The Ultimate Blog Party 2009

Yeah, I'm a couple of days late. (What else is new?) It was a busy weekend around here. Friday I spent all day painting Lauren's room (it is going to be SO cute when it's all done!), Saturday I went to my mom's for my gram's birthday, and Sunday was busy with church and other stuff. But, I figured that since today is my birthday, it's a good time for a party anyway! 5 Minutes for Mom is hosting its Ultimate Blog Party that runs through this Friday, March 27th. It's all about getting to know other bloggers, bringing people to your blog, and even winning cool prizes! This is my first time joining the party and thought it would be fun to meet some new bloggers as well as (hopefully) get some new visitors here. Click the link in this post or the button in my sidebar and join in the fun if you haven't already!

For those who don't know me, my name is Natalie and I'm the stay-at-home ringmaster here at The Kummer Family Circus. (By the way, it's pronounced Koomer.) I'm married to my dear husband Shaun who is a police officer and we have four beautiful children who drive us crazy. Joseph is 10, Alec is 5, Kyle is 4, and Lauren is 2 1/2. We have joked for a long time that our house is like a 3-ring circus (it is, you should see us when we are all getting ready to go somewhere). So, when I started this blog a few months ago, I thought the name was only appropriate ;) The circus theme music is also my cell phone ringtone when someone is calling from the house, LOL!

I haven't been blogging very long, but I am hoping to make some new connections and friendships as I go along and grow my blogging network. I first learned about the valuable friendships you could have through the internet when I started visiting message boards when we were trying to get pregnant with our second child. Although I have kept a few of those friends to this day, something that I never would have expected and am most grateful for, most of those connections have faded away over time and I miss the discussions and advice I used to get from the larger group of women. I also love to give advice when I have some. Being a mom his hard work, and no matter how many children you have, there are still surprises! I'd also love to start doing some of my own product reviews and giveaways in the future.

More stuff about me:

* I'm 33 years old today!
* I've been married to my husband for 11 years. (12 at the end of May!)
* I have a degree in elementary education.
* I enjoy baking, decorating cakes, SHOPPING, learning new things, seeing new places, decorating my house, gardening, and making hair bows.
*My favorite color is PINK!
* I'm NOT a morning person. (Of course, that could also have something to do with me staying up too late, LOL!)
* I have a MAJOR sweet tooth. (Er...teeth?)

Feel free to browse my blog and old posts to learn a little more about me and what this blog is all about. For my fellow Entrecard droppers, you will see my widget near the top in the right sidebar. If you drop on me, I'll be sure to return the favor! I hope some of you will come back and visit me often.

As I mentioned, there are TONS of great prizes for the blog party. My top choices if I won are:

#58 - Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer from Moms Who Think
#89 - $100 Home Goods gift card from HG Open House
#22 - $50 Target gift card from Beginner Baby Blog
#118 - $25 Old Navy gift card from Manic Mother
#123 - $20 Kohl's gift card from The Grotto

Other Prizes I would love are: #26, 91, INTL 3, INTL 15, INTL 30, INTL 58, USC 11, USC 15, USC 45, USC 47, USC 56.

You can probably see a theme with my selections, LOL! But, of course, I would be happy with anything I won. I'm not very lucky when it comes to contests like these, so I'd be thrilled just to win. If it happens to be something I can't use, I will happily pass it along to someone who can.