Well I guess it was only a matter of time ... The Wiggles have launched their own iPhone app. In fact they have launched 7 iPhone apps (!) One of the seven apps ('Colouring In') is available free of charge from the app store - all the others are paid for apps and will set you back $1.29 per app.

So all up you're looking at a spend of $10 if you get them all (not too bad considering what all the other Wiggles stuff costs). Here's a list of the apps with a short description:

• Big Red Car – Drive the Big Red Car while collecting a range of musical instruments as The Wiggles make their way to their next concert destination.

Football is a funny game ... there’s not much release of tension and it's hard to score. Which is very much like trying to get pregnant. So it's not surprising that when a man finally hears the words "I'm pregnant" things can get a bit odd. Bungy jumped? Doused yourself in jelly and electrocuted your nipples with a car battery? It's nothing compared to the energy released on hearing those words. Unused to such a physical, emotional, psychological rush, some men go native ...

Here's a random list of what to do / not to do after finding out you're going to be a dad (you be the judge):

1. Have sex with some random stranger ... and tell your partner

It's Father's Day in Australia and New Zealand - so we thought let's celebrate with an excerpt from our book "Being a Great Dad for Dummies" for all new dads on the 7 habits of highly successful fathers:

Confidence: It takes time to feel truly confident about handling a newborn, but you gain confidence by doing things and getting your hands dirty (literally in some cases), even if at first things don’t go right.

Creativity: Sometimes you truly have to think outside the box when you’re looking after babies or spending time with children. Children are very lateral in their thinking, which can work to your advantage as you can easily turn an empty water bottle into a spaceship. Children have no trouble with pretend play and let their fantasies run wild, so just go with it.

Check out a book called "Popsicle Fish" by Dr. Michael Murphy - you can read it free online at libertary.com (libertary.com/book/popsicle-fish). The book contains a number of funny and inspiring stories about Michael's fathering experience with his three sons. If you're like me you don't know who Dr Murphy is ... as it turns out he is a well known psychologist and family therapist who has received the Reilly Memorial Prize for outstanding creative writing and his work has been referenced in the book Chicken Soup for the Soul! Not bad, eh? So give his book a go and see what you think ... heck, it's free so you've got nothing to loose (other than time ... but there's nothing interesting on TV anymore these days anyway, so you might as well read a book) :-)

Enjoy

-Stef

The dreaded back to school season is back ... soon the kids will be heading off back to school, much to the disappointment of every dad's wallet. New uniform, stationary, books and sports equipment can be enough to put your bank account seriously in the red, especially if you have more than one child to buy for. So we've put together a few hints and tips on how to lower the costs (and the stresses) of buying back-to-school stuff for your kids.

1) Get Organised
If you find a good deal on some items, or come across them in a sale later on in the year then buy them in a bigger size for the start of next years term. In between the start of the new school term and Christmas there will be sales on uniform because retailers will be left with stock that they will want to get rid of before the Christmas rush.

2) Trade with Other Parents

DIYFather has an answer to the slow economic recovery and GST increase. Our new Book Baby on a Budget published on September 1st delivers real savings to families. The 130-page book presents the combined wisdom of fathers around the world on how to save thousands of dollars during pregnancy and the first year with a baby. Baby on a Budget is a must have for all parents who want to enjoy their new life with a baby without breaking the bank.

The book covers savings in areas ranging from food, consumables, toys, clothes, childcare and other “big ticket items” for families like going on holidays or purchasing gifts for special occasions. We have done all the hard work collating money-saving tips and researching government support, tax breaks, budget calculators and freebies. Baby on a Budget presents all the information in a useful format and provides shortcuts to all essential online tools and sites.

Have you read Peter and the Wolf to your kids yet? If not - why not get a book out from the library (perhaps with a CD) or check out the following links. It's an absolute masterpiece by Prokofiev and a such a fine example of how music and instruments can be used to paint characters, describe moods or even convey what happens in the story!

Recently Se-ma-for Studios (Poland) have done an award winning animation of the story, check this out!

My wife is Christian; I’m Jewish. Since we were not going to have children together, this wasn’t much of an issue since this was a second marriage for both of us. We did have the Christmas tree problem but resolved that amicably, by at first going to her parent’s house to celebrate Christmas with them. When my wife got sick and we couldn’t make it that year, I relented and we brought the Christmas tree into our home.

Now we’re celebrating both Christmas and Hannukah in our home and, more recently, I’ve even attended her church (Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village, California).

This issue, of religion in the home is a touchy one for most couples getting married, especially as they plan on having and raising children. It’s not a simple question nor is there a simple answer. I believe it’s extremely important for a couple to discuss this, in depth, before they marry or have children if they believe and practice different faiths.

More tips from SAHD Brock ... keeping it simple. Nice!

Enjoy,

Stef

We've recently come across a website called Plummelo which was started by busy dad Paul Jin who was tired of the age-old "what's for dinner" question. I guess he did what we all do when something bugs us - we start a website! The idea of Plummelo is to help overextended parents organise recipes and get their food lives in order. Members of the site can use a central, online recipe box to upload all personal recipes (and collect online recipes) and create automatic shopping lists based on the recipes they want to cook. Simple ... good.

Check it out

-Stef