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!!!

Bondis for Babies! Calling all Bondi Bands Lovers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My baby isn't so "baby" anymore.

He's turning 5 next month.

I love that he turns 5 in the same month that we walk every year in the March for Babies. His birthday is always a reminder for me of how precious he is, life is, and babies are. How prematurity can change everything and everyone.

I've written a lot about my son and his prematurity due to my preeclampsia. His early arrival (6 weeks) fueled my passion to support other mommies of premature babies. I'm now a part of a group called Mommies Little Miracles, which does just that.

This year I'm joining the Fight for Babies once again, by supporting the March of Dimes on their mission to fight to get every baby to get their 40 full weeks, to ensure healthy pregnancies for mommies everywhere, and supporting families traumatized by prematurity.

I'm raising money by selling my favorite thing in the world! BONDI BANDS!

Bondi Bands are one of my workout, running staples. They're light headbands that wick sweat away from your face, that actually help me shield the sun from my head in the middle of the day, and they say some of the coolest things in pretty much every color. I wear: SHUT UP AND RUN.

I also wear "You can and you WILL," "Tri," "Om Nom Nom" (with a picture of a shark on it) and "FOCUS."

I have all of those in my collection to sell and many, many more, take a look:

(you can click on the picture to make it larger. The "Triathlete" one says, "Failure is not an Option." Some of my favorites pictured are "Looks like walking, feels like running" and "Pain is inevitable, misery is optional." I have two of each message and I have two different colors of each.

I also have about 50 beautiful bedazzly ones (just some of them are pictured here):

I will keep taking pictures of these and posting them.

I am selling the Bondi Bands for a minimum of a $10 donation (that includes shipping.) I say "minimum" because if you give more, it all goes to the March of Dimes, so feel free to give as little or as much as you want!

All you have to do is email me about which one you want (christieo at averagemomswearcapes.com) and we can arrange the donation through paypal or snail mail, whichever is easiest for you.

Now, if you do not want to purchase a Bondi Band but you still want to donate, you can donate directly to my March of Dimes page!

No amount is too little and I'm headed toward a $1,000 goal, so will you help me get there???

The prematurity campaign is more than a cause to me, it's my passion.

I would give anything in the world to save another mommy and baby from the emotional devastation of prematurity and the physical devastation that prematurity can cause.

My baby made it through ok.

So did I.

But millions and millions of others won't and I have friends to testify to that, I watch their children as toddlers still fighting the effects of prematurity. It breaks my heart and I will forever champion for moms and babies, for as long as I live.

Please help me in the fight against prematurity!!

Bondis for Babies!!!