Beating The Heat: Play-Doh Style!

Don’t know what the weather’s like where you’re at, but, it’s been a swampy mess down here and Greta and I have been literally melting in the heat. Proclaiming she was too hot to walk the other day, Greta actually crumpled to her knees and made me carry her to the car before ballet class.

The next day, she crawled to the back door to put her shoes on because “her feet stopped working.” and then yesterday it was so hot that it actually rained. Today too. And when I say rain, I’m not talking about deep, cleansing rain that makes the L.A. skyline all super blue. Nope. This was just enough rain to increase the swamp factor in the air and make your car looks like shit. Good times.

So, when the rain started today we decided to stay inside and color until it cooled down. And once it did, we hurried to the store to pick up something new and fun (and most importantly, cheap!) to play with. We only ventured as far as CVS, so, our options were kinda limited, but, today, luck was on our side. And somewhere between the kids crafts and fake Barbie dolls on the toy aisle, I found the perfect inside toy…the Play-Doh Fun Factory!

Longtime Play-Doh aficionados will remember the Fun Factory as the little hand pump machine with the plastic strips with different shaped holes in them. I don’t know if my brother and I ever actually owned one, but, man, did we love that thing when we were kids. Anyway, one of Greta’s friends has a vintage Fun Factory and we’ve been on the hunt for one for for weeks now.

Our only disappointment was that the 2013 edition of the Fun Factory doesn’t come with those cool little plastic scissors, but instead comes with a tiny knife. Weird huh? Other than that, the little pump still cranks out star-shaped snakes and long, curly Play-Doh hair with the best of em. So, hooray for indoor summer fun!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Greta’s feet did start working again the other day. All I had to do was promise her a Hello Kitty popsicle and she was cured. Strange how that works, huh?

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Location:Burbank, CA

The Walking Dead…

Greta’s birthday party was almost a week ago, and while it was awesome, it was also completely exhausting. Anyone who has ever planned a kid’s birthday party themselves knows what I’m talking about: a lot of work, a lot of money, way too much to do and very little sleep. It’s like going to war. Well, OK, not that bad, but, pretty damn close. And from what I hear it gets worse when the kids get older and start inviting whole classrooms full of kids. Yikes…

Anyway, the party went off without a hitch (although Mrs. Yeti and have decided to jokingly refer to Greta’s birthday parties as “divorce makers” from here on out) and I think everyone had a lot of fun. Most especially the kids. So, yay! I’ll post pics soon. I promise! And I know I’ve said that before, but, this time, the pics have made the jump from my camera to the computer and some of them are even up on Facebook already. So, hang tight, pics really are coming this time.

The other no-so-fun thing about staging a big-ass kids party is that one, or all three of us, inevitably ends up a little sick after it’s all said and done. And this time, it’s Greta and myself who caught the bug. It’s really just a cold, but, coupled with this insane heat wave we’re having — it was 91 degrees outside for most of the day today! — it’s been a really long and nasty week for both of us.

And though we did manage to make it out to the library yesterday, Greta’s runny nose peaked today and going anywhere went right out the window. No need to spread our zombie virus any further.

So, we stayed home today and drove each other crazy instead. Seriously, indoor activities lose their luster pretty quickly when it’s hot as hell outside and both of your noses are draining all day long. Urgh…talk about a germ factory. I’m surprised Mrs. Yeti hasn’t taken to sleeping on the couch!

Thankfully, my most taxxing plans this weekend involve plopping a giant slab of corned beef into a crockpot full of boiling water. And lemme tell ya, Sunday can’t come soon enough.

God bless ye, St. Patrick!