Staying Cool Or At Least Trying To

Yesterday was the second day in a row when our temperatures here in Montreal and southwestern Quebec were over 30 degrees Celsius. What that means is that we were in the mid to upper 90's and with the humidity and UV index it has been unbearable out. Not to mention, I have been having some bad hair days thanks to all this humidity. I would never have guessed it would get so hot and humid here, after all it is Canada and when I think of Canada I think of snow! Not that I am complaining since I love summer and the heat (and before I know it we will be wearing sweaters again and having the dreaded "S" word in our forecast. For those of you interested you can click here to check out our weather forecast. http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/qc-147_metric_e.html

Since we have been having such warm weather we are in the midst of a heat wave. Canada considers a heat wave to be three straight days of temperatures averaging more than 33C (or 91.4 F) during the day and not dropping below 20C (68 F) at night. Environment Canada has issued heat and humidity warnings for the Montreal region, where the UV index was estimated at 11 on Tuesday. I had no idea that UV index went that high, I thought it stopped at 10! Environment Canada has stated that such an extreme sunburn-danger reading is "very rare in Canada" and more typical of the tropics or southern United States. (To read more on about our weather please go to: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/07/06/quebec-heat-wave.html#ixzz0sznr58ld) So in an effort to keep cool, we have been spending a lot of time at the pool and then when we have had enough of that we have been hanging out inside. Arabella and I ventured out to the patio last night around 7:30 to check on the garden and flowers and it was still unbearable, it was in the upper 80's, so we only managed to stay a few minutes. On Monday we spent 2 1/2 hours at the club where Arabella had her swim class and then played in the baby pool. She just loves to be in the water. It is nice because we can actually walk to the pool and as soon as she has enough we just hop in the stroller and walk home. And usually by the time we get to the house, she is almost asleep in the stroller. One good thing about the heat and spending so much time in the pool is that she has been taking great naps and sleeping in a little more in the morning! And yesterday, we spent the afternoon at the pool with some friends from Wee Wiggles in Hudson . It was nice to be around other moms and kids that we know and to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the club. Arabella and her new friend Allyson are so cute together, they are both obsessed with their didgy's (Arabella's nickname for her pacifier) and their Teddy Bears. I wish I hand my camera yesterday to capture some pictures since they looked just like two peas in a pod, it was way to adorable! This morning we will head back to the pool for swim lessons and to try and beat the heat! Have a great day and stay cool!