Archives Week! My Favorite Post of Abbi’s

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It’s Archives Week here at SMB, and this morning I’m featuring my favorite post of Abbi’s. You can read all her posts here.

Since joining the SMB Contributor team in March, Abbi has brought a wealth of mommy wisdom to all of our readers.  From her most recent post about the New Arizona Car Seat Law (effective Aug 2nd), to practical ideas of how to successfully take multiple children to well check doctor appointments, Abbi has hit the ground (aka our blog) running with some of the incredible insight.  

However, out of all of her posts the below post is one of my very favorite posts because it’s sooooo practical!  I’ve even referenced this post on a number of occassions when talking with other mommy friends (especially the note about always having swim suits on hand in the summer) because it’s just that noteworthy!  Happy Reading! ~ Steph

Mommy Quick Tips | 5 Favorite Summer Day Activities for Around the House

Whoa – it got HOT. Every summer spring the 100+ degree days seem to sneak up on me. Don’t get me wrong, I love the heat. Seriously. But when it’s beautiful 70′s in the morning with afternoon highs in the 90′s, I feel like I live in the best weather in the world.

So when this week hit 108 – yikes! I began searching the cobwebs of my brain for some of our favorite ways to keep cool.  These are some {hopefully} easy ideas for when you don’t feel like loading up the car and venturing out into the heat.

  1.  Slide + baby pool = fun.  Really, any slide and baby pool.  We have a little tikes mini-climber set with a 2 ft long little slide and my almost 7 year old thinks its a blast and I picked up a blowup baby pool for $10 at Target.  I love this because all the girls – ages 2 to almost 7 can play and I don’t have to worry about being in the pool too.
  2. Pudding paint.  Make your own pudding or pick up some pre-made containers…either way, the kids love it.  They can paint each other, the ground, the walls, and it all just washes away.  And the part my girls like most – licking their fingers.
  3. Water balloons.  This long-time game from my childhood is still as big of a hit as it was when I was little.  My girls would play water balloon games every day if I would let them.  Don’t have a backyard worthy of play?  Take a cooler of them to your nearest park and have at it!  Also, I usually throw in some spray bottles of water as well :)
  4. Summer Bridge Books.  So some kids might not find this so fun, but my girls love their summer bridge workbooks.  We order these (appropriate by age/grade) and I get a special coloring book for my 2 year old.  This is going to be our third summer using these books.  I love them because they are basic, the are fun, and they only have 2 pages of activities per day.  Enough to keep things fresh but not too much to feel like they are always doing school.
  5. Crafts.  Ok, so this is a little broad but here’s how I tackle summer crafts.  I would love to say that I have a pinterest board full of crafts (I do) and the supplies on hand (I don’t) to make them all and each and every day I have a craft scheduled.  But I’ve accepted that that’s just not realistic for my house.  So, my summer craft supply usually comes from JoAnn’s and Michael’s and consists of many of their pre-made kits. However, I do try to throw a few pinterest worthy crafts into the mix.  Whatever your style, summer and crafts just seem to go hand-in-hand!

One last quick tip that has saved me MANY times – I keep extra swim suits in the center console of my car.  You never know when you think you’re just going to be out and end up needing them, whether it be running into friends and going for a swim or a splash pad that’s just to fun to resist!

What are your favorite summer day activities??