surviving a heat wave
Yesterday wasn't pretty around here. I was already worried about one kid and then another succumbed to migraine twice in one day. You can feel pretty lousy about your parenting when you initially assume that a child is being whiny and then realize in the following minutes that he actually has a migraine. And it was hot, the house didn't cool off over night and we were sitting in front of fans to stay semi-comfortable.
Looking at the weather report I saw the heat wasn't going to break until later in the week, so I decided to try to regroup and find ways of dealing that didn't involve crying. We visited a store and bought a fine selection of Klondike bars (psst . . . the original Klondike bars are half an ounce bigger for the same price but I do like the Heath bar ones). I made sure that there was a nutritious breakfast set out for my migraine sufferer. It was probably the heat and humidity that got him yesterday but low blood sugar is a trigger for him, so I didn't want to take any chances.
Today started off just as warm. We broke out the fans early and ate cold fruit from the fridge for morning snack. We don't usually eat a morning snack but Elsie was melting down. And by 11 am, she was begging for lunch, so I just gave in and fed everyone lunch (sliced deli turkey, cheese and crackers and carrot sticks). She was down for her nap before noon. I then proceeded down to the living room and read two chapters of Carry On Mr. Bowditch to the boys. I LOVE that book.
But due to the early lunch and my great desire to have the afternoon pass by swiftly I became disoriented and thought someone was messing with the clock in the living room when I saw it read 12:51. I thought it had to be close to 3pm. Oops!
Elsie woke up at 2pm and I made the decision to quickly change plans from going directly to Klondike bar snack time and move to visiting the local swimming pool first. In a fairly orderly fashion, I got everyone into swimsuits or "sfimsuits" as Elsie calls them. Including me! I know what the interwebs have to say about moms and swim suits but I'm not heading somewhere totally anonymous. I know over half of the teenage lifeguards. Anyway, we gathered pool passes, towels, sandals on feet and then started marching the three blocks to the pool (yes I know I'm spoiled).
The pool was open! I had sudden fears that we would walk over there and discover it was closed. And suddenly it was really easy to take everyone to the pool. Samuel and Isaac know the drill and were off in the big pool doing their own thing. I hung out in the kiddie pool with Elsie and Nathan. "Grown-ups are allowed to put their feet and legs in." There was shade to sit in and I amused myself but lining up the floating pool toys in color order. Nathan needs swimming lessons, he's almost too big for the little pool but he behaved himself well. And Elsie had a good time too.
When I decided to go, I just grabbed the littles and rinsed them off in the shower. Elsie is not a fan of the shower. And then motioned to the big kids. And we were done. Just like that, so easy! I'll have to go to the pool a lot this summer (last summer was not easy pool visiting)
Then Klondike bars, US vs Belgium soccer game (Nathan was sure it was England we were rooting for, come to think of it he does attempt an English accent now and then, he put his head down and cried when we lost) Dinner was beef soft tacos (I have finally learned how to make shredded beef for tacos in the crockpot - oh happy day!) and we had done it. We had survived the very hot day with no melting or meltdowns (if you overlook Elsie's behavior before her nap and I'm quite willing to do that)
On the agenda tomorrow: four kids get their teeth cleaned at the dentist by two different hygienists. It's kind of like the missionary and cannibals problem, I think I'll need to make a chart about who goes where and when and bring it with me. Well at least for that hour, we'll be in air conditioning!
Looking at the weather report I saw the heat wasn't going to break until later in the week, so I decided to try to regroup and find ways of dealing that didn't involve crying. We visited a store and bought a fine selection of Klondike bars (psst . . . the original Klondike bars are half an ounce bigger for the same price but I do like the Heath bar ones). I made sure that there was a nutritious breakfast set out for my migraine sufferer. It was probably the heat and humidity that got him yesterday but low blood sugar is a trigger for him, so I didn't want to take any chances.
Today started off just as warm. We broke out the fans early and ate cold fruit from the fridge for morning snack. We don't usually eat a morning snack but Elsie was melting down. And by 11 am, she was begging for lunch, so I just gave in and fed everyone lunch (sliced deli turkey, cheese and crackers and carrot sticks). She was down for her nap before noon. I then proceeded down to the living room and read two chapters of Carry On Mr. Bowditch to the boys. I LOVE that book.
But due to the early lunch and my great desire to have the afternoon pass by swiftly I became disoriented and thought someone was messing with the clock in the living room when I saw it read 12:51. I thought it had to be close to 3pm. Oops!
Elsie woke up at 2pm and I made the decision to quickly change plans from going directly to Klondike bar snack time and move to visiting the local swimming pool first. In a fairly orderly fashion, I got everyone into swimsuits or "sfimsuits" as Elsie calls them. Including me! I know what the interwebs have to say about moms and swim suits but I'm not heading somewhere totally anonymous. I know over half of the teenage lifeguards. Anyway, we gathered pool passes, towels, sandals on feet and then started marching the three blocks to the pool (yes I know I'm spoiled).
The pool was open! I had sudden fears that we would walk over there and discover it was closed. And suddenly it was really easy to take everyone to the pool. Samuel and Isaac know the drill and were off in the big pool doing their own thing. I hung out in the kiddie pool with Elsie and Nathan. "Grown-ups are allowed to put their feet and legs in." There was shade to sit in and I amused myself but lining up the floating pool toys in color order. Nathan needs swimming lessons, he's almost too big for the little pool but he behaved himself well. And Elsie had a good time too.
When I decided to go, I just grabbed the littles and rinsed them off in the shower. Elsie is not a fan of the shower. And then motioned to the big kids. And we were done. Just like that, so easy! I'll have to go to the pool a lot this summer (last summer was not easy pool visiting)
Then Klondike bars, US vs Belgium soccer game (Nathan was sure it was England we were rooting for, come to think of it he does attempt an English accent now and then, he put his head down and cried when we lost) Dinner was beef soft tacos (I have finally learned how to make shredded beef for tacos in the crockpot - oh happy day!) and we had done it. We had survived the very hot day with no melting or meltdowns (if you overlook Elsie's behavior before her nap and I'm quite willing to do that)
On the agenda tomorrow: four kids get their teeth cleaned at the dentist by two different hygienists. It's kind of like the missionary and cannibals problem, I think I'll need to make a chart about who goes where and when and bring it with me. Well at least for that hour, we'll be in air conditioning!