I had one very bad burn on my back as an 8-year-old and another serious burn on my back as an adult. Both times it was due to not applying sunscreen. I am a fanatic about sunscreen.

I have used different brands over the years. Here’s my take on sunscreen/sun exposure:

• I never used sunscreen on a baby less than 6 months. I limited sun exposure until the baby was over 6 months of age.
• Coppertone Baby is excellent for babies up to late elementary school age. Comes in the pink bottle. It is a thick liquid.
• For active kids, Banana Boat or Coppertone Active is excellent. It is thick, plus resistant to sweat. I reapply after swimming for a long period.
• When my kids were about 8, I started letting them sunscreen their arms and legs. I would do their backs and chest.
• With my tween and teen, I trust them to apply sunscreen.
• Each of the kids carries a sunscreen in their pool bag in case they go to the pool with a friend.
• The kids wore rashguard shirts on the beach and at the pool until around age 10.
• If you need sunscreen due to fair skin AND you are going to the beach, apply sunscreen before you go on the beach. Applying sunscreen to already sandy legs can result in uneven sunscreen coverage.
• Avoid spray sunscreens! The spray will not cover all areas. I find myself applying twice as much spray to be sure.
• Only use cream sunscreens. I like to see the cream on the children’s skin to know that I have covered each body part.
• We have a house rule that if a child refuses to use sunscreen the child does not go outside. No exceptions.
• The worst time of year for sunburn is April/May and September/October. At these times of the year, the sun can be bright but I don’t think about using sunscreen. Invariably one of the kid ends up with raccoon eyes.

I’ll be keeping this list of tips in mind as I prepare to travel to Ocean City with my family. The beach is a hit with my husband and kids. Not so much me, with my fair skin and ability to burn when near the sun.

He’s doing laundry. Cooking. Getting it done. And, he’s the designated driver of the carpool to camp, no less!

I am hooked to the computer working. I should be outside in nature…my husband found the above baby deer one morning this summer. It seems as though there are not enough hours in the day right now to get it done. To get everything done. To get anything done. At this point I would settle for crossing a few items of my to do list each day. Many days I sit and move from one project to the next with nothing to show for myself.

Today I tackled a mini crisis that I should have tackled a month ago. I’m just letting everything pile up.

Winners need to be chosen. Packages need to be shipped. Products have to be reviewed. Posts need to be written. And BlogHer!

BlogHer is two weeks from today. Yikes! I need to get my regular work done so that I can go to BlogHer to enjoy the fun and festivities.

Anyone else totally stressed right now??

Of all the years to pick for a school portrait, 13 is a tough one. I wore no makeup. I wore a school uniform. I wore wire framed glasses. My hair? Not stylish.

Thankfully my parents had the foresight to have a professional portrait done when I was about 15.

The photo session took place at a local studio. I had been to the studio as a young child, but did not remember it well. The photographer sensing my apprehension immediately put me at ease. Throughout the session he gave me advice on how to pose. He took many shots to get the perfect one. The portrait hangs at my parent’s house today.

When children are young, taking photos is relatively easy. Most children will smile naturally when asked to by the photographer. Once the tween/teen years hit, many children become self-conscious about having their photos taken. A good photographer can put your child at ease. Mary Gardella is that photographer…the one who can take the photo that will be the one you treasure.

Mary Gardella is the creative force behind Love Life Images, a portrait studio located in historic Savage Mill, MD. Love Life Images is offering a photo session for the tween or teen in your life – “fun and stylized portrait sessions that will bring out the real you.” Mary will put your tween/teen at ease so that you will have a lasting memory of those tumultuous, challenging, but oh so rewarding years when your tween/teen give glimpses of the adult to come.

Here’s what Mary Gardella will offer you…

• a fun portrait session for tweens and teens
• stylized portrait sessions that are all about your tween or teen
• all sessions will take place august 18 & 20 all day
• your tween/teen will be photographed in and around the historic Savage Mill, MD, where Love Life Images studio is located

The cost for the tween and teen session is $175 per child. Each session will last 45 minute and include one outfit change and 50 rep cards. Rep cards are 2″ x 3.5″ cards with cool information on them. Think of the rep card as the coolest baseball card ever!

For more information on scheduling a tween/teen session, contact info@lovelifeimages.com. For examples of Mary Gardella’s work, visit Love Life Images.

Although I seem to spend more time reading a screen than I do a book, reading for me is a given. How would I function if I could not read?

In our family, reading happens everywhere…except the bathroom. I am not a book-in-the-bathroom person. Ewww. We have bookcases in every room except the bathroom.

It’s summer so the kids have days when they are voracious readers and days when they are not. My summer reading tips are as follows:

• Buy books. Yes, I know books are expensive, but kids love to reread old classics or new stories. Invest in books.
• Get each child a library card. Make sure you and your husband have library cards. Carry your library card in your purse or wallet.
• Visit the library regularly for storytimes or summer reading programs.
• Join summer reading programs at the library or bookstores.
• Shop consignment stores for books. I picked up 12 of the 13 Lemony Snicket books for about $10. I found The Complete Wreck (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-13) on amazon for $94.50!
• Shop Goodwill for books.
• Go through your book collection at home. Pull out books that are too young for your child. Move books that are too young to a younger child’s bedroom.
• Buy each child a bookcase or shelf for their bedroom.
• Create screen-free areas in your house. Our living room does not a TV. There is a CD player if kids want to listen to books on CD. Our girls have laptops, but each child has reading time where the screens are turned off.
• Read the newspaper, read a book, read a menu, read the phone book — read anything while your little kids are in the room.
• For long car trips or lengthy visits to the doctor, have kids pack a book or a puzzle book to do while they wait.

Are you a blogger with kids? Check out this fabulous I Can Read contest over at Twittermoms!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms blogging program to be eligible to get an “I Can Read!” book. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Now, I am exaggerating a little. I am not yelling at kids while they are sleeping. I don’t yell at kids while they are at swim practice. I leave that to the coaches. :-p But, when we are home or in the car…

At home, the kids are starting to get on each other’s nerves. I cleaned out the basement playroom with the help of my minions. The playroom is ready for occupants. I only have one slight problem none of the children want to step foot in the playroom. All three would prefer to do any of the following activities:

• run through the house
• run through any area where anyone is tryi8ng to do something quietly…read a book, work on the computer, nap
• run through the house shooting Nerf guns
• run through the house scattering Googly Bands
• run through the dining room office while I am on a call
• run through the bedroom office while my husband is on a call
• argue loudly over why someone should trade their Cowboy Googly Band for a Pirate one when anyone is on a call
• make an impassioned plea to be allowed to stay up late because it is Tuesday and the summer…Go to bed, kid.
• continue making pleas about the injustices of bedtime to a parent or two who just simply need the kids to go to bed
• and the piece de resistance…kids arguing with each other over which is the most preferable chair in the kitchen. I. Give. Up.

Ay Caramba! I do not know how my mother managed to survive the summer with my sister and I at home. We never went to camps or attended classes. It was three months of very little planned. The weekly or twice weekly trip to the pool at the garden apartment complex near our house. The occasional friend over to play. The weekend trips to Cheasequake Park in NJ.

How did my mother manage my sister and I over the long, hot summers? Some of the summers we returned to England to stay with my grandmother. Four words — Small House. Loud Kids.

How did our mothers deal with us? Most summers I played at home, played at the pool, and that was it. Was my mother yelling at us all the time? Did she feel as relieved as I do when the kids are in bed for the night? Note: My husband does most of the bedtimes, but I get a vicarious thrill when he comes downstairs after everyone is in bed…not asleep but in bed.

My kids have activities and things they need to do, but there is no end to the bickering. Did I spend the summer arguing? I have no recollection. I do recall spending many hours digging a hole in the dirt with neighbors. I also rode my bike. Played at a playground until all hours.

Maybe that’s it. Our mothers weren’t bothered by kids arguing because we were outside playing all day and night. Now, if only neighbors would move in who had kids…

Our house had Spring Fever badly this year. The kids were out of school for 11 days in February due to record snowfall. The winter quarter passed by in the flash. By the time spring rolled around, we heard that the school year would be extended. I know I was crushed. My kids were already super antsy about summer coming and now the school year would be in full swing until June 23!

Enter Googly Bands… Googly Bands saved the day in the Musings from Me household. My 11- and 7-year-olds needed a “carrot” as an incentive to do their homework with a minimum of complaints. The nights were getting lighter, but the homework load was not letting up. I used Googly Bands to encourage them to do their homework and do assigned chores. It worked…I mean Googly Bands worked!

Homework rewards. Chore incentives. Good deed prizes. Googly Bands are the perfect reward for the elementary and middle school student, ev even preschooler and teen, too. I have seen a few adults wearing Googly Bands!

Googly Bands are stretchable, wearable, collectible, and trade-able bands. If you see a group of tweens and kids, and even teens, chances are you will see one of the kids wearing a Googly Band!

New at Googly bands — Series V bands features the shapes of Classic Toys, Pirates, Dogs, Rescue, Shoes, and Florida.

Series IV bands…Hollywood, Pets, Body Parts, Text Messages, Soccer, and Wonders of the World.

Series III…Fruits, Cowboy, USA, Reptiles, Sports, and Tools.

Check out Googly Bands for many more cool bands!

Late-breaking news from Googly Bands!

Googly Bands are retiring all Series 2 bands. I would like to invite you and to join me at the Official Retirement Party this Thursday, July 15, at 2 p.m. PST. Party is tomorrow! Rules will be posted at 2pm at Facebook.com/googlybands. Googly bands will give out tons of prizes live at the hour-long party. Hope to see you there! Bring your kids to the twitter party!!

Dinnertime is a precious commodity in our house. With kids heading to activities, Dad arriving home late from work, and Mom scrambling to check e-mail and write, dinner time can be rushed. Barilla launched a site called Share the Table to help families make the most of mealtime.

Share the Table encourages togetherness. In the hustle and bustle of family life…especially with a kid, a preteen, and a teen…family time can be fleeting. With summer in full swing we are eating more meals together…even lunch.

I love pasta. I tried to make pasta meals that the kids will eat. I like to  add a little something different each time I make a pasta dish. Some meals are a hit, and some well… I try!

One of the recipes I tried involved Barilla Piccolini or Mini Wheels pasta. Cute and tasty. Small bite-sized pieces of yummy goodness. I added tomatoes, too.

The Barilla share the table site is chockfull of recipes, tips for bringing the family to the table, and Barilla’s Pasta Friday Sweepstakes. By sharing your family’s meal experience you could win a Barilla meal.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Barilla and received products necessary to facilitate my candid review.

Some hits and some misses:

Hits

• Apples to Apples Junior — easy enough for 7-year-old, but still fun for the 14-year-old. She prefers the older version of Apples to Apples. Her brother finds the older version frustrating as the words are a little too challenging.
• Candyland — short and sweet. We’ve had a few squirmishes over the Queen Frostine card over the years. I made the mistake of letting my daugther find the Queen Frostine card one too many times. She wasn’t happy when someone else got the card.
• Elefun — great game for the 5 and unders.
• Monopoly Junior Edition — short and sweet. Easy-to-follow rules.
• Bananagrams — A free form Scrabble. Play as a group or divide letters to play individually
• Twister. Love this game. I wish I was a tad bit more limber. I usually can do two feet and 1 hand, but collapse after I have to move to another color. Kids think it is hilarious!

Misses

• Mousetrap. Kids love it, but in all the years we have played the mousetrap has NEVER worked correctly. My kids at 5 would get so frustrated when the “ball down the shoot” did not work.
• Monopoly — I just don’t care about buying houses, properties, at all.
• Any game based on a TV show is a huge miss. The games are overly complicated. Kids argue over who gets to be Gabriella and Troy.
• Hasbro Operation — Have you ever been able to get the rubberband on the appendix?? Again a very frustrating game for adults, let alone kids!

What are your faves? Duds?

What is the Jensen Project? I’m not sure. I know it has something to do with Family Movie Night. I can totally stand behind any force to get families together…eating dinner together, family game night, etc. The writeup sounds as though it is right up my alley.

Here’s what I know…

The Jensen Project is on July 16 at 8/7c. To follow the conversation plus follow tweets about the show use hashtag #jensenproject.

About the Film
The world is hanging by a string. Can this family pull it together?

After a 16-year absence, Claire and Matt Thompson are reintroduced to The Jensen Project — a secret community of geniuses conducting advanced underground research to solve the world’s most difficult problems. The former scientists, accompanied by their tech-minded teenage son Brody, are thrust into a frantic pursuit to keep a potentially dangerous technology from falling into the wrong hands. As the family races against the clock to stop the group’s rogue faction, they discover an important truth. In this high-pressure, high-tech world, sometimes the smartest thing we can do is lean on each other.

My son’s motto is “Have Nerf. Be ready.”

In the spring my son began his birthday talk. My children like to talk about their birthday from the moment the last birthday ends. Oh and you know how much I lurve hearing about birthday plans for an entire year. Not.

My son was fixated on a Nerf birthday. Was there such a concept? How would I go about a Nerf party? I consulted my offline network of friends. I have a large-ish network in western Howard County. One friend suggested checking out Airmania.

Hmmm. I had heard of Airmania. But, did they have the Nerf Dart Tag? An internet search, phone call with a quick date check and we were set!

Nerf gun dart wars while jumping on inflatables is awesome for the under 10 set. The above photo shows my son waiting to ambush someone at Airmania. My teen, tween, and their tween cousins had fun, too.

The kids bounced for 80 minutes with 40 minutes in the party room. I chose a weekday party due to our crazy weekend schedule. For the weekend parties, you share the facility with another birthday/party group, which breaks down to 40 minutes on one side of the bounce area with another 40 minutes on the other area.

Airmania is huge — 8-10 bouncy houses/structures plus basketball nets and hockey table. I loved that our birthday party group had the entire place to ourselves!

There was zero cleanup for me as the Airmania assistant supervised the kids while playing and sorted out the cake and juice part. The assistant orchestrated the present opening, too. We left with one tired, but happy boy!

I have one Nerf Dart Tag Capture the Flag Set for one lucky Musings from Me reader! Have your own Nerf Dart Tag battle at home or in your backyard. One comment = one entry. Leave a comment for a chance to win a Nerf Dart Tag Capture the Flag Set.

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