105 degrees, no A/C?

Deep down in the Southwestern United States lives one dead air conditioner. Ours. Apparently the strain of the Arizona summer (which is not over, no matter what Equinox just occurred) was a death sentence this year. It went out yesterday afternoon and will not be replaced (yes, it died with flare, so it needs to have some key parts replaced) until tomorrow afternoon. Today was approximatey 105 degrees outside so it was also roughly 105 degrees inside. Or at least it felt like it. I'm sure we were pushing 95 at least. How does a family with two small babes survive Phoenix in the summer with no A/C? Let me count the ways we've tried to beat the heat:

* Pretend to be pioneers. Wonder just how people survived this kind of heat for the 6-month summers back in the olden days. Understand why the Arizona population is booming now, not, say 100 years ago.
* Pull your Verbena Refreshing Towelettes out of the fridge (a gift from Christina last summer...still some left...very handy). Wipe down kids' arms, legs, armpits, necks, feet.
* Give your baby several ice cubes to eat. Laugh as she tries to bite them with her gums and then figures out how to chip off small chunks with her front teeth. (Then hope no dentists read this blog.)
* Drink approximately 10 bottles of water, with lots of ice.
* Strip kids down to diapers; pour ice water on the baby's head. brrr.
* Take cold showers.
* Snack on frozen chocolate chips. As John says, "num num!"
* Turn on every fan and hope that blowing hot air around will somehow make it cool.
* And when all else fails, leave the house! We had lunch with John and Marissa Ross while the kids played at Elise's house; we went to the library; we tried not to think about sleeping in a sauna.
* Discover ice maker is no longer working. What?!? Oh man, I can tell that our property manager is going to be excited to hear from me again after footing the bill for a new A/C motor! Then consider using old fashioned ice trays (currently used in our house for the all important game of lima and pinto bean sorting--which is VERY EXCITING around here).
* Thank God that Autumn will come...soon...we hope....

Hope your day was lovely and a bit cooler than ours!