Backyard Mama

No More Rack

2010-12-16T09:10:00.000-08:00

Another daily deal site has appeared on the group buying scene: No More Rack. This website has eight daily deals available only for 24 hours. Similar to Gilt and Lil Luxe, No More Rack offers items at heavily slashed prices. When I went to their site this morning (all deals launch promptly at 9 a.m. EST), I had problems even getting it to load. People must be shopping like crazy to take advantage of last minute holiday gifts. Shipping is a flat $2 per item, which is a nice change from the other deal websites that tend to jack up their shipping.

I will be visiting No More Rack often to see what I can score for our birthday gift closet!

Win a bundle of cuteness from Around My Table

2010-12-03T10:36:00.001-08:00

Around My Table is having her very first giveaway with super cute items from Japan. I especially love the sweet panda pin and the lovely silk purse!!!

Attack of the GIANTmicrobes

2010-12-02T21:29:00.000-08:00

Ramona is all about Christmas toy catalogs right now and she spotted these quirky GIANT microbes in a science-themed catalog. Now, I have the chance to win one from Cartoon Lovin'Mama's blog.
You too, can snuggle up with your very own Dust Mite, Bed Bug, or Yeast Microbe!!

Backyard Mama's Holiday Wish List 2010

2010-11-30T19:56:00.000-08:00

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama and GameStop are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family?

Health, continued employment, and a mysterious overnight IKEA makeover to finish up all those unfinished DIY remodeling projects.

2. What is your Christmas morning / Hanukkah Nightly tradition?

My daughter usually wakes up about oh, 4 am and runs for her stocking, which is hanging in the hall by her door. Santa leaves it there full so she has something to entertain herself with until Mom and Dad crawl out of bed, around 6:30 am or so. Then we open presents, Buba and Zada come over to join in, and then we eat a big breakfast that involves lots of bacon. We stay in our jammies all day, play with new toys, and end the day with a viewing of Charlie Brown's Christmas.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be?

To pay off all my student loans! Ok, that may be asking for a bit too much, how about an iPad?

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?

Making paper chains, walking down Peacock Lane to see all the Christmas lights, donating gently used toys/warm clothing to children in need.

5. What games did you play with your family growing up?

Monopoly, 20 Questions, Go Fish

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?

Reading Christmas books that are only brought out once/year!

7. Where would you go for a Christmas/Hanukkah-away-from-home trip?

Japan, or maybe San Diego, to Legoland and a shopping spree at the American Girl store.

8. Check out GameStop and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?

1. DSi for Ramona, then we can play Animal Crossing together (I can inherit her old one).

2. Kirby's Epic Yarn for the whole family, dig the cool graphics, perfect for rainy winter days on the couch.

3. U-Draw Tablet for my husband to draw funny comics with my daughter on the Wii.

KitchenAid Giveaway!!

2010-11-30T17:36:00.000-08:00

3 Kids and Us and KitchenAid want to make your holiday wish come true and offer you the chance to win a brand new KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer, in your choice of over 20 colors, valued at $349.99!

Enter the KitchenAid Stand Mixer Giveaway and check out the Homemade Holiday Feast recipes that show all the ways the KitchenAid Stand Mixer and attachments can be used to create unique family dishes and save you counter space with one appliance that can be converted to meet your every need.

Win a Swanky Holiday Apron from Carolyn's Kitchen and the Apron Godesses

2010-11-30T13:26:00.000-08:00

How cute would this apron be at your family Christmas party or delivering cookies to your child's class party? I would totally rock it. Enter to win here. Ador-able.

Win the Ultimate Hauli-day of books from Chronicle Books

2010-11-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

Chronicle Books is my go-to place for high quality books for friends, teachers, children, and MYSELF!! This holiday season, they are giving bloggers a chance to win their "wish list" of books up to $500!!! One lucky commenter will win that blogger's list of titles as well.

Here's my list, a few things for my daughter (a total Rosie Flo and Star Wars nut)a McSweeney's book for my bestie, and a bunch of books all for me, since I never buy anything for myself. Thanks Chronicle Books for the dreamy contest!

Born Modern The Life and Design of Alvin Lustig $50.00

Indie Craft By Jo Waterhouse $19.95

Every Day's a Holiday Year-Round Crafting with Kids By Heidi Kenney $22.95

Appliqué Your Way 35 Pretty Projects and Patterns By Kayte Terry $19.95

More Things Like This By the Editors of McSweeney Introduction by Michael Kimmelman $35.00

Rosie Flo's Sticky Coloring Book By Roz Streeten $8.99

Rosie Flo's Kitchen Coloring Book By Roz Streeten $8.99

The Sounds of Star Wars® By J. W. Rinzler $60.00

642 Things to Draw $16.95

Curious Cats By Mitsuaki Iwago $16.95

Nerve: The First Ten Years Essays, Interviews, Fiction, and Photography From the editors of Nerve.com $40.00

Bird By Andrew Zuckerman $60.00

A Year of Mornings: 3191 Miles Apart By Maria Alexandra Vettese and Stephanie Congdon Barnes $21.95

Paper + Craft 25 Charming Gifts, Accents, and Accessories to Make from Paper By Minhee and Truman Cho With Randi Brookman Harris Photographs by Johnny Mille $19.95

Handmade Hellos Fresh Greeting Card Projects from First-Rate CraftersBy Eunice Moyle and Sabrina Moyle $19.95

Art of McSweeney's By the Editors of McSweeney $45.00

Pictorial Webster's A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities By John M. Carrera $35.00 **I have been coveting this pictorial dictionary for ages, it is so lovely to browse through!!

Pink Elephant Giveaway from Daffodil Mama

2010-11-19T09:20:00.000-08:00

My daughter has curly hair and this means she either has to wear it pulled up in a ponytail or held back with a headband every day (or else she can't see her schoolwork!!) so I am always on the look out for sweet, unusual headbands.

Head over to Daffodil Mama and enter to win a sweet handmade flower fabulous headband from the Pink Elephant Shop.

More of the Sick...

2010-11-16T08:48:00.000-08:00

This is the second (or is the third time?) my daughter is home sick from school. This time I think I'm coming down with it too. Ug. Second grade is a cesspool of underdeveloped hand washing and parents sending kids to school that should really be at home. Thank goodness for Emergen-C, Boomerang, and an elaborately set up Lego Thanksgiving.

Bushel and a Peck (and a hug around the neck)

2010-11-07T20:29:00.000-08:00

Enter to win this beautiful Apple Garland from What. No Mints? to add some fall loveliness to your home.

Sweet Giveaway from Sometimes Sweet

2010-11-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

Head over to Sometimes Sweet to enter to win moustache booties for littles, fingerless gloves, a groovy bike seat, a stunningly lovely art print and tons o' other crafty items from this adorable blog. I'm crossing my fingers I win because the print of "Imogene Coming Home" has completely enchanted me!

RikRak Studio Giveaway: Felt Stockings for the Holidays!

2010-11-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

The lovely rikrak studio is not only having a 25% off sale, they are also giving away a set of four beautiful eco-friendly felt stocking to pretty up your house for the holiday season. The shop is chockfull of monograms and sweet graphic shapes. I am fond of the mustard and grey stockings!!!! Enter to win by Nov. 9th.

Shutterfly Makes Creating Holiday Cards a Snap!

2010-10-27T20:29:00.001-07:00

My family just had our holiday pictures taken by a friend. They are so amazing, I can hardly believe it! I am ready to go all out on our greeting cards this Christmas, last year, my husband was out of work and for the first time in seven years, we didn't send out photos of our daughter, so I am ready to splurge a bit. Shutterfly is my first choice for simple, modern, and classy cards. I've spent a good hour pouring over their designs and I think I've narrowed it down to three choices.

First, there is the Wonder Trees Noir style, the bold graphics and clean text are totally my style and I think I have the perfect picture to stand out. I am a big font freak and Shutterfly does it right!

But there is also the Perfect Present card, which I know the great-grandparents will eat right up! I have a beautiful photo of my daughter wrapped up in a crazy vintage quilt that would work nicely.

I can't decide!!! They are all super hip, cute, and cheery. In the dreary NW winter, you want a card that is going make you feel warm and toasty inside, like the Paper Ornaments style!

I might just have to rock it out totally and go for a year in pictures with Shutterfly! They make creating cards easy, inspiring, and full of life!

Win Adorable Toadstool Goodies from Wee Waldorf!

2010-10-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for sweet handmade pouches or matching games for yourself or your children this holiday season, check out Wee Waldorf's Etsy shop. You can also enter to win a bundle of forest goodies including:
~Toadstool Acorn Pouch
~Gnome Cookie Cutter
~Pink Wee Toadstool Spool
~Two Toadstool Design Hair ties

The Sick.

2010-09-24T20:26:00.000-07:00

Only three weeks in the school year and my second grader has the crud. The sneezing, sore throaty, runny nosed Ms. Crabbypants has been in full effect on the couch. Thank goodness for the iPod Touchand apps like I am T-Pain and Lego Photo. Big shout-outs to a surprise shipment of Silly bandz and Sniffles and Sneezes tablets. Mama has seen about all the episodes of the Smurfs and Chowder she can take.

Huge Holiday Giveaway at 5 Minutes For Mom

2009-11-22T22:40:00.000-08:00

Head over to 5 Minutes For Mom to enter to win over 30 giveaways and also help give to those in need this holiday season:

"Under the Tree 2009 is our chance to spread some Christmas love to families in need through the generosity of the companies contributing to our Christmas Giveaway. We are so grateful for their participation!

In addition to providing the fabulous prizes for our readers to win by commenting on the individual reviews, the wonderful companies participating in the Christmas Giveaway 2009 are providing presents to selected families who are in need this Christmas.

If you know a family who will not be able to provide presents for their children this Christmas, click over and read more about Under the Tree and how you can nominate a family in need.

And don’t forget to click over and comment to show your support and enthusiasm for Under the Tree and for the participating companies!"

Win Personalized Postcards from MyPostcardPrinting!

2009-08-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

MyPostcardPrinting keeps the awesome giveways coming with a new chance for two of you to create your own custom postcards! You can use personalized postcards to announce a birth, a birthday, a special party, or a new DIY mama business.

Two lucky Backyard Mama readers will win 200 Custom Postcards (choose your size: 4x6, 4.25x6, 5x7"); 14pt gloss or matte, 13 pt uncoated with Full Color on both sides (4/4)
Shipping must be paid by Winner. Offer Valid for UNITED STATES SHIPPING ONLY. I will pick a winner 11:00pm PST September 3rd, 2009 and notify the winner by email.

What would you choose to put on your custom postcards? I would let Ramona take over the whole planning process, she has ideas to advertise her dectective agency!

UPrinting is U-Nanimously the best

2009-07-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

As a beginning blogger, I was thrilled to join the Blog Sponsorship program that UPrinting.com offers. They were generous enough to help me host a giveaway for a color poster print and I'm proud to be affiliated with a socially-conscious company that gives back to the community, and that offers sustainable products.

The folks at UPrinting have been professional, kind, and straightforward. They offer amazing canvas prints, hang tags for Etsy mamas, window clings, door hangers, and postcards. They are the company I will use if my friend and I get our silkscreening empire up and running. Thanks UPrinting!

Why UPrinting.com isn't your average printing company:

Blog Sponsorships:
If you are looking to find a sponsor for your blog, UPrinting.com is definitely interested. We offer giveaways, advertising and more for qualified bloggers.

Non-Profit Sponsorships:
The U-Community Program sponsors hundreds of non-profits and education to improve our local communities.

Social Justice Projects:
The UPrinting Kiva account promotes small business growth in developing countries.

Green Printing:
UPrinting supports a sustainable future by recycling, using non-toxic inks, and offering eco-friendly recycled paper stocks for business cards and postcard printing.

Pandora's Box

2009-07-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

I've been up past midnight for weeks now, doing some freelance writing work and my lifesaver has been Pandora. I love being able to turn up my headphones and listen to a station that actually plays what I want to hear. Pandora has EVERYTHING, from Tracy and the Plastics to Queens of the Stone Age. Now, I just want to get one of those swank new receivers that can play iPods or internet radio. Oh, birthday fairy........

Poster Print Giveaway for Papa

2009-06-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Xenia--the winner of the Poster Print giveaway!
Thanks to all who entered.

This is it---my first giveaway on my blog!!! I have had amazing luck winning all kinds of crafty and useful things from blogs lately, and I would like to share this time.

Father's Day is coming up and the kind folks at UPrinting have generously offered an 18 x 24 Poster Print to the lucky winner. A large print is an awesome way to showcase the special people in your family. Uprinting offers poster printing from 16 x 20 inches all the way up to 27 x 40 inches (They also offer custom prints, and make sure you check out their gallery wrapped prints on their site!)

I am going to print this picture of Ramona and her father (just like the Beverly Cleary story) and Oliver the kitty to surprise her Dad.

You could print a close-up of your little one with a missing tooth, an outdoors scene of your kiddos watering the garden, or capture a napping beauty.

Want to win a poster print of your own? Here's how to enter by Friday, June 5th, 9pm Pacific time :

1) Leave a comment on this post telling me what you would pick for your 16"x20" print:

A birthday party, a first step, a special picture with a Dad in your life?

2) For a 2nd entry, blog about this giveaway and link back to my page and UPrinting

3) Winner will be selected with random.org, and notified by email. Per UPrinting’s rules, the 16″x20″ print will be shipped for free to addresses in the U.S. and Canada; all other locations will receive the print for free, but must pay for their shipping.

Carry it all with TuckerBags Giveaway!

2009-05-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

Spots on my Apples is giving away a 3 bag set from TuckerBags, go enter before June 5th and you could win one of these super useful reusable bags with vivid graphics. These bags fold up to easily fit in a purse so you never have the excuse of "Oops! I forgot my bag!"

I've got a secret and I can't explain

2009-04-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

I've got a huge, hideous crush.
On Detective Elliot Stabler AKA Mister Christopher Meloni. It's common knowledge in my house that I get all goofy-eyed over the Detective Stabler and his weekly appearances on Law and Order: SVU. Don't even get me started on Oz.

My daughter even noticed that I became fixated when Mr. Meloni made brief appearances on Noggin between shows.

I have no shame.

Gimme Shelter

2009-04-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to see that Stephanie Congdon-Barnes has a new presence on the internet. I have missed her beautifully quiet and crafty blog little birds and am excited to follow the adventure of Stephanie and husband Jack as they remodel their vintage Portland home and share design finds.

It will be inspiration for us, with our decrepit 1906 house
(that is actually masquerading as a 1970s anti-bungalow) and the small remodeling projects we've completed over the years.

Hooray for Shelter.

This Full House wants to fill your office with fashion office products!

2009-03-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

This Full House Reviews is having a HUGE giveaway with scads of graphic school/office supplies from Carolina Pad (polkadots galore, insanely cute graphics with products you would really want to use, and your children would probably swipe immediately).

Enter by 10:00 on Monday, March 23rd for your very own chance to win these graphic goodies!

Oh! Hello, Amazing Giveaway.

2009-03-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

Click above to enter to win an amazing array of lovely crafty handmade things.

Shine a Light

2009-03-03T09:40:00.000-08:00

A month ago, we received word that my husband's company was shuttering their Portland office. After several days of total freak-out mode, we've developed a plan and a VERY strict budget that will allow us to get by while my husband (and I) are both job hunting. (much, much more on that in future posts)
In the midst of all this, we were heading towards the end of a three month bathroom remodel. Getting laid-off + husband totaling his truck + not having a washer/dryer = scary badness, and I am beyond overjoyed that the bathroom is nearly done.
The bathroom is bright, clean (must dig up pictures of very frightening previous incarnation of bathroom complete with slate castle-like floor and copious amounts of mold and funk) and lovely. Now I can simply schlep laundry into the bathroom and watch it spin while I lay in the tub (which is sparkling and inviting)

It's Tizzalicious!

2009-03-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

You too, can enter to win this snappy little apple brooch over at Dirty Pretty Things.

Enter by 3:00pm on Sunday, March 8th, 2009 PST.

Elevens are heaven-ly.

2009-03-02T07:13:00.001-08:00

You can win a sweet pair of Eleven shoes over at Mogul Baby!

Enter by March 11, 2009, midnight EST

Win a Snuggly Swing Coat for your Sweet Child from Extraordinary Mothers!

2009-03-01T08:36:00.000-08:00

Extraordinary Mothers is having an amazing giveaway from Kidscoats.com! My daughter was immediately drawn to the Corky Turquoise & Brown Paisley Fur Sweet Pea Swing Coat and is crossing her fingers and toes that she is picked as the winner of the giveaway:

Giveaway ends Monday, March 2nd at noon.

Win a spiffy messenger bag from Mom Dot Reviews!

2009-02-28T08:21:00.000-08:00

Mom Dot Reviews is giving away an O'Yikes Messenger Bag and you can win too! The set includes a bag, laptop sleeve, and accessory case which would help this mama be a little more organized! (You do NOT want to see the inside of my purse, really.)

Funky Monkey's Picaflor Giveaway!

2009-02-27T20:32:00.000-08:00

Head over to Funky Monkey to nab a chance to win either a Hoodie or London Sweater Coat from Picaflor (a bounty of simple, elegant children's clothing up to size 10). Giveaway ends Monday, March 2nd at 11:59 pm ET.

Oohlalamama Giveaway at 4 Baby and Mom

2009-02-27T19:35:00.000-08:00

4 Baby and Mom is hosting a giveaway from Ooh La La Mama, a children's clothing company that makes super sweet, cotton, and retro attire. My daughter's favorite would be the lovely Kitty Dress! In fact, she would probably want to wear it to school every single day and I would end up washing it every night!

If you head over to 4 Baby and Mom by Saturday 2/28 at noon EST, you can enter to win too!

2008-12-14T19:55:00.000-08:00

It's so cold tonight we can feel the frigid air seeping in through the walls of our little house. It's a night for drinking endless cups of tea and burrowing under blankets.

Unlike other years, when I was feeling much more organized and Martha Stewart-esque, today I snuck a quick picture of Ramona frolicking in the snow and cobbled together a photo card to send out. (out-take above)