Even though we are heading into winter in the United States, you really need to think about sunscreen.  My husband would not listen to me yesterday when I told him to put on sunscreen before the Chicago Bears football game, and guess what?  He came home with a sunburn.  Once there is snow on the ground, it is even easier to get a sunburn even in the middle of winter. You always need to wear sunscreen no matter what the season is.

Now, my husband has a lotion issue.  He cannot stand touch lotion, having it on his skin, or applying it to our children.  No, he is not trying to get out of sunlotioning our children — it just really grosses him out.  That is why when I came across Kinesys I knew we had to try it.  What I found is that this is a winner in our house.  The microspray formula is super easy to apply.  You just spray it on your arm (or whatever body part you are applying it to), and that’s it!  You don’t have to rub it in at all.  However, it was easier for us to apply to our kids faces (since my kids are little) by spraying it on our hands first and then applying it.  It is super awesome for applying to their scalps, because it didn’t make their hair greasy (and I personally think that is the worst sunburn ever, because until that sunburn goes away, it hurt to even comb your hair).  It is free of four important things - oil, alcohol, preservatives, and PABA.  This won’t irritate your skin — even if you have sensitive skin.  It also is water and sweat resistant which is great for kids too!  It is also non-comedogenic (meaning it won’t clog your pores, so you don’t have to worry about acne breakouts).  It also gives you broad spectrum protection against both UVA and UVB rays.

I found that my kids could handle the few seconds it took to apply this.  There was no fighting, because it was so easy to apply.  It was on before they ever even knew it, and it recently won the Parent Tested, Parent Approved Award.  It was also chosen as the #1 spray sunscreen for high efficacy and low hazard ingredients by the watchdog group Environmental Working Group.  The bottles also come in awesome bright colors that make it much easier to find in your house and the kids love.  Make sure you check out Kinesys for your sunscreen needs!

Image via Wikipedia

This was my favorite newspaper.  I think we have been subscribing to it since we have moved here.  However, about a week ago, they changed their format.  Now, I have went through several format changes with them already.  However, this one, I cannot stand.  I cannot stand it to the point that I will be leaving them and getting a subscription to another area newspaper.  (The advantage of living in Chicago is that we have quite a few to pick from).

This  makes me sad.  However, the changes that have been made this time around I just cannot stand.  The majority of their articles completely blend with the ads for things like fat burners and real estate.  As a blogger, we got a lot of slack for not disclosing what is paid and what isn’t.  However, it doesn’t look the print media has to have the same standard.  The majority of the articles have huge pictures and less content.  I know it is not just my eyes playing tricks on me either.  It actually takes me quite a bit less time to read the paper everyday.  A lot of the articles also look like blog posts with the amount of stuff on the page.  If I wanted to look at something that looked like a blog, I would read my news online.  I personally love having a print paper in my hand.  I like the style and how informative a paper is.  If I want a synopsis, I go to the internet.  If I want to read full articles, I look for my local paper.

As soon as I find my credit card, I will be canceling my Chicago Tribune subscription and signing up for the Chicago Sun Times.  Hopefully, their paper will be less tabloidy and more news.