I'm renting a house and have had problems with the ac unit.. everyday it freezes up a couple times a day . It will blow cold air but you can only feel it if your hand is right on the vents. It never gets cooler than 78 and usually stays about 84.. what can I do before calling for help

Changing your filters is the first place to check. You should change them every 3 months, if you have hairy animals you should change every month.

Since you are renting, the issue should be addressed to the landlord.

No animals inside at all... and are landlord is a big joke

Need ideas on what it might be I got toddlers in the home and its getting hotter out

Your landlord needs to have it checked out... there are a number of things it might be, most of them are things you couldn't deal with beyond checking the filters.

Incidentally... while it might be uncomfortable for a couple days before they fix it, its not going to be dangerous... open some windows and get a fan to move some air... many of us grew up before A/C was common in houses and it didn't hurt any of us, or nobody else we knew either (I for one never lived in a place with it until 1981 after I graduated college).. Call your landlord and leave a message and follow up with them tomorrow.

Your unit needs cleaning. You will have to clean the coils inside with coil cleaner and a water hose. It is a long nasty job. You will also have to clean the blower wheel. Nothing else will work and until it's clean it will freeze up from lack of air flow. Clean the outside coils, too, and oil both motors. You will need a blower wheel puller to pull off blower wheel. Do not get water in motor or on top of capacitor. I do three or four of these a day. It's my specialty because no one wants to do this type of work.