Win a Blackberry Tour!

This past August, I had an opportunity to meet and speak with Kathy Buckworth, author of The BlackBerry Diaries, during the East Coast leg of her U.S. book tour. Now, Kathy is done touring the country and has even made an appearance at Women's Conference hosted by Maria Shriver. She's a busy lady, but still has time to stay connected with her fans and linked into her real world schedule of on-the-go-hockey-mom with the aide of her loyal Blackberry, Seamus, by her side (or her hip). But Seamus is no ordinary mobile device. He's like a 5th child (without the hockey tuition). Just check out an excerpt from his baby book:

My name is : Seamus

My favorite food is : Anything with a high voltage

I love to eat : Information that my Mom feeds to me.

My sleep habits are: When I need to shut down, I can totally turn off the whole world.

My mommy loves to buy me : New leather holsters, and pink waterproof covers.

My daddy always : He's more attached to my twin brother, Serious. They bond on business issues.

A cute quirk of mine : When I really have something to say, I buzz and vibrate and flash lights.

My latest milestone: I have mastered Twitter through Twitterberry

My favorite people are: My mom and my other human siblings. But they're not allowed to hug me too tight.

People say I look like : I am well loved.

My favorite toy is : Thumb wrestling with Mom

My favorite game to play : Brickbreaker, of course.

Do you like bath time: NO!!!!!!!

What makes you mad : When I'm trying to get Mom's attention and she has to tend to one of my siblings.

Favorite snack : Tidbits of information

Belly or Back sleeper : I'm fine either way, just not on my side.

Do you have a nickname: Mom's little BB

Awww, so cute right? I'm considering a name for my phone. Maybe something with an E since Maddy seems to like carrying it around like it's Elmo or Eebee. Maybe Emmie or Emmet or something. But anyway, back to the contest:


It's now my turn to pass the title of modern-mobile-mom to another lucky woman who is probably saying to herself: "ugh if only I had a Blackberry..I could _______(insert wildest dream)." If you can dream, then you can play this game and win a BlackBerry Tour, courtesy of Research in Motion!

All you have to do to enter is the following:

1. Leave a comment answering the following: "If I had a BlackBerry, I'd name it ______"
2. Earn extra entries by Tweeting about this contest with my Twitter handle attached (@MrsMoNJ) or leaving a comment on Facebook

If you have already read Blackberry Diaries, you can now pre-order Kathy's newest book, Shut Up and Eat. Here's a little about the book:

In Shut Up and Eat, humourist and parenting author Kathy Buckworth applies her razor-sharp wit to an examination of the family meal. Experts claim that sitting down to eat together can prevent children from getting into trouble while simultaneously creating close-knit families. In Buckworth’s opinion, that’s an awful lot to expect from a meatloaf! What about the son who thinks his food tastes better on the blue plate with the fish? Or the daughter who won’t eat anything green? And let’s not even talk about the mom who’d rather be doing anything but standing in front of the stove (drinking a glass of wine comes immediately to mind). Laugh-out-loud funny, more accurate than most of us would care to admit—and with a few recipes thrown in for good measure—Shut Up and Eat is a must-read for any woman who’s ever wondered: What the hell am I cooking tonight?

You can meet Kathy online by following her on Twitter or becoming a fan on Facebook.

CONTEST ENDS NOVEMBER 9TH!

Are You a Modern Mom? Win The BlackBerry Diaries by Kathy Buckworth

Did you know that there is NO Ann Taylor, Bloomies or Macy's in Canada? No joke!

That's why author Kathy Buckworth came to America: to shop.

Well, actually, she came down to promote her 4th book, The BlackBerry Diaries, on a U.S. tour which included a two-day stop in Bridgewater which just happens have to have a FABULOUS mall. But while shopping is really fun and necessary while you're on a book tour through various cities like Boston, Vegas, Atlanta and Bridgewater, the real fun for Kathy (I'm just assuming) was to share her newest book with other moms and talk about what it's really like to be a modern mobile mom. And thanks to the lovely folks at RIM (Research in Motion), the company behind The BlackBerry, I had the exciting opportunity to come meet Kathy and talk with her and her audience about my life as a work-at-home mom/NJ blogger who is also connected via a mobile device (we'll leave the actual brand out of it).

While America has Jenny McCarthy's motherhood books, Canada has Kathy Buckworth. But that's going to change very soon, I can feel it! Why? Because her book is just too hilarious, too real and too GOOD to put down. Her "Adventures in Modern Motherhood" chart a year-long account of how her 2 worlds-technology and children-have come together under 1 roof.
I love the fact that even though I only have 1 child, I can relate so much to the antics that Kathy ensues with 4 children. Like Kathy, I am a work-at-home mom who has been able to tap into work after my toddler has fallen asleep in the car or is enjoying a yummy snack in the highchair. And sure, maybe the mobile phone is like The Gameboy of the 80s, but honestly it really does change your life having one. And Kathy takes readers through her life changing adventure balancing the demands of a published author and mom/school-volunteer/hockey-mom/doting wife. I just can't wait for my own children to wake me up at 6am on Mother's Day with a picture drawn of myself donning a mustache and a huge butt. Can't wait!

What else is cool is that the lovely RIM folks have given me 4 copies of Kathy's book, The BlackBerry Diaries, to give away! But wait! Only serious applicants should apply. So please consider the checklist below. If you say "yes" to at least 1, then you must get your hands on The BlackBerry Diaries, either in store, online or win it here!

• Your mobile device really is like part of the family, but it doesn't need potty training, college tuition or a driver's license.
  
  
• You find yourself getting out of the same 'blah blah' convo with a mom at the park by rigging your mobile with an alarm to sound like your ringer or you make-believe you just got buzzed with an important email.
  
  
• You suddenly find yourself an in-demand blogger who receives countless emails a day requesting a review of this product and an announcement of that event or your presence at this workshop.
  
  
• You really are watching your child's soccer/lacrosse/track/basketball/football/cheerleading game, but you've been able to multi-task with one of your phone's built-in games and applications.
  
  
• A restaurant doesn't just serve food anymore, it serves TwitPic or Facebook worthy masterpieces that you have to share with your hungry friends.
  
  
• NO ONE is to TOUCH your mobile device unless they a) have washed their hands, b) are wearing latex gloves or c) have a true 9-1-1 emergency.
  
  
• You might just be one of those parents who gets caught texting a reminder to your child during school even though texting is strictly prohibited.
  

If you want more, feel free to visit Kathy's ongoing blog at BlackBerryDiaries.net, become a fan on Facebook or follow her on Twitter. But here's your chance to win a copy of your own to read and pass along to your other modern-mom friends who, like you and me and Kathy, would not be complete without your little mobile friend/child.

Here's how to win:

1) Leave a comment telling us with a unique story of your mobile motherhood OR how a mobile device, like a BlackBerry would make a difference in your mommyhood.

For extra entries
1) Sign up for Mrs Mo's Mailing List and/or

2) Join Mrs Mo's New Jersey Fan Page and leave a comment under the BlackBerry Diaries post telling us about our life as a mobile mom and/or

3) Tweet about this entry with the following "I am a modern mobile mom. Are you?" and paste the link to this post.


Contest ends Wednesday September 10th at 9pm

BlackBerry Diaries Book Signing Event This Week!

Are you a mom on the go? Are you a work-at-home mom balancing the demands of work and the demands of your children? Do you like being "connected" at a moment's notice? Do you sometimes feel like your mobile device is like another child?

If any of these questions resonate with you, you MUST come out to the Bridgewater Mall this Tuesday and Wednesday for Kathy Buckworth's book signing event for her new book The BlackBerry Diaries, "a no-holds-barred trip through the wacky world of toddlers and technology. Kathy takes the reader through a year-long blog account of life with her new BlackBerry and how, as a Mississauga, Ont.-based mother of four, her two worlds — technology and children — collide."-blackberrydiaries.net

I've been reading the book and already find it addictive, refreshingly real and hilarious. Her blog entry chapters are an easy read, especially when at the end of the day I may only have 10-15 minutes left in consciousness. She also says what many of us want to and she TOTALLY gets what it's like to be one of those in between moms: full-time stay-at-home but not quite full-time work-at-home. The only difference (for which she doesn't hold against me) is I am an iPhone mom while she, obviously, is raising a BlackBerry Smart Phone. But no love lost!

So grab the kids (or leave them with a sitter) and come to the Bridgewater Mall this week! I'll be there on Wednesday so let me know if you're coming! Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. You can also send a Tweet to Kathy!