Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!

We hope you all have a happy and safe Halloween. Don't forget to enter your little ones in BBA's 2nd Annual Halloween Costume Contest. Check out some of the entries so far. Email your photos to us. Contest ends Sunday, November 2nd at 7 pm ET.

Halloween Costumes: From a Cabbage Patch Kid to the Chrysler Building

A few more entries for our Halloween Costume Contest. It's not too late to enter. You have until 7pm, Sunday, November 2nd. Email your photos to us.
The fighter pilot is worn by Faron and the Chrysler Building by Ruby. They live in Brooklyn, NY.

Baby Betty as a Cabbage Patch Kid
Betty's Mom said, "My husband and I decided to have our baby be a Cabbage Patch Kid for her first Halloween because everybody says she looks like one. We built the box out of wood and painted it by hand, it is 1.75 scale of an original Cabbage Patch Kid box...and yes that is her real hair. She is 6 months old. We had a lot of fun creating this fun costume and our baby loved it too."

There is a story behind the Wizard of Oz costumes. Check it out on their blog.

Bella - 3 months old. Her mom said, "We are organic dairy farmers, so it was only fitting for her to be a little cow this year."

Finley the flapper

Zachariah the monkey

3 lil' pigs

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Halloween Costumes: Piglet, Stitch and Yoda

Here are a few more entries for BBA's 2nd Annual Halloween Costume Contest. Email us your entries by 7 pm ET, Sunday, November 2nd. You may win one of two custom blurb books or a diaper clutch from JackaroosBoutique.com.

Sydney as Piglet

Davis as Stitch

Baby Yoda

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

This Weekend: Breastfeeding Challenges

We have a very informative article that we'll post this Saturday. One of our BBA contributors, Rachael Schirano, is a mother of triplets and will tell her story about the challenges of breastfeeding multiples. Rachael will detail ten important things she learned along the way and share a very important message.

Check back with BBA on Saturday for Rachael's story.

Halloween Costumes: Campbell's Soup,
Fairy Princess & Lamb

Here are a few more entries for BBA's 2nd Annual Halloween Costume Contest. Email us your entries by 7 pm ET, Sunday, November 2nd. You may win one of two custom blurb books or a diaper clutch from JackaroosBoutique.com.

Baby Campbell as Campbell's Soup

Savannah the Fairy Princess

Olivia the Lamb

Monday, October 27, 2008

"Word Girl" Election Day Episode

The 2008 Emmy Award-winning animated television series “WordGirl” offers a special Election Day episode Tuesday, Nov. 4 on PBS stations across the country. Called “A Vote for Becky,” this episode, produced by Scholastic Media, introduces young viewers to the concept of voting, as well as using and defining the words “candidate” and “elect.”

Below is a sneak peek of this episode. Mark your calendar and set your DVRs to introduce your children to voting.

Super Why Costume and Logo

The Super Why costume seems to be very popular and VERY hard to come by this year. The costume is sold-out online and has been for weeks, except if you want to pay upwards of $75 on ebay, which isn't even an option now, since I need it by Wednesday. Can you tell that this is all my 3-year-old son wants to be and now I'm trying to creating a costume for him...at the last minute, I might add?

I came across a homemade costume at Just Treadmilling Around and she has posted great step-by-step directions with pictures for everyone. She also has the logo as a pdf that she can email, but I found a crisp one that I've attached here. You can click on it to make it bigger, save it and print it onto iron on transfer paper. I purchased some HP Iron-on Transfers at Target, but I'm sure you can get it at an office store or maybe even Michaels.

I hope this helps!

Baby Born on New York-Bound Plane

The New York City Port Authority says a pregnant woman went into labor during an afternoon flight from Casablanca to JFK Airport. The baby was delivered on board before the plane landed. [ Video ]

Amy Poehler Misses SNL, Gives Birth

One of SNL's best, Amy Poehler, participated in Thursday night's Saturday Night Live special and rehearsed up until Friday for the main production, but couldn't make it because of more pressing matters.

"Amy Poehler is not here tonight because she's having a baby," Seth Meyers said Saturday at the start of the "Weekend Update" newscast parody he normally cohosts with Poehler. "Now here are tonight's other top stories..."

Poehler and her actor husband Will Arnett are now the proud parents of Archie Arnett. In a statement, NBC said the baby weighed in at 8 lbs., 1 oz., and that mother, child and father were all healthy and resting comfortably.

The Saturday delivery caused SNL staffers to scramble to get the show ready. The bad news now is that Poehler's time on the show has ended. But what a memorable run - and political season - she's had. Her Hillary Clinton impersonation was as good as Tina Fey's Sarah Palin and her "Sarah Palin Rap" (below) will probably go do in SNL history as one of the best skits she's ever done. Throw in the fact she was eight months pregnant and it's brilliant.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Giveaway: 3-Tier Diaper Cake

:: THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. TO SEE IF WE HAVE A NEW GIVEAWAY, CLICK HERE.

Diaper Cakewalk makes adorable diaper "cakes" and they are giving away a DIAPER CAKE to one lucky Baby Blog Addict reader! The winner will be able to choose any 3-tier diaper cake on their bestsellers page.

Here's how to enter:

1. Go to DiaperCakeWalk.com to check out their adorable diaper cakes.

2. Come back to this post on BBA and leave a comment letting us know which diaper cake is your favorite. Make sure we have your contact info (email or blog address) in your blogger profile or comment itself, so we can contact you if you win. Only one entry per person per giveaway. Must have a U.S. mailing address.

3. We'll select a random winner on random.org, then post the winner here on BBA after the contest ends. The winner will get their choice of any 3-tier diaper cake on the bestsellers page.

This contest runs: Sunday, 10/26 - Sunday, 11/2/08 at 7:00 PM ET.

:: Our BBA Halloween Costume Contest also runs through Sunday, 11/2/08 at 7:00 PM ET.

:: For more giveaways going on in the blogging world this week, check out Bloggy Giveaways' Quarterly Carnival with a list of more than 730 current giveaways and counting!

A little about Diaper Cakewalk:

Diaper Cakewalk's diaper cakes make great baby shower gifts. If you are hosting a baby shower, just use a diaper cake as a centerpiece or guest book table decoration, then give it to the parents-to-be after the shower.

All of their diaper cakes (except the EcoFriendly cakes) are constructed with Pampers Swaddlers size 1-2 disposable diapers, "the cadillac of diapering". Their EcoFriendly diaper cake is a great alternative for the lucky baby born to a family who cares about preserving the planet, and an even better way to introduce the 'ecologically challenged' to a simple and significant way to go green! These are made with Seventh Generation disposable diapers.

Halloween Costumes: Bumble Bee, Star Wars & The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Our Halloween Costume Contest ends Nov. 2nd at 7 pm ET. Email your entries to us for a chance to win one of two blurb books or a diaper clutch from JackaroosBoutique.com. Here are a few more entries. Click here to see more.

Cadence the Bumble Bee


Jolene says, "Here are my 2 Star Wars fanatics! Connor (5) is Boba Fett and Myles (7) is Obi Wan Kenobi! They are just posing with R2 D2 the pumpkin, which was not ours. I don't want to take credit for someone else's creativity! I just thought it was very fitting with their costumes!"

Baby Sam as a not-so-happy caterpillar...maybe she's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"?

Friday, October 24, 2008

Spunky Sprout - 10% OFF for BBA Readers

Spunky Sprout is a one-stop-shop for a modern child's lifestyle. They are offering all Baby Blog Addict readers 10% off any purchase until Dec. 24th 2008! Just use the code: babyblog10.

Stay tuned for a great giveaway from Spunky Sprout coming up in a couple of weeks here on BBA!

Halloween Costumes: Sushi Roll & Raggedy Ann

Here are a couple more entries for our Halloween Costume Contest. Email us your photos before the contest ends on November 2nd at 7pm. Prizes: 2 Blurb Books and a diaper clutch from JackaroosBoutique.com.

Here's what Gracie's mom said...

My daughter is Asian and I just HAD to make her a sushi roll.....look at her candy bag....I took a fabric tote and printed "Kikko-GiGi Soy Sauce" (GiGi is her nickname)...It is something she can use and smile about when she thinks about the Halloween when she went as "The Gracie Roll"!!!

Raggedy Ann

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Popsqually + Co. ~ 15% OFF For BBA Readers

It's October, so most of us are in the Halloween mindset. However, it's not too early to start thinking about Christmas and holiday gifts, especially with Popsqually + Co.'s early bird discount.

They have given an exclusive offer to BabyBlogAddict readers for 15% off Popsqually + Co. purchase for any orders (except Christmas cards, but those are still too cute to pass up) placed before November 1, 2008! Just include coupon code BBA15 when placing your order!

Don't miss their adorable holiday tags! It's all part of their holiday collection.

Blog Hopping: The Pram is Dead, Long Live the Pram

:: If you are not familiar with what a pram is, you may want to start here.

By Emma
BBA Contributor

My old pram fell apart and it was the happiest day of my life. We never liked each other - that pram made sure I was miserable every day of my life and I made sure I kicked it at least once in the morning and twice in the evening.

It took me about three months of insisting to get Eric to ride in it and even then I never left the house without the baby sling. Many times he would decide he was fed up with the pram and I had no choice but to pop him into the sling. Otherwise he would scream the whole way home.

That pram had small plastic wheels and they made every little bump feel like a BUMP. It was so difficult to steer - both hands (my rock-climbing hands!) weren’t enough. Getting on and off the sidewalk was a pain. I had to lift the whole damn thing. The hood easily came off, and when it did, it fell right on the babies’ head. If, God forbid, I would put anything in the under-seat basket, the pram would start to behave like a sinking ship.

So thank you, my old pram - you showed me what a real pram needs to look like, what features it must have and what it should and shouldn’t do. Thanks to you, I now own a pram that I love because it makes my life so much easier!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Halloween Costumes: Ladybug & Hi-C Drink Box

Here are a few more entries for our Halloween Costume Contest. Email your photo to us by Sunday, 11/2 at 7 pm ET to enter. You can win one of two Blurb Books or a Jackaroos' diaper clutch. Plus, you may inspire others who are in need of Halloween Costume ideas.

Honor Lauren, ladybug, submitted by her Aunt.

Jeserae said, "We spent 2 weeks on this costume. It has every single detail that the regular drink box has all the way down to the barcode and expiration date. We started from a brown cardboard box and just added all the details."

Mommy Chic Organizational Products
Plus Monthly Contests To Win Your Own

As a little girl, I always loved to have the trendy notepads, pens and calendars. Not much has changed now that I'm a mom. Since I don't have an iPhone or any type of PDA, I still like trendy organizational products. So, I was excited to be given the opportunity by MomCentral to review the stylish Simply Chic and Eye Candy collections from Carolina Pad and Paper and Jacqueline Savage McFee.

I headed to Wal-Mart (that's where the collections are available) to check out the collection and didn't know what to choose. There were trendy notebooks, binders, folders, whiteboards, pens, magnets and more. But the thing that caught my eye was the Simply Chic Laptop Tote. How perfect for a blog addict, like me!

Wanna win some for yourself? Check out their Glam Your Office contest and enter to win Carolina Pad and Paper prize packs that they are giving away each month.

Two Winners: Blurb Books Giveaway

Congratulations to Carla (comment #22) and Rebecca (comment #46) who each won a blurb book in our blurb book giveaway!

Carla said...
I would do a blog pictures and text book for my baby's first year. I have been wondering if something like this what out there!

Rebecca said...
I would make a blog book so that as a busy mom of 4 kids, whose business has been hit by Hurricane Ike, I would not have to take the time to scrapbook everything I have blogged about.
We'll be in touch with each of you or you can email us here.

HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST - ANOTHER CHANCE TO WIN!!!

If you didn't win, but still want a chance to win one of two more blurb books, enter our Halloween Costume Contest. Email your photo to us here with "Halloween Costume Contest" in the subject line. We'll be posting some entries over the next two weeks. Deadline to enter is 7pm, Sunday, November 2nd! Here's a sneak peek:

Monday, October 20, 2008

Mom-preneur Shop-a-Thon for Christmas Gifts!

Check out Tip Junkie's Mom-prenuer Shop-a-thon. She is featuring LOTS of amazing mompreneurs who sell unique, fun, and creative gifts that you can purchase for your friends, family and yourself this holiday season. Be sure to place your orders now and support these amazing women.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

BBA Headlines

:: The Ultimate Gift of Love
An Illinois mother was dead set on giving her baby up for adoption. It was a hard choice - and one that she had accepted - until she found herself in the hospital having an emergency C-section eight weeks before her due date. When she saw her newborn, she began to have second thoughts.

:: Five New Options for Baby Websites
A handful of new companies aim to create the ultimate baby website. Check out Baveo, Kidmondo, TotSpot, babyZbook, Lil' Grams.

:: Soothing Tiny Fliers
Adults aren't the only ones in distress when they fly, although our pain is mostly psychic. Babies and small children have narrow eustachian tubes, which causes the distress. Eustachian tubes help equalize the pressure on both sides of the eardrum. Adults know that chewing gum will help pop the ear and restore the balance, but it's generally a bad idea to give an infant a wad of Dubble Bubble. There are, however, other ways to relieve your baby's discomfort.

:: Airlines Say Goodbye to Baby Perks
While it hasn't made the same headlines as baggage fees and fuel surcharges, more airlines are dropping the preboarding call for families with small children.

:: Movement Rises for Workplace Parenting
What's one of the biggest perks that employers can offer new parents? More time with their babies. The Parenting in the Workplace Institute offers suggestions on how to implement baby-to-work programs, and has identified more than 100 companies and public agencies across the country that permit parents to bring their babies to work.

Ask a Toddler: How to Throw a Tantrum


Last Chance...

...to enter our double blurb book giveaway. Click here to enter before 7 pm ET today (Sunday).









You can also enter to win two more blurb books, plus a new diaper clutcharoo from JackaroosBoutique.com, by entering our Halloween Costume Contest. Email your photos to us.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Teaching Babies to Stay Asleep

This is interesting: parents are learning they can turn to sleep trainers that effectively teach babies to stay asleep. Check out the video and let us know what you think.

Blog Hopping: The Ride Home

By Katie
BBA Contributor

I just had to share pictures of the ride home. On the way to Washington, the main problem that we had with the kids was that Karleigh kept poking the little ones in they eyes. Needless to say, they didn't like that very much. So...my parents came up with this cardboard divider so that Karleigh couldn't get to the little kids.

A few hours in to the drive, she heard Savannah and called out, "Savannah, where are you?" It was pretty funny. We thought the drive would be better if the kids were all asleep so, we decided to leave at 8:00 on Thursday night. Unfortunately, Karleigh didn't get the memo about sleeping all night in the car...so...none of us got any sleep, but we made it home safe and last night I slept from 8:00 at night to 11:00 this morning!!!

We had so much fun in Washington. It made me so grateful (for the millionth time) for the family that I have. My parents bought all of the kids these little toys to take home. They all sang different song so we heard the ABC song at least 100 times on the way home!

Halloween Money-Saving Tips

Jolie Wants to Adopt Again

On yesterday's Today Show, Angelina Jolie admitted to Matt Lauer that she and Brad Pitt are thinking about adopting another child, bringing their brood to a total of seven. [ Video ]

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Blurb Books Giveaway

Don't forget to enter our giveaway for two blurb books. Check out the post here for details. Contest ends Sunday, 10/19 at 7 pm ET.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Protecting Babies from SIDS

Q&A With Kate Gosselin

Kate Gosselin, star of the reality series Jon and Kate Plus Eight, answered a few questions over at momtourage.com. Some of the topics include how she balances life, alone time and keeping eight kids on a healthy diet.

Blog Hopping: The Bow Fight

By Katie
BBA Contributor

We're past the year mark, and still no hair. I've had a few people ask me lately if she is a boy or girl. I just have to laugh and hope her hair grows in soon because the bows aren't working out anymore.

The weirdest thing happened a few weeks ago and it kind of freaked me out. I was walking out of Walmart with Savannah in the cart. This older - and when I say older I mean much, much older, like I'm hoping that he was somewhat senile - gentleman stopped me by grabbing my arm.

Um...freaky, please...don't touch. It got weirder though. He started rubbing my back, while he was rubbing his chest (his shirt was unbuttoned a few buttons) with his other hand, and he asked me if Savannah was MY LITTLE BROTHER. Huh? Never got that one before. I was so confused that for a minute I didn't know what to say. Um, no, this is my DAUGHTER!

Yikes.

By this point, Shera was pulling my arm because she was creeped out by all of the rubbing that was STILL going on. Then, he asked me if Shera was my MOM.

Uh...we gotta go.... We've been told all our lives that she looks like the older sister, but wow...wow!

Anyway, this shirt might have come in handy that day, although I'm thinking probably not!

Lisa Marie Presley Names Twins

Singer Lisa Marie Presley and her husband Michael Lockwood have chosen names for their twin babies. People magazine reports the girls are named Finley and Harper. The twins were born last week and weighed 5lbs., 15oz. and 5lbs., 2oz.

Father Names Newborn 'Sarah McCain Palin'

Mark Ciptak says he went behind his wife's back and listed their newborn daughter's name as "Sarah McCain Palin" on her birth-certificate application because "we are strong supporters of that ticket," according to the Kingsport Times-News in Tennessee.

"She wanted Ava Grace. So, with a clear conscience, even though I know I was sort of going around her back, I kind of secretively put down Sarah McCain Palin instead of Ava Grace on another set of forms that I acquired from the front desk," he tells WBIR-TV. "And as we were walking out of the hospital, I went ahead and gave those to the nurse."

Ciptak says told his wife about the switch the next day, while they were at the doctor's office. He says she was speechless. "I felt a lot of cold air coming from her way," Ciptak tells the station. (via USA Today)

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

The Shift of the Mommyblogger

Check out Rita Arens' very interesting post, "The Shift of the Mommyblogger," on BlogHer. It's obviously a very hot topic based on all of the comments she has received. What do you think? Has your blogging style shifted?

There's change in the air for the first wave of mommybloggers. They don't complain about their kids much anymore. In fact, they don't write about their kids as much as they used to. Have they lost interest? Lost their edge? Or are their kids just old enough to read?...

Monday, October 13, 2008

Special B-day Giveaway: 2 BLURB BOOKS
Convert Your Blog to a Book!

:: THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. TO SEE IF WE HAVE A NEW GIVEAWAY, CLICK HERE. ALSO CHECK OUT OUR HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST TO WIN TWO MORE BLURB BOOKS.

Today is our baby boy's 3rd birthday. Jack was the inspiration behind our own baby blog 3 1/2 years ago which eventually led to the creation of BabyBlogAddict.com.

In honor of Jack's birthday, we are giving away TWO BLURB BOOKS (each valued at $29.95)! If you are not familiar with blurb.com, you will be amazed at what they can do. You just download the blurb booksmart program for free, then you can actually turn your blog into a book. Check it out here, then be sure to watch the 5 minute tutorial about how easy it is to create a blog book. This is awesome for all of you baby blog addicts out there!

If you don't have a blog, you can also use blurb to create photo books, travel books and more.


I always read about how your blogs are your journals and baby scrapbooks. Now, you can actually print it out in book form!

I'm about to start Jack's first blog book, so I'll be posting more about blurb when I work with the program and get his book printed. I can't wait!

Here's how you can enter this giveaway:

1. Go to blurb.com and check out all the cool books.

2. Come back to this post on BBA and leave a comment letting us know what kind of book you would create.

3. Make sure we have your contact info (email or blog address) in your blogger profile or comment itself, so we can contact you if you win. Only one entry per person per giveaway.

We'll select TWO random winners then post them here on BBA next week. Each winner will recieve a bookmaking code good for $29.95. We'll be giving away two more books to our Halloween Costume Contest winners too!!!

This contest runs: Monday, 10/13 - Sunday, 10/19/08 at 7:00 PM ET.

Winner: Calendar & Stroller Suspenders

Congrats to Team Sherman (comment #11) who is the winner of the Double Giveaway for the Personalized Calendar from Baby Face Design and Stroller Suspenders by Omma.

Team Sherman said...
I love the birth announcements. I'm a new mom and birth announcements are on my to do list. I hope that I win the purse calendar.