And The Heat Goes On
It’s officially 120 degrees here in Los Angeles and I’m not kidding. No, but really– today tapped out about 101 degrees and we have this wee little fire to prove it. Our mild climate has taken an awfully not-so-mild turn so the city of angels is more like hell. And our house is even hotter than it is outside. We have fans going and our little window unit barely chugging away (I’m straddling the thing like a horse as I type this.)
But while one room (ours) is nice and cool, every room in the house is hotter than a whore in a church. So what the hell (heh) are we supposed to do? Hang out in bed all day playing with the alphabet puzzle? What do you do when it’s three hundred thousand degrees and your favorite park is burning down? (And no, the mall is not an option. My child is not mall-appropriate. And you can scrap that mommy movie thingy. We tried that once and it was a complete disaster.)
Should I bust out the kiddy pool and soak our asses in it all day? Should I wrap us in towels and play like we’re mummies?
What do you do to keep your kids happy, occupied and cool when it’s this hot? Where do you go?
And if you are local and have a pool on your hands, please call me. I’ll bring the beer and some Gerber Graduates for the kids.
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well, we go shopping and use up someone elses energy and air, heehee..i pump the kid with smoothies and buy him whatever he wants so he’ll be remotley chill. i HATE the heat and the public pools here are beyond nasty….or you could come down here…beach right across the street and an ocean breeze albeit tinged with the smell of homeless and mexican food.
I wish I had some advice for you, but down here we stay indoors with the a/c at a comfortable 73 and wait for our fall. My kids and I burn easily, even with highest SPF sunscreen, and there is no way I am going to be outside all day.
I do remember the days of window units. I would just lay flat on my bed and not move for hours. Usually, the smothering heat would lull me to sleep. However, this was way before kids.
Hope the weather gives you a break soon and there is always hose play to keep everyone cool. Teach Archer to wash the car.
I wish I had some advice for you, but down here we stay indoors with the a/c at a comfortable 73 and wait for our fall. My kids and I burn easily, even with highest SPF sunscreen, and there is no way I am going to be outside all day.
I do remember the days of window units. I would just lay flat on my bed and not move for hours. Usually, the smothering heat would lull me to sleep. However, this was way before kids.
Hope the weather gives you a break soon and there is always hose play to keep everyone cool. Teach Archer to wash the car.
So the mall is out…do you have a YMCA (or W)? We swim at ours here (on the east coast) 3 times a week – they do a good job of keeping things clean (and it’s indoors so no sunburn if you are sensitive). The mummies thing sounds fun if the towels are cold and wet! There’s always Chucky Cheese (bring ear plugs!) if you want little man to burn off some energy. Oh wait – do you have those on the west coast?? (if not – please let me know – I might move!)
We park it in our giant sized bathtub – the little guy drinks water from his sippy and I drink a glass of white wine in the middle of the afternoon while I’m watching my toddler.
Either that, or it’s time to visit Venice – it’s 20 degrees cooler down there…
Good call a la Venice. I think I’m going to have to suck it up and cross over to the westside this afternoon. *Gulp.*
As for Chucky Cheese– I only know of one o’er here and it scares me. Thankfully, I’m pretty sure it would scar Archer too. Hee.
We live in SoCal without air conditioning, so we’ve been there. Last summer we bought a membership to the Aquarium, and we spent a lot of time there. You could get a membership to one of the children’s museums in L.A. and let Archer run around to his heart’s content. I’m sure you would get your money’s worth.
We also have a park with an indoor playroom nearby.
We live in SoCal without air conditioning, so we’ve been there. Last summer we bought a membership to the Aquarium, and we spent a lot of time there. You could get a membership to one of the children’s museums in L.A. and let Archer run around to his heart’s content. I’m sure you would get your money’s worth.
We also have a park with an indoor playroom nearby.
You could go grocery shopping and hang out in the freezer section, pick out some ice cream and popsicles, and then go home and eat them in the baby pool… yummy and you can make as much mess as you want.
Bookstore or library?
- yes, the pool or sprinkler. A wading pool in the yard or at the park.
- cool showers and baths
- We have a window AC in our room, so we cut a hole in the wall between our room and hers, put a vent over it and a fan in the hole, so we can push enough AC through to her to keep her comfy, at least. In the winter we stuff a pillow in the hole for sound damping.
- Dream of getting AC – maybe next year.
- Visit local coffee shops and ice cream stores for frozen treats, and browse the grocery store, looking at everything, just for the AC.
- Go to the library and hang there, maybe even catch a storytime.
I’ll take 108 degrees over 46 and raining in the middle of freakin May anytime! Do you want to swap houses? I’m in Michigan!
We live in Indiana. We have a pool. And air conditioning, so I’m sortve at a loss. I’d go for the museum idea though. Or hit up Borders or some other bookstore where you could get an iced coffee and Archer could have a smoothie and read some fun books. The kiddie pool would be fun too. Or invest in one of those fun looking sprinklers that look like a giant beach ball.
Indoor playgrounds – Brightchild in santa Monica, Under the Sea in the Valley, etc. are great for fire days, smog days, hot days and the rare rain day – but only when you’re desparate.