My Summer Favorites

L-R: L'Oreal Silky Sheer BB Face Lotion, Coppertone Sheer, Trader Joe's Head to Toe Balm,
Victoria Secret Lip Balm Stain, The Faceshop me;ex Touch My Lip Liner,
Burt's bees Lemon & Vitamin E Bath and Body Oil

The government has already declared El Nino here in California which means we have an extra hot summer this year. Summer months has barely started yet I can already feel the sun burning which lead me to look for skin essentials that will help me survive this unusual heat for months to come especially with my kids' scheduled summer camps, i expect to spend more time outside.

I've been looking for a good sunblock that doesn't feel sticky and doesn't leave white spots or residue. Thank God for free samples in Target, I discovered Coppertone Sheer and L'Oreal BB Sheer. True to their name, they are really light and sheer you can top it with face powder without looking like a ghost. Between the two I like Coppertone best.

While paying for my grocery at Trader Joe's I found their Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm by the cashier. I bought it mainly for my cracked heels because it's the season to show off smooth heels with sandals and flip flops. I use it every night before going to bed, aside from the heels, I slather it on my hands and lips and I love how moisturized it feels in the morning! During the day I also use it to tame my frizzy hair. Smells great too! Totally a multitasking product.

When you like a lip balm with a cooling effect, I highly recommend Victoria Secret Lip Balm Stain! You get that minty feeling to relieve you of the summer heat + it leaves a light red tint on your lips + you get the sexy Victoria Secret pout with its signature gloss. It has replaced Burt's Bees lip shimmer as my most favorite.

wearing Coppertone Sheer Sunscreen under my powder,
ex: me Touch my Lip Liner under Victoria Secret Lip Balm Stain,
Trader Joe's from Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm to hold my bangs

I didn't use lip liners but I bought The Faceshop me:ex Touch My Lip Liner because of its cute pink packaging. Now I regret not buying many colors of it when I was in Seoul. It's not just a lip liner, it has a built in brush so you can spread the color making a lasting lip matte lip stain. 

Last but not the least, Burt's Bees Lemon Bath and Body Oil, it is LOVE!! A friend asked me to order some vitamins from Walgreens and she needed another $6 purchase to qualify for free shipping and I just picked this for its price-- good decision. I spread this all over my skin right after I turn off the shower and just pat the towel to dry. I love the fresh lemon scent and how it keeps your skin glow and  moisturized the whole day without the oily and sticky feeling.

Learning About God

I grew up in a catholic country, went to a catholic school for twenty straight years. Religious teachings were practically spoon fed to me by the school that's why I never thought i'd ever put an effort to teach it to my kids. My son goes to a non-secular preschool, and United States is pretty much a mixed bag when it comes to religion. So when my eldest son started asking me questions like "who is God?", "who made us?", "who made God?" I realized I have a big responsibility of introducing God to them.

First we taught them how to pray, just a spontaneous prayer every night thanking God for their day. They can tell God whatever they want, later when they can fully understand what a prayer is, I plan to teach them The Lord's Prayer .

Then we've signed them up to a Sunday School in a Christian Church near our house where they learned about the Bible and its verses by storytelling and playing with their classmates. I honestly thought the Sunday School is enough but it lead to more questions from my five year old. I realized, if I want to raise God-fearing kids, I have to prioritize teaching them about God before the lessons on numbers and letters which they will learn in school anyway.

For a start, to answer their "who made us?" question, I made them watch a video about creation. Where they learned about Adam, Eve and the forbidden fruit, I figured I have to followup on the Ten Commandments to instill to them that God is our Creator and He has rules that we have to follow. That's what we are working on this week, from here I will just follow on their lead on what I will teach them next based on the questions that may pop up along the way.

cut the small pictures and let the kiddo paste each commandment to each finger

to make them memorize easier, teach them that the left had holds rules on God and Family
while the right holds the rules on how to treat other people.
(they asked me why there are only 10 commandments, and I answered because we have 10 fingers!)

UNDERSTANDING: make scenarios and let them figure out which commandment
was in the picture.

But for now, more than memorizing the 10 Commandments, I have to make sure they understand each rule so I made paper activities like in this video.

Unlike 123 and ABCs, God and religion are too profound to teach to young minds so I hope this post will give you an idea on where to start.