Hey everyone!  Just wanted to restate the rules for voting!   You are allowed to comment (though it DOES NOT COUNT as a vote) – Please keep this a friendly competition!  The kiddo with the most votes will get an amazon giftcard (okay, so their parents will get the amazon gift card…) — the next FIVE runners-up will win Target giftcards!!  Goodluck to all of you!: Voting will begin first thing Monday morning (literally, 12AM central) August 30, 2010 and is open to any Facebook fan of Bye Bye with Baby.  There is no limit on fans or votes; asking your family and friends to vote for your child is acceptable and encouraged.  Voting is open from Monday through Sunday, September 5, 2010, coming to a close at 12 MIDNIGHT (central).

VOTING TIMELINE

To vote for your favorite, simply “like” the photo of the child you choose in the labeled contest album.  Voters are allowed like as many photos as they want.

To share our Fan page with others, simply click “Suggest to Friends” underneath our default photo.  You can choose who you’d like to send an invitation to, however you cannot add a personal message this way.  If you would like to share our page with your friends but also mention for them to vote for your child, we suggest you post a status message with a link to our fan page by typing @bye-bye with baby (right after you type @b it should list friends/pages that start with b, continue typing until you find bye-bye with baby or select us right away from the list) and YOU MUST CLICK IT FROM THE DROP DOWN LIST to add our page in the message.  This will “tag” our page and directly link to it.

To directly see the facebook photo album where all photos are located, click here.

Tags: byebyewithbaby.com, contest, family friendly search engine, giveaway, nursing room locator

We have been overwhelmed by you; website users, facebook fans, and twitter followers – overwhelmed with excitement that you’ve not only embraced our idea of “Moms helping Moms,” but you’ve FAR surpassed our hopes for spreading the word about us to your friends, family, and business owners!

The daily suggestion list has grown, the comments and ratings on places that are already listed is growing, AND best of all – thanks to YOU GUYS, our fan base is growing!  Your positivity keeps us moving forward and we appreciate all of the feedback you send in!

Since we love the topic of traveling with children, we wanted to host another FAN PHOTO CONTEST, this time with a travel theme!  We’re looking for any photo of your child (ages 0-10) in the car!  Please read over the rules (lengthy, I know but everyone needs to be aware of how the contest works so you can all have a fair shot!!)

******RULES OF ENTRY*******

ELIGIBILITY: The Contest is open to any child ages 0-10 who has been entered by their parent. Household members of Bye Bye with Baby employees are not eligible. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited by law.  ONE winner will be chosen overall, FIVE runner-up photos will be chosen as well.

HOW TO ENTER: You may enter online at the Bye Bye with Baby Facebook page (you must become a fan to enter, click here to become a fan) by adding a photograph to the Bye Bye with Baby  fan page wall. You must include the child’s FIRST NAME ONLY.  Last day to submit entry to our Facebook photos/wall is SUNDAY,  August 29, 2010.     
You may only submit one (1) photo per child per household. BBwB reserves the right to disqualify multiple entries. Incomplete or inaccurate entries are void. BBwB is not responsible for any lost, late, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, or misdirected registrations, which will be disqualified.

 CONTEST PHOTO FORMAT RESTRICTIONS:  Copyright: All photos and descriptions must be your own. Do not submit a photo or description created by someone other yourself.  All entry information becomes the property of BBwB. By entering the contest, entrants grant BBwB a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide license to display any submitted photographs. Entrant name may be displayed on the BBwB fan page and within BBwB advertising and promotions without any fee or other form of compensation. 

 We have noticed privacy settings or phone upload settings not allowing other users to view photos or find the child they would like to vote for.  In some isntances, the moderators of our fan page (and The Mom Squad members) have not seen photo submissions so please make certain the photos you share have privacy settings that allow us to see your picture!   

JUDGING CRITERIA AND SELECTION OF WINNERS:  Submissions will come to an end on Sunday and The Mom Squad will then organize the entries for voting.  Bye Bye with Baby Facebook fans will be able to vote for their favorites from Monday, August 30^th – Sunday, September 5, 2010.  The winners will be announced on MONDAY, September 6^th, 2010 on our Facebook fan page.  Users will be able to “LIKE” the photos in the contest album (and facebook only allows one “Like” per photo)

Facebook Fans of BBwB will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite kids by “liking” their photo in the contest album.  Multiples submitted in the same photo count as “one vote” for that and in the event they get the most votes, they will both be considered the “sole” winner.

******RULES FOR VOTING*******

The Mom Squad will go through the photos that have been submitted, add them to a new folder with no comments or “likes,” and unlock the album when the contest voting opens up.

VOTING TIMELINE: Voting will begin first thing Monday morning (literally, 12AM central) August 30, 2010 and is open to any Facebook fan of Bye Bye with Baby.  There is no limit on fans or votes; asking your family and friends to vote for your child is acceptable and encouraged.  Voting is open from Monday through Sunday, September 5, 2010, coming to a close at 12 MIDNIGHT (central).

To vote for your favorite, simply “like” the photo of the child you choose in the labeled contest album.  Voters are allowed like as many photos as they want.

To share our Fan page with others, simply click “Suggest to Friends” underneath our default photo.  You can choose who you’d like to send an invitation to, however you cannot add a personal message this way.  If you would like to share our page with your friends but also mention for them to vote for your child, we suggest you post a status message with a link to our fan page by typing @bye-bye with baby (right after you type @b it should list friends/pages that start with b, continue typing until you find bye-bye with baby or select us right away from the list) and YOU MUST CLICK IT FROM THE DROP DOWN LIST to add our page in the message.  This will “tag” our page and directly link to it.

Tags: photo contest

Hope you guys are having a FANtastic Friday – don’t you worry, we’ve saved the best for last!  Today’s feature is Custom Baby Boutique (who we’ve mentioned on our blog before and KNEW we had to work with for Back to School Week!) 

Their specialty?  Custom baby and children’s items—if you’re looking for cute, personalized, high quality items for you kiddo, check with them first – it’s likely they’ll have everything you need! 

• Custom Nap Mats – some in stock, others take approximately 2 weeks to ship (see shipping times here)

• Personalized Sippy Cups, Kid’s Cups, Tumblers, Koozies & Iced Tea Glasses
• Toddler Tote Bags
• Quilted Diaper Bags
• Quilted Back Packs
• Monogrammed Backpacks
• Personalized Lunch Boxes
• Baby gifts, shirts, Mom items & so much more!

This store was one of the first added to the “We Heart Handmade” category as we’ve heard nothing but great reviews on every item our friends, family, and fans have purchased!  I know during back-to-school shopping, many of you are looking for a great nap mat for your pre-schooler, a cute lunchbox for your third grader, or something to make your kindergartner feel special as you send her off each day… well look no further – Kari at www.custombabyboutique.com will help you with ANYTHING you need!

*Giveaway Details*
To end our FABULOUS Back2School week – we’ve put together the ultimate prize package for YOUR child (no matter what age!)  Enter by visiting www.custombabyboutique.com and comment our blog with your favorite item! 

We’ll use random.org to give away our FANtastic Friday Package:
·         personalized lunch box
·         personalized sippy cup/kids straw cup (depending on the age of your child)
·         personalized snack holder with fabric insert

“Like” Custom Baby Boutique on FACEBOOK for deals & updates!

::Michelle
The Mom Squad

***********Contest Closed*****************

Tags: backpacks, custom koozies, custom lunchbox, custom nap mat, custom toddler bags, embroidered baby gifts, embroidered bags for children, embroidered lunch box, embroidery, nap mat with blanket, nap mats, personalized baby gifts, personalized cups, personalized sippy cup, toddler bags

We are SO EXCITED to introduce today’s Back to School Week  ”must have” to our readers!  Each member of The Mom Squad has come across this Etsy shop on at least one occasion and we all were stopped in our tracks by not only the cuteness of this item, but the functionality of it!

Today, we bring to you….THE OUCH POUCH!

dun, Dun, DUNNNN!

Karen, the mastermind behind this brilliant design, is a long time crafter and OBVIOUSLY a fantastic problem solver!  Like most moms, I carry around a small bag that has all the little necessities that one might need when they are out with their little ones.  I like to call mine the “Mom Emergency” kit…but one thing I couldn’t stand about it was the fact that I would have to DIG to find something as simple as a band-aid or thermometer.  Not only that, but because it closed with a zipper, it would take two hands to open…and I usually only had one to spare!  This is where the Ouch Pouch came in to make life so much easier!

These small, adorable pouches have a see-through front window so you can easily locate the item you need.  They open and close with a simple snap, so moms on the go can balance a baby and reach for what they need with only one hand!

Now, while these pouches are great for moms on the go, they also make great little additions to your school-aged child’s back packs!  Need a cute affordable back-to-school gift to give your child’s new teacher?  These Ouch Pouches are perfect!

Favorite seller:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/PillowSewCute
Etsy feedback rating:  1939, 100% positive
What she sells:  The Ouch Pouch
Custom requests:  YES! 

***********GIVE AWAY AND SPECIAL OFFER DETAILS************

 Karen is offering a special discount for our BBwB blog readers!  When you place an order in her shop, enter BBwB at checkout to receive a 20% discount on your entire order!

In addition to this awesome offer, we will also be giving away an ouch pouch to one of our lucky readers!  To enter today’s give away, tell us what must have items YOU would carry in your Ouch Pouch.  We will use Random.org to select a winner at the end of the day!  Good luck to you all, and happy shopping!

~Gina
The Mom Squad

**************Contest Closed*****************

Tags: diaper bag accessories, diaper bag organizer, diaper pouch, etsy, handmade, ouch pouch

Okay – so every single kid out there has crayons – it’s basically the best way to keep kids busy for any short amount of time (obviously, they even hand them out at restaurants to keep your kiddo busy!)    Now comes the problem of storage… Do you have a crayon box, bucket, or unorganized container at home (brimming over with crayon pieces and crayon wrappers?)

One of the cutest back-to-school trends we’ve noticed is the crayon roll!  It’s such a simple and cute way to keep the crayons from rolling around in the old-school crayon box, not to mention how it takes up much less space in the backpack!

It’s time to upgrade – stop keeping those crayon boxes held together mid-year by tape and rubberbands… get your child this sweet little item to make school supplies organized and charming!  The crayon roll pictured above was made by LBDesigns (one of our past Etsy favorites!)  To win it, leave us a comment with your favorite crayon color (you know they have some creative ones in there!) 

If you’d like a crayon roll for you little one, check out LBDesigns’ Blog: http://lbdesignsshop.blogspot.com/

::Michelle
The Mom Squad

Tags: crayon, crayon organizer, crayon roll, etsy, handmade

Planning a few more trips with the little kids now that your big kids will be back in school?  We’ve got a great travel-accessory (that actually spans as wide an age range you can imagine!) – it’s a product called The Little Lasso and it will end the days of playing fetch with your child’s accessories! 

The Little Lasso simply prevents the constant bending over to pick up what your child is dropping (on accident OR ON PURPOSE if your child is anything like my son Babe ) 

You can get pretty creative with its uses: sippy cups, toys, blankets… just about anything you can think of that your little one could pitch over the side of a shopping cart, stroller, high chair, car seat, and even the sling!  For your school-aged kids, it’s a cute accessory to clip onto the backpack to hold a water bottle for field trips and even daily use!

For your chance to win a Little Lasso of your own, visit their website www.thelittlelasso.com
and comment our blog telling us how YOU would put it to use and what your favorite fabric design is!  We will use random.org to draw a lucky winner (and you can choose the fabric design you want!)

You can follow the Little Lasso for deals and updates here on FACEBOOK & TWITTER.

***********Contest Closed****************

Tags: contest, giveaway, little lasso, sippy cup holder, toy holder

Welcome to our first spotlight for “Back to School Week” at Bye Bye with Baby!  We are so excited to share our great back to school suggestions and recommendations…and the best part of course are the giveaways!  Without further ado…let’s get to it!

One of the most important (and difficult) aspects of sending the kiddos back to school is trying to find adorable and AFFORADABLE clothing for them to wear!  If you are like me, you would rather skip the back-to-school crowds in the department stores and do most of your shopping from the comfort of your own home.  This is where Mamadeesboutique comes to the rescue!  Have a little girl?  Great!  Have a little boy?  Even better!  Mamadeesboutique carries adorable and affordable handmade clothing for your little darlings!  She has a wide range of sizes (from infant all the way to 7 toddler) and a variety of styles and colors.   Mamadee loves custom requests, so if you can dream it, she can make it!

Favorite seller:  www.etsy.com/shop/Mamadeesboutique
Etsy feedback rating:  19, 100% positive
What she sells:  “Awesomely cute handmade appliquéd onesies and t-shirts for your baby or toddler!”  She also hand makes and sells toys and COSTUMES!
Custom requests:  YES!  It’s their specialty!

*********GIVE AWAY DETAILS*********

In the mood for a shopping spree?  Dora, the owner of Mamadeesboutique , has graciously offered to host today’s Back to School giveaway!  One lucky blog reader will have the opportunity to select ANY 1 item from Mamadeesboutique’s Etsy shop! 

To enter, stop by the shop:  www.etsy.com/shop/Mamadeesboutique  and comment below which item YOU want to see your kiddo wearing on his/her first day of school.  We will use Random.org to select the lucky winner!

Be sure to add Mamadeesboutique to your facebook!        www.facebook.com/mamadeesboutique

~Gina
The Mom Squad

****CONTEST CLOSED******

Tags: applique, back to school, custom onesie, giveaway, handmade, kid tee shirt, onesie

Tomorrow we are starting our week-long celebration of Back to School!!  Giveaways every day for kids of all ages – trust us you WON’T want to miss out on these great B2S items!   Check our blog all week for your chance to win (and to learn about some great new products!)

::Michelle
The Mom Squad

To work or not to work… that is the question! For so long, I’ve always dreamt of being a stay-at-home-mom… having fresh baked cookies ready and the smell of dinner cooking looming through the house when they got off the school bus. I even picture myself in my blue apron (yes, I have and on regular occasion WEAR an apron!) – folding and putting away laundry, enjoying my coffee on the front porch, essentially keeping our home in working order!

And right there – that’s where the daydream skipped a beat, I never thought about how being a SAHM means your children are with you literally 24 hours a day. My sweet little mental portrait of myself as June Cleaver was missing the screaming toddler attached to my leg and the crying infant on my hip (all while trying to vacuum and get into the kitchen every 15-minutes to stir what’s on the stove!) My husband jokingly asks when our house will be normal again (and by “normal” I assume he means when will we not have to vacuum up cheerios every single day and take 15 minutes before bed to shove all the toys in a quarter-mile radius into the cabinets and drawers of our entertainment center) – and my answer is… when the kids go to school?

Though I love being around them, it’s nearly impossible to get anything done quickly! The tasks throughout my day are far more drug out – taking hours to do something that should take a normal functioning human being fifteen minutes to complete! I’ve had to get more crafty in HOW I do things (ie: folding laundry on the dining room table so the toddler doesn’t pull all of his shorts down and start trying them on…) I sometimes feel like I’ll never catch up – there have been times when baskets of clean laundry have sat on the floor in front of the dryer for days if not weeks… I’d love to never udder the phrase “in the laundry room” when my husband asks where a clean shirt is for our daughter after bath time.

So, my thought process leads me to believe that it will all be so much easier when the kids are in school – I’ll have time to wash, dry, and fold all of our laundry and maybe, juuuuust MAYBE put it away all in the same day! And though I usually have dinner ready every day, I would probably use the microwave to defrost less often!

The June Cleaver days are looking so great ahead – then my husband’s voice enters my head “so, you’ll be going back to work when the kids are in school, right? I mean… WHAT would you do all day WITH ALL THAT FREE TIME?!”

There are so many pros and cons, I could stare at a T-chart all day and go back and forth… what do you think?  What works best for you (or do you always feel like the grass is always greener….)?

::Michelle
The Mom Squad

Tags: cleaning, cooking, June Cleaver, mother, SAHM, stay-at-home-mom, working mom

If you thought traveling with a child was tough…try adding a PET into that mix!

 I am 15 weeks pregnant.  A 15 week pregnant lady has to utilize the facilities more often than a typical person.  Now…imagine this 15 week pregnant lady…traveling from Texas to Georgia along I-10 with a 2 year old, a ferocious miniature schnauzer in tow all during the daylight hours.   (Does anyone see where I am going with this one?)

This was my life only 2 short days ago. 

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures to document this journey, as I had much more pressing issues at hand.  There is just something about spending hours in a vehicle trying to “hold your pee” that takes all the fun out of taking pictures on a road trip.

My problem:   I was driving across multiple states with a toddler and a dog during the hottest days of summer.  The child needed to be changed. (Okay…I can do that in the back of the car…not my idea of comfortable, but you do what you gotta do!)  The dog needed to be walked and watered.   (Okay, again…I can handle this…I just left the car running with the child inside and hooked the dog up the retractable leash so she could do her business in some nearby grass while I changed out Veggie Tales DVDs.)  What’s missing??

ME!  I had to go too!  But how?! 

How was I going to be able to make my own trip to the potty when my car would get to 100 degrees in literally 5 minutes?!  Even with the windows rolled down, it was too stinkin’ hot to leave my beloved pooch in the car while I toted a toddler, my 30lb purse and my growing body into a public restroom.

My mother called me shortly after I stopped to change my daughter and walk the dog…I was seriously contemplating parking in some bushes at this point and peeing into a cup when she called.  Needless to say, I was not the friendliest person to chat with at this point.  I had eaten 3 pieces of peppered beef jerky and about 8 pieces of salt water taffy…and couldn’t figure out for the life of me why I was so thirsty?!  Literally 40oz of Smart Water later, I decided I could no longer hold my bladder and was going to have to either boil my dog in the car, or squat on the side of the road…both of which would earn me some kind of citation from the local police department.

Obviously, boiling my dog was out of the question…so I cried to my mother about how I simply was going to have to hold my pee for the next 6 hours until I made it home.  She came up with a couple of excellent suggestions…and thankfully…one of them worked! 

1.  Find a local Pets Mart or Petco.  (Now, I’m not sure if they have public restrooms…but who wouldn’t take pity on a pregnant lady with a toddler AND a dog?  I mean…if that doesn’t scream pathetic…I don’t know what does?!
2. Park under a gas station canopy, roll down the windows, open the sunroof, and run inside.  Don’t doddle.  (This is what I ended up doing…I carried my 2 year old…in only a shirt, diaper, and shoes into the gas station…I left my purse but grabbed my keys, wallet and phone and high-tailed in into the nastiest, smelliest public bathroom I have been inside in a LONG time.  This place was NOT bbwb approved!  I made my kiddo stand in the corner of the wheelchair stall, holding my wallet, keys and phone (so she wouldn’t TOUCH ANYTHING) while I hovered over a disgusting toilet whilst still managing to keep my pants from touching the floor.   Men just don’t know how lucky they are!!)
3. Find a La Quinta and use the lobby bathroom.  (Insert the cheerful La Quinta music now!)  “La, La, La!  La, La, La, La!  La, La, La, La, La, La, La, Laaaaaaa!)  Just FYI:  La Quinta’s are PET FRIENDLY hotels…no deposits, no extra fees…free breakfast!  

 So I come to you today…What do YOU do?  I know there has got to be an easier way…and I am open to any and all suggestions! 

Ready, Set, Comment!!

Tags: child, diaper change, diaper changing locations, family traveling, mom, places to change a diaper, roadtrip, roadtrip with dog, toddler, traveling, traveling with dog