Babies Gotta Have It

Hearts. Cupids. Flowers. Boxes of Candy. Valentine’s Day.

Yeah all that sounds good to me.  But when it comes down to it, what do you get the man in your life for Valentine’s Day? I feel like I just went through all this about a week ago for the holidays. So how lame would it be to buy my husband Season Three of “Battlestar Galactica” for Valentine’s Day when I got him Season Two for Christmas? Way lame?  Well…maybe…

When it comes to gifts for guys, a DVD is probably a good idea.  An even better idea? Throw in some food.  Let’s face it.  Guys like to watch TV.  Guys like to watch movies.  Guys like sports. Guys like to eat. Stereotypical? Kinda. True? At least in this house it is.

So this Valentine’s Day, consider a gift from the awesome movie themed gift box company, Movie Noodle!  Movie Noodle offers customizable, movie-themed gift boxes complete with a DVD of the buyer’s choice.  Each package comes stuffed with candy, popcorn and soda, as well as a few novelty items to complement the theme of your package, and a new DVD, of course. Once your package arrives, just open it up and unwrap everything you need to have a movie night right in your own home…without the cost of a babysitter!

For the guy’s-guy consider the Football Movie Night, Poker Movie Night, Baseball Movie Night, Nascar Movie Night, or even…and here I’m about to give you dream girl status…the Horror Movie Night. Yes, you would officially be the best girlfriend/wife/mom/aunt ever if you gave the guy in your life a Movie Noodle Horror Movie Night package for Valentine’s Day.  Also hot with guys are the “For Him” Packages which include a Mission Impossible Package, Die Hard Package, The Office Package, Batman Package and Beverly Hills Cop Package.  You say he’s seen these movies already? Yeah, have you ever noticed how guys will, in the midst of channel surfing, land on “The Bourne Identity” about an hour into the movie, and watch it again? And again? And again? Yeah he’ll dig the “Die Hard” Package.

Buy It: Go to MovieNoodle, order a package of your choice, and mention in your note to the seller that you heard about Movie Noodle on Babies Gotta Have It. They’ll throw in a free chocolate rose with your order.
Win It: The awesome couple behind Movie Noodle has offered a free Pick a Flick Package to one lucky Babies Gotta Have It reader. Keep it for yourself or send it anywhere in the U.S. Want to enter? Read on.

To Enter the Movie Noodle Giveaway

• MANDATORY ENTRY #1: Head over to MovieNoodle.com and check out all of the DVDs they offer for the Pick A Flick Package (click HERE to see the list). Come back and leave a comment on this post saying which movie from their selection you’d choose for your free Pick a Flick Package.  Entering is that easy!
  

***Want extra chances to win? After you have made your first entry as described above, do anything listed below and leave me additional comments for each one letting me know what you did!  Maximum of eight entries per person.

• Follow me on Twitter (click the birdy button on the left sidebar to do so easily) and Tweet this giveaway (I’ve even made it easy for you, just cut and paste): Check out the great Movie Themed Gift Boxes you can send your guy this V-Day @Movie_Noodle! Win one here: http://tinyurl.com/ybxyf5g
• Follow Movie Noodle on Twitter
• Blog this giveaway (send me the url so I can enjoy your post!)
• Subscribe to my blog using the button on the left sidebar
• Grab my button and put in on your blog or website! Button code is in the right sidebar. Leave the link in your entry.
• Become a Fan of Babies Gotta Have It on Facebook–just click the link on the left sidebar!
• Email your friends about the giveaway and link to the giveaway post! cc me in the message (babiesgottahaveit@gmail.com)–I promise I will not spam you or your friends. Cross my heart

Your email address will remain private and not be shared with anyone. Giveaway only open to those with U.S.  addresses. Must be 18 or older to win. Giveaway begins on Saturday January 29th and ends on Saturday February 6th at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Sunday February 7th,  Random.org will select the winner,  and I’ll email you immediately. After my daughter called Larry the Cable guy the last time she did a drawing, we have decided to take a little vacation from her choosing the winner. Random.org is in no way as cute and unpredictable as my daughter, but it is much more efficient and does not use any pieces of paper, even recycled ones. I am sure you will understand. Thanks for entering!

Disclosure: Movie Noodle has offered the Pick A Flick Package to the winner of this giveaway at their expense.  I was not compensated monetarily for writing this post. All views and opinions with regard to the product or company itself are my own and were not influenced, nor reviewed, by the company prior to posting.

Update! We have a winner!  Random.org says “Result: 11″  Congratulations Shay Lee! Enjoy your Movie Noodle Package!  And for everyone who didn’t win–the offer for a free Valentine’s Day Chocolate Rose is good through Valentine’s Day if you mention “I saw you on Babies Gotta Have It” in a note to the seller when you buy your Movie Noodle Package! Enjoy!

Hooray for Baby Dipper Bowls!  I have just been informed that the super cool Baby Dipper feeding bowls I introduced you to back in November of 2008 are now BPA-free, lead-free and phthalate free!  And they come with a spoon and a fork now, too.  Yahoo!

This triangular shaped feeding bowl features transparent sides, a spoon-shaped lower corner, a contoured interior and a non-slip base to make toddler feeding easier and facilitate one-handed feeding for Mamas and Daddies who have their hands full. Watch my blast from the past video for a view of this nifty bowl in action…remember when the Little Bean was that small? The BPA-Free Baby Dipper Feeding Setcan now be found on Amazon.com! Just click here.

p.s. The giveaway mentioned in the video is long over…but keep an eye out for lots more great giveaways on Babies Gotta Have It!

Way back in December I had breakfast with Wendy Bellissimo. Well kind of.  Thanks to the generous folks at Q-Tips I ate some super yummy food at a gorgeously decorated restaurant with her and got the skinny on her suggestions for decorating your baby’s nursery…as well as a sneak peek at the pretty darned cute new Q-Tips packaging.  But more on that later.

I am actually pretty proud of how we decorated Bean’s room.  I really couldn’t do anything crazy girly. That’s just not my style. And when we had to make choices about paint colors we didn’t know if we’d have a boy or a girl.  The walls are a gorgeous sagey green (Benjamin Moore’s Silken Pine) and the trim is white.  We found a yellow braid rug at Home Goods that was insanely reduced because of a black mark on one side (yeah, we turned it over).  My Mom made curtains.  And we painted old pieces of family furniture in a lilac and light yellow color so that they all matched.  I splurged on a crib (the Stokke Sleepi Crib) because it’s so small and streamlined and perfect for apartment living.  And we didn’t really spend a thing on any of the other furniture.  Oh yeah, our friends Larry and Lisa gave us their glider.  It was a light blue check but I threw purple blankets over it and it was dandy.   We hung up two of those floating shelves and filled them with a mixture of antique and new things–including a vintage Boston Red Sox pennant (thank you New England branch of the family). As it turned out, according to Wendy Bellissimo we did some of it right. So here are her tips for readying your room for baby:

• Look to create a calming yet inspiring environment.
• Drop that paintbrush! Resist the urge to paint first.  Begin by clearing out the entire room and creating a blank palette.
• Become your own designer! Browse magazines, the internet and books and create your very own inspiration book or board, filled with ideas that speak to you.
• Go back in your room and consider the arrangement of your main pieces (most likely your crib, changing table, and rocker). Then incorporate your fabrics.  And only then choose your paint color.
• Then go crazy and stock that nursery!
• Choose whites or pale greens if you don’t know the baby’s gender…then accent accordingly when the time comes.
• Think long term when you select your furniture.  Are these pieces that can grow with your child?  Or choose gender neutral pieces so you can pass them along to a sibling to come.
• If possible, replace all your light switches with dimmer switches so bedtime can be calm and soothing (I LOVE this idea…totally wish we had been able to do it).
• And finally…incorporate things that were yours or your mother’s when you were children to give the room a really special touch.  I am so glad we did this.  Plus, hasn’t your Mom been bugging you to finally clear out your room so she can put in a home gym? Now’s the time, gals.

And may I say, the food was excellent.

When you’re stocking the changing table, be sure to check out the adorable new Q-Tips packaging.  These whimsical decorative boxes will blend in with lots of nursery styles.  They are small and sleek enough that you can easily keep them out where you can access them quickly, without needing to deal with those cumbersome boxes grown-up Q-Tips come in or finding another little basket to put them in.  Super idea, as far as I’m concerned!

Want to try them?  Thanks to Q-Tips, one lucky Babies Gotta Have It reader will win two boxes of Q-Tips Baby Packs. They will be a wonderful addition to your wee one’s nursery, or a great little item to tuck into a Baby Shower gift!  Want to enter?  Read on!

To Enter the Q-Tips Baby Packs Giveaway

• MANDATORY ENTRY #1: Leave a comment on this post.  Share a nursery decorating tip if you’d like. Or just say hi!  Entering is that easy!
  

***Want extra chances to win? After you have made your first entry as described above, do anything listed below and leave me additional comments for each one letting me know what you did!  Maximum of seven entries per person.

• Follow me on Twitter (click the birdy button on the left to do so easily) and Tweet this giveaway (I’ve even made it easy for you, just cut and paste):  I just entered to win Q-Tips New Baby Packs @BabiesGottaHavT Enter today! http://tinyurl.com/yzmd72v
• Blog this giveaway (send me the url so I can enjoy your post!)
• Subscribe to my blog using the button on the left
• Grab my button and put in on your blog or website! Button code is in the right sidebar. Leave the link in your entry.
• Become a Fan of Babies Gotta Have It on Facebook–just click the link on the left sidebar!
• Email your friends about the giveaway and link to the giveaway post! cc me in the message (babiesgottahaveit@gmail.com)–I promise I will not spam you or your friends. Cross my heart

Your email address will remain private and not be shared with anyone. Giveaway only open to those with U.S.  addresses. Must be 18 or older to win. Giveaway begins on Friday January 22nd and ends on Friday February 5th at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Monday February 8th,  Random.org will select the winner,  and I’ll email you immediately. After my daughter called Larry the Cable guy the last time she did a drawing, we have decided to take a little vacation from her choosing the winner. Random.org is in no way as cute and unpredictable as my daughter, but it is much more efficient and does not use any pieces of paper, even recycled ones. I am sure you will understand. Thanks for entering!

Disclosure: Q-Tips offered the above pictured baby packs for the winner of this giveaway.  They provided the delicious breakfast I attended and a small gift bag upon leaving.  I was not compensated monetarily for writing this post. All views and opinions with regard to the product or company itself are my own and were not influenced, nor reviewed, by the company prior to posting.

Update: We have a winner!  Random.org says “Result: 18″  Congratulations Sandra!  Thanks so much to everyone who entered!  Be sure to check out my current giveaways!

My baby girl loves her hair. She has, however,  had only two hair cuts in her entire life. We took her to the fancy schmancy overpriced NYC hair cutting place for kids, Cozy’s…where your kid can sit in a cool car and watch videos and have a bevy of really friendly stylists blowing bubbles and singing songs. The amazingly skilled stylist cut her hair quickly, efficiently and beautifully. And the Little Bean howled and cried the entire time. So now when I say “Bean, do you want to get a haircut?,” she smiles sweetly and says “No thank you.” Even when I add the most tempting of all incentives…”we’ll get a cupcake afterward,” she still replies in a maddeningly polite voice “No thank you, Mama.”

Now, many of you are no doubt thinking to yourselves, “She’s two for Pete’s sake. Get our your craft scissors and snip a bit.”  Well, I tried that once…when the Bean was fourteen months old.  This is what happened.

I am still traumatized.

The Little Bean is a Leo.  According to Cindy, the super insightful astrologer that did our hair and wigs for the show I just closed, Leos are all about their hair.  The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I can’t bear to mess up her hair again.  So sometime soon, in the not so far future, along with the overdue dentist and eye doctor and veterinarian appointments, I will make an appointment to have the Bean’s hair cut.

Until then…I have to say that the Bean looks unbearably adorable in teeny tiny cute as a button clippies! As soon as her hair recovered from the above abomination, I went to my super fave website, Etsy and ordered adorable hair clips from Shining Stars Boutique.  Unlike the toddler hair clips I got from a major retail store that shall remain nameless, the underside of these clippies are fully lined so no nasty scraping from the metal clippy bottom against your baby’s sweet head.  The awesome Mamas who started Shining Stars Boutique use non-slip velcro on each of the clippes so they stay put in fine hair, seal the ends of the ribbon to prevent fraying, and offer really really affordable prices.  And did I mention that the styles are a-dor-a-ble? Feminine but not cutesy. Girly but not over the top.  Ahhhh, I love Etsy.  I purchased the Sizzling Summer Fun Mini Bow collection.  The colors are bright and cheerful and go with everything.  We’ve used them so well that all but three have been snatched by elves and are missing.

So if your little angel is absolutely positively in no way shape or form going to sit through a hair cut, no matter how awesome the barber chairs are…and even if she does deign to get a haircut now and again…check out Shining Stars Boutique.  And just in time for February 14th, I am so happy to let you know that Jessica at Shining Stars has offered three adorable sets of Valentines Day (but really, you can use them all year) clippies to give away to one lucky Babies Gotta Have It reader.  The winner of this giveaway will receive all three sets of clippies featured in this post: the Red Butterfly Hair Clippie, the Light Pink and Red Lollipop Mini Hair Bow Clippies, and the Valentine’s Day Shocking Pink, Red, and Light Pink Beaded Felt Hearts on a Scalloped Flower Set.  Want to enter?  Read on!

To Enter the Shining Stars Boutique Clippies Giveaway

• MANDATORY ENTRY #1: Check out the Shining Stars Boutique Etsy Shop.  Come back and share one product you’d love to try besides the clippies featured in this post!  Entering is that easy!
  

***Want extra chances to win? After you have made your first entry as described above, do anything listed below and leave me additional comments for each one letting me know what you did!  Maximum of seven entries per person.

• Follow me on Twitter (click the birdy button on the left to do so easily) and Tweet this giveaway (I’ve even made it easy for you, just cut and paste):  I just entered to win adorable Valentines Day Hair Clippies @BabiesGottaHavT.  Enter today! http://tinyurl.com/yekl8n7
• Blog this giveaway (send me the url so I can enjoy your post!)
• Subscribe to my blog using the button on the left
• Grab my button and put in on your blog or website! Button code is in the right sidebar. Leave the link in your entry.
• Become a Fan of Babies Gotta Have It on Facebook–just click the link on the left sidebar!
• Email your friends about the giveaway and link to the giveaway post! cc me in the message (babiesgottahaveit@gmail.com)–I promise I will not spam you or your friends. Cross my heart

Your email address will remain private and not be shared with anyone. Giveaway only open to those with U.S.  addresses. Must be 18 or older to win. Giveaway begins on Tuesday January 19th and ends on Tuesday February 2nd at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Wednesday February 3rd,  Random.org will select the winner,  and I’ll email you immediately. After my daughter called Larry the Cable guy the last time she did a drawing, we have decided to take a little vacation from her choosing the winner. Random.org is in no way as cute and unpredictable as my daughter, but it is much more efficient and does not use any pieces of paper, even recycled ones. I am sure you will understand. Thanks for entering!

Disclosure: Shining Stars Boutique is offering the above pictured clippies for the winner of this giveaway.  I was not given any product from them personally, nor was   I compensated in any way for writing this post. All views and opinions with regard to the product or company itself are my own and were not influenced, nor reviewed, by the company prior to posting.

Update! We have a winner! Random.org says: Result: 18! Congratulations Michelle Frame! And thanks so much to everyone who entered!