Breastfeeding... Oy!

Breastfeeding is such a huge, I mean HUMONGOUS part of my life right now. Sometimes I feel like that's all I do. I could say so much on this topic I could probably dedicate an entire blog to the it. In fact, I kinda do.

If you haven't yet, check out my blog on Bravado Designs Breastfeeding Diaries. I share my highs and lows on the subject. And look out, my next post over there is a BIG doozy!

It's about the worst nursing in public experience I've had to date, and all because of my husband. Ok, well I can't totally blame him... Actually, wait, yes I can. And I do. But I won't get into it here or now, but I will do want to tell you one key thing that makes nursing on the go (if you so please), modest (if you so desire) a cinch, and  that's nursing attire. Not just covers--those are great to-- but shirts that keep you covered.

I have one from Milan Maternity and I think I'm going to order another because this one is so comfortable and flattering (if I do say so myself).

I'm still trying to each my dearest that sometimes, quickness is more important than covers or anything else if it means she's going to be screaming her head off in a matter of seconds. But again... I won't get into it.

Instead, let's do a giveaway!

Everyone who comments on this post before December 8th at midnight will be entered to win this Analissa top from Milan Maternity, the online store aimed at providing expecting and new moms with flattering designer shirts at affordable prices. Your choice in color of either mocha or dark heather. If you follow them on Twitter or  Comment on my Bravado Post (any of them) you'll get an extra entry. Or you can like my photo just because, cause I really want to win!
*Thanks Milan Maternity for sponsoring this review/giveaway.

13 Tips for New Bloggers

Two years ago today I started this blog, not sure when I would be ready to have a baby. Now, I'm constantly hitting the "delete" key as my 5 month old daughter smashes the keys while she sits in my lap.

Last night I realized today marks two years of having this blog so I'm skipping a week of posting What I'm Makin' Monday.

I get emails almost on a weekly basis asking tips for having a "successful blog." While this is very flattering, I never know what to say because when I started this blog, I didn't set out for this to be where is is today.

I decided to sit down and think about what I've done and how after two years, I've ended up here. 

1. Do You
Be yourself.
Don't try to be like someone else.
Just write like you talk--Or how you think.

2. Make Friends
Interact with those who have blogs similar to yours.
Twitter and TheSitsGirls are good resources for that!
Visit their blogs, say "hi"
Thank your readers regularly.

Thank you!

3. Update Regularly
Be a little predictable.
Not in your writing, but in how often you post.
You don't have to post every day, but try to keep it regular.
Whether it's once a day, week, or once a month.
Keep it consistent so people know when to come back

4. Spell Check and Edit
Don't freak out about it. Just try.
It helps a lot, and shows you care.
But don't get offended if you miss something and someone points it out to you.
It's better than people secretly snickering. Thank them profusely and fix it.

(This has gotten infinitely more difficult for me since having my daughter, so some days it's worth it to write my post one day, then post the next after I have a day to edit it. I've accidentally posted too early before and it bothers me having typos, so I'm thankful for my friends who point them out for me to fix.)

5. Find Your Niche
What sets your blog apart from others?
Focus on that.
But don't be afraid to mix it up from time to time.
You never know if a new topic will spark a new focus.

6. Ask Yourself "Why am I Blogging?"
Are you blogging to have fun?
For family?
To get free stuff?
To one day write a book?
To try to make an extra income?
In hopes of quitting your day job?

Figure you why you're doing it and remember that's why you're doing it. If you forget why you started in the first place, it can make it hard to stay motivated.

Also, know this can evolve over time. This started as a diary where I could creatively express myself and has turned into more involving some reviews, and some researched-based posts. When I start doing too much of those things though I get bored with myself and miss my "diary days."

About "Sponsorships"
I get a lot of questions about getting sponsored for things, sponsors on your blog, or sponsors for giveaways, reviews, etc. This is something that's evolved a lot since my blog began. When I was getting ready to TTC, I would seek out sponsors to review their fertility products, and do giveaways on my blog etc. But by the time I was pregnant, I didn't need to write to companies, as I had formed my niche and people wrote to me, asking to be sponsors for different pregnancy products etc. Now, I have to decline most review requests, but I still accept giveaway request because I like to give back to my readers. So here's some tips:

7. Find Your Niche
Sound familiar? What's your blog about? What kind of things do you want to sponsor you?
If you're a mom with kids in elementary school, and would like to review learning materials, it makes sense.
But if you're a mom who blogs about fashion and reviews baby products, it doesn't make sense.
Well, unless you're reviewing baby fashion products. Get it?

8. Don't Feel Like You Have to Say Yes to Everything
If your purpose is to review anything and everything on an all encompassing "review blog" still, don't feel like you have to accept everything. I was once offered to do a review/giveaway of my choice of sex toy. While--considering the title of my blog--I could have twisted it fit in with "baby making," that's not something I write about, nor would I feel comfortable reviewing. So I respectfully declined.

I also don't write about cooking or cleaning products because I don't really do that stuff. But I will soon, so maybe one day I will.

9. Reach Out
The name of the game in LIFE is connections. Reach out and get connected with people who are doing what you want to do. I'm a strong believer in having a "mentor"--No, several! With anything you want to get better at. Find someone you look up to and reach out to them. Don't be offended if they don't respond, it's not personal, you know how busy life can get!

There are forums for moms who like to review things. I'm not familiar with many but I know MomDot has one, and Mom Bloggers Club.

10. Start Small
When you're ready to start doing reviews, don't go for the big fish right off the bat. Start small. You can contact companies about a review, but don't expect to always get a yes. Companies will look at your blog, your following, and want to know your statistics. But once you get some reviews under your belt, you can move up to "bigger things."

You can also start by reviewing products you already have at home. If you're wanting to get into electronic reviews, review your home TV, your universal remote, your new MP3 player, your Blue Ray, you get the idea.

11. Don't Wait to be Contacted
If you really want to review that new children's book on your blog there are a few things you can do. 1. Of course buy it and write about it. Or 2. Contact them and tell them about who you are, your blog, and why it would be beneficial for them to send you a copy to review and how doing a giveaway also would build even more excitement for it.

12. When it Comes to Advertising...
~Only work with those you can truly stand behind. It's not a good idea to accept a formula ad if you're anti-formula.
~Be realistic in what you charge.
~Don't expect to get rich. When people assume I'm making lots of money from this blog I chuckle. Ad space and reviews aren't where the money is. I have a full time job and that's how I pay my bills. I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm just saying most people aren't making a living off of their personal blogs.

And finally...

13. When You Gain Momentum and Clout
~Know that people will be mean. There's a sweet blogger I read who has over 8000 followers. People get jealous and stoop to low levels to try to bash her. Calling her names and making fun of her daughter. She writes things just about any other mom would blog about, but when you are very visible it's easier for people to try to shoot you down. If they hated your writing/photos/opinions so much they wouldn't be reading, much less taking the time to tell you about it.

Keep doing you and ignore the madness. Well, unless you're Heather Armstrong aka Dooce, and decide to start Monetize the Hate--a whole separate site filled with ads alongside the hate mail she gets.

Remember, for every 1 hater you have 755Xs more people who love you (hypothetically speaking).

See #1!

Happy Blogging!

Ask Me Anything!

I haven't done one of these posts in awhile and lately I've been getting quite a few emails with questions for me and I try my best to reply to them all but it's really hard! So I'm going to make an FAQ page and add the questions I get most.

It's okay if you don't have a common question, or want to ask anonymously. I'll answer all of them sometime next week in another post, and put any duplicates or ones I've gotten emails about on my FAQ page.

Thanks and Happy Saturday!

Lil' J is a Baby Einstein: New Discovery Kits!

The first time I heard about Baby Einsteins I was a teenager and babysitting for a woman at my church. She asked me to play it if we were going to have the TV on.

I'm not sure if back then people thought these movies would make babies smarter or something, but the name sorta implies that at first.

I didn't think I'd be one of "those moms" who experiments with baby DVDs with her child but here I am!

A friend of mine gave me her baby Einstein movies since her baby is older now and Lil' J watched them for a little while on my computer screen. This was about a month ago. I put them away and didn't think much else about them until I was sent these new Baby Einstein Discovery Kits to try!

These are cool because each kit is a different "level" with different things to experience. We got Level 1 "Experience": Baby Mozart, which comes with a DVD, a CD with the tunes from the DVD and a book with some of the images from the movie. Level 2 "Explore": Which also came with a DVD, a CD and flash cards. And Level 3 "Expression": Which came with a DVD, a CD and book.

Each property of each kit coincides together so it's like a continuous lesson.The second and third lessons are more advanced for Lil' J to understand right now but she sure loves all the stuff! She likes the movies and actually gets "zoned in" to them, and now when we play the music in her room upstairs, or if I play it on my computer I can see her stop what she's doing and sorta look around like "I know that song!"

Ok, so we were watching one of the movies yesterday and I had to take a quick video of her watching it so you can see how entertained she is by it. Her little face watches the penguins run back and forth on the screen, it's cute!


You can see for a second she gets bored and looks away but just then the screen flashes and something else starts happening. It's almost like it's timed perfectly to her attention span.

What I like about these is it's not just one of those "sit your kids in front of the TV and let this teach them" kind of things. The book and cards that go along with it make it fun to take the lesson away from the TV and have a little learning time together. I like to try to do this anyway with our own books and toys but this is a fun way to make learning with her well-rounded. Oh, and I love that it uses words in English, French and Spanish, so I'm learning too!

These are new and a neat gift idea for Christmas!

Everyone who comments on this post before next Friday December 3rd will be entered to win 3 Baby Einstein Discovery kits! Blog followers get an extra entry. Random.org will choose the winner. Good luck!


*I received a free sample of Baby Einstein’s Discovery Kit to test for this review and giveaway, which is part of a sponsored program through the BabyCenter Blog Network.”

Christmas Gifts for a 6 Month Old and $100 Giveaway!

It's not that I'm anti-toy, it's just that I think kids have SO many toys these days. Now I know this is easy for me to say now because Lil' J is only nearly 5 months old and is just starting to show interest in some toys. I'm sure once she's older, walking, talking and into playing. But even then, I want to make a rule to where she can only have enough toys to fit in her toybox. When there's too much for that, it's time to donate and trade up.

I half expected I'd just go to a Goodwill myself and look for some toys I'd bleach clean but I decided Christmas and Birthdays are occasions we can splurge on new toys. But what's the best toys for her age group?

Right now she's still quite in the infant sensory stage, and likes things that are black and white, she loves mirrors, and things she can chew on, but she's starting to like to grab, and shake things, and I know by Christmas she'll be all over the cause-and-effect toys that involve banging, shaking, pushing pulling etc.


So off I set on an online adventure looking for Black Friday deals on baby toys.

I already bought her a Tickle Me Elmo (the regular one, not Xtreme) off eBay and a stuffed Cookie Monster to go with him. She loves Elmo and his voice so I know she'll love him.

I'm totally into VTech toys for some reason. Maybe because I've always been an electronics kid myself. I also figure if a toy is going to make noise and light up it might as well be an educational toy. I want to get Lil' J this VTech Touch and Learn Musical Bee. It's similar to the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Puppy, which I also like, but it has better ratings and is only $18 at Walmart.

It plays upbeat songs when you bounce it around and soothing songs other times. It also helps teach numbers, colors and shapes. I'm actually trying to see if I can find one in Spanish since it's a given she'll be learning these things in English.

Another VTech toy I'm eyeing is this VTech Baby's Learning Laptop. It's only $14.54 at Walmart (it may be a Black Friday sale?) and it helps teach shapes, common objects, and feelings. She'll mostly be interested in the noises and lights it makes at this age, but in another year--If she's not bored of it yet, she can use the mouse pad and do more with it. This toy also has really high ratings and seems like babies like it quite awhile. It also comes in a pink but I'll get the more neutral blue.

If I'm going to splurge on one toy it's may be this 5-in-1 adjustable gym from Little Tikes. It looks really cool because it grows with her. She's just starting to sit up a little, but she could also lay down to play with it, or stand up with it when she's older. The ratings aren't as high and for being $45 at Toys R' Us, I'm thinking I may look around on Craigslist for it. Or, use our Babies R Us gift card for it (anyone know if TRU accepts BRU gift cards?).

I'm really into more of the simple things though like this wooden farm book. Lil' J loves books for some reason. When we bring out books at home to read to her every day, or if were reading or singing from books at church she loves to grab them. She loves board books and I think a wooden one she'd like even more. It'd be practically indestructible, and make a cool noise when the pages clap together.

This Sassy Fill and Spill Bucket is exactly what the name says and I think, exactly what babies love to do. Fill and dump... Mostly dump. So I think she'd like something like this, and it's only $10.

Lil' J also loves lights and things that move. I'm thinking about getting this Tiny Love Nature Soothing Serenade Mobile for her, but it's a little pricey too at about $45. She really likes the butterfly mobile I made for her, she has since birth. Now she kicks and laughs at it during the day, but at night she can't see it because it doesn't glow. I'm not sure if I'll get something to this extreme for her crib, maybe I'll get something more subtle, but I think she'd like it if there was something nice and glowey in there, and what better time than Christmas to get it for her!

Finally, one of our friends gave us this rain forest jumper and I packed it up since I was about 6 months pregnant with a ways to go. I forgot I had it and may save it for Christmas, or take it out before and see how she likes it.

If she does like it than I think she'll LOVE a door jumper (like a Johnny Jumper). I just can't decide if I'd rather the Sassy Seat Doorway Jumper that has lights and toys and fun things and is about $35.

Or the fancy smantsy Merry Muscles Jumper Exerciser Baby Bouncer that's about $85, but apparently lasts a long time and is better for your baby's feet etc. I just don't want to spend a lot of money if she ends up hating it. I think she'll love the bouncers though because she loves to kick and jump with us already.

So that's that for the toys on my shopping list. I'm much more into clothes myself. I used to think clothing was a boring gift but now that I have a child myself I understand why parents like buying them... To see their kids dressed up all cute! I'm in love with the Tea Collection. An online shop with children's clothing for the little citizens of the world! Here's a few of my favorites:

Croatian Floral Hoodie

Romanian Floral Top

Eniko Yoke Dress

Hungarian Floral Dress

All of the my blog followers (old or new) who leave a comment letting me know their favorites from this store before December 8th will be entered to win $100 to spend there! You get an extra entry if you follow @teacollection on twitter or if you let me know a Christmas gift recommendation for my husband or Lil' J (hehe, I'm cheating). Random.org will choose the winner, good luck!  

In a few hours I'll be posting another Christmas gift idea that Lil' J LOVES, plus doing a giveaway for it!

Things That Drive Me Nuts

I thought since everyone else in the world--Or at least this country I live in, is taking the time to say what they're thankful for, I'd take the time to share the things that drive me nuts. We know how I like to go against the grain.

1. The guy driving behind me who decides he wants to go around, then FLIES past me, only to stop at the red like ahead. Why speed up to stop? I don't get it.

2. The "Natural" marketing phenomenon and the fact that I'm buying into it. Case in point? I'm hooked on natural Cheetos. Sure, they're not dyed orange. But does that mean that my eating a bag of them by myself every other day is good for me? No. Last I checked Cheetos don't grow on trees.

3. Automatic toilets/faucets/paper towel dispensers: These things tend to do the opposite of what you want them to do. You sit on the toilet and it flushes, then when you stand up it does nothing. The gross thing is when it flushes while you're sitting you feel the wetness of water and Lawd knows what else. Put the handle back on the toilet so I can flush it with my foot.

On to the sinks... I get my hands all soapy, and wave it under the faucet and nothing. Just when I'm pulling my hands out to try another sink it turns on, but doesn't stay on long enough for me to rinse off the soap. Of course there's no other way to turn the water on so your forced to look like an idiot while you play peekaboo with the face bowl.

4. Facebooks constant revamping: Just when I get my Facebook privacy settings figured out, and get my updates situated the way I like, they come out with another "new" Facebook. I also don't like how the "like" option has made everyone lazy. Why take the time to tell you that picture you just posted of your Thanksgiving turkey looks absolutely scrumptious when I can just lift my finger and push "like."

5. New toilet paper rolls: I shred a good fourth of the roll trying to get the thing going because of the sticky stuff at the beginning.

6. Mullets

8. Having to pretend like I know the actor/artist/movie a friend is referring to when really I haven't a clue who that is.

They go on saying "you know, they were in... And the song goes like..." instead of saying no, I go "oh yea!" when really I haven't a clue. This saves them from having to continue on their list of refreshers when I know it's not going to help.

9. My belly fat. Or skin. Or whatever it is that's left hanging over my jeans.

10. Loosing the drawstring on my pants/hoodie in that little hole. I pull it out of the dryer and noticed it got sucked in! I'm never getting that back out.

And this little one NEVER drives me nuts. She's a perfect little angel! ... Can you taste the sarcasm dripping from that statement? Good.

Despite her driving me nuts from time to time, I am thankful for her, and my husband and even Snoop, who obviously can make me a little nuts.

Happy Thanksgiving!

For those of you wondering, I ordered Lil' J's Thanksgiving tunic dress and hairbow custom from Sumo's Sweet Stuff $20 (I know, it's nuts!)

My Break Up With Cloth Diapers

When I came home from work the second thing I noticed was my daughter wearing a disposable diaper. I asked my husband why she wasn't in a cloth diaper (in a loving, non-accusatory way) and he told me it was because they needed to be washed. Which brings us back to the first thing I noticed--The smell.

Instead of mahogany and leather bound books, my house smelled of dirty diapers.

My husband did the laundry while I nursed and reunited with our daughter. But when I went to pull a diaper out of the dryer, the smell hit me like a ton of bricks.

I sat there for a second wondering if my husband remembered you're supposed to wash the diapers first before putting them in the dryer. But they were clean. They just didn't smell like it.

I took my question to Google. How to wash cloth diapers. Simple enough, right? WRONG!

If you want to scare someone out of trying cloth diapers show them this site. I read that from the get go and saw I was doing it all wrong. According to that website I was supposed to wash my BRAND NEW diapers 5 to 10 times before using. Yea, that didn't happen.

So I took my question to twitter. And you know how simple questions can go controversial, but I tried to keep it friendly. Just thanked everyone for their suggestions, or letting me know their washing routine.

Most people told me they wash first on a cold cycle then again on a hot cycle before drying. Are you kidding me?

I told my husband we should add an extra wash cycle to our diapers and he laughed at me.

"Do you know how much our water bill went up last month?" He asked me.

I shook my head.

"Twenty dollars."

That's not how much our water bill was total, that's how much it went up in our month of using cloth diapers. Needless to say this was an all time high. And I'm not a math whiz but based on my quick calculations I guessed if we washed the diapers an extra time per load, it would probably go up an extra $20 and therefor cost us $40 a month just to wash cloth diapers.

Not cool.

So adding an extra wash cycle was out of the question.

I try to follow the yellow let it mellow, brown flush it down rule--you know--to conserve water. But this would cancel out my efforts.

The next common response I got was that I was using too much detergent. Wanna bet? I hardly put any in. I heard time and time again not to put the average amount in because it would cause detergent build up on the diapers. So I put about 1/4 of the recommended amount in the load to be safe.

One person told me maybe that probably wasn't enough. I can't win!

People kept telling me time and time again to buy some Rockin' Green Soap. Everyone raves about no stinky diapers with this stuff. What is it? It's a $14+ bag of detergent that is ya know--Natural, green, biodegradable, probably even edible, I dunno. But it was hard for me to bring myself to spend that much on detergent. I was ready to give in, but just to be sure, I asked one of my friends who swears by the stuff if she uses it in one wash cycle.

Nope.

*crickets*

No? You're telling me I'd still have to wash my diapers twice, PLUS by this extra fancy soap?

Shouldn't something that's natural cost less, not more? And can't I just use something around the house to make them smell better?

As a matter of fact, you can. --At least that was a crowd of twitter friends told me. Using vinegar in the wash can help take the smell of ammonia out.

And then there's always good old fashioned sunshine. Which I already know works wonders on stains.

My husband bought me clothespins--For the diapers, not my nose--And I strung the diapers up along my clothesline outside on my porch. Yes, we looked a little um... tacky. But I was saving energy dangit, and trying to defunk my diapers!

I left them out on my porch while I went to work, and brought them in that night. They were slightly stiff, so I fluffed them in the dryer for a few minutes and took them out. Not only did they look brand new, they smelled that way too!

It was glorious. No fancy detergent needed. No extra wash cycle required, and I can save my vinegar for... Whatever I may need vinegar for in the future.

I've decided I'm going to do this to my diapers every few weeks, or once a month or whenever I notice they're getting a little stinky. I think it beats using twice as much water per load.

A lady at church told me she makes her own detergent using Carlie's soap, I believe. So I think I'm going to do that next time to save myself money on detergent, while also using something that is not going to make the diapers stink or become less absorbent. I came to this conclusion after seeing this detergent chart.

I've also started putting my diapers on a medium or small load instead of large to save more water. They're still getting clean so I guess it's ok for now. Another thing I'm doing is washing every third day instead of every other day. That's cut down on some of the water usage too.

So the cloth diapers and I hit a rough patch. I'll admit, we broke up for a few days. But I missed them right away. Especially after Lil' J had her first blowout in a month. She then had blow out after blowout during her stint back in disposables. The cloth diapers and I have worked through our problems and I think we're going to make it.

Funny thing though... There was a stack of dirty pampers diapers in the bathroom upstairs (the pail is reserved for the cloth ones.) Once we threw those out, our house no longer smelled of dirty diapers.

Ironic.

Make Me Babies Had it SO Wrong!

I decided to take a trip down memory lane and re-read some of my old posts. That's when I happened upon this one. I was newly pregnant and curious what out unborn child would look like. Unfortunately, MakeMeBabies.com's suggested outcomes game me nightmares.

It made me laugh a little, how wrong it was. Ok, so my baby is A LOT lighter than I pictured, but she looks nothing like this...

Or this

or this

ok she does look a little like this

But nothing like THIS

THANK GOODNESS!

Instead she came out much cuter. Well, depending on the time of day you catch her.

Look at your baby.

Now back at mine.

Now back to yours.

Now back to mine.

She's an alien. Sadly, yours isn't. But maybe she could be if you hung around radioactive buildings.

Now look down.

Back up.

Back down.

Where are you? You're visiting my blog. And my baby is a cyclops.

What's in your hand?

Now back to me.

Back down.

I have TWINS!
 

Look again.

They're a Siamese twins.

Anything's possible when you combine imagination, boredom and a baby's nap time.

We're a ying yang.

A Blog Button: What I'm Makin' Monday

Once again I'm not doing the best job at creativity with my What I'm Makin' Monday meme, but I worked 11 days in a row and haven't had time to sit down and craft like I want to. Next week will be better!

This week the only thing I made (not even a real meal, isn't that sad?) is a blog button for my Flash Giveaway.

I'm not really good at making blog buttons, or designing anything for that matter, but I was sorta a little impressed with how snazzy I made this button in a matter of minutes.

I looked around at different blog event buttons and got a few ideas for what works and noticed a few things: 1. Having 2-3 colors in the button, no more. 2. Having 2-3 different fonts or sized fonts so it's not all the same size. This can make up for lack of graphics.

I'd much rather hire someone like The Design Girl or A Blog to Brag About to make me a fun button, but I thought I'd make a simple something instead of wasting their time rushing on something that's, oh yea--TODAY!

Speaking of which I got NINE more sponsor requests for the giveaway. So now there's more than $1200 (I lost count of amount once we hit $1200) worth of prizes for 38 winners! I hope you'll stop by my facebook page to enter. It's simple, and for you, my loyal readers who have stuck by me! I wrote a note on how the giveaway works so read that. It's only going on for 24 hours, so if you snooze you loose!

Here's some more info about the final nine sponsors who are giving away a fun prize in the giveaway. You can see the other prizes here.

One thing I noticed today is that a lot of my twitter and blog friends decided to join in on the giveaway fun to expand their facebook fan base. You don't have to have a business to sponsor. Double Duty Mommy make cute baby hair bows and she's giving away $15 worth of hair bows to one winner. That's enough to buy 3 custom headbands for your little cutie.

I'm so excited that Ellie Adorn has asked to sponsor this event. I was so excited when I saw her nursing rings that I bought one of my own! Lil' J loves to pull on my shirt, or necklace if I'm wearing one, and this will be a nice distraction while she's eating. Especially since she gets so distracted lately and tries to socialize instead of eat when we're out! This is ok when we're in the mother's lounge at church but awkward if we're anywhere else. I think it could also be a nice teething toy too since she's so into chewing on everything lately. I purposely got a limited edition leopard print cause I think she's like the black and while speckles, but the winner of this giveaway gets to choose the nursing necklace of their choice!

Sweet Dreams Maternity Wear is also chiming in with a prize for you. They sell beautiful maternity gowns so you still feel beautiful and special, even when you may not feel it so hot. Well, maybe you feel hot, but not in a sexy way. They also just released a new line called "Baby Rockin' Mama" featuring a flashy guitar over your baby bump perfect for your little rock star. Singer Alicia Keys owns one! Sweet Dreams Maternity is giving away a $25 gift certificate to their shop!

Another shop giving away $25 to their store is BBaby Bling. What baby doesn't look adorable in bling? Lil' J and I LOVE bling, and she has one of these adorable bibs! I'm going to snap a picture of her in her blinged-out slobber-catcher and post it later today on my facebook page so you can see how cute it is. Like I mentioned, the winner gets $25 to this store which also sells customizable baby bling in onesies, hats, shirts, blankets and bibs.

I'm on the hunt for Christmas toys right now for Lil' J, I don't want to go crazy but I want to get a few educational things and something she can have fun filling and dumping, cause really, that's all kids this age want to do. Totally Kids Fun Furniture and Toys has all sorts of toys and furniture for kids all ages and they're giving away a $15 gift card to their store for three winners!

I thought I made cute tutus, but Alyssa from She's Mommiefied makes some adorable tutus, and she's going to give one lucky winner their choice in color and style for a custom tutu! Technically, I guess you could get one for yourself, but I think this is aimed for smaller people. This mom has an adorable baby girl and apparently two cervixes... Crazy right? Yea, that's what she says! She's a fun read!

Emily, from Baby Dickey is one of my blog besties. She is being such a good friend in supporting me. Not only has she read my blog awhile (I think) but she's also chipping in this giveaway and donating a prize! Is giving away a $15 Sock Punky from, well, Sock Punky. These things are so cute. I personally like the Hippo the best but Emily things the Monkeys are cute so I'm sampling a monkey for you all to see. Be sure to check out the shop to see more of the cute stuff and eyeball what you want! More importantly, check out Emily's great blog. She does lots of great giveaways too, so if you're into that, be sure to visit her giveaway blog as well.

Another top Etsy shop favorie of mine--Mod Mom Me-- is one of the final sponsors who squeezed into the giveaway and I'm so glad. I have one of her beautiful diaper clutches and I bought a wet bag to match it, and I'm about to buy another wet bag and a burp cloth and... Ok, I need to stop. Seeing all this fun stuff yall get to win is making me spend WAY too much money! Anyway, the mama behind these adorable projects just started making changing pad roll ups and one lucky winner will win one today!

And finally, last but not least, Addi's Closet is wrapping up the flash giveaway with some of her beautiful satin and Swarovski clips. She has two adorable kiddos of her own and enjoys art adn creating beautiful things. Which she has done here with these pretty clips. The winner gets two in the color of their choice.

And there you have it my friends! I'm no longer taking new sponsors, and anyone else who's interested can be on the top of the list for my next one, which will be at a date that is not yet determined.

Remember, this all starts today around 9am, and lasts all day! I'll post a giveaway or two every hour and you'll have 24 hours to enter before the giveaway closes! More information in the Flash Giveaway Sponsor Lineup Note! See you there!

PS: Back to my regularly scheduled programming tomorrow! :)

<a href="http://babymakingmachine.blogspot.com/search/label/makin%20monday" target="_blank"><img alt="What I'm Making Monday" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4571783992_a80397e7d1_o.png" /></a>
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Get Ready for the Flash Giveaway and Cloth Diaper Skeptic Winner

Well, there are a few more sponsors who are going to help me celebrate YOU! Yes, to thank you for reading along I'm doing a 2000 Follower Flash Giveaway, and have rallied up 21 prizes totalling nearly $1000 for 27 winners! So I wanted to let you know what's up for grabs!

First up, CSN stores has offered me a review or giveaway, and since I already have a lot of cool stuff I've decided to give away the $75 credit to their store, which you can use for things like children's luggage, kitchen wear, clothes, furniture, just about anything! Don't all thank me at once ;)

Now, a prize that I used religiously while I was pregnant, and still sometimes now that I'm nursing, BeNice Prenatal is also going to be giving away two boxes of their prenatal drink mix. One each for two lucky winners! Each box will be full of either berry or lemonade flavored mix packets, which are full of prenatal vitamins for mom and baby!

WildTree with Amanda is also giving away $15 to her WildTree shop, which has tasty foods like banana bread, Apple Cranberry Jam, soups, dips, dressings, and so much more! It's a company that helps family have great tasting nutritious meals that can be prepared in minutes.

Baby Sleep Bags told me they want to be a part of this giveaway. They're offering a great prize--An Oatmeal Merino Kids Baby Sleep Bag (for 0-2years) to giveaway. Some research has said these are better than the traditional fleece sleep bags and help babies sleep better. Sounds good to me! It's valued at $119.99!!

And last, but certainly not least, Chic Mama is going to be sponsoring a giveaway. Chic Mama is home to diaper cakes and much more. Just check out these glamorous tote bags, plus she has strollers, clothing, stuff more dads and more! For the giveaway a winner will get to choose a diaper cake of their choice up to a $50 value!

**New Sponsors-Just Added!**

If you didn't know, you don't have to make something to join in on my Flash Giveaway! One of my personal and totally awesome blog friends Mama B, is a sponsor for my flash giveaway and she's donating either a FuzziBunz one size diaper OR a $20 Amazon Gift Card... Your Choice!

Son Up Designs is also chipping in and going to be a sponsor for this giveaway! She makes Anything from cloth diapers, diaper bags, blankets, burpies, and totes, to headbands for mom. She's giving away a $35 certificate to use towards a private listing in her shop! You can have her make you something special and custom! She makes adorable stuff like this Hip Mama Diaper bag!

Getting a head start on Spring Cleaning? Clean More Green is sponsoring a giveaway for a green Antibac Enviro Cloth. It prevents the transfer of germs from one surface to another, and cross-contamination between your hands.

Another great sponsor offering something for families with little girls AND little boys is Mother Goose Collections. She hand-makes tutus, bows, onesies, dresses, cute shirts, bags and all sorts of adorable stuff! They're sponsoring $20 to get anything at their shop!

DoTERRA Worldwide is sponsoring a giveaway of their essential oils. I have some of these myself and LOVE them. The Lavender calms Lil' J down at night and gets her ready for bed. It's also soothing for my husband and I! I also use some of the Lavender for my own cloth wipes solution but it has dozens of other uses, along with the lemon and peppermint essential oils. They're Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade CPTG essential oils, the purest grade on the market and safe to use internally as well as typically and aromatically. Ok, enough of my raving about it, win some of your own in this giveaway!

And finally, last, but certainly not least, one of my other favorite Etsy shop owner is sponsoring a giveaway! Summer, from Sumo's Sweet Stuff is sponsoring a giveaway for $15 to her shop! I'm working on an entire new wardrobe for Lil' J encompassed of dresses and hairbows from this shop.

I have three already (one more being made) and probably like 10 more to go! She's so talented and can take an idea you have and make it into a reality! Plus, $15 goes a LONG way in her shop! I'm so happy she's decided to join in on the fun!

Well, I hope you're excited about the prizes. That's only about half of the sponsors, the rest are listed here, and there may be some more creeping in before Monday. I'll put the full list on my Facebook Page, which remember, is where the giveaway will be held, not here on my blog.

So, are you coming? I sure hope so! Comment here to RSVP and you may get an extra entry into a few of the giveaways!

Also, here's the winner of the Sprout Change Cloth Diaper Skeptic Giveaway! Lil' J chose the winner who I'll be buying the starter kit for!