Anyone who pretends not to look at tabloid magazine covers knows that America is very, very interested in babies of celebrities. To feed that insatiable hunger, most every celebrity of childbearing years has had a baby of late. People Magazine’s Web site has found the perfect mixture of star-obsession and shopping with their Celebrity Baby Blog. The Blog features a section on what gear celebs buy for their babies. Because we know there is an instinctive maternal urge to buy your baby something that Nicole Richie’s baby has, we’ve rounded up a few recent items. Laila Ali, of boxing and Dancing With the Stars fame, is expecting a son and has a Mutsy 4 Rider Light stroller ($699) waiting, as well as a Luca Glider for $895, baby shoes by Pediped and a $50 Jelly Baby changing mat by Kuster. Julianna Margulies wheels son Kieran Lindsay in a Bugaboo Cameleon ($900) and uses an $80 Skip Hop Via messenger diaper bag ($79). Actress Gretchen Mol has an 11-month-old son named Ptolemy and he sucks a Gerber soft center pacifier (2 for $3) and rides in a Bugaboo Frog ($759). Singer Sheryl Crow and son Wyatt Steven cruise in Kolcraft Countours Lite stroller ($70, pictured) and the baby wears an eco-T from Tiny Revolution, $25. Celeb-dad Matthew McConaughey strolls tiny Levi in an Orbit Baby’s Orbit infant system ($900) with bassinet ($240). In an amazing double-celebrity, double-baby sighting - Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow, with Apple and David -  were seen walking both with Paltrow’s green Phil and Ted’s Sport double stroller, which costs $510. And, short of Brangelina’s twins, the most ogled child in America has to be Suri Cruise. On a recent outing, she carried Jellycat’s My Little Friend Bunny ($12). Must you have more? The Baby Chic 101 blog keeps tabs on every celeb and their baby buys. (Lisa Marie Presley, expecting twins, just spent more than $18,000 at chic Petit Tresor).

Has a weekend of watching amazing athletes inspired you to leap off the couch and get into shape? Don’t be hasty. Gather some gadgets to get started with, or just to make you look cool in the trials. Impressed by the way the Olympic gymnasts fling their bodies around the pommel horse? Your variation on the rings competition could be the Perfect Pushup ($99), with rotating handles and adjustable swing arms to give you the feel for holding your body suspended in mid-air. Uhmm, yea. Ready to run? Don’t leave without a Sportline HydraCoach “intelligent” water bottle (pictured) that tracks your hydration level based on your weight, exercise level and your personal hydration goal.” It even factors in heat and altitude, for $27.95. You want to wear earphones while you sprint, but when in unfamiliar territory (like a running path), ambient awareness earphones ($80) will let you jog along with Lil Wayne and still hear sounds around you, such as screeching brakes and screaming. Now you’re starting to get serious, and this is a seriously odd device: a “core body temperature monitoring system” that consists of a data recorder you wear, which gets its information from a pill-shaped sensor that you swallow. We can’t find a price, but you may want to discuss that one with others before purchasing, anyway.  You’ll want a new scale to measure your progress, and a Tanita Inner-Scan scale will track not only your weight but body fat and body water percentage, muscle mass, physique rating, amount of visceral fat and, well, enough said. It’s $110. Is all this talk of exercise too exhausting? Then you probably just need to strengthen your remote-control muscles with an Xtensor hand exerciser ($40 from ThinkGeek).  It’s made for video gamers, but you wouldn’t want to get a thumb cramp and miss the synchronized swimming.

When GPS devices first came out, I was characteristically ho-hum about them. An early adopter of tech gadgets I’m not.Well, I’m here to say that people a lot smarter and more adventurous than I have dreamed up a clever use for these units. Think of a scavenger hunt, throw in the connectivity/community of the Internet, add a GPS receiver (or a GPS-enabled mobile phone containing Geocache Navigator software, which costs around $7 per month) and you’re on your way to understanding the increasingly popular activity known as geocaching. Briefly, the term combines the words “geography” and “caching,” which, according to Geocaching.com, “is the process of hiding a cache.” The one who hides the cache is the “owner” and those who set out to find it are the players. The fun begins when the owner selects a location for his or her cache that is a challenge to reach, even with a GPS receiver. Some caches require the players to be scuba divers or rock climbers, and some are concealed on well traveled city streets. To give it a try, you’ll need a GPS unit. The site recommends the Garmin eTrex GPS ($90) or the Magellan GPS 315, We couldn’t find that model so we recommend the new Magellan Triton 300 instead ($150); it lets you add detailed maps and applications. In addition to the thrill of the hunt, players may find themselves rewarded with items left in the cache. Or maybe not. The only thing a cache has to contain is a logbook, but that doesn’t mean it won’t contain jewelry, money, tickets, or other valuables. Players must be prepared to leave something in the cache if and when they take something from it. Read the FAQ page for more about this fascinating new form of recreation.

So you’ve decided to bite the economy bullet and head out on vacation. But after the $1,500/week beach rental, the $300 gas tab and food for the week, you’ve already spent the bulk of your budget. Never fear: Stock up pre-vacation with inexpensive recreational activities to keep your clan occupied once you get there. If you’re beach bound, don’t get caught up in the surf store toy mark-ups. Come prepared with a six-pack of water noodles ($10) and a stock of colorful rafts ($15 each). For outdoor fun wherever you’re headed, a bocce set is always a crowd-pleaser ($18). This Frisbee golf set can entertain the troops inside or out ($20), while the Poolmaster floating table tennis game ($80; pictured) or the floating dart game ($90) will undoubtedly keep the kids entertained in the pool or lake. Board games aren’t just for when you’re bored. They’re a perfect family bonding activity for rainy vacation days, plus, they’re an alternative to that money pit that is the beach boardwalk. You can’t go wrong with Monopoly ($20) or Clue ($27), but your kids might thank you for getting something more hip like the Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? DVD game ($18) or the High School Musical 2 DVD game ($20). To spark that creative flame, bring along some craft kits. The Natural Science Smithsonian Gummy Bugs Lab allows youngsters to make their own gummy treats ($13). For more scientifically inded kids, the Giant Volcano kit ($14) simulates a volcanic eruption. Who said vacation couldn’t be inexpensive and fun?

Summer is the favorite season of many campers and hikers. They opt to take time off from work and backpack on mountain trails, spending the night away from city lights and noise. One of the pleasures of camping is enjoying a fresh cup of coffee or espresso at your camp site. At Everestgear, you’ll find the Thunderpress ($16) , a handy combination coffee press and travel mug, where you brew one cup at a time. For a larger group of campers, try the Lexan Javapress ($20), which looks like a clear pitcher with a coffeepot top. Place medium ground coffee inside, add boiling water, and allow to steep for 4 minutes. Press down the built-in plunger and you’re ready to serve your java. If you are more of an espresso person, GSI Outdoors carries a four-cup stainless mini expresso machine ($50). You place ground espresso beans inside it, set it on your camp stove to heat (this does not work in microwaves, or over campfires), and soon you have four double-shot (2.5-ounce) servings. To really impress your fellow campers, you can also purchase the milk frother kit ($20) to make lattes. Pour hot or cold milk inside the frother and move the plunger up and down until the milk foams. To look like a real outdoorsman, you can drink your coffee or espresso out of a Snow Peak Titanium Trek Mug from REI. This metal mug with a flip-top lid works as a cooking pot for pasta, a serving bowl for soup, and as a coffee mug too. It only weighs 4.25 ounces, so it’s easy to carry as well.

Before you spray insect repellent on your kids this summer, you might want to check the label. Many insect repellents marketed for families and children contain DEET. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics has approved the use of DEET on children, the Academy recommends only applying these products once a day, and not on children younger than 2. In addition, applying DEET repellents in combination with sunscreen increases the possibility of DEET having toxic effects on the child. One way to not have to worry about DEET is to use repellents made without it. REPEL, for example, is a plant-based lemon eucalyptus insect repellent, available from Basegear in 4-ounce bottles for $7. This solution repels mosquitoes and deer ticks for up to six hours. REPEL has a very strong lemon scent; and it needs to be carefully applied to the face to avoid eye irritation. Bite Blocker is another good repellent which does not contain DEET. Bite Blocker’s herbal insect repellent spray, which works for up to 8 hours, contains soybean oil, geranium oil, coconut oil and vanillin, among other ingredients. Bite Blocker wipes contain that same repellent, and are safe for all ages. Burt’s Bees Insect Repellent contains eucalyptus and lemongrass oil (Burt’s Bees is well-known for their natural, child-friendly products). REI sells this repellent in spray form for $8. Avon has been very successful with their Skin So Soft Bug Guard line, some combined with sunscreen, that are meant for the whole family. The Skin So Soft bug guard plus disappearing color sunscreen lotion ($12) is a clever way to protect kids from bugs and the sun. It comes out of the tube blue, but the color fades once rubbed into the skin. That blue color makes it more fun to put on, a useful thing if your child is cranky about putting on lotions. There’s also a Bug Guard Plus regular version, which is white.