But my secret weapon is this: Coppertone Waterbabies Sunscreen Stick.  I bet right now some of you are thinking: my mom used that thing on me when I was a kid!  And mine did too! That’s how I know about it!  This recommendation comes on the strength of more than 25 years experience with the product.  That’s pretty high praise, yeah?

Basically, it’s sunscreen in a solid formula, so it spreads on places where you really don’t want to get burned, like your face and your ears, and then stays put.  If you sweat, it doesn’t leak into your eyes.  If you go swimming, it doesn’t wash off.  Because it’s a solid format, you don’t have to include it in your ziploc bag of 3oz size liquids (a plus for those of us who try to travel without checking luggage.) It’s great for use on the back of the neck and back of the ears during a run.

Now, if you have super-duper sensitive skin, I can’t guarantee that it will love the thickness of the solid formula.  But it’s made for babies, so it’s dye free, scent free, and generally formulated for sensitive skin.  I slathered it all over my face and neck last week with nary a pimple as a result.  So for my sensitive-but-not-impossible skin, it works great.

If you have kids, this is way better than wrangling with them as they try to prevent you from spreading sunscreen liquid on their precious cheeks.  But even if you don’t have kids- don’t make the mistake of thinking this is just for them.  It’s small, compact, and cheap, and it protects your skin against dangerous rays.  What’s not to love?

Coppertone Waterbabies Sunscreen Stick SPF 55, $4.99 at drugstore.com (also available as an SPF 30, so be sure you’re getting the high SPF for maximum protection- and fyi, I got mine for more like $3 at Target.)

Except, of course, these ARE lean times.  For many of us, that means evaluating our day-to-day spending and trying to make smarter, more frugal choices.  One of the easiest ways to do this, as I’m sure you’ve heard, is to bring your lunch instead of buying it.  This holds true for adults and kids, though I’m thinking specifically of adults here- I don’t know about your town, but in Chicago it’s alarmingly easy to drop $8 or $10 on a fairly average, not-particularly-healthy lunch from a downtown purveyor.  Not awesome.

So I try to bring my lunch most days.  This has led to a comical parade of lunch-toting products that I’ve tried over the years.  I’m looking for the right balance of function and non-nerdiness: it’s hard to convey a professional image when one is toting a My Little Pony lunchbox, or when one’s soup has leaked all over one’s important files.

That’s why, when Lands’ End offered to send me one of their lunch bags to test-drive, I happily agreed.

And I have to say: it’s been a while since I used a basic insulated lunch bag, and the design of these things has come a LONG way since I was in junior high.

The first thing I noticed were all the little design features designed to make the bag more useful: a front pocket that closes with Velcro, perfect for holding a napkin, (or a note if you’re the kind of parent who leaves notes in your kids lunch); a sturdy reinforced handle and mini-carabiner at the top so you could clip the bag to another bag; a cushioned bottom to prevent fruit bruising; a lining that pulls out so it’s easy to clean; and a nice long band of velcro along the top to close it securely.

It’s got the right look, too- it’s slim and low profile and comes in many colors, including a bunch of neutrals.  And this may seem like a small thing, but there’s no big logo on the outside, just a small reflective patch and a very subtle “Lands’ End” badge on the side.  This thing would blend in, is what I’m saying.

It’s not perfect, though.  I tend to bring a lot of leftovers in my lunch, and this bag’s slim design can be a liability- it’s a little too small to comfortably accommodate most of the Tupperware I use, so  I end up putting them in sideways and then awkwardly carrying the bag sideways to keep the containers inside upright.  Not ideal.  Because of the hefty insulation inside, it’s also a little bulky- it doesn’t fold down all that small for when I have to put it back in my bag to take it home at the end of the day.  The handle on the top seems more kid-sized than adult-sized (fine if you’re using it for your kids, and not a huge deal even for adults, but when your hands are already full it would be nice if it were a little bigger so you could slide the bag over your wrist).

On the whole, though, if you’re looking for a basic, sturdy, thoughtfully-designed lunch bag for you or your kids (which doesn’t cost a bloody FORTUNE, like some of the lunch bags I’ve seen out there), the Lands’ End model is a good bet.

The Lands’ End folks have graciously agreed to sponsor a giveaway for one LiveWellSpendWell reader.  If you’re interested in trying out this bag for yourself, leave a comment on this post (mandatory) describing your favorite things to pack in a brown bag lunch (for you or your kids).

You can get additional entries to the contest if you:

–Mention this contest on twitter with the following text: “Win a free Lands’ End lunch bag from @livespend – check out http://livewellspendwell.com/?p=375” and be sure to come back and in a separate comment and leave us the link to your tweet

–Link to Livewellspendwell.com in a blog post and leave a comment linking back to your post.

–Refer others to this contest- if they tell us you sent them (“Sam sent me!”) both you and the person you referred will get a BONUS entry!

Contest will run until October 5, 11:59 pm CDT. For full information on how we run our contests, see our Disclosure policy.

Lands’ End School Uniform Lunch Sack, $10.50 each or $8.50 when you order 2 or more, on landsend.com

Soon after delivering it all became just a pile of Crap I Wanted to Believe But Didn’t Actually Work for Us. 

One of the few tidbits that did shake out quite well was the swaddling.  Oh, the swaddle.  How I (heart) you so.

I know that for some babies swaddling just simply pisses them off more.  The gall of being wrapped up tight is simply a trigger for the rage.  For others it is the highway to peaceful being.

E loved it from day 1 or…er…day 3 once we were home. 

In fact he loved it so much that there was some concern brewing that he would be 12 and still want to be wrapped snuggly in a large blanket.  Thankfully, this shook out around month 4 or 5–about the time he could sleep on his side and feel cozy.

There are many swaddling options on the market.  They range from the ever popular Miracle Blanket (which I think Sam used for her son Theo) to just using a homegrown super effective technique with a standard blanket.

Husband and I wanted something fairly dummy proof and inexpensive so we went with the Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe Adjustable Infant Wrap.

With its velcro-y strips on both the side and bottom of the flaps, it allows parents to wrap their baby as tight or as loose as warranted for the baby’s comfort.

What we also liked is that baby’s upper body can remain warm and burrito-ed, while having the lower pouch unvelcroed for easy diaper changing.

Simply lay the baby down and line their shoulders up with the two seams at the top; put their legs in the lower pouch; wrap the left hand flap over the baby and secure the velcro at the bottom; then wrap the right hand flap over the rest of the baby, securing it to the other fabric-y side.  Voila!  Baby burrito.

Other features we loved about the Kiddopotamus:

–Ridiculously affordable at usually only $9.99 a pop

–Available in organic and bamboo fabrics (for only a slight increase in cost)

–Also, available in many colors, patterns, plain cotton or toasty fleece

–Works well on the lower 1/2 of the body when a baby would like his/her arms free to drape dramatically over their eyes

We adored the Kiddopotamus and can’t wait to use for future babies.

Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe Adjustable Infant Wrap, price ranging from $9.99 to $15.99, most widely available at Babies R’ Us.

“What’s that?” I say.  Meanwhile wishing he’d just contend with his son who recently decided I’m chump change and his father is King of All That’s Better Than Mom.

“You should talk about name brand things versus generic!”

(Blank stare from me.)

“You know that deoderant I used earlier in the week?  Well, that was a store brand and I was stinky by 2pm.  The other stuff is fine through the day and I’m not rank.”

And there you have it:  one man’s experience with Old Spice deoderant v. jenky store brand.

I’ve been mulling it over all day and have decided to not do a review today, but simply put it out to the masses for you to tell us what’s been better in your experience:  generic or name brand?

Leave your feedback in the comments section and be sure to mention a specific product and let us know whether you thought the generic or name brand version was better.

Anyway, with his curly hair comes tangles (Exhibit B)–particularly in a one square inch area right on the back of his melon. 

 Exhibit A

Exhibit B

This area is snaggly no matter what I do.  Comb it wet, comb it dry, comb it after being washed and conditioned–doesn’t matter.  It’s just a patch of super tight curls. 

While a dropping a hot dime at Target last week on lots of other things I didn’t need (new t-shirts, cookie dough, headbands), I thought I should see if I could find a detangler that would work.  I was faced with two options:  one by L’Oreal Kids and Johnson’s No More Tangles Detangler Spray. 

Johnson’s can be used on both dry and wet hair, comes in a bigger bottle for less money and, frankly, is a company with upteen years of baby care behind them.  I went with the Johnson’s.

I used it that next morning when E’s hair was especially snaggly, especially in the back.  One spritz didn’t seem to do the job, so I spritzed 2-3 times, did a comb through and it he was tangle free (and with minimal whimpering).  Also, since I used it while his hair was dry, I wanted to see what his hair looked like at the end of the day.  Guess what!  It was still tangle free and nice and curly and smelling lovely.

Since I first whipped it out, I’ve used after a bath (fabulous!) and on continuous days on dry hair in the morning (still performs with zero bizarre build-up).  The product is wonderfully gentle on his hair and has a pleasant scent.

But would it work on my drape-esque hair?  I don’t get many tangles but earlier this week it was hotter than hades here in the Midwest and I drove with my windows down all day.  This did result in a few tangles.  I took a shower and tousled my hair up real good to create a few more snarls (no one said this testing would be scientific).  Using the Johnson’s No More Tangles worked as well on my super straight hair as it did on E’s super curly hair.

Bottomline:  I recommend.

Johnson’s No More Tangles Detangler Spray, price varies from $2.99 and up, found at drugstore.com and most other major retailers.