Cute cows and muddy piggies!

Kiddies love animals, they love the farm which means the certainly loved this month's farm theme!

To round off our month of Farm Fun, we got together for a play and social craft time.

momstown has some fantastic farm crafts on our arts and crafts blog and we took some of the neat crafts for our kiddies morning of crafty fun!

We started of with some cute cows. The kids used some paper plates, both big and small, some black and pink construction paper and a bit of glue. The kids were so excited when they saw how cute the cows would be and got busy putting them together.

All the kids followed the same sample but their cows were all unique and all perfect!

Once we got our cows all put together it was on the down and dirty job of making muddy pigs.

The kids loved the opportunity to get into the paint, and when they saw that they got to drive toy cars through the paint and onto their piggies, making them all muddy, they were more than ready to get down to work!

All the kids had a blast making their animals, and it was fun to watch them be creative and excited about their artwork!

Next month our theme is the Circus. I look forward to another month of awesome crafts, activities and fun!!!

Graduation; a proud parent moment

The end of June brings graduation time. For many of our momstown mamas, children are graduating from preschool and will be heading to their first big school for JK. Many more have children graduating from kindergarten and moving on to grade 1.

This is a sentimental and emotional time for for moms and dads as their little babies are getting bigger and school is the first indication of this.

For me, graduation time was a little different this year. One of my babies, now almost 14, graduated from grade 8 last night.

This is huge. I watched her graduate preschool and head to kindergarten. I watched her graduate kindergarten and head to full time school. I have watched her grow and flourish and soak up the knowledge thrown at her over the years. And now I have watched her graduate from 10 years of schooling to head on to the next level, the next adventure; High School.

It was a bitter sweet day. Watching my daughter be pampered by her three honorary big sisters, fellow athletes from her baton club, that have also watched her grow up and were excited and proud to be a part of her big day.

I watched as my beautiful baby girl was transformed into a stunning young woman. My heart swelled with pride seeing her but it was a little bit sad to see her grown up, she's not a baby anymore.

The graduation ceremony was fantastic. Arriving at the high school she will attend come September for their big ceremony was exciting. All the girls were so gorgeous and they were full of squeals and laughter as they gathered for pictures and checked out the dresses they all chose for their special day.

The boys all looked so grown up and handsome, and the girls, well they noticed.

Through the ceremony awards were presented to the kids to honour their accomplishments. My heart swelled with pride as I heard my daughters name called over and over for various awards and then finally as she was announced as part of the honour roll.

I am proud of my daughter for making so many academic accomplishments while also being an elite competitive athlete and spending many long hours in the gym, as well as fitting in some social time for fun!

I look forward to continuing to watch my daughter grow and succeed. My wish for her is that she continues to make good choices, be a leader, work hard and succced. But most of all I wish that all her dreams come true.

To quote Dr. Suess : “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”

Our Birthday Bash Is Coming!!!

It's hard to believe that momstown is going to be 5 this August! A concept and passion started out small in Burlington and some special people saw the need to make it grow and share momstown with everyone... today there are momstown chapters all over Ontario as well we are in Winnipeg, Calgary, Central Alberta/Red Deer, Edmonton and Victoria!



MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!! On August 18th, 2012 momstown Barrie will be celebrating the only way we know how... in momstown style! The party will be held at Sunnidale Park from 10am - 1pm

Our passion comes from the joy of kids and the love of connecting moms and that is just what our party will be all about!

We have some fantastic sponsors this year that love momstown just as much as we do! They see our joy in what we do and they have decided to be a part of the celebration and to help us spread the momstown love!!!



We are so proud to have Today's Parent, CBC Kids, Fisher Price, Britax, ConAgra Foods, Melitta Coffee , Scholastic Canada and Red Cross all on board for our Party!

We have a super special guest lined up as well!!! He's big and red and oh so loveable, it's Clifford the Big Red Dog!!! I can't wait to see the look on the kids' faces when they get to meet Clifford!!!



With all of our great sponsors there is sure to be some great fun! We can guarantee a good time full of fun activities, crafts, games and more!

There will be special interactive demonstrations through the day for the kids and for mom and dad too!!!

We will also have a fantastic performance from local children's entertaner Russ Clayton!!

Keep up to date with the party planning and see what gets added as the weeks go by, follow us on facebook so you don't miss a beat... better yet, join us at momstown!

Our Picassos love Painting in the Park!!!

One of our favorite summer time events is Picasso in the Park. momstown mamas all over Canada are enjoying this awesome creative event with their little ones! It's a great way to get outside, get creative and best of all get messy!!!



It was a hot and sunny day and we thought we would be too hot to have fun, but the beach area was nice and breezy with the lake and the kids had a ball getting messy!!

This week instead of using our hands, we used our feet! It was so much fun watching the kids squishing their toes in the paint and giggling as they created their masterpieces.



The bright coloured paint and the little foot prints made for some super pictures.

The kids pointed out how colourful the grass became with all their foot prints as well! I am sure some folks visiting the park after us will wonder where all the bright colours came from!!



With all the messy toes and feet it was sure good to know we had our Huggies wipes on hand! A few wipes and the mess was cleaned up! Phew! Thanks for coming to the rescue again Huggies!!!

But even with clean feet, we couldn't keep the kids from needing a dip in the lake... to wash off of course!

Old MacDonald Had Farm

Old MacDonald had a farm, eeee ai eee ai oh!!!

This song is truly a classic for all kids and they just love singing and making the animal noises!


Our June theme has been the Farm, a super fun theme with the kids because they all love animals so much!

Our Tales for Tots program sponsored by Scholastic Canada provided our book of the month that fit our theme perfectly! Old MacDonald was a hit with the kids!

The fun plush puppet book was adorable! The kids loved being able to sing the song while looking at the pictures and while I made each little animal dance!


momstown had some awesome farm themed crafts on the momstown arts and crafts blog. You can check these great crafts out and do them with your kids!

Tomorrow we have our open house from 10:30 - 11:30 at the Melody in Me Studio on Alliance Blvd. You can come out and see what momstown is all about and make some farm crafts!

Summer Water Safety

Today was the first day of summer, officially! The weather was amazing, hot and humid with a mild breeze.

Our momstown mamas met at Tyndale Beach in Barrie for a morning of fun. With it being the first day of Summer and being at the beach, it was a perfect day to have Shannon from the Red Cross join us to talk about Water Safety.



Every year in Canada there are over 400 water related deaths. A large portion of those are children aged 1 - 4 years old. Scary right? Well the dangers surround the water can be greatly reduced with a little bit of knowledge, some time and care and some education.



First we learned about some basic summer safety rules. Keeping kids safe in the sun with plenty of sunscreen, hats and lots of water in the hot weather. Did you know you should be applying sunscreen in the shade only? The sun will only be attracted to the newly applied sunscreen and can cause burning! Also, keep your sunscreen out of direct sunlight, the direct sun will reduce the SPF factor!



After learning about some summer safety tips, we talked about teaching our kids to be safe around the water. With the hot summer say, the water is always a great draw in for the kids to keep cool!

We should remember to teach our kids that they shouldn't go in or near water without adult supervision. This include pools, ponds, lakes, even the little blow up pools! It only takes a couple of centimeters and seconds for a small child to drown.



When visiting a friends house with a pool, be sure to ask them what their safety rules are surrounding the pool and make sure your kids are aware.

Being in Barrie and surrounded by the gorgeous lake, this is such an important topic for our momstown mamas. As a group and in our families we spend a lot of time around the water and at the beaches. I am so glad we were learning so many great things to keep our kids safe.

The best part of the morning was learnign about life jackets and personal floatation devices. We learned how to properly size them on our children, the difference between a life jacket and a PFD and how to properly wear them.



All the kids had a blast trying on the PFD's and learning about how important they are to wear in and around the water. The moms got a great lessoon on sizing their children properly and how to be sure that they are correctly secured.

We look forward to another session of water safety fun with Shannon this summer! Stay tuned and join momstown and Red Cross as we work together to keep our families safe!

The need to communicate

From the time they are born we talk to our babies. Actually, many of us start to talk to them before they born.

We wait patiently as the months go by listening for the sounds of first words. We hear things we turn into words "did you hear that? he said mama!" even when they were probably just gurgling waiting for a diaper change.

When our babies start to say their first words, we are overjoyed. We record their first words in baby books (or if you are like me by the 3rd kid there is no baby book so we try to memorize it all) and we try to catch them on video so we can share with the world how smart out little ones are as they begin to talk.

But what if those first words don't progress? What if your baby isn't talking like the other kids his age? You go for your milestone appointments and the doctors do their checklists to see if the little ones are progressing on track, and he is excelling in all area of growth except for when it comes to words, your little one just isnt where they should be.



My youngest was always a great communicator, he cried when he was hungry and when he was tired and what he was just unhappy. He chattered but not as much as my girls. As the months went by my concern started to grow for my little guy, he started to say mama and nana and bad (go figure!) and car (without the r sound) and very little else.

He is so smart and so clever about so many things, but words just don't come easy for him, but he is very creative in how he communicated with us, finding hand gestures or doing other smart things to show us what he wanted to tell us.

Before he was 1, I taught him to sign "more" so that he could at least communicate that. At first I wasn't too worried, everyone said boys are slower, he has older sisters to talk for him, he might just be lazy, and so on and so on... by as a mom my concern grew.



After talking with the doctor we off for some hearing tests. Sure enough the little guy had lots of pressure in his ears and there was a concern, although he could hear us well, that the clarity of what he was hearing was just not there. We also discovered the poor kid had large tonsils and large adenoids. So the appointment was made for him to have tubes put in his ears to help with the pressure and have his adenoids removed.

In the meantime, I got him on the list for speech assessment. Within no time were in for some testing and they agreed there were some definite issues. SO i left with an arsenal of tips on how to help him.

As the months have passed and his vocabulary has grown slightly since his surgery. While I spend a lot of time worrying about him, he doesn't seem as flustered by his lack of communication as I do. He is happy and boisterous. He is a boy through and through.

So while I try to put my worries aside and embrace all of his little quirks, his success and his loving nature, I celebrate every new word and maintain my dedication to helping him to talk more.

I spend lots of time repeating words to him, and encouraging him to say them. I try to show him how to make his mouth go to make certain words and he laughs at me.

I know in time it will come. I know that his lack of words does not change the loveable little boy that he his. While I want so badly for him to talk more, I will cherish all of the time we spend together now mater how little we talk, we have our own ways of communicating: lots of hugs and kisses, lots of giggles and lots playing.

Water Safety, what you need to know!

The weather is getting nice and this is the time of year that we all want to stay cool and have fun! Summer means beaches and pools!!!

I am sure like me, many of you enjoy your time with the family at the beach cooling off in the lake, at the public pool, or if you are so luck, at home with your own pool. Or maybe at a friend or neighbours house where there is a nice pool to relax and cool off in.

With the little cool down we had this week, now is the perfect time to think about your safety plan for your pool or a pool you may visit.

This week is Water Safety week and our Partners at the Red Cross have sent momstown some reminders that we all should be aware of. Statistics can be scary, but they can be sobering and a great reminder of why safety precautions should be taken for you and your family.



Every year, approximately 400 Canadians die from drowning. Recent polling by Ipsos Reid, on behalf of the Red Cross, shows that despite significant water safety education and awareness programming, there is still a gap in Canadians’ behaviour around the water.

The poll found that:
• 46 per cent of Canadian children know how to swim
• For 51 per cent of Canadians, ‘not allowing children under 10 to access the pool area’ is their only strategy to prevent injuries related to backyard pools
• 11 per cent of Canadian respondents who own a pool indicate they are doing nothing to prevent access to the pool for children under 10




So how can you keep your kids safe this summer when swimming in a backyard pool? If you are the owner of a backyard pool, take note on how to make it safe for you, your family and your guests! Going to a home with a pool? Find out what safety measures the homeowner has, and if they haven't implemented these, then do so for the safety of your kids!


Create an Action Plan including adult supervision, an emergency signal, safety equipment and emergency procedures. Also have readily accessible reaching or throwing assists, a working phone and first aid kit.

Don’t swim alone: Actively supervise your children in and around water at all times. If you have to leave the pool area for any reason, take your children with you. Children should always swim with a buddy, even if they are strong swimmers.

Use barriers: In addition to active supervision, ensure adequate barriers are in place for backyard pools such as four-sided fencing along with a self-closing, self-latching gate. Refer to your municipal bylaws for fencing requirements. Portable or inflatable pools should be emptied after each use or covered and locked.

Keep the deck clear: Make sure there are no toys or debris on the deck to avoid injury.

Dive with care: About 95 per cent of diving injuries occur in water five feet deep or less. Many, perhaps most, in-ground home pools are unsafe for diving even if they are fitted with a diving board. The best safety practice is to avoid diving in home pools.

Avoid Alcohol: If you have teens, talk to them about the dangers of alcohol and swimming. Alcohol is involved in about half of swimming drownings.

Get Trained: Parents and children should learn to swim. It’s never too late. Those with home pools should also enrol in a first aid course, so they know how to respond in case of emergency.




We all want to have a fun summer, lets make it a safe one!!!

Way to go momstown! PTPA Approved!!!

While we have known for sometime just how much moms love us, and how much we bring to the lives of moms and tots, it's always nice to have someone give us a big pat on the back and a big congrats with a prestigious award.

Today momstown was announced as one of the lastest and greatest to join the Parent Tested, Parent Approved Winner's Circle!!!



We are super proud to be a part of this elite list of fabulour business, products and services.

With so much to offer moms and their little ones, it's not wonder why momstown would be the recipient of this fantastic award! From Alphabet Playdates, Little Scientists and Picassos to Junior Chefs, Crafty Mamas and so much more, we really have a fantastic offering for the moms in each of our many local chapters!

Everyday our mamas are talking about how great momstown is, and our little ones love to shout from the roof tops about the fun they have!



At only $45 for an entire year of educational fun, what more could you ask for? Join the fun!

Check out what the moms had to say about us on the momstown moments blog!