I have a to-do list about as long as my arm and was planning to get a lot done while the kids were napping. I can’t seem to concentrate since hearing the news that my little nephew was admitted to the hospital with pyloric stenosis and will have surgery this afternoon. He’s only five weeks old. Please keep my brother’s family and little baby boy in your thoughts today.

Update: The surgery was last evening and everything went well. Now we wait to see how well he eats and if he can keep it down. If all continues to go well he should be able to go home from the hospital soon. Fingers crossed.

Thanks for stopping by to list your giveaways! There’s a lot going on around the blogosphere in the next week and there will be tons of great prizes up for grabs.

Momdot is hosting a 31 Bloggers in 31 Days Blog Party with a new giveaway every single day in the month of May. I’m looking forward to checking out new blogs and entering some fantastic giveaways.

Two giveaways end this weekend: the Plain Jane & Co. Boutique Personalized Bath Towel ends tomorrow and the Little Jewel Sterling Silver boy or girl Pendant ends Sunday. If you win, you can recieve it in time for Mother’s Day!

And, of course, don’t forget about the fun here on The Shopping Mama. The “It’s in the Bag Giveaway Bash” co-hosted with Etsy It Up! begins on Sunday! We are thrilled to be giving away FOUR bags, including one diaper bag worth over $150, and literally hundreds of dollars worth of must have items for your diaper bag or purse. Grab the button now (from the right sidebar) for extra entries!

Thanks for linking your giveaways. I look forward to checking them out!

If you head to the local giant toy store, you know it’s not easy to find a simple yet totally entertaining toy. Everything seems to make noise, require batteries and / or come from China. So, I’m always on the hunt for fun, affordable and safe toys to encourage imaginative play with Toddler Boy. That’s why I’m paricuarly pleased to introduce Happy Squash Toys!

Happy Squash Toys are handmade wooden toys crafted from sturdy poplar wood with non-toxic, lead-free paints and finishes. Two finishes are available: painted and natural. The painted toys all have two coats of water based paint with a light sanding between coats to provide a smooth and even finish. The natural toys are beautiful with only a beeswax finish. That’s right, the only noise that comes from these toys is the sound your kid makes while having fun, no batteries are needed, they are safe and made in Ohio.

We received the Zoo Animals 3 piece set and Toddler Boy loves them. I haven’t seem him that excited to dig into a box in a while! He immediately started rolling the Elephant, Zebra and Giraffe all over the place. The animals are a good size: Elephant and Zebra are 4 inches tall and Giraffe is 7.5 inches. The paint and detail on each animal is great and they are really, really cute.

So the toys obviously look great, but how do they work and feel? The toys roll easily on the carpet and the table without scratching or leaving marks. They are solid and obviously well made without being too heavy or bulky.

Here’s a quick video so you can see the toys in action. (I know it seems to cut off at the end, but my son starting squealing about getting “a peasant” (i.e. the elephant) out of a box and he seemed a little nuts.)

It’s official: I’m the mamarazzi. I stalk my children, dress them up and pose them just hoping to get the perfect picture. I won’t even tell you how many photos we have taken since we bought our new fancy camera in preparation for my daughter’s in November, but I’m sure you can imagine. (Yes, I’m pretty sure we’re in to five digits.) When trying to photograph a toddler and / or an infant, you don’t need any additional challenges. Enter Aurora: intuitive photo editing and management software that is so easy to use even I can do it!

I just love this little activity blanket from Tag! You’re It! Creations. Made with designer fabric on one side and soft minky material on the other, this little blanket has a lot going on.

The blanket has ribbons around the outside, like a “taggie” blanket, and also has a clip to attach a small toy. And how tired are you of picking your little one’s blanket off the floor at a restaurant or street when you’re on a walk? This blanket features a genius velcro “handle” so you can attach it to a stroller, car seat or shopping cart. Seriously smart!

Of course, the best part is the price tag: all this blanket for only $10.

Shop! Selected Tag! You’re It! blankets are available for the sale price of $10. While you’re shopping check out the selection of “sprout covers” that start at just $3.75.

I have a confession: I love shoes. Not shocking, I know. But now that I’m a mom of little ones I focus my shoe shopping energy on the kiddoss. So imagine my sheer joy when a Shopping Mama reader introduced me to Bugaloo: Soft Sole Leather Baby Shoes.

Bugaloo shoes are the creation of graphic designer Heidi Wells. She started the company with three simple goals: 1. Create quality baby shoes that cost less than $20; 2. Design shoes that are trendy and unique; and 3. Recognize that there’s an opportunity to do more than make a buck and give back.

There are a lot of shoe companies out there trying to get your money, so why Bugaloo? Well, other than the obvious fact that the shoes are to die for adorable, there are some great benefits to these shoes.
* Wallet friendly – only $20 for a quality pair of leather baby shoes
* Feet friendly – soft soles allow for proper foot development and aid balance
* Mama friendly – machine washable!
* Community friendly – 5% of each sale goes to the International Justice Mission, an organization that fights sex trafficking
* Aesthetically friendly – these shoes are cute, cute, cute!

Bugaloo shoes made of soft, flexible leather with cotton-lined soles and an elastic ankle band. Shoes are available in four sizes from 0 – 6 months to 18 – 24 months. I love that in addition to fairly gender specific designs there are lots of darling neutral designs, like my favorite Francis the Froggy.

Shop! Bugaloo is expanding its collection with the launch of adorable new designs. Each pair is only $19.99 and shipping is free with the purchase of 3 pairs.

Win! One lucky reader is getting the pair of Bugaloo shoes of your choice!

How to Enter: For the first mandatory entry, visit Bugaloo and leave a comment here with the name of your favorite pair of shoes.

Bonus Entries:
* Add The Shopping Mama to your blog roll. Leave 2 comments.
* Blog about this giveaway and link to http://www.theshoppingmama.com/ and http://www.bugalookids.com/. Leave 3 comments with the link to your post.
* Subscribe and / or follow The Shopping Mama.
* Follow The Shopping Mama on Twitter AND Tweet about this contest.

The fine print: Please leave a contact email address in your entry. If you prefer, you may email me your contact info. Winner will be selected using random.org and has 48 hours to claim the prize before another winner is selected. Contest ends 11:59 EST on May 13. Open to US residents only.

If you are in the market for a hypoallergenic yet luxuriously soft and stylish blanket for your little one look no further than Shi Shu Baby. Shi Shu Baby blankets are 100 percent natural handwoven 60% pure cotton and 40% bamboo. Each blanket also has a super silky sateen bamboo trim.

Two winners to announce from the week of Mother’s Day gift suggestions and giveaways.

The handmade Cupcake Tree stamps are going to number 188: always_317537 who said,”I’m a subscriber.”

The winner of the $20 gift certificate from M.A.H. Creations is #141. Tylerpants said, “I like the football applique tee.”

Congrats to the winners. Thanks again to Cupcake Tree and M.A.H. Creations.