The Captive Mommy

Throughout the blog party I had 91 different comments (on both blogs) and/or new mailing list subscribers! Using Random.org numbers were randomly given to each entry (tracked with email address) and the top 7 (the winners) are:

1. Heather @ justdoingmybest-heather.blogspot.com
2. JamericanSpice @ jamericanspice.blogspot.com
3. Mocha Dad @ mochadad.com
4. Susan @ happycamperdisaster.com
5. Stephanie @ andtwinsmake5.blogspot.com
6. Jennifer @ livhealthy.tv
7. Candice @ superfunmama.blogspot.com

If your name is above and you haven’t heard from me yet it’s only because the person in front of you hasn’t picked their prize yet If I am unable to get in touch with someone who has won before Wednesday April 1 I will continue down the list of random winners. This is the same list as posted at Sara*s Pixel Studio Blog because I combined prize lists for both blogs for the party.

Well before going to bed tonight I wanted to just tell all of you thank you for visiting my blog and making this Ultimate Blog Party awesome! I had lots of fun visiting other blogs, following you on Twitter and getting comments and follows from all of you!

I will be closing comments on all my UBP posts now and tomorrow I will work on getting the prizes dished out to everyone!

I’m NOT wishing my kids to grow up faster than necessary but Bo is already building up the skills to be a good daddy one day. Of course he has the greatest example to go by. Hubby always makes time for him and his little brother no matter what. Bo has this stuffed lion — he has a whole zoo he sleeps with but this lion is his favorite — named Steve (as in Blues Clues). This morning I was just getting Levi out of bed and Bo says “Steve is my baby!” I can’t even begin to explain the cuteness of it all but more importantly he seems to know exactly how to manage a ‘baby’. He cuddled him close and whispered “It’s okay, Steve. Don’t cry.” I almost teared up!

Hoping to get the most of this special moment I asked him some questions

Me: So you are Steve’s Daddy?
Bo: Yes!
Me: What does Steve eat?
Bo: Umm..(thinking)…baby lion food…oh and coffee!!
Me: Do you change Steve’s diaper when he’s wet or dirty?
Bo: No! (apparently he’s planning on having the mommy do that)

The coffee thing is another funny story. Whenever Bo is around and I’m drinking coffee he always wants some. Well more than some. If I didn’t stop him he’d drink it all. We aren’t big on letting him drink things with caffeine so the occasional sip of coffee isn’t the end of the world. I think its the ‘adultness’ of the drink that makes him want it. Hubby and I have Starbucks gift cards and Bo found one this morning (prior to Steve drinking it) and he asked if he could have some coffee. I always use times like this to help him pretend so I gave him a cup and said go to Starbucks and get you some coffee.

Another thing he does a lot lately is push his shopping cart around ’shopping’ for groceries. The cart is usually filled with monster trucks, Steve and other various toys. This is also something he gets from his daddy. Hubby is the best grocery shopper in our house. Somehow (don’t ask me how) he can take the same list and amount of money and come home with twice the groceries that I would. We often go shopping as a family so Bo sees this first hand. He thought it was cool when I told him that Kroger has a Starbucks inside and he can shop for groceries and drink coffee. He promptly plopped his ‘coffee’ cup into his shopping cart and off he went.

One of my favorite things to do is read. I brag that I can finish a *good* 300 page book in less than 24 hours. Perhaps not such a feat, but I do have a hubby, two kids, and a business tugging for attention. Anyway I love reading. The only thing that can make books better is someone reading books to me. I don’t want just anyone reading to me though. A nice sounding reader is essential. Audio books open up a whole new avenue to reading. When listening to books I can accomplish lots of other things…blogging for example. I can eat without worry of scarring my precious books. Currently I’m listening to Twilight. Yes I’m probably the only person on the planet who hasn’t read it yet. Yes I’m talented enough to listen to a audio book and type at the same time. I’m a multitasker through and through

All of my other audio books are Jane Austen classics: Emma, Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion and Pride & Prejudice. I prefer the unabridged versions which are usually 10+ hours of listening time.

Comment question: Do you prefer paper books or audio books? What is your favorite book?

It takes a lot to surprise me and not very much at all to make me happy but this blog party has done both! I am surprised (pleasantly) that so many of you have dropped by to say hi I’m also excited that I’ve found lots of fun new blogs to add to my ‘blogs’ bookmark folder! I do have one little update to make about my prize list. The Avon Peach Bubble Bath has been taken off because hubby decided to use about 3 oz of it the other evening to give Bo a bath. Lots of ways to look at that. He was giving the kid a bath — not many fathers (that I know) give their kids baths, particularly if the mom is a SAHM. He honestly didn’t know that bottle was being saved for this blog party — try explaining a blog party (and giving prizes away) to your hubby then you’ll know why I didn’t even bother to tell him about it. Besides it was pretty heavy and therefore it would have been expensive to mail (yes I’m a cheapskate — I picked it up from hubby). Anyway so I’ll be finding a new prize to add to the list before the week is out to replace that one.

Today’s comment challenge: has a family member ever used something of yours that you had other plans for?

Well here I sit at 1:15am like a dodo bird. Tonight my BF Charis took me out to eat for my birthday. She gets off work late on Fridays so that meant a later dinner, but that was fine by us. After dinner hubby finally paid out for my birthday and took me to Office Depot to pick out a new desk chair. Until tonight we’ve used a chair from our dinning table — not comfortable at all considering I sit here 3-5 hours everyday — oh gosh I need to stop sitting here that much!! Figuring to save some dough I wanted a moderately priced chair (under $100) but he said they were ugly and he wanted a leather one. Umm okay hubby I wasn’t going to argue! So I picked out the one I wanted, grabbed some rubber bands I needed and we headed home.

Our neighbor (who is a firefighter/hazmat tech like hubby) was working today and Chip wanted to stop by and see him so Bo could see the fire trucks. This was totally an excuse to stop and check out their hazmat equipment. Charis and I stay in the truck with the sleeping Levi because once you’ve seen one (or 100) fire trucks like I have, trust me you’ve seen them all. Turns into an hour visit — poor Josh toting Bo around to see every truck at least 12 times (Bo LOVES ’swimming Mr. Josh’ — he has a pool) while hubby jabbers on and on with the station lieutenant about hazmat mumbo jumbo. Levi wakes up, gets cranky. Bo finally tires of the fire trucks and comes back to play with Charis’ Nintendo DS — promptly looses the stylus, sending us on an unsuccessful search for it.

Me: Bo where did the stylus go?
Bo: I dropped it.
Me: Where did you drop it?
Bo: Down the windmill.
Me: There is no windmill here. Where did it go?
Bo: I dropped it down in the Tahoe, down the windmill.

Exasperated I give up trying to question him. It’s 10pm by now and everyone (except hubby) is ready to go home. Finally hubby hears Levi screaming (no amount of consoling would get him to calm down — he wanted the car to be moving) and finally gets in the car to leave. We get home around 10:45 putting Bo in bed 3 hours past his normal bed time. Levi, having napped in the car, was ready to play. Hubby put my chair together and here I sit enjoying the comfy seat. So that’s why I’m up, blogging at 1:33am

Comment Question: Do you stay up late or do you have an early bedtime? Why?

Oh and hubby found the stylus under Bo’s car seat which is apparently ‘down the windmill’

So I’m a mother of two boys (one 3 years, one 7 months). Most ‘normal’ mothers are asleep right now. Why am I still up at 12:52am? Maybe I ate too much chocolate birthday cake (turned a whopping 26 on Tuesday). Maybe I enjoy only getting six hours or less of sleep before being awakened by a hungry little bear (not the cute cuddly kind when he’s hungry) and then an hour or so later by “Mama! Mama! I’m ready to wake up!” (our oldest knows he has to stay in bed until his father or I come and tell him he can get up). So running on 7 hours of sleep isn’t so bad. Besides I do my best work really late at night. I like the quiet. Well almost quiet — that antique coo coo clock my hubby wrangled from my MIL keeps it from being 100% quiet. He’d been wanting her’s that she no longer used since watching an episode of How Its Made featuring the annoying adorable handmade clocks. Curse the Discovery channel. Speaking of that show did I mention it cost me $400+ for his Christmas gift. He saw the episode on how they make leather fire helmets and since the other guys at his station were all getting them I had to jump off the bridge too . Well he MORE than made up for it with my Valentines/late Christmas present. My new HP TouchSmart all-in-one computer rocks! But I didn’t want one after seeing a TV show about it.

Well it’s after one now I really should go to bed. Here’s your comment challenge for today: Leave a comment telling me the craziest and/or most expensive thing you have ever bought for your significant other (if you don’t have one then for a family member or friend).

Thanks for stopping by my blog for the UBP 2009 by 5 Minutes for Mom! I hope you come back throughout the week and enjoy the fun and prizes I have to offer. If you are new to the UBP experience consider checking out the 5 Minutes for Mom website to learn more about the party. Basically you surf blogs, comment on posts and meet new people. Lots of bloggers will offer prizes too (I’m one of them ).

To win any of the prizes I will be giving away simply leave a comment on this post (with your real name and email address). Tell me how you found my blog, what you think of it or just say hi. Your name will be put into the pot. If you would like to have more chances to win visit every day and comment on those posts too. You can also visit and comment on my UBP posts at Sara*s Pixel Studio Blog (my business blog). For every comment on a different UBP 09 post (here or SPS) you will get another ‘ticket’ thrown into the drawing. More ways to be entered will be announced throughout the week. Prize drawing will be held on March 28 and winners will be notified via email.

PS: Comments on daily posts will be closed at the end of that day (this post will remain open to comments through 12:59pm on March 27) so be sure to visit every day for the maximum number of chances to win.

Click here to see all the UBP 2009 Posts.

Be sure to post a link to your blog if you have one so I can visit you as well!

I have a running list of blogs I’ve visited on my other blog post. My prize wishes are there also

Thanks to everyone for making this blog party my best ever!