I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Neutrogena®. I received samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

When Neutrogena® asked me to try out several of their sunscreen products and write about my experiences, I knew exactly what I was going to do.

I have a way of losing small things that we use often (like sunscreen bottles), so I’ve started a new policy. I want two stashes of summer essentials in logical places – in my car and in my house.

During the hottest part of summer when we are spending some days at the pool and some days in the back yard, I always wish I had two separate sets of beach bags with towels and sunscreen. I figured it was about time to make this a reality!

With two sets of water/outdoor play items, I don’t have to worry about carrying items in and out of the house because inevitably I misplace items or one of the kids walks away with them.

I had already purchased sunscreen for our car kit, but I hadn’t yet set up our kitchen stash, so I did that with the three Neutrogena products I received:

• NEUTROGENA® Sensitive Skin Sunscreen Lotion Broad Spectrum SPF 60+ – This sunscreen goes on evenly and feels ultra light.
• NEUTROGENA® Pure & Free® Baby Sunscreen Stick Broad Spectrum SPF 60 – This is one is actually a physical sunscreen that uses Purescreen™ technology to create a barrier between the sun and your child’s skin.
• NEUTROGENA® Pure & Free® Liquid Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50 – I like this one for me as a mom because it has an even, non-shiny finish that’s great for wearing under makeup.

Knowing I have two sets at all times – one for use at the pool and one for at-home activities – is a stress reliever for me. It’s so frustrating when the kids want to go outside to play all morning and I can’t find any of our sunscreen. Now we won’t have this problem! I’m keeping these products in the kitchen near our back door so I can conveniently grab them when we have back yard activities to do.

Summer Garden Cleanup

The first day I had my stash set up, I decided to clean up our garden. The last few weeks have been very stormy, which has been great for my garden, but also means the weeds are out of control. It looks like a jungle in the garden corner of our yard!

Protecting Ourselves in the Sun

Before we went out, I made sure to use the baby sunscreen stick on my kids’ faces and the sensitive skin sunscreen on their arms, necks, and legs.

I have to admit, I am always a little nervous when we use a new sunscreen because my girls have sensitive skin. They both have eczema that flares up when they use too much soap or their skin gets too dry and/or moist.

I have to be careful about the products I use on my 5-year-old, in particular. Almost all lotions and sunscreens burn her tender skin. But the Neutrogena® sunscreen stick and sensitive skin sunscreen didn’t bother her at all. Furthermore, it goes really easily, which makes it easy to apply to her wiggly self!

Seeing as how sunburns in children increase the odds of them developing skin cancer later in life, I want to do everything I can to protect their precious skin while I am in the one in control of this.

This summer I’m trying to be as conscious as possible about our sun exposure. Not only am I worried about their skin, I am concerned for my own. Last year I started getting a good number of sun spots on my forehead. I wasn’t expecting this at 35!

But I realized I’m not always great about re-applying sunscreen to my forehead. I’m vowing to do better going forward, and it all starts with the proper sunscreen and re-applications when we’re out doing daily chores and not just when we suit up for the pool!

Thankfully, Neutrogena® has so many great sunscreen options. In addition to the three products mentioned above, these two products were awarded the National Eczema Association (NEA) Seal of Acceptance!

• NEUTROGENA® Pure & Free® Baby Faces Ultra Gentle Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 45+
• NEUTROGENA® Pure & Free® Baby Sunscreen Lotion Broad Spectrum SPF 60+

My Favorite: Cherry Tomatoes! Five Delicious Recipes

In our small garden we are only planting tomatoes this year. We usually plant a variety of vegetables, but this year I’m taking the lazy route and only doing tomato plants (they’re low maintenance and love hot weather).

Our tomatoes are all cherry variety this year, and they are just about to turn red. I can’t wait to make a bunch of yummy tomato-based dishes!

Here are four of my favorite cherry tomato recipes plus a new one I will be trying this year! I hope you are able to find inspiration for your own summer dishes. I make these recipes over and over during tomato season…I’m positive you will love them as well! They’re all pretty easy to make.

• Caprese Kabobs 
• Cherry Tomato Basil Spinach & Parmesan Pasta 
• Marinated Cherry Tomato & Herb Salad  
• Roasted Cherry Tomato Soup 
• Tulip Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes (a new recipe I’m planning to take to a BBQ!)

A big thank you to NEUTROGENA® for inspiring this post! Neutrogena Sun Care products are available through Walmart both in-store and online. For more information please visit Walmart.com.