In honour of mother's day.....

Send in your sweetest photo reflecting motherhood for a chance to win a Zune 8!

Just email the photograph to info@momstown.ca by May 6th, and the Zune
team will select one mom's submission to win the following:

GET IN GEAR: Zune 8 bundle with free Belkin Sports Armband Zune · Holds up to 2,000 songs, 25,000 pictures, or 24 hours of video · Built-in FM tuner - Tune into your favourite radio stations while on the go · Wireless Sync - Cut the cord to your PC. Refresh your Zune with new content through your home wireless network Belkin Sports Armband · Ultra-comfortable, hand-washable and water-resistant · Gives you full protection and easy-navigation access to your Zune, while minimizing bulk on your arm

A winner will be announced on this blog on Mother's Day, May 10th!

holy smokes... MANIA!!!

MANIA!

Yes, we named it appropriately! Our entire team is ready to admit to mania, by MANIA! We're going a little crazy with the planning details...

BUT - for a good reason! momstown.ca is about to host our very first annual momstown MANIA event on MAY 6th! A multi-site event that is different that our dail traditional events -- this is BIG BIG for us and we expect close to 100 moms per location (tell your friends!).

A Host of SPONSORS, door prizes and fantastic activities to keep you and your little ones entertained!

Mania will offer moms and tots a chance to sample activities that provide sensory, creative, physical and social experiences for both mother and child.

At each local venue, visitors can participate in Toddler Olympics, Mom & Baby Fitness, Baby Sign Language, Music demonstrations, Planting station featuring a child-made Mother’s Day gift, mom & baby Coffee Circle, Kelloggs Breakfast and a special children’s entertainer mid-day. All locations will also feature momstown’s very own Picasso’s in the Park and showcase a dual of welcome and good-bye momstown circle times with parachute, songs and bubbles.

For more details check your local chapter blog for specific schedule for the day and come on out to join the MANIA....!

sleep for moms

It should be on the endangered species list.

SLEEP.

I am tired. Beyond the "I-had-too-many-late-nights-in-a-row" tired. It's more like too-many-long-years tired... and I have a sinking feeling I am going to be feeling like this for years.

The kicker is my kids actually sleep well at night (knock on wood). We're beyond the sleep training for kids as come 7:30pm it is quiet around here. My youngest naps in the afternoon - not reliably or sound but he naps. My oldest is awake with boundless energy in the afternoon but by bedtime she's zonked.

What's my problem? In theory I should have almost 11 hours of silent slumber ahead of me each night.

I don't go to bed!

It's ridiculous, every single night I lay there reading bedtime stories at 7pm and think, gawd I could go to sleep right now. Then, after kiddo bedtime, I get perky and excited about an evening of quiet and my mental to-do list goes into overdrive! Wide awake, I scatter around the house doing things or mostly I start my power hours of productive (shocking!) working on momstown stuff.

I never used to be a night owl but now if I am in bed before 1am, I'm surprised!

I'm writing this on a Thursday, which is always the day when I seem unable to keep up anymore and I feel like a wind-up toy which is sloooooowly winding down.

Intellectually, I get that sleep is good, it helps keep us all healthy and this constant late night & early kid rising is not a good long term health strategy. People need more than 5 hours of sleep... I know I need more than 4-5 hours of sleep.

But it feels like an addiction - I can't give up this quiet time in the evening. I don't know how the rest of our life would balance if I wasn't up awake finishing things... because my other choice would be to sacrifice more kid-time for work-time. Something I don't want to do.

I have no answers at all... and I know I'm not the only mama out there burning the candle at both ends. Maybe I'll start a petition for a 30 hour clock for moms.

mamas savin' moula $$$

All moms seem to be focused on savin' some moula these days. We all hear the words "poor economic climate" and "crisis" everyday and it seems like everyone, everywhere is watching spending in a new way.

What can the everyday mama do to help keep her spending down? Here are some easy, mama & kid-friendly solutions to save cash:

1. Join a moms group (you KNEW I would suggest this, right?). Entertain yourself with playdates and social interaction kids & babies. momstown offers an inexpensive solution at only $45/year for 30 events monthly!

2. Group discounts – ask your gymnastics provider if a discount is possible if you gather up a group to fill the class, or arrange for a group to attend the indoor playground. yep - we do this at momtown! :)

3. Participate in a mom-to-mom sale to make money selling your kids gently used clothes or toys.

4. Shop at mom-to-mom sales to find great deals on gently used items for your growing kids! You guessed it - both Burlington & Barrie chapters are hosting their own mom-to-mom sales on Sat. April 18th - come shop with us!

5. Spring time – garage sales! Your kids doesn't know if that trike came from Wal-Mart or from down the street but your wallet will know. Need I say more?

6. Be creative – don’t spend money on craft supplies when so much is available at home... toliet paper rolls are great for airplanes, egg cartons can be turned into flowers, use oatmeal or rice as a sensory activity...

7. Spend time outdoors – so much to do outside with teachable moments everywhere! Count the pinecones, point out the birds, see who can spot the first bud on the trees...

8. Be creative with outings – who needs to spend money when you can hold a chalk party or bubble party on your driveway?

9. Babysitter co-op: trade off sitting for other members for free (yeppers, some momstown chapters offer this too!)

10. Participate! Nursery school co-ops are less expensive if you help out. Same goes sometimes for dance studios, gymnastics, girl guides….

11. Partner with friends to rotate toys & big seasonal items – why buy a new bike or baby swing this season if your neighbours is idle and waiting for the wee one to grow into it? Same goes for clothes - swap 'em!

12. Neighbourhood & community can play a big role in support – connect in your local neighbourhood. The resources from a collective are always amazing and helpful (momstown, momstown, momstown!)

13. Start a "money club". Gather your girlfriends and start sharing ideas, sale details and investment planning information and TALK. Everyone has the same concerns and sometimes sharing them puts things in perspective. Oakville's momstown did this as a very productive event.

So ... save that money -- but get out of the house while doin' it. momstown is here to help!

new momstowns are OPEN!

We're GIDDY with excitement!

What do Newmarket, Aurora, Guelph & Kitchener-Waterloo moms have in common??

They all have a new momstown OPEN in their community!!!

They have all launched over the last couple of weeks so things are moving along smoothly, calendars are full of events and moms are chatting on our local message boards!

Hope on and join us in our new cities!

Our "official" launch parties -- FREE to the public are:

Kitchener-Waterloo Launch Party - Sat.April 18th 10:30-12:30 Waterloo Children's Museum (email here to reserve your FREE spot)

Newmarket-Aurora Launch Party - Sun. April 19th 10-12 Magna Centre

Guelph's already happened on March 29 at the Guelph Little Gym (thanks for hosting us!) and was a great success.

Trial memberships are open in the first few weeks -- join now to find out more!

momstown at the babytime show!

We loved the spring Babytime Show at the International Centre! It was great to meet so many potential members (we heard you Toronto -- you need some neighbourhood momstowns -- we're a-comin'!) and mingle fellow entrepreneurs. Thanks so much to our volunteers to came out to help man the booth and share their passion for mosmtown!