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Every Saturday, we take our youngest child to a gymnastics class with a group of five friends that he's been with since his four-month old Mommy and Me class. This past weekend, three of them canceled because of influenza concerns, particularly the swine flu. Sure, a children's gymnasium is indeed a breeding ground for germs...after all, we are constantly telling our own children to keep their hands out of their mouths and nose (picky, picky). But unless you are willing to put your child in a bubble, he or she is undoubtedly going to be exposed to germs. As parents, the best thing we can do regarding the swine flu and other influenzas is to make sure that we take reasonable precautions to prevent infection, and call our pediatrician at the first signs of illness.

We at The Daily Kool love candles...they create a welcoming, relaxing environment and are a beautiful edition to any home decor. What could be a more perfect Mother's Day gift? Whoa...wait a minute. Candles? With kids in the house? Are we crazy?

Sunday, our two boys decided to surprise us with a delicious breakfast in bed...a bowl of cereal is the extent of their culinary talents. As we were listening to them bustle about downstairs (yes, we know everything that goes on in our house), we had a debate as to who would spill milk all over the floor...yep, it was the seven year old! Poor things...they were so upset! Independence is always so important to little ones, but let's face it...those gallon jugs of milk are heavy! After we dried the kids tears and cleaned up the mess, we all sat down together for a family discussion...the thought was wonderful, but maybe next time they should surprise just one of us and recruit the other to help. Milk containers are just not designed with kids in mind.

The Daily Kool family is very proud of our home. While it may not seem like much to some people, we have spent countless hours decorating every nook and cranny to create a warm, livable environment. We love it and it's all ours...well, ours and the bank's, anyway. The only problem with home ownership is that there is always something that needs to be fixed, refurbished or just maintained. We learned quickly to expect the unexpected and by necessity, we've become quite savvy and adept at many do-it-yourself home repair projects.

Today (June 1st) marks the beginning of hurricane season, which typically lasts through November 30th. Having lived in Florida for three decades, particularly through the record-breaking 2005 season, The Daily Kool family recognizes how nerve-racking this time of year can be. Anyone who has experienced the devastation from category 5 hurricanes like Andrew (1992), Katrina (2005) and Ike (2008) can attest to the importance of preparation this time of year.

The Daily Kool had a great Fourth of July holiday this past weekend. We went to our parents, had an amazing barbecue lunch (courtesy of Dad and Weber's Way to Grill), enjoyed Mom's famous pasta salad and spent the early afternoon playing games with the kids. Ah, family togetherness...you gotta love it. Okay, who are we kidding? Fourth of July is all about the fireworks. Our city park has a spectacular concert and fireworks event every year, and the kids spend all afternoon, anxiously waiting for it to be time to go to the show. Unfortunately, the sun is still brutally strong when the show begins, and by the time it gets dark, the evening rains inevitably come out to put a damper (couldn't resist the pun) on our fireworks fun. Sure, we have a beach umbrella that we use to ward off the elements, but it's cumbersome and doesn't provide nearly enough coverage for our family of four.

The Daily Kool family does a lot of driving. In fact, between work, school and enrichment activities for the kids, it often seems as if we practically live in our car. By the end of the week, our poor Saturn looks like a bomb has hit it...snacks, juice boxes, papers and toys are strewn all over the place. We've seen people recoil from the shock, shake their heads in wonder or, if they're parents, simply nod in commiseration at the mess of our car....yep, it can be pretty embarrassing! So, Fridays have now become the official "car cleaning" day in our household, and everyone has a job. No one ever complains...except whoever is responsible for window cleaning. The fingerprints and dog snot (Pepper loves taking rides in the car) are not such a big deal. The windshield, however, is another matter altogether. Our car has a pretty deep slope in the front, requiring us to drum up our best contortionist skills to clean it deep down. We admit it, our flexibility is quite pathetic...thus, so are our windshields.

Our younger son is very afraid of the dark. In fact, his anxiety is so great, he insists on being carried into the house whenever we come home at night. The lack of street lighting in our neighborhood doesn't help...neither does the fact that our kid's going through another growth spurt and is definitely not a lightweight these days. We also tend to forget to turn on the outside light, especially when we leave the house earlier in the day when the sun is still shining. This is a particular sore point with our son, especially since the darkness makes it tough to see the keyhole on the front door and get us in the house quickly.

Golf is one of those sports that has earned much respect in The Daily Kool household over the years. There is just something about the mental and physical challenge, combined with getting out in the fresh air on a beautiful grassy course, that is both relaxing and stimulating. We admit it, though...our original motives for playing golf were not entirely pure. Yep, we used golf as a front to establish potential (and often profitable) business connections...we're so ashamed! There was only one problem...we didn't account for how hard it is to stick to the green. Oh, that darn Tiger Woods...he makes it look so easy!

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, July is the most popular month to have a baby. Surprised? We're certainly not. It seems that everyone we know is pregnant these days...yep, we at The Daily Kool have been getting some major baby fever. This month has been filled with baby showers galore, and we have had the arduous task of trying to find that "perfect" gift that everyone will love. What do new parents need most? Well, sleep of course, but let's face it...we can't package sleep and wrap it in a pretty bow no matter how much we'd like to. Or can we?

Today is the day for cleaning the bathrooms in The Daily Kool household. The master bath is usually not a big deal, but the kids' bathroom? Oh, my goodness gracious! After only one week, the fumes are enough to make us gag, our eyes water and, quite frankly, almost knock us over in a dead faint. But then again, we have boys...and they stand up when using the toilet...and they love to play with their favorite appendage...enough said? All the air fresheners in the world can't compete with that stench. What's a parent to do?

We at The Daily Kool have a confession to make. We have been having a really hard time getting out of bed in the morning lately. Yes, we know we have kids to take care of, places to be and readers to write for. But when the alarm goes off, we find ourselves stubbornly pressing the snooze button (over and over again) and snuggling deeper in our covers. Though we are admittedly a lazy bunch by nature, this is kind of over the top...yes, even for us. It's not our fault, though...really! We have a couple of dear, dear friends who are totally responsible for our recent indolence. We won't mention names, but they know who they are. Boy, are we grateful for them!

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