A bitter sweet end to the school year

The school year is done for my girls. I have been dealing with the end of school excitement and anxiety for 9 years now, but this year was different. Before I get into why this year was different, I will answer the question you might be asking...Why the end of school brings anxiety? Well, summer is a long time in a kids life, its 8 weeks of 'mommy, what are we doing today?' and 'mommy, I'm bored' (and that is usually by 9am!) and of course there are the 'mommy can I's', the 'but mommy's' and the 'mommy I want's'. While 8 weeks to a grown up usually flies by, and while summer always seems to short, the above can drive you nuts making it feel like years, not weeks.

So while the end of school bring much excitement to the kids, it brings on some anxiety to a lot of moms. Don't get me wrong, I love having the "extra" time (and I use that term lightly!) to spend with the kids, the day trips, the time at the cottage, the beach, the zoo, the park, picnics, play dates, water parks, BBQ's, farms, fairs etc. etc... you get the picture right?

So now back to why this years end of school was bitter sweet and brought on some new anxieties. My sweet almost-4-year old just finished her first year of nursery school and will be going into JK in September. She is growing up! The year flew by and now she will be heading into the beginning of her elementary school years. Just as my oldest is heading into the end of hers. She started the year not knowing how to print and can now proudly spell her name and recognize some words!

My oldest will be 13 this summer a frightening realization in itself, because really, how could I have a teenager??? And she will be heading into grade 8. Her last year in elementary school before venturing into the world of high school. This is what brings me new anxiety, a teenager, last year before high school, my pre-schooler starting "real" school... my girls are growing way to fast!!! (hence my tendency to baby my sweet little boy, he won't grow up too fast will he? Denial is my middle name)

So the summer has officially begun! My little angel got her diploma for completing nursery school and my big girl got a solid straight A report card.

I am excited for what is yet to come with my kiddies and anxious for the long days of "mommy...."

As my mom always tells me, take it one day at a time, what doesn't get done today will get done tomorrow...maybe I should take her advice and just relax and enjoy summer with the kiddies!

Let the summer begin!!!!!!!!!

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!!!

moms in business, it's child's play!

Moms are the greatest multi-taskers out there! We can do many things at once, including selling our business, networking and comforting a baby all at the same time!

momstown, in collaboration with Boston Pizza Barrie, held it's first mom entrepreneur luncheon this week.

It was a chance for mom business owners to come out and showcase their goods and services and network with other mom run businesses.

We all had our kids with us, I mean really, this is what being a mom run business is... we work with our kids underfoot, whether they are crying or playing quietly, we get the job done!

We had a wide variety of businesses on hand. A Sweet Pea Bakery, Epicure, Sporty Stroller Fitness, Zumba, Primerica, S.M. Mortgages, Norwex, Baby Signing Time and of course, momstown Barrie!


It was a great morning followed by a great lunch. Thank you to Boston Pizza for hosting and promoting and for all the moms that came out!

Dads Rock too!

So we all know us moms rock. We are pretty special people. I mean we are the ultimate multi-taskers, we cook, clean, fix boo boos, educate, socialize, put toys together, colour, paint, sing, you name, we do it...moms are super humans!

But Dads are great too. They tell bedtime stories, they teach you how to ride a bike, or mow the lawn, they BBQ, the tell jokes, they take you fishing, they do lots of cool stuff.


So to celebrate our dads this Father's Dad the momstown mamas and their kiddies headed to the park on a gorgeous morning to make dad a little something special to remind him that he too, ROCKS.


The kids thought it was pretty great to make a craft with rocks... to spell the word rocks!


Of course as with any craft, and the distraction of other kids and a playground, moms got in there too helping to complete their kids creations. As moms, we know dads are an important part of our kids lives, this is why helped our kids say, DAD ROCKS!

Summer Reading Club wtih TD

All across momtown communities, kids can join summer reading clubs at their local libraries! You don't need to be a reader to participate - one moms young son was only 2 yrs old the first summer he joined, and the books they read to him counted towards his participation!



Sponsored by TD Bank, the reading program is launched Canada-wide at the end of June/early July in many communities*. The goal is to encourage children to engage with books throughout the summer.The

The Barrie Public Library will be running this great program!

Upon signing up, children usually receive a poster, stickers, colouring book, and a way to track their summer reading. When milestones are hit (say, 10 books read) kids receive a reward - such as a free ice cream from a local restaurant, or a pass to a local entertainment complex.



The theme this year is Splash! Celebrate Summer and the website has lots of links to recommended book lists (ranging from pictures books up to teenage years).

An interactive kids website has been designed to engage kids in reading with online games and activities. Whatever momstown community you're part of, there should be a local library ready to engage your kids in reading this summer!

momstown has a strong literacy program as part of its educational curriculum for children aged 0-5. Our kids and baby book clubs, book reviews, and parent resources help families make reading a part of their every day.



Even the youngest child can engage with letters - momstown has a full range of alphabet crafts to get kids interested!

Join us this summer - momstown OBarrie has a fun calendar filled with park and water play days, art in the park, crafts and so much more!!!

Creative Fun for Father's Day

As with all holidays at momstown we love to celebrate with crafty fun!

On Friday we headed to a great place in Barrie, Creative Cafe. The mamas and their kiddies had a great time painting pieces for dad... or themselves!!!



Kids love to be creative, they love to get messy and they love to have fun. Painting pottery was a great way to do that!



The kids and the moms picked out pieces that they wanted to paint for dad and got down to the messy fun! They had loads to choose from, picture frames, mugs, cars, a tank... you name it!

It was so nice to see some of the moms with new babies out making mugs for dad. With the babies too young to paint their own pieces it was sweet to see their tiny foot prints on the mugs that mommy painted.





The older kiddies were able to put their hand prints proudly on their pieces with the help of Creative Cafe owner, Lynn.



The kids had fun, moms were proud of their kids artwork and in a few days the pieces they painted will be ready to pick up and give to dad on Father's Day.



Hope dad loves them as much as we do!!!

Lightening, and thunder and rain, oh my!

They had been calling for the storm for a while. Again today it looked like it would pass us by.

The evening came and it was still sunny and hot and humid. We were outside trying to find the little hole that keeps taking the air out of our kiddies pool when my hubby and I noticed that it was suddenly dark, very dark.

It was like in a matter of minutes the sky had gone black, the wind had picked up to near tornado like strength, and the air felt heavy. And then the big fat drops started.



The sky opened up and the rain came down. In Buckets. The thunder and lightening made their grand appearance as well.

We all watched from the patio doors. I love storms personally. The strange, eerie calmness in the air one moment while the next moment pure havoc plays out from the skies.

The storm was short but fierce...flooding the front yard but hopefully our basement!



I am glad that my kids also like the storms. I know some kids are petrified. The loudness, the dark, the not knowing what is happening. It can certainly be a scary time for little ones!

I guess this storm is just another sign that summer is here, summer sure does have the best storms!!