favorite sunscreens

Have you seen the articles lately about which sunscreens are good and which are not so good?

It's tough to navigate this saturated market and to know which is the right one for those soft-skinned little ones. Penelope has already spent a lot of time in the sun so far this spring and summer and I make sure to always keep her as covered as I can (without making the poor child suffer) and fully coated in sunscreen (sun protection is a topic I take seriously). Most of the time (not like the photo above), I keep her in long sleeve rash guards...but sometimes it's fun to also let her just be in a regular bathing suit, especially in the late afternoon/low sun hours.

For our upcoming trip to Aruba, I purchased some of the babyganics sunscreen products and I'm excited to try them out. In the past, we also had good experiences with Banana Boat Baby and Coppertone Waterbabies, but I wanted to move to something organic.

I picked up two tubes of sunscreen cream and two bottles of spray. We like spray for the top of her head, those hairlines are so dang white that looking at them in the direct sunlight makes me cringe. I've tried to get her to wear a hat but that is usually hit or miss. When P was an infant I really loved the babyganics products because it was all gentle but effective. I used the laundry detergent, stain remover, insect repellent, hand sanitizer and dish soap.

For myself, I used to love Neutrogena but now I'm not so sure after this article blasts it as being the absolute worst. Last year, we used No-Ad and one giant bottle more than got us through a week in the Caribbean, and so that's what we will be going with this year too.

What are your favorite sunscreens for your kids and for you?

psst...this is not a sponsored post, I just really love the babyganics brand and wanted to start the discussion on favorite sunscreens!

toddler camping essentials

1. canopy camping chair 2. glow bracelets 3. bubble hurricane 4. mysuperfoods blueberry vanilla heroes 5. led hand-powered flashlight 6. inflatable toddler bed 7. water bottle

This past weekend we went camping!

I'd like to call it glamping but we slept in a tent so I'm not sure that really counts as glamping. Tent and all, we had a great weekend camping at my aunt and uncle's summer/winter home in Pennsylvania. They host an annual campout for family and friends each June and it's always a wonderful time with my cousins. I love getting extended time with people - not just a dinner or a holiday. We had a whole weekend and I'll plan to do a full recap soon but I wanted to talk specifically about camping with a toddler in tow. I put together a few of the items we brought on our camping trip to keep Penelope comfy and happy.

When I saw this inflatable mattress on Daily Garnish, I bookmarked the post so that I could order the same one for all of our summer travels. I absolutely loved this item! It fits a standard crib sheet, was really nice quality and Penelope was excited to sleep on it once it was set up with her own blanket, pillow and dollies from home (another tip: bring your child's own blankets and pillows! It's nice for them to have some familiar items in their new 'bed'). It also has little arms on the sides to keep your tot from falling off (and if she does, it's only about 6 inches from the floor).

I made sure to bring lots of activities for her, but especially the bubble hurricane (our favorite item this summer) and some evening goodies to make the trip seem extra special. I brought her a small flashlight (not the exact one here but this one is on my list to pick up!) and glow stick bracelets. These were a huge hit! It was fun to crack them to light and P had a blast putting them together and watching them glow in the evening dusky hours (not going to lie, the adults also enjoyed these!).

Special snacks are also a great addition, and really one of the best parts of camping in my opinion. My mom brought these awesomely wholesome organic cookies for Penelope to enjoy, and I had plenty of cheese, crackers, fruit and other goodies for her. Oh and also a solid water bottle is clutch for keeping those kiddos hydrated.

So that's just a few of the items that we loved on our recent camping trip.

Do you camp?

Have you ever camped with your kids? If so, what are some of your favorite items to bring along?

Why summer with a toddler is awesome

 

Last week I read an article about how terrible summer is with a toddler.

I love Scary Mommy and I can totally relate to many of their articles...I get the humor, I'm a mom and I'm right there seeing the ridiculousness of it all with the best of them. But, this article really got under my skin. Yes, having a toddler - or child of any age - is tough. It's more work than one can imagine, there's no off or pause button. It's exhausting and yes, sometimes I do wonder why I bother leaving the house with my daughter when it would have been easier to just stay home.

But.

Having a toddler - or a child of any age - is also pretty awesome. I couldn't wait for summer to arrive so that I could do all sorts of fun activities with Penelope and see her experience wonderful things in life for the first time.

Let me just tell you that the joy I felt watching her eat an Italian ice on a warm summer night for the first time was not a normal amount of joy for one grown person to experience. That simple act of enjoying one of the most delicious parts of summer...well seeing Penelope have that felt like one of the best nights ever.

And so today instead of complaining about how life has changed now that we have a toddler (believe me, I miss summer happy hours too), I'm going to talk about why this summer is going to be effing awesome with my two year old.

Swimming. I was wasn't sure how P would be around water this summer. Last year, she was still so small. Would she be too afraid or too comfortable? Well it looks like we have an abundance of comfort over here. This kid is already swimming with her float on and pointing to the diving board. Swimming with P is my new favorite summer activity, hands down.

 

Bike riding. This kid loves her bike and my heart just about bursts every time she climbs on, helmet and all, ready to put that pedal to the metal.

Bubbles. Another summer activity that she is obsessed with. I wish I felt joy for anything as much as she feels for bubbles. Oh wait...I think it's in the form of watching her with bubbles. We love this bubble hurricane that spins out bubbles on the double; win for Penelope with thousands of bubbles and win for Mom & Dad that we don't have to lift a finger.

 

Impromptu summer treats. As a kid, I remember that there was nothing that felt more special than when we went for ice cream. My mom and I brought her to Rita's last weekend for some Italian ice and let's just say her 'orange' (aka mango) ice with vanilla custard was the hit of the century.

Smell of sunscreen and sweat with tired, red eyes. A day in the sun equals sunscreen all over, causing oily skin and greasy hair and the most divine summer smell. Combined with those sleepy, sunny red eyes, there is nothing more precious.

The boardwalk. We haven't done this yet but it's definitely on the list for this summer...we are from Jersey, after all. Boardwalk funnel cake, bright lights and little kiddo rides. I can't think of anything more fun.

Vacations. True, vacations are now a lot of work with a child, there's no doubt about it. And as my boss and mentor told me...when traveling with children, it's not a vacation, it's a trip. I couldn't agree more, but it makes me happy that we are able to go on a few getaways throughout the year so that P is used to traveling. I can't wait for our annual family campout this coming weekend (we can't wait for her to try s'mores!), our July trip to Aruba, and our Delaware beach getaway.

 

Outdoor evening time. It's not easy to forget how great summer happy hours can be, but I've found just as much joy in just enjoying snacks (and a glass of rose) on our terrace in the early evening hours with some 90s rock on the jambox and a full water table for P. For me, that's a pretty awesome night.

I could probably go on and on. I have grand plans to get to the zoo, splash parks, Field Station Dinosaurs, the NJ Balloon Festival and so many more. I know that while each of these activities will be a little work for Mom & Dad, I can't wait to see my daughter experience all of them!

What are your plans with your kiddos this summer?