Home and Garden

Europe (French Alps), U.S and Canada are prospective destinations for an adventurous skiing holiday. Some of the most famous skiing spots in the world are located in France, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Norway.

When you're planning a holiday getaway for you and your family, the first thing that comes to your mind are your kids. Children can be quite a handful from curious, restless toddlers to adolescents going through the "no more a kid, not yet an adult" phase.

Resort planners aim at providing you a family holiday worth every penny, catering to every need of every member of your family. Kids are top priority, because you can relax only when your children are relaxed. Such is the motto of any child friendly Hotel.

They can give you various packages at various destinations to choose from. And when looking up the place to stay with kids, child friendly villas are definitely the ones to choose.

A couple of weeks ago, we were waiting outside our favorite Mexican restaurant for our table to be ready, when our father started examining the back of his neck. Noticing that it was time to shave it again (yeah, Dad's a pretty hairy guy), he asked our mother if she could do it before his business meeting the next day. After some grumbling about last minute requests and a few Homer Simpson cracks, Mom said fine...after all, she's been shaving the back of his neck in between haircuts for the past 40 years.

What to cook for a vegetarian BBQ.

We went to get a key copied at The Home Depot yesterday, and came across some decorative house keys...oh yeah, we were all over this idea! This is definitely one of those completely unnecessary items that we can't imagine anyone resisting. Hence, much to our disappointment, the store was sold out of many designs they seem to normally carry. We were able to let each child pick a style for us, though. Our 4 year old selected Mickey Mouse (not a surprise) and our 7 year old settled for the Florida Marlins...he really wanted the L.A. Lakers. Apparently, our excitement over these decorative house keys drew a crowd, because before we knew it, there was a pretty long line of other people wanting to get theirs.

Have you ever noticed how it's the simple things in life that give us the most pleasure? A child's laughter...a morning sunrise...the Oxo Good Grips Flexible Vegetable Brush. Okay, call us crazy (and trust us, many many people have), but we at The Daily Kool absolutely love it when a kitchen gadget gets the job done right. Those of us who own anything by Oxo know that their products usually do. Yep, we admit it...we are big Oxo fans, and have been since we got our first kitchen gadget about ten years ago (yikes, has it been that long?).

Last week was a miserable time to fly to the westcoast...trust us, we were there. The weather was severe enough to cause several flight redirects, delays and cancellations. There were babies crying, kids screaming and adults complaining everywhere we turned...at the airport and on the plane. And did we mention the turbulence? We were all shaking in our seats...literally. All in all, it was a frustrating, exhausting and noisy experience for those of us traveling.

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.

Summer vacation is finally here, and if you haven't done it already, it's definitely time to break out the barbecue grill. Many childhood memories feature Dad commanding our little charcoal grill, while the rest of us frolicked in the pool. Unfortunately, his skills were pretty much limited to puck...achem, hamburgers and hot dogs. The side dishes more than made up for it, though...particularly Mom's amazing pasta salad. Besides, it's more about the joy of being in the company of family than about the food, especially for the kids...yeah, right!

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Make. Learn. Invent.

The Daily Kool kitchen is pretty small. It's one of those longer, narrower styles that doesn't exactly lend itself to more than one person at a time. Bottom line....we always seem to be running out of room, especially when we are cooking and preparing for company. Oh, how we wish our kitchen was large enough to have a big, beautiful island in the center of it!

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.

Our four year old loves to play chess. Yes, you heard us right...four. Is he some kind of prodigy? Nope. Don't get us wrong...our son is definitely very bright, and we claim our bragging rights as often as we can (doesn't every parent?). But, we don't think that Mensa is quite ready to extend an invitation to him yet. We do, however, give the folks at Winning Moves complete credit for our son's love of the classic strategic game with their wonderful edition of No Stress Chess.

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.

Great tips on this website for using natural cleaners and items for the home! One tip I learned tonight was using plants (ferns and spider plants) as natural air filters- they absorb toxins and release oxygen.

When we were growing up, our mother was the primary handyman...uh, handyperson of the house. Our father could assemble a computer from parts alone in an instant, but changing a lightbulb would cause him to throw up his hands in horror...yeah, it didn't make much sense to us either. The one tool he held with complete confidence though, was a screwdriver.

Travel, musings and photography. She inspires me.