Sunscreen season

Okay, folks, I clearly need some help with sunscreens on Sidamo's beautiful skin. Because of a seriously pervasive family history of melanoma, I'm a little obsessed with sun protection. And yes, I get that Sidamo won't be affected by my cursed genes—lucky devil. Still, sun protection is important for precious little people of all shades, so we slather it on him on just about all of Colorado's 300 days of sunshine.

What complicates this is the fact that I'm also a little obsessed with natural health, and if you've been following the sunscreen controversy, you know that there are all kinds of health concerns associated with chemical sunscreens. That leaves us using physical blocks that use zinc oxide, and that means white paste that doesn't rub in.

Not a huge deal when your skin is pasty white to begin with (see: me, Greg, Nora), but when your skin is a beautiful, chocolatey brown like this little man's, the result is a little less flattering.

So what do you advise? If you or your littles have non-albino skin, what's your sunscreen policy? How do you balance the need for sun protection with the need to not look like you're bathing in cold cream?

Tell us or we crush your head.

Nora's first shiner

And from here on out, the helmet does not come off.

View of the backyard

Now tell me this doesn't look like paradise.

Memories of warmer times

(Like 3 days ago.)

Things I'm ready to pack away

• Gloves
• Hats
• Winter coats
• Snow shovels
• Cold medicine

It's May 11. I don't think I'm asking too much.

Overheard

Sidamo, from the commode:

"A-B-C-D-E-F-poop!-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-poop!"

 

Things we say too much

Once again, the kids are happily pointing out, through their normal dialogue, the phrases we use too much. Darnit, for instance.*

Nora has gotten to that very fun stage where she journals out loud every night before she falls asleep. It's like this verbal outpouring of everything important that has happened to her that day, and more often than not, it includes phrases I didn't realize had (and I wish I hadn't) used. Things like "Never ever do that!" repeated over and over for about 15 minutes. Not sure what I was talking about, but clearly it made an impression.

Sidamo will pick up on phrases and use them completely out of context, like last night when we heard him calling Nora a "multiple times." As in, "Nora, you multiple times, put that back!" That traces back to about an hour earlier when Greg lamented having to ask Sidamo "multiple times" to start getting ready for bed. It seems 4-year-olds can turn just about any exchange into an opportunity for name-calling. And it won't be long, I'm sure, until we hear Nora chanting "multiple times!" from her crib. Multiple times.


*I think you'll all agree I deserve some kudos for at least keeping my curses PG-rated. I seem to remember Sidamo using some less kid-friendly phrases when he was Nora's age, so at least I'm learning restraint. Parenting is all about progress, right?

Nora's first joke

"Moon, moon, go away. Come again another day. Hahahaha! Joking!"