Niko (formerly Raven)

My son is 26 months old. He has managed to take our Duplo blocks (large Lego's for those who don't know) and make them into a gun shape and runs around the house "shooting" us. He will also make extra guns and hand them out to us and encourage us to shoot back. I have no idea where he picked this up, although he does go to daycare so who knows what he's learning there. My older daughter (4 years old) has never been interested in guns. Is it just something genetic in boys?

Ok, I tried posting this is games, but I'm not getting much in the way of answers. So, let's see what the comics people can do.

I'm running a superhero roleplaying game for some friends (Champions system if you wanted to know). Basically they got superpowers from a secret US government experiment, which they have just escaped from. Everyone they knew previously thinks they've been dead for a couple years, and they only have spotty memories of their past. The government is hot on their trail right now. I know it's mostly up to them where they go next and what they do, but I want a couple options in the plot or a direction to nudge them in. Options they've mentioned briefly are possibly going public, going to work secretly for another government (Britain or Australia or similar), or forming their own base somehow. I need some way to incorporate concrete options or direction into the next game for them. Any great ideas out there?

I'm running a superhero roleplaying game for some friends (Champions system if you wanted to know). Basically they got superpowers from a secret US government experiment, which they have just escaped from. Everyone they knew previously thinks they've been dead for a couple years, and they only have spotty memories of their past. The government is hot on their trail right now. I know it's mostly up to them where they go next and what they do, but I want a couple options in the plot or a direction to nudge them in. Options they've mentioned briefly are possibly going public, going to work secretly for another government (Britain or Australia or similar), or forming their own base somehow. I need some way to incorporate concrete options or direction into the next game for them. Any great ideas out there?

I'm out of books to read and need a good one. I mainly like SciFi and Fantasy. I'm specifically in the mood for something with secrets/secret identities and romance at the moment. Along those lines, for example (all of which I've already read) are the Twilight books, The Host, Princess Bride, The Goose Girl... hopefully you get the idea.

I'm not sure what to do about my almost 4-year old daughter. My son, who is almost 2, has been sick a lot. My daughter sees that he gets extra attention, gets to stay home from daycare, gets to go to the doctor (she thinks it's good because they give a sucker or toy there), and gets medicine (again, a thing she thinks is good because they make them taste so good now). So, whenever he is sick, she complains that she is sick too or if he's getting medicine she says she needs it too. Every morning she starts out saying she doesn't feel good and shouldn't go to daycare. Today, when my son had to stay home again, she told me she was going to be very sick tomorrow and have to go to the doctor then. So, I know she's not really sick most of these times. But, what do I do with her?

I've tried explaining that being sick isn't good and that my son feels really miserable the whole time and she shouldn't want to be sick. I try to make sure I give her what extra attention I can. I'm not sure what else can be done. Any advice?

My Jardine Olympia convertible crib is among those being recalled because the slats can break. However, we were just about to convert it to a full-sized bed for my son (parts of the crib become the headboard and footboard). Does anyone know if it is safe to use in full-size bed configuration, even though the crib is recalled?

I'm not talking funny necessarily, just odd. I know it's typical for young kids to just make stuff up, but sometimes I have to wonder. My daughter, who will be 4 in March, just out of the blue during dinner last night told us very seriously, "I have a baby in my tummy and when I grow up he's going to be my brother. His name is Jason and he's going to have a big truck. His birthday is, um, I think January 6." Anyone else?

Is there a website out there which recommends books for you to read based on what other kinds of books you have read/like? I would like to be able to give it a list of books I liked (or maybe I could rate various books) and have it recommend new books to me. Is there anything like that?

For Christmas, I've adopted a family to buy presents for - the family has a mother, a 3 year old boy, and an 11 month old girl. I've already purchased some toys and clothes for the kids, but I would like to get the mom and/or family something they could really use as well. There was no wish-list for the mom, the sheet they gave me just said she has nothing in her house - "just moved in her new place - owns beds, dresser, headboard, and that's about it. Starting from scratch." I can't afford to buy them large pieces of furniture (not to mention the impossible logistics of my dropping it off at the center and them picking it up), but I would like to get them something useful. Does anyone have any really good ideas of what a family like this might need most that I could get them?

We've been using a babysitting service, but I've become frustrated with them. They are slow to call me back and schedule and the 5 or so times I've used them we've had a different sitter every time, not to mention how expensive it is. I'd rather find a local teen or young adult who is responsible and we could use regularly, but I'm not sure how to go about it. No one I know has kids of babysitting age. What has worked for anyone else out there? We're in Kansas City and have a 1.5 year old and 3.5 year old, if any of that makes a difference.

My two kids (3.5 years and 18 months) are in a large daycare center. At the beginning and end of the day they never seem to have enough teachers present for the number of kids. I've seen 1 teacher for almost 30 kids (2 through 5 year olds) a few times. I know that more teachers show up at 8am (about 15 minutes after I drop the kids off) and most just left at 5:30 (15 minutes before I pick the kids up), but it bothers me that they don't have the correct teacher-to-child ratios all the time. It especially bothers me when they have my 18 month old out with 10 or more older kids when he's supposed to be in a 1:4 ratio infant/toddler classroom. Should I report my daycare to the Department of Health and Human Services? Would they even care? Or should I just chill out since it's for such a short time every day?