I'm a Guest Blogger!! Chalkboard Spray Paint Craft

Huggalugs Review and Giveaway

Contest Closed! Congrats Stephanie!

I think I had a baby to put him in legwarmers. When the trend started a few years ago, I could only imagine my little crawler rocking a pair of striped leg huggers.
Now Jack actually wears them! Huggalugs, in fact.
Go check out their site, they have so many adorable designs, and they have some fantastic photography.



My little mansey has some serious chubby legs, and I was worried they would pinch at the top. In the very least, I assumed they would leave red marks, indentations where the leg huggers were pulled up. Nope! Not with Huggalugs. They are breathable, they do not pinch and yet they stay up!
Love them!



Another amazing thing is that Jack and Maggie can share them! She can wear them on her arms and heck, even as legwarmers with a skirt. Jack rocks them on his legs, perfect from crawling and then potty training. Now, how many other clothing items can my 11 year old girl share with my 6 month old, I ask ya? So, I want 22 pairs please. Starting with the Jo Bomber's, then we need a pair of the Wild Child and round it out with a pair of the Train Tracks. I have several adorable shirts to pair my Huggalugs with, this "Here Comes Trouble" tee is compliments of bon bébé from their adorable Wild Child line. You must go check them out- so cute.

Huggalugs has been cool enough to offer a giveaway to Mad Madam Em readers! Aren’t you happy you're here? Just head on over to Huggalugs shop and tell me which design is your favorite and leave a comment below. This giveaway will run for two weeks, ending Friday, July 10th 2009. Winner will be notified via email, so be sure I can get to your email or leave it in your comment.

Extra entries!

1. Twitter this post! Just copy and paste this:

@emilyhorne GIVEAWAY! http://madmadamem.blogspot.com/ free baby leg warmers from Huggalugs! You pick the design!

2. Subscribe to my Bloggity Blog via email (top right-hand corner).
3. Add my button to your blog and link it here… yippy!
4. Blog about this post and link it here… woohoo!
5. Comment on another post on this Bloggity Blog and link it here… yeeeeeha!

6. For FIVE extra entries! Make a purchase at Huggalugs and email me your receipt (you can take out all of the personal info)!

The Trendy Tadpole Review and Giveaway

Contest closed... congrats Jami!

Take pictures of your children. Take pictures of your children in funny shirts. Do this so in twenty years they will look at pictures from their youth and think you were hip. You won't be hip anymore, but at least you were for a while. Not only were you cool, you made your kid cool. Nobody is cooler than Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash and Jack Stone, of course.

This absolutely adorable rockin’ shirt came to us from The Trendy Tadpole. I have fallen in LOVE with their designs. The Buddha Belly, Oh Snap, and These aren’t the parents designs are my absolute favorites, but it is hard to choose.

Jack's Boy in Black shirt is a lap tee. From The Trendy Tadpole:

"What in the world is a lap tee and will it give my baby super powers?

Lap tee's are those funny little tee shirts with the flaps around the neck so the baby's giant head can get through without ripping it apart. Trendy Tadpole baby tee shirts are made on American Apparel and are 100% cotton and stretchy. Trendy Tadpole's funny baby clothes will be the hit at the next baby shower."

The Trendy Tadpole has been cool enough to offer a giveaway to Mad Madam Em readers! Aren’t you happy you're here? Just head on over to The Trendy Tadpole and tell me which design is your favorite and leave a comment below. This giveaway will run for two weeks, ending Friday, July 3rd 2009. Winner will be notified via email, so be sure I can get to your email or leave it in your comment.

Extra entries!

1. Twitter this post! Just copy and paste this:

@emilyhorne GIVEAWAY! http://madmadamem.blogspot.com/ free hip T-shirt from Trendy Tadpole! Johnny Cash, The Clash and more!

2. Subscribe to my Bloggity Blog via email (top right-hand corner).
3. Add my button to your blog and link it here… yippy!
4. Blog about this post and link it here… woohoo!
5. Comment on another post on this Bloggity Blog and link it here… yeeeeeha!

6. For FIVE extra entries! Make a purchase at The Trendy Tadpole and email me your receipt (you can take out all of the personal info)!

SALE!! 50% off ALL Trendy Tadpole shirts with checkout code: WHOLESALE

Johnny Cash

Hello, darlin'!
I wanted to post a little preamble to my upcoming blog review (and giveaway!!)

of the awesome designs at the Trendy Tadpole.

I love Johnny Cash. His music brings back memories of back porch swingin' BBQ's and quiet radio's playin' in the garage. His story is legendary, his songs timeless.

I'm going to bare my soul again and post another poem.
This one was written shortly after Johnny Cash's death in 2003.
I was angry that John Ritter's death overshadowed Cash in the press, frustrated with politics and upcoming election and I set it to a Devil Went Down to Georgia theme.

Sum-Bo-Shine Review and Giveaway!

Contest Closed! Congrats to Meredith!

I've always been into heavily perfumed lotions and bath gels. Red Door by Elizabeth Arden, Japanese Cherry Blossom by Bath and Body Works... mmm. Then something happened. When I became pregnant with Jack and I used my normal products, they turned my stomach. They smelled great in the bottle, but not when they went on my body. Something about hormones or my body chemistry, either way my body just was not having it anymore. I started to seek out natural and organic products that wouldn't leave an alcohol/chemical smell. That is when I found Sum-Bo-Shine.

From SumBoShine.com:

"Sum-Bo-Shine creates products that are free of artificial fragrances, and do not contain parabens, sodium laurel sulfates, mineral oil or any harmful ingredients while using the least environmentally harmful preservative available on the market today."

Sum-Bo-Shine is headed by Carolyn Deal, she is a mother of three and grandmother of one.

"We have received a lot of emails and phone calls inquiring about the name Sum-Bo-Shine. When friends and family see the name they smile because they know where the name originated. My children's names are Summer (Sum), Rainbow (Bo) and Sunshine (Shine).” ~ Carolyn Deal

Baby Jack loves the Aloe and Lavender Bath Powder. It really is therapeutic.
I love that I can be assured it will be gentle on his dainty little hiney.

A warm bath with a sprinkle or two of this bath powder,
blow a few raspberries in his froggy robe, then it's off to bed for this little man.

Sum-Bo-Shine has been kind enough to offer a giveaway to Mad Madam Em readers! Aren’t you happy you're here? Just head on over to Sum-Bo-Shine and tell me which skin care product you would like to try and leave a comment below. This giveaway will run for one week, ending Saturday, June 20th 2009. Winner will be notified via email, so be sure I can get to your email or leave it in your comment.

Extra entries!

1. Twitter this post! Just copy and paste this:

@emilyhorne GIVEAWAY! http://madmadamem.blogspot.com/ natural & organic skin care product for mom or baby from http://www.sumboshine.com/

2. Subscribe to my Bloggity Blog via email (top right-hand corner).
3. Add my button to your blog and link it here… yippy!
4. Blog about this post and link it here… woohoo!
5. Comment on another post on this Bloggity Blog and link it here… yeeeeeha!

A Toy Garden

When I was pregnant with Jack, I started reading Mothering Magazine. I love them. I've read some really interesting articles on articles on breastfeeding, cosleeping and natural living. They also have fantastic sponsors. In the back pages of Mothering, I found A Toy Garden.

I went to their website and fell in love with their wooden toys,
felted items, and play sets. Seriously, how much do you love these
Witch and Wizard Dolls from Brazil? I covet those little guys!
I have spent hours on the site pouring through all of the
beautiful handcrafted, natural and character building toys.

The fabulous Sonya Bingaman, the Toy Gardener herself, has generously donated some toys for Jack to review. Yeah, Jack reviews toys... he's cool like that.

This is A Toy Garden's Figure Eight Rainbow Rattle. Here is what A Toy Garden says about this rattle:

"This is a beautiful rattle with a bell that gently rings as your baby plays.
The rainbow colored wood beads are strung on a sturdy elastic string
making this twisty and interesting to play with.
Only non-toxic wood stains are used. It's made in Germany. "

Jack loves it!
He can get his little fingers around it, it's colorful, interesting and sturdy. Apparently, it tastes amazing.

Also, we have play silks!!
This is what A Toy Garden has to say about their gorgeous floaty silks:

"These soft and luxurious, gently blended rainbow silks are fun for children and adults. Hang over a baby or child's bed as a canopy, use to cover play stands, for dancing, playing, pretend play, as a blanket, as a tablecloth, cape, skirt, or just hang on the wall. The mini 12 inch rainbow is precious for wrapping small dolls and toys. The 21 and 36 inch sizes are great for dress up. The two largest sizes are great for canopies, big peak-a-boo, decorating a play area, creating an arch to climb under
"London Bridges Falling Down" etc., or for creating a magical walkway over the rainbow bridge for a birthday celebration. All are extra-thick 8mm, China Habotai Silk. Hand-dyed in the USA. "

They are amazing. We played with them forever when they arrived. I was running around behind Maggie trying to keep them clean, just until I got some images! Man, this adorable baby loves these silks too.

I love products that inspire creative play & toys that are non-toxic, organic, natural, simple and tough. A Toy Garden is blooming with these toys! They have a huge selection and unique products that I have never seen anywhere else.
I would like to thank Sonya and A Toy Garden for the
opportunity to review their marvelous products!

Before He Goes Off To College

I got this shot printed, framed and hung in the nursery today.
Look at his tiny little hand. Sniff.
Jack is about 3 weeks old here,
and this image was captured by Rey.

Lactivist

My classic Sesame Street obsession hit an all-time high today when I found this clip.
It's from 1977 and it features Buffy Sainte-Marie breastfeeding her son, Cody.
Thanks to NantoVision for uploading this and so many other fantastic videos!