Video games are as much a part of modern kid-dom as peanut butter and jelly. Just about anywhere you go, you're bound to see a kid or three gathered around a little box with a screen jabbering on about mushrooms or racers or some such gibberish (to you anyway). Any guesses what you're seeing there?

Communication. Aka, social skills. Aka, video game play is no longer relegated to that loner kid in his mom's basement. In fact, if you've got a shy kid who needs to be brought out of his shell, you might want to invest in a game console. Behold the wonder of what it can do:

Approximately 200,000 people visited Disney World daily over Easter and I may have seen or bumped into 90 percent of them. What I marvel at, aside from the crowds and those Neanderthal looking turkey legs that have lines as long as the thrill rides (WTF?) is the fact that my kids can find things to cry and complain about almost constantly in the place where dreams come true.

Luckily, mine weren't the only ones. Sure my son may have set some kids off when he screamed Mickey Mouse is DEAD in a crowded room? Oh, that happened as I was explaining Walt Disney (the original Mickey) was dead. Um, my bad.

And yes, my daughter may have shed a tear about getting the "wrong" colored magic carpet, but I watched a toddler flailing on the ground exclaiming his ice cream was too "drippy." Nothing like watching other people with their children to make you feel sane! That said, here are things your children will probably cry about in the "happiest place on Earth."

Spring is the perfect season for exploring the outdoors with the whole family. Pick a day, choose an activity, pack up some essential gear — don’t forget grab-and-go snacks like convenient Mott’s Snack & Go Applesauce Pouches — and hit the road to have fun and make amazing memories!

Unlike pet stores, many shelters have to rely on donations. Dogs at the shelter used to be treated badly before they got there. People adopt them from the pound to keep them from dying.

I got a dog from a shelter.

Before the shelter took her in and all, I think her old owners used to treat her badly because she was afraid of my dad. She acted like she thought he was going to spank her. That's how we could tell her owner maybe wasn't very nice to her.

Um, have you heard about the group of Girl Scouts in Oregon who were scammed out of $24,000 worth of Girl Scout cookies? Yes, I said they were victims of a cookie hoax that wound up costing them $24,000.

When one parent was approached by one of her co-workers and told there was a "large company" who wanted to place an order for 6,000 boxes, the two troops selling the cookies were no doubt thrilled to receive such a massive order. After all, the money they collect from selling the cookies earns them credits to attend camp in the summer, so you can only imagine how happy those little girls were when this "company" asked for so many boxes.

We've been getting birthday party invites with some unexpected fine print lately. Instead of "bring your bathing suits" or "feel free to drop off," it's "no gifts please." Sometimes in lieu of presents, they ask for a charitable donation and provide a link. I can't decide whether I think this is a great idea or a terrible idea that deprives a child of one of life's simple thrills -- tearing open tokens of acknowledgement on their special day. 

The first few times I got invites like this, I admit I blatantly ignored the request. Not getting a kid a gift just seemed so ... harsh. But more recently, the wisdom's started to sink in.

After our daughters' joint 6-year-old dance party last year, the amount of presents my husband and I hauled home literally made us sick.

Whether you agree with his politics or not, it's hard to argue that Barack and Michelle Obama are not good parents -- or argue it effectively anyway. They are hands-on, obviously loving, and they are fantastic role models for other parents. A perfect example of this came this weekend when President Obama was not in some high level meeting, or at a fancy dinner, but rather watching his daughter Sasha's dance recital.

Could he have asked for a private performance, or used one pretty darn good excuse for missing it -- you know, like having to run the country? Absolutely. But he didn't; he went.

It was held at an arts center in Bethesda, Maryland, and it was only about an hour that he was there. But what a thrill for the other parents and students there, and more importantly -- how meaningful for Sasha that her father was there.

Road trips with kids can be some of the most memorable occasions for families. Of course, the memories aren't always good ones if the kids are kicking each other in the backseat, and driving mom and dad insane upfront. From the right snacks to planning restroom breaks there's a lot to plan before you hit the road, but almost nothing is more important than a strategy to keep everyone from getting bored, which is just a recipe for disaster.

So what to plan? Car games and lots of them. I'm not going to lie to you and say that being prepared with a slew of games is going to magically stop the refrain of "Are we there yet?!" It will, however, help cut it down significantly, and make everyone's trip that much more enjoyable. Here are 10 of the best car games for kids: