Celebrating momstown, Thank you Mamas!

We had some big news yesterday, did you hear?

momstown was the winner of the Savvymom Mom Entrpreneur of the Year! Us, momstown, Mom Entrepreneur of the Year!!!



Our Founder Ann-Marie Burton has worked so hard to build momstown and is the reason we have momstown. She saw a need and she did something about it.

Just over three years ago she asked me to be a part of the momstown family and together along with Stacie M, former momstown Community Manager, we brought momstown to Barrie.

This was not the first time momstown was in the running to for this prestigious title. There are tons of mom entrepreneurs that vie for the title every year and this year momstown reigned Queen.

A big congratulation goes out to all the mamas that made the top 10 this year! Every single one of you had what it takes to be the Mom Entrepreneur of the year. Wonderful moms in business is what makes being a mompreneur myself so special, I am in good company!


We are all so very proud of this honour! Ann-Marie has shared her thoughts on the win and her journey to get here on the momstown moments blog, be sure to read it!! Many of you might not understand just what a big deal this is for us!!! It's not just a title, it's beyond being just an honour, it's validation that we are doing something great and that YOU our loyal and loving mamas and fans agree. Without you, we would not have been able to win, without beleiving in us and voting for us, we would not be able to hold the title of Mom Entrepreneur of the Year.

This is a milestone for momstown that give us the courage and the inspiration to keep on trucking!

We give you all huge thanks for believing in us and loving us. momstown truly is a unique entity and we should all make sure to share this with every mom we meet!

Caged Animals!

For any mom with more than one kid, I am sure you can relate to Caged Animal Syndrom.

I experience this quite often with my kids, sometimes even the teenager. My once well behaved children quite often turn into wild animals when out in public.

They are great at the park, the zoo, out for walks or anything that is free roaming...get the picture?

But take them to place where they need to be well behaved, quiet, hold hands or sit still and they turn into wild animals! Like they have just been released from their cages for the first time!

My kids are adorable. They are funny, smart and entertaining... but don't let them fool you!



Last night was no exception. The kids have all had coughs and finally it my teenager. We headed to the walkin clinic and the circus began!

The 4 year old decides to run wild through the waiting room giggling uncontrollably. The 18 month old is jumping around and bouncing, literally, off funiture, laughing hysterically. The oldest pretends she doesn't know us as she sits on her phone texting friends... probably telling them she is at the zoo.

I try to remain calm, I try to reason with them. "You need to sit still and be quiet, there are other people here that are sick and waiting for the doctor." They sit, for 14 seconds, before the giggling starts and the kicking feet begin, and then the jumping and running is back in full force.



SO agian, for the sake of looking normal, you try to remain calm and wrangle them in with a stern face and a firm "Now sit here and don't move."

You know people are staring. Some are laughing, I mean the kids are cute and acting wild, and some are just pretending we are not there.

It's getting hot, I am out of snacks, I know they aren't listening to me and I am trying to to either burst out laughing, cry or scream.

Finally, they call my daughters name. Oh great relief we can get out of the waiting room and into a space where people can't see us!

Oh but my relief is short lived. The tiny little exam room reminds the animals that they are still free...this is where I begin to pray. Pray for patience for me and for the lives of my children.

One starts to sing old macdonald at the top of her lungs. one tries to climb on the chair with wheels unsuccessfully, which makes him wail and push the chair into the wall. It's getting hot again, I am not sure if I should laugh or cry. I look at my oldest and we both start to laugh. Which makes the one sign louder as she plays drums on the wall with tongue depressors and the other cry louder becuase we are laughing and not helping him.

The poor doctor finally arrives, I apologize for the circus, she checks my daughter out, writes a scrit and I swear, she runs out of the room.

mmmmm PIE!

With Fall comes Harvest time. With Harvest time comes yummy food!!! And yummy food that makes great pies!

Our mamas decided we needed a reason to bake pies, yummy, delicious, mouth watering pies!!!

A bunch of moms got together with their baked heaven and we all did a taste test.

The delicious apples we picked in September made for a sweet and delicious pies that everyone loved, even the kids!


Blueberries, Strawberries and Rhubarb from the summer made form yummy pies as well!!

Oh course there was the old standby Lemon Meringue, this was my fave of the day!!

With Thanksgiving having just past and Halloween around the corner one of our mamas thought a pumpkin pie was only fitting!

With all the yummy pie, we decided to skip lunch and just eat pie, lots and lots of pie!!

It was a great event, and one we will definitely do again... who doesn't love pie!!!

Happy Gobble Gobble!

Ahhh the first turkey day of the season! This weekend we will all be gathering with our families to be thankful for the things in our lives.



Along with being thankful and spending time with family I am sure most of you will be indulging in big Thanksgiving feasts! Turkey with all the fixings and pumpkin pie! My Fave!!!

We were celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend with the momstown mamas and tots too.


We had a craft morning with a bunch of turkeys... I mean making turkeys. Turkey hats to be more precise!



The kids had a blast and were excited to wear their handmade hats!

From all of us at momstown, we hope you have a Thanksgiving full of blessings and good food.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Finding Focus as a WAHM

Being a work at home mom (WAHM) has its rewards and its challenges.

The rewards are the easy part for everyone to see. No long commutes in rush hour traffic, no alarm clocks at 5am to get yourself and all your little people ready for the day, you can work in your jammies all day and no one would know and best of all you get to be home with your kids and watch them grow up!

The part people don't see as easily are the challenges. Excuse me, "don't touch the tv." the challenges are sometimes bigger than the reward. "leave your brother alone", "no you can't have cookies." The challenges are time management and staying focused.

Staying focused. Sometimes I think its a myth when working from home with young children, something that just isn't possible.


The temptation to do a million things other than work are is inevitable. Play with the kids, clean, do laundry, go for a walk, watch tv, play with the kids, bake cupcakes, take a nap... you get the picture, so. many. things.

I started my WAHM life 6 years ago with a simole job that didnt require too much attention and was pretty easy to do any time of day. 3 years ago I became a momstown mama and took on a whole new role as a WAHM. Last year I became THE momstown Barrie mama.... This is where I learned what it truly meant to be a WAHM!!!

We chose to be WAHM's because we love the rewards and the benefits. We didn't think about the chaos and the temptations and how difficult it is to focus. At least, I didn't about it.

To stay focused it's a good idea to make the infamous "TO DO LIST" your best friend. I find this to be a great way to make myself accountable for what I need to do, what I need to focus on. And sometimes it's a great reminder of the days I lost focus.

I try to put deadlines to those tasks as well. I am not perfect though. Sometimes my to do list seems to grow faster than I can knock the tasks off. When the list grows, this is when I stop and remind myself to focus.

Some tips I have been given and have found useful in finding my focus:

1. Find my most productive time of day and make sure that I use it. My more prodcutive time is first thing in the morning and after the kids have gone to bed.

2. Take advantage of any quiet time you might have. If the kids take nap, I use that time to turn off the tv, not look at the messy kitchen and tie myself to my desk and work. This is the best time to make phone calls. Your window of opportunity while the little people nap is slim. Use it to its' fullest.

3. Don't set goals that you know you will fail at. It's easier to focus on a few small tasks or one big task than trying to do it all in one day.

4. Don't stress.

Being a work at home mom takes a lot of dedication, hard work and love. Oh yeah, and focus.

It's not easy, but it's oh so worth it!

MMMMM Candy Apples

After going apple picking last week we needed something fun to do with all the apples!

Sure many of us baked and made apple sauce, but what about something really fun?

Well our Decorating Dudes and Divas event for this month was all about apples! Candy Apples!


We melted some yummy chocolate and coated the apples... mmm!!! They were good enough to eat with just the chocolate, but we added more yummy goodness to them!



Sprinkles and candy and coconut and skor bits... oh yeah! YUM!

The kids had fun making their chocolate covered apples and I am sure they had even more fun eating them!!!



Check out all the apple recipes on the momstown meal blog! A great way to use all the apples you pick this season!

momstown kiddies (and mamas!) love their cereal!

Who doesn't love cereal? It's a great way to start any day. Quick, easy and nutricious!

This weekend we had our second Love Your Cereal Breakfast Party! This time, we did a PJ Party!!! SO FUN! As always our mamas and their kiddies arrived dressed for the party...in their PJ's!

The kids were excited, and hungry! It was so awesome of Kellogg's to think of momstown for their Love Your Cereal campaign.



I think its safe to say that most families enjoy cereal in their homes. Cereal is a great option for a healthy start to the day and also makes a great snack for on the go!!

Our moms were out in full force and it was great to see some dads out too! The kids were excited as always and wasted no time digging in to the cereal!



We had some of our Kellogg's faves on hand, Frosted Flakes, Mini Wheats, Raisin Bran, Rice Krispies, and of course Froot Loops! Along with some fresh fruit, OJ and yogurt all our families had a great start to their day! Not only were their bellies filled with nutrisious goodness but they had a fun morning with friends!



Of course no event is complete without a craft! This breakfast party even included crafts made with cereal!! Froot Loops make great necklaces and great art!



It was fantastic day for everyone and I am so glad that so many families came out to enjoy the morning!

Thank you momstown mamas and thank you Kellogg's!!!