• Monthly Archive:: November 2016

    You know it’s almost Christmas when supermarket pumpkins and mums are being swapped out in favor of wreaths, miniature trees and bags of red and green candies. Seeing those holiday Hershey kisses reminds me that, once again, I packed away our advent calendar in a box that I can’t get my hands on in time for December 1st! It’s one of those kinds with pockets for each day that you can fill with small toys, candy or other trinkets…but it seems to have lost its original allure (in my house, at least). If your family is in the market for a new way to countdown to Christmas, consider one of the latest trends in collectible toys to mark the season. The Disney Tsum Tsum Advent [&hellip

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    As I watched a cascade of wet leaves swirling around outside my window earlier this morning, it dawned on me: Thanksgiving is next week. If you find yourself staring mindlessly at grocery store displays of cranberry sauce and canned pumpkins, you’re not alone. It seems like so many people are walking around in a daze, feeling like they’d much rather fast-forward past the holidays this year. A strange time though it may be, I can’t imagine skipping the one day of the year when families and friends come together to celebrate and give thanks for all they already have. Pardon the expression, but forgoing Thanksgiving would seem to be un-American…and that’s definitely not the message I want to share with my kids. For those of [&hellip

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    I remember that Christmas like it was yesterday. I had asked Santa for the Barbie Dream House, but instead received a Barbie Townhouse. I wasn’t entirely disappointed that I didn’t get exactly what I had written in my letter to him, but more because the house didn’t seem to work as I thought it should. The elevator didn’t go up without banging from side to side, and my dolls kept falling out. Some of the furnishings weren’t three-dimensional, but instead were printed onto the walls (seriously, how’s a girl supposed to hang up her sparkly evening gown without a real closet?). That might have been the very year that I began to lose interest in playing dolls, but looking back, I don’t begrudge Barbie for [&hellip

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    It’s almost Friday, and that means we’re getting ready for the weekend. If your family is like mine, we’re always tuned into what movies are coming out and this time, it’s Trolls. I’m still trying to convince my 8-year-old to go see it–I mean, how can you not like these crazy, colorful little rascals?–so we’ll see what happens there. In the meantime, my 12-year-old is totally on board, and that might just have something to do with the cool new beauty products we just received. Hard Candy’s Trolls Collection has plenty of playful choices to let you experiment with a look that’s as fun as the movie promises to be. From the Mood Lip Balm and Marbelized Lipstick, to the Hair Chalk Tin and Poppin’ Pigments, each product [&hellip

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    Twas the day after Halloween and there was much candy to spare…could this mom get her kids to brush their teeth on a dare? If it feels like dental hygiene falls by the wayside on those busy, harried school mornings, you are not alone. My kids often concoct any excuse in the book to avoid brushing. (Lucky for me, I’ve finally caught up on the ol’ run-the-brush-under-the-water trick.) Of course, if your kids are younger than mine, you probably have more control over their brushing…or do you? For reluctant newbie brushers comes The Brushies, a line of finger puppet tooth brushes for ages 4 weeks-4 years that are as clever as they are cute. Simply put, they take the sting out of using a standard [&hellip

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