I was sitting with my son Jake playing Pokémon Ranger the other day when I realized that most of our games we play are of the Pokémon series.  A few months back, I spoke with Nintendo’s resident Pokémon expert, Seth McMahill and we talked about the benefits of playing the role playing games with our children.  You can read more about our conversation here and since our conversation, have experienced some of the games available for the Wii and DS Lite.

When we’re on the go (especially when we’re flying to NY) and I need to keep Jake occupied, I always bring Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time.  Since Jake is only 3 and can’t exactly read, the Pokémon series are games we can play together and encourage reading and creativity. (more…)

We don’t allow candy in the house for two reasons.  First off, if it’s there I’ll eat it.  All of it.  I have an addiction to chocolate and no matter where it is, I’ll find it.  Also, candy makes my kid an ass.  There’s no other way to put it.  My son is a great kid but both his father and I both have very sweet teeth and Jacob is the type to find one M&M from about 40 miles away.  Once he gets it in his system, it’s not that it makes him hyper, it just turns him into an ass.  He gets rude and expects to be given the world.

So since he was a baby we stock the house only with fruit, granola and water.  No juice or soda (except the occasional diet Coke for me).  If Jake’s a good boy, he gets a ‘candy bar’ (granola).

I also like to feel good about what my kids eat.  I want to know that if I’m giving them a snack it has some nutritional benefit.  I have two growing boys and I expect an early retirement when they begin playing professional football. I have to make sure they stay healthy and strong. (more…)

If anyone is gearing up to get some old school holiday spirit, Turner Classic Movies is launching TCM PRESENTS: THE FAMILY CLASSICS. The festivities will include Sunday movie showcases featuring more than 25 Disney live-action classics, plus an all-new original documentary entitled THE AGE OF BELIEVING: THE DISNEY LIVE-ACTION CLASSICS, narrated by Tony winner and three-time Oscar nominee Angela Lansbury.

TCM PRESENTS: THE FAMILY CLASSICS premieres Sunday, December 7 at noon and continues ­each Sunday in December, featuring such films as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Freaky Friday (1976), The Parent Trap (1961), The Love Bug (1968), Treasure Island (1950), The Shaggy Dog (1959) and Swiss Family Robinson (1960), as well as Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), which stars Lansbury.

THE AGE OF BELIEVING: THE DISNEY LIVE-ACTION CLASSICS, which comes to TCM from FitzFilm, Inc. and writer/producer/director Peter Fitzgerald, will follow the studio’s history as it ventured beyond its animation legacy to develop non-animated family fare. It premieres at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 14.

Here’s the lineup for this upcoming Sunday for anyone interested!

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Sun., Dec 7

• Noon Treasure Island (1950) – starring Robert Newton and Bobby Driscoll
• 1:45 p.m. Swiss Family Robinson (1960) – starring John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, Sessue Hayakawa and Tommy Kirk
• 4 p.m. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) – starring Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas and Peter Lorre
• 6:15 p.m. Old Yeller (1958) – starring Tommy Kirk, Dorothy McGuire and Fess Parker
• 8 p.m. The Parent Trap (1961) – starring Hayley Mills, Maureen O’Hara and Brian Keith
• 10:15 p.m. Pollyanna (1960) – starring Hayley Mills, Jane Wyman, Karl Malden, Adolphe Menjou and Agnes Moorehead
• 12:30 a.m. The Barefoot Executive (1971) – starring Kurt Russell, Harry Morgan, Wally Cox and John Ritter

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Turner Classic Movies, currently seen in more than 75 million homes, is a 24-hour cable network from Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company.  TCM presents the greatest motion pictures of all time from the largest film library in the world, uncut and commercial-free.  The network also offers critically acclaimed original documentaries and specials, including the Martin Scorsese Presents: Val Lewton—The Man in the Shadows, the Emmy^®-winning Stardust: The Bette Davis Story and the Emmy^®-nominated Brando.  More information is available at www.tcm.com.

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Everyone loves to hit the theaters during the holiday season, and there’s a new family-friendly feature coming out December 12, 2008 to a theater near you.

Delgo is an action/adventure story about an unlikely hero in love with a princess.  It brings a story of acceptance between cultures and features an all-star voice cast includes Freddie Prinze, Jr. (Delgo), Jennifer Love Hewitt (Princess Kyla), Anne Bancroft (in her last performance, asexiled Empress Sedessa) as well as Chris Kattan (Filo), Val Kilmer (Bogardus), Lou Gossett Jr. (Nohrin King), Michael Clarke Duncan (Lockni Stonesage Council), Kelly Ripa (Kurrin), Burt Reynolds (Delgo’s Father) and Sally Kellerman (Narrator). (more…)

If anyone has ever seen my button, you’d see that I used a picture I took of my boys at the zoo.  Jake stuck his face I the one hole and Ryan help Josh up to the other while I snapped the picture.

Well, I came across a web site this morning called Made Up Memories where you can choose a storyline and upload a picture of your child’s (or anyone else’s) face.  It has you adjust the picture to fit in the allotted area by scaling it up or down and rotating it and then it asks for the individuals name.

Once you’ve finished, you simply hit enter and wait a moment and you get a great story that you helped make!  You can choose from a princess story for little girls (but I’m thinking about putting my brother’s face in there he he), a non-stop action comic strip about a super hero for little boys and a very funny spoof about holiday “it” toys like Tickle Me Elmo and Furby.

After you watch the movie, you have the option of saving it or emailing it to friends and family.  I can’t stop creating stuff.  I have a hilarious picture of Jacob from a few weeks ago where he decided to bathe in swim goggles and I put that into the spoof on toys and just about peed my pants.

My special, special boy

When the movie is done, you have the option of sending it to anyone you want or you can save it to your desktop if you register an account with Memeo Share, the easy way to share photos, videos and more with friends for free.  I’ve made 3 movies and Jake keeps asking me to replay them for him over and over.

If you’re looking for a good laugh and a wonderful video memory to share, check it out.  It’s free and people love it.  I’ve already sent it out to some people and got ‘how did you do that’ replies back!