First, Stefany and I would both like to thank all of the participants of the No-Go BlogHer blog hop. We hope you met some new bloggers, formed some new bloggy friendships, and found some new blogs to follow. You are all fantastic!

Second, just because the linky is closed doesn’t mean that you have to stop blog hopping. The linky can be found on both ToBeThode and Musings of a Marfan Mom. (those links will take you to the post directly) You can also find the post by looking at the drop-down categories for No-Go BlogHer on ToBeThode at any time.

Okay, with all of that out of the way, let me tell you about how winners were chosen. All participants that had completed both the requirements were eligible to win (besides Maya and Stefany). Winners were chosen by Stefany of ToBeThode via random.org and verified by Maya of Musings of a Marfan Mom.

All winners can be found below. If you are a winner, please fill out the form located on ToBeThode. All entries will be double-checked versus the answers submitted so please be honest. You have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Alright… let the fun begin!

Winners for the No-Go BlogHer Blog Hop are:

SmartyRents.com 3 month membership:

• When Did I Go From a Kid to a Grownup, #153
• Adventures in Parenting (dot-ME), #14
• {{Lilac City Momma}}, #127
• Nomie.Eco.Ware, #139
• Ramblings of a Woman, #107

CSN.com $40 gift certificate:

• My Life, My Glory, #123

1 pair of BabyBanz sunglasses:

• Read It In 7 Days, #53

1 Sleepywrap:

• Heck of a Bunch, #93

3 pairs of SmartKnitKIDS seamless socks:

• Lisa @ 3 Kids Later, #161

Baby Dipper Feeding Set:

• Coffeelicious Bookaholic, #55

Safety Tats:

• My Melting Pot, #22

Music and Movement TOGETHER! CD:

• Jen @ In One Ear, #27

Fibers.com $35 gift certificate:

• In the Land of Crazy, #121

1 pair of Beibi baby shoes:

• Shellys Bits and Pieces, #135

Mabels Labels:

• Happy Deal-Happy Day, #25

Kidz Gear Wireless Headphones:

• Single Parent Retreat, #173

Kung Zhu Hamsters and armor:

• SAPsMama: Natural Parenting and Non-Toxic Living, #148

Mystery swag from Robyn’s Online World:

• Ramblings By Nicole, #170

O-Mama tee and license surround:

• Sweet Pennies from Heaven, #64

10 winners of O-Mama bumper stickers:

• Giveaways for Mom, #118
• Life In A Day. . . (A SAHM Blog, and a MilSpouse), #114
• Aboard the Smith Bullet Train, #96
• Sueberry Lane, #58
• Information Central, #108
• Haley @ A Rank of Her Own, #35
• Render Me Mama, #81
• Adventures in Mommyhood, #146
• BellOrel Baby, #111
• the bee in your bonnet, #56

Luvs Jurn3 $25 gift certificate:

• The Squeaky Grocery Cart, #71

Powermat charging system for iPhone:

• Nickie @ Southern Expressions, #26

Ladybugs and Lullabies $25 gift certificate:

• Christi @ PolkaSpotFarm, #119

4 winners of Orbeez color packs:

• Florida Frugal Family, #60
• Giveaways and More!, #105
• Because I Said So, #117
• JaMonkey, #83

2 winners of an Undercover Mama nursing shirt:

• Chubby Cheeks Thinks, #115
• Crummy or Yummy, #72

Again, if you see your name listed above, please head over to ToBeThode and complete the form on the No-Go BlogHer Winners Post. ONLY SUBMIT AN ENTRY ON THE FORM IF YOU ARE A WINNER. And again, you have 48 hours to respond!

Hi! I’d love to welcome all you ladies coming from the No Go BlogHer blog hop extravaganza! Pull up a chair and stay awhile! And, if you have NO idea what I’m talking about, you can get the background information here and go here to link up your post for a chance to win fabulous prizes.

1) When did you start blogging? I started blogging in 2007, shortly after my husband and I got married. I thought it would be a fun way to keep in touch with family. I became a more serious blogger after my first son was born, which is when this blog, Musings of a Marfan Mom, was born.

2) Why did you start blogging? Living with Marfan syndrome, a rare disorder of the connective tissue, is not always easy. When making pregnancy decisions I wished that I had access to more women who had been through a pregnancy knowing ahead of time that they had Marfan, so I could hear what it was REALLY like. I also realized that good medical information on the risks associated with pregnancy and delivery are hard to come by and that no one talks about what happens after the baby comes (for instance, what happens after the baby hits that “don’t lift anything over x # of pounds” weight limit?). My younger brother urged me to create a blog where I could provide information on my experiences in the hopes of helping someone else and to be able to connect with other “Marfan Moms” in my position. So, I did. (Hey, every once in awhile my brother has a good idea!)

3) What is one thing you are going to do this week that is WAY cooler than going to BlogHer? We’ve got doctors’ appointments! I know all the ladies going to the BlogHer conference are insanely jealous, but I’m going to be having a blast taking the Menininho to his therapy appointments, 18 month well-visit, and my own appointments for Smudge (22 weeks down!)

4) Share a post that you think says a lot about you or is your favorite. I think that since my blog is about motherhood, it’s fitting for me to highlight a post about my 2nd pregnancy. Why I’m Having a Baby was written in response to the questions, both asked and unasked, about why I’d go through a high-risk pregnancy that has a 50% chance of my baby inheriting my syndrome.

Thank you for stopping by! Leave a comment and I’ll be sure to get back to you.

Next week is the big BlogHer conference and, like many of you, I’m not going. But, that doesn’t mean that we can’t have a ton of fun right from home! Stefany, my fabulous co-host from ToBeThode, and I are going to hold a No-Go BlogHer party just for all of you that are sitting at home next week with us. Stefany has been working to get some great giveaway prizes for you and we are so excited to be able to give you some swag simply for playing along with our party.

This is going to be easy. We want you to meet and greet bloggers just as if you were at BlogHer. We are going to give you a set of questions to answer and post on your own blog. All we ask is that you complete the following two requirements:

1. Answer the questions on your blog and then link up that post in the linky that will be available on both ToBeThode or Musings of a Marfan Mom. (you only need to link up once)
2. Grab the button for the No-Go BlogHer party (it’s on my left sidebar) and place it on your sidebar during the duration of the party. (If you have any problems doing that, let us know and we would be glad to help).

Easy peasy, right? We thought so!

Here are the questions we want you to answer:

1. When did you start blogging?
2. Why did you start blogging?
3. What is one thing you are going to do this week that is WAY cooler than going to BlogHer?
4. Share a post that you think says a lot about you or is your favorite. (share the link in YOUR post so we all can see)
   

Once you post on your own blog, come back on Wednesday (or anytime through Saturday) and link up. Then, start hopping around and meet some other bloggers. Leave some comments, follow some new blogs if you are so inclined, and just have some fun.

You want to know about prizes, right? This is just a quick list of sponsors (we will be more specific on the linky post of what you will actually win and give you the sponsors website). If there are any additional prizes, you will see them when you come to link up!

(A lot of these fantastic sponsors have offered Stefany products for review in the past. I will have the link to her reviews in parentheses if you want to see what she thought of their products.)

Okay, here you go:

• Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters (review)
• Baby Banz (review)
• Safety Tats (review)
• SmartyRents.com
• CSN.com
• Smart Knit KIDS (review)
• Baby Dipper (review)
• Fibers.com (review)
• Kidz Gear
• Mabel’s Labels
• Beibi Shoes
• Sleepy Wrap (review)

Those are the ones that we have full confirmation on at this point! These are some fun prizes that everyone can enjoy. Canadians are welcome to play along because many of those sponsors will ship to Canada!

What do we want you to do now? Start thinking about those questions. Get your posts ready for next week. Grab the button off our sidebar and post it on your blog. Start spreading the word. If you are on Twitter, use the hashtag #NoGoBlogHer to talk about the blog hop. And, finally… get ready to have some fun!!!

note: To be eligible to win prizes, you will need to complete the two requirements stated above.