• Monthly Archive:: November 2011

    I’m two seconds away from calling my dermatologist. Sporadic blasts of cold air, coupled with excessive hand-washing to ward off cold/flu season, have laid the groundwork for an eczema flare-up…and there’s no turning back until spring. Here at The Talking Walnut, we can’t get enough of lotions and potions that vow to combat winter-dry skin on kids and grown-ups alike. Because we’re especially mindful of products that are safe for the environment, we love a product that’s as good for us as it is for our planet. And if it looks attractive on our nightstand or in the nursery, then so much the better! I’m sure I’m not the first mom to sneak some of her kid’s stuff (after all, I am the girl who [&hellip

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    The 7-year-old me would be so psyched at just how cool stickers have become. Forget about waiting until you’re a kid to start your collection; if you’ve got a super-hip mom, you can begin your love affair with stickers in utero. Earlier this summer, The Talking Walnut reported on Sticky Bellies, a line of adhesives that moms-to-be can affix to their growing bellies–a clever way of answering the never-ending “when are you due?” line of questioning from strangers everywhere. Now, we’ve just come across another company offering a similar product: Belly Banter from SlickSugar. In addition to a line of pregnancy decals featuring witty sayings like “running out of womb” and “I love pickles,” there’s an assortment designed for new babies’ onesies. Remember propping up [&hellip

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    Never too soon to start celebrating the holidays, you say? My 7-year-old has been working on her wish list since the summer but, according to her, “it’s still not ready!” Lucky for her, Christmas came a little early this year when she joined me yesterday at NYC’s Monkey Bar for a special luncheon, hosted by PBS Kids, to kick off the Curious George Holiday Spectacular. Everyone’s favorite little monkey was on hand to help announce the November 23rd television airing of three Curious George specials: the Curious George movie, Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey and Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas. (Encore presentations will air throughout Thanksgiving weekend, so check your local listings.) After a fun-filled photo session, the kiddies were treated to lunch, [&hellip

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    My 3-year-old has perfected the art of relaxation. Thanks to one of her preschool teachers who is instructing her classmates on the practice of yoga, she knows how to breathe deeply when the going gets rough. “In through your nose and out through your mouth, Mommy. Like this,” she says as she demonstrates her newly found technique. I smile to myself because her older sister learned the same thing and, much to my amazement, it came in especially handy over the years when she just “needed a moment.” Now that I have two kids and am often found carting around both girls on errands, to and from activities, meltdowns aren’t exactly, shall we say, convenient. In my experience, I found that when my kids know [&hellip

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    As a kid, I looked forward to Advent not because it marked the start of the holiday season, but because of the candy. We had an Advent calendar that hung in our kitchen window and each day, my brother and I took turns opening the windows and reaping the benefits inside: a small chocolate treat. It was like having 24 days of Halloween, a seemingly endless supply of sweets! Many years later, my family’s Advent calendar is not unlike the one from my childhood; in each pocket of a vintage Santa cloth calendar, I tuck green- and red-foiled Hershey’s Kisses and let my girls enjoy the treats. It’s a hit year after year, but who knows how long that will last? If you’re in the [&hellip

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    Are you good at thinking on your feet? Do you possess a knack for coming up with words that stump your Scrabble partner? If you love playing games that allow you to flaunt your vast vocabulary, then take a break from the virtual Words With Friends and dust off the coffee table for Game Night. Packaged in an eye-catching vintage tin, Road Trip is a fast-moving board game where you get points for moving quickly (no worries about traffic tickets on this route!). Players travel cross-country as they move across the board, taking challenges that demonstrate their language skills. When you roll the Alphabet Dice, you must use that corresponding letter to answer a question. It can be as difficult as saying a word that [&hellip

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    I fear that in a matter of few weeks, our family room will come to resemble a toy store under attack. I’m not even talking about Christmas morning alone; in our family, the holidays become a month-long event of packages arriving on a regular basis from extremely generous out-of-state family and friends who want our girls to wish our girls the merriest. And yet, every year, these little ladies wind up playing with a couple of select toys, while hardly batting an eye at the loot that would make any normal child envious. It’s not to say my girls are greedy, but let’s just say that they are content with what they ask for and receive. While we would never deny the opportunity for loved [&hellip

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