It's Hot!

Baby it's hot outside! Summers in St. Louis can be sweltering. The humidity along with the high temperatures can make you feel like you are suffocating! It's so hard to get a good breath on days like this when the air feels so thick! So you're sweating everywhere and wondering just what to do to keep yourself and the kiddos comfortable. Here are five suggestions to help you stay cool on a warm summer day:

1. If the children are old enough to shop (without it being too much of a hassle for you), then go to your local shopping mall or department store. Start early looking for school supplies and back to school clothing. And of course, don't forget to pick out the perfect kid backpack for school. Backpacks featuring the Disney characters from Frozen, Cinderella, and Cars are still popular with the little ones. And of course the superheroes such as Spiderman, Superman, and Batman are always best sellers. Then go back to the store on Tax Free weekend to make your purchases. In Missouri, the annual Back To School Tax Holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 7th and runs through Sunday, August 9th. Certain back to school purchases such as school supplies, clothing, computers, and other items may be exempt from sales tax during this time period. You can also check out the blog Passion For Savings for their list of Back To School Tax Free Weekend dates and other participating states.

School Backpacks from Target.com

2. Spend the afternoon at the neighborhood pool. If you don't have access to a public or private swimming pool then fill a small plastic pool or plastic storage bin with water for the kids to play in and cool off. And if you don't have a kiddie pool just turn on your sprinkler and let the kiddos run through the waterfall. Or just let your children squirt one another with cool water from a hose. But you'll want to be sure to protect your little ones from the suns hot rays by covering them with sunscreen and remember to reapply often.

3. Instead of staying indoors all day and getting cabin fever, take a drive in your air conditioned car or van. Everyone will stay cool and the little ones often will nap in comfort in the car seat. Stop for an ice cream for an extra special treat on a very hot day. Many ice cream shops have drive thru windows too so you don't have to worry about getting everyone unbuckled from the car seat. 

4. Spend the day at a favorite children's indoor museum. If you live in or near St. Louis you might want to take a trip to the St. Louis Science Center where the offer numerous programs and activities for children. Another fun place to visit on a warm St. Louis day is the The Magic House which is also known as the St. Louis Children's Museum. Kids and adults both love the many fun and educational activities offered at the Magic House which is located in Kirkwood, MO. 

Fun at The Magic House, Kirkwood, MO

5. Lastly, just stay home! Make it a movie day! Draw the curtains, turn the lights down, make popcorn, and put on a favorite family movie. Better yet, let everyone choose their favorite movie and have a movie marathon day. My favorite movie is Beauty and the Beast! What's your?

Whatever your plans are for these lazy, crazy hot days of summer, stay safe and have lots of fun!

Indoor Fun On Icy Days

Freezing rain, ice, snow, oh my! The family loves to play in the snow, but definitely won't venture out in the ice! Quick, I need to think of lots of indoor activities to keep everyone happy this weekend! So one of my tasks has been to scour the internet to find suggestions and of course I have some of my own. So here is a list of 5 fun things to do around the house on these icy days:

1.) With the nasty weather come thoughts of summer vacation! So gather the family and ask everyone what they would like to do or see after school lets out for summer vacation. Ask the older kiddos to look for books or check out vacation spots on the internet and report back with their ideas for the best summer vacation ever. Then have a family meeting to discuss the best vacation options and start making plans.

2.) Snuggle with the fam and have a movie day! Turn the lights down and the sound up and add some popcorn and soda pop just as if you were at the movie theater. First give a choice of possible movies to view (you may want or need to watch several films throughout the day and evening to accommodate everyone's wish). My all-time favorite movies include Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins, and the Sound of Music produced by 20th Century Fox.

Beauty and the Beast
Courtesy of Disney.com

3.) Make an indoor fort! Absolutely one of my very favorite things to do since I was a little girl myself!  Arrange chairs, sofa pillows, blankets and sheets to create your very own personal space. Then let the kiddos add their personal items to the fort including pillow, special blankie (if old enough for these bedding items), books, toys, and games. You will want to check out realsimple.com for their super suggestions and tutorials on building forts with blankets and pillows!

Blanket Fort
Coutresy of Mark Lund RealSimple.com

4.) Play board games or put puzzles together. As a child my favorite board game was Candy Land and it's still a family favorite today! Other fun board games include Hasbro's Monopoly for the older kids (unless you play with me!). In fact everyone in my family refuses to play Monopoly with me because we don't quit until I own all the properties!  It's always a good idea to keep several decks of family card games on hand. You can pick up a variety of board game cards at your local drug or department stores such as Walgreens, Target or Walmart. Simple card games are such as Old Maid, Crazy Eights, and Go Fish are popular and so much fun too.

Monopoly
Courtesy of Target.com

5.) And my last but not least favorite suggestion is to read the day away! Reading to your child and encouraging an enthusiastic love for learning is one of the greatest gifts shared by both children and parents alike. In addition to bonding with the children, they also learn reading is fun! There are also so many more benefits to daily reading such as increasing communication and verbal skills while adding to your younger children's knowledge bank of colors, shapes, numbers, and letters. The older kiddos will enjoy learning about such educational topics as, for example, the U.S. Presidents, the planets and outer space, or trains and other modes of transportation.  A bonus benefit from regular interactive reading was described in a January 2013 study published in Perspectives on Psychological Science. The work concluded that "reading to a child in an interactive style raises his or her IQ by over six points."  When we read as a family, I prefer to choose the first book title for the little ones. Of course my favorite place to read to the youngsters is cuddled in the big rocking chair.  After reading my book selection, the kiddos get to each opt for a personal favorite of their own. Depending on the child's age and current reading ability either I read the story aloud or they read the story to me. It's especially fun to discuss the characters and story line and invite the children to describe their very own alternate ending to the story. My all-time favorite book selection for the little ones is "Go Dog Go" by P.D. Eastman. No matter how often I read this book, it always makes me smile!

Courtesy of Goodreads.com

Whatever your plans are for these freezing cold, teeth chattering days, enjoy your time spent with the family!