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!

I love getting products to try out on my husband.  Bethesda Sunscreen Soap is one of those products that I got to do the husband test on.  My husband is very, very, very sensitive to fragrance.  He is sensitive to the point he actually holds his breath through the perfume department at stores otherwise he can’t breathe.  I can’t even have perfume in the house.  He is also very sensitive to soaps and lotions with fragrences.  That is why I had him try this out.  It has a light scent.  However, he could use it and still be able to breathe.  He like it because even though it was scented it didn’t have a “girly” smell to it.  I liked it, because it made him smell nice.  I also like it, because there is sunscreen with an spf of 10 in it.  In the summer, we all tend to remember to use sunscreen.  However, we often forget in the fall and the winter that it is just as important to wear it then too.  I like that you can give yourself a layer of protection doing something you do everyday anyway.  It also is all-natural, non-oily, and hypo-allergenic. This is great for people like me who have sensitivities to soaps. It is nice to be able to use a product and not have to worry about breaking out in hives. This soap also promotes healthy skin — it has over 50 minerals and vitamins in it. You will find your skin more soft and less dry after using this.

If you want to protect your skin without thinking about it, try out Bethesda Sunscreen Soap.

Teddy Bear’s Fun to Learn First 1000 Words is book that is great for all little ones. My 4 year old enjoys it just as much as my 1 year old. Granted, you won’t find las vegas hotels in here. However, there is pretty much everything else. Each page in the book has a theme (like the beach). It lists the theme and a ton of items to go with it (for example, the beach pages show things like sunscreen, water wings, sailboat, beachball, etc). There is also a picture in the center of the page with all the miscellaneous items.  There is also a short poem asking you questions about the theme.  Will (my one year old) just likes to look at everything and go “ohhhh”.  Madison (my 4 year old) enjoys looking at the pictures and telling us what each thing is.  She likes to answer the questions for us too.  My only complaint is that the pages are paper which are a little to easy for Will to rip.

This book is great because your little ones can use it as they grow older.  I would definitely purchase it a birthday, baby shower, and/or Christmas gift.  The little ones who you are getting for will get a lot of use out of it!

Now that we are heading into summer, I have been on the lookout for sunscreen for me and kids (more so me though — I have some spf50 for them already).  It is really hard to find a facial product that isn’t greasy and slimy.  I find that the more greasy that a sunscreen feels, the more it makes my face break out.  Trust me, I do not need any more help in my breakouts — I do fine enough on my own on that one.  When I saw that Screen Inc. had some dermatologist approved facial sunscreen, I knew that I had to try it.

The first kind I looked at is chicscreen.  Now, this is spf 16+, and you should be reapplying every two hours to keep the protection strong.  The nice thing is that you can apply this under your makeup.  I had to giggle a bit when I read the warnings on this.  The two things I found humorous was the warning that I was a smart gal so I shouldn’t eat it and that no boys are allowed to use it since this product is was designated for the feminine crowd.  This was not tested on animals.

Secondly, there was the manscreen.  I loved this stuff.  This also is spf 16+ and should be reapplied every 2 hours.  Directions for use:  shower, shave, screen.  No man can screw that up.  Bill liked that it didn’t smell fruity.  For some reason, he doesn’t want to smell like a dozen of roses when he walks out the door.  The warnings on here also made me smile:  apply only to you dapper face, for manly men only — no youngsters, and use your noodle — don’t swallow this stuff.

Next, there is the teenscreen.  Same as above — spf 16+ and make syre you keep applying it for protection.  To quote the directions, just like deodorant, use Teen Screen daily.  The warning I liked the best is “as much as you love avocado and green tea, don’t swallow this product”.

Lastly, there is the tweenyscreen.  This one has a tropical fruit scent (you know, the one Bill didn’t want to smell like when using sunscreen which makes me want to use it all the more!).  It is spf 16+ and needs to be reapplies after 2 hours like the rest.

This sunscreen is already in complience with the upcoming standards on testing and packaging from the FDA.  They also have received the Seal Of Recommendation from the Skin Cancer Foundation.  Personally, I liked the sunscreen so much that I am extremely excited to see that they are going to be coming up with a spf30 lipscreen and a spf 35 extreme sunscreen.  I am also able to extend a special discount to all of you.  If you enter BLOGGER10 with your order, you will save 10%!  This is a sunscreen you should try out this summer and you’ll never go back!

A Day at the Beach is another book that works great for toddlers and babies. The pages are made out of thick cardboard, so you do not need to worry about tearing or then being eaten.  Dora also is usually a hit with the younger crowd, and this book is no exception.  The pictures are good enough that your kids can figure out what the words say without being able to read.  The plot of the story is obviously Boots, Dora, and backpack spending the day at the beach.  One of things that I love is that in the first couple of pages they apply sunscreen.  That is great attention to details.  The book is about ten pages long, so it is the right length for little ones.  If you need a great filler gift for a present or just need some more kid friendly books, then this is you choice.