Tales for Tots: I Am Small

Our little people enjoyed hearing an adorable story about a tiny penguin in a great big world. It made me think about the fact that it's our job as parents to show our kids how important they are in this big, busy world we live in. 

We made footprint penguins with those sweet little feet 

and Isabelle was the lucky winner of a copy of the book! 

Check out the book review and more baby animal crafts here!

Join us next month for our luau theme! 

We're reading Giraffe's Can't Dance and making a fun Hawaiian craft! 

Friends with Benefits - A mom's secret weapon

I have amazing friends. Truly incredible people that I am so lucky to have met through momstown and secretly feel that I don't deserve.  Mama's need each other, and to know that I have such a strong support network makes me a happier person all around. These mama's step up when I need them and most importantly, they follow through. These are my friends with benefits, the ones I know I can count on through thick and thin.


If I could measure how much these mama's help me and how valuable they are to me this would be my rating system:

• Hold my baby so I can go to the bathroom alone - 5 points

• Listen to me incessantly whine about my kids/hubby/work without judgment - 15 points

• Tell me that nobody saw my 2 year old's meltdown in Wal-Mart - 35 points

• Bring me a coffee when you know I've had a bad day - 25 points 

• Remember the exact, ridiculous modifications I make to said coffee -  15 bonus points

• Wipe my kids nose for me - 10 points

• Watch my child while I'm at a doctors appointment - 50 points

• Make me feel better by telling me that your kid bit another child at their dayhome too (whether they did or not) - 75 points

• Babysit at my house for date night so that my kids get to fall asleep in their own beds - 85 points

• Take my kids overnight - 200 points

• Change a diaper - 50 points (25 bonus points for poop)

• Tell me how much you love my kids - 150 points

• Quietly warn me that my shirt is on inside out - 50 points

• Send your hubby to help mine move furniture - 100 points

• Bring a dessert to moms night out - 50 points

• Bring dessert and a bottle of wine to moms night out - 150 points

My definition of what makes a good friend has changed since having children. Sometimes a good chat is worth more than all of these things combined. Truthfully, the value of these friendships is immeasurable and some days I'm not sure how I would get through my days without them! 

Glitter Water Globes: Easy Craft for Babies and Toddlers

We found a version of these on pinterest and decided to try them out at our baby basics group.  All the kids had fun making them and the tiny baby's had a great time playing with them when they were done! 

What you'll need:

• Small bottle (ours were from Walmart chubby brand)
• Small object to fill bottle - beads, poms poms, dice, pipe cleaners (cut up), buttons etc. 
• Glitter
• Glue gun

           

Fill bottle with objects as little or as full as your child wants (watch them closely as these are all choking hazards), add glitter and water.  Use the glue gun to secure the lid.  You can glue a piece of fabric around the lid for those really determined little ones! These have kept my little one's amused for hours!  

Driving With Kids:10 Things That Are More Distracting Than My Phone

So we have a new law that states we can't be distracted while driving. This includes but is not limited to; texting, talking on the phone, and personal grooming.  I try my best to avoid all of the above and use Boobtooth (see below) when I have to talk on the phone.  


While I understand the idea behind the law I've got news for the government; the most distracting thing in my vehicle are my children.  I learned early on as a parent that my best multitasking happens in a moving vehicle.  I know it's not the safest place to complete more than one task, but like any mom knows it's completely unavoidable.  


Here are 10 things that I think are more distracting than talking on a phone:


1) Fishing around the floor of the backseat to find the toy that has been dropped and is causing a major meltdown
2) Trying to answer a 4 year old's 3000 questions: 

• Mommy, why are we stopped?
• Mommy, why are we moving??
• Mommy, what is that yellow thing???
• Mommy, how do you make a car????
• Mommy, what is that man doing?????

3) Trying to blindly insert a bottle into the right orifice of a screaming baby. Then dropping the bottle into an impossible to reach spot. 
4) Attempting to rock a screaming, hungry baby with one arm stretched beyond human limits. 
5) Trying to divert flying objects from landing under the gas peddle.
6) Getting hit in the head repeatedly with an escaped balloon.  
7) Trying to see the traffic in rear view mirror through said balloon (and managing to not go off the road when the balloon pops in my ear).
8) Divvying up on the go meals - including opening drinks, toys, and ketchup packets. 
9) Driving on less than 3 hours sleep plus listening to a combo platter of wheels on the bus and a screaming baby.
10) Breastfeeding an infant while on a road trip by hovering over the car seat to avoid a 6th stop in one hour (I know this one is bad, but totally necessary in this case.)


So Mr. Police Officer - next time you see me swerving all over the road and assume I'm texting, please feel free to pull me over. But be sure to take the real culprits for the afternoon, then maybe I'll get to drink my coffee and talk on the phone in peace ; ) 

Oh, and this is Boobtooth. I'm too cheap to spring for the
 Bluetooth so I've put these milk-makers to use!

Alphabet Play: Letter B

We’ve continued our journey of learning about literacy and letters at momstown. This month we looked at the letter B. We decided it was time to get messy, so we pulled out the paint!  Each child painted over a taped letter B using various ‘b objects.’ The children could choose from brushes, bunny tails (cotton balls!), balloons (not blown up), balls, and even broccoli to apply the blue paint. 

It was so much fun to see them get creative in how they used each object. Some used A LOT of paint, and some wanted to only paint the inside of the letter. When each child was done, the mamas helped them to sprinkle blue glitter over their masterpieces. Once the paint was dry, we pulled off the tape to reveal beautiful B’s!  

Turning the Page: A New Chapter for a Working Mama

I've felt conflicted about returning to work since the day I stepped foot back in the office after my first maternity leave. I felt different. Changed. Out of place. I used to enjoy the work I did, I was ambitious and passionate about the investment industry (can't picture it, huh?). Three years into my five year plan my first baby arrived. I changed my goals temporarily and took a position that allowed me a little more freedom and a less scheduled day. Slowly my career has become a job; a means to an end. I spend my days missing my kids and wishing I could be working on something more meaningful. I've teared up watching a mother and her daughter climb the escalator on my lunch break and ached to stay home with a toddler who wasn't feeling well.

I've decided that my kids are more important than a job I have no passion for. In two weeks I will be fully self-employed and working from home. I'm excited for this new adventure and a little terrified too. I'm drowning right now, juggling full time work out of the home, a thriving at home business and my very busy family. I can't keep up and I can't continue at the pace I'm going. The most important things are coming dead last and they need to end up higher on the totem pole.

I've been shocked to hear the reactions to me leaving my job. Many questions about what I'm going to do all day, how I'm going to keep busy and how lucky I am to retire at 27. A co-worker on his lunch went as far as to ask me if I wanted to cut up his apple to practice for my new job. None of these people are parents or have ever spent anytime alone with children, but it still gets under my skin. I realized that this brave, scary and life-altering decision was being perceived as laziness on my part. I am no less ambitious and no less passionate than I was four years ago, but the things that I care about have changed drastically and my decision reflects that.

I have to be honest that sometimes the quiet of this office can be an escape from the chaos that is living with small children. While there is no joy in the paperwork or tasks, I admit that it is quiet and predictable. There is nothing easy about raising children, it is difficult, frustrating and unbelievably rewarding – everything that my current job is not. I don't expect this new journey to be easier, just different. Balancing working at home with small children and sneaking in business calls and meetings will be a challenge but I have the support network to do it. I finally get to bury myself in work that I truly love and enjoy my children while they are small.

My New Bosses: Demanding But Super Cute!

Hippity Hop Easter Bop!

This past week, momstown hosted a public Easter event in conjunction with Southgate Centre's Kid Shop program.  Both members and non-members got in on the fun! From crafts and games, to pictures with the Easter Bunny, it was a hit. But the biggest hit of the day was neither the crafts, nor the games, not even the Easter Bunny.  It was the live chicks and the bunny that were available to hold and cuddle. Almost everyone got in on the cuddling, children, teenagers and adults alike! Cuddling bunnies and chicks, making cute egg magnet crafts, and playing fun Easter games, the kids were sure tired by the time they got home. A great time was had by all!

If you are interested in anything momstown has to offer, check out our website and sign up for our free one month trial!

Little Scientists: Planting Seeds

Our budding scientists (pun intended!) dug into the soil so they could each plant a Runner Bean. Each planted a seed into their own little cup that they got to take home to watch as it grows.  Since it was just after Easter, we couldn’t resist a little Easter egg craft to use as labels as well! They starting seeing growth in a short week and the bean very quickly after that! What a great project to teach responsibility.  We'll be transferring these to another pot as in just a month the little bean plant is 2 feet tall!

After planting, we carried on our Baby Animal theme and read “Are You My Mother?” by P.D. Eastman. The children loved the story of the baby bird searching for his mother.  We finished up with some fun dancing and singing in which the children pretended they were elephants! 

       

              My daughter was so excited to
            see the roots starting to grow

And those roots grew quickly,
This is the next day!

            

              And finally we saw the leaf sprout
       from below the soil!

Final product! One month after planting!
My kids were so thrilled to see a plant they
 grew from scratch. 

  

Art & Play - Baby Animals!

Spring and baby animals go together perfectly, and with Easter around the corner, what better baby animals to make than bunnies and lambs?  Using some cotton balls, beans, felt and googly eyes, the children made adorable mini-lambs and mini-bunnies. It was a great fine motor activity that got them gluing and cutting! Love how they turned out! They look fantastic as little Easter decorations.

After the children finished their mini baby animals, we read a story called “Seven Hungry Babies” by Candice Fleming. Everyone laughed, especially the moms, when we got to the end of the book and the mama bird was about to pass out but the baby chicks were all waking up hungry again. Safe to say, all the moms were pretty glad that they don’t have seven hungry babies! We finished up our circle time with a little dancing to the song “Over in the Meadow” where the children moved like the animals in the song.

If you are interested in what we are doing, make sure to check out our programming and sign up for our 1 month FREE trial!

BIG NEWS for momstown!

Happy April Fools Mamas!

You didn't believe that did you?? 

Sign up for a free trial to find out why our members call momstown "facebook for moms"! 

Tales for Tots: How Do Dinosaurs Eat Cookies?

This month our theme was My Senses! We read How Do Dinosaurs Eat Cookies, an adorable scratch and sniff book! We learned that Dinosaurs are actually quite polite. The kids had fun smelling all of the pages and talking about the smells, strawberry was the group favourite!

Each month we give away a copy of the book courtesy of Scholastic Canada!

 Brendan was our lucky winner this month!

It was also St. Patrick's Day so we made paper plate rainbows to

put in our windows when we got home!

Our theme for April is Baby Animals, join us next month at Tales for Tots where we'll be reading I Am Small by Emma Dodd - a story about a small penguin in a great big world!

Baby Basics - Baby Picassos

Our members had a blast this month getting messy with their little ones!  We did 2 canvas art projects that were a hit with our moms!  We may have had a little paint in our hair but all that mess resulted in some beautiful keepsakes to take home. 

Hand Print Canvas 

Finger Paint Canvas

Don't forget to register here for your free 1 month trial membership to join in all the fun!!

Alphabet Play: Letter A

It’s never too early to learn about literacy, and we’ve started to learn all about letters at momstown!  Today, we began with the letter A. We started out with Popsicle sticks and some construction paper. The children showed the mamas that they were able to make an A and then decorated it. How did they decorate their A’s? With stickers and drawing of things that start with A, of course!  After, we read a story and found out that “alligator”, “airplane”, “apple” and “ant” are just some of the words that begin with A. Each of the children received a printable book to colour and read at home as well. We also learned how to sign the letter ‘A’ and practiced saying both the sound and the name. After some playing, we sang a song about apples and then had a snack of, you guessed it, apples! 

Here’s the song we learned:

Way up high in the apple tree (stretch both arms above your head, hands open)
Two little apples smiled at me (keep arms above head, close hands into fists)
I shook that tree as hard as I could (keep arms above head, "shake" tree)
Down came the apples (bring fists down toward stomach)
Mmmm, they were good! (rub stomach)

Click here if you would like to read the book with your own child! 

Healthy Breakfast Popsicles!

 

How great are these Healthy Popsicles to wake up to? We make a bunch at a time so they're ready for a quick breakfast before we run out the door. They almost need no instruction! Froot Loops are a huge hit with the kids but they're great for moms on the go too made with Rice Crispies or Special K! Fun, easy and healthy - that's my kind of breakfast!

Everything you'll need

Cut a banana into three pieces

Put the banana onto the popsicle stick

Dip the banana into yogourt

Cover your banana with a cereal of your choice!

Once you're done, lay them flat and freeze for a minimum of 20 minutes and you have a quick snack or breakfast ready to go! For more great ideas for getting picky eaters to eat breakfast visit momstown meals!

The Best of Blogwest 2012!

One year into this blogging biz and we were enough lucky to attend our very first blogging conference this weekend in Edmonton! Yes! Finally, a conference in Edmonton! Thank you to Felicia Dewar and all her helpers for their hard work and dedication to plan Blogwest! I was pleasantly surprised to find there was a ton of focus on Western Canada - this conference showed that the West is rocking bloggy-land with our own unique brand of awesome!

From Disney to the Redneck Mommy we were impressed with both the caliber of presenters and the interest that everyone had in our little corner of Canada. We had so many take-aways from the sessions our heads are literally still swirling with ideas (we've been tweaking headlines and playing with our design all weekend, huge thank you to Paperleaf & Redpaperclip for those tips!)

We were excited to connect with so many bloggers doing amazing things, right here in Western Canada.  Here are some of the people we connected with that blew us away with their ideas and skills, we just had to share with our mamas!



Based in Whitecourt, Alberta but with fans all over the world, Laura is the Org Junkie! She and Angie of Beautifully Organized Living even made a mid-conference dollarama run to grab organization supplies (two peas in a pod!).  She has a blog & website full of organizing tips and tricks to have your pantry, linen closet and life organized quickly and easily. She's given me the inspiration to organize our very messy pantry! I'm too embarrassed to post a picture but I will tell you, it's worse than yours..no really it is. Trust me.



Three beautiful Edmonton locals looking for a hair stylist worth their weight decided to open a website where you can see the actual work of local stylists on real people.  Check our their blog for pictures and referrals to great local talent.
Best.Idea.Ever.

  



We're not just writing about them because they gave us the coolest business card ever - a pack of paper straws! We'll be sure to let the kids test them out at our next potluck playdate! Greenmunch eco store, based right here in Edmonton is Canada's source for trendy eco-friendly, reusable, natural and compostable products! Check them out for all things green!




Another lovely Edmonton Blogger who connects you with her favourite things! This mama does her research - everything you find on her site has a canadian focus! All freebies, giveaways, contests and links are applicable to Canadians, unlike many other sites out there!




St. Albert mama of two Angie is the creator of Echoes of Laughter and Beautifully Organized Living! You'll find amazing tips for design & organization on her blogs. Check out this post about packing a weeks worth of lunches all at once! I'll be using this one very soon!  


Family Fun Canada is currently in Calgary, Vancouver and coming soon to Edmonton! They share local events, activities and attractions to attend as family! Great blog to follow for Canadian families looking to get out in their community and have some fun!