the soccer sleep

I have one very excited little girl here – soccer starts TONIGHT! And Daddy is coaching which ups the ante for exuberance.

She’s had her cleats on every night ‘practising’ and would probably sleep in her uniform if we let her. Yes, it hasn’t even started yet. I hope reality doesn’t disappoint, but that’s a comment for another blog, another day…

Games & practises for the U4 are condensed into one night (yippee) from 6:30 to 7:30pm. Lights out over here for the non-napping 3.5 yr old is usually between 7 and 7:30 so in order to prevent the evening soccer meltdown I have introduced “the soccer sleep”.

The best part is…. the soccer sleep is non-negotiable. No nap = no soccer.

Heavens to Betsy, even Lauren would not risk that!

So Game On because she is napping now!! At the same time as her little Brother. YEE HAW says mom!

Would it be mean to tell her every night is a soccer night?

Introducing the MOMSTOWN MINDS!

Introducing a compelling new option from social media momstown.ca…. the momstown minds panel!

The momstown minds panel is made up of influential and volunteer momstown members who are keen to try your branded product, give it online reviews and lead branded discussions on momstown.ca web forums. Our member generated content will help enhance your ‘word of mom’ and amplify your marketing efforts within your mom target group.

To further support the sponsored message the founding momstown mamas will also write a corresponding product review on the momstown moments blog right HERE (& archive it) and highlight all sponsored reviews in the monthly momstown mail e-newsletter with 6000+ subscribers.

Get the momstown minds thinking and talking about your brand!

To include your brand contact us at momstown.minds@momstown.ca

I'm gettin' old....

I get it, I’m no longer cool. My coolness is now defined by what my daughter thinks of me and it’s usually attached to the kind of snack I provide.

Most days I’m comfortable that I’m in a stage where comfort reigns over style; I’m losing touch on much that isn’t ‘mommy related’ and that I am way more familiar with kiddie songs that current music.

It’s a stage right? I’ll be cool again one day?

I’m okay with being uncool… but I just figured out the reason I’m uncool is not that I’m a mom but I’m getting old.

More grey hair (crap!) that I’m yanking out daily!

Those tiny lines around my eyes are NOT just because I’m tired – those bags and lines are permanent!

And I hate – with a passion – low-rider jeans. Hate them.

Yes – I am getting older. Such is life, hasn’t really bothered me – to date. But last night, I really felt it.

We had tickets (in my hubby’s company box yahoo!) for the Elton John & Billy Joel concert last night. Super excited to hear all the (old) favourites and I joked (or so I thought) on Facebook did this excitement make me old?

Uhhh – apparently based on the responses – YES it does!!! That took a bit of wind out of my sails but whatever.

Then I checked out the audience and well, it was boomer-central. I looked out at a crowd of "older" people (bc as a mid-70s baby I am a smidge younger than a boomer) and realised – I fit in. That means, I am older too. boo hoo.

And hello, I failed to recognize that Elton John is 64 – yes SIXTY-FOUR! And Billy Joel is SIXTY. They should be grandfathers, really.

I don’t really have a way to end this blog – no big immortality exclaimation except I'm uncool and old. Oh no. What is next - a walker???

no, I know, grandmomstown.ca ...

join the momstown movement!

momstown is ready to roll out across Canada... are you ready to be part of the momstown movement?

In a world where online media is outpacing traditional media, people email more than they pick up the phone, and where neighbours no longer know each other… momstown.ca meets a relevant need for any community and hey, makes good business sense too!

Are you (or someone you know?) searching for an income generating opportunity that is flexible & family friendly? Are you passionate about children, parenting, & connecting with like-minded mothers? How about internet-savvy,enthusiastic, self-motivated and leadership driven? Are you looking for a part-time income, a fulfilling way to contribute to your family and an at-home business you can be proud of?

Investing in momstown might be the right choice for you!?

The big question Christi & I keep getting is why are we licensing and creating the momstown movement when we have already been expanding independently?

Well, we own & operate our current 8 chapters (Burlington, Oakville, Milton, Guelph, K-W, Barrie, Newmarket, Aurora) and we are constantly getting requests from moms who are dying for a momstown in their 'hood.

The market is PRIME for momstown chapters. That's the awesome thing.

The frustrating part for Christi & I is we just have run out of time to do everything! Running the momstown business itself plus managing our teams who run the local chapters means we already sleep too little. The only way to further expand momstown (without putting our kids in FT care) is to sell the momstown license to other moms who want to establish their own part-time business and be part of our brand and community.

A pretty cool opportunity actually.... momstown can still reach all those moms who are waiting for momstown + provide income opportunities for moms who are looking for an entrepreneurial venture.

Feels all good, all round. And darn exciting!!!!!!

Our first licensee owned momstown will be opening June 15th in York region in Georgina & East Gwillimbury by our new friend Kim Edmiston (yay Kim!). We're looking forward to waaaaay more this summer & fall - double yay!

If you are interested in this unique ownership opportunity and would like more information please click here to start the application and learn more about the investment & details involved in owning and launching your OWN momstown & reserve your territory.

(PS: Do it soon!! We are getting in numerous requests every day and many for the same spots!)

Don't wait - join us in the momstown movement!!

our scrappy garden

My next-door neighbours’ yard is beautiful.

You know the kind – lovely, orderly garden and perfect grass. Our grass always looks scrappy, even when it’s just been cut, because theirs is so nice. Same goes for the neat and tidy garden – ours regularly has kiddie shovels & dump trucks in it which distract from the perennials…

These days I find solace in finding other gardens that have as many dandelions as we do.

We try, gosh, we try. Shovel in hand, we try to multi-task and do a bit of weeding while trying to keep 2 juniors from headbutting the garden stones or pushing tricycles onto the street. Silly me, I actually made it to the garden centre last week with 2 kids in tow to try to beat the May 2-4 rush – haha the rush!? I’ve got the over-priced flowers still on my porch, what was the point in rushing there?

Ever the optimist, I go outside each time thinking I’ll get this planter done today or maybe be able to spread some mulch….

It does.not.happen.

I finally did get that (one!) darn front porch planter done at 7pm tonight. All day I kept removing eye-poking sticks from hands and trying to explain that dandelions are weeds and that pulling the tops off real flowers was not helping mommy.

But, it was fun.

Once I remove my own expectations of the day or the tasks I’m trying to do, it can be fun. It can be hilarious watching an 18 month old try and hold a squirmy worm. And very tender to watch the 3 year old tend to the transplanted maple “tree” (uh…weed) which she christened “Trubby”. These days go by in a nano second and this windy, sunny day was a good one.

One day we will have that perfect garden and take pride in it. But for now, I take pride in the muddy knees of my kids, their wind blown hair and my scrappy garden.

now you can find the "momstown mail" right here!

Yeppers - we're gonna make it even easier to keep up to date with momstown!

momstown sends out 2 great newsletters monthly to our members and subscribers. We think we're putting out relevant content because 70%+ of those who receive the newsletters - actually open and read them!! That is a superb statistics in the online world, and one we are super proud of.

Curious about what's included?

On the 1st of every month, each chapter gets their own neighbourhood news which shares great things ...

- birth announcements of member babies

- a monthly recipe

- craft idea or activity for your kids
- highlights a few of our favourite momstown events coming up

- introduces that month's new contest

- welcomes new members (by username)

Our momstown mail is sent on the 15th to everyone on the total momstown subscriber list (currently almost 6000 people!). This one is from Christi & I and showcases any new momstown news (like where new chapters are opening up!), and any other great ideas, thoughts or features, parenting and otherwise. Starting next month will be a monthly product review. Also always included is a fantastic article by writer Louise Gleeson that is always touching and relevant to us all.

Now we're able to archive these newsletters to share with everyone and keep the content alive! You can find the momstown mail on this momstown moments blog, and the neighbourhood news on each local chapter blog.

Read March 15th momstown mail right here.

If you'd like to sign up to receive the momstown mail newsletter directly to your email, click here and find the blue circle up on the right to subscribe (you can unsubscribe at any time).

April's monthly contest winner is....

Tavia Weber!


Congratulations on winning $75 in products from Burt's Bees!


Please don't forget that you can enter the monthly contest once every day!

Yes - momstown WAS on Breakfast Television today!

I saw the sunrise while on the QEW this morning – that was a first for me.

Another first was the reason I was up before the crack of dawn today ... to be on CityTV’s morning show Breakfast Television (BT)! momstown was doing a segment on ‘how to keep your kids busy on a budget’.

Got there at 6:30am with all my props and got to watch the show unfold which was cool. CITY seems like a fun and relaxed place to work with very cheerful staff considering the ungodly hour they were in at.

When it was time for momstown there was no prep which was a smidge daunting as my props were tossed onto the table (and disassembled eek!!) and literally was told, “we’re on in 10 seconds get ready!” No time for a little prechat and we’re ….LIVE!

Here's the link so you can watch the speed segment yourself…

Regardless if we were on for 10 seconds or 10 minutes I was pleased to have the chance to say the word “momstown” on air today.

Imagine, if 1000 viewers called in to vote on Kevin’s shirt within 5 minutes today then think about how many viewers must have tuned into to hear the words “momstown.ca”….

Very exciting….!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Wishing all of you a beautiful day today on Mother's Day. Enjoy those precious little people who allow you to call yourself the greatest thing of all - a mother.

(here's my little family bringing me breakfast in bed this morning!)

A Picture of Motherhood

There were so many fantastic photos reflecting motherhood that were submitted by our readers and momstown members for our Mother's Day Contest sponsored by Zune 8! After much deliberation on choosing a "winning" photo the Zune team decided that this photo really reflected the genuine happiness of both the mother and child. Congratulations to Christine (one of our burlington mamas) on winning the Zune 8 media player and Happy Mother's Day to all mamas!:-)



Here are just a few of the other true motherhood reflections that we received!

dig in with kiddie gardening

"That orange-en one over there, the MARY-gold. And that red one..." were the directions I was receiving yesterday at the garden centre from my 3.5 yr old daughter.

We were on a mission to pick up some flowers and in order to keep her an enthusiastic shopper I had agreed that Lauren could have her very own spot in the garden and could pick out 4 plants.

That afternoon, my mini-Martha planted her very own flower garden, all by herself, digging, planting, watering. That night there were 2 trips out to the garden to "check on my flowers".

I'm a big believer in first hand experience with kids and mine learn better when they can try something themselves. A mini vegetable or flower garden is such an easy and effective way to teach them about the season, how things grow and also practice independence as they tend to their wee dirt patch or special garden pot.

Gardening with kids is such a great learning experience so last spring momstown included a whole gardening piece in our newsletter with tips from EarthEasy.com so we thought we'd bring the great tips out again now that we are bloggin'!

Top crops for children:

Sunflower: A must for a child's garden. Plant just one or two, since they take a lot of room.

Lettuce / mescluns: A quick and reliable crop to give the child fast results, and also a good way to interest kids in salads.

Radishes: Quick results for the young gardener (only thing - who wants to eat these?)

Snow peas: A quick-growing early crop, and fun for kids to eat right off the vine.

Cherry tomatoes: Gotta have 'em! These may be the most fun crop for a child

Bush beans: Fast, easy, high yield and fun to harvest.

Carrots: Small varieties are recommended for children, as they're easier to grow and more fun to eat.

Potatoes: A 'never-fail' crop. You can plant red or white varieties; red will mature faster.

Have fun out there in the dirt with your kiddos!! Heck - it might mean been less trips to the grocery store!?

momstown mania was full of might!

If this beautiful picture doesn't speak a thousand words about today.....

momstown mania was a huge-huge success today! Our first ever multi-site event, momstown mania ran in 8 communities and drew over 2500 people out to participate in an array of activities!

We're in awe in what happened today and thrilled to have been part of so many people's day. And also incredibly proud of our team for pulling together such a comprehensive event in very short time frames.

And of course, grateful that we had such perfect weather to enhance the whole momstown mania experience.

Stay tuned for lots of pictures from today that will make you start planning for mania #2, May 15th 2010!

Photo courtesy of Fresh Images

more cereal please!

"Can I have more ceweeall mommy pleeeese?"

I hear this every single morning until my 3.5 year old has completely devoured three (3!) full adult sized bowls of cereal (or "ceweeall"). You'd think her father was Jerry Seinfeld with her affinity towards the stuff ...

It used to be a varied request from the numerous boxes in the cupboard but for the last 3 months there is no variation and it MUST be the new MultiGrain Krispies from Kelloggs ( I buy 4 boxes at a time now). I swear it is three full bowls every day and I see those extra high fibre grains later in the day let me tell you...

How fitting it is that Multi-Grain Krispies is a sponsor at our upcoming momstown mania event next week? Each momstown chapter will have a demo team on site to sample the cereal (with milk & bananas for a full breaky!). Yay for Kelloggs!

I'm just not sure how I'm going to explain to Lauren that it's not polite to ask the demo lady for three helpings...