Happy B-Day

It's May 31st, 2011 - Zach's 11th birthday.

We cheated a little and celebrated early - this past Saturday at the Saveology Iceplex . (Yes, I had to look up what saveology is.)

We had a great turnout of friends and family. The Iceplex reserved a rink and a block of party rooms especially for us. Zach got a chance to go out on the ice for a few laps, and unlike most party guests - didn't fall a single time. Next year he has requested chains for the tires on his stroller so he will have a little better traction in the turns.

The wife would also like you all to know that she also didn't fall, joining me in this accomplishment. Of course she actually went out on the ice, so perhaps she deserves a little more credit.

In other news, Zach got new wheels today. Unlike last time we didn't have to fight for a year to get him a new wheelchair.

I'm a little slammed at work, so gotta cut it short.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy

Osama bin Laden

March 10, 1957-May 2, 2011

It's about damn time.

Now for another public service announcement

I have officially seen the worst children's toy ever created.

Crayola color bubbles.

Hands down - not even close.

I'm not sure what was wrong with the old fashioned soap bubbles we used to play with as kids. You dip the wand in the solution, blow - and voila bubbles appeared. For some reason the fact that these bubbles were clear bothered the scientists at Crayola. They set upon a years long quest to created "colored" bubbles.

Well, I can say they did create "bubbles" and they are "colored".

You know what else they are?

A HUGE GODDAMNED MESS TO CLEAN UP!

When the "bubbles" burst, you know where that "color" ends up? ALL OVER EVERYTHING, THAT'S WHERE IT ENDS UP!!. Hands, clothes, floor, you name it - covered in what is basically food coloring. Guess what - despite the big "WASHABLE" statement on the bottle, this stuff stains about 90 percent of the surfaces known to man. Yes it will wash off of your skin but anything else is a pure crapshoot.

I'm not what one would call a neat freak. If the house isn't perfect, I don't really care - I have other things to worry about. House neatness is way down on my "crap have to worry about" list. This stuff though is enough to even push me over the edge.

Apparently the fine print on the bottle says you shouldn't play with this stuff on concrete (among many other places). I confess to having not read that because hell - where are you supposed to play with "washable" bubbles? Apparently there is a small list of places where you can safely play with the "washable" bubbles: A desert, while floating in the middle of the ocean, and the home of whatever Crayola executive thought this stuff was a good idea. Anywhere else is pretty much off limits.

This morning Josh attempted to wash off our walkway that was stained by the "washable" bubbles. He used a pressure cleaner with detergent.

Guess what? Didn't remove one bit of the staining.

Great. Now our walkway looks like Gargamel finally got his revenge.

I will say this... If you have to send your kids to a birthday party at the real "snooty" parent's house, this stuff is the perfect gift. Much better than a drum set or a baby cobra.

It's that time again...

It's the time of year when our household learns to successfully juggle schedules, tend to endless loads of sweaty laundry, and discover just how many drive through restaurants exist in the vicinity of Flamingo Park. Yes, it's baseball season.

Games kicked off last Wednesday with a strong victory. Our team was led by Josh who had a great performance on the mound, and is now convinced he is the second coming of Nolan Ryan. I guess time will tell on that...

Our second game, played this past Saturday was preceded by the field being renamed in the honor of Roger Castillo. (Story on WPLG can be found here ) It was an emotional ceremony attended by all of our park's players, city officials, family members, and Roger's fellow officers. A monument honoring Roger's memory has been placed at the field where we play many of our games. The storybook ending to the day would be that we won the game. Unfortunately we ended up losing a tough game, although in the context of the day - that's really of little significance.

As for our crew... I guess all is as well as can be expected.

Zach is holding steady for the most part. His resting heart rate is down below 40 at times. We aren't sure if it might be due to a small increase in medications. We're going to go back to the old dosage to see if it makes a difference. Of course the dosage was upped to begin with because Zach seemed to be in pain at times. So I'm not really sure there is a good option for us to take.

Brandon is doing well. He is looking forward to the fall when he will get to play T-Ball. I'm not sure that I am looking forward to coaching T-Ball... The kids are fine to work with, but the parents can be a little rough at times. It usually takes them a couple of seasons to realize that no matter what their child does on the T-Ball field it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Of course there are some who never get it - I'm sure you know what THOSE parents are like.

Let's see - that leaves the Wife and I... Well, as far as I can remember there really isn't much to report on that front. Apparently we are boring. I blame this on the kids. I remember being cool. (Those of you that knew us when we were younger can stop laughing now. Parachute pants were cool. I don't care what you think.)

Never promised tomorrow

We're never promised tomorrow. Sometimes it's just something to say to those faced with adversity.

Today though it became reality for 2 Miami-Dade police officers. For officers Roger Castillo and Amanda Haworth, tomorrow will never come.

They were killed in the line of duty today while trying to arrest a wanted fugitive.

Roger is the father of 3 boys, one of whom played on my baseball team last season.

I'm totally in shock right now.