Avoid Being Burned...Check the Date

Does sunscreen go bad?  According to Mayo Clinic most bottles have a three year shelf life.  I always thought I needed to throw mine away and start fresh each swimsuit season, what about you?  That's a sure savings if you go through sunscreen as much as my family does and then toss the leftover bottles at the end of swim season.  I buy all sorts face, stick, spray and rub-on varieties. I am not usually brand-marked either. I go for the water/sweat proof varieties and those made specifically for the face.

So, if you were wondering if your sunblock is still working for you and doesn't have an expiration date on it (and it's not soupy, gloppy, and have an unpleasant odor), go for it!

What is your favorite type of sunscreen?

Summer Has Started!

The fun is here - "no more school, no more books, no more teacher dirty looks...", is this what you used to say when school was over for the summer?  Summer has officially started at my house and we are living it up each day!  The days have been longer and the nights are shorter with the cusp of summer here.  We have a long list of all the fun things we have talked that we might want to act on this summer among relaxing and catching our breath from the schedules, practices, and activities that keep us busy the rest of the year.  We have already taken a much needed break from "life" and cruised out of town for a week as soon as school let out last month.  We are back now- and starting to enjoy all that the Summer of 2011 has in store for us here in our neighborhood and area.  With the beach a mile away, a backyard pool, lots of water play parks and fun activities all around town- libraries, schoolhouse museums, zoo, and with our friends, this will be a F*U*N summer for my boys to remember!

What are you doing this summer with your family? or perhaps for yourself? 

During spring we look to a "renewing" time of our lives, summer is a "letting go" time for me.  Not as structured, lots of fun + relaxation = SUMMER!

When I think of summers past it gets me a little sentimental.  I think of the summer days spent at the public  pool, bike rides after dinner with several families in tow down to the local ice cream shop, beach trips, unmade beds, non stop sprinklers and running through them, playing in the street with the neighborhood kids until the sun went down, sleepovers in the backyard, VBS, the smell of bug spray and sunscreen, boating, arts n crafts, cold-drinks, homemade popsicles, countless trips to the library for story time and summer reading programs, living in a bathing suit, camp, youth trips, vacations with our family, and vacations from our family....the list could go on and on...

This summer I would like to accomplish some new recipes (cool and fresh)-something about eating lighter while it is so warm out, finish unpacking, get caught up some much needed home organization, finish some craft projects and start some new ones, and most of all spend some quality time with my family and extended family that we don't have during season!

What does summer remind you of?

What are you doing?