Bouncy Bunny Breakfast

 A group of 10 dedicated momstown Edmonton mamas have been working hard to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. This month, we got together with the Easter Bunny for a fun pancake breakfast at The Toy Hutch. There was so much to do for Edmonton families! We had delicious pancake breakfast, cute Easter Bunny bag crafts, an egg hunt, potato sack races, and of course, lots of bouncing! The Easter Bunny even joined us for some fun before heading off on his way!  

Tara Wildgoose of Pinkstar Photography generously donated her time and talent to take beautiful pictures of some very cute bunnies and children. The photos were a big hit with a steady line-up of families waiting for their turn in front of the camera! Special thanks goes out to her and to the families who waited patiently and donated generously to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada!

Art and Play: Little Explorers

We went exploring at momstown Edmonton this month! And what does every Little Explorer need? Binoculars! So, we began our Little Explorer theme by making binoculars at Art and Play. It’s an easy craft that just takes some supplies you probably have around the house already. Want to make them with your children? Read on to see how we did it!

Each child was given two toilet paper tubes, masking tape, paint, and yarn. The first step was taping the tubes together. Then, it was time to get messy and paint them. It was fun to see how each child choose to paint theirs! Some used just a little paint, and some used much more! Once they dried, we poked holes in the tubes and tied on the yarn so that they could keep them around their necks! It was great seeing the different ways each child painted them, and the children loved playing with them. My son is still playing with his binoculars! 

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Edmonton Kids Experience Ballet with Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes

Edmonton moms and their kids had a fun morning at Flexpointe Studios celebrating the release of the new movie Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes. Our little dancers brought their own Barbie™ along to include in the dancing! The fabulous teacher kept the girls busy twirling around the studio.

Check out the adorable tutus from Hailey's Blooming Bowtique! The girls loved getting all dressed up like real ballerinas! There were a rainbow of colours to choose in every size and these beautiful tutus are handmade by a local mom!

Every little ballerina needs a bun! Feel Fabulous helped the girls get ballet ready! Feel Fabulous is a fantastic company offering Spa Parties for girls - check out their birthday package options here!

Thank you to our title sponsor, Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes, for helping momstown Edmonton support local moms, and thank you to Melissa, owner of Flexpointe Studios, for sponsoring our fabulous location and providing the excellent dance entertainment and an amazing prize. Special thanks to Tara Wildgoose of Pinkstar Photography for taking the beautiful photos, Feel Fabulous helping our little ones get glamourous and to Haileys Blooming Bowtique for providing beautiful tutus for the little ballerinas to wear! For more event photos, please check out momstown Edmonton's Facebook page! 

This event was exclusive to momstown members and was included in a $45/year membership! We have exciting events happening every day for Edmonton moms! Become a member by clicking here!

TLC Show: Filming Dates and New Policies

You didn't believe that did you??  

momstown is about connecting real moms, not even a TV show could take away our yoga pants! 

We really should have our own reality show though! momstown is doing an amazing thing in this community and across Canada! Not only are we able to get your kids out of the house and entertained with a teacher developed curriculum, but momstown strives to connect moms by providing a great opportunity to get know each other beyond a weekly playgroup!  Click here to read what our moms love about being a momstown member.

Here's what the calendar looks like on any given month! So much to do for any age group! Sign up here for a free trial, you won't get on TV but we promise to get you out of the house and connected with an amazing group of Edmonton moms! 

The People in Your Neighbourhood: Ellerslie Road

Welcome to momstown Edmonton's Ellerslie Road Edition of The People In Your Neighbourhood! Edmonton is a city made up of many beautiful neighbourhoods and it is our goal that this blog series will provide you with many great reasons to get out exploring the city, fall in love with Edmonton and the people in your neighbourhood!

Ellerslie Road offers a ton of family friendly amenities perfect for the young demographic in this area! From locally owned shops to Edmonton's only beach front community, this is a fantastic area to raise a family and get to know your neighbours! 

Location

Ellerslie road (9 ave SW) is a few blocks south of the Anthony Henday Freeway and running from 170 street to 50 street, crossing over Calgary Trail and Gateway Boulevard. 

Ellerslie Road encompasses the following neighbourhoods: MacEwan, Rutherford, Blackmud Creek, Blackburn, Richford, Allard, Callaghan, The Orchards at Ellerslie, Summerside, Ellerslie Heights, Charlesworth & Walker Lakes Station. 

What's a Mom to do?

Quick Bites

There is no shortage of options on Ellerslie road for delicious eats. Stop for a fresh loaf of bread or a sweet treat at Cobs Bakery, amazing Vietnamese food at Mini Mango or a quick lunch at Zaika, one of Edmonton's most popular Indian Bistros.

Shopping 

momstown's personal favourite, Wee Love, is a baby & children’s boutique and online store providing the coolest clothing, an incredible shoe selection, unique gifts & natural bath products! 

Our momstown mamas rave about the service and quality at Real Deal Meats, a fantastic family run butcher shop just around the corner on Ellwood Drive. Real Deal Meats provides you with a highly skilled butcher and his friendly wife who maintain a very high standard of quality assurance in the work place.

The Bone & Biscuit is your go-to for pet food & a great selection of collars, accessories and toys for your pets! They are experts at the helping discerning pet owners choose healthy & natural for their pets. 

Health & Fitness

Pure Wellness Studio offers professional registered massage therapy, acupuncture, and fitness training for you and your family. Pure Wellness is dedicated to improving the quality of life for people of all ages by empowering them to take charge of their own health.

The Heart of the Hood

Imagine a community that combines the best of city living with a day at the beach. With convenient shore-to-door access to summer and winter fun, Lake Summerside is a community unlike anything you've ever experienced.

Embrace the lighter side of life in Edmonton's first and only recreational lake community.

All of the neighbourhoods along Ellerslie Road have activities and programs to help you get to know your neighbours. Check out this link to the Edmonton Community League Federation to find the community league for your neighbourhood - http://www.efcl.org/http://www.efcl.org/

This Blog Series is sponsored by proud momstown Edmonton member, Nicole Cooper of Royal LePage Noralta Real Estate. Nicole has no shortage of enthusiasm when it comes to helping her clients realize their home ownership goals and only jumps with two feet in when she is working a client. Whether it’s finding that perfect house to call a home or selling the property that has housed years of memories, Nicole will work with you to find you the best solution for your needs with service that'll move you.

Art and Play: Spaceship Fun!

momstown Edmonton blasted off to space this month and these kids had so much fun! We started off our Space theme with Art and Play at The Toy Hutch. What great fun we had crafting, singing, and reading! We started our morning off by reading “The Berenstain Bears On the Moon” by Stan and Jan Berenstain and then singing some songs. The children and mamas alike loved the song “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!” We had to sing it multiple times. Here’s the lyrics if you’d like to teach it to your child:

Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the moon.
Climb aboard my rocket ship,
And you and I will take a trip.
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the moon.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1….BLAST OFF. 

After our circle time, we headed to make some alien space ships! First, the children decorated 2 paper plates. Then, with the help of the mamas, they stapled them together along with some ribbon. It was so neat to see all of the different designs they made on their ships! 

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Decorating Easter Eggs!

This morning we made some cute Easter Eggs that were so easy and turned out great! First we boiled them, then let them cool in cold water.  While they were cooking we mixed up our colours! 

Colour Mix:

 1 cup of boiling water

1 tsp of vinegar

10-20 drops of food colouring

The kids coloured their eggs with a white crayon to make the designs you see! We then used a whisk to dip them in the food colouring.  This is such a great way to avoid all the mess and allow the kids to dip their own eggs! The kids loved seeing their designs magically appear on their easter eggs! 

Little Scientist: Galaxy Play Dough and Moon Sand

momstown Edmonton has spent March in space, so our Little Scientists decided to do some exploration of space materials. Two centers were set up for our scientists to explore as they wished. They played with both galaxy play dough and moon sand! It was a very messy and fun science exploration. 

Galaxy play dough: Our scientists were given black play dough, glitter, and marbles. Using all of this, they created little galaxies! The glitter was the stars and the marbles were the planets. It was so neat seeing the different galaxies. Some were very planet dense, and some only had a couple of planets.

Moon sand: We found out this is a very messy material (perhaps better suited as an outdoor activity!). Our scientists loved playing with it though, and used cups to make little moon sand castles. Want to make it at home? Just mix 4 cups of all purpose flour with ½ cup of baby oil! It’s a great sensory (albeit messy) activity!

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Baby Basics: Easter Egg Shakers

As we're approaching Easter this group of Edmonton moms and babies made some cute Easter Egg Shakers this week! Once a month as a part of our Baby Basics Program we discover our senses so these easy and fun shakers were a great fit!  Along with some visiting we had fun getting to know some new members of this awesome group.  

It's pretty simple to do, just make sure you use really strong tape, as we wouldn't want these breaking open. These are great all year round, and a great inexpensive toy for babies!

Junior Chef: Energy Space Balls!

In keeping with our Space theme at momstown Edmonton, our Junior Chefs made Energy Space Balls! This is a great recipe that is easy, healthy, AND delicious! The boys had so much fun stirring, the mixture into balls, and, of course, eating it. Here’s the recipe:

Energy Space Balls

Ingredients
1 cup dry large flake oats
2/3 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup peanut butter or almond butter (we used almond butter, if there are nut allergies, you could use soy or pea butter)
1/2 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
2 T sifted cocoa
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
1 T chia seeds
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Stir all ingredients together in a large bowl until mixed. Let chill in the refrigerator for about half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week (ours didn’t last that long!). 

Makes about 20-25 balls.

Alphabet Play: Letter J

This month we looked at the letter “J” for Alphabet Play. We talked all about words that begin with J and found out that many of our names begin with J. We also found out that “jump” begins with J so we played a fun little jumping game where we pretended we were different animals that jump. Our “J” craft consisted of a “jeweled J.” With some help from the mamas, the children drew a J on their paper and then spread white glue within that J. Once done, they put glitter all over it and decorated their paper with jagged lines and jewel stickers. It sure was a messy, but fun craft!

Fisher-Price Baby Basics Fun with Edmonton Moms!

Right before we were hit with a massive snow storm here in Edmonton our mom got to enjoy a fun afternoon playgroup sponsored by Fisher-Price! We had such a big group of mama's to come and and we all had a blast signing, dancing and crafting! 

First our moms were led by Pamela from Intellidance with songs and rhymes that the babies loved! A huge thank you to her as the babies and mamas really enjoyed it! 

Our babies then got to playing and crafting! They were overjoyed to play with the toys provided by Fisher-Price! I think the Say Please Tea Set was a favorite among the babies with the Laugh 'n Learn Click 'n Remote a close second!

We even got to paint our little ones toes to create cute spring bumble bees!! Too bad the weather decided against spring at the last moment!

The Baby Basics program ended on a very high note as the four fabulous Fisher Price products were drawn as prizes! The super lucky winners were:

Carmen V. (Laugh 'n Learn Click 'n Remote)

Nicole S. (Ocean Wonders Aquarium)

Pamela R. (Say Please Tea Set)

Nadine N. (My Little Snugabunny Cradle 'n Swing)

Did you know that momstown Edmonton mom and baby program - Baby Basics - meets once a week to connect moms with babies 0-12 months? Interested in joining us? Purchase your membership here for just $45 a year. All one year memberships include a 12 month subscription to Today's Parent magazine too!

Register here for your FREE Trial and 

come out and meet our incredible group!

5 Things No One Tells You About C Sections

As you all know I was not happy about the way Liam's birth turned out.  After we had planning a peaceful home birth I was whisked away in an ambulance and put under general anesthesia to deliver him by cesarean  I'm getting over it, slowly. But there were some things that I was shocked weren't told to me at the hospital.  I'm not sure if this was because I am a fourth time mom, but I was literally given no information about what to expect for the coming weeks.  

Thanks to some other c-section mamas I got a lot of questions answered.  Please share this blog with anyone about to have a baby.  I know all too well that although you may not want to have a cesarean birth it may just happen! 

1. You'll feel numb around the incision site. Not for a few weeks or months but permanently.  At 5 months postpartum I still do not have feeling around the incision   Apparently this is normal, some people get the feeling back eventually, some never do especially if you have multiple sections so don't hold your breath.
2. You might grieve. Planned or emergency be prepared to deal a little grief.  Whether it's those moments you missed after the birth, or the c section wasn't what you expected.  It's perfectly normal to grieve.
3.  You'll want to carry a pillow around.  Sneezes and coughs can come out of nowhere and using a pillow to put pressure on the area can help with the discomfort.  
4. Your incision site could break open - I know, gross right? But it happens.  It's more common than you'd think.  Usually you'll know because you'll start having some bleeding or seepage at the incision site.  Make sure to see your doctor in case it's serious but most of the time it will just take some extra time to heal.
5. It's a good idea to massage the incision site (once it's healed). I've with a few c section mamas and no one is aware of this at all.  Small adhesion's can form around the scar connecting tissues to places they shouldn't be.  These adhesion's can cause pelvis and lower back pain and can even keep you from flattening your tummy, even with exercise!  Here's a great site that explain how, when and why you should massage your c section scar. 

Do you have any tips for c section recovery? 

What weren't you told that you wish you knew? 

Quitting Isn't an Option.

I am not a quitter.  I am really good at finding excuses to get me out of anything that I find too challenging...okay that sounds like a quitter doesn't it?  I just like to succeed and if I can't see success on the horizon I quit before I fail. I've always been that way. I like to be good at what I do and if I sense that I'm not, I don't push to get good at it - I just quit. 

With this 1/2 marathon training I absolutely cannot see the finish line.  I don't know if I can do this.  I am training and working hard to raise a lot of money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  But I cannot see the light at the end of tunnel.  I am not "good" at running. I am slow and am finally just to a point where I can run without trying to come up with excuses to stop. But I won't quit this time. 

I'm doing this thing whether my quitter soul wants to or not.  It's been 4 months since we started this crazy journey.  I started this 1/2 marathon training 6 weeks post c-section, maybe not the ideal time to start a training program like this. I have delivered 4 children in just 5 years, that a lot time spent pregnant, recovering, nursing and most of all not getting much exercise. I was weak.  I am shocked at what my body can do now.  I ran 10 km's on Saturday morning.  I never thought I'd ever run 10 km's but I did it. 

Our group on a very cold night of training!

I am SO incredibly proud of the 10 momstown mamas that have shown their determination, drive and willpower throughout this journey.  We're 1/2 way to our fundraising goal that's over $15,000 raised in just 4 months for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.  That is amazing.  On top of working, owning businesses, and raising 21 children combined! We've ran countless kilometers together and I know we will all finish this race and reach our fundraising goals together.  

I am proud to be where I am today.  I am excited about challenging myself beyond what I actually believe I can do.  I know that on May 5th as I cross the finish line I'll be exhausted but this group of moms are running for those who can't.  For those lives destroyed by these debilitating diseases.  Those affected by Leukemia and Lymphoma can't quit, they don't have a choice but to fight, so my gloves are on and so are my runners.  I won't give up. Not this time. 

To help us reach our fundraising goal click here!