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!

OOBLECK!

Kids love to learn and they love to try new things and the love to get messy! One of our newest momstown events is our Kids Science Lab! Previously we made volcanoes, which were a huge hit with the kids! This month we made OOBLECK! The mysterious goop that isn't quite sure if it's a liquid or a solid! It's messy, it's slimy... it's FUN! We got the momstown mamas to mix up the coloured water (just a few drops of food colouring to plain old water!) and good old cornstarch. Moms had to get messy here as it's really hard to mix, turning into a solid as you get to the right consistency!! Once it was all mixed up we could dig in! Grabbing hand fulls of the hard mixture only to find out easily it turns to slimy goo!!! The kids dug right in! Some of the kids loved getting their hands dirty.... some weren't so sure about the gooey mess! But the sure moms had fun!!! The trick to keeping it solid it to keep it moving! The constant movement of your hands can keep the oobleck in a perfect ball! But as soon as you stop moving, it oozes through your fingers!!! Even our little scientist got in on the goopy fun!

The Perfect Long Weekend!

Ahhhh Long Weekends! The first one of the season is always a crap shoot for how the weather the will be. Some years it's warm and beautiful and others it's cold and rainy and miserable.

This year we got super lucky with a gorgeous, warm and sun filled Victoria Day long weekend. They kept calling for rain but it held off until Monday evening! What better way for Mother Nature to make up for the crappy start we had to Spring.

Long weekends are always a favorite for everyone. Extra time with loved ones, that extra day at the beach or the cottage, time for BBQ's, friends, picnics and all those good things, but when the weather is perfect, there is nothing you can do but smile.



This weekend was the perfect example around here.
Friday started off cool and windy as the momstown mamas headed to the park for some butterfly art.



The kids played at the playground and then created beautiful butterflies by using coffee filters and bingo dabbers!



For my family, the afternoon and early evening was then spent shopping for plants for our garden and prepping for a weekend of cleaning while fitting in some play time with friends.

The true test of a fabulous and perfect long weekend is the fun that was had and the memories that were made. A day of backyard play, fun in the sprinkler, a BBQ with friends and finally fireworks, certainly made this May long weekend one huge success with my family.



Hopefully this is a preview to what the rest of the summer season holds in store for us!

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!!!

Preparing for THE sale of the Season... by a procrastinator

I am a procrastinator. There, I said it. I work well under pressure, I put off what can be, and when crunch time hits I spend countless moments saying, "why didn't I do this yesterday?" The upcoming mom to mom sale is no different.

This Saturday May 14th from 9am to 2pm at Innisdale Secondary School, momstown Barrie is holding it's 3rd Annual Spring Mom to Mom Sale. It's going to be huge. It's going to be awesome. And no one will know what a procrastinator I am...unless of course they read this!

This year I had the wonderful opportunity to work with a bunch of students from Barrie Central Collegiate that are taking a Business Leadership class. They have taken the sale on as a project to gain some real life, hands on experience in running a business and planning a community event.


The students have been great! They have answered emails, fielding all sorts of questions regarding the sale, they have advertised and promoted the sale, they have coordinated door prizes, and secured clothing racks. They have worked hard. As students, I don't think they realized what an undertaking it was to organize this sort of event. They did great and I can't wait to see what they all think come tomorrow evening when dozens businesses come to set up their tables of goodies and of course, when the dozens of moms converge on Innisdale Secondary School (our sale location if you missed it) with bins upon bins of gently used items all to be sold to the masses that will come out to shop. These young kids are in for a shock at the amount of "stuff" us mamas collect!!

But this will be nothing compared to Saturday. If past years tell me anything, this year is going to be huge. Hundreds of mamas coming out to shop. Not just any kind of shopping, bargain shopping. What us mamas do best!!

So as I sit here, taking a brake (ok, fine, procrastinating some more) from tagging and sorting all of my own children's items, dreading each bin as I open it to find millions of pieces of precious clothing and memories, I can't help but wonder... why didn't I do this yesterday?

Spring at the Farm!

We finally made it to the Farm yesterday! Last week our trip was cancelled due to a very cold and rainy day. It all worked out for the best since yesterday was the perfect day for the momstown mamas to head to Rounds Ranch.

The sun was shining, it was warm and everyone was in good spirits! We all met at the farm and had a little introduction from one of the farmers, Wendy!



While we waited for a few moms that got lost (and yes, I was one of them, had a lovely tour of Wasaga Beach though.), Wendy took the kids on a tractor train ride. The kids just loved it... and so did a few moms!



The kids piled in the barrels all brightly painted with animals, and held on tights as they were pulled along for a ride!



Once we had all arrived we headed to the barn area to visit with the animals. Wendy explained to everyone about the animals they had, which we could visit right in their pens to pet and play with and which ones were in a separate barn with their newborn babies.



The kids ventured in with the rabbits and chickens checking out their homes and looking for eggs. Wendy took one of the bunnies out for the little ones to hold and pet. All the kids were so excited, even the babies!



We were fortunate to get a special visit with the newest members of the farm. We were introduced to all the new arrivals, including a bunch of goats just one day old!


While visiting the baby goats, one of the mama goats decided it would be a good time to make a run for it and our momstown mamas, pregnant and all, corralled the goat so she could be put back in a pen. It sure was a moment to remember!

Seeing all the babies was so much fun! The kids were still ready for more fun though, so we headed to the hand wash station to clean up and then to the fields for fun. Some of the kids, big and small, took a ride on the peddle cars, some ventured into the moo maze and some headed to the large play structure where the kids climbed and played and braved the enormous slide and the super fast zipline!



It sure was a great day! Thanks to all the momstown mamas that came out to enjoy the morning with us!

Mother's Day, in a gym....

While most of your were spending time with your families enjoying the gorgeous weather, taking a walk, having dinner or just hanging outside in the sunshine and celebrating your Mother's Day, I spent mine in a gym with my oldest daughter as she competed in a baton twirling competition in New York.

As moms we know that our lives are dedicated to our children. We make sacrifices everyday to ensure our children have the best childhood we can possibly give them. I am sure most of you will agree that the greatest thing we can give our children is our time.

I think my daughter realized today, more than any other day, that no matter what, no matter when, even on a day dedicate to ME, I will always make time for her.

On our long drive home, we reflected on a day full of accomplishments. And as per usual, my Queen of the Self Portrait Took her customary selfie of us in the car. A day to remember!



As a mother to a competitive baton twirler, a lot of my times is spent travelling to lessons and competitions and sitting in gyms watching her twirl her heart out to perfect what she loves most, twirling.

Watching my daughter grow as an athlete and as a young woman has been an honour. I have raised a beautiful and intelligent girl and I am so extremely proud of her. Watching her put her heart and soul on the floor of a gym in front of dozen of people, judges, her coaches, her competition and her mother is such a humbling experience for me. I never thought it was possible to feel so much love and pride.

Today, as I sat in the gym with all the other mothers, on our Mother's Day, I know that this feeling of pride was understood by everyone around me, and that these little moments that we give to our daughters are the most important ones.

Happy Mother's Day to all you mamas!