heat wave!

We are melting over here! I know, I know, it's been super duper hot all over, but I've kind of gotten used to coastal Maine staying well below tropical temperatures. It's been brutal over the past couple of days, but we're surviving! Our one little window air conditioner has been pumping icy air into Natalie's room, where the three of us have spent a lot of time camped out in the cool.

Here's how we've been beating the heat:

1. No heat curls. This weather means there is no way I'm going near a blow dryer, curling iron, or my fave hot rollers. Nope, I'm hopping on the blogosphere bandwagon and sticking to no heat curls, which worked like a charm yesterday. I stole this idea from a video shared by Chelsey, Jess, Georgina, and Liv, among others. I'm with them: this method is great. Check out the detailed video and give 'em a try. They seriously take 5 minutes to prep, and then you can enjoy having your hair off your neck for a couple hours while they set. Bliss! I only got a before shot, so you'll have to trust me that I did actually have curly hair all day :)

2. Lots and lots of indoor playtime. We've been hanging out in Natalie's room and making our way out for meals and that's about it. I rediscovered play-doh with Natalie, which she loved! Several taste-tests later, and she's still loving it :)

3. Once the sun has shifted beyond our little backyard, we've been playing it cool in the shade with a little Elmo sprinkler I picked up at a yard sale last year. I completely forgot we even had it, but I'm so glad I remembered because it has been a lifesaver! Natalie doesn't really like it, but Mikey and I have been racing through it while she looks on.

We also nabbed the Nana sitter for a couple of hours so Mikey and I could enjoy some sweet cold movie theater air. We saw our first 3D movie (our theater just got a couple of 3D screens): Harry Potter! It was such fun. I may enjoy nothing more than diet coke, movie theater popcorn, and a dark theater on a hot day.

I feel like we've gotten through the worst of this heat wave pretty well, but there have been moments when it has felt really hard. Keeping Natalie happy inside is pretty difficult, but we've managed. We escaped to a local hotel pool for a couple of hours yesterday (there was absolutely no way I was going to roast at the beach!), and have enjoyed more than our fair share of Elmo's World.

Today is supposed to be a bit more tolerable, thank goodness. We are watching one of Natalie's fellow baby-friends for part of the day, so I'm hoping that outside activities will not be so off-limits.

How have you been beating the heat??