Product Review: Rubbermaid is makin' JK lunches easy!

My baby is going to Junior Kindergarten in just a few short weeks. She's way more ready for this than I am. It's our first child to go to school so it's gonna be a transition on all ends.

I'm worried about lunchtime. Wait - make that a balanced lunch or balanced schedule or whatever they call it. With two nutrition breaks - 11am & 2pm - my baby is going to be eating with her classmates and not her mama. I'm stressing not about what to send to eat, but what to send the food IN!

As the JK teacher showed at Orientation night this spring, most JK (& older!) kids need to practise how to open up their re-useable containers so the contents don't hit the floor. Every school is all about the litterless lunch, so forget about the plastic wrap. Some of our containers are tricky for me to open, let alone someone with mini fingers and developing dexterity.

Enter in Rubbermaid Lock-its. They have the surefire security of the Rubbermaid seal (so her lunchbag won't be soaking in watermelon juice) but they open up easily on all 4 sides clickedy-click! No spills, easier to open than the traditional ones we've tried and she loves the lock up, lock down, lock up, lock down mechanism.

To keep mama's cupboard happy - the lids all snap to their bases for simple stacking and order in the dreaded plastic shelf.

I know many moms are afraid of plastic these days, for good reasons, BUT, Rubbermaid Lock-Its have NO BPA to worry about. Good news for momstown moms!

Reasonably priced too but you can visit the Rubbermaid site to get a $1 OFF coupon on any Rubbermaid container and get your kids lunchbags ready for back to school!

Poop Painting!

I'll keep this short to keep all your gag reflexes in order. So you don't barf, like I almost did. But my kid painted all over his crib with his poo! Too many blueberries resulted in an early morning diaper explosion up and out of jammies. A little too much alone time in his crib that day meant he discovered some new form of creativity with his messy, blueberry poo.

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww!

I know this can happen (my mother has told the story of when my brother did this for the last 30+ years) but it never happened to kid #1 so I was unprepared for the joy and sanitizing that lay ahead.

I can wipe up crap from a diaper like a champ and my cleaning up puke ability is stellar since becoming a mother. But when poop is somewhere else, a place it should NOT be, it's rather unsettling.

One can possibly handle poop on the crib, poop on the sheets and poop on his books. Yuck. But when there is poop smeared on your son's FACE? Under his nails? In his hair.... what's a good mother to do?

Bathe him, yes. Immediately.

The question that looms - did he eat it?

How will I know? It's not like it will show up alarmingly in his diaper like an eaten penny or bauble. It will blend in, like, well, more poop.

Sigh..... I think blueberries are banned.

Product review: cool green iBert safe-t-seat

Gotta say - the colour got me right away. Totally adore the bright green seat with vibrant orange seat cover. I was hooked. It's got 2 out of 3 momstown colours - green & orange! What's not to love?

Then - I tried the seat and I fell in love. Along with my 20 month old son who sees my bike in the garage and immediately points at it and yells "up, Up, UP!!!"

The iBert Safe-t-seat from Trelia is exactly what I have been searching for. When my almost 4 year old daughter was 12 months old, I went everywhere - big box stores, kids shops & even garage sales trying to find a seat to strap to my bike. To no avail. There was nothing!

The following spring we ended up buying a bike trailer to hitch up behind, but it has always made me extremely nervous being so low to the ground and near to cars. We have 2 kids now who can cram into the trailer but the 20 month hates the trailer so family bikes have totally lost their appeal.

New development - big sister loves riding her own bike now and would rather bike than be toted in a trailer. Little brother wants to feel more in the action than in his stroller with mom racing behind big sis. Hence the need for something new. A new search began.

Alas - the iBert safe-t-seat came to the rescue. Being distributed in Canada by Adrian & Valerie Smith (Valerie happens to be a Burlington momstown member!) I heard about this super cool and SAFE seat from them.

It's attached in front of the rider, behind the handlebars, with a serious metal attachment (which Adrian tells me can carry the weight of my mini-van so we're talking about a heavy duty strong contraption). It comes with everything to hook it up to your bike - tools and all. It took about 10 minutes to set me up. Once installed, the child (between ages 1-4) sits up front while safely & securely strapped into a 3 point harness and cross-bar.

I love it. My kid loves it. We can talk and point out things as we go along. He giggles as we ride - loving every minute (a real treat since our stroller is losing his interest). I am not turning around to talk or check on a kid in a trailer. The seat is stable and I control additional stability with my own body weight. It's an ease to ride, besides the charming kid in front of me, I hardly notice I'm riding with anything different on my bike.

Plus, it's a breeze to get Andrew in and out (well, easier to get him in since he loves it and never wants to come out actually).

With all this rain, we have been biking a lot since we go out onto the wet streets once the rain has past to ride and wait for everything to dry up. A great way to get everyone outside in this less than desirable summer.

momstown members - check out your discount section on your site to see your momstown discount from Trelia for $10 OFF the seat + FREE shipping. Quite the deal - all special for our momstown moms. Get one now so you can enjoy it for the rest of the summer & fall!

Watch soon for a mini video blog of Andrew & I using the seat - just need to figure out my cool new mini cam! You'll see smiles all round! Check out http://www.trelia.ca/ for more info.

And the July monthly contest winner is......

Jodi Winter!

Congratulations Jodi! You've won a SuperMama Kit from mammamio!

Enter to win the next monthly contest of a new momstown SIGG water bottle.

Making 40 years look like a cinch

A lot can happen in 40 years - a lot can go right, a lot can go wrong, good luck, bad luck, all sorts of things. But, from where I stand, I think my parents have had a pretty unbelievable 40 years of marriage.

They both recently celebrated their 65th birthdays alongside their 40th anniversary this spring and to make it special they held a weekend party on their property for all their closest friends & family. It was a pig roast themed karaoke party along with a giant tent and jazz band and plenty (and I mean plenty) of beer & wine. Casual yet sophisticated, just like them.

We were all there to celebrate these milestones yet there was very little comment or discussion about why we were celebrating - the pig took precedence. The party was in their honour but the stars never took centre stage.

As I watched my parents happily mingle with lifelong friends I was busy making mental notes and silent thank-yous to whoever is 'up there'. Out of the 20 or so couples of similar age there, my parents were the only couple to have missed a significant health blow, serious tragedy or marital strife. Remarkable actually. Or lucky, I guess.

I'm not sure what they credit as their success or guidance in this. They've had their share of bumps, sadness and difficulties but it takes more than luck to stand together both physically, mentally & spiritually strong for 40 years.

I can't describe what I think it takes, but it's more than love and perseverance, it's something if you could just see my parents together you would understand.

It's in the fact that my mom actually misses my dad when he's working in the yard and she actually likes taking care of him and doesn't seem to resent it one bit. And the fact that Dad truly appreciates Mom, makes sincere comments on the little things she does and listens to her (usually).

They've been together 48 years and married for 40 and they like & respect each other. Still.

Is it 40 years of practise that makes this happen? Is it choosing battles? The regular dual appreciation and missing after 45 minutes thing don't seem to be factors in our generation's households. Are we too busy for the daily appreciative love-in? Maybe our generation runs away from what some may define as old fashioned values in order to redefine what is normal for us?

Or maybe, if I rewound back 35 years into their marriage I might see one that resembles my own and learn that things will mellow and might get less chaotic as time passes? Maybe marriage is different at 40 years in versus a handful...?

What I do know is, as a product of this 40 year union, I have never actually thought of them as a couple. Just as Mom & Dad. I had never really appreciated the incredible example they have provided for what a marriage stands for and what it is meant to be until I, myself, am 8 years & 2 kids into my own marriage and standing there celebrating their 40th.

On the eve of their celebration I toasted them for making 40 years look like a cinch. For setting the bar incredibly high but making it look easy. So easy, in fact, it's taken me by surprise how much 'work' goes into a happy marriage.

The next day after the party was over, music was on and family was relaxing and for no reason at all my parents started slow dancing together.

Potentially a cheesy moment. But, I was a puddle. Why then, I have no idea, but it suddenly hit me... if 40 years of perfection have passed, there isn't another 40 ahead for continuous improvement.

Maybe that's why the stars of the party never stood up to shine and draw more attention, when everyone can already see their marriage is sparkling from miles away? Why point out the obvious about time passed when the best way to celebrate 40 years is to focus on the bliss of the moment and not look too far ahead.

Maybe that's the key to a beautiful marriage - to love one another and love the moment.

Happy Anniversary to a perfectly shiny, everlasting couple.

Butt Out in Burlington Parks!

There’s nothing quite like spending some quality time outdoors with your kids and then suddenly cruising through a cloud of cigarette smoke while chasing your toddler. What a stinky delight.

Maybe almost as great is picking out the cigarette butts from the sand or pebble playground surround in advance of your curious teething child. A delicious treat for all youngsters.

Smoking around children and in our public space has become quite the debate in our local hometown chapter of momstown.ca and these Burlington moms are keen to fight for the rights of our children.

Christine Robinson, mother of a toddler and an infant, is so deeply offended by the random pollution of puffs of smoke that she’s begun an online petition and has plans to present her argument to Burlington City Counsel.

Christine would like to see all smoking banned from public places but specifically city operated facilities like parks and splash pads. momstown.ca has joined the fight and would like to invite you to sign the petition here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Smoking-Ban

The City of Barrie has already initiated this idea effective July 1st and all violators are fined $100. Shouldn't Burlington be providing a clean and safe environment for our kids to play and live too?

wanna be a momstown mama?

Calling all moms who want to open their OWN momstown in their town!

The "momstown movement" is the expansion of our network into more communities and it's picking up pace! Did you know that YOU could start your own chapter of momstown.ca?

momstown is looking for talented, energetic, passionate & professional moms keen for a challenge and open to a small business idea.

momstown is a turn key operation ready for you to put into motion in your community. momstown is looking for potential licensees who want to grab the chance to work part-time, from home, for herself in a family focused environment.

Interested? Contact us now for more info and to reserve your territory. Newly launched, the momstown movement is flexible and
low-risk.

Deadline for Fall 09 launches = July 25/09
Deadline for Spring launches = Dec 15 /09

Click here to start the process by filling in the licensing application form. Join the momstown movement today!

the internet starvation diet

How did my unconnected holiday go? The one where this mom entrepreneur strove to ignore all forms of the machine called the computer, banish email and all other social media (much of which I call play + work in my house)?

First off – I have to be totally honest – I broke on day 4.

Nine days is an extremely long time to go without (sounds much like an argument I might hear at home sometimes, but I digress…)

I unplugged the laptop at 8pm Thursday and got in the car to drive to up north that night with baby #2. I spent the 2.5 hour drive there disengaging, ridding my system of business and listening to all the MJ tributes on the radio.

I made it through the entire day Friday, Saturday, Sunday and then until 6pm Monday. Our VISA bill was due & I had forgotten to pay it. So I logged onto my dad’s computer to pay the bill…. and alas…. momstown.ca was calling…

I read a bit of momstown's busy forum (had I only missed 4 days? Seemed like weeks!) and then with a burst of energy I slapped the top down! Amazing - I did not check my email. I did not log into Facebook or Twitter. I held out. But I could not stay away from momstown. I didn't work but I logged in an a regular addicted member. I.could.not.stay.away.

Technically, I cheated.

But again, celibate - I lasted again from Tuesday till Sunday until I was home again without logging on. And there WAS internet at the cottage (this was the cottage until my parents moved there permanently 4 years ago) and 2 laptops available …. I resisted.

Guess what I did? I read a book!!! Jubilant! I have almost finished a fantastic selection of Alice Munro stories and I feel better about looking at text on pages instead on a glary screen. I feel a smidge like the old me who devoured books and did some serious relaxing & thinking (what to do with an idle mind… that’s another blog for another day).

Would I do it again? Yes! Even though the mountain of email is here, the powering off was good for me. Will my momstown partner be taking a similar challenge when she jets home this month to visit?

Alas, the BlackBerry is one tough habit to break and I’m still working on her to take the chance and dump it in her suitcase turned OFF.