we played. Not very conducive to quiet indoor time. Ah well. It was worth it for the memory.

I love Clue. Growing up, I do think that this was my favorite board game, probably because we didn’t have it. I imagine for other people, who actually owned it, the great suspense and intrigue of the it probably wore off after the first dozen games or so. For me, though, every round of “whodunnit” was exciting, challenging, and fulfilling.
After we got married, Bald Man and I started building up our own collection of family games, and Clue was one of the first on my list. For some reason, though, we decided to get crazy …read more

One of Bald Man’s least favorite commercials depicts some type of fast retail environment (there are variations on the scene) where customers are quickly making their way through the checkout lane by making their purchases via a credit/debit card swipe. Everything is moving so smoothly until, oh my gosh how dare he, a customer actually brings a halt to it all by having the nerve to present the teller with…..wait for it…..CASH.
That’s all I could think of today when I saw the commercial for the latest rebirth of Monopoly…Monopoly Electronic Banking Edition. Yup, Monopoly without the …read more

I have a summer birthday and so had many outdoor parties as a kid. I loved the games that my mom would think up to play in the yard, and never laughed so hard as when I was watching my friends rolling eggs with their noses and such!
My daughter recently had her first Field Day with teachers and other students who belong to the same homeschooling program as we do. Some of the games brought back fun memories for me. I loved playing mushroom with the giant parachute! And others made me think that they’d work …read more

So, a friend spent a portion of this weekend participating in a blogathon to raise money for charity. At one point, she and another blogathoner (yes, I’m making up words, I think), started chatting about a game called Swingball. From what I gathered, it seemed similar to what I grew up with as Tetherball.
I remember Tetherball poles at one or two of the grade schools I attended, but I never remember it being a huge craze or anything. Certainly nothing like four-square. Baldman, however, remembered playing a few games in grade school. He says, “I …read more

I really thought we were going to miss the whole Pokémon craze. Our oldest is just now 6, and I guess I expected the excitement over the cards and game to have passed by now. Not that I have anything against them, I don’t know anything about them (yet), but it appears that I was mistaken….by a long shot!
Our daughter just received a set of cards from a friend who plays the game and had a bunch of doubles. Baldman was very excited, let me tell you. He loves games like this, and immediately searched the …read more

Strawberry Shortcake Dance Dance Revolution was one of the gifts my daughter received for her birthday. After watching her have a blast on the real Dance Dance Revolution for PS2 (when she could get us away from Guitar Hero), my sister thought this would be a fun gift for her niece.
We’ve…erm…I mean…..she’s had a blast playing with this game. The characters are cute, the songs are fun, and the moves start out nice and simple. The best part is that there are no gaming consoles required, it just plugs right into the TV. Other …read more