For years, I've been the mom that didn't think. Sometimes I would forget to add sunscreen to our daily routine.  More often at the pool or beach, I would spray sunscreen very liberally, and not even think about all the chemicals I was spraying on my children. This year, I'm going to do a better job.




Good Housekeeping just released the best sunscreens to purchase  in 2015 that will provide you sunblock protection without harmful chemicals. I'm going to try to pick one from this list this year.




Good sunscreens can be costly. Average cost can be $18 and up for a small bottle. But, it's worth the expense and I so wish I had thought about chemicals and pollutants much earlier. But, I'm a child of the '70s. What sunscreen? And when sunscreen came on the market, we just bought it. We didn't think about what was in it.



Certain natural vegetable oils and essential oils have also been found to provide some protection against the sun. If you are whiz at whipping up things, you may want to consider a DIY Natural Sunscreen Blend like this recipe I found  on the Organic Authority.  For instance, Carrot Seed Essential Oil has many benefits for the the body and skin. It is also known to have a SPF of around 30, according to many articles and research.




The truth is that Carrot Seed oil doesn't smell wonderful so it is recommended to mix it with a fragrant oil like Lavender, Cedarwood, or Geranium, all of which are essential oils safe for sunlight exposure, and are widely used in Young Living Kid's Product Line of lotion, shampoo, and conditioner.

It's also important to note that many essential oils are not safe for the sun and can cause issues. So choose your products wisely. Avoid these before going into the sun.




Of course, if you are like me, you are going to miss places on your child's body for sunscreen. It happens every time we are at the beach or anytime I apply sunscreen.  For those times, cool your child's skin with LavaDerm Cooling Mist. This will be with me on my trips to the beach this year.





This cooling mist contains Lavender essential oil and aloe to soothe and rejuvenate burned or stressed skin. It retails for $18.09, and is $13.75 for the member/wholesale price. Read more about retail vs. member prices on EnjoyLifeOils.com.

Why is sun protection on my mind right now? Well, my son came home on Friday with a very red neck because his school had a fundraiser outside for a few hours. Yes, he left the house without one drop of sunscreen on him. Plus, this blog is about to get beach ready. My next travel post will take you to North Carolina's Crystal Coast.


Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links




Supporting:

For the past few months, I've enjoyed following The makers of Children’s MOTRIN^®Facebook page. It has been extremely helpful learning different tips from other women who face the same challenges as I do as a mom.

Jack is almost 9 and Liza is 5.

These real-life moms have offered great advice on how to stretch holiday dollars to how to keep the romance alive on a date night. For my final writing assignment for this campaign, I was given the task to share with you how I stayed unstoppable this year. The funny thing is that I don't really have a great answer for this question. I think I spend most of my days flying by the seat of my pants in this parenting world, and somehow it just all works out. Dinner eventually gets on the table, and the kids get in bed later than I hoped on most nights. The good news is that my kids are safe and secure at the end of the day, and I did my job as a parent. Some days I do this job better than other days. How I get to the end of the day just happens. I don't have a magic answer of how it becomes successful. Every day is different, some more challenging than others, but I get through it because that is my responsibility as a mom. When I look at other moms that I know, and see all that they are doing, I believe they are the ones who are actually unstoppable. They deserve the praise in this year-end post for what they are doing. Not me.

Print available here.

Let's take Mary-Kathryn, for example. She's a mom of four kids under 9. She works out of her home and makes her own work schedule, like me. She works tirelessly to teach her kids the importance of making a difference in the lives of others. Each year, her kids host a hot chocolate stand in front of their Raleigh home. It started several years ago so that her kids would know that Christmas is not just about shopping and toys. The holidays are such a busy time of year, and yet Mary Kathryn becomes unstoppable through the craziness of it all, and directs this fantastic, community fundraiser. This year, the kid's hot chocolate proceeds from the Dec. 6 stand will go to Train a Dog Save a Warrior.




Yesterday, I sat across from Julie at a PTA board meeting. Julie runs a household of three kids, and yet, despite how busy she is daily, she has taken on the volunteer role as PTA president at our elementary school.  This volunteer position mimics a full-time job. It really does. She is working to build a school community that thrives. In my opinion, she's an unstoppable hero for our education system.



Then there is Melissa. She's a busy mom of two girls. She, too, has taken an active volunteer role as a PTA Vice-President, but she also finds the time to promote Lung Cancer Awareness throughout the year, which is an important cause for her.  During the holidays, she also coordinates a Holiday Magic tree at the elementary school our children attend. I saw her standing outside the school this morning collecting coats for the needy. She's unstoppable as she works to make the holidays brighter and healthier for many.

And finally, there is Ilina. She not only manages to cook a farm-to-table dinner for her two boys nightly, but she works diligently to make sure no other child goes hungry or is abused. She's active on the board of Safe Child, and she is one of the best child advocates that I personally know.

Shared on Ilina's FB page via B.Conway-Zaleski (not sure if she is original source who created this great list.)

When it comes to helping other children, she's unstoppable.

As we celebrate the holiday season this year, I tip my hat to these personal moms in my hometown of Raleigh, N.C. The drive, passion, and unstoppable attitudes of moms like these women make our world a better place.



I'll be joining other moms for an unstoppable twitter chat at 1 pm EST on Dec. 4.  And be sure to check  The makers of Children’s MOTRIN^® Facebook page for some great tips.

• The makers of Children’s MOTRIN^® are asking Moms to post their tips and tricks to the MOTRIN^® Facebook page under each week’s Kelly Ripa question video and for every post, Children’s MOTRIN^® will donate $1 to Safe Kids Worldwide, a global nonprofit that provides moms with the tips they need to help keep their children safe.  Moms could even win weekly giveaways of $100 gift cards just for posting.*
• *NO PURCHASE NECESSARY, OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES & D.C., 18 AND OLDER. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Promotion ends 11:59p.m. ET 12/28/14.  Sponsor will donate $1 for each approved Submission made as part of the promotion, with a minimum donation of $30,000 and a maximum donation of $50,000.  For Official Rules, and complete details, visit www.unstoppablemoms.com. Sponsor: McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc.  To learn more about Safe Kids Worldwide visit safekids.org.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post and compensation was received for my time to craft this post.

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Georgia is on my mind! My son is learning about Dr. Martin Luther King, junior at pre-school this week. While prepping dinner, I told him that Dr. King was born in Atlanta. JH has a keen interest in travel so we talk about different places a lot, and we usually end the conversation with something like this.

“Maybe we can go there!” says JH.
“We sure can, and I know exactly what hotel we can stay in on that trip," I respond.

It is only fitting in light of my recent conversation with my son that we go to the Ritz-Carlton,Atlanta for our second, “Pack Your Bags” feature.

The luxury brand hotel has two hotels in the Atlanta area, but I chose this particular Ritz-Carlton, located in downtown Atlanta on Peachtree, N.E, because it is special to me.

My husband and I stayed here a few years ago while attending a dear friend’s wedding in Decatur. Georgia.  I think JH was two, and he stayed with my mother-in-law so not only was I happy for my friend, but also for myself because I was getting away for a long weekend—kid free. We all were so excited for my college friend’s wedding because she always told us that she would never get married. Well, I guess one should never say “never” because cupid proved her wrong. We would not have missed this wedding for anything. The UNC gang selected another hotel closer to the wedding site, but I had other thoughts in my mind and broke away from the pack.  I e-mailed them all and said, “You can join me or not, but I’m staying at the Ritz-Carlton!”

My choice was quite simple. We all have checklists in life!  Some of you may want to run your first marathon or perhaps backpack across the country or if you are really brave, skydiving could be on your checklist. . For my husband, it was to hike the Appalachian Trail and climb Mount McKinley in Alaska. He put a check mark by those items in 1996.  But for me, I wanted mark off on my paper: Stayed at a Ritz-Carlton Hotel!

Borrowed from the Ritz-Carlton website

Since childhood, I have had a love affair with this luxury hotel brand. As a feline lover, I loved its logo with the regal lion, and the luxury that it embodied as soon as you walked in its doors.  I was a television product of the 80’s, and watched shows like “Dynasty” and “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” and in my mind, this luxury hotel was the best of the best. I even have childhood memories of my late father attending a convention at probably this same hotel in Atlanta, and not being allowed to go. I vividly remember saying, “How dare you go to the Ritz-Carlton and not take me. That’s not fair! That’s not fair!” and then I probably slammed my bedroom door. I was a teenager, after all!

This May wedding was my opportunity to spend three nights in a hotel that I had only dreamed about, and the Ritz-Carlton Atlanta did not disappoint with its turndown service, robes, slippers, and Italian Frette Linens. My stay was everything I imagined and then more. We felt as if we were the only guests they had to serve. The customer service was wonderful, and I loved it when the valet gave me water every time I got in the car and returned home for the evening, and he even knew my name!  For those three days in Atlanta, I felt like a princess who left her child with a nanny, and I ate like a Queen each meal I had there. Our breakfast buffet in the hotel’s signature restaurant, Atlanta Grill, ranks as one of our all-time favorite breakfast buffets. In between our scheduled wedding events, the concierge guided us to the nearby Georgia Aquarium, which was a great experience and very close to the hotel.  Upon returning, she had a table waiting for us at the hotel’s afternoon tea service. I have had tea in Paris, London, Canada and in many hotels in the U.S, and I have to say I was quite impressed with Ritz-Carlton-Atlanta’s scones and tea sandwiches. 

Whenever my son was old enough to engage in conversations, I have told him that when he is five, I’m going to take him to a Ritz-Carlton for tea, but he has to have really good manners, and act like a gentleman. Today, it dawned on me that JH is now five.  I told him with excitement at dinner that Ritz-Carlton opened a hotel in our home state of North Carolina so it will be much easier for us to take a weekend trip to Charlotte to have our tea, but he’s got to do better with his manners and listening skills.  Today he did not excel in those areas.

He listens, takes a bite of his food then says without hesitation, “Mom, what is a Ritz-Carlton?”

The child has so much to learn!  And I can't wait to teach him.

Until next time……I’m off for a cup of tea!