I HAVE THE FEELING THAT OUR GOLDFISH (NEMO) WILL NOT MAKE IT TO TOMORROW!

The kids woke up this morning and noticed that Nemo our 4yr old goldfish is floating sideways in his tank. The poor guy was still breathing well but laboring to swim. Since he ate the other goldfish in the tank, he became the largest and outlasted the other three fish we had in there with him. Nemo is the prize of a Chinese Gift exchange from 4 Christmas parties ago and has lived pretty large.
Knowing that someday this would come up, I promised Boomer a hampster for the tank when Nemo took a seat. As she first noticed Nemo floating sideways, she was excited to get the hamster but soon realized that he would not make it and began to cry. I explained to her that for a goldfish to live 4 years was great and she could draw pictures of her with Nemo at school today. Meanwhile, Big Boy was asking me if he could use the fish net and scoop him out of the tank. She quit crying and began thinking of names for her new hamster or whatever rhodent she decides to get. I felt a little better with that. Mommy is not too keen on any rhodent in the house. Do I see a cat or dog in our near future?
On a lighter note, I stepped into the daycare of my 3yr old son Biggie and his teacher asked me if we had gone camping recently. I said we had gone the previous weekend, and that we had a lot of fun. Brady had a great time camping but why do you ask? Well...he kept peeing outside on the playground. I couldn't help but to laugh as I pictured his pale little butt and how well he went #1 outside at the campgrounds when the bathroom was no where close. I forgot to tell him that was only for camping. Oops. Anyway, he denied it with a sinister smile all the way home as I explained that you use it as a last resort. He said he was all the way out in the mulch! 15ft from the bathroom.

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR! COOL WEATHER AND COOLER COSTUMES FOR THE KIDS..

Ah yes the hot weather is slowly moving to the back burner here in sunny Tampa. The evening temps will be in the 70's for the kiddos on Sunday. I hope for good weather to all of our friends up north in the Mitten and Northeast. I can only recall rain or freezing cold All Hollows Eve's in my years of dressing up. The cold and rain subsides as soon as that first plastic wrapper hits the bottom of the bag. My heart raced....I always ate my first treat as soon as it made the bag! Except one year, this lady gave 5 pennies. I ate the candy from the second house but it threw off my ritual.
This year Boomer and Biggie will be a Witch and a Pirate. Costumes have come a long way. These things look nice enough to wear throughout the year. What age did you really start banking on candy when you trick or treated? I was about 6 or 7 and had to upgrade to a pillow case instead of those silly little bags! I also found value in hitting subdivisions by age 7 and eventually realized I could fill up the entire pillow case and then some if the homes were closer together. I targeted the Trailer Park on the main drag in my hometown. Homerun! I went through it twice if I ran fast enough. I was a chubby kid(not a distance runner)but the running was worth it!
I think this is the year to show the kids how it's done.

Great Weekend: Kids Photoshoot, Triathlon, B2 Bean Bags is coming soon!

I want to begin this post thanking my WIFE for fully supporting me the entire race season. Without her, I could not have trained and done so well in my first season of Triathlon. As a non runner prior to this season, her tips have really helped me consistently place in the top run splits for my age group. Now can give me some swim tips?

For my wife's birthday, we bought the kids some face time with a photographer and on Sunday we spent the afternoon in St. Petersburg having a blast. You really see what fun being a kid is when you try to sit them for a photo shoot. 3 year olds act 3 and you realize how big your little girl is when she sits and actually listens to the photographer and looks like a little lady. Big Boy, our 3 year old did his own thing for the most part and Esther the photographer captured sure gold from both kids! You would think bribery in the form of ice-cream would work but it was the high fives that she offered that seemed to do the trick! Photos coming soon for this one!!!
On Saturday, we woke the kids up a little early, 5am-ish and they were great for my final Triathlon. Boomer has been to three other races but it was Big Boy's first. Aside from wanting to swim with me as the race began, he took it in with great curiosity. I heard them cheering at every transition and yelling and screaming near the finish line, it was great to have them there at the end.
Our family has launched a new endeavour B2 Bean Bags! Named after the kids, Boomer and Biggie, I hope to show the kids how to conduct business, network and be philanthropic...and maybe make some money. We are now on Facebook(B2 Bean Bags), Twitter(B2BeanBags) and the website will be up soon! www.B2BeanBags.com

"GO BLUE!" NO BIG BOY WE'RE NOT AT THE MICHIGAN GAME, IT'S U.S.F. SAY "GO BULLS!" GO BLUE IS FINE!

We took a family trip this past weekend to a college football game. It was the University of South Florida versus Western Kentucky. Big Boy thought he should keep saying Go Blue! I told him that although it sounded similar they were actually saying Go Bulls! I liked his Go Blue a little more and of course I was proud of him! I see the boy as a natural fit for Michigan. Go Blue sounds so natural coming from him.
The kids were great and the game kept their attention a little longer than I anticipated. The USF Bulls share the field with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and on big plays and touchdowns the canons on the pirate ship fire. This freaked the kids out at first and caught my wife and I by surprise too!
If you have ever taken young kids to a long game you always have the challenges of keeping them entertained. There is always the cotton candy guy trying to walk slow in front of you, and Big Boy loves to try and touch all the mascots. Western Kentucky had this red thing that looked like Grimace from Mc Donalds that was Red and Melted a little bit. I still have no idea what it was but Biggie assumed it was a Boobah. I think he was right. Feel free to check out Boobah's on YOU TUBE. They are strange. Good time was had by all and Boomer was great she was not really impressed with the experience but she enjoyed playing around the pirate ship.

BACK TO SCHOOL THIS WEEK Good luck to all my fellow parents!!!

Well the summer has almost ended and it leaves parents wondering did we do enough with the kids? Did we do too much with the kids? Do you need a vacation from your kids summer vacation? I think our family has done the right amount of travel and vacationing this summer. School starts and we have one last Family out of towner planned for Michigan over Labor Day Weekend. Jam packed with family and friend visits, cider mills and a visit to the newly renovated Michigan Stadium. Then we're done for a while.

With all the school supplies and uniforms purchased, organizing will be key this school year as Boomer hits Kindergarten. Big Boy is still in preschool. Lunches are becoming a challenge as the kids have hit the picky age of eating. Any sure fire lunch recommendations are appreciated!

This is the first year Boomer will be bringing home actual grades instead of progress reports so I feel an added anxiety leading into the school year. Fun Fun Fun! I hope you all enjoy and stay tuned for weekly posts. Feel free to sign up as a follower of either one of my blogs. You can also follow me on Twitter: supadupaD

Good Luck Parents!!