Melissa from California is our Elephants on the Wall winner! This is what she had to say when she found out she’d won:

“Thank you so much!! I have been following EOTW since I saw their product a few years ago at a baby expo in Long Beach CA. I was so impressed with how easy it seemed. I am pretty crafty but when it came to painting my kids rooms I got a little scared. When I saw the Pirate Mural I knew that was what I wanted to do for my Son’s room. I can’t wait to get started!!”

How sweet! Melissa picked out this mural:

Send us photos when you’re done!

Here is Melissa with her two little ones!

So adorable! Congratulations! Thanks Elephants on the Wall for making her mural aspirations come true!

www.elephantsonthewall.com

New pirate murals! http://www.elephantsonthewall.com/proddetail.php?prod=575

I’m sad that all of my OnTrack bars are gone. Seriously. The past few days I’ve been eating a lot of Kix cereal for snack (so not Atkins approved). I think it’s time to order on line or storm headquarters…

There have been 12 entries in comments and 9 to onecrazymother@gmail.com.

You still have time! Just answer “What would you do with more energy” and get an OnTrack prize pack!! Then send me half of your bars…just kidding!

Some of the entries:

If I had more energy, I would clean out my garage! I can’t even park a car in there!

I need more energy to keep up with my new puppy. He has more energy than my kids.

I’d try to de-clutter my house a bit. I’ve got so many things, but nowhere to put them all. I need to go through them and get them ready for a garage sale…but I don’t have the energy

If i had a little more energy i’d probably exercise or clean, or exercise while cleaning, ooooo! hahahah!

Good luck!! Read more entries and comment here

http://onecrazymother.com/blog/?p=50

OnTrack’s parent company Bouquet of Fruits also makes fancy, fancy caramel apples!

Win one here

http://onecrazymother.com/blog/?p=56

Have you been following Emily’s journey? She’s been doing a great job using the template from Elephants on the Wall. Her pirate mural is looking amazing!

Want to win an Elephants on the Wall mural of your own? Just count the number of times the word “pirate” appears in her posts- from beginning to the end next week. Or…either comment or email onecrazymother@gmail.com with why your kids’ room needs spicing up (I don’t have the patience to count, you may not either).

Elephants on the Wall just added more pirate themes! Check them out

Dinner is a pain in the ass to get on the table for me at least 3 nights out of 7. After spending time washing and simmering it’s almost a guarantee that my 2 year-old will reject my feast and ask for goldfish crackers or a slice of plain bread.

Victoria (SavvyMommy.com) is giving away frozen, natural Wolfgang Puck Pizza! Just go to her blog and post a comment about your funniest supermarket experience to win 1 of 10 pies. There is nothing better than a meal that comes out of the oven with no prep work by mama.

Most of the “funny” grocery shopping stories I have are only giggle-worthy in hindsight. One time my kid thought it would be hilarious to ask, “Dada?” to every male in sight- maybe she thought making it look like she didn’t know who her father was would result in some gummi worms thrown her way.

Go to the contest. Win some dinner on Savvy. Click here.

Daphne Brogdon is one crazy mother. When she’s not washing sippy cups, chasing a toddler, or trying to remember what pre-baby life was like, she’s a comedian who hosts TV Guide Channel’s weekly series, THE FASHION TEAM and contributor to many television and print media.

I talked to Daphne last week when I saw that she’d recently launched a blog called Cool Mom. Her candid, honest, nothing-held-back videos will resonate with overtired, overworked, and largely malnourished (Diet Coke is not a meal) moms everywhere. We’re all running on fumes, Daphne articulates the “mom lifestyle” perfectly.

Some of Daphne’s neurosis can be attributed to the fact that she, like me, lives in southern California (where if you want clean air, go to an oxygen bar). The rest come from the everyday issues of raising young; think first day of preschool.

Must read:
Preschool Day One Report: Stress
http://coolmom.com/2008/07/15/preschool-day-one-report-stress/

Mommy Math
http://coolmom.com/2008/06/04/mom-math/

5. Argue with a toddler

4. Fly American Airlines (unless you’re a cutter and need motivation)

3. Put your kid in a white tank top on “Messy Art Day”

2. Get to the age of 25 without knowing how to drive a stick

1. Buy anything just because it’s on sale

Art by me: circle with an r, 2008

This morning I was beyond pleased to see a package from Bouquet of Fruits waiting for me. Remember them? Look a few posts down. Bouquet of Fruits is giving two lucky, crazy mothers a prize pack of their OnTrack Fruit Energy bars. Just tell me why you need the energy. Entries have ranged from “so I can clean my garage” to “to get the strength to change out the tracksuit I’ve been wearing for three weeks.” Enter by following instructions here: OnTrack Contest

Whoa I digress…so the package was from Bouquet of Fruits, but this time it wasn’t energy bars. I ripped it open and found this.

The Jumbo Chocolate Dipped Caramel Fuji Apple (aka the Rocky Road).

The photo doesn’t quite do the apple justice. It is the size of a baby’s head. I woke my husband up by holding it by the stick over his face. We then had half of it for breakfast (not in bed). Most frown against having sweets before 9am but there were walnuts and fruit involved so technically it’s like a salad. We’re going out to dinner tonight, my husband says, “I guess we won’t be ordering dessert.” Speak for yourself. I can start and cap the day with caramel, no problem.

Bouquet of Fruits knows how to please mommies. What could make a Friday sweeter than a huge fruity, chocolately, carmely, marshmallowly surprise? Husbands, listen up. Want to score points? Did your wife recently pop an 8lb kid out of her body? Did you secretly take out a second mortgage to pay off a gambling debt? This is the way to go.

For the diet conscious, I’m guessing there are between 1 and 2.5 Weight Watchers points in the whole thing. Probably 6-7 grams of fat (all good fats though, like in olive oil). The rest is all Splenda.*

So delicious. And guess what?! You can have one too. Either comment of email onecrazymother@gmail.com and tell me why you need a specialty apple from Bouquet of Fruits. Go to the website and include which one looks the tastiest to you. www.bouquetoffruits.com/

Good luck!

PS. Look who else just tried Bouquet of Fruits, The Ant (seen him on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno?) Ants love sugar.

*Lies

I traveled about a month ago with my husband and toddler and American AIrlines has yet to find my cute little, NOT CHEAP stroller. Every mom knows that after you have kids, a stroller is your proverbial martini- always in your hand and the only thing that gets you through the day.

We gate checked the stroller only to find it missing. If we hadn’t sprinted- exhausted toddler (no stroller), diaper bag, and carry on bags in hand- to our connecting flight we would have been stranded in Chicago. More than 30 days later American AIrlines still can’t find our stroller. All I have to say is they have five days before the press releases start going out.

This month will be interesting to say the least. I’m going to be doing interviews with other Crazy Mothers.

First up, Miyoko- the author of The Housewife’s Guide to Practical Striptease. Most know that I’m against frumpiness (there isn’t really an excuse for walking around all day in a band t-shirt and acid wash jeans in 2008). Miyoko is a mom who knows that taking care of yourself doesn’t have to end when the kid is born.

Today I did an interview with Daphne Brogdon. She is a professional comedian and television talk show host who blogs at Cool Mom.com

With every mom I talk to I realize more and more that we are all peas in a very disorganized pod. Whether she’s dangling from a stripper pole or doing a set in front of a live audience, if she’s a mom, I *get* her life.

So what’s new?

Well…being a crazy mother is okay when it’s the fun kind of crazy, not the hectic, stressed out version that usually goes with mismatched shoes and split ends so I’m happy to announce that I’ve hired a brand new editor and admin assistant! More about that soon…

I love blogging and running this website but marketing is my full-time gig. People sometimes think because I work from home I lead this ultra-relaxed lifestyle and can chill out in my pajamas all day. That’s party true but the people I work with pay me expecting my best meaning I’ve had to get more organized than college really prepared me for.

Whether it’s planning dinner, making sure no one steals my nanny, sneaking out for drinks with my husband, or staying up until past midnight to meet deadlines, the life of a working mom is muy complicated, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I consult with Tribe, Inc, a advertising/marketing agency based out of Atlanta. Last week Jennifer called me with a super short notice assignment: coming up with a few campaigns for their newest client- a high end European stroller manufacturer that recently broke into the US market. It was 2am before finally sent send out a document full of my (hopefully brilliant) ideas, but I didn’t mind at all. Marketing and advertising are ridiculously interesting, fun even, to me.

This week was especially fun as Tastybaby, an amazing company I work with published a story I wrote for our 4th of July spread!

Mom-ing is never easy. Even moms who don’t work at all find themselves spent at the end of every day. In my opinion, the key to not completely losing it as a working mom is to make sure you’re doing what you’re really passionate about. A good agenda planner doesn’t hurt either. I have this one, in chocolate to remind me that life is sweet