Beating the Heat

Hel-lo! It has been hot here lately! So hot, that I haven't even been allowing the kids to play outside except after dinner for a short time. To avoid a high stress level (mine and theirs), I have had to think of ways to beat the heat (yeah, me!). I took all three kids to the pool, by myself, for the first time ever. This may not sound like a big deal, but prior to last month, all three were non-swimmers. Ever try to watch 3 kids at one time, in a crowded pool, when any of them could drown at any minute?! I call that a nightmare, so we basically never went swimming without Dad. Now that Will and Emma have completed their lessons and are able to swim without life preservers, I braved the pool ALONE. It was AWESOME! Will spent the whole time in the deep end, going down the slide or jumping off the diving board. Jack stayed at the "baby" end and poor Emma spent time between the two, but was never allowed in the deep end without me. She is a good swimmer, but I am still nervous about letting her go alone. We all had fun and stayed cool, so that is what matters most.

Another fun activity that we tried was the Children's Museum. What a hoot! The kids LOVED it. I had a blast just watching them. They were so excited, they didn't know which exhibit to try first. :) Will's favorite, hands down, was the Krispy Kreme doughnut factory. Like his dad, he was completely geeked out over how everything worked and probably spent an hour "making doughnuts". Emma and Jack loved the grocery store. Jack couldn't' get enough of filling and emptying the carts and Emma liked being the manager, helping everyone get their jobs done (even kids she didn't know!). I enjoyed yoga story time the best. We listened to a story about a starfish and then did yoga positions to mimic the sea creatures in the story. It was a riot watching Jack close his eyes, inhale and then stretch his legs out like a starfish. I was really impressed by his ability to listen (yes, I am talking about Jack) and then follow directions.

After spending 3 1/2 hours in the museum, we went out for lunch, where Jack went back to his normal behavior. He tried playing with a strangers silverware while I was ordering at a counter, tipped over a bud vase that was full of stinky water while I was getting everyone drinks and wanted to touch everything in the dirty bathroom while the rest of us were getting our business done. I guess even Jack has his limits of how long he can behave! Take note, Mom.