Cereal, it does a body good!

Yesterday I took part in an awesome presentation by Kellogg's as they introduced their new Love Your Cereal campaign to a group of momstown owners.

After taking away a great gift bag loaded with cereal and armed with information, not to mention my prize gift pack that I won, i headed home to share with my family what I had learned and what I had received. You have never seen boxes of cereal bring such great joy to a room full of kids!!!

Kellogg's reminded me why I love cereal. Not only does it taste great, is a versatile food for any meal or snack of the day and a great way to get the kids to
have some milk during the day, but cereal is loaded with all the good stuff that we want our kids to have in a day!! Fibre, iron, whole grains, etc. But it also doesn't contain the things we try and avoid for our kids... most cereals have NO sodium! They are also so low in sugar, that even the sugary versions many of us tell our kids they can't have contain less than 5% of the daily intake of sugar that a child will consume in a day... WOW! Check out their Love Your Cereal site and see for yourself!

I was amazed to learn so many great health facts about cereal. It just made my love of cereal deeper, and made me feel great for allowing my kids to eat this for breakfast day in and day out (ok, and occasionally for dinner on those rushed nights). So i will continue to pack cereal in the diaper bag for a quick snack, give kids a bowl before bed or as a treat after school, because it's just that good!!!

Now off to have a bowl of some yummy Frosted Flakes, or maybe some Froot Loops... or wait, Vanilla Rice Krispies sound good too.... oh the options!!!!!

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.

Cold Season.... YUCK!

I jinxed myself horribly this week.

We had been talking about all the kids and moms that have come down with this nasty flu that is going around and the horrible colds that are plaguing households across Barrie and how bad they are and how long they have lasted. It's just horrible this year!

And then I did it, I proudly said out loud, "we have been lucky, none of us have been sick since last winter".

Well that did it, the gods that control who gets sick and when decided that I needed to take my turn on the roller coaster of sickness...it started with that yucky feeling in my throat. A day later it was aches and pains and chills. Fevers and a stuffy/runny nose (pick one would ya!), a cough and oh did I mention the bone chilling aches accompanied by the chills?

I hate being sick. I hate being sick even more as a mother. There is no time to sleep it off or rest under the covers dosed on cold meds, there is no time for hot baths to ease the aches. Someone has to look after the children. There is one to take care of ME. Unless you count my 3 year old who gave me her bunny to hug, told me she would rub my feet, but later, not now, and told me I should go see the dentist (of course she meant the doctor, but her recent fear of the dentist has taken over, a whole different story all together)...

So what is a mother to do when she is sick? Suck it up. That's it. And pray that none of the little people in the house get sick at the same time.


Colds season can end anytime as far as I am concerned. I have used enough tissues to last a lifetime and my sore, raw nose has had enough. Now to go and lay on the floor while the kids climb on top of me. This is of course, the only chance I will get to lie down while sick.

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???

Post Holday Bliss

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

My family had a wonderful time visiting, exchanging gifts and of course indulging in some superb meals!

Boxing day always brings me a sense of sadness. Christmas is my all time favorite holiday and I enjoy every minute of the build up. The lights on the houses, the trimming of the tree, the shopping and wrapping of gifts, the cooking and baking and family time, and of course watching my kiddies open their gifts.

Now that the holidays are over, I feel at a loss. What do I do now? No gifts to buy (and no money left to shop!), the tree has to come down and the living room will be bare, and no excitement to look forward to.

I love the holidays, but I hate when they are over.

So now on to New Years. A new year with so much to look forward. Happy New Years everyone!!!

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!!!.

Bring on the Holidays!

December is only hours away, the holidays can officially start!!!

My favorite month of all the winter months is December! The Christmas decorations, lights and cheer that is everywhere is hard not to love! Sure all the hustle and bustle can get a little much as the month goes on, but it's all in good fun!

There are so many great activities to do with the kids during the month of December... everything becomes about Christmas. Christmas baking, Christmas crafts, you name, it's all about Christmas!

Now that December has hit I can begin my yearly traditions with the kiddies without any eyerolling from my hubby!

To mark the start of December and the official countdown to Christmas, tomorrow I will be making Christmas Tree pizzas with my kids!!! You can make them too... so super simple! And yummy and healthy too!!!


Here is what you need:
•
• 1 English muffin
• 1/3 cup Marinara sauce
• 2 slices of mozzarella cheese, sliced as broadly as possible and about 1/4-inch thick
• Chopped olives

Here is how to make it:
Preheat your oven's broiler.
Cut the English muffin in half, if necessary, and toast it in a toaster on a medium-low setting.
Place the two toasted English muffin halves on a baking sheet. Spread the marinara sauce on each muffin.
Cut your cheese slices with a tree-shaped cookie cutter or a cookie cutter of your choice. Place the cheese shape on top of the marinara sauce.
Sprinkle the chopped olives on top of the cheese tree, as if they are ornaments.
Place the baking sheet in the oven under the broiler. Broil for just a few minutes, watching carefully. You don't want the cheese to become so melted you don't recognize the tree shape.
Allow to cool slightly and serve.