Annual Boo Bash was SPOOKtacular

The the greatest things about Halloween, for me anyway (if you know me, you know I Hate Halloween) is seeing the kids get dressed up in their cute costumes and our annual Boo Bash!

 Our Boo Bash is always a great success and a great time for families to come out and have a good time all dressed for the holiday!  The kids have a blast checking out their little friends costumes, making crafts and playing games.

Some of the parents really get into the spirit as well with some pretty awesome costumes!

We had a great mix of characters this year with monsters and pirates, a whole team of super heroes, little tigers and Winnie the Pooh, a whole bunch of beautiful princesses and more!

The kids had so much fun playing and crafting and eating, and I think its safe to say the grownups did too!

Excellent customer service is the key to my happiness

There is nothing worse than poor customer service.  The last thing any of us wants is to go into a store where we will be spending our hard earned money and being treated like we are a burden or are interrupting some sales persons precious time.

Bad customer service stands out but excellent customer service stays with you.   We really need more people in the retail and service industry to enjoy their jobs and enjoy engaging with the public.  It really makes a huge difference in a shopper's experience, and the likelihood that they will return and maybe even spend more than they had planned, if they are treated well by the employees.

Today, I had the pleasure of having some pretty amazing customer service at simple stop in to Home Coffee Solutions to stock up on cups for my Keurig.

There are several places that I can go in the area to purchase my kcups, and having tried a few of them, I always go back to Home Coffee Solutions.   We were with them at their launch a year ago and held a story time there in the winter last year.  I was impressed then, and still am.

When my son and I went in the store, we were greeted with a huge hello from the lady at the front counter.  Even though she was already with a customer, she took the time to look up and welcome us in.  Best part, even though I had not been in to the store in a good 6 months (shame on me), she greeted me by name.  She remembered my name. She remembered my son.

After browsing the store, checking out all the awesome flavours and options available, I mean the selection there is phenomenal, I was greeted by a second employee, a newer gentleman whom I had never met before, and he was just as wonderful.

One of the great things about HCS is that you can try any of the flavours before you buy them.   One that I was interested in trying wasn't open and he was quick to open a box and even make the coffee for me!

At check out, the lovely girl at the cash, who I feel like a dope for not remember her name, chatted away with my little guy and offered him a hot chocolate.  She took him to the coffee makers and made him a hot chocolate, gave him a lollipop and some Halloween stickers and wished us a nice weekend.

I left there feeling good.  Coffee in hand, bag full of new coffee for home, a happy little guy with his hot chocolate and the knowledge that I had indeed picked the right place to purchase my coffee from today.

I highly recommend checking this place out!

Alphabet fun with Post Alpha-Bits Cereal!

We have been having fun learning and crafting through our Alphabet Crafts for some time now.

This is a great way to teach kids their letters and their sounds and have fun through crafts.

Post Alpha-Bits Cereal is now a sponsor of these awesome events and yesterday we kicked off our Fall Alphabet Crafts through some fun with Post Alpha-Bits cereal and crafts!

 
 
Post Alpha-Bits has the great taste and alphabet delight that kids and moms

L-O-V-E. But Alpha-Bits cereal is more than fun and games. Post Alpha-Bits cereal provides a source of 9 essential nutrients plus is an excellent source of Iron and Thiamin.

It's always fun to see the kids getting crafty and learning at the same time.  Add in a food that is fun and nutritious and you have the means for a great morning of crafting!

Our little ones goes busy matching the letters from the cereal to their alphabet place mats.  It was pretty impressive to see so many of them recognizing their letters!

Along the way there were some snackers, which was bound to happen when you through something yummy at them and tell them to play with it!  Good thing we had some watchful moms, some of the younger ones wanted to eat the cereal right off the pages!

With a cereal snack and some fresh OJ in their bellies, the kiddies got into their next craft.  They were set on task to cut out objects from magazines that started with the letters A, B and C.

This was lots of fun as the little ones learned to use the scissors and this time match letters with sounds.

It was a fun morning of Alphabet Play thanks to Post Alpha-Bits Cereal!

You can find more Alphabet craft ideas at our momstown Arts and Crafts Blog!

Good NIght, Sleep Tight

Tales for Tots this month was so much fun!  Thanks to our partner Scholastic Canada, we had the chance to read a cute book that incorporated some fun childhood rhymes.

Good Night, Sleep Tight was a book that we can relate to, kids stalling bedtime with their sitter by asking for a story. 

The kids really liked the rhyming in the book and the repetitive paragraph that let them know a new rhyme was coming.

The kids were quite wound up before we started the book but they really settled and listened to this one and I think all the moms had fun hearing some old rhymes!

 

 

Family photos, more than memories

It had been a couple of years since we had a family portrait done.  I thought it was about time since I have a million pics of the kids, but barely any of me with the kids since I am always the one behind the lens.


Getting my picture taken is not one of my favorite things to do.  I could photograph my kids all day long, but for me, I hate having my picture taken.

With busy schedules it was hard to find the right time, plus wanting outdoor pics, finding good weather and the perfect fall setting was hard too!    Then there was the outfits... so easy when its just the kids alone, or even all the kids, but throw me in there and it becomes a nightmare!

With location, outfits and weather finally set, it was time to get our pics done.  And it was an adventure.

Getting kids to sit is hard enough in a studio, but put them in a forest with so much to see and do and it's darn near impossible to get them to stand still for a good picture!

Running the trails, climbing hills, walking across logs, and throwing rocks in the creek made for a great distraction for the kids. 

Thanks to a very patient photographer, and new friend, Samantha Budd of Elephant Shoe Photography, we were able to get some great pictures of us as a family and of the kids on their own.

Whenever we could we tried to pose a picture that would fit in between the kids bursts of energy. 
There was lots of laughter, some frustrated yells from me, especially after Noelle found the V-shaped stick that she proceeded to run around with on her head yelling "I'm a Moose!'   You know what happened after than... Nathan needed a turn, and for the rest of the photos he has a stick in his hand.

All in all, the pics turned out fantastic, helps when you have gorgeous kids to begin with, and a great photographer with patience.

The photos are great memories of the day, the antics will last in my memory as well.

Mommy and Me Game day with Mattel

Preschoolers have fun playing games too!  It's a great age to start to teach them to play games and a great to start family game night!

We were fortunate to get to test out a bunch of games from Mattel that were perfect for preschoolers.
While playing our games, we learned the importance of how they can help our kids learn.

5 important concepts that playing board games can teach children.

1. Taking Turns and Having Patience

2. Playing Fair

3. Reasoning and Strategy Skills

4. Good Sportsmanship

5. Friendships and Working Together”

Setting up the games was fun, as most of the games were new to all the moms, not just the kids!

Uno Mooo!, a twist on the classic Uno! game was a lot of fun.  The kids loved the little animals and the fun little farm!

They also loved the Chipmunk Chompers Game™!  This game was so great for early literacy as well as fun!  The cute little chimpunks, adorable tree and acorns made learning letters and a great start to spelling fun!

The moms loved learning the games too and had fun playing Parrot Pile-Up™    This one took some patience from everyone as we built up the Parrot's raft with supplies and waited to see who toppled it over!

We had so much fun that we will be having another mommy and me game day soon!

Thank you Mattel!

Gobble Gobble Turkey Crafts!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and our little ones have been busy making turkey crafts to celebrate this holiday.

It's always fun watching the little ones create anything.  I love when we can get crafty around a holiday or event, it just gives the crafts some extra significance.

The first one we did was pretty simple.  We paper plates and cut them in half. The we covered it with colourful pieces of tissue paper.  Once it was full of colour we added a turkey face!  Easy peasy!!

Our next craft was a little messier.  It involved paint.  Always fun with the little ones!

We took our kids little hands and painted them in various colours.  We made a fan of coloured hand prints that we would turn into the turkeys tail feathers.

Then we made a turkey face.  Glue and googly eyes always make for a good time!

Once the hand prints were dry... or not... we added the faces!  A great keep sake for the season!

You can find more Thanksgiving crafts on the momstown Arts and Crafts blog.

Happy October!!!

Fall is in full swing and now that we have welcomed October we can get excited about Thanksgiving and Halloween!

There are so many fun things to do with the family during the Fall months.  Take a look around at the gorgeous colour of the treaes and take a walk through the fall leaves!

Collect some leaves and make some great crafts with the kids!
You can get pretty creative with some colourful leaves and crafts supplies from around the house!

Visit our Arts and Crafts Blog for more fun fall crafts!

This month we have two awesome things to celebrate!  Thanksgiving and Halloween.

As families get together to give thanks, food tends to be involved!  We have a huge selection of fall recipes that are sure to please your family and friends!

Have a look at our Meals Blog!  You will be running to the grocery store to stock up on supplies for the kitchen!  My favorite are desserts with apples and pumpkins! 

 

And as the month trucks on and kids get more excited about Halloween, there are a ton of  ideas that are sure to get the kids giggling over scary snacks!  You can check us out on Pinterest and see all the spooky Hallowen ideas we have for you and your family!

Feel free to share your ideas with us!  We love to hear from you!