The teen romance that prompted a pregnant pause in Sarah Palin's bid to become U.S. Vice President is reportedly over.
Bristol Palin and fiancé Levi Johnston have broken up after she referred to his family as "white trash," the hockey-playing hunk's sister dished to Star magazine.
Tomorrow is the last day to enter to win a free blog makeover from Doodlebug Designs here on BBA. Click here for a direct link to the giveaway post. Ends Wednesday, 3/11 at 7:00 PM ET.
This morning the Today Show kicked off a series spotlighting "Digital Moms." Laura Fortner from CafeMom.com and mommy blogger Heather Armstrong, of Dooce.com, discuss how technology can help ease moms' busy lives.
Here are the 10 ways to become a digital mom: use the right phone, keep your hands free, spend less time organizing photos, devise a system for making and sharing cute videos, back up your memories before your hard drive crashes, organize your home and your life, control TV viewing, use the web to stay safe, get a video baby monitor and do research and get advice from moms online. Click here for the full story.
And Today isn't forgetting about dads. Here are 10 ways to become a digital dad.
We love when you visit our BBA sponsors and support their businesses. They love it too, so a few are offering these great discounts for all of you.
shooshoos baby shoes is currently offering a special with their Spring launch. Buy any item marked as NEW on the site, and each additional item in your order (excluding NEW items) will be marked down to $10 each. This is a saving of up to $10 per item.
Jackaroos Children's Boutique is offering $10 off purchases of $50 or more. Use the code 10_OFF_50. Offer expires 3/31/09.
We're back at it in the twitter world; you can check it out at the top of the left sidebar. You'll need flash to see it. Just like the e-mail or reader subscription to Baby Blog Addict, you can easily follow our twitter feed as well. We can't guarantee it'll be anything exciting, but we'll give it a shot again and see what happens.
Our Twitter page is www.twitter.com/babyblogaddict. The Baby Blog Addict RSS feed will also run through twitter, so the content that appears on the main site will also show up in the twitter feed.
Enjoy...and let us know what you think.
How many of you tuck your purse under your seat when you go to the park with your children?
Our playgroup recently met at a park that had two parking lots (one was out in the open, the other tucked away). While there, we were told by police that all of the cars in the hidden parking lot were broken into and the purses were snatched. They assumed the robber(s) came by foot and were already gone.
I've recently heard that the Spring is sort of an open season for purse snatching at parks. It is pretty obvious that most women don't bring their purse with them to the playground, so they must leave them in their cars, right? Even if you put your purse in the trunk (something that I am guilty of), someone watching might see you. All they have to do is break your window and pop your trunk to retrieve your purse.
The best thing to do is to have a small clutch (with your purse items) that you can throw into your diaper bag and hold it at the park or lock your valuables in your glove compartment.
Another thing to watch out for is setting your bag down at the park and not keeping an eye on it while you are playing with your kids. Just be aware and be overly cautious!
Congrats to Beth Ewing (comment #12). She is the winner of her choice of a Blog Design or Greeting Card Design Giveaway from Krizzy Designs.
Beth won with her comment "i'm already a follower too," which was comment #12. In her other comment, #11, she said, "i really love the 'between a whisper and a roar' design."
Congrats Beth! I know you are a very frequent commenter here on BBA, and it has definitely paid off this time. Enjoy your new design from Krizzy Designs.
:: For everyone else who wants a blog makeover, you can enter our current giveaway for a Custom Blog Design from Doodlebug Designs (ends 3/11).
:: THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. CLICK HERE TO SEE IF WE HAVE A NEW GIVEAWAY ON BBA.
New to BBA? Check out our welcome message and sign up for our feed or become a follower in the left sidebar, so you don't miss a thing.
We are excited to introduce you to another amazing blog designer in our weekly Blog Designer Spotlight here on BBA. Next up is Judi Ledford of Doodlebug Designs. She's giving away a CUSTOM BLOG DESIGN to one lucky BBA reader!!! She's also celebrating one year in business with an offer of $10 off each custom blog design. But hurry up. The discount ends March 15th.
Here's how to enter our giveaway for a CUSTOM BLOG DESIGN by Doodlebug Designs:
1) Go to Doodlebug Designs or the Doodlebug Designs' Gallery and search through her creative designs for your favorite.
2) Earn one entry by leaving a comment on this post telling us your favorite design from Doodlebug Designs.
3) Earn one extra entry by becoming a BBA Follower in our left column and letting us know in a separate comment. If you are already a follower, you can still earn an extra entry by just letting us know in a separate comment.
4) 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.
5) This giveaway ends: Wednesday, 3/11 at 7:00 PM ET. We'll select a random winner then post their name here on BBA and email them after the contest ends. Good luck!
:: We asked Judi to tell us about herself and her design background. Here's what she said...
I am a stay at home mom of the most wonderful children in the world (of course). Shortly after leaving my 8-5 job I became pregnant with my son. He was born 3-1/2 months early. He was in NICU for 2-1/2 months. That experience really taught me more about what is important in life. Thank God he is a healthy and happy 3 year old now!
I started blogging in 2006 and quickly became addicted to it. I love connecting with people through blogging. I also quickly realized I was always interested in having a new look for my personal blog (For True Life). So, I taught myself blog template design. Once I got into it, I opened Doodlebug Designs in hopes of bringing in a little extra money and doing what I had come to love at the same time.
I work hard to provide each client with what they are looking for in a design. I want each and every client to be 100% satisfied with the work I do for them.
:: Here's what Judi told us about her design services...
I provide all types of design services from buttons and banners to fully customized blog designs for Blogger and Word Press users. I also design Twitter backgrounds.
I like to think my “style” is very diverse. I focus on creating the design that the client has envisioned for their site. I go out of my way to make sure I don’t get stuck in the rut of creating “cookie cutter” designs, you know, the ones that all start looking the same. So, whether you want scrapbook style, whimsical, professional, simple, feminine, or whatever, I can do it for you!
I try to keep my waiting list moving along so that my clients don’t have to wait an extremely long time to get their design. Being a blogger myself I know when you want a new design you don’t really want to wait forever for it! I work on several blogs at one time in order to facilitate that.
:: Here are a few of Judi's creative blog designs...
:: Judi also said...I love working with people. I have made many friends through this venture. Some of them have become very close friends. That has been one of the perks of the business. I have truly been blessed.
About 210,000 children's flip flops, made in Brazil by Alpargatas USA Inc., of New York, have been recalled by the CPSC. The reason: decorative paint on the sole of the flip flops can contain high levels of lead, which is toxic if ingested by young children. No incidents or injuries have been reported.
The flip flops were sold between November of 2006 through February of 2009 at different stores, for $15 to $24 a pair.
There has been a lot in the news lately about whether all those educational videos are worth it for babies. Here are a few links to articles that explore the topic.
:: Babies and the Boob Tube (New York Times)
:: TV for Babies: Does It Help Or Hurt (Time)
:: TV Before Age Two Won't Boost Baby's Brain (WebMD)
:: TV Won't Improve Baby's IQ (San Francisco Chronicle)
> Related: the original study we posted on Monday.
For years, reproductive specialists have been helping people become parents, even enabling them to choose the sex of their baby. One fertility doctor is taking things a step further, offering what some are calling "designer babies."
If you could design your baby's features, would you? According to L.A.'s Fertility Institute, prospective parents can select eye color, hair color and more.
If you're a Baby Blog Addict using an internet-enabled mobile device, click here to transform this site into BBA Mobile.
To do this on your mobile device, simply open the internet browser and type www.google.com/gwt/n in the address bar. Enter our URL, choose the mobile site with or without images, then save the new URL as one of your bookmarks. On the iPhone, you can easily add BBA Mobile to your home screen.
Click here to see BBA Mobile without images. Try it out and let us know what you think. Stay informed with BBA updates 24/7!
Put your business in front of more than 20,000 Baby Blog Addicts a month!
BBA SPECIAL: advertise between now and March 6th and get 10% off any ad term longer than one month!
Click here to check out our advertising options and please take a moment to visit our current advertisers in the right sidebar, all of whom have been with us for several months.
A new study suggests that watching television won't improve a baby's language or cognitive skills, even if they watch several hours a day.
An Ohio mother is charged with child endangerment after another driver reported she was breastfeeding and talking on the phone while driving.
"She did admit to breastfeeding her child while driving," said Officer Michael Burke. "She kind of indicated that it's more or less a routine thing that she does."
The caller told police in suburban Dayton that he spotted the minivan-driving mother dropping off children at a school Thursday morning. Authorities used a license plate number to track down 39-year-old Genine Compton, who told them she was breast-feeding and wouldn’t let her child go hungry.
Burke says the legal concern is that Compton had a child in her lap, not that she was breast-feeding in public.
Congrats to prebabyjeans (comment #60) who is the winner of the One Year Subscription to Relish! plus a gift from Crate and Barrel.
She said, "I love the combination of convenience and personal choice. Some of these meal planners only give you 1 or 2 choices. But Relish gives you so many combos it is great!"
:: Click here to find out more about Relish! Online Menu Planning Service.
:: Click here to enter our new giveaway for a BLOG MAKEOVER from Krizzy Designs (ends 3/4).
A friend and fellow baby blog addict, Bridget, came across this story "3 Reasons Moms Are Addicted to the Internet" and posted it on her facebook page. I knew it was one to share with the Baby Blog Addict community. Check it out...
Seeking information, community, and escape, new moms are spending more and more time on the web. How much is too much?
I was scrolling through family photos on my computer, admiring my two beautiful babies, when I spotted a disturbing trend: My laptop was open in almost all of the pictures. There's my daughter, at 8 months, playing at my feet while I typed away on the couch. There's me and my son, a year later, with the laptop at my side as I held him in my arms.
I'd heard about Internet addiction before, but always assumed it was something limited to socially challenged guys who played too much World of Warcraft. Now it seemed my Internet "habit" was slowly but surely crossing the line. Sometimes I found myself up into the wee hours of the morning, surfing the web while my family slept. I read the news, kept up with friends, and looked up answers to endless questions. I wrote my personal blog and read dozens of others, just for something to do.
It turns out I'm not the only mama who plugs in and zones out.
Read more...
We get lots of emails every day and can't feature everyone, but we would like to highlight some. Here are a couple that we'd like to share with the BBA community.
:: Designing Moms Blog - Cat designs a line of stationery products and invitations in San Francisco.
She is also expecting a little one soon and started a collective of designing moms from all areas...stationery, pastry, fashion, editorial, etc. They are all young moms or moms-to-be who have self-owned creative businesses. She wanted to start an informal "creative" support group for moms, so DesigningMoms.blogspot.com was formed. The moms in this blog are creative dynamos and they have such fun, creative ideas that they hope to share with everyone!
:: Baby Punk is a small online website dedicated to selling baby 
clothes. Although they sell a lot of punk-themed items, there are also many other styles of baby clothes including cute baby clothes, political baby clothes, funny baby clothes and many more. They are offering 20% off if you enter the code babyblogaddict. It will expire in February 2010.
:: THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. CLICK HERE TO SEE IF WE HAVE A NEW GIVEAWAY ON BBA.
New to BBA? Check out our welcome message and 
We are excited to introduce you to another amazing blog designer here on BBA. Next up is Krystyn of Krizzy Designs. She is offering a GIVEAWAY too! Krystyn is giving away your choice of either a blog design (with custom header, background and signature) OR the design of a greeting card (you would receive the digital file to print, email or share).
Here's how to enter our giveaway for your choice of either:
1) Go to Krizzy Designs's Blog Designs or her Announcements/Invites Portfolio and search through her creative designs for your favorite.
2) Earn one entry by leaving a comment on this post telling us your favorite design from Krizzy Designs.
3) Earn one extra entry by becoming a BBA Follower in our left column and letting us know in a separate comment. If you are already a follower, you can still earn an extra entry by just letting us know in a separate comment.
4) 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.
5) This giveaway ends: Wednesday, 3/4 at 7:00 PM ET. We'll select a random winner then post their name here on BBA and email them after the contest ends. Good luck!
Here's a little about the designer. We asked Krystyn to tell us about herself and her design background. Here's what she said...
I am a mom of 2 girls (27 months and 3 months old). I am a high school science teacher with a BS and MS in Chemistry...so graphic design is totally not my background. I've learned a little bit through some online classes, but mostly, trial and error and poking around.
I started by redesigning my own blog (reallyareyouserious.blogspot.com) and kept changing it up. Then, I helped some friends out and people started contacting me. I decided to start up a design site and see what happened, and Krizzy Designs was born.
I also am a certified (although not currently teaching) aerobics instructor. I guess you could say that I like to learn and figure out new things. Krizzy Designs keeps me busy on nights and weekends and brings in a little extra fun for me.
Here's what Krystyn told us about her design services.
I design the entire blog (header, background, signature, column headers, buttons, etc) or just pieces. From scrap book style, to smooth and sleek, to using royalty-free images; I'm willing to try whatever the customer wants.
I also love to do greeting cards (birth announcements, holiday cards, party invites, etc) as well. I like to create a design that totally suites the customer's needs.
Here are a few more of Krizzy Design's creative blog designs:
