Wednesday, October 27, 2010

We Have a Winner!

There were 71 entries, but one entry was not a giveaway comment, just a regular comment :)

The lucky winner is andiemarie923 who said...  
I tweeted today, 10/22: http://twitter.com/#!/andiemarie923/status/28451132563

Congratulations andiemarie923 and thank you to everyone who entered and a big thank you to Top To Bottom Baby Boutique for sponsoring this wonderful review and giveaway!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday

Trying to keep his little peepers shaded with my hand and his blanket

I took this picture this past Sunday right after church. Little man conked out in the sling during the service and took a great little power nap! He loves being in his sling, but he hasn't fallen asleep in it since he was a little, little guy! Oh, it just made my heart so happy to have him be so relaxed and secure that he could fall asleep on me!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Giveaway Ending Today (10/26)

Don't forget to get all of your entries in for the Top To Bottom Baby Boutique amber teething necklace giveaway! It ends tonight (10/26) at midnight PST. I LOVE my sons amber teething necklace...we don't start the day or leave home without it! Good luck!

Yes, You Are Still In The Right Place!

No, you didn't type in the wrong web address. :) The Little Hedgehog blog got (another) makeover! I recently won a blog makeover from Indiechick Designs! I think that it looks so cute and I love the fresh new look to my blog! If you are looking for a new blog layout, make sure you check out Indiechick Designs, they are so great to work with and do fun, fabulous work!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Hyland's Teething Tablet Recall

I just read about a recall on Hyland's Teething Tablets and I wanted to pass the info along to my readers. When I first read it, I ran downstairs to see which teething tablets I have. I had a a different brand, but it still worries me! It seems like so many things for babies and children are being recalled (cribs, strollers, tylenol...) and now even something that is supposed to be a homeopathic remedy has been added to the list! It makes me even more glad that I have an amber teething necklace for my little man!

 So, if you use teething tablets, make sure you check your medicine cabinet!You can find out more info on the recall website here.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Trying My Hand at Roasting Pumpkin


Summer is definitely my favorite time of the year - for it's warm weather (ok, so it's H-O-T here), longer days, sunshine and trips to the park and the pool...ahhh... I miss it already! But, one thing I love about fall are the wonderful veggies, squashes, potatoes, dark leafy greens, pomegranates, cranberries, apples... the list goes on! I have my tried and true recipes that I pretty much know by heart. Not that there is anything wrong with these tasty stand-by recipes, but sometimes I like to venture into the unknown of the cooking world! 

I recently came across a great website and blog, wholesomebabyfood.com, which is all about feeding your baby with healthy and nutritious foods while also giving you a wealth of information about how to prepare certain foods, when to start feeding certain foods to your baby and fun recipes of how to incorporate foods into many different meals. I have really been trying to add more variety and finger foods into my little mans daily diet and the wholesome baby food website and blog have had some great tips and recipes that I've tried. On their blog, I saw that they had a bunch of tasty looking recipes for pumpkin. I thought that little man should get a chance to try some pumpkin this fall! Well, I have never roasted a pumpkin before! I've roasted squash, sweet potato, potatoes, zucchini, onions...but not pumpkin. Maybe I've just always thought of them as a fall decoration, a canvas for carving into or something used for pumpkin pie. Also, I'm always a little intimidated by how you actually crack into something as hard as a pumpkin without bringing injury to oneself. 

Well, I decided that I was going to roast a pumpkin- little man deserved to start trying some festive fall foods! So, I printed off the instructions, headed to the store and came home with a pumpkin in tow!

Below are the instructions that I followed from wholesome baby food's blog article about roasting a pumpkin. You can read their article here. The pictures are mine. :)

Preheat oven to 400F degrees and find a large baking dish.

My unsuspecting victim
  Cut the top off of the pumpkin – use a sugar or pie pumpkin
Now cut pumpkin in half

Scrape out seeds and “guts” – cut each half into quarters.  Save the seeds & roast them for big kids – nutritious & tasty

Ready to be roasted – add an inch or more of water to baking dish & sprinkle with spices if desired

Cover in foil and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the shell/skin is soft and puckery looking.  You can also use a fork to test “fork tenderness”.  All done, easy peasy!

They came out beautifully! Perfectly soft and the rind (is that what pumpkin skin is called?) peeled off so easily! I had so idea it was actually this easy! The pumpkin wasn't difficult to cut up either, maybe it helped that it was a small pumpkin. Isn't it funny how small things that we do can make us feel so accomplished? 

So the pumpkin is cubed and stored it in the refridgerator for some recipes that I have planned for little man over the next couple of days. Lucky little boy!

I will be posting my pumpkin recipes this week, with pictures of little man's reaction. He hasn't been too thrilled with "new" foods or textures lately, so we shall see how much ends up in him or on him! Stay tuned!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

-CLOSED- EcoMom - Smartypants Gummy Vitamin Review & Gift Certificate Giveaway!


 EcoMom was founded to address the connection between the health of our environment & the health of our children, EcoMom is committed to making eco-conscious living easy, affordable, & rewarding with education, support, tools & products.

I LOVE shopping at EcoMom! EcoMom has so many wonderful products that are safe for your family and home. They have products that make being eco-friendly simple and fun and on top of that, they are always adding new products to the great selection they already offer. 

One of their awesome offering is the EcoPass. The EcoPass is a simple way to save on every purchase you make from EcoMom. You buy a $99 annual membership which gives you the following benefits:
  • Free Shipping on every order. This is one of my favorite features! I love the idea of not having to worry about the size of your order. Whatever you order, however much you spend, be it $1 or $100, you get free shipping.
  • 15% savings on every product EcoMom sells. A discount on top of free shipping! How awesome is that! No hunting for coupon codes, you just get to automatically save money on the products you're shopping for.
  • Advance looks at new products.You get to help EcoMom decide which products they will be offering in the future. Your voice will be heard and represented.
  • Exclusive offers and promotions. You get the opportunity to buy products from the Daily Deal and on select new products before anyone else.
At $99, the EcoPass pays for itself in as few as 4 orders and costs about $8.25 a month. So, if you are planning on doing a bit of shopping from EcoMom and especially with Christmas right around the corner, wouldn't it be nice to check some of those friends and family gifts off your list, save on your total purchase and have it delivered to your door with free shipping included! The EcoPass could be the perfect gift for yourself to help you save money on shipping and on your future purchases.

Did you notice that I mentioned that EcoMom is continually offering new products? Well, one of their newest products are the Smartypants Gummy Vitamins
 These gummy goodies are a daily all-in-one multivitamin that also pack a punch of  beneficial Omega 3's and Vitamin D. They smell good, look cute, and taste good too! These sparkly little good-for-you-gumdrops have an outer coating of organic cane sugar (don't worry, they won't send your kiddos on a sugar high with only 5g of organic cane sugar per serving, which is 80% LESS sugar than in a glass of unsweetened apple juice). When I first tried them, I immediately started singing (to myself) the song from Mary Poppins... "Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, In a most delightful way..."  Because, after you have one, you want another and another and another... They are quite addicting (and good for you to boot)!

Well, Mary Poppins aside, obviously little man is not quite old enough to be taking Smartypants Gummy Vitamins, but hubby and I are! Smartypants Gummies do have an adult dose (4) as well as the kiddo dose (2) and hubby and I have been taking our vitamins every day since we got our Smartypants Gummies. I love that they are made here in the good ol' U.S. of A. They're actually made right here in California - even closer to home! SmartyPants are made with only natural colors and flavors and no High Fructose Corn Syrup! They are also gluten- and casein-free. They never use any fake or artificial flavors, sweeteners, or dyes that are bad for your kids!  Their Omega 3 DHA and EPA fish oil comes from eco-friendly sustainable small fish sources. No unsustainable tuna or contaminated fish!

I love that I have found a vitamin that not only has all of the daily essentials that growing little kiddos need, but important extras like Omega 3 DHA and EPA for developing young brains. I love that they are naturally derived, have organic ingredients and are free from fake fillers. The only thing I wish was that the Omega 3's were fish free. Not that I am a vegetarian, but I know people who are who would not be able to give these vitamins to their vegetarian children. But otherwise, I think that Smartypants Gummy Vitamins are great, tasty, quality vitamins. Little man will be a lucky little boy when he is old enough to take his vitamins the Smartypants way! This mommy approves!

Would you like to buy a bottle of Smartypants Gummy Vitamins for your little ones to try? Or is there something else on the EcoMom site that has caught your eye? Well, it's your lucky day, because EcoMom has generously offered a 15% discount to my readers to use on your first order at EcoMom - just use code SBBL636 at checkout for 15% off your order! (This discount code is good until November 30, 2010) 
  
-Or-

You can enter to WIN a gift certificate to EcoMom to spend however you like! EcoMom has offered one of my readers the chance to win a $25 gift certificate to spend at EcoMom!

  Here's how to enter:
Mandatory Entry:
*This mandatory entry must be completed for the rest of your entries to be valid. I will be checking/verifying your comments, if you say you signed up for something or did something, you do need to actually do it for it to count as an entry*
  • You must my publicly follow my blog via Google Friend Connect AND visit EcoMom and tell me what you would buy if you won!
Extra Entries:
  •  "Like" EcoMom on Facebook and let them know that The Little Hedgehog sent you. (2 entries)
  • Follow EcoMomCEO on Twitter and comment here with your Twitter ID (1 entry)
  • Add my button to your blog and leave me a link (2 entries) 
  • Follow me on Twitter: @lttlehedgehog then, comment here with your Twitter ID to get your entry. (1 entry) 
  • Tweet about this giveaway. Comment with a direct link to your tweet so I can see it to get your entry!  You may use this tweet or make up your own:  Enter to #Win a $25 GC to EcoMom from @EcoMomCEO and the @lttlehedgehog blog http://bit.ly/bIdtqr ! {Ends 11/1} #green #eco #giveaway  (1 entry per day)
  • Sign up to receive the little hedgehog emails via feedburner and have your subscription verified. (2 entries)
  • Blog about this review/giveaway. Be sure to include a link to this review/giveaway. Comment with a link to your blog post to get your entry! (2 entries)

Don't forget to put your email address in each comment so I can get a hold of you if you are the lucky winner! If I cannot get a hold of you, I will have to draw another winner! Also, I will check to make sure that the winner filled out the mandatory entry.

Open to U.S. and Canadian residents only.

I'll accept entries until Monday, November 1, 2010 at Midnight PST. I'll select a winner using random.org's random number generator, then email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email and if I don't get a response, I will have to choose another winner. Again, make sure you leave your email address in your comment!

*EcoMom will be emailing the winner’s gift certificate item to them directly.

Thank you to EcoMom for providing me with the opportunity to host this review & giveaway at no cost to myself. The item sent to me for review & the giveaway has not influenced my opinion of the product. I have sought to give my honest opinions and experiences on these products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Thank you again to EcoMom for sponsoring this review and giveaway!

Friday, October 15, 2010

CSN Stores Review



 A little while ago, I posted that I would be doing a product review for CSN Stores as one of their Preferred Bloggers!  Well....what did I pick to review? After searching through their 200+ stores and oogling over so many different products, I finally settled on something for our kitchen! I thought that it would be something that I would be able to use on a weekly basis and would really come in handy with Thanksgiving almost upon us.

I chose the Rachael Ray Bubble and Brown 2-Piece Stoneware Baker Set in Chocolate and I think that it will look so nice and festive on our Thanksgiving table with some green bean casserole in it or some oven roasted veggies! Yum!

The List price for this stoneware set is $57.95, but CSN's price is $39.95 (a savings of $18.00), plus they offer free shipping on this item! So, I just put a little extra of my own money towards this stoneware set and I couldn't be happier with it! It arrived quickly and was packaged very well. I was impressed how well it was boxed up to assure that the 2 pieces of stoneware arrived safe and sound.

They wash up beautifully- both by hand and in the dishwasher. The first time I used them, I made tuna fish casserole in the smaller of the two stoneware pieces. It is perfectly sized for two people. The casserole turned out great and was yumm-o! I have since made a baked chicken dish as well as oven roasted veggies in these stoneware sets and I have been impressed with the quality of the stoneware as well as how well it distributes heat to bake the food evenly. 

I am again very impressed with CSN Stores selection, their wonderful and friendly customer service, their great communication on when your package is shipping (tracking number included) and that their packages consistently arrive in a timely manner with everything packed up safe and sound. With over 200 stores to shop from, CSN really does have something for everyone and with free shipping on so many of their products, it is a great site to do some Christmas shopping from!  Happy Shopping!

Thank you to CSN Stores for providing me with the opportunity to review and item from your site. I have sought to give my honest opinions and experiences on these products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Thank you again to CSN Stores for sponsoring this review!

Friday Blog Hops

Here are some blog hops that I linked up with this week!





Thank you to everyone who stopped by my blog from another blog hop and welcome to The Little Hedgehog!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Winner of The Little Green Books Giveaway Is...


The winner of the Little Green Books giveaway is Mrs.Smitty who said...
Post your Button #1
http://healingspace88.blogspot.com/
A big thank you to Little Green Books for sponsoring this giveaway and also thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway and who reads my blog!




*As a side note: I do check the entries, especially to see if you have completed the mandatory entry. If you do not complete the mandatory entry, you cannot win and your subsequent entries will become void. If you comment that you follow my blog, you do in fact, need to follow my blog publicly.*

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday

The International Babywearing Week just came to a close. It was from the 6th-12th of October. It really inspired me to figure out some new holds for my little man with my sling. It was a bit tricky to master the hip carry with a wiggly 11 month old, but I am getting so much better at it! I thought that there was no way my little man would like being "confined" to a sling (since the last time he was in one, he was about 4-6 months old), but to my suprise, he LOVES it! He is calm and content, he likes seeing the world, yet being close to his mama...ahhh, *happy sigh*!
On a walk in the park
Love his little smirk-y face
Hi Daddy! (that's his new favorite "trick" - leaning back while being held)

-CLOSED- Top To Bottom Baby Boutique Amber Necklace Review & Giveaway


 

The other month I was the lucky winner of a Knickernappies Baltic Amber Teething necklace giveaway on Top To Bottom Baby Boutique’s blog. They contacted me and asked if I would also be interested in doing a review of the amber necklace and they would sponsor a  giveaway of another necklace on my blog. I was thrilled! Not only because I had won an amber necklace for my son, but I was excited at the opportunity to work with Top To Bottom Baby Boutique and do a giveaway for my readers!
Here's some info from the Top To Bottom Baby Boutique description of the amber necklace:

* Designed for wearing by either boys or girls; coordinates with our Baltic Amber teething necklaces or bracelets
    * A completely natural, drug-free way to relieve the symptoms of teething in babies and toddler.
    * Amber is a fossilized resin, not a stone. It is therefore warm to the touch, and light to wear.
    * When amber is worn on the skin, the skin's warmth releases minuscule amounts of healing oils from the amber which are then absorbed via the skin into the bloodstream.
    * Baltic Amber baby teething bracelets and necklaces provide natural pain relief for babies, toddlers, and children.
    * Not designed for chewing with teeth, parent supervision is recommended at all times when baby is wearing bracelet or necklace.
    * Amber is associated with sunlight and warmth and reputed to boost the immune system, reduce inflammation and accelerate the healing of wounds and is thus the perfect help for babies and toddlers who wear it when they are teething.


The necklace came packaged so nicely from Top To Bottom Baby Boutique and I just have to say that I thought it was the cutest little necklace ever! The beads were round-ish shaped and I really liked that every bead was just a little bit different, it made it seem more unique and one-of-a-kind. I loved that when I help it up to the light, I could see little “veins” running through the beads, giving each one its own unique character qualities. So, given that my son is almost 11 months old and is teething like a mad man, I put it on him right away! I feel so bad for him, he is constantly putting teethers, toys, his hands…anything in his mouth to help ease the pain of his teeth coming in. This has been going on since he was 3 months old and all I can say is, there’s a lot of drool that goes hand-in-hand with teething pain. I wish that I could take all that pain and discomfort away from him, but there is no way that I am going to continually dose him with Tylenol or Ibuprofen (especially in the wake of the major Tylenol recall). So, amber teething necklaces seem like a good fit- it’s all natural, he can wear it daily so the effect of amber will steadily be released and I think it looks cute on him. I have gotten several compliments that he looks like a little surfer dude with his amber necklace on and so many moms have seen it and asked about it and we then proceeded to have a conversation about whether or not I think it has helped my little man.
So, do I think it has helped my little man? I do. Definitely. I know there isn’t any “science” behind the effects of wearing Baltic amber, but I have seen how it helps to calm my little man and I feel that it takes the harsh “edge” off of his teething pain. Now, I wouldn’t say that it makes his pain go away completely, but there have been a couple afternoons where I forgot to put it back on after a nap…and the cranky monster emerged! He would be extra fussy and look to chew on everything in site, usually crying as he would bit down on toys or his own hand. Then, I would remember the amber necklace, I would put it back on him and after a little bit, he would seem to calm down and relax a little.

So, I do feel like the Baltic amber teething necklace helps my little man throughout the day as his teeth are sprouting out of his poor little gummies with a vengeance. I feel that it has helped him and saved me from relying on the dropper of Ibuprofen to get us through the day. I think that it is a high quality, well made necklace and I have no worries that it will break or come apart. I also really enjoyed working with Top To Bottom Baby, they answer emails and questions super quickly and have wonderful and friendly customer service!

Interested in getting a Baltic amber teething necklace to help your little on navigate the rough waters of teething? You can buy one for your little one from Top To Bottom Baby Boutique’s site!

-Or-

You can enter to WIN a Baltic amber teething necklace here!

  Here's how to enter:
Mandatory Entry:
  • Be a follower of my blog via Google Friend Connect AND visit the Top To Bottom Baby Boutique and tell me which Baltic Amber necklace you would love to have for your little one if you won!
Extra Entries:
  •  "Like" Top To Bottom Baby Boutique on Facebook and let them know that The Little Hedgehog sent you. (2 entries)
  • Follow Top To Bottom Baby Boutique on Twitter and comment here with your Twitter ID (1 entry)
  • Add my button to your blog and leave me a link (2 entries) 
    • Follow me on Twitter: @lttlehedgehog then, comment here with your Twitter ID to get your entry. (1 entry) 
    • Tweet about this giveaway. Comment with a direct link to your tweet so I can see it to get your entry!  You may use this tweet or make up your own:  Enter to #Win a Baltic Amber necklace from @toptobottombaby and the @lttlehedgehog blog! http://bit.ly/adA8Fa {Ends 10/26} #giveaway  (1 entry per day)
    • Sign up to receive the little hedgehog emails via feedburner and have your subscription verified. (2 entries)
    • Blog about this review/giveaway. Be sure to include a link to this review/giveaway. Comment with a link to your blog post to get your entry! (2 entries)

    Don't forget to put your email address in each comment so I can get a hold of you if you are the lucky winner! If I cannot get a hold of you, I will have to draw another winner! Also, I will check to make sure that the winner filled out the mandatory entry.

    Open to U.S. and Canadian residents only.

    I'll accept entries until Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at Midnight PST. I'll select a winner using random.org's random number generator, then email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email and if I don't get a response, I will have to choose another winner. Again, make sure you leave your email address in your comment!

    *Top To Bottom Baby will be shipping the winner’s item to them directly.

    Thank you to Top To Bottom Baby Boutique for providing me with the opportunity to host this giveaway at no cost to myself. The giveaway has not influenced my opinion of the product. I have sought to give my honest opinions and experiences on these products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Thank you again to Top To Bottom Baby Boutique for sponsoring this review and giveaway!

    Monday, October 11, 2010

    Winner of the Uncommonly Cute Giveaway!


    We have a winner for the Uncommonly Cute giveaway!
    Congratulations to lfhpueblo who said...
    I follow The Little Hedgehog via Google Friends Connect.

    Thank you to everyone who entered this fun and fashionable giveaway and a big thank you to Uncommonly Cute for sponsoring this review and giveaway!

    Monday Blog Hops!

    This is where I hopped to this Monday! I found some fun new blogs to follow!
    The Not-So-Secret Confessions of a First Time Mom
     
    If you are a new follower from a blog hop, Welcome! Thanks so much for following me! Leave me a comment and I will follow you back.