Freshly Picked Moccasins {Giveaway}

I've been in love with Freshly Picked moccasins for as long as I can remember. Then watching their business grow and seeing their founder, Susan Peterson, on Shark Tank on the same episode as my friend Betsy from SwimZip (who also happens to be one of our #makeclothmainstreamchallenge headliners), I've fallen even more madly in love. Susan is an inspiration to watch. I love seeing other moms succeed in business!

Since Susan doesn't have a little one in diapers, I was thrilled when we were able to collaborate on a giveaway DURING the #makeclothmainstreamchallenge for Earth Day so that we could still have Freshly Picked involved. They are amazing to work with and mini Spray Pal 2.0 loves his FP moccs, so it just made sense. What cloth diapered babe wouldn't LOVE a pair of moccs to match their fluff??

So, just enter on the rafflecopter below whether you're using cloth diapers or not and the winner will be able to win a pair of FP moccs to match any of their cloth diapers. ;) And keep in mind it's never too late to join in on the challenge! If you'd like to give cloth diapers a try for the three weeks leading up to Earth Day along with Amy (CEO of Little Hip Squeaks), Doyin Richards from Daddy Doin' Work, Ali Landry and many more, just CLICK HERE to join in the fun! 

You'll be able to ask questions and get support from veteran cloth diapering parents and brand representatives from Spray Pal (of course), GroVia, AppleCheeks, Thirsties, Tots Bots, and more!  Plus we have some great cloth diapering bloggers in there like Kim from Dirty Diaper Laundry providing helpful resources to make the switch easy and less confusing than trying to tackle Google alone.

Mini Spray Pal 2.0's latest favorite pair of Freshly Picked moccs: Timp from the Utah Collection

Good luck to all who enter and thank you to Freshly Picked for helping us spread the word about modern cloth diapers for Earth Day!
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The #miniSPbdaybash Grand Finale and Ryan's Story

Well, it's here.  My baby boy is officially three years old.  Three years ago on this day, Mr. Spray Pal was getting ready to teach a math lesson, 1.0 was 1.5 years old and hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's house as she did each day while I was on bedrest with 2.0, and I had been on bedrest leave from teaching since December.

I won't rehash all the gory details, but I will give a little bit of the background because it's our story. It's his birth story. And each year it gets a little bit easier to tell it.

At 10 weeks pregnant with Ryan I was diagnosed with a rather large subchorionic hematoma (SCH), which is basically a blood clot between the lining of the uterus and the gestational sac. My OB put me on bedrest and told me to hope for the best as they typically resolve on their own at around 20 weeks when baby would grow big enough to push the blood clot out. Well, mine never resolved. In fact, it got worse. So, I'd go in to get checked each week and the specialists basically told me there would be nothing they could do if the SCH got behind the placenta and detached it before the viability milestone at 24 weeks.

When we made it to 24 weeks, I was transferred from bed rest at home to bed rest in the hospital. The SCH was still very large and actively bleeding, but baby Ryan checked out fine on all of the ultra sounds. Thank God, he wasn't being affected by the clot.

At 25 weeks exactly, I was sitting in the hospital bed having breakfast and talking to my mom on the phone when I felt a big kick/pop followed by intense pain. I had been having contractions all night and it seemed that the blood clot had finally worked it's way behind the placenta and managed to detach it. I was having a placental abruption at only 25 weeks, and there was no stopping Ryan from coming out that very moment to save both of our lives.

My OB had just been called in to another surgery, so the ER surgeon was on the case. I just remember them wheeling me in to the OR on a gurney, taking my phone and my wedding rings, and telling me everything would be fine, they'd make sure my husband got there in time. (OK, so now it's getting harder to tell the story. Break time.)

Alright, I'm back. So, that was the beginning of our NICU journey which lasted 223 days. In that time, our daughter flourished and potty trained before she even turned 2 years old, our son wore the tiniest cloth diapers you've ever seen, and our business really started to thrive. There was so much going on and 99% of it was brand new territory for us.

I was so lost and had no idea where to begin pointing my efforts for Ryan. I decided the best thing to do was to start a March for Babies team in his name. This would appease the friends and family who wanted to show support but didn't know how, and it would give me a place to dedicate my time and keep my mind occupied for those long days in the NICU. We did amazing things that year and raised thousands of dollars for the March of Dimes. They had local representatives calling and emailing me to see how I was doing. Asking how they could help. Telling me about their own children's NICU journeys. It was amazingly helpful to be able to speak to someone who had been there. Who understood.

This is why we've teamed up with GroVia to create the Little Warriors line of diapers. Purple for prematurity awareness. A portion of each purchase goes to the March of Dimes via Ryan's March for Babies team this year. And the name pretty much says it all. Dedicated to all the Little Warriors like Ryan.

Click Here to Purchase from Spray Pal

And while Ryan was fighting his fight and enduring 6 procedures in 7 months of hospital living, we were surviving on the strength and prayers of friends, family, and internet strangers. This is why we do this big event every year. It's crazy, time-consuming, and stressful, but I really wouldn't miss it because it's Ryan's way of giving back to the Spray Pal fans who supported him through his hardest time without even really knowing who he was.

The cloth diapering community is a beautiful place. Yes, there can be drama, and yes people get really heated about poop catchers, but for the most part our Spray Pal Facebook page has been a safe haven from that. People are positive, encouraging, and loving. And they love on my kids. I'm sure new followers to the page must think we're the most random product/brand page out there because...well, we probably are. But I love our community and wouldn't have it any other way.

So THANK YOU all for being so amazing and helping us celebrate our son again this year! And here is the GRAND FINALE of the #miniSPbdaybash 2015:

Winner will receive a Spray Pal diaper sprayer and splatter shield bundle plus their choice of one of the brand new GroVia + Spray Pal limited edition Little Warriors diapers for the March of Dimes!  HUGE thank you to Maria from Change-Diapers.com for co-hosting this giveaway!

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Day 10 {#miniSPbdaybash}

Tomorrow?!?!  How can he be turning three tomorrow??  I seriously can't even take it. 

Thank you guys so much for keep me occupied and entertained as we counted down the days to Ryan's third birthday.  It seriously helps me to keep my brain busy (in case you couldn't tell by all the insane projects we have going on this month, lol).

The prizes are:

• $50 gift card to Poppy Drops. Simple solutions for modern kids. We make staying young even more fun than growing up!
• The Joovy Tricycoo is a tricycle for children as young as 18 months! The Tricycoo is the perfect way to introduce your child to balance and coordination, one step at a time. Your child will love the adventure of piloting their very first vehicle and parents love that they are in control while their child masters each stage of learning!
• Molly's Suds Laundry Prize Package: Molly's Suds was founded by a mom determined to have strict and truly safe ingredient integrity. Your prize includes one each of our All Sport, Laundry Powder, 100% Wool Dryer Balls, and Cloth Diaper Powder!
• 2 One Size All in Ones and a Wet bag from Thirsties:  Thirsties new One Size All in One reusable diaper truly challenges the convenience and trim-fit of a disposable diaper. This diaper offers absorbency, waterproof protection, and adjustability all rolled up into a stylish, comfortable and extremely effective cloth diaper. We also offer a new Wet Bag, a fashionable, yet practical solution for storing your soiled diapers.

Thank you so much to our blogger helpers, Larisha at We're Parents and Emily at Our Knight Life. GOOD LUCK!

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Day 9 {#miniSPbdaybash}

Well, Day 9.  That means it's just two more days until the big oh-three!  Did I already tell you guys how my boy is celebrating his birthday this year?  With tubes and a possible tonsillectomy.  Yup.  I still remember getting my tonsils out when I was 4 years old, looks like Ryan is an overachiever getting them out a year earlier than I did.  We're hopeful that this will help clear up his sleep apnea so he can breathe better at night. I wish my bubs ate ice cream so we could spoil him post-surgery for being so brave.  We'll have to add some to his blended diet. ;)

So, since surgery is not the best way to celebrate a birthday, let's get back to the REAL party! Today's giveaway includes prizes from Funky Fluff, Wee Urban, and Green and Lovely Products.  You could win a $50 gift card for any Funky Fluff cloth diapering products, a Wee Urban Cozy Basics Sleep Bags in Penguin Print , or an amazing prize pack from Green and Lovely which includes their best selling Smell the Roses Cloth Wipe Spray (9 fl oz), Gentle Bottom's Cloth Wipe Spray in Lavender Chamomile (9 fl oz) plus 3 refill vials (with a variety of natural scents), our Gentle Bottom's Baby Lotion (2 oz), and a 6-pack of Organic Bamboo Cloth Wipes from Marley's Monsters.

Thank you to our co-host bloggers today: Lindsay from Maman Loup's Den and Katie from
ohsomom.com.

This giveaway is open to US and Canada, and you can still go back and grab daily entries for all of the previous giveaways to increase your chances of winning!  Good luck, everyone!


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#miniSPbdaybash BONUS GIVEAWAY!

OK, so I said we weren't going to celebrate the big 21,000 fan milestone on Facebook.  But then, I was thinking...I have this bonus giveaway to do for Ryan's #miniSPbdaybash, so why not launch it today in honor of reaching this pretty exciting number?

So, here we go!  Our 10 days of prizes were so jammed packed with awesomeness, we had to put together a BONUS prize to fit everything in!

This prize includes:

• 2 One Size AI2 covers with microfleece 1 hook and loop and 1 with snaps and 2 bamboo fleece/ bamboo velour soakers from Strawberry Sunshine.
• Milk It's Breastfeeding Mom Gift Set:
  Includes a Milk It Kit: Back to Work Survival Kit for Breastfeeding Moms, a set of 80 waterproof breastmilk labels and a "Will Cry Over Spilled Milk" onesie. This set will help mom organize and label her milk and go back to work without worry of pumping session walk-ins or shared fridge milk mishaps!
• $50 gift code towards any purchase from Lovely Pocket Diapers
• The first dipper of its kind, NumNum is a baby’s first step to self-feeding. The innovative design makes it easier to use than a spoon because there’s no right or wrong way to hold it. That means less mess for parents while baby develops the fine motor skills necessary to graduate to the spoon. 
• 2 binky keepers, 1 wet bag, and 3 bibs in the jet setter print from Jaq Jaq Bird.

Good luck!

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Day 8 {#miniSPbdaybash}

This morning was spent in another google hangout with the ladies from Dirty Diaper Laundry, Haba USA (who represents Lassig Bags), Green Child Magazine, and GroVia.  We are planning an amazing project for Earth Day, and we can't wait to share all the details with you!  Announcements will be coming really soon, make sure you follow along on social media and in The Cloth Diaper Experiment group we created on Facebook because this is going to be HUGE!

 

Now, on to our Day 8 giveaway!  I love these four brands together because they are a totally random mix of amazing things, but they just seem to fit together in my mind because of how stylish, modern, and trendy they are!  I also love the ladies behind all of these brands, so putting them together just felt right.

Here's what today's winner will receive:

• 2 overnight bamboo fitteds from sloomb
• $50 shop credit to Tangled Tantrum
• $50 shop credit to Logan and Lenora
• $50 shop credit to Tadpole and Lily

Thank you so much to our sponsors and our bloggers from Viva Veltoro and A Cloth Life!

Enter below and may the luck o' the Irish be with you!

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Day 7 {#miniSPbdaybash}

Day seven is here, and this is the first day I'm sitting down the night before to type up this blog.  Why, you ask?  Because sh*t just got real around here.  Tomorrow morning (well today by the time you are reading this) I will be visiting the Special Education Preschool where my little baby will be attending starting next week after his third birthday.  This just can't be real.  My baby!  In school?!

Thankfully I have this giveaway to keep my thoughts occupied tonight.  After this I'm going to watch an episode of Downton Abbey and try not to ugly cry myself to sleep.  I mean, I know school is good for him.  I know he'll thrive, I just do.  But the whole handing him over to someone else for 3 hours each day thing is killing me a little bit inside!!  I'm gonna miss my bubs.

But I digress.  Here are today's prizes:

• Sarah Wells "Lizzy" Breast Pump Bag
• $50 gift card to Swell Forever
• $50 gift card to Maxwell Designs
• Winner's choice of GroVia diaper package valued at $50

So, there you have it. Yet another amazing prize package valued $200 and containing all sorts of amazing things including cloth diapers. And I just have to say, if you haven't checked out the four brands listed here yet, you really need to.  I mean, as a cloth diapering related blog, I'm sure you've all heard of GroVia.  But Swell Forever has some beautifully crafted heirloom blankets and gifts that you're sure to fall in love with once you see them. 

And Maxwell Designs does fabulous work on her wide variety of bags, including one which is Spray Pal sized and perfect for storing your Spray Pal shield in style!  Oh, a little birdie told me she may even be having a sale today in case you want to check out her shop.  Today would be a good day!

Good luck, everyone, and thank you to our sponsors!  Also, special thanks to The Inquisitive Mom and Much.Most.Darling for sharing on their blogs today as well!

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Day 6 {#miniSPbdaybash}

Good morning!  Here we are with day six of our giveaway, and I'm starting to get all emotional because this means we are well within the actual week of Ryan's actual third birthday.  THREE?!?!  It's still going to take a while to sink in. 

Yesterday we had some family over to celebrate his birthday a little bit early.  If you follow along on the Spray Pal Facebook page, you may have noticed the picture I shared the other day of Ryan's first reaction to shaving cream.  Someone commented on that photo suggesting we give him some whipped cream instead.  So, I decided to try that out with his birthday cake, and, well...

Obviously it wasn't a hit, but he did happily chow down a pureed pouch right after we took that picture. ;)

Now. On to the giveaway.  Today we have FOUR amazing sponsors and TWO fab bloggers you may have heard of: Cloth Diaper Revival and Green Child Magazine.  Huge thanks to all of you for being involved with our celebrations!

Our prizes for today include the NEW Baby Bello Organic Play Mat from Baby Mushroom.  We have the original version of this mat and both of my kids absolutely love it.  The quality and softness is amazing, and the cover is super easy to remove and wash (which is a pretty big deal around here since things get messy a lot).  This day's winner will also receive A $50 shop credit to Sticky Bellies (where you'll definitely want to check out their new Birthday Banner), a $50 gift card to Kelly's Closet to spend on whatever you'd like whether it's cloth diapers, accessories or more, and a Rock-a-Bums rocker boy or girl cloth diaper bundle!

Enter below and good luck!

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Day 5 {#miniSPbdaybash}

I apologize for getting this one up a little later than usual.  I was distracted by an awesome Facebook page I follow called Story of this Life.  If you don't already follow her, you should.  She's a fab mom with the sweetest little girl and her photos and videos crack me up daily!

Anywho...back to issue at hand.  Today is DAY FIVE of the most amazing birthday celebration our little man has ever had!  And the prizes just do not disappoint, do they.  Today is a day chock FULL of cloth diapering goodies.  The day five winner will receive:

• A limited edition Little Rascals bundle from Planetwise (adorable, check out the graphic)
• 2 Smart Bottoms cloth diapers (which are awesome and made in the USA)
• A $50 Gift Card to Calgary Cloth Diaper Depot  (This store and the mama behind it have been SUCH a huge support to us here at Spray Pal, we love you Mrs. CCDD!)

The prizes are open to US and Canada!  You can also go back to days 1-4 to grab the daily entries for those prizes.  Huge thanks to today's bloggers: Jenn from All About Cloth Diapers, Amanda from Fluff Bum Babies, and Kat from Naturally Nerdy Mommas!  Good luck, everyone! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Day 4 {#miniSPbdaybash}

Day 4!!  And since there are TEN days (plus a big bonus prize that we'll be adding in as a surprise on one of the days), this means we aren't even halfway through all of the amazingness!!  I am so thankful to everyone involved for celebrating Ryan in this way. 

Sometimes I try to picture him when he's around ten years old, and I see us just hanging out in the kitchen talking about his childhood and I'm trying to explain to him how SO many people loved him and supported him from the moment he was born.  So much so, that every year for his birthday, THOUSANDS of people would get together and DOZENS of amazing brands and bloggers would contribute prizes and share it on this crazy thing called social media.  Hmmm, I wonder what THAT will look like seven years from now!? Maybe I'll have to explain what a "Facebook" is the way we have to explain to our kids now what a VHS tape is, lol.

So basically, again, THANK YOU for being so amazing and supportive. <3

Now, on to the goodies!  Today's prize is sponsored by our friends at Lalabye Baby cloth diapers, Nizo Wear nursing bras, Push Pack - prepacked hospital labor bag , and Milkin' Cookies (which I can tell you from experience are divine whether or not you are lactating). ;)

You can scroll through the top part of the rafflecopter form (below) to see what each individual prize is, but the whole package is valued at $200!  Such an amazing gift for someone to win, and this one is particularly great for a brand new or expecting mama. You can also enter over on the Conservamom Blog.  Good luck, everyone!

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Day 3 {#miniSPbdaybash}

Do you guys remember last year's birthday bash?  We had loads of awesome brands involved, and I put all of the prizes together into one MASSIVE prize package with one super lucky winner.  It was fantastic because it was super easy once I got it up and running, but we heard some feedback from our fans that the rafflecopter form was a bit tedious since it was so lengthy.  That's why I've done things a bit differently this year.

Every day we reveal a new prize package, which is smaller than the ginormous prize we offered last year but still a great prize!  The daily prizes average out to around $200 in value per day, so instead of one winner walking away with over $2000 in prizes, we'll have TEN winners walking away with some amazing new things to try!  And every single day contains at least one cloth diaper related prize to help #makeclothmainstream!  More prizes, but more winners AND easier to enter?  I think y'all were right about this. ;)

So today I bring to you Day Three!! :::Cue my best Bob Barker voice::: Today we are featuring AppleCheeks cloth diapers whose TWO microterry bundles will look great on any fluff-loving babe, along with Chompy Chic Chewlery which will look amazing hanging off the straps of.......YOUR NEW LILLEBABY BABY CARRIER!!

Thank you so much to our sponsors and today's bloggers who are helping us spread the word!!  You can also enter today's giveaway on theecofriendlyfamily.com and twofaulttolerant.com.  This giveaway prize is open to residents of US and Canada, but if you live elsewhere in our beautiful world you can still go back and enter Day 1 and Day 2 which are open worldwide!

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Day 2 {#miniSPbdaybash}

Well, the count down continues whether I like it or not.  Nine more days until my baby turns three!

Today I'll be meeting his new preschool teacher for the first time.  She's coming by the house to meet Ryan before he starts school the Monday after his birthday.  I've heard some pretty amazing things about her and her special ed preschool program, so I'm looking forward to finally putting a face to the name.  Extra good juju and prayers that I can keep it together and not turn into a puddle on our first meeting are much appreciated. ;)

Now, for today's giveaway!  This one the second of two that are open to WORLDWIDE entries.  Are you in Germany using cloth?  Feel free to enter this AND Day 1.  We'll leave them open the whole time so you can get those daily entries each day for more chances to win!

Today's amazing prize is valued at $250!  If randomly chosen and verified, you'll win a Softbums cloth diaper starter kit valued at $150, your choice of a $50 product bundle from Balm! Baby, and FIVE of the super awesome and eco-friendly reusable snack bags from spbang (who you may recognize from her recent feature on TheBabyGuyNYC's Facebook page where she promptly sold out of product after he shared her brand!)

Good luck to all who enter and HUGE thank you to our sponsors! Also, big thanks to our co-host bloggers at the Cloth Diaper Geek and Mommy on the Mound!

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Day 1 {#miniSPbdaybash}

Yup, so, my little guy (affectionately referred to as mini Spray Pal 2.0) is turning three years old in ten short days.  And as in years year past, we'll be doing a massive giveaway to celebrate!  Here's why we do this:

1. Ryan is amazing and he's an inspiration to many.  Lots of the brands we've met along the way of this baby business/cloth diapering journey love to celebrate him.  And who are we to deny them that??  He really is worth celebrating, so bring on the PAR-tay and let the "gifts" go to you!
2. Ryan was born 3.5 months prematurely, so while he was due in July, his birthday falls in March which is still considered flu season.  Each year we hold off on his real birthday party until it's summer and safer for groups of people to come around.  But we do want to do something special for him on his actual March birthday, hence this virtual party!  So many of you have been following his story since he was born, so we love that we can celebrate with you in this way!
3. This is a nice way to keep me busy and distract me from the impending THIRD birthday. Otherwise at this point you may have found me rocking in the corner holding one of his preemie cloth diapers crying "Where has my BABY gone?!" ;)
4. Mixing up an AWESOME giveaway with both cloth diapering brands AND non-cloth diapering brands brings both worlds together and helps #makeclothmainstream!!  Ryan really is good at that, so this is just one more way he's "changing the world, one cloth diaper at a time."

Here are the giveaway details:

• There will be a new giveaway bundle started each day through his birthday on March 20th.  They will all be hosted here on the Spray Pal blog along with around 20 other blogs you may recognize. :)
• Each daily prize bundle consists of 3 or more brands and is valued at $150 or MORE.
• The two giveaways that are open WORLDWIDE will launch first and will run through the end.  The US/Canada and US only giveaways may be shorter, so check back often!  (The reason the worldwide options run longer is so that all of our international friends will have something to enter each day of the celebration.)
• There may also be some surprise FLASH giveaways in between the main giveaways on our Facebook or Instagram, so pay close attention if you are hoping to score a prize!  There will be lots of winners this year!
• The best way to make sure you don't miss a post is to go to the Spray Pal Facebook page and click at the top to turn notifications ON.  Facebook will send you a quick notification each time I post something new, and you can decide if you click on it or not. ;)

Without further ado, let the games begin!! And may the odds be ever in your favor! (Sorry, had to.)

Today's prize is open WORLDWIDE and is brought to you by Tots Bots, Baby Jack & Co, Project Pomona, and Ovolo Wraps!  Scroll sideways through the top of the rafflecopter to read all the prize details.

Huge thanks to Kim from Dirty Diaper Laundry Blog for helping us kick this off!  You can enter this giveaway on her blog as well.  Good luck!

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