Sunscreen

I went down some weeks ago to see my sister in New Orleans. It was sunny and warm, at least warmer; Indiana had been rather cool at that point. To celebrate this new found warmth, we broke out the shorts, t-shirts and, for !, sundresses. I had bought a fair number of sundresses for ! thinking we would be back in our home in Indonesia by the first of May. Needless to say, I had been itching to put ! in a sundress. So our first day in NOLA, ! came down in a strappy blue plaid sundress. WE were off to the zoo and I thought it the perfect thinking. My pretty little niece is 2 and has the most charming blond ringlets and ivory skin. My sister had the same fair skin but L seem to have taken it a step farther. Jennifer has long kept herself slathered in sunscreen and wearing hats and the same goes for L. No irresponsible sundresses for this little girl. But I realized Jennifer was right, a day in NOLA sun, my kids should wear sunscreen. So we all applied and put on hats. And then while inside a building we reapplied. The kids did a pretty good job at keeping their hats on during the course of the day.

When we got home, I took a wash rag to @ & ! and it was time for naps and quiet time. Later that evening, we looked over the kids. @ & ! were still their white selves. @'s nose and cheeks were a bit red but that happens anytime he's excited or hot (his grandma does it to the point of looking worrisome). Little L was bright pink all over. It reminded me of my sister as a girl. But then I remembered that Jennifer had very diligently and thoroughly covered this girl in sunscreen, maybe 3 times. Jennifer said she just can't seem to keep ahead of it. The only answer she's really found is sunscreen with long sleeves, which hardly seems fair in the pretty NOLA sun.

We talked about sunscreens. I like Neutrogena and Aveeno for my face. Jennifer has researched out sunscreens that have high percentages of zinc oxide, which seems to block the sun the best for her fair skin. Happy Housewife shops at uvskinz.com. She says they make durable spf clothes that keep the spf rating. Jennifer is thinking of taking stock for little L if it works. I bought sun hats from them for all of us. I like that the hat has a drawstring to cinch it tight to your head on windy days. I'm hoping the sun hat keeps from burnt ears and forehead, my most common burn spots.