The Ultimate Blog Party at 5 Minutes for Mom!!! (A Giveaway Post)

Woohoo!! Time to party!!

I love this time of year!

Time to meet new bloggers and new friends in a giant online soiree! (Pronouncing it in my best fake deep British voice, Welcome to the SWA-RAYYYY, dahhling!)

We're blog-hopping with 5 Minutes for Mom this week in their annual Ultimate Blog Party and if you're not involved in the party yet go git your partywear on and put up a post and go visit people, it's FUUUUUN!! There are prizes and everything!

(There are prizes here too!)

But first, if you're new here, I'll introduce myself and give you the short story and the low-down.

HI!

I'm Christie O!

In my former life (before kids) I worked in tv news as a producer and a writer. I decided to stay home after my first son was born 6 weeks early.

4 lbs 6 oz.

He's turning 5 NEXT WEEK!

We're having a mad science party and it is going to be AWESOME.

It's amazing how time flies.

I had a difficult time dealing with his prematurity (even though he was just fine and spent very little time in the NICU) and found out I was pregnant again when he was 10 months old. (Surprise!)

I swear he had that goofball smile straight outta the womb.

That little boy is now 3 1/2.

He is his own man.

I have the best husband ever. He does a great American Idol dance but will deny it to the death. Right now I only know that it actually exists and no one believes me. It is like trying to explain I've seen the Lockness Monster. But one day I shall get it on video. One day.

And I gained oh, about 60 pounds (give or give some) during pregnancy and went on a mission after I regained consciousness from post-partum depression to lose it.

whoopsy. how'd that happen?

I started running (slowly).

I continued running (slowly.)

I was losing weight (finally!)

I got bored with running and tried triathlon (slowly.)

And loved that. So.MUCH.

Because I learned so much about myself. I learned how much I am capable of. How strong I am mentally. How to overcome fear like in open water swimming.

I am on a constant journey, through life, through motherhood, through wifehood, through healthy living. I don't know where the journey's going, but I'm enjoying the ride!

What My Blog is About

I am in constant awe of moms. I rarely ever feel like I know what I'm doing.

It wasn't until after my sons were born and then they were getting older and I was having to make difficult decisions and I never seemed to know the right answer and my best friends and sister were becoming mothers and women that I understood just how hard it is to be a mom and I finally thanked my own mom.

We sometimes judge each other too quickly but the truth is, MOMS ROCK!

I believe moms should be celebrated for their uncanny ability to diffuse any situation or have any item available as needed in her giant purse in a moment's notice, for getting all done in a day, for everything they are to every ONE!

I believe that the average mom wears a cape. Not the SUPER mom that we all want to be, the average mom that is ALREADY SUPER! So every month I share an awesome mom or group of moms with everyone because we need to celebrate each other's awesomeness! (You can read about this month's mom right HERE! She's truly awesome, she's feeling her way through breastfeeding now and I remember that all too well, it did not go easy for me!)

I love sharing stories about the craziness that is family life, the bad mommy moments, good mommy moments, the hard stuff, the easy stuff, and the revolution that is going from a 40+ hour a week career girl to stay at home mom/room mom/soccer mom/minivan mom in 1.2 seconds. I blog about prematurity, health and fitness, motherhood, crafts, recipes, American Idol, and everything else in between!

I love being inspired by other writers, mothers, bloggers and friends so please introduce yourself and leave your link so I can follow! I can't wait to meet you!

WAIT -- did someone say DOOR PRIZES?!

This week, I'm giving away two prizes, and they are two of my favorite things in the world!

1. A Bondi Band!

These are really cool sweat-wicking headbands with cool sayings on them! I randomly draw winner from the comments and you pick your saying! You can click on the picture to make it larger to see all the sayings.

2. A necklace from my Etsy shop, Inspire Me Chic!

Same thing, I will randomly draw a winner from the comments, you pick your style! They are handmade leather necklaces with an inspirational circle charm on it. I wear "discipline" and "focus" depending on my mood and they work, truly they do!

The giveaway will close at the end of the day on the last day of the blog party and I'll announce the winners in the blog hop recap the next day!

Please introduce yourself and leave your blog link so I can come visit you!

Welcome!

Cocktail?

Don't go without the recipe for the best sangria ever!!!

Nice to meet you!!!