Formal heat advisory or not, it’s important to keep cool and hydrated during this incredibly hot weather. Aside from installing air conditioning units or fans in your home, here’s a roundup of simple, inexpensive activities to keep the whole family cool:

Backyard fun. If you have yard space, kiddie pools and sprinklers are a popular, easy way to cool down. But if you’d like to conserve water, and/or not have to worry about dumping out or cleaning floaties out of a kiddie pool, consider getting a water play table with a cover.

Spray away. Inexpensive household spray bottles offer relief for the whole family. April’s daughter loves spraying her mom and dad – and being chased and sprayed herself - while everyone hangs out under a ceiling fan.

Tea party water play. Bring water play indoors with a cooking/tea party. For easy clean up, set your kid up on towels on the kitchen floor. Fill a dishpan with cold water and various household toys: measuring cups, drinking cups, funnels, rubber spatulas, tiny colanders, etc. Add ice cubes to the water if your child is past mouthing (i.e., choking hazard). In advance, you also can freeze a couple of smaller toys in a small block of ice; as your child plays, the ice will melt and free the toy.

Play clean. Give your child cold wet washcloths to “clean” their or your arms, face, legs, as well as plastic toys.

Tubby time. Suz’s son loves play time in the tub with bubbles, finger paints, and music (the latter changes the atmosphere from a regular bath). Keep the water cooler like a pool. If you’re lucky, by the end of the water play, your kid will also be sufficiently cleaned up so you don’t have to worry about a bath later.

Make popsicles. Check out our popsicle feature from last year, for information on sugar content in commercial popsicles and ideas for making your own.

Cool ride. Sara loves taking the T with her kids; the air-conditioned cars are refreshing and will take you to the city’s many terrific museums.

Indoor fun. See our Fun Indoors archive for cool retreats in the form of libraries, art studios, museums, and indoor play spaces. Note that at libraries, you often can pick up free passes to area museums.

Public water play. If you’re looking to submerge yourself in something more expansive than the backyard kiddie pool, check out our previous post on local water play spots. Also, Sara’s favorites include: Soldier’s Field Road (for older kids say 5 years and up), Fillipello Park in Watertown, and Hancock Street playground (for younger kids up to 5 years) in Central Square.

Will bring lunch for pool. If you have friends who have a pool, ask whether they’d be up for a casual pool gathering. In exchange, offer to bring in lunch and popsicles for your and their families.

And of course, drink plenty of water, and apply sunscreen.

Image credit: FreeFoto.com

Beloved and I have two SUVs.  It wasn't on purpose.  I used to drive a 1994 Geo Prizm, blue, stick shift, and I LOVED THAT CAR.  I drove it until 2006, when I got t-boned on Ward Parkway by a much larger car. It bent the axle and totaled the Geo, which turned out to be worth a whopping $800.

I'm still bitter about it, if you can't tell.  Because to me, that car was worth so much more.  It was paid off, it got great gas mileage, and it as the last of the cars I named (Priscilla).  It was Pa's car before it was my car, and I bought it from Pa when I moved to Kansas City in 1998 for $3,000, which I paid for myself.  It's the last car I bought with cash.

So anyway, the "family car" at the time was my husband's 1998 Ford Explorer.  We were certain this Explorer would die a quick death, as we'd already replaced the rear axle to the tune of $1200 and the truck at the time had more than 100k miles on it.  We thought we'd get a new family car, then as soon as Beloved's truck died, we'd get another little Geo-like thing.

Except Beloved's car never died.  It's still kicking at 140k miles a full three years later.

Now trust me, I'm happy about that part.  And shocked that a Ford Explorer could really go that long with no more work since the rear axle, other than the battery my husband changed last weekend. (God, forgive my hubris and do not strike us down with a dead car tomorrow.)  But what to do?  Now we have two functioning Ford Explorers, one car payment, and two years left on a five-year loan that's put us pretty much upside down on the Explorer that I drive.

For a while, we contemplated trading the one I drive for something smaller and more economical.  However, we quickly realized that because of gas prices, nobody wants a used Explorer, and nobody is even going to give us what we owe on it to take it off our hands.

So,drat. I guess we'll have to pay it off, hope the second one lasts, and then make the switch at that point.

Which has me trying to eek out every drop of gasoline.  I used to think only old people griped about gas prices, but when it suddenly costs $120 a week to drive two urban assault vehicles, you start rethinking things.

I work from home as much as I can. I'm fortunate to be an editor, and that's a job that can be done from home.  Usually I work from home two days a week, and I thank my company greatly for it. So that helps a lot, just not having to drive forty miles round trip every day.  But I've also started driving SLOWER, which has Beloved fit to be tied.

Him: "Speed up. People are passing you on the right."

Me: "I'm in the middle lane.  This is the lane for people who need to get over soon but are driving slow."

Him: "Why are you driving so slow?  You're making me crazy."

Me: "I saw on the elevator slide show it saves you 3-5 miles per gallon to drive 65."

Him: "NOT YOU, TOO!  ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

So, you can see how well Beloved takes my conservation measures.  I'm not sure how well it's working, honestly, because we drive my truck on the weekends, which makes calculations difficult. I've also started trying to drive at least to work without the air conditioner on.  I know I'm nuts, but I don't really mind the Midwestern heat as much as a lot of people do. I'm not saying I love it or anything, but I've always found driving with all the windows down to be kind of exciting.  It's like being on a boat or something. This doesn't work out when I have to look good at the end of the trip, but if I'm just going home, whatever.  I'll sweat.  (Check in with me again once we go over 100 degrees more than two days in a row.  I think last summer we had 10 days in a row over 100 degrees, and 100 degrees with 80% humidity = steaming like broccoli.)

Will it work?  Will we survive?  I'm sure we will. But dang, I wish a nice Corolla would just drop out of the sky and free me from 17 mpg and an 18-gallon tank.  Turns out we miscalculated on that purchase.  Live and learn.

Ready, set, grill! Today, Michelle Stern of What’s Cooking offers a yummy recipe for BBQ Chicken BLT’s - perfectly suited for these sweltering days that make it challenging to cook indoors. And be sure to get your kids involved, with Michelle's "Call the Kids" tips at the end of the recipe.
BBQ Chicken BLT's
Serves 4

Mmm...BLT's in the summer, when the tomatoes are at their best! The barbeque adds great flavor to the chicken and the bread, but beware: your neighbors might come over to see what you are making for dinner! Make extra chicken to add to a salad or for lunch the next day. Serve with baked chips and pickles.

You will need:

8 slices of soft country bread

8 slices of bacon or turkey bacon

2 tomatoes, sliced

1 avocado, peeled and sliced

1 small bunch of Arugula or lettuce

1/4 cup olive oil

8 Tbs light mayonnaise

2 tsp black pepper, crushed

salt and pepper

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced through the center, making four thin breast pieces.

1. Using a brush, coat each slice of bread with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, turn the slices over, and repeat on the other side. Next, coat both pieces of chicken with the oil and then season, remembering to coat both sides.

2. Place both pieces of chicken on the barbecue and grill for 2-4 minutes. Also add the bacon, which needs less time. If the flames rise, splash over a small handful of water and move the bacon to the side to stop the meat from burning.

3. After 2 minutes, turn the bacon and the chicken. Remove bacon when brown and crisp.

4. Remove the chicken when golden. Place the bread on the grill to the side of the fire and Turn the bread after a minute, removing when just golden.

5. Mix the mayonnaise and crushed pepper.

6. Assemble sandwiches and enjoy!

Call the Kids:

Set up a tray to go to the bbq, including foil, an extra plate, tongs.

Wash tomato

Brush bread with olive oil and season

Season chicken (wash hands after)

Wash lettuce

Help assemble sandwiches

Nutrition (per serving): 669.7 calories; 49% calories from fat; 37.4g total fat; 103.4mg cholesterol; 1016.6mg sodium; 764.6mg potassium; 44.4g carbohydrates; 5.8g fiber; 1.2g sugar; 38.6g net carbs; 39.1g protein.

Image credit: FreeFoto.com

I once had a vice president who was reprimanded for his foul language.  So the legend goes, he was called into human resources and told there had been a complaint.  And he said something akin to "what's the fucking problem?"

I always did like that guy.

So anyway, thanks a lot, Average Jane, for showing me this site that measures things like how verbose you are (I am 121% higher than average) and how much you curse in your blog. You knew which one I was going to go for, didn't you? 

I admit I have let my tongue hang out a little too much in the past few weeks, because earlier this year I had kept Surrender, Dorothy pretty clean, for me. I do wish I was not so tempted to curse after a long day in the trenches of corporate America. 

But it feels SO GOOD.

I mean, those of you who have been with me for a while might remember the old "Warning: Might Contain "Fuck"" flag I had in the sidebar for a while after someone tried to get me fired for my language.

Didn't work, motherfucker.

So, in honor of sailor mouths everywhere, I present you my shame.

OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

This weekend the little angel's dance class performed.  We got her all gussied up in her costume, complete with hat, and hauled her down in the heat for dress rehearsal.  Her class was called up first. It was chaos in the studio, 90 degrees outside and probably 100 degrees inside, with about 100 people gathered around to watch.  The little angel dutifully followed her classmates, but on the way to the center of the wood-floor studio, she slipped in her tap shoes and fell, hard.

She got back up, but once the music started, she looked at me, her face crumpling, huge tears rolling down her cheeks.  There was an audible gasp from the crowd -- she looked that sad.  After she stood there for about ten seconds with this expression while her classmates performed, I held out my arms and my little girl ran to me, curling into the fetal position in my lap and sobbing.  She was overwhelmed, completely overwhelmed. 

After her class's rehearsal was done, I sent her over to sit with her teacher and watch how the other girls did it.  I could see her loosening up during the rest of the hour-long rehearsal, and by the time the school went outside to perform for the public, she was ready to go.  She marched out onto the stage with her little co-horts. They all forgot about half of the dance, but when you're four or five, it doesn't really matter.  She even smiled part of the time.  I thought my heart would burst.

FweetieB and her husband brought their daughter, S., to watch.  The little angel was SO EXCITED her best friend could be there to see her dance. Afterward we watched the two of them hold hands over to where they rode the little train and the ponies.  I think S. inspired the little angel to try again, and the little angel got S. on a pony.  Watching them fuel each other's self-confidence was touching, and so was knowing the little angel has such good friends, and friends with parents who will make sacrifices to come and see us way out in the suburbs.  We so appreciate that, and I know no matter what happens to the little angel in her life, she will always benefit from learning to be a good friend and having others be a good friend to her from the tender age of one or two.

It does something to you, when you have good friends. It makes it easier to get up on stage or on a pony or into a new job or city or college or whatever you're trying to achieve.  Good friends give you courage the way nothing else in life can.  Knowing you have people who will still love you if you fail often guarantees YOU WILL NOT FAIL.
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Winner of the Picture Perfect and Mia Software contests up at Surrender, Dorothy: Reviews.

Want to foster your child's love for learning letters while supporting a local, eco-conscious mamapreneur? Today, Jen reviews Lit'l Desi9s, a custom design line that uses your little one’s name for graphic inspiration. Read on for Jen’s review, as well as to learn how to win a Lit'l Desi9s custom name tee or onesie.

“Take one talented mama, add in a curious five-year-old and a spark of inspiration, and what do you get? Lit'l Desi9s, the fabulous clothing and accessories line by Debby Yennaco Peretz. It all started one day when Debby was doing what mamas before her have been doing since the beginning of time - trying to teach their curious little ones about the world around them. In Debby's case, she was teaching her five-year-old son how to spell when she started to see that the letters he was struggling to master could actually form shapes and even animals. The letter "L" could be a fin on a fish or even the neck of an elephant. The letter "N" could be the middle hump of a caterpillar or the hands of a seal. The possibilities were endless, and so was the potential.

Countless shapes and animals later, Litl'l Desi9s is sold online, in children's boutiques across the country, and locally at her cart store in Boston’s Prudential Center (across from the food court). Debby can take the letters of any name and form them into an adorable animal that can be printed on clothing, bags, note cards, hats, bibs, blankets, and even rubber stamps. Her clothing collection is organic, made in the U.S.A., and printed using water-based inks and no artificial chemicals. She even packages her products in reusable multi-colored bug catchers - just in time for firefly season!

What makes Debby's products so special is that she has captured part of what makes motherhood inspiring - the knowledge that your children are endlessly unique and creative. She took something that adults look at every day - their own name - and approached it with the eyes of a child. The result is both adorable and educational.”

+ + + + +
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED
Congrats to winner Jessica S.!
+ + + + +

Now, want to win a custom Lit'l Desi9s name tee or onesie*? Here’s how:

Visit Lit'l Desi9s’s web store, then email contests@bostonmamas.com (with ‘Lit'l Desi9s’ in the subject), and name a Lit'l Desi9s product you would love to have for your little one.

One entry permitted per person; US entrants only.

Entry period closes at midnight EST, Monday, June 9, 2008.

*The winner will receive a Lit'l Desi9s custom name design printed on a tee or onesie in 100% organic natural or white.

And, for those who wish to shop now, mention Boston Mamas for 15% off your order!

OK, so how cute is this? At long last, I’ve designed a cool, cute, and comfy Boston Mamas tee! These 100% cotton sheer jersey crewneck tees are fitted and super stylish with faux double-layered contrast finishing at the neck, cuffs, and bottom. Intentionally not white - to hide the inevitable spills and stains associated with taking care of kiddos - choose from chocolate/sky or light pink/flamingo. Pre-order your tee by June 20 (and hey, grab one for a friend too!) for $20. After June 20, the regular price will be $25. Price includes tax and shipping. Shirts will ship in early July.

And now for our weekly dose of web highlights from some of our stylish blog partners:

One Chic Mama features the affordable and eco-friendly household products by Charlie’s Soaps. Clever Parents offers guidance on “green” decorating and remodeling. Moms’ Buzz reviews content from April and May. The Nest Baby wants you to weigh in on a report of a grandma trying to breastfeed her grandson. And you could win: a $75 gift certificate to Vincent Shoes at Modern Mom, a Homedics Shiatsu Massaging Cushion for Dad from MomFinds, and a copy of the Sex and the City: The Movie book from We Covet.

Hello, world!  My name is Rita, and I really love it when you tell me what a narcissistic idiot I am!  Whee!

Now, I don't normally do this, but today I am in a really good mood, because I took today off from my day job to work on the book tour and some other blog projects.  (I'm going to give away more stuff!  See below!)  Also!  Beloved got sinus medication, and he no longer snores.  BRINGING SEXY BACK.

So, here, without further ado, is the best troll comment I've gotten since the Woman Who Shall Go Unnamed.  I do seem to attract me some venom, don't I?  It must be my reticence.

OMFG!You actually think you're interesting and have something to say. Ithought it was all some sort of crazy joke. Nope. Just crazy. I plowedthrough this crap looking for a truffle. Alas, there was nothing morethan a little girls diary of private thoughts posted to the world by anarcissistic adult lacking in the good taste to keep private thoughtsprivate.

Commenter name: Mark

Commenter email: bitme@myass.com

IP address: 64.174.52.242

None

Somebody has a case of the Mondays.

Now, hmm. A truffle? At first I thought MAYBE there was a meaning for the word "truffle" of which I was unaware, so I hopped over to Dictionary.com, and no, no, "truffle" means what I thought it meant.

truf·fle

1. any of several subterranean, edible, ascomycetous fungi of the genus
2. any of various similar fungi of other genera.
3. acandy made of soft chocolate, shaped into a ball and dusted with cocoa,or sometimes a three-layered cube of light and dark chocolate.

So, Mark was either looking for fungus or girly candy.  Here at Surrender, Dorothy, we deal mostly in herbs and Laffy Taffys.  Sorry, Mark.  Next time leave your real e-mail address.  I'm pretty sure "myass.com" doesn't exist, though I totally could be wrong about that. I'm pretty sure "bitme" is a Freudian slip. BUT I WASN'T WRONG ABOUT THE TRUFFLE.

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My gushing adoration review of the Cricket magazine Ladybug is up at Surrender, Dorothy: Reviews.
I'm giving away a $25 Build-A-Bear gift card at Surrender, Dorothy: Reviews.