How many times have you found yourself in the car, at the doctor’s office, or even the grocery store and your toddler suddenly becomes bored and unruly?  (Me?  Never!  My child is a perfect angel…100% of the time!  Cough-cough—HA!)  

If only there was a simple solution…

This is the adorable (and convenient AND functional) Traveling Tots Art Tote! 

Favorite seller: TAGLineDesigns
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TAGLineDesigns
Esty feedback rating: 171, 100% positive
What she sells:  Traveling Tots Art Tote, FELT Art Totes, Nursing Covers, Baby/Toddler Blankets and Fabric Bookmarks
Custom requests: yes

“The Traveling Tots Art Tote comes with crayons, chalk, paper and chalk mat. As a special touch, I have included some paper cut outs for your little one to glue to their hearts content. Just add a glue stick, it will fit! You can swap anything in this tote for something or add them all. Crayons, Markers, Chalk, Glue Stick, etc. You can put paper cut-outs, stickers and other things behind the pad of paper for even MORE FUN! “

The thought that went into this design is what drew us in right away!  Anything that is made by moms with our kiddos in mind gets two thumbs up from The Mom Squad (especially something that will keep our kiddos quiet in the car or on a plane!)

To add to the excitement, TAGLineDesigns has graciously offered one of our readers the chance to win one of her Traveling Tots Art Totes! 

How to enter:

Check out her etsy site and tell us which of her adorable products you love and why! 
We will draw a winner on Friday, November 12th!

Tags: baby gifts, baby shower, BBwB, bye bye with baby, child, children, contest, etsy, etsy.com, family, family traveling, giveaway, handmade, kids, toddler, traveling, traveling with children, traveling with kids

Congrats to our photo contest winners!  If your child is one of the winners, please email us so that we can EMAIL you a gift card from amazon.com!  

Our Grand Prize winner is: Annabelle with 51 votes!
Our 5 Runners-up are posted below:

Congrats to everyone!!  Thanks for voting and entering – we loved seeing your CUTE kids!

::Michelle
The Mom Squad

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                                     JUST TO CLAIRFY
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We are working on a blog relating to safety and car seats,
PLEASE understand that the photos in this contest were not
taken while a car was moving so the photos DO NOT IN ANY
WAY represent a “correct” or “incorrect” way to buckle a
child into a car seat!  *Please* refrain from making comments
about correct or incorrect car seat usage – the comments have
been coming off as hurtful or judgemental (though I hope that
is no ones intention!)  If you’d like to suggest resources for our
blog, please email themomsquad@byebyewithbaby.com

Tags: contest, giveaway, kids in cars, traveling with kids

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

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

How about a random contest?!  We thought it might be fun to play a game – just comment with your answers (it will be interesting to read them all!) and we’ll use random.org to send one of you guys something great!

You can just post the number and your answer in the comment box below!

1.  What are the three baby/child-related things closest to you right now?

2.  When is the last time you changed a diaper?

3.  What dish makes your kitchen sink fill up the fastest? (ie: cup, plate..)

4.  How many days (out of a week) do you feel as though you have completed household duties and you have free-time?

5.   If you could go on a Disney vacation with the family or a weekend getaway with your spouse – which would you choose and why?

Tags: baby, BBwB, bye bye with baby, children, contest, diaper, dishes, family, free-time, giveaway, household, kids, vacation

Veggie Tales ”Jonah”
Guest Blogger:  Lindsey H
Number of Children: 3
Occupation: SAHM

If you are anything like me, you are to some extent, frustrated with some things our children hear while watching their Rated G movies. I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to hear my kids saying is the ONE LINE that I hoped went in one ear and out the other. It’s hard to monitor everything they watch and when it’s Rated G, you feel you shouldn’t have to. I am happy to say that one of our favorites, in our home, is Veggie Tales “Jonah!” It is so much fun to listen to the songs, watch the characters being silly and all the while my kids learn about compassion and mercy….with no phrases that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up! The story is about Jonah not obeying….not that MY children need to learn about obedience (*snicker*). It is full of lessons that are only beneficial to them….and things I don’t MIND them repeating. All of the Veggie Tales movies are fantastic, but this full length movie, tops my charts. I hope you and your family will enjoy it as much as we do.

The Backyardigans
Guest Blogger: Lainey
Number of Children:1, Geovana 9 months
Occupation: Stay at home Mom (hardest job ever!! haha)

 The Backyardigans…where do I begin? Everything about this series is superb! From the unique characters, to the catchy songs that despite trying to deny….I throughly enjoy as much as my daughter! Eash episode begins IN the backyard, then travels to a “far away land”. They sing and dance their way through Pirates Treasure and Deep Sea Dives. It doesnt take much more than the theme song to begin, for Geovana to be fully captivated. She is (shockingly) one of the rare few that HATES the car…you heard correct, she HATES it! Then along came this brilliant show and POOF! the screaming ceased!! So, every waking moment in the car now consists of catchy tunes and episode after episode of mesmerizing story lines. I joke with my husband how I went from “rapper to rhymer” as I used to be able to sing you any fresh hit on the radio, and now I couldnt even tell you who is in the top 10 BUT ask me any Backyardigan song and I can rattle it off with the best of them!

My personal favorite episode is “Into The Deep”. The characters are searching for mermaids in this deep sea adventure and the songs are just wonderful. The colors are so vibrant, and the story line is unique. And of course, the songs…my personal favorites if I just may say!

Although Geovana is just a mere 9 months old, this is the only show she has enjoyed since day 1. I recommend this show to everyone!

Tags: contest, guest bloggers, kid movie reviews, movie, movie reviews

I was chatting online with a new mom (and friend) the other day, and she was asking me about my shopping cart cover.  I gave her the name of the company where I purchased mine, but when I took a look at their shop, I noticed that they were closed/on vacation mode.  Knowing she would want something ASAP, I did a little searching and came across what I have found to literally be the best thing since sliced bread, lol!  (Let’s put it this way, I sent her an e-mail JUST to let her know how amazing I thought her product was!)  I passed the info along to my mommy friend and she purchased the cover that very same night.  Since then, she has received it, used it, and LOVED it!  I contacted Amanda at Practical Designs and told her that I would like to write a blog about her shop.  She was extremely sweet and actually offered to host a giveaway!  One of our lucky blog followers will have the opportunity to win one of her “Practical Designs!”  Stay tuned for more details at the end of the blog! 

Favorite seller:  www.etsy.com/shop/PracticalDesigns
Etsy feedback rating:  101, 100% positive
What she sells:  Boutique-style shopping cart covers and diaper clutches—Amanda welcomes custom requests.  If you don’t see a print you like, or if you have your own material, simply convo her to work out the details!
Custom requests:  YES

So what makes Practical Designs better than the rest?  Well…let me tell you!  The first thing to catch my eye when searching for a cart cover is price.  At this time, Practical Designs has her covers listed at (Are you ready for this one?)  $36.00!  (It should be known that cart covers of this caliber typically sell for upwards of $50-$60!)

Not only are they affordable, but they are PRACTICAL!  Amanda, a SAHM of 2 small children, became exhausted with trying to find “the perfect” cart cover and decided to design her own…just the way she wanted.  These covers are plush, washable, they include a seat strap, A SIPPY CUP POCKET (Hello?!  Does anyone else find that as awesome as I do?!) and a PILLOW!  (How many of you have taken your little ones shopping only to have this happen: 

Problem solved! 

I cannot stress enough how wonderful a shopping cart cover is.  Anyone out there who has one already can attest to their greatness…and I think they would also agree that theirs would be 100% BETTER with a sippy cup pocket and a pillow!  If you are in the market for a cover, or would like to upgrade the one you may already have, I HIGHLY recommend Practical Designs! 

*****************Giveaway Deets*********************

To go along with our traveling theme, Practical Designs has generously offered one of their adorable (and stylish!) diaper clutches to one of our lucky readers!  A diaper clutch is a handy accessory to any purse or diaper bag!  It holds about 3 diapers, a travel wipes case, and even has room for a couple of baggies for those “uh-oh” moments!  These are AWESOME when you are traveling!  Instead of carrying your entire baby arsenal into the gas station for a diaper change, you can just grab your cute little clutch and have everything you need right at your fingertips!  Is your peanut already potty trained?  Use the clutch to carry an extra set of clothes and some wipes for little sticky fingers!

To enter this week’s giveaway, we want to know what you love/don’t love about shopping cart covers.  Comment with your answer below.  We will use random.org at the end of the week to select a winner!

~~~I wanted to add, Amanda is going to be adding more to her shop this weekend.  So be sure to check back to see her new fabrics!~~~

Tags: baby, baby boutique, baby gifts, baby shower, child, contest, custom baby, diaper change, diaper changing locations, etsy, etsy.com, family, family traveling, giveaway, handmade, toddler

We’re trying to abide by facebook rules about contests/giveaways from here on out!   When we get the urge to do a quick contest, we’ll have to host it on our blog (but we’ll post on facebook that it’s going on… dont worry!)

And yes – we have the urge to do a giveaway RIGHT NOW! 

Our website is great tool to help make plans for road trips- and our iPhone app will be EXCELLENT when you’re on the road (we’re working on it…. it will be here soon!!)  With summer fast approaching and many of you going on vacations, we were wondering how many of you plan ahead!  Tell us how often you make PLANNED stops on roadtrips with the kids or if you just decide stop when the baby starts crying!  Your comment will get your name entered in a drawing for a Taggie blanket!  We will draw a winner later tonight!!

::Michelle
The Mom Squad

Tags: BBwB, bye bye with baby, contest, giveaway, Taggies

Hey friends of Bye Bye with Baby!

First, we wanted to congratulate the winner of the Vera Bradley purse – Amanada M!  She left some VERY helpful comments on listings near her!! Amanda,we’ll be sending you the Vera bag asap!

Next, we have entered the 2010 Leading Moms in Business Competition.  This competition celebrates the top 200 mom-owned business in America and the contest is tallied by YOUR votes!  So, if you’d like to support Bye Bye with Baby and our Mom Squad — go to the BBwB Profile HERE and vote for us!  You can vote every day (we won’t spam you with reminders, if you want to – that’d be awesome!! )

Also, we are getting in TONS of suggestions daily for new locations to add – THANK YOU!  Keep sending them in!  We add listings to the website in large groups and most often, we’ll email you once we post a suggestion you have made to the site!  We appreciate your input and just created a new form on our website if you’re looking to suggest a location.  It’s simple and you can just fill out what information you know (ie: city and business name) then we can do the rest!  Just make sure and check the category you’re suggesting we list it under!

Click here to make a suggestion!

Please don’t hesitate to email us with questions, comments, (and suggestions, of course!)

::Michelle
The Mom Squad

Tags: bye bye with baby, children, contest, mom, mommy and baby owl, mother

Our t-shirt store ad is complete! 
You may have noticed it on our website already -
special thanks to EVERYONE who entered the contest, voted,
and to the parents who took these wonderful pictures of their kiddos
to help us show off our new shirts!

::Michelle
The Mom Squad

Tags: baby stuff, BBwB, bye bye with baby, contest, owl shirt, owl tee, owl theme