Potty Dance Sweepstakes

By now you might have seen or heard about The Potty Dance, an interactive song and dance, by PULL-UPS®. This fun, instructional video helps both you and your child by adding a cute spin to the moments when Mother Nature calls:

In conjunction with the Potty Dance, PULL-UPS® and M80 is hosting a contest called, The Potty Training Nightmare. All you have to do is tell us a comical story (which may have happened to you, a friend, or a family member) about a time when a child's potty training took a turn for the worse.

Post the story on your blog and let us know by commenting here so we can read your story and enter you into the sweepstakes.

The grand prize is a six-month supply (6 packages) of Pull-Ups and wipes.

Good luck and we can’t wait to read your stories!

If you'd like to run your OWN contest on your OWN blog with the same prizing, let us know in the comments or email nicole /at/ m80im.com.

The sweepstakes ends March 31st.

Legal disclaimers:
By entering this contest and/or accepting any Pull-Ups or Kimberly Clark products, you agree to release and hold harmless Pull-Ups, Kimberly Clark, M80, and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries and affiliates, from any and all liability that may arise as a result of the products or for any claims based on merchandise delivery.

So You Think You Can Potty Dance?

Potty season can now be an exciting phase of a toddler's lifethanks to the Potty Dance, the latest campaign created by PULL-UPS®.This campaign highlights fun, instructional dance moves that could help both parent and child when Mother Nature calls. Take a look at the video below:

The song, video and dance steps can be downloaded at dothepottydance.com. Parents can enter a video of their Big Kid® in the “So You Think You Can Potty Dance” video contest for a chance to win a $5000 Big Kid®room makeover. Potty Dancers can show friends and family their polished moves by sending e-cards with their picture animated doing the potty dance in a variety of settings.

Prego® Offers Value!

We've teamed up with Prego® to bring you more Value for your buck!

With food prices climbing everyday, we know that you’re looking for smart ways to save without sacrificing quality and taste. Prego® understands that it can be hard to make delicious and nutritious meals at home on a budget, but with their variety of Italian Sauces a tasty meal is never hard to come by. Check out some the tasty Prego® recipes here. So, go ahead and put those extra dollars to good use and reward yourself!

Here is a fun home cooking tidbit. Did you know that replacing one restaurant trip per month with a homemade pasta and sauce meal can save hundreds of dollars per year? For example, for a family of four to eat at a restaurant could easily cost $50, but a complete pasta and sauce meal can be as low as $10. $40 savings x 12 months = $480. So, think of the ways you could spend an additional $480 this year.

Also, don’t forget to check out and participate in the BlogHer community discussion about crafty saving tips. You’ll be entered for the chance to win $1,000 for groceries from Prego® Italian Sauces. Check it out here:
http://www.blogher.com/win-1000-groceries-prego-italian-sauce

Check out these tasty dishes:




PS. We would like to thank 5 Dollar Dinners for hosting a great giveaway with over 540 participants!! Congratulations to the winner of the Prego Value Pack, Mississippi Songbird!

Huggies® - Inside the Diaper Video Sweepstakes Winners!

Congratulations to commenters seesawstar and jenna, who won our Huggies® coupon sweepstakes! Thanks to all that entered and we hope you all enjoyed reading the stories as much as we did ;-)

For fun, here's seesawstar's story:

When my daughter was a month old, I took her for her 1 month baby wellness checkup. They had me take off her clothes and diapers to weigh her, and she chose that moment to pee! And this wasn't just a little tinkle...this was a flood. Even the nurse made a comment on how she's never seen so much baby pee. This is my first, so I have no idea if it really was a lot of pee, but I just know that when a nurse at the pediatrician's office says that it's a lot...well...it must be a lot.

And jenna's

When my son was just a few months old, my mom and I took him to the mall for some shopping. We went to change his diaper in the Macy's restroom. My mom (having only the experience of changing her 3 daughters' diapers) was a little surprised when she took off his diaper and he proceeded to pee all over... all over the mat, the floor, and my mom. Such was her surprise that she jumped and yelped; my baby boy laughed at this site! It was quite a site to see.

My mom wasn't mad, and she got better at changing his diaper... but it would have been great if she had held a diaper in front of him and not just jumped back!

And the video that inspired it all:

Macy's Registry Rebate Offer!

If you have a wedding coming up this offer is perfect for you! It's difficult deciding what wedding gift to buy the happy couple on their wedding day, and purchases can definitely get pricey. Macy's is announcing a rebate offer from September 24 – October 5. If you make a $200 tabletop purchase from one of the more than 25 participating vendors you are eligible to receive a $25 cash rebate!

Rebate forms can be found in-store at any Wedding & Gift Registry department or online at http://macysweddingchannel.com/offers. Simply submit your original receipt and a copy of the couple’s registry to the specific vendor’s address; you will receive your $25 rebate check in the mail.

Happy Shopping!

Huggies®Brand - Inside the Diaper Video + Coupon Sweepstakes

We're proud to announce a new contest from the M80 Parents Blog! This one features a new video from Huggies® and coupons for free diapers and wipes.

I'd say that this video presents an interesting new take on leakage protection. It's based on Huggies recent “Geyser” TV commercial (which features a male infant with a special “talent” for making a lot of pee ;-)

Here's the video:



Here's the contest:

Tell us a funny story (which may have happened to you, a friend, or a family member) about a time when a child's pee got a little out of control...or when you were in desperate need of a diaper that excelled in leakage protection!

The story doesn't need to be long, just funny or interesting. Even one or two sentences will do. Just leave it in a comment, with your contact info.

If you want to earn 25 extra entries into the contest, write your story up in a blog post, embed the video, and send us the link!

If you'd like to run your OWN contest on your OWN blog with the same prizing, let us know in the comments or email ethan /at/ m80im.com.

We'll pick two winners on or about September 24, 2008.

PRIZING:
There are two Grand prizes, each of which feature two kinds of coupons:
Coupon 1: Any one [1] Jumbo Pack of Huggies Diapers...FOR FREE
Coupon 2: Any one [1] Huggies wipes (64ct or larger), Bath & Body Product, Cleanteam Product, or Changing Pad...FOR FREE

The winners will be awarded FIVE coupons: three Huggies diaper coupons and two Huggies wipes coupons.

RULES:
This contest is only open to contestants in the 50 United States of America (coupons are only valid in U.S.A.)

Click here read the rest of the contest rules before entering.

Legal Disclaimer
By entering this contest and/or accepting any Huggies® Brand coupons, you agree to release and hold harmless Huggies, Kimberly-Clark, M80, and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries and affiliates, from any and all liability that may arise as a result of the coupons or for any claims. These coupons are not for resale. If you decide to blog about our products you should disclose that you received the coupons from Kimberly-Clark.

YadaHome review on Mashable

The great "Web 2.0" blog Mashable has an in-depth review of family-focused social network YadaHome today. In the CEO's words:

We designed YadaHome.com to bridge the gap between generic social networks and organizational utilities (calendar, lists, etc.). Our site offers a complete social networking experience for parents, including discussion forums and user groups. What makes us unique is our trademarked user-profile, “The Fridge,” which combines a familiar interface with the type of applications busy moms and dads need.

Hop on over and read the review in full!

Giveaways around the blogosphere.

Blogs all around are having giveaways and who doesn't love a giveaway?

• Bloggy Giveaways is hosting a giveaway sponsored by Creative Side Bows. The winner receives a $40 gift certificate to spend at the online store. Giveaway ends on Monday, so get going!
  
  
• No Time Mom is giving away some extra Disney and King Fu Panda swag she received. All you have to do is comment. The giveaway ends August 28th, good luck!
  
  
• MomDot.com has lots of giveaways going on that end soon, so be sure to head over soon for you chance to win some fun prizes!
  
  
• Know someone who's life could be changed by a new HP laptop and printer? Tell the ladies at 5 Minutes for Mom and they could possibly make it happen!
  

Spotlight on Mama's Losin It.

Mama's Losin It is one of my favorite mommy bloggers out there. She's honest, hilarious and head over heels about her family (even if they do drive her crazy).

One of my favorite segments that she has on her blog is cooking with her young daughters. She picks some delicious recipes and has the girls do the rest. I think it's great that she's letting them help in the kitchen and have fun at such a young age. Even cuter is that she documents the whole process with photos and occassional video. The latest installment came today when her girls made southwest stuffed burgers (with some help from dad). And heck if her girls can do it it gives me hope that I can cook like that some day too.

This is one mom I highly recommend checking out :)

Artistic mom bloggers share their ideas

The Artful Parent is great inspiration for parents who want to incorporate art into the lives of their young children. Jean - blogger and mother of a toddler - started a children's art group for kids between the ages of one and three, and part of her photo-filled blog is devoted to documenting their colorful projects.

"I started our art group because I wanted to make art a priority in our family and to meet other families who were also interested in introducing art activities to their young children," writes Jean (in her blog), who comes from an art background herself. "I thought that if my daughter had an art focused playgroup that she would grow up thinking of art as a fun and valued part of everyday life." 

In other artistically-inclined parenting blogs, DesignMom writes about "where design and motherhood intersect."

Big and Little Art highlights some neat arts-and-crafts projects, such as making mailboxes for kids and designing puzzles from drawings.

Any other artistic parents blogging out there? Drop us a message if you've got a similarly-themed blog. 

Military wives blog at the home front

Military wives are blogging about life in the home front, which can be as chaotic and difficult - and worthy - as the battle zones their husbands are deployed at.

At Ovalina, a military wife talks about Harry Potter, C-sections and flirty women who may have an eye out for her husband, the Ninja. The couple has six children - all girls excepted for the couple's adopted son from Ethiopia. Ovalina's blogger admits she has an Italian accent and that it's sexy.

A 29-year-old military wife with two children shares her thoughts at Stay at Home & Military Wife. In one of her posts about being a stay-at-home-mom, she writes about her life as a "married single parent" when her husband is away: "My blog helps me; I can share whatever I want and get feedback from my readers."

A Marine wife and mother of a toddler  blogs at Marine Wife Toddler Mom Random Blogger. In this July 26 post, she writes about how military wives will voluntarily take on multiple social and family duties once their husbands are deployed in what she calls "super military wife syndrome."

Stay at home Dad blogs

Stay at Home Dads are staking out their own turf in the Internet with blogs that reflect the satisfaction and struggles that come with caring for children during the day. Here are just a few that have caught our eyes. 

Doodaddy features postings from a stay-at-home dad who worked as a "naturalist, outdoor educator, youth mentor and many, many other things," according to his blog. Married to a Working Mom, DooDaddy writes about what he learns from his two-year-old daughter.

Here Goes Everything - Life As a Stay At Home Dad is a 35-year-old former teacher, law student and college admissions counselor whose wife is a doctor. He's taking care of a four-year-old son and a one-year-old daughter. "This is my job now and I'm determined to do it well," he writes.

Stay at Home Dad writes from London about life with his young daughter. Using a poetic narrative style, his postings are nuggets of life's little moments that are as colorful as paintings.

Totspot becoming a hot spot

Totspot, a social network site geared around babies, has been picking up some media steam recently. 

While some are making parallels to MySpace for babies, the concept addresses parents' privacy concerns with a number of controls. Parents post pictures and share anecdotes of their babies, but they have control over who gets to view the information. They also can see who has viewed the child's profile.

The site makes documenting baby's first steps, words and other milestones as simple as a few taps on the keyboard. According to Totspot's blog, they've been in public beta for one month and so far nearly 8,500 pages have been created for kids in the age range of newborn to five years old. Read a review of it here form Techcrunch. Any users out there care to share their experiences with Totspot?

screen shot of Totspot home page.

At Home Mom blog gets a makeover

What do you do if you are trying to raise kids and work from home?

At Home Mom Blog started last year as a way to "connect and help other working women who want to work from home or who are already doing so," according to the blog's creator Genesis Davies. The blog, which recently made some changes to attract more audience, provides tips on balancing kids and work and a recent post celebrates the blog's success with a makeover.

She's got some great tips on how to stay active while at home in this post.

Other working mom-themed blog/web sites are out there. Here are a few, culled from the At Home Blog site:

Work It, Mom

Dotcom Mothers

Self Made Chick

Moms of the world, unite!

Mothers of the world, unite! That's the mantra of a social networking site called MomsRising.org that aims to "engage, educate and amplify the voices of America's millions of mothers," according to an article here on Tikkun magazine's web page.

The impetus for the project came from some research by its founders - Joan Blades and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner - that convinced them that U.S. policies to support mothers and families fall short of those of other industrial nations, according to the article. Over 130,000 people have joined the member list since 2006, states the article. The online group's mission, which involves petitions and online campaigns,  can is boiled down to an appropriate acronym:

M: Maternity and Paternity Leave.

O: Open, flexible work.

T: Technology and after-school programs.

H: Healthcare

E: Excellent childcare

R: Realistic and fair wages.