Our Multiracial Family's Summer Fun and Swimming Must-Haves

Summer break starts in just a few days (!!!) for our family, and this year I'm ready to roll!  Because when you have curly-headed, melanin-rich kiddos, it's best not to just slather any ol' sunscreen on their skin or rely on big-box store swim caps.  

If you know anything about me, you know we prefer to live as non-toxic as possible. We also prefer to buy products from Black-owned small businesses. We personally use all of the products I'm recommending!  

1:  Swim caps.

Last summer, I learned about Swimma, a Black-owned swim cap company. We love that the caps come in different sizes and colors! Since my kids swim every day, it's important for us to protect their hair (including their parts) from the sun and pool chemicals. Plus, wearing a cap saves a lot of hair prep and after-swim-care. 

2:  Sunscreen.

Everyone in our family (parents and kids) uses this sunscreen (I love this combo pack: sunscreen and insect repellent). The ingredients are fairly healthy, I like the high SPF protection, and the pump-spray is easy to use and transport. (The downfall, it does not go on clear. It does have white tint to it.) I'm not a fan of aerosol sunscreens which contain toxic propellants. 

3:  Aloe.

Right before our family vaca to Sanibel Island in January, I discovered this aloe gel by one of my favorite natural brands. It not only works on sunburns, but also bug bites as well as other "first aid" needs. Plus, I'm a huge fan of all-things-tea-tree. This product smells more like aloe than tea tree: FYI.

4:  Moisturizer.

It's important to follow up outside and pool time with a great moisturizer. Our family uses a few different lotions, including Sweet On You products (talk about yummy scents!) and Avalon Organics Aloe lotion (I love me some aloe!) because it's essentially scent-less (for those who are sensitive to smells). The Sweet On You products are much thicker, and the Avalon product is thinner. The Avalon product has a lavender option (great for kiddos who struggle to fall asleep/calm down) and a peppermint option (great for feeling refreshed!). 

5: Bandages.

More outdoor play means more boo-boos. Our family loves Tru Colour Bandages, a company started by a dad-by-transracial-adoption. The bandages come in three skin-tone colors. They are latex-free and don't contain any antibacterial creams built-in (which we like because some kids have allergies to those creams). 

What's your family's favorite summer must-have product? Be sure to join the conversation on Facebook or Instagram!

5 Summer Must-Haves for the Multiracial Family

Summer is in full swing here, and if you're like me, you know it's going to be three months of both fun and sibling bickering and boredom and chaos.  That's summer for ya.   

If you're part of a multiracial family like I am, you need to know about these fabulous products to help make your summer a little more sweet and sane.

  
Sun Protection

Yes, people with more melanin in their skin can get sunburns and can get skin cancer and can also face issues from sun damage including discoloration.  Yet vitamin D deficiency can have major health consequences; this stems from too much indoor time and too much sun protection.  So what is a parent to do? 

We wear sunscreen during peak sun hours, but generally speaking, we aren't out swimming during those hours.  Our swim time is usually in the later afternoon after the baby's nap.  

Which sunscreen is best for kids of color?  

You don't want unhealthy ingredients, nor do you want it to bleach your child's skin.  We use this sunscreen because it comes in a spray bottle (easy to target areas), it's reasonably priced, and it's considered safe and healthy (non-toxic).  It also has a barely-there scent.  

And don't forget to protect hair from the sun and pool chemicals, too.  I recommend putting a sleep cap over your child's hair, followed by this "long hair" swim cap that's perfect for braids, dreads, etc.

Art Supplies

We love to have lots of art supplies on hand for those hot, sunny days or hot, rainy days when going outside is unbearable or not possible.  But you want your art supplies to reflect your kids!   I recommend this skin-tone paper (for portraits), these markers, and these crayons.  There's even paint options!   

Of course, you'll also want scissors, stickers, coloring books, stencils, etc. on hand-as well:  these are great items to get at your local dollar store.  I also love to cover the table with paper so everyone can work together to create a mural.  We also go on nature walks, gather up natural materials (flowers, rocks, pinecones, etc.) and these as stamps into paint.  The kids LOVE this activity! 

I'm a big fan of sensory play, but on scorching hot or rainy days, you might be stuck indoors.  This is a great opportunity to create and play in a rice bin.  (My kids, ages 1-9, all love rice bins!)

Personal Product Bags

If you're like us, you're taking your kids to various activities and camps throughout the summer.  If your kiddo is spending the day elsewhere, consider making them a personal product bag to carry with them.  This may include lip balm, mini-deodorant (we buy Native, Schmidt's, or Jason's), mints, first aid gel and moisturizer, etc.  Teach your child to check their skin and lips and address as-needed. Of course, throwing in a few Tru Colour bandages that match his or her skin tone isn't a bad idea, either! 

Popsicle Molds

Children of color have a 50% chance of developing type 2 diabetes in their lifetime, so encouraging active play and healthy eating is crucial since type 2 diabetes is primarily a lifestyle-based disease.

Buying healthy popsicles (not the artificial-dye and sugar-filled ones) is really expensive, so we DIY by using these popsicle molds. (Since we have a big family, we own three mold sets!)  We buy a variety of fruits and let the kids create their own flavor combinations.  For the liquid, we usually just use plain water or Trader Joe's low sugar lemonade (sweetened with Stevia) mixed with water.  

Great popsicle recipes for kids and adults (including boozy popsicles) can be found here and here.  

Educational Fun

We do some homeschooling in the summer.  For example, this summer my five-year-old son will continue to learn how to read while my nine-year-old is focusing on honing her math skills.  

I love choosing educational fun where my kids are represented.  A few suggestions include the ABC Me (Black History) Flashcards, Eeboo's I'll Never Forget a Face matching game, books like Little Leaders:  Bold Women in Black History and What Color Is My World?.

If you're feeling creative, generate some lessons/activities with your kids.  For example, teach them about the man who invented the super soaker, and then hand out water guns for some outdoor fun.

Don't forget to take education outside of your home:  concerts, museum exhibits, festivals, library story hours, etc. 

What are your summer plans?  What products does your family love?

Dear Sugar: 8 Things That'll Get You Through the Rest of Summer Break

Hey, Sugar:

I know.  We're in the homestretch.   Kids restless.   Mama exhausted.  Boredom collides with sibling arguments collides with mama's frustration.  It's hot.  Dreadfully hot.  Like too hot to swim kind of hot.

As a mom of four:  I GET IT.   This parenting thing, especially on the verge of summer ending and school beginning, is absolutely draining.   Like not even a venti cup full of straight-up espresso shots can save you.

During these final days and weeks, let's talk about survival.   Because if mama is happy, everyone is more likely to be happy.   So make a list and check it twice (sheesh, I do love me some Christmas and snow sounds REALLY nice right about now).   Here is my mom-will-survive-the-rest-of-summer-list, and you go ahead and make yours.  Like make a list and paste it somewhere visible as a daily reminder to treat yo'self.

Rachel's list:

1:  Flavored "sparkling" carbonated water.   No calories, no artificial dyes, no sugar (or even fake sugar), hydrating, refreshing.  I drink at least two a day, sometimes even four.  My favorite flavors are black cherry, white peach, and blueberry (which Target sadly stopped making, and I'm clinging to my last two cans!).

2:  Great books that I can read over and over.  Here are a few of my faves, and if you click on the images you can view details:



3:  Fewer commitments.   Saying no is so empowering.  It's OK to be too tired (and impatient) for playdates, for extracurricular activities, for getting up early to be somewhere.   Your kids will be JUST FINE.

4:  Order school supplies online.  The stores are INSANE as soon as the supply lists are released.  NO THANK YOU.   I'm a huge fan of Target and order all my kids' supplies online.   And if you want to save big, check out my Target couponing and savings tips.

5: Make your kids a sensory rice bin.  We currently have THREE:  solar system, rainbow, and under-the-sea.  They're inexpensive and magical.  ALL of my kids love them, despite the age range!  Plus, I love that this is the perfect rainy or too-hot day activity.   (Skip the slime, people.  That stuff doesn't come out of anything and is just gross.   Rice bins last for years; slime doesn't.)

6: Simplify meals.  My favorite thing to whip up when the kids are starving? Scrambled eggs, a frozen veggie, and a piece of fruit.  VOILA.   No one wants to cook when it's 100+ degrees out.

7:  Have family reading or game nights (or days!).  My kids LOVE LOVE LOVE this.  And it surprisingly kept them occupied for well over an hour.

8:  Get new multicultural art supplies.  Cover a table with paper from a big roll.  Then lay out the supplies and little hand mirrors (to help them create self-portraits).  Have fun, kids!  



-This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Dear Sugar: DIY Diverse Fairy Garden

Dear Sugar:

I'm a bit behind on the fairy garden trend...and pretty much all trends. Because I'm a mom of four, and trendy really isn't a word I'd use to describe myself.   (If the top knot and ripped jeans ever go out of style, I'm out of luck.)  

Recently I gave my screened-in porch a makeover.  (Thanks to all of you who gave me suggestions on Insta and Facebook!  I have the BEST followers.).   We strung new patio lights, got a brand new rug, splurged on a wicker sofa (and fun throw pillows), and an accent table.  (I told the kids, that's mommy's sofa.  GOT IT?)  I kept our round table and four chairs, because my kids like eating snacks and doing their art on the porch.  

The table looked so bare, but I didn't want to put anything breakable, tall, or alive (think, no plants, please) on it.   I wanted something attractive, but also child-friendly.   Then it dawned on me, why not create a fairy garden?  

This seemed easy enough, until I sat down one evening to order fairies.  Of course, I was determined to find fairies with brown skin and black curly hair.  Guess what I turned up?   NOTHING.   Nothing affordable and adorable.   Nothing that was the right size and material.  In a tizzy, I went to Michael's that evening:  and all the fairies were female and pasty-white.  (Insert eye roll.)  I then vowed to think of a new table decoration because fairy gardens suck.  Dramatic?  Uh, yeah.  A bit.  

The next day I decided to search Etsy one more time, because Etsy is bae, and then I swear I heard the Hallelujah chorus and a light shined down from heaven.  There they were:  adorable, kid-friendly, Black child fairies.  And not just girl fairies, but boy fairies too!   

Fast forward to today:  we have a gorgeous fairy garden on our table, completing our porch makeover!   So I'm here to tell you how we did it so you can create something similar for your space. 

DIY Diverse Fairy Garden  

1:  Find a container (or a place).

My mom's fairy garden is in her yard.  But we live on property that has loads of wildlife (think turkeys, groundhogs, deer, and fox).  I didn't want my beautiful creation to get destroyed, dug around, or eaten.    And I have zero desire to have live plants in my fairy garden, so I skipped a container that drains.  Instead, I stumbled upon a super cool wooden container at Home Goods for $25.  They had many options available. Make sure if you get a container, it's shallow and large in diameter/size so it's friendly for playing. 

2:  Buy or find filler.
I nabbed these sparkly white rocks at our dollar store.  Six bags adequately covered the bottom of our container.  Bonus: it is also fairly heavy, so there's no knocking the container off the table accidentally.  The white offers a nice contrast to the container color and cost just $1 a bag.  Then I got blue/green smooth rocks for the "river," also just $1.

3:  Order your fairies.  

Here's the MOST fun part of this process.   The fairies from MyPrettyPeggy are customizeable.  Yes, you read that correctly.   Boy or girl? Mermaid or fairy?  Have another idea?  Just message the owner and let her create your vision! 

The fairies are small enough to be in the fairy garden, but not so small that they get lost among your garden's other accessories. As you can see in my pics, she created gorgeous, detailed fairies for each of my kids:  a pink and flowery fairy for my oldest, a teal and more simple fairy for my second daughter, a firefighter fairy for my son, and a yellow fairy for my baby.   The detail on these fairies is so incredible!  

My Pretty Peggy is offering my readers 15% off their order with the coupon code SUGAR15.  

4:  Accessorize.

I felt that our garden needed a fairy house.  I love this one because the little door opens!   

I also ordered a variety of small accessories so the kids could arrange and rearrange.   

If you're like me and have zero interest in keeping things alive, fake succulents and little plants are everywhere these days.  

Now I know there are fairy garden accessories everywhere (Michael's, fabric stores, etc.) right now, but I found that Amazon had awesome variety and prices, and honestly, who can pass up fast and free shipping (no taking all your kids to the store)? 

5:  Open up the garden for play!

If you want to make the fairy garden opening extra special, here are a few fairy books and an activity suggestions.  Notice the brown fairy girls on the two books and game?  



-This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Dear Sugar: On Summer and Keeping Our Kids Occupied With Diverse, Cooperative Activities

Dear Sugar,

We live just outside St. Louis.  The first few weeks of summer break are tolerable, some days even mild.  But soon, it heats up (to up to 115 heat index), and the kids (and me) grow really restless, irritated, and HOT.   You can only swim so many times.  So what is stay-at-home/work-at-home mom to do?  How do I keep the kids happily occupied when the days are long?   

One of our favorite companies is Peaceable Kingdom.  First, because they create diversity-friendly products for kids.  This is very important to my family: that the things we purchase for our children reflect faces that look like theirs.   

We also love the quality of the products.  With four kids, I refuse to purchase throw-away, junky items (which is a waste of money and not environmentally friendly).  Every product we own from Peaceable Kingdom is sturdy and of incredible quality.  We have friends over multiple times a week, so not only do my children use the products, but so do their friends:  and they hold up really well!

The variety is fantastic!  I love that they have so many products to choose from! Games, activity packs, cards, stationary, art supplies, puzzles, journals, even valentines.  And some of the items:  scratch and sniff, which if you have a sensory seeking child like I do, scratch and sniff is EVERYTHING.   Peaceable Kingdom realizes that kids' interests are diverse, so their products should reflect that!  They offer everything from space, to dinosaurs, to math, to art, to engineering, to princesses, to desserts, and much more!  They even offer "games to go":  yes, items that are made to travel!  


Finally, I love inclusion!  Many of the products fall under the"cooperative play" category, meaning we can use them as a family. Just like most people, my kids hate feeling left out, and cooperative play games include every family member.   Some of the games and puzzles have held the attention of my four-year-old, my six-year-old, and my eight-year-old; it doesn't get better than that!   Cooperative play games promote connection, cooperation, and empathy.  YAY!  

Here are our favorite Peaceable Kingdom products:

1:  Friends and Neighbors:  a cooperative game that teaches children about empathy and problem solving.   Notice the diverse cast of characters?  




2:  Scratch and Sniff Stickers:  We enjoyed the whipped cream-scented multiracial fairy stickers and the cherry scented firefighter and firetruck stickers.  

3:  Lock and key diaries:  My oldest LOVES writing (like her mama!), especially when she can "lock up" her words (and hide them from her little sister, who is quite a good reader!).  

Do you own any Peaceable Kingdom products?  Which are you favorites?  

This post is sponsored by our friends at Peaceable Kingdom, one of my favorite companies!  

Dear Sugar: Staying Sane During Summer With One Simple Game

Dear Sugar:

I'm not brand-new to homeschooling, but I am new to homeschooling multiple children at once.  And since it's summer (and our public school is out for three months), I decided to get back to homeschooling with my oldest three kids.  One of my kids is struggling in math, and I wanted to make practicing fun and rewarding.  However with four kids, a writing career, and a house to keep semi-clean and organized, I HAD to streamline.  

That's when it dawned on me:  take our well-loved Candy Land board game (with its wrinkly playing cards and rough edges) and turn it into summer homeschooling glory.  (Mommy win!)  Here's how I did it, and how you can do it too:

Summer Candy-Land Homeschooling Board Game

1:  Find or buy Candy Land.  I've seen Target carry it for under $10 on sale, and my sister found hers at a dollar store for $5.

2:  Get knock-off Velcro at your local dollar store.   Cut one side into pieces small enough to fit over every square of the game, except the special "candy" squares), but not covering the entire space.  You want to be able to see the color of the square (the border) around the Velcro).   Using a hot glue gun, affix the pieces to the game squares. 

3:  On the Candy Land player pieces, affix the other tape onto the bottom so the player will be able to stand on the squares on the board.   Then assign each child a player color.    (Assigning is easier than letting bickering siblings choose).

4:  Put your playing cards in a stack (after shuffling) and secure with a rubber band.

5:  Store your board on a flat surface (where you don't have to fold the board--which will only mess up the Velcro) that is reachable for you, but not always accessible to kids who might be temped to play with the board.   For us, we use the top of the fridge.

6:  With your kids input, generate a list of tasks which will earn them the right to draw a card.  Each task list should be different depending on your child's age, interests, and needs.   

A sampling for us is this:  

• My oldest must read three book chapters OR read books aloud to her siblings (usually five board books to the baby or two picture books to the middle two children).  The younger siblings also earn a card by listening to their big sister read.    
• My second child must read two "easy reader" books aloud to her little brother or her big sister. Again, the other sibling also earns a card for respectfully listening.  
• My son (who is four) can earn a card by doing two puzzles (like putting together a letter puzzle and number puzzle with me, during which we review sounds, colors, shapes, etc.).  
• Listening to an audio book, doing three pages (I choose) from a workbook, watching an educational film, play a learning game (math, reading, etc.), etc.  

7:  Card drawing.  They must take the card on the top of the deck. If they earn a "candy card," they can only move forward.  I did this because I didn't want them drawing a candy card that sent them backward, which I felt wasn't fair given their hard work.   If they earn a candy card that would send them backward, we put that card back into the bottom of the deck and the child selects a new card.

8:  Prizes:  the best part!  We also generated a list of prizes.  I kept in mind that my kids are motivated by different things (which can also vary day-to-day).   We typed up our prize list and hung it on the pantry door to keep us all motivated.   Once a child reaches the end of the candy road, he or she picks a prize, and then starts over. 

Our prize list is:

• stay up 20 minutes late
• use mom's old ipod for 20 minutes
• one soda (we buy a "healthy" kind)
• one small gourmet popcorn from our local kitchen store
• $3

Why does this work so well?

• It's simple.
• The kids have say-so.
• The prizes are very motivating.
• There's a healthy sense of competition.  
• We keep up on math and reading skills.  
• It's inexpensive.   
• Motivates the kids to pick out gobs of library books. 

A note about discipline:  Prizes, card-drawing, and homeschooling aren't options for us to take away as punishment.  We felt it was unfair and unnecessary.   

Easy?  YES!  Fun?  Absolutely!  

How do you keep your kids learning over the summer?  Do you offer incentives?  Join me on Facebook to discuss!  

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