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Heather Tomlinson is a mom to Mia and wife to “a wonderful and fiery redhead.” Here's what this Kansas City multimedia writer for Spring Nextel had to say:
“Here in the Midwest we hit humid temps up in the 100s so we'll spend lots of time at our neighborhood baby pool this summer, teaching my one-year-old how to swim. My daughter and my husband are redheads so you'll probably find them under the umbrella lathering on the Blue Lizard SPF. We've also dedicated a vintage coin purse filled with quarters as our "Ice Cream Man Fund" and hung it in the garage. When we hear the nursery rhyme tunes of the ice cream van cruising through our neighborhood, we'll be ready. Bring on the red, white, and blue Bomb-Pops!”
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 Stacey Barile is a the founder of exurban (www.exurban.com), an event planning, public relations and lifestyle services company, and Cocktails & Conversation (www.cocktailsandconversation.com), a unique party that brings together movin' and groovin' women to connect, chat and sip the life fantastic.
Here's what this New Jersey mother of three had to say:
“For most, the thought of summer days means relaxing at the beach or sunbathing by the pool, but for my active family it means more sports (translation in mother terms: school may be over but you’re still a chauffeur). My three children, Drew, 17, Rebecca, 12, and Timothy, 10, spend most of the summer on the fields and on the courts at camps, tournaments and summer leagues. For the boys, it’s lacrosse and for my daughter, it’s primarily basketball. In between, there is a brief reprieve with sand, surf and pool, but when the extreme heat and humidity kick in we turn to water balloons instead of the movies or the malls. You are never too young or too old for them. We stay fully stocked throughout the summer months. While they keep you cool and on your toes, they’re not just for 'war,' they can actually keep your skills sharp over the dog days of summer both physically and intellectually—and it’s just great silly fun!
Over the years, we have learned the alphabet, sharpened our math skills, improved our stick skills, made foul shots and caught mom when she so wasn’t looking. Try these great games with your children to keep them both entertained and stimulated.
For pre-schoolers: Sit in a circle and pass the water balloon as you recite the alphabet, sing a nursery rhyme or count to 100 until the balloon breaks or until you make it all the way through the alphabet, song or to the designated number.
For school age: Try a pass or a toss same as above counting by 2s, 5s or 10s, spell some of the words you learned during the school year. For the tweenies, see how much of your favorite song you can sing before the water balloon breaks.
For high schoolers: Try the science game. Fill up the water balloons at varying capacities and see how far they will expand before one ruptures, fill small and large and drop from different heights to see differences in velocity or build a shoot for the water balloon to pass through.
Water balloon sports are terrific fun, too. Instead of using your baseball, lacrosse ball, basketball or football substitute a water balloon. For the little ones relays are wonderful; they help sharpen motor skills.
Of course, by the end of our games, everything breaks down and it’s every man, woman, child and dog (ours is Bruno, a 150-pound chocolate lab) for him/herself.
So have fun, stay cool, stay on your game and get wet!”
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 Valery Hodes is a former TV news executive producer turned senior publicist for the progressive and virtual Orca Communications (www.orcacommunications.com) who uses her 13 years of entertainment industry expertise to promote hot fashion and baby gear. Here's what this Phoenix, Arizona, mom of two had to say:
“I live in Arizona, as in "It's a dry heat, Arizona! The Valley of the
Sun,” to be specific. That said, I know a thing or two about embracing
the rays....
Rules to live by for moms:
Even though your chilled bottle of water you take on that walk starts
out cold, it heats up fast. At night before you go to bed, fill a water
bottle with water and stick it in the freezer. That way, the ice chunk
you leave home with becomes the cool drink you really need during the
course of that walk.
Choose cotton. It may sound like an ad, but cotton tees, tanks and bottoms
really do keep you cooler than polyester or nylon. It's a fabric that
really lets your skin breathe, pulling moisture away from your body.
And for the kids:
We live in our cars and, boy, is it tough to keep them cool. Keep an
extra towel draped across your car seats at all times. This way when you
leave your car in the heat, the car seat straps won't burn your child
when he/she sits down.
Spray, spray, spray. We all know how much kids hate to be lathered up
with goey sunscreen. The funny thing is that they barely notice when you're
spraying it on. May cost more, but my kids never object to a spray
showing their favorite characters (Ariel, Tinkerbell, Batman, Spidey, etc.) Invest in the right spray and your kid won't get burned.”
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 Claudia Schwartz is the co-owner of aden + anais (www.adenandanais.com), a luxe Australian muslin baby wraps company. Here's what this Los Angeles mother of two had to say:
“I always say, ‘when the going gets hot, the hot get going.’ In my growing family, we try to stay active when summer rolls around verses sitting around sweating in front of the fans at home. While my daughter is only one and is becoming increasing mobile, my three-year-old son is always raring to go for the next activity. At least chasing him around town creates some air flow. We try to spend time as much time as we can cooling off in the pool or going to the Y for swim lessons. Also, being Australian, we’re always concerned about too much sun exposure, so we stock up on sunscreen and clothes with built-in SPF. We’ll drive around with the windows down in the car, go to playdates at friends’ houses with air-con, meet at the mall for ice cold stroller racing or spend time at our favorite park, which features lots of shade and a cool ocean sea breeze. We’re also lucky because half of our family lives in Australia and when the mercury rises in Los Angeles, we usually get great 'winter' discounts and fly down under where it’s the dead of winter during our dog days of summer. Drink lots of milk and water because staying hydrated makes everything better. Cheers.” |
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