Being a momstown Barrie Member has never been better!!!

There’s never been a better time to join momstown Barrie! When you purchase or renew a full year momstown membership in 2013, you received a BONUS subscription to Today’s Parent!

When my middle daughter was just 1, momstown came to me about being a community manager.  The opportunity was amazing!  A brand new concept developed by 2 moms from Burlington, bringing the "moms group" to the next level!!

momstown Barrie flourished quickly and the fun I had with my daughter meeting new people and new moms was fantastic!  A year and half later, 9 months pregnant with my 3rd child, the opportunity came up for me to purchase momstown Barrie and own the chapter that I had helped to grow and now loved deeply.

Now 4 and a  half years since momstown came to Barrie and since I joined this amazing family, I am proud to say that being a part of the largest organization to connect moms across Canada has become a huge part of my life, and my families... make us a part of yours too!

We now have a great bonus for our members and members to be!!!!

Included in your membership to momstown is a one year (12 issues) subscription to Today’s Parent! This includes all new memberships as well as existing membership renewals, and applies only to full year momstown memberships ($45). This special offer is available from January 1^st to December 31^st, 2013, inclusive.

Already receive Today’s Parent? Then your subscription will be extended for one additional year!

Click here for full details and mark your calendars to renew or sign up soon!

Thank you for our Birthday Bash Success!!

Months of planning finally came together yesterday as we celebrated our Biggest Bithday Bash ever here in Barrie!

Momstown has been celebrating all month across Canada for our 5th year and the parties have been amazing!!

It took a lot of work, a lot of hours and a lot of people to make this party a success and I have to say, here in Barrie, our families made the party what it was... a HUGE SUCCESS!!!

I was so pleased to see so many families out to enjoy our day and help us celebrate this milestone.

Moms were lined up early to register and receive their goody bags courtesy of Today's Parent, that were chalk full of great stuff from all of our sponsors!

There was laughter and smiles everywhere and people were getting the full sense of what momstown is all about... we are not a playgroup. we are a community, we are a family, we are MOMSTOWN!

With a full day of activities ranging from crafts and water play, to our Fisher Price Sponsored Play Area, to Face Painting and so much more, there was something for the kids to do no matter where they looked!

We had a very special guest on hand to help us Celebrate! Clifford the Big Red Dog joined us and the kids all loved him! They followed him around, gave hugs and high fives and everyone was sure to get their picture taken! He really made a great party guest!

Our Snack Pack pudding table was a huge hits as literally hundreds of puddings cups were devoured by the kids... and the parents! and our volunteers, including my daught!Yes, we saw you!

The kids lined up patiently with their moms and dads to get their faces painted. It was well worth that wait as they will all tell you the creations were stunning! Colville Creative Events and Entertainment.

There were so many activites going on courtesy of Bouncing Ball Cooperative Nursery School, Oxford Learning Centre (Barrie South), Isagenix with Monica Tankard, Welcome Wagon, Kreative Urban Tribe, Sara-Ashley Creations, Norwex with Sarah MacDonald, Investors Group with Galina Johnson and The Melody in Me!

The kids had a chance to see what Kindermusik is all about with Margot from The Melody in Me. They were able to test out some instruments and have some fun!!!

We had a special visit from Sean from Animal Party and his little animal friends! The kids loved seeing all the creature and getting the chance to pet a lizard!

Our party was quickly coming to an end, but no party is complete without some singing and dancing! Local musician Russ Clayton got the kids up singing and dancing with his interactive music show! The kids loved the chance to get up on stage and be a part of the show!

It was amazing how fast the day went. Time sure flies when you are having fun!!! We thanked all our guests by handing out some amazing prizes... over 20 of them... all thanks to our awesome sponsors.

Thank you again to Today's Parent, Fisher Price, Britax, Melitta Coffee, Con Agra Foods, Scholastic Canada, Kids CBC and Thyme Maternity.

A huge thank you to all of our guests and momstown supporters! you really made yesterday fun!

Don't forget about our awesome promotion just to celebrate our birthday! Sign up or renew your membership for a full year and you get a full year subscription to Today's Parent!!!

I am already looking forward to next year!

Picasso in the Park!

Today we held our first Picasso in the Park of the season!

It's been quite hot lately, but today was cool and breezy but very sunny!! The kids were so excited to get painting we could barely get the tables ready for them to start their morning of artsy fun!

The older kids were right into the paint creating pictures and making hand prints. They were so excited to have the freedom to paint outside in the park that they were focused and having fun and were quite quiet for our group!

Even our littles Picasso today got in on the fun!! He was so interested in putting his hands in the paint... and in his mouth! Mom did a great job of trying to keep his little blue hands out of his mouth!

Some of the kids took a different root to their art. Instead of creating a picture, or making hand prints, one of our little Picassos covered her entire page red. I think we may just have a genius on our hands! Didn't Picasso have a BLUE period? Well our little artist had a RED one today!

Thank goodness for our Huggies Wipes!!! The kids were covered in paint, but it was so worth it!!! A swipe of a Huggies wipe and they were good to go!

Join us all through the summer as we enjoy Picasso in the Park and so many more fun and exciting events just for moms and tots!

Family Fun!

Family time is precious time. A time for everyone to be together, spending time, making memories.

This weekend we had our Family BBQ Potluck and Pool Party. The day started out a little cool for the pool part, but we still enjoyed a beautiful day with momstown friends and family.

Our momstown Family BBQ is a time for our mama to head out as a whole family, dad included, to spend time with friends having fun.

We had a great group come out and it was so nice to see so many dads join in on the fun.

The kids played, the moms and dads chatted and all was perfect!

There was a ton of yummy food on hand as usual! Our lovely hostess Lauren made sure that everyone was well taken care of while her hubby tended the grill.

With burgers and hot dogs to start us off, there was lots to choose from at the food table! Pasta Salad, potatoes, grilled onions, fruits and veggies and of course, DESSERT!

Everyone filled their plates and sat with their family and friends to enjoy lunch.


It was a really great day, with really great families.
I look forward to our next momsotwn family gathering!!!

Fiesta!!!!!

Summer is here! What better way for the mamas and kiddies of momstown Barrie to celebrate a gorgeous sunny, hot day than with a visit to Mexico!

We gathered at Lisa's house for a trip to Mexico complete with a sombrero and maracas, and little moustaches!!



The kids were so excited to get to make their very own homemade tortillas! Thanks to Perdita from Epicure, the kids prepped and pressed their own Tortilla shells!



The kiddies used their muscle power to flatten their dough and then the grown ups fried them up!



When they were all ready the kids put together their tacos. The excitement on their little faces as the got to enjoy what their own little hands made was priceless! They loaded up their tacos and dug in!



After their lunch the kids headed outdoors to play in the sunshine! A bouncy castle and banana popsicles added to their fun!

It was truly a perfect preview to the summer! Bring on the sunshine, warm weather and fun! momstown mamas are ready!

Sale Success!

This weekend we held our 3rd Annual Spring Mom to Mom Sale.

It was a lot of planning, a lot of hard work and time, but very worth it!

I worked with some awesome students from Barrie Central this year. They helped to plan and organize the sale and did all the setup and then worked the sale! It was awesome to have so many young men and women helping me out this year!



On Friday night all the sellers and vendors came out with their goods to setup. The students got right to work unloading cars and helping wherever they could. Everyone was so impressed with how helpful and polite they were!

Once everyone was unloaded and the gym was full of toys and gear and bins upon endless bins of clothes, they got down to sorting, organizing and displaying.



By the end of the night, after 5 hours of hard work, we were all set for the doors to open Saturday morning!!!



We all returned bright and early to be sure that everything was good to go. Our checkout crew setup and were pumped to check out the crowds of moms that came through, there were students around the gym to help the shoppers, keep organized and just watch their hard work pay off!!!



The moms came out in masses. By 9am there was a line up dozens deep just waiting to get at the goods! And shop they did!!!

The baby gear and toys were flying out of the gym. Some moms had arm fulls of clothes and shoes! Everyone seemed really please! It was so good to see so many momstown mamas out too!



Even the kiddies had a great time! Pickles the Clown was on hand to do her magical face painting and the kids looked amazing!!!



It was a great day for everyone! As the day came to an end and the shoppers disappeared, the vendors gathered to have a little fun!


Until next time, thank you to everyone that made the sale a success!!!

Volcanos are a Blast!!!

Today our kiddies got their first taste of the fun that can be had with science! Today was our first momstown Science Lab!

Our kids got together and learned about volcanoes. They made their very own cool volcanoes with their own little hands... and the help of some mommy hands too!

It was an experiment that most of us adults have seen done at some point in time, and while quick and easy, the kids enjoyed and amazed at the miracle of science!


We filled their hand made volcanoes with baking soda and food colouring and the kids got to pour in the vinegar to make their volcano erupt!


The expressions were priceless as their volcanoes bubbled and overflowed with "lava".

This definitely was a cool way to end our week, teach our kids a little something and introduce them to the fun of science!

Family Literacy

Tomorrow (January 27th) is Family Literacy Day. A special day to celebrate reading, and all it's benefits, with our families.

We love to read around here, books are a huge hit with the kids and are a favorite gift to receive and to give. Reading is probably one of the most important things we can do with our children. It not only teaches them, but it's a great way to bond and share time.

While reading books is one of the most obvious ways to encourage learning and literacy with your children, playing games is also a great way to make learning and reading fun. Board games and card games can be lots of fun, and can get a child that doesn't sit still for too long to enjoy learning!


To celebrate Family Literacy Day, my kids will be playing games and reading their favorite books. Robert Munsch is always a fave around here, the silly stories always get lots of giggles and always lead for the even popular "can you read that again?"

How will you spend this special day with your kids? Enter the momstown Barrie Family Literacy Contest on our Facebook page for a chance to win a Book Prize Pack.

Who's the Biggest Loser?

We all have done it at some point, we have all made weight loss our New Year's resolution at some point in our lives... or maybe at many points in our lives. Well this year the momstown mamas are taking on weight loss with a challenge, a Biggest Loser Challenge.

10 moms has dedicate the next 8 weeks to losing weight, looking better and most importantly getting healthy!


We kicked off our challenge with a great morning of goal setting, weighing in and a great guest speaker, Sara Walton, owner of Chic Boxing. Sara helped us realize that the number on the scale isn't the most important part, it's looking and feeling better, reaching our goals (16 laps at the pool for one mama!) and being healthy!

SO the challenge is on.... who will be our BIGGEST LOSER???

Santa Claus came to momstown Barrie's Christmas Party!

The holiday season is in full swing, and we made it official at momstown's Christmas party with a special visit from the Jolly Man in the Big Red Suit!


Our Annual Christmas Party was a big success once again. With lots new faces and lots of familiar ones, everyone came together for a great time.

The kids danced and played and laughed and had a great time. There were lots of sweet new babies dressed for the holidays and waiting on the arrival of Santa
Santa was a big hit with all the kids as usual! The
kids all got a special sweet treat and coupons to Boston Pizza in Barrie!

Now onto more Christmas festivities as the big day approaches! momstown Barrie has a big week of Christmas fun planned, sleigh rides at Belcroft Tree Farm, Christmas Cheer Night at Boston Pizza, Caroling at Victoria Village and a trip on the Santa Express!!! What a week its going to be!!!.

It's Official! The Holiday Season is here!!

It may only be November 20th, but the Christmas festivities today around town made you feel like it was December 25th!

The welcoming of Santa to the mall and the annual Santa Claus parade reminds children (and parents too!) that Santa Claus has come to town!!! Lineups for miles to sit on Santa's knee could be seen everywhere you went today.

We, once again, missed the Barrie Santa Claus parade, but I know that many of the momstown mamas were there with their kids and hubbies enjoying the festivities and watching the excitement on the kids' faces as Santa approached.

With the parades, sightings of Santa and the excitement that builds about Christmas being just around the corner, comes the annual family event that we all cherish... the Putting Up of The Christmas Tree... and so the tradition continued in my house today.

The tree went up, but not without some drama, as per usual. We opted for a "fake" tree a few years back to avoid the mess of the real trees and to be able to enjoy the tree for longer. The problem with the fake trees is trying to remember where all the pieces go. We tried to eliminate that stress last year by getting a new one that is only 3 tiers and even prelit, no more untangling and stringing lights! However, this created a whole new difficulty, where do all the plugs go? Why is this side lit and not that side? Why are there plugs with no outlets?


So after much under-the-breath cursing, heavy sighs and whines from children who just want to put the decorations on, all the connections were made, the lights were lit and the tree was "pretty".

Let the decorating commence!!! Chubby baby hands grabbed at anything that could be reached from the ground level with squeals of delight, unsteady but determined hands of a 3 year old hung ornaments in clusters that frustrated her dad but made her proud and the stealthy eye of a tween who wants her 'special' ornaments in the front made sure the tree was full of colour. And all the while a proud mama snapped pictures of the joyous event for the scrapbook where this memory of childish pleasure and Christmas joy will be captured forever.

And so the season of joy has begun! Bring on the fun!!

Halloween with momstown was a blast!

October was such a busy month but it ended with a well deserved BANG!

Our annual Halloween Boo Bash was a huge success again this year, our biggest event ever!!

Loads of moms, dads and kiddies came out for an evening of boo-tastic fun! The kids all looked adorable in their costumes, especially the babies who were experiencing their first Halloween!! From Woody to Nemo, turtles and monkeys and angels, Dora, a witch, a princess... you name it they were there!!!

This year was extra exciting as we had a very special sponsor!! Fisher Price got into the Halloween spirit and sponsored the party and fun! They sent a load of toys for the kids to play with and a special gift bag for each child!!

The kids (and moms!) had a blast playing with all the new toys! In between crafts and play dough and eating great food, the kids were sure they all got their turn checking out the toys!!

To round off the party and bring the excitement to the next level, all the toys were raffled off!! Some very excited mommies, I mean kiddies, gathered as the draw took place and the winner claimed their prizes!


Thank you to Fisher Price and to all the momstown mamas for making this year extra special.