Kellogg's Share Your Breakfast Event

Join momstown Winnipeg on National Breakfast Day, for the Kellogg’s Share Your Breakfast Event on March 8^th, 2012.

momstown wants to help Kellogg’s give back to the Winnipeg community. At this event, members will receive breakfast kits and learn how we can share our breakfast.

In Canada, 1 in 10 children live in poverty, and are at risk of starting their day on an empty stomach. On March 8^th, National Breakfast Day, Kellogg’s will be distributing mini-packs of Rice Krispies cereal nationwide, to raise awareness and reach out to children in the community. 

Kellogg’s will also be donating to Breakfast Clubs of Canada and Breakfast for Learning. You can help by purchasing Kellogg’s cereals – every box equals a donation! 

Join us for Share Your Breakfast – we’ll have activities for the kids, circle time, crafts, and a great way to help your community. 

Go to www.kelloggs.ca/SYB for more information.

Little Scientists: Baby Sensory Play

There are many benefits to sensory play. Sensory play is a valuable part of early childhood education and anyone can do this at home. From birth, a baby experiences life through its senses. Touch is one of the first and most important senses to develop. Sensory play allows them to use their senses of touch, sight, taste, smell, and hearing.  It also provides children the opportunity for hands-on play to encourage the development of their fine and gross motor skills.

This month was our fist Baby Sensory Play. Our babies got to be little scientists and explore different textures. Since it was around Valentines we decided to use valentines inspired items for the babies to touch and explore. Some items are not for babies mouths so it is always important to keep a close eye on your baby.

Ready to dig into his bin!

Crinkley paper was a hit with the babies!

After attempting to chew a felt heart he decided to see what else was in the green bin.

Red jello was gooey. This little gal wasn't so sure she liked stepping in it. :)

But this little one loved the jello. As did my son who proceeded to lick his hands after he realized it tasted good too.

We had loads of fun at our first Sensory Play event. Can't wait for next months!

Little Scientists: Mixing Colours

Our theme this month is Mix and Match. So for our Little Scientists lab we decided to learn all about mixing colours. What happens when you mix primary colours?

This is an easy science project that you can do with the kids too. All you need is water, food colour (in red, blue, yellow and green), a bulb syringe (your kids medicine syringe will do just fine) and clear cups or white ice cube trays. Start off with basic primary colours and start mixing. See what colours when mixed together make new colours.

Jenn was our science teacher that day.

Next month we are making Oobleck in honour of Dr. Seuss' Birthday. It's going to be another messy Science lab!

Mix and Match: We Share Everything!

Our momstown educational topic for the month of February is Mixing and Matching. We had lots of fun with this theme in our Tots Science Lab, Connect the Tots and Tales for Tots events. Mixing and matching everything from colours, mits, and hearts.

We were also lucky to read a "mix and match" themed book at our Scholastic Canada sponsored Tales for Tots book club this month.  "We Share Everything!" by beloved Canadian author Robert Munsch, has recently been released in board book edition.  We Share Everything!" tells the story of two daycare kids who are finding sharing to be a challenge.

For a craft the kids made these adorable heart tree valentine's crafts (our event was around Valentines) and they mixed and matched the hearts.

Next month is all about My Senses. We'll be reading a fabulous book about Dinosaurs so be sure to come out! Check out the calendar for more details.

Not a member yet? Log on and register at http://winnipeg.momstown.ca for your free 4 week trial.

Win Tickets to Baby & Kids Show - CLOSED!

Showtime Productions is hosting the 7th Annual Winnipeg Baby & Kids Show!  The Baby & Kids Show is geared to expectant parents and young families. 

Families can explore the show for the latest in baby and toddler products & fashions, collect information, and attend informative seminars, all under one roof!  Children are treated to fun and activities throughout the day, including The Backyardigans! 

E-Children & Westcoast Kids is sponsoring the Family Care Lounge at The Baby & Kids Show this year, which this mom of 2 can really appreciate. This includes a nursing centre and changing station. 

Not too mention the row of booths they have this year! So be sure to pop on by and visit them! And pick up something cute for that new or soon to be baby in your life!

WANT TO WIN TICKETS TO THE BABY & KIDS SHOW?!?! 

Westcoast Kids has given us tickets to give-away! We have two sets of 2 tickets to give-away.  All you have to do is comment below that you want to win! We will randomly select 2 lucky winners by Thursday at 5 pm.  Leave your email address so we can contact you too!  Good luck!

E-Children and Westcoast Kids is located at 103 Princess Street, Winnipeg or visit their website at http://www.westcoastkids.ca


Closed!!  Congrats to Laura Kazine and Marjori P for winning 2 tickets. I will email you on where to pick up your tickets.  Thanks everyone for entering! 

Winnipeg Baby & Kids Show

February 25 & 26, 2012  10am to 5pm Daily

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE SHOW SCHEDULE

Looking for something to do this weekend? Expecting or know someone expecting a baby? Showtime Productions is hosting the 7th Annual Winnipeg Baby & Kids Show!  The Baby & Kids Show is geared to expectant parents and young families. 

Families can explore the show for the latest in baby and toddler products & fashions, collect information, and attend informative seminars, all under one roof!  Children are treated to fun and activities throughout the day, including The Backyardigans! 

NEW THIS YEAR! Our friends over at Purely Baby are hosting the "Moms Pampering Zone," which will feature massage demonstrations, mini-manicures, product samples, and take-home pampering gift bags!

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL FEATURES

Ahoy Matey! How to Have a Pirate Themed Party!

Saturday was Braxton’s third birthday. To celebrate, we threw a pirate party.  Braxton wanted to wear a striped orange shirt and blue shorts – perfect pirate attire.  We chose to keep the party small, 4 friends, 1 brother and the birthday boy.

For the invitations, I used www.evite.com.  It was simple and efficient. If you want to make your own invitations, here are some great ideas:

For decorations, I used general “pirate” stuff – a treasure map tablecloth, black, blue and red balloons and homemade banner.

As the children arrived, I gave them bandannas, eyepatches, swords, and they decorated a parrot, that can be found here. Then we played a few games, read the book Shiver Me Letters: A Pirate’s ABC, had free play, ate lunch, went on a treasure/scavenger hunt, ate cake, and opened presents.

For food I served pirate themed food:

• Fish ‘n Chips – goldfish and potato chips
• Swords – pretzels
• Gold Doubloons – Chicken Nuggets
• Cannonballs – grapes
• Sailboats – egg salad served in halved red peppers. find recipe here.

For activities, I tried to incorporate the pirate theme. We played “Pin the Eyepatch on the Skull & Crossbones.

A treasure/scavenger hunt for their goody bags.  I wrote the clues in pirate lingo, but since the kids were 2-4 years old I also had a picture clue on the reverse side.

We found the treasure!

For the goody bags, print out your own labels, filled brown paper lunch sacks and tied them with brown raffia ribbon to make them look like loot sacks.

The cake I found online and can be found here.

It was a great party, I feel the kids and moms had a great time!

Don't forget the kids this time!

Having a party for your child, or a child in your life?  Don't forget the kids!  Sound like a funny thing to say?

I don't… I read party guides and posts all over the web, and beyond.  People pick a perfect cake (that the kids don't eat), a perfect banquet table (that the kids don't look at). Don't forget the invites… parents send out the perfect invite which the kids don't see on the sending or receiving end.  Don't get me wrong… I love all those aspects of party planning too. However, don't forget about the reason for the party. It's for the child!

When possible, let the children decorate the invites with crayons, stickers or markers.  

Let the child pick out the flavour of the cake, maybe the style, or even put on a few jelly beans. They love the involvement.  

Why not let the kids colour or draw some pictures to put up as decorations too. The other kids that come to the party will notice them when they are posted at a child friendly height. Try it, you'll see.

Finally, don't forget the activities. Plan them first if you can. Have several planned and maybe do a couple. Traditional games like treasure hunts, bean bag tosses, drawing and guessing games take virtually no supplies and children love them. Try it, you'll see. Don't be afraid to participate with them. It's a lot easier than chasing them around and trying to get them to not jump on the beds!

Have fun!

Cindy

This article was written by Cindy Despins, owner of Dress Up And Play Parties. Visit her site at http://www.dressupandplayparties.com and check out her imaginative and fun themed costume party packages and make party planning a breeze!

How to Make a Valentine Mouse Bookmark

At our Valentine's Party with momstown, we got crafty and made valentine's cards. The kids also got to take home a kit to make a Valentine's Mouse Bookmark. It's adorable and easy to make.

Supplies Needed:
2 hearts cut from red felt – one large, one small. These will be the body and ears
1 strip of yarn.  This will be the tail
1 Wiggly Eye
3 short strips of Fishing Line. This will be the whiskers
Glue

Steps:
1.    Small heart – glue the bottom half together – the heart “bumps” are the ears, so don’t glue them together.
2.    Large heart – put glue on half the heart –placing the EARS and TAIL in before you fold in half.  The tail should go at the pointed end and the ears go on the heart “bump”.
3.    Glue the wiggly eye and whiskers on.
4.    Your mouse is complete.  Usually I place a heavy book on top of the mouse during the drying process.

Get Your Kids to Listen without Nagging or Yelling!

Positive Parenting Solutions, to offer a FREE live training webinar: Get Kids to Listen without Nagging, Reminding or Yelling!

We have 2 options for you to attend - Tuesday, February 21st from 9-10 PM EST (8 - 9 PM Central) or  8 – 9PM PST (10 - 11 PM Central)!!

Amy promises that we’ll walk away with concrete tools we can use the next day and see results. I know you'll be especially interested in learning the 5 R’s of Fair and Effective Consequences. You can watch, listen and even interact with Amy. Participants are not required to have a webcam, only a computer with speakers.

Webinar seating will be limited so learn more and RSVP now!

Please share this on your FACEBOOK page (friends of friends welcome) by clicking here!

momstown is now offering even more events, discounts, and interactive features than ever! Join our membership for just $45/year for 20+ events per month!

That's Amore!

On the momstown Winnipeg message board, we have a thread called “Finding Time for Your Spouse (significant other/partner).”  After reading the various ideas/tips from fellow moms, it got me thinking about my own marriage and how I can continue with our version of happily ever after.

So often we let our relationships fall to the backburners. Our kids take the #1 spot, our careers take #1, our comfort and happiness take #1.  Reading relationship books was my pastime before parenting books took over my nightstand.  One lesson I remember was:

Discuss Daily

Date Weekly
Depart Quarterly



Discuss daily - have at least 30 minutes face to face time (no television, phone, or computer) discussing more than just schedules and how was your day stuff.  30 minutes of a love/heart check, a how are we doing check.

Date Weekly - If finances don't allow for dinner out or a babysitter, get creative at home. Cook together and eat picnic-style in a random room and enjoy conversation, bake together, give each other a massage or pedicure.  If you can get out, go spend time in a bookstore or coffee shop, walk around the neighbourhood, attend a wine tasting, go tobogganing or ice skating. The point is to do something that reminds you that you just enjoy being with your spouse/significant other/partner.

Tony & Lisa on a date.

Depart Quarterly – Enjoy a trip together, preferably overnight.  Use the time to refocus your goals as a couple and re-prioritize each other as #1.  Take advantage of this time together and have fun!

Our happily ever after is different than yours, and I am not saying ours is a perfect union.  We constantly work at our relationship and work through issues that may arise.  Marriage is two imperfect people coming together, there are going to be hard times.  Be prepared and take even the good times in marriage and work at making it even better.


This article was written by Lisa B, one of our newest blog contributors. When she's not chasing her 2 boys outdoors, she's up to her elbows with glue and glitter! 

Valentine's Ideas & Traditions

Happy Sunday, lovelies!! I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend and that you’re spending it with those you love. Valentine’s Day is almost here and I, for one, am very excited! Jamit and I will probably keep our celebration pretty low key, since it will be mid-week and it’s a very busy month at work. I think what we’ll appreciate most is a nice dinner at home, with a great bottle of wine and a romantic movie! Since I won’t have too much time to prepare a complicated meal, I decided to make one of Jamit’s very favorite desserts; these molten chocolate cakes are surprisingly easy to prepare and are decadent and very romantic!

What do you have planned for V-Day this year? As I child I loved how special I was always made to feel on heart day. My Mom would find a way to add some special, “love flair” to our meals and would always tuck a little, love note in our lunch box (something she did on a regular basis). She used to cut our sandwiches into the shape of a heart and we thought it was brilliant! I love this idea for a festive breakfast. My Dad used to make a point of bringing me something special on Valentine’s Day that I knew was just from him. We always knew that Mom did the majority of the gift buying (or at the very least, it was a team effort), but on Valentine’s Day my Dad would come home with a gift for my Mom and something wonderful; just for me, just from him! xo

Do you have any unique Valentine’s ideas or traditions to share? I think these marshmallows are just the sweetest! Wouldn’t they be a great gift for a teacher, along with a tin of cocoa? You could give your little one the edible markers and let them go to town!

I found these free templates for pretty Valentines and plan on printing a few to hand out to friends on Wednesday!

I don’t generally exchange Valentines gifts anymore (Jamit and I try and do something thoughtful for one another, rather than buying gifts), but I remembered a tradition I was the lucky beneficiary of a few years ago and thought I might start making it my own. It was the week before Christmas and my Dad came home from work with a small gift tagged for me. It was from one of his coworkers and his family; I was stunned! I knew them fairly well, but certainly never imagined I was on their gift list. When I opened it on Christmas morning I found a lovely set of French soaps and a beautiful scarf. I was so touched and immediately picked up the phone to thank them. When I asked them how it was I got so lucky to have been given such a thoughtful gift, they explained that each year they choose someone they are not expected to buy a present for and they surprise them with something thoughtful. As a family, they were trying to emphasize the true meaning of gift giving. They thought of me and wanted to show me that I was important to them. I was incredibly moved and can’t believe it’s taken me this many years to pay it forward! This Valentines Day I’ve chosen one of my new girlfriends who was so welcoming and went out of her way to help me make new friends when I first moved to Boston. I plan on giving her a copy of Tina Fey’s “Bossypants”. Have you read it? It’s such a fun read! Her prayer for her daughter made me laugh out loud! I’m sure many of you can relate.

My funny Valentines' Love, Jamit with our dog Lumi.

This week I’ll leave you with this adorable video my friend, Danielle, posted. Her kids are ridiculously cute and it makes me chuckle each time I see it! My favorite part is Sacha referring to himself in the third person! I’m sure you Mommies can imagine how long it took to clean Milla of “the lotion”; as I recall it was somewhere around the one week mark. Enjoy and have a marvelous week! 

This article was written by Courtney Dhaliwal, one of our newest blog contributors. While she's not a mom yet, she is by far the best Aunty one can ask for (and a pretty darn good BFF).

The New Modern Family

I was inspired to write this blog post while watching Modern Family, one of my favourite TV shows.  I started thinking about how there are so many different styles of families in today’s day and age.  At one time, there was an idealistic image that society placed on a family.  That image still exists to a certain point today but more and more, the new modern family is here and I think that it is fantastic!

There are many reasons why I think momstown is great and one of them is that it brings together a diverse group of families and moms.  I’m sure with some of us, there is a twenty year age gap and it’s great that we can find commonality with other moms, regardless of our age.  Some of us come from all over the world and are part of different cultures, yet together in the same room, the conversation flows.  The conversation can be about our children and our families or about our personal interests and hobbies and everything else in between.

There are many things about a traditional family that is changing and I feel that as long as love is preached within the home, let everyone be happy and live their life!  I’m a firm believer in “make love, not war.” Some kids have two moms or two dads, others have one of each and some have just the one parent. Some couples have found love a second time around through marriage and divorce and are blending families and are having more children with their new partner.

There are many couples who are waiting longer to get married and start a family, if at all getting married.  I know people who are in common-law relationships (with and without children) and they appear to be as happy as the happily married couples I know.  Not all couples feel the need to get married and it’s great that two people know what they want and are comfortable with their decision. 
It’s a great feeling to be on the same page as your partner.  Not including fertility issues, some couples are waiting longer to have children because they are focusing on a career or enjoy a certain lifestyle.  Some people know that they want a large family; others know that they want a small family; some are not sure and are just going to go with the flow of life. All the power to everyone for whatever makes you happy!

There are children being raised in the sprawling suburbs, some children are being raised in high rise condos in an urban center and some children are being raised outside the city but just close enough for amenities.  Each environment has advantages and disadvantages and it totally depends on the family.  What works for one family will not necessarily work for another.  This logic can be used for so many different topics.

momstown Winnipeg at a Pajama Breakfast!

We all have different parenting styles but want the best for our children and families. With momstown, there is so much that we can learn from one another if we’re open minded about it.  With some issues, you may stand firm with what you already feel and with other issues, you’re more flexible and open to other opinions.  That is why momstown is fantastic!  We’re here for one another and we’re all part of the new modern family because as the saying goes, “it takes a village to raise a family” and momstown is the new village!


This article was written by Christina H, one of our newest blog contributors. She is currently a Stay at Home Mom to an adorable 18 month old.