About F'ing Time, Target

While recently at our local Super Target not only did I find the all natural end cap in the toys department that Tiny Decor has mentioned, I also found they have started stocking BPA-free brand Boon.

This is great if for no other reason I can tell all the parents that ask where we got Ozzi's sippy cup that it's now at Target vs trying to list the various websites. This is definitely a step in the right direction for Target. Boon has some ingeniously designed products that have clearly put their customers, parents and kids, first.

CPSIA WTF

Looks like I need to eat my hat. Quite a while back I railed against the few politicians that voted against a bill meant to help prevent toys soaked in lead and arsenic from reaching our kids' mouths. Turns out the CPSIA went the way of so many bills passed this year. Good intentions paired with hysterical urgency created a bill that could kill the small independent toy manufacturers that have always been making safe toys and leave only the huge toy corporations that repeatedly put our kids at risk in business. The bill mandates testing that could cost toy makers up to $4000 PER TOY! So, take a minute out of your day and help vote for a change in the bill by clicking on the button below and/or write your politicians. I'll put the soapbox away as soon as I'm done eating.

Economic Stimulus Part 4

Through back channels and undisclosed high ranking sources within the North Pole, it has been reported that Santa may be hooking my boys up with a few of the most rockin' toy trucks I... er, Santa has ever gotten his hands on. Toxin free, made from recycled wood and plastic, battery free, kid powered lights and sounds, interchangeable characters, and durable, all at prices relatively comparable to Tonka. The Canadians at Sprig Toys could certainly teach Fisher Price a thing or two. Looks like Santa (and some Canadians) has been reading Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America too.

Economic Stimulus Part Drei

For those of you NOT concerned about the impending financial doom, might I suggest digging 6,800 quid out from under your mattress to purchase one of 999 Audi Type-C pedal cars. Then rent a Santa costume so you can bestow this leather and oak trimmed aluminum beauty upon my children Christmas morning. Of course this is contingent on all 999 not being already earmarked for all the good little boys and girls in the U.A.E.




Maybe if The Big Three manufactured limited edition high-end replicas of their 1936 race cars they wouldn't have to be begging the government for bailout money.

Economic Stimulus Part Twee

This past weekend K8 and I started, and almost finished, our xmas shopping for this year. While in the toy stores I couldn't help but notice all the really great toys available for kids older than my own. Of those, the toy that stood out the most is Totem.



Created by Kidsonroof out of Amsterdam, Totem, like most other construction toys, provides children with an opportunity to learn how to follow instructions or to build freely from their own imagination. In addition to each piece being made out of laminated recycled cardboard, they are also decorated with a variety of fantastic designs, symbols, and textures. From what I've seen Totem is a fantastic toy with endless possibilities.

Kidsonroof makes a few other ingeniously simple products worth checking out as well and even gives 5% of all profits to UNICEF. You gotta love the Dutch.

Economic Stimulus Package

How much of the bailout billions is Santa going to get? I would imagine his heating bill alone has him on the verge of Chapter 11 unless he converted to geothermal with the Icelanders. Anywho, if he's not too strapped for cash, I'm hoping he can hook me Q up with some of the new Automoblox cars. Specifically the limited edition C9-S Berlinetta and the 3 pack of new mini's. I hear the auto industry could use the business.

My geeky heart is all a flutter.

THE. MOST. AWESOME. WOOD. BLOCKS. EVER! A Young Mad Scientist's First Alphabet Blocks are created by Xylocopa and was a stand out at Make Magazine's Austin Makers Faire.


I'm on the verge of dehydration from the amount of drooling I'm doing over these things. They are definitely going on my Christmas list this year (right under the G1 Phone). Don't think of this as a grown man wanting some baby toys, but instead, a patron of the arts wanting a masterpiece of geeky art in the form a child's plaything.

Look at what they've come up with for all the letters:
A - Appendages
B - Bioengineering
C - Caffeine
D - Dirigible
E - Experiment
F - Freeze ray
G - Goggles
H - Henchmen
I - Invention
J - Jargon
K - Potassium
L - Laser
M - Maniacal
N - Nanotechnology
O - Organs
P - Peasants (with Pitchforks)
Q - Quantum physics
R - Robot
S - Self-experimentation
T - Tentacles
U - Underground Lair
V - Virus
W - Wrench
X - X-Ray
Y - You, the Mad Scientist of Tomorrow
Z - Zombies

Keepin' Cool

On these crazy hot days there are few things better than a frozen treat molded into something fun. Like rockets (via swissmiss)


or Lego people (via Geekdad).

Gone Baby Gone. The Goat is Gone!

If it wasn't bad enough that I had to take the boys to the mall this morning, somewhere between The Apple Store and Urban Outfitters, Goat, one of Ozzi's favorite wrestling partners, abandoned stroller never to be seen again.

With the tragic irony of this and my previous post fresh in mind I frantically searched everywhere praying I would find him. No luck. I annoyed the hell out of a few MOA employees. No luck there either.

But, all is not lost. Pacifier reassured K8 that Goat is still replaceable. During the search I also meet a super cool family from Iceland, Norway, or one of the other Nordic nations. Their orange Phil & Ted's was much cleaner than ours and they weren't in a panicked frenzy.

And just in case you were wondering who makes the cutest and cuddliest little goat this side of the alps: blabla kids. A fantastic globally responsible company that you can be happy to give your money to.

While I'm on the subject of cool new cars...

I really wish the people at great companies like Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive would strike up deals with great toy companies like Plan Toys and Automoblox. A Tesla Roadster is too impractical to ever be parked in our garage, but a Tesla Roadster wooden toy car... We'd gladly make room in the playroom for at least a few.

BTW, we finally got the Automoblox C9R Sportscar. Without a doubt, Automoblox make the best toy cars you can buy.

Y Water is AWE... wait for it...

SOME!!! Y Water is the coolest kid product I've seen in a long time. It's organic vitamin water for kids that comes in these funky designed bottles that can be connected together to build whatever you want. I'm already fantasizing of a giant double helix of water bottles in the playroom. Imagine instead of throwing out or recycling your water bottles you reuse and collect them as toys. Brilliant!!

Even their website is great. Super interactive and fun. Just like their product.

Unfortunately as of right now it's not available in MN. I'll do some heavy lobbying at the Coop next time I'm there. I can only imagine the cost of FedExing a case or two here from LA.

Pimp My Ride - Toddler Edition

We got a secondhand Fisher Price trike for free from someone a while back. The other day I was looking at it and thought to myself that what it really needed was some "chrome rims". After a lot of taping and two coats of the silver metallic spray paint that we have left over from Q's robot costume I thought to myself, "We need more spray paint!"

Before:

After:

Q at the wheel: 30 second craft project

30 seconds of cutting bought me enough time to make dinner and Q some "Pigeon at the wheel!" time.

Materials needed:

scissors
round pizza cardboard

Use scissors to cut cardboard to look like a steering wheel and let the good times roll.

Eat it Rainbow Play Systems!

Maybe I'm still just a little bitter from when the A-hole with Rainbow Play Systems wouldn't let Q play on their display at the Home & Garden Show. But, I'm thrilled to see that there is an awesome alternative in the super-overpriced backyard playgrounds market. The M-4 Playgoda designed by Gregg Fleishman is an all plywood, no tools needed, play structure that not only looks really cool but also weighs a measly 340 lbs.


If only our yard was bigger.... oh yeah, and had $10,000 just sitting around collecting dust.

Toys, Bread, and Q wants to start dating!?!

These are the coolest toy cars on the planet... or at least the planet I've seen. Automoblox has even released some limited edition cars, which, of course, are my favorites.

I mixed up my first batch of bread dough. So far so good. I love the smell of bread dough and there is a whole lot of it to smell. The 6 qt. container is full. I'll try actually baking some tomorrow morning. Mmmm bread.

Q: "I wanna go on a date with Veronica."
DK: "Really? Where would you go?"
Q: "I gonna take Veronica to the beach."