It's BLOGMANIA!! Enter 100+ Giveaways, starting with MINE :-)

WELCOME To BLOGMANIA !

My Blog is 79 of 123

You’ve arrived at exactly the right time to explore lots of new blogs, all of which ARE GIVING AWAY A VERY SPECIAL BLOGMANIA GIVEAWAY  (For One Day Only – April 30^th) .

We’ve done all the work for you. No hunting or surfing. Each blog will have a number and each new blog link will have a number. These numbers will allow you to keep track of which blogs you’ve visited and how many are left to visit. Why not take a moment to make a list of blog numbers  1-123 and check off the blogs as you go.

I know you’ll want to visit as many blogs today as you can. So, if you see something that interests you on any of our participating blogs, why not bookmark that site. Later, when you have more time, you can discover all its fabulous treasures.  

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! Here's my giveaway:

This giveaway includes a delicious snack sampler pack from Sahale Snacks, an oilcloth lunch bag from RickRack Queen's Etsy Shop, and a reusable snack bag from It's a Ten's Etsy Shop. 

Here's some information about each one:

The Sahale Snacks mission is based on three basic principles - snack better, work better, live better. The company was founded on a simple idea: Take all-natural ingredients, add a dash of culinary magic, and produce great-tasting snacks.Their all-natural snacks combine delicious nuts, healthy dried fruits, and gourmet seasonings to create delicious snacks! As a pescetarian, I rely on nuts for a great deal of my protein intake. These nuts were both sweet and savory, satisfying my salty and sweet-tooth cravings. I was sent several different flavors to try, and all of them were scrumptious. 

RickRack Queen's Etsy Shop features oilcloth lunch bags with vintage-style prints. These lunch bags can fit so many food items - see photos above. Clean up is easy with a little soap and water. You will win any basic lunch bag of your choice!

It's a Ten's Etsy Shop features reusable Sak Saver Baggies. These water-resistant nylon snack bags can replace all of those over-priced, wasteful zipper bags. Sak Saver Baggies are perfect for all kinds of snacks, like sandwiches, crackers, and nuts. They are machine washable, air dry. 

Entering to win my giveaway is very simple!

Follow me through Google Friend Connect AND visit any one of the following sites and tell me what you would love to have.

Sahale Snacks

RickRack Queen's Etsy Shop

It's A Ten's Etsy Shop

BLOGMANIA ends at midnight tonight! Check out all of my other giveaways also ending tonight.

Click on the following links to enter more giveaways!

Between The Pages

The Black Sheep Dances

Books, Books Everywhere

Truth Be Told

Publishing Without a Parachute 

Travel the Ages 

Luxury Reading

Simply Stacie

A Mom After God’s Own Heart

Jennifer Laurens 

Just Another New Blog

 

**The winner of this giveaway is Janet. Thank you to all who participated!**

Maternity Consignment Boutique $25 GC Giveaway - Ends 5/9

Here's what you can give the expectant mommy or new mommy for Mother's Day!

Jodi at Expecting You Consignment would like to offer one of my readers a $25 gift certificate to her maternity consignment boutique, located in sunny South Florida. She carries a broad range of new and gently used items for you and your little one, including:

• Maternity clothing by well-known designers/stores
• Baby/child clothing from well-known designers/stores
• Baby furniture
• Slings/baby carriers
• Breast pumps
• and so much more!

Consignment stores are a great way to pick up some of those higher-end items that you may not be able to afford otherwise. It's also very 'green' because it allows multiple families to get use out of the same item, instead of just tossing it out after a few uses.

Would you like to win a $25 gift certificate to Expecting You Consignment? If you live in the South Florida area, you can just redeem in the store. If you live outside the area, you would contact Jodi and let her know what you're interested in purchasing.


WIN IT! Mandatory Entry: Visit Expecting You Consignment, click on 'Join Our Family,' and let me know what gently used item you'd love to purchase with your $25 gift certificate.

Here are a few other ways to win (one entry per method):
1. 'Like' Expecting You Consignment on Facebook.
2. 'Like' Huppie Mama on Facebook.
3. Follow Huppie Mama on Twitter.
4. Become a public follower of Huppie Mama.
5. 'Like' Abi's Place (the non-profit where I work) on Facebook.

Be sure to include your email address with each entry so that I know how to find you. This giveaway ends on Mother's Day (5/9) at 11:59 pm. If you are the winner, you will have 48 hours to respond before I choose another winner. Good luck!

**Congratulations to Meghan! Thank you to all who participated. 

Natural Teething Necklace for Mom & Baby - ends 5/7

This giveaway is for a Creation Addiction stone teething necklace. They say a picture says a thousand words, so what does this one say?? It says that Lydia instantly LOVED her stone teething necklace (and that mommy needs to take more time to style her hair). 

This is a great teething necklace! It's fashionable, so it's great for mommies, and it's a natural way for your child to teethe. Lydia tries to chew on my other necklaces, so I am always afraid she'll break off a bead or charm. You don't have to worry about the BPAs in plastic or your child chewing something that can break, splinter, etc. with this teething necklace!

Creation Addiction carries a variety of teething necklaces, made of all different stones, shapes, and colors. You can win a turquoise teething necklace for you and your little one to enjoy!

Creation Addiction is offering the following promotional discounts to all of my readers if you would like to purchase something from her Etsy shop:

• 5% for following you
• 5% for following creationaddict on twitter
• 5% for hearting my shop
• 5% for becoming a fan of the Creation Addiction Facebook Fan Page
• 5% bonus for doing all four

That's a 25% discount!

Would you like to win a teething necklace?

There's only one way to enter this giveaway:

Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect AND visit the Creation Addiction Etsy Shop and tell me what other designs you like!

Be sure to include your email address with each entry so that I know how to find you. This giveaway ends on 5/7 at 11:59 pm EST. If you are the winner, you will have 48 hours to respond before I choose another winner. Good luck!

**Congratulations to Jennifer! Thank you to all who participated.  

Eco-litism?

I was engaged in two different discussions yesterday that have led me to write this post. This is in not intended to offend anyone or cause any conflict, but I'm somewhat eager to get some feedback from others, so please read and comment!

Conversation one: I engaged in an online discussion with someone who was questioning different aspects of parenting/child development. These exchanges led to me saying: the only thing a baby really needs is love, 2 arms, 2 boobs, and some cloth diapers. And in actuality, when you narrow it down to needs, you basically need to be sheltered, fed, and clothed. This led to all kinds of other stupidity (why I continued to engage in it, I don't know. Ignorance just gets under my skin and my fiery Scorpio personality comes out) and she was like..."They still make cloth diapers? No thanks, I will stick with my Huggies." So I said "I'm not wealthy, so I'd rather breastfeed, cloth diaper, and put the money in a college fund for my daughter instead of a landfill." At that point, she told me I need to save money for my child's therapy since I'll drive her nuts. We were done at that point!

Conversation two: My best friend growing up lives in NYC. We got into a conversation yesterday about how people in NY take the whole eco-friendly/green-living thing too far. She said there was an unpasteurized milk movement a few years ago that seemed to be dangerous. I have heard from other people that they like to give their children unpasteurized milk. Her point was that it almost becomes a "who can do the most outrageous eco-friendly thing?" contest.

Is there an eco-litism? I have to say, it feels good to share my eco-choices with others. Why? Not to be an elitist, but because I am proud of the decisions I have made for my family and my planet.

• Shopping for fresh vegetables, going to farmer's markets, etc. is so healthy for my family, supports the local growers trying to produce great food, and eliminates all of the unnecessary waste (e.g. gas to transport food from other places, extra packaging, etc.) 
• Wearing cloth diapers (something I only began recently) has already saved us money and protected my baby's skin. 
• Composting reduces the amount of waste we create and helps produce really great soil for my garden. 
• Using fewer plastic bags helps the earth...and honestly, who wants plastic bags lying around the house with an infant learning to crawl? That's just dangerous! Additionally, a lot of places give a discount now for bringing your own bags.
• Best of all is the decision to breastfeed. The benefits are endless: building my daughter's immunity, helping her to relax/soothe/go to sleep, saving us tons of money, reducing waste from packaging, gas, etc., and if you want to get technical, saving us money on feminine products as I have not started to menstruate yet.  Besides, it just feels good to know that I provided her with all the nutrients she needed to survive the first 6 months of life, and I continue to provide her with so many nutrients now at 8 months.

Is it pride? Is it elitism? I think I'm just happy with the research I have done and the knowledge I have gained in such a short period of time and the decisions I have made based on weighing the pros/cons... and I just want to share that information with everyone else! Nothing wrong with that, right??

Here's some additional information regarding Raw Milk.

I love raw milk cheese - my favorite being Organic Valley Raw Sharp Cheddar Cheese. I also just tried some raw milk goat cheese from a farm I visited in Central Florida. I know my doctor told me not to eat unpasteurized cheeses during pregnancy, and I listened. In fact, as a first time mom, I avoided a lot of foods while I was pregnant for fear that they would be harmful. But the more I think about it, isn't our breast milk just unpasteurized milk created by a mammal? Isn't that the same as raw cow's milk? And isn't breast milk the best thing for our babies? I decided to do some quick research regarding unpasteurized milk. I came across this raw milk website. Here are some facts I learned about raw milk:

• Raw milk is cow's milk taken straight from animals fed only fresh, organic, green grass, rapidly cooled to somewhere around 36-38 degrees F., and bottled.
• Do not drink raw milk that is going to be pasteurized. It is generally mass-produced, and cleanliness standards are not nearly as high as they are for milk that is meant to be raw milk. In addition, milk is often produced by 'supercows' who are given additional hormones to produce more milk. This leads to a condition that many breastfeeding women can relate to: mastitis (I have been fortunate to not experience it, but I have heard it's awful).  Mastitis produces increased white blood cells - which leads to pus in the milk. Great to know, huh??
• Raw milk has amazing medicinal properties and was used to treat illness for hundreds of years (until midway through the 20th century). Clean raw milk from pastured cows is a complete and properly balanced food. You could live on it exclusively if you had to - kinda like human breast milk for babies!!

I'd like to end this with a quote I've seen on a few websites recently:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Meade

Organic Cotton Cloth Wipes (set of 5) - Ends 5/7

This giveaway is for a set of 5 organic cotton reusable baby wipes from bee sew sew's Etsy shop. Here's some information about these wipes:

• They are made of 100% printed cotton flannel and 100% organic cotton sherpa
• They are machine washable, tumble dry
• They come in really cute prints, from traditional baby animals to rockin' skull/crossbones
• They are extremely soft - perfect for little babies' bottoms, faces, or anything else that needs to get wiped
• They measure about 6" x 6" 
• Imagine the money you could save using cloth wipes (which can be washed and used so many times over) instead of disposable wipes.

Here's one of the wipes I received. I hope you can tell how soft it is from this picture!

Bee sew sew also has some other great items, like cloth diaper inserts and handmade quilts.

Here's a great offer! If you are interested in purchasing any items from bee sew sew, enter "huppiemama" in the comments section during checkout to receive 10% off your entire purchase (good until May 26th, 2010).

There's only one way to enter this giveaway:

Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect AND visit the  bee sew sew Etsy Shop and tell me what wipe design you like the most!

Be sure to include your email address with each entry so that I know how to find you. This giveaway ends on May 7th, 2010 at 11:59 pm EST. If you are the winner, you will have 48 hours to respond before I choose another winner. Good luck!

**Congratulations to Tabathia! Thank you to all who participated. 

Ice Cream Cone Recycled Crayons - Ends 4/30

I took a break for one day, but I'm back with a great giveaway! (Okay, that rhyming was kinda corny, but totally unintentional.) This giveaway is for Gaddy Nipper recycled crayons. They come in five beautiful colors (violet, light blue, bright orange, yellow, and green). Each crayon is made of recycled Crayola crayons. They are about 3 inches in length and much thicker than regular crayons, which is especially great for little ones just learning how to grasp writing utensils. They color beautifully...and best of all, they are perfect for summer because they are shaped like ICE CREAM CONES!

These crayons would make awesome goodie bag gifts for young children (ages 3 - 7). They would also be great for children who do not enjoy writing. Who wouldn't want to write/color with these cool crayons? 

Gaddy Nipper Crayons come in so many awesome shapes and colors - perfect for children with all different interests.

There's only one way to enter this giveaway:

Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect AND visit the Gaddy Nipper Crayons Etsy Shop and tell me what other designs you like!

Be sure to include your email address with each entry so that I know how to find you. This giveaway and all my other Blogmania giveaways end on 4/30 at 11:59 pm EST. If you are the winner, you will have 48 hours to respond before I choose another winner. Good luck!

**The winner of this giveaway is Lynne. Thank you to all who participated!**

Matching Baby & Mommy Clothing Giveaway #2 - Ends 4/30

I wrote to The Earth Freak Shop on Etsy and asked them if I could do a review/giveaway of one of their organic cotton, tie-dyed baby onesies. They generously offered me and my readers a 3-piece set: onesie, matching baby socks, and matching mommy socks. Too cool!

Let me start by showing you the pictures.

Baby Onesie with Matching Socks (she's trying so hard to crawl!)

Mommy Socks

And a bonus matching baby hat

Each item is hand-dyed. The colors are beautiful - rich and bold! The organic cotton items are grown without the use of pesticides, making them safer against the skin. The socks are made of bamboo and are soooo soft! These would definitely be great at home on a cool day or under boots to keep your feet nice and snuggly. Unlike most baby socks, which tend to be short and come off easily, these socks are longer, so they can be worn folded or unfolded (and they actually stay on). And anytime mommy and baby can match - too cute!

Would you like some great clothing for you and your little one from The Earth Freak?

There's only one way to enter this giveaway:

Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect AND visit The Earth Freak Etsy shop or the Earth Freak website and tell me what colors you liked the most!


Be sure to include your email address with each entry so that I know how to find you. This giveaway and all my other Blogmania giveaways end on 4/30 at 11:59 pm EST. If you are the winner, you will have 48 hours to respond before I choose another winner. Good luck!

**The winner of this giveaway is Tina. Thank you to all who participated!**

Unique, Handmade Soft Baby Shoes Giveaway - Ends 4/30

I contacted Babynme's Etsy shop, asking if I could do a hand-crocheted toy giveaway. Instead, she offered me an awesome pair of shoes for Lydia! She let me pick the design from a few different styles and pick whatever colors I wanted. She also asked if I wanted a hemp bottom, which I did want :-)

These are Lydia's first shoes. Pediatricians and physical therapists generally recommend not putting your child in shoes until the child is cruising/walking, but because these are so soft, they would not restrict growth as regular shoes would. They are hand-crocheted, so they are soft. Without the hemp bottom, they would be worn similarly to socks/booties.

I also had Babynme design a matching crocheted headband at a very reasonable price (not included in this giveaway, but worn in the picture to see additional items this Etsy shop owner can create).

Since it was Lydia's first pair of shoes, she was having fun exploring them, so it was hard to keep both of them on her feet at once. Here's a close up of the shoes:

We love Lydia's first shoes, especially since they were handmade just for her! The colors are vibrant and the style is super-cute. If you are having Babynme design shoes for a child under 8 months, I would suggest not using a hemp sole, so they would be more like little booties. If your child is beginning to cruise/walk, I would suggest getting the hemp sole to make them more shoe-like. 

There's only one way to enter this giveaway:

Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect AND visit Babynme and tell me what color/style shoes you would design for your little one!


Be sure to include your email address with each entry so that I know how to find you. This giveaway and all my other Blogmania giveaways end on 4/30 at 11:59 pm EST. If you are the winner, you will have 48 hours to respond before I choose another winner. Good luck!

**The winner of this giveaway is Heidi. Thank you to all who participated!**

Guidecraft Tactile Bars Giveaway - Ends 5/7

This is a very special review and giveaway, one that is close to my heart :-)  This giveaway allows me to share an important part of my life with my readers.

I work for a non-profit organization for children with moderate to severe disabilities - Abi's Place. We provide intense, one-to-one educational and therapeutic services to our children. As a grass-roots non-profit, we host several local fundraising events each year and we submit several grants each month. Every so often, someone does something really amazing for the children at Abi's Place. Guidecraft Toys donated brand-new furniture and toys to our children. They also gave me the opportunity to post a review/giveaway for one of the toys we were given.

We got to review the Guidecraft Tactile Bars. Although these are not specifically designed for children with disabilities, we found them to be very appropriate for our student population. Many children with disabilities (such as autism, cognitive impairments, and physical impairments) have sensory integration difficulties. One common issue we encounter is tactile defensiveness. This is when children are unable to tolerate different textures. They may get upset and/or avoid touching certain things. These children need to be given opportunities to explore different textures in a comfortable, trusting, non-threatening environment. By making it a fun part of play without setting any rules or having specific expectations, children will begin to feel more comfortable engaging in sensory activities. We use the same techniques when encouraging children to engage in other sensory experiences, such as eating a variety of textures, brushing their teeth, and washing their hands.

We wanted to try this item with a child who we felt would benefit from tactile exploration. Caitlyn began at Abi's Place last school year and rarely used her hands to explore items. This school year, she has made amazing progress. She enjoyed the experience of touching each of the textures, soft and rough.

Do you have a child who would benefit from a set of tactile bars (RV $90)? The set comes with two tactile bars, each with 9 textures. It also comes with an activity guide with suggested activities to engage children in sensory exploration. Each texture block can be removed from the bar to be used on its own so that you can introduce one at a time. Textures include a soft cotton, fine sandpaper, cold metal, and bristle brush.

BUY IT! You can find some amazing children's furniture and toys at Guidecraft. They use sturdy wood to construct many of their pieces. Assembly is simple with easy-to-follow directions.

WIN IT! One lucky reader will win a set of two Tactile Bars for a special child!

Mandatory Entry: Why would you want to win the tactile bars?

For additional entries, you can do any of the following (one entry each):
1. Become a follower of my blog through Google Friend Connect.
2. Become a fan of Guidecraft on Facebook.
3. Follow Guidecraft on Twitter.
4. Follow me on Twitter.
5. Become a fan of Abi's Place (the non-profit organization where I work) on Facebook.
6. Grab my beautiful new button, and tell me where I can find it!

Be sure to include your email address with each entry so that I know how to find you. This giveaway will end on 5/7 at 11:59 pm EST. If you are the winner, you will have 48 hours to respond before I choose another winner. Good luck!

**Congratulations to Dina! Thank you to all who participated. 

Yumnuts Giveaway - 4/30

On a recent trip to Whole Foods, I came across a delicious-looking snack: Yumnuts. As a pescatarian, my protein sources are limited, and nuts are a great source of protein. Instead of just snacking on crackers or potato chips which are basically empty calories and take a whole lot to feel satisfied, nuts offer me a filling, healthier snacking alternative.

Yumnuts are flavored cashews. I got to sample the chocolate, toasted coconut, sea salt, and spicy cajun (but they also carry lime and honey). They are amazingly delicious! Sometimes cashews have a greasy feeling to them. These are dry roasted and crunchy. They are so well-seasoned, and yet the cashew flavor comes through.

As a treat, my husband and I sometimes prepare a nice cheese plate for dinner. I can imagine the cajun Yumnuts paired with some good olives and a nice sharp cheddar. Yum! For a treat, the toasted coconut Yumnuts would probably make a great ice cream topping.

According to their website...Our philosophy is simple: nuts are nature's perfect snack. Nuts contain the protein, smart fats, like oleic acid, and essential minerals to help us perform at our best. We use the best natural ingredients to create a product with a simple ingredient statement that is both healthy and yummy. We start with premium jumbo cashews and use a special flavoring technique to add a delicate dose of delicious seasonings that ensures that every Yumnut, in every batch is truly yum.

BUY IT! You can find Yumnuts at your local Whole Foods or on their website. For $19.96, you can purchase a Variety Pack - 4 packs of 5 oz each, which will allow you to try four of their delicious flavors.

WIN IT! One lucky reader will be chosen to win a sample of Yumnuts cashews! 

Mandatory Entry: Visit the Yumnuts website and tell me which flavor sounds absolutely scrumptious!

For additional entries, you can do any of the following (one entry each):
1. Become a follower of my blog through Google Friend Connect.
2. Become a fan of Yumnuts on Facebook.
3. Follow Yumnuts on Twitter.
4. Follow me on Twitter.
5. Become a fan of Abi's Place (the non-profit organization where I work) on Facebook.
6. Grab my beautiful new button, and tell me where I can find it!

Be sure to include your email address with each entry so that I know how to find you. This giveaway and all my other Blogmania giveaways end on 4/30 at 11:59 pm EST. If you are the winner, you will have 48 hours to respond before I choose another winner. Good luck!

**The winner of this giveaway is Jennifer. Thank you to all who participated!**