Mama Book Club is Back!!!

Our Mama Book Club is BACK!!!

Book clubs are so popular these days but finding a great group and great books is not always easy!

Our moms had requested a Book Club again and it just happened to be perfect timing as our wonderful partner Scholastic Canada had a great book for our mamas to kick off this round of Book Club!!!

The first book the moms will be reading thanks to Scholastic Canada is The False Prince

The moms are super excited about this book and can't wait to get started. Thank you to Scholastic, our participating mamas didn't even have to buy the book!  They got their very own copy to keep!

Our moms are so excited to be back in the mama book club circuit and are already talking about future reads!

WIN tickets to the Toronto Pre-Screening of Barbie in The Pink Shoes

Little girls just love Barbie and they love to dance... put them together and the kids are gonna be in heaven!!!
Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes is the latest release which will be available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD on February 26^th, 2013. Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes is an exciting ballet movie in which Barbie™ stars as Kristyn, the hard-working dancer, who wows the big ballet company in her performance of Giselle and Swan Lake. Through this journey Kristyn learns that when you dance from your heart – your dreams can come true.

Win tickets to the Barbie in the Pink Shoes DVD Premier! 

Event will take place: February 24, 2013 from  1:30pm – 4:30pm at the National Ballet School of Canada in Toronto.

How exciting!!! 

Winners will join us for a fun-filled exiting afternoon in celebrating the brand new Barbie in the Pinkshoes DVD.  This is an afternoon for you and your little one to meet Barbie and help her celebrate her brand new DVD. 

Make sure to bring a camera or smartphone to have your photo taken with Barbie

·       Dress up, wear a tutu or your ballet outfit and join in on the fun

     Each little girl will be given the opportunity to learn a ballet dance on a real ballet barr.

To enter the contest, please leave a comment in the section below about why your child loves Barbie.  Make sure you sign in with your email address so we can contact you if you have won. One entry per email address.

Contest closes Feb 20, 2013. Winners will be drawn on February 21, 2013 and contacted.

Barbie has introduced a line up of dolls, accessories and a playset which allow girls to recreate some of their favorite scenes from the film. A must have is the Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes as Kristyn Farraday™.  Two in one, girls can simply twist the doll and her skirt reverses for a magical transformation!

Polar Bear fun in Barrie!

It sure has been cold and snowy lately!  What better craft than one of an Arctic Animal... a friendly Polar Bear!

This was a fun and easy craft for all the kids regardless of age! 

Some paper plates and white tissue paper made for some great "furry" bear faces.  The kids had a blas gluing the paper to the plates to make their polar bear faces.

Some ears, and a big black eyes and a big black nose and the bears were complete!

They were super cute and the kids really had a great time with this one!

momstown Barrie Babies Say Happy Valentine's Day to their Daddies!

Our Baby Basics group gathered this week for Baby Picasso.  With it being Valentine's I decided these little cupids needed to make something special for the their first Valentine's Day.

With the help of Pinterest, I came across the most adorable keepsake gift that these little cuties could make for their daddy!

This was a bit involved, but the moms loved it and most of the babies were happy to have their little feet painted!

Some sweet little footprint filled hearts, a cute little saying and VOILA!  a fantastic keepsake for Valentines Day!!!


Happy Valentine's Day from all the momstown babies to you!!!

JK Students in Barrie to get FREE Eye Exams!

Getting your kids eyes checked is so important, especially if you have kids entering school.

I made sure to have my kids eyes checked as early as possible. I started wearing glasses at the age of 4.  Not easy for a kid in kindergarten to have to wear glasses, but I had no choice.  As the years went by my eyesight got worse and today it is horrible and always a concern.

My oldest had her first eye exam at age 4, just before heading to JK.  She is 14 now and has her eyes examined every year!  My two youngest were just 8 months old at their first check up and get their done annually as well. 

Having poor eyesight myself, I have always been aware of the importance of eye exams for my kids, however not all parents are.

Getting your kids eyes checked early on, especially before they start school, is essential to their learning and success.

Children can get their eyes checked as early as 6 months old and should be checked again at age 3 and every year after that. 

The Eye See.... Eye Learn® program provides eye exams to children in Junior Kindergarten throughout Ontario through our OHIP.  Local optometrists will be performing eye exams and if they are required, glasses at no charge.

The statistics surrounding eye care and children is very interesting, and concerning!  The Eye See... Eye Learn® program wants to help in our community. 


Did you know?  Fewer than 10% of children entering school each year will have an eye exam and  5 -10% of preschool children have an undetected vision problem.  A staggering 60% of children with a learning disability have an undetected vision problem,  Eye exams are essential for children before they enter school!

What makes eye exams and early detection of vision problems even more crucial is that 80% of all learning in children is visual and vision problems can affect hand eye coordination for physical activities and social development. 

Imagine what a short eye exam could due to better these stats!

To ensure that parents in Ontario understand the issues, the Ontario Association of Optometrists created a video called Sarah's Story and have expanded the Eye See... Eye Learn® Program.

For more information on the Eye See... Eye Learn® program visit www.eyeseeeyelearn.ca and be sure to like them on Facebook!

Barrie Kiddies Love the SNOW!!!

After our first really big storm of the year, while many of us were sore from shovelling, the kids were beaming with excitment.... only a child could be happy to see SO much snow fall!!!

But that's part of the fun of winter and being a parent, watching the kids enjoy being out in the snow!  Rosy cheeks, and red noses, big smiles and happy laughs.

The best thing about the storm, was seeing the sun shining, blue sky and the fresh crisp air this morning and even better was to see all the happy kids that made the best out of it!!

This morning brought us beauty after the storm.  The snow clung to the trees, filled the fields and the streets and we have white as far as the eye can see.  A perfect winter playground for the kids!

And play they did!!!   Barrie kiddies sure no how to have fun in the snow!

Lets hope this is the last big snow fall for this winter!!

Babies of Barrie will be checking out some Fisher Price Goodies this month!

Fisher Price has been a fantastic partner with momstown over the past few years.

This month, they will be a fantastic sponsor of one of our momstown Barrie Baby Basics!!  On February 26th, moms and their babies will get the chance to check out some items from Fisher Price!!

Baby Basics is a great way for moms of little ones 12 months and younger to get together and chat while babies sleep or play.  This extra special Baby Basics date will include the opportunity for mom and their little ones will get to test drive some great products from Fisher Price and some lucky mom will them!!   That's right, we're raffling them off!

There's still time to join us!! Sign up for your free 2 week trial membership and you can come too.

Here are the fun toys we'll be playing with:

momstown Barrie is a community that provides fun and friendship for moms. If you would like to get connected check us out! A membership is only $45/year - you even get to try us for 2 weeks FREE!

Purchase your full year momstown membership during  2013 and you will receive a BONUS 1 year subscription to Today's Parent magazine.