Beating the Heat

As we continue to brace ourselves against hot and icky weather, we've been forced to find some new ways to be entertained inside. Pictured above, you'll see quarters adhered to my daughter's feet with clear packing tape. Well, think of these as really, really cheap tap shoes. I took a marathon tap/ballet/jazz combo class when I was her age, and I just loved wearing my tap shoes every chance I got. I was telling her some story about "When I was a little girl..." and the topic of tap dancing came up. When Roo asked me what tap shoes were, I realized I've denied my daughter the thrill of standing in front of a mirror in leotard and tights, with a bunch of other cuties, to tap and twirl to her heart's content. While enrolling her in some sort of dance class is on the agenda someday, I figured I could fashion some tap shoes right now. I know I didn't coin (hee hee) this idea myself. I've seen tap shoes made from loose change several different spots in the past. Just tape them onto the heels and balls of the feet and off you go:

Being confined inside has also brought renewed interest in the doctor's kit. Here's Roo using the "checkoscope" (that's 4 year old medical lingo for stethoscope, by the way. She says it "checks" to make sure the heartbeat is strong and clear. So, based on that rationale, checkoscope certainly deserves heavy consideration as the newest word in medical terminology) to listen to Rascal's heartbeat:

Yes, they are wearing long sleeves and pants even though I just complained about a heat wave. I am guilty of running the central air just a bit too much, I think. I still feel hot even when they start getting chilled. So I dress them appropriately for the arctic blast that blows through our vents in order for me to stay cool (and, thus, less cranky).

Fortunately, he sits very patiently through this thorough examination. Every time. And it happens about a dozen times per day. I love the doctor's glasses she's wearing. And I also love how she makes up a random temperature: "Ah, 422.5... that's a little bit on the high side."

A couple of the benefits of the doctor's kit being used around here is the chance to learn some new vocabulary: otoscope, reflex hammer, syringe; and I think it has definitely helped our son learn to sit patiently at the real doctor's office while they do various tests and exams. After what his sister puts him through (again and again), his actual hospital visits are a piece of cake!

While I was putting Rascal down for a nap, Roo adapted this bridge from a wooden garden stake and the Bounce and Spin Zebra (it's about time that zebra carried his weight around here. He's been sitting idle for months).

I can wish for "sweater weather" as much as I want. It isn't going to make Fall come soon enough. So, in the meantime, we will keep hunting down new activities to wile away the hot summer days.

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