How it is without AC

The summer weather has not been too hot until the last two weeks, which I'm sure was irksome to many, but it was a blessing to us! My favourite outdoor temp is 25 degrees, and there have been plenty of days like that. We've made it through a few hot spells now, and they've been manageable. We still keep the windows open at night, when it drops down to 18 or 19 degrees (C) at most, and the blinds and windows closed during the day. Hubby and I have re-negotiated our maximum temperature allowance, so if it hits 85 degrees (F) in the house, we'll turn on the AC just long enough to get the temp down to a more manageable 80.

As a point of comparison, I looked at our bills from one year ago and one month ago. The savings weren't huge (81.67$ last year to 68.68$ this year- 12.99$ that is better off in my pocket than the company's), but I think our next bill should be the kicker. Last August (for the billing period of July, when I was wrapping up my pregnancy), our hydro bill was an incredible 187.60$. We're on track to have a bill at least 100$ less than that this month. I do appreciate the weekly updates our hydro company sends.

On Saturday, we brought out G's birthday present of a kiddie pool early, and the girls had a great time splashing around in it. We're still trying to spend a lot of time outside, at parks and splash pads and the front and back yards. In the house, the basement continues to be an excellent, cool refuge, and I avoid the top floor as much as possible until the end of the day.

Some unexpected drawbacks to higher temperatures in the house: the air gets a stale feeling and an indescribable smell, there are a lot more bugs and flies indoors (due to gaps and holes in screen doors), and our tempers flare much more quickly. The girls have been sleeping fine, wearing regular pyjamas and pulling their blankets as tightly around them as ever, but G has been waking up more often. It could be that he's teething, but it could also be that the heat is getting to him. Tonight I think we'll try setting up his pack and play in the basement and sleeping down there ourselves.