Laundry and Children

It's Too Darn Hot!

Living without air conditioner isn't really that bad, except for the hours of 4 PM to 8 PM.  For some reason, right at 4, the humidity shoots us and the air feels heavy and thick.  Breathing is more like drinking air.  My skin feels sticky and I just don't want anything to touch me.

Of course, this is the time of day when I am cooking dinner, so the whole situation is exacerbated by a hot stove or grill, stress to get the meal done and a gaggle of hungry, whinny kids.

By 8 o'clock, dinner is done and the kids are usually in bed and hubby and I retreat to the basement which is about 15 degrees cooler than the rest of the house.  It is like walking in to a pool as we go down the stairs, each step getting cooler and cooler.

We have fans in all the rooms and once the sun sets the temperature drops off really quickly.  We stay hydrated and play in the kiddie pool.  Plus, I really think that because we don't live in the extremes of cold in the house, hot outside, cold in the car, hot at the playground, ect., that we are much more acclimated to the heat.  Sure it is hot, but when we are outside with friends, we don't seem to be as bothered by the heat as those who live with AC.  Plus, since we know that it will be just as hot in our house as wherever we are, we are willing to extend outdoor activities.

It is easier to write this post now, at 7 AM, before the heat of the day reaches a whopping 95 degrees, but nonetheless, aside from a steamy evening, living without AC really isn't all that bad.

PS- I do love to visit people who do use the AC, so don't hesitate to invite us over. :)

Vynl, Rewinding and Other Relics from the Past

Since school got out, we have sort of been vegging out.  Hence the lack of posts.  Also, the kids have wanted to watch some very old school Disney movies.  Movies that we only have on VHS.  Yes, we still have some VHS.  Lord help us when the world upgrades to the next technology.  We will just be even further behind.

The kids are perplexed every time I have to rewind a tape.  These are children who don't know life before DVD.  They have no concept of "Please be Kind and Rewind."  If they want to watch a movie, they just put it in and start it at any point of the story they want. 

They are even further perplexed when I tell them that when I was growing up we didn't have a VHS player until I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade.  My parents saved up for one using the money mom made selling Sandex sandlels.  A VHS player was a major investment back then.

This revelation brought the obvious question of how we watched movies when I was little.  The short answer kids, we didn't.  And there were only 3 major channels on the tv and we were usually only allowed to watch cartoons on Saturday.  When I tell them all this they look at me like I grew up in the stone age and then they usually ask if we had cars or dinasaurs when I was little.  Or if one of their grandparents knew Jesus personally.  If not maybe, they knew George Washington.  Aren't kids cute?

Today we were at a used book store and I found a couple of records and at 50 cents each, who could resist.  When we got home, I turned on the turn table and showed Rachel how these things that are, in her words "just like CDs but big and black," play.  As soon as I put the record on the turn table Rachel wanted to know if she could push it back and forth like a rapper.  Of course she would ask that, it is her only reference point for records.  I told her no and that records were good for more than scratching.

We have had a lovely afternoon watching the Muppets on cassette, listening to old records and making Mommy feel really old.

We Are Melting Here

Our weather has become one of extremes.  All through May we had extreme cold.  I was sending the kids out in winter coats.  Then we had extreme rain.  This was like build an ark rain.  Now we are cooking.  It is going to be in the 90's all week.

Today, after the boys nap we are going to walk the mall.  It is too damn hot to let the kids play outside, but being cooped up inside is driving us all nutty.  So it will be a nice long window shopping walk for us this afternoon.  An then probably an ice bath.

Prayers for the Kennedy Family

Our prayers go out to the family of Ted Kennedy today as they announced that the Senator has a malignant brain tumor.  We may see the world very differently and agree on very few issues politically, but no one can deny the effect this man has had on our country.

Ted Kennedy is a fighter and today we learned that he is in the fight of his life.  I wish him recovery and for his family strength in this trying time.

I Am Building an Ark

Today we saw the sun.  I am waiting for the dove to stop by my door with with olive branch. 

Yes it has been raining that much.  Since Friday, it has rained somewhere between 7 to 9 inches.  Rivers are overflowing.  Sink holes are swallowing up entire roads.  And animals keep showing up two by two.  I keep telling them the name is Nohe not Noah, but they don't seem to care.

On the upside, my strawberry plants are doing great.  Unfortunately, so are the weeds and I could seriously lose one of my children in the grass.

Happy Mother's Day!

My One And Only Green Trick

About a month ago, Marty and I got new cookware.  Our old stuff was pretty scary and we were getting a healthy dose of tephlon with each meal.  Since I am trying to  go all natural, we skipped the non-stick and went with stainless.  Stainless my butt.  It seems that every time I cook with one of these pans the bottom gets all black.  A black that does not come off in the dishwasher.

Well, the first time this happened I was just heart broken.  My new shiny pots and pans were destined to forever look unclean and burnt.  This just would not do.  So I went to Google sure I would find a solution.  I tried boiling vinegar in them, but all that did was make my house smell like a pickle.  I did lots of things with baking soda, including boiling it, scrubbing with it and soaking it.  Nothing was working.  Then I decided to venture out on my own.  What could it hurt?  I already had black pans and a house that smelled like a pickle.  And what do you know, I came up with something that works.  Not only does it work, it works great!

In honor of Earth Day, I thought that I would share with you my one and only green trick.  When my pots get blackened or there is burnt on stuff that just won't come off, I pour in a little lemon juice.  To that I add course kosher salt.  Then I add a little elbow grease and scrub, scrub, scrub.  In no time, and I really do mean that it happens fast, I have shiny pots and pans again.  If there are still some stains on the bottom, I'll wash out the salt and put some lemon juice in alone and let that stand for about 5 to 10 minutes.  Then I add more salt to it and scrub it out again.  This technique has worked every time so far.

So there it is, my one green trick for Earth Day.  Now I am off to hug a tree.

Crop Circles

We bought the kids a sew-saw (aka Teeter-Totter, aka-by-Nicholas Tatter Tot).  It is pretty cool because not only does it go up and down, but the whole thing spins 360-degrees.  They have been quite busy recreating every stunt they saw at the circus last week.

An unforeseen consequence of the new yard toy is that it has made a perfect circle of dead grass in my yard.  I am thinking of moving the see-saw so that the locals can come and view my crop circles.  I think I will sell tickets.  Inside the circle it always remains 35% humid with a 75% chance of fun. :)

The Saddest Toy Ever

Can't we find this kid at least one friend so that he can use a regular see-saw?

Yes, Your Grandmother is Still A Girl

Yesterday in the car, the children were discussing marriage when the conversation took a very odd turn.

Nicholas: You can't marry that person, they are a girl.

Rachel: Maybe they were a boy first and turned in to a girl.

Nicholas: What are you talking about?

Rachel: I saw it on Oprah (note to self check Oprah schedule before turning it on in front of the kids).  There was a boy who got some surgery and then he was a girl and he married another boy.  Mommy how do they do that?

Me: (Stammering) I don't know.

Nicholas: GG got surgery.

Rachel:  Did GG get turned it to a boy with her surgery?

Me: No!  They only replaced her hip.  They left everything else the same.  Hey kids, how about a little sing along with the Muppets CD?

Cue "It's Not Easy Being Green."