Snugabunny Swing & Cradle is loved!

We had the pleasure of trying out the Fisher-Price My Little Snugabunny Cradle & Swing at our house this month.

We had a special coffee and play date at our house so some very little babies could test the Cradle and Swing out, as well as our youngest who is just shy of 11 months.  The swing was very simple to put together, we had a team doing it so it was completed in very little time.

Then it was time for the first little baby to try it out. Mom was skeptical, as she wasn't sure her daughter would like it. As soon as she was strapped in, she played with the rattle toy and then she smiled! She loved the swing!

Our next tester's mom was concerned that her son would not like it, and she was sure he was going to be fussy any minute! They had a different swing, and they have already sold because her son hated it!! Once he was in, we was mesmerized by the mirror and mobile of birds, and then... he fell asleep! Mom was so impressed she is hoping to win the swing at our momstown Birthday party, and wishes they would have purchased the Snugabunny!

After everyone had left, it was our youngest' turn. It was nap time, so what better time to try it out! She also loved the mirror and the mobile, and loved the music.

Of course our 2.5 year old had to "help" her swing!

Then.... she fell asleep!

 I was concerned that she would be too big for the swing, but it has a weight limit of 25 pounds and she is not there yet! This swing will be used at our house for a while yet! Also with the position of the "arms of the swing, a bigger baby cannot grab onto them, which makes the swing much safer for bigger babies.

I love the fact that it has the plug in option, nothing is worse than needing a swing and having no batteries for it. The material is super soft, and the 4 options for music and sound are awesome, especially the nature sounds.

All of our testers agreed, they loved the Snugabunny and it is perfectly named!

Picassos in the Park

Finally the weather in Central Alberta Co-operated and momstown Central Alberta took advantage and we held a Picassos in the park event!!

It was a beautiful Central Alberta morning, and the kids were happy to get messy with paint!

I think the kids love the mixing of paint as much as the painting! Especially when a few of them discovered they could make purple!!

After the painting, this little guy truly enjoyed the mess! I bet his bath water was an awesome color!

Join us for our play dates in the park every Friday! We try to have these picasso events when the weather is warm and the wind is minimal!

Junior Chef: Mini Pizza Time!

momstown Central Alberta had a full house at our Junior Chef event this month! 

Many of our members, moms and their children created over 40 mini pizzas!!

Let the Pizza making Begin!

As mentioned by a few moms, this would make a great activity for a birthday party activity! 

Having the kids make their own pizzas!

Picking out the toppings

These are going to be good!

Keeps the kids entertained, they will (usually) eat what they make, and these pizza cost SOOO much less than ordering in!
Not to mention how much healthier these versions were!!

Spreading the Sauce

Proud of her creation

Can we eat them yet?

Ingredients

English Muffins

Pizza/Pasta Sauce

Mushrooms

pineapple

3 types of deli meat

green peppers

mozzarella cheese

The kids loved being able to pick what they wanted on their pizzas!

Finished Pizzas

YUMMY

Letting them cool off

Join us next month for our Junior Chefs Program!

Check out the Calendar for all the details!

Crafty Mamas: Custom Coasters

Every month or so, we have a Craft Mamas event, and this month we made custom coasters!

The snacks were ready and the Sangria poured (helps with the craftiness of course) 

and we got to work!

 Some of us forgot to have our pictures ready for the event, and others hadn't gotten their pictured back yet, so we used scrap booking paper, and it turned out beautifully still!

Those of us who were prepared and organized got to work on centering their photographs on the tiles (we used regular back splash tiles you can get from any hardware store). The others cut their scrapbooking paper to fit. 

We chose to cut the paper/photos a bit smaller than the tiles to give it a nice border effect

One the centering and cutting was completed, you add the modge podge. 

Some to the tile, add the picture (or fancy paper) and then some on top. 

Let it dry until "tacky" and do it again. 

It was suggested that if your paint stroked for the glue went different ways each time, the lines would not be a noticeable.

I think they turned our beautifully! This is not a long craft, nor is it very difficult. 

Anyone can do this! Promise! 

Of course you could use almost anything or any theme for the coasters! 

You can use bigger tiles and use as a trivet or even a piece of wall art. 

After we were completed our projects, well we spent a few more hours visiting and chatting! 

All in all a great Crafty Mamas event!

See you at our next one!

Get your Craft on!!

The Older Mom: The Olden Days

I had my first baby at 30. Not too old, not too young. But then I didn't have my second until I was almost 37. The next when I was 38. Now I am an Older mom. 

I don't feel old. I don't feel like I am approaching 40... but I am an older mom. Being the momstown Mama for Central Alberta, I can see birth dates of all that sign up, and there have been some that are AFTER I graduated from high school.

Sure motherhood is an experience that  brings us all together, something we all can relate to... but it is hard to believe when someone has no idea what happened in the 90's!! lol Someone who doesn't understand my love for the Beastie boys?

All kidding aside, I'm lucky I look pretty young for my age, always have. I was being ID'd for the bar until I was well into my 30's...

But today, well my oldest daughter made me feel really old. 

She asked me something I remember asking my own mother.

She asked me about THE OLDEN DAYS when I was a kid... specifically if I had a dress like they have in green gables so she could play dress up. 

I am a 70's child... just for the record (saving you having to do the math lol)...

So, have your kids asked you about the olden days yet??

momstown Monet: Circus Clowns

momstown Central Alberta went to the Circus with our momstown Monet program this month!

Our members and their children started our program with some craft time, creating our own Circus Clowns.  

This momstown.ca craft was our inspiration!

 What do you need to make your own Circus Clown?

Paper Plate

Construction Paper

Tissue Paper for the hair

Red Balloon for the Nose

Pom Poms

Crayons

Lots of imagination!

Then we made ourselves into circus clowns with a super easy and inexpensive 

recipe for home made face paint!

This was where we were happy to have the Huggies Wipes on hand, as it can get messy!

They made clean up a snap, and removing the face paint very easy!!

Of course the kids loved having their faces painted, even though they started off asking for UNICORNS and TIGER FACES!! ha ha

We had to explain to them that we were not the same as the face painter at our Birthday Party!

Join us next month for our momstown Monet program!

Westerner Days Parade 2012

It was the Westerner Parade Day today in Red Deer! 

We spent yesterday afternoon and evening "fluffing up" the pom poms and then decorating the "mama mobile". This morning we were at the Parade Route very early for judging and final assembly of the balloons and streamers on the wagons and strollers. 

We then asked our "fans" to take pictures of us on the Parade Route 

& here is a sample of what they took!

The pace of the parade was much faster than I expected, but it was a great morning for a beautiful walk downtown Red Deer. 

It did threaten rain and there were a few drops felt as we waited to take our spot on the route, but all in all, it was a great morning and lots of fun!!

Next stop the Westerner Fair Grounds! What day will you head there?

Backyard Movie Night

Central Alberta has had such wonderful weather, we decided we needed a momstown backyard movie night! 

We rented the movie and the projector, and the kids brought their blankets and pillows! 

Getting set up for the movie, finding a good spot

The kids played while we waited for it to be time for the movie. 

(We also waited for some late arrivals, would the local theatre do that for you? lol)

All set up and ready to go... oh wait lets play first

We had popcorn made, and everyone had a box with their name on it, helps to know who belongs to what... we also had a mini candy bar... well what is a movie night without treats?

front row seats with their popcorn

We are all here, is it time for the movie?

And well you know we didn't plan for? How light out it still was at 8:30pm!!

Everything was set up, movie in and the projector set up and..... 

no one could see the movie, still too much sunlight!! 

So into the house we went, bringing their blankets and treats to all watch the movie!!

The moms took advantage of this and had a really nice patio visit with the left over treats!!

Joint kids movie night and moms night out! 

Perfect!!

Watching the movie inside

Tales for Tots: Clifford goes to the Circus

We met in the wonderfully air conditioned Chapters Red Deer for our monthly Tales for Tots Program! It has been so hot, it was a treat to be cool for an hour or so inside!!

 Of course the kids are drawn straight to the train table as soon as they get there... but they leave when it is story and craft time!

This month Scholastic Canada gave us the wonderful book Clifford Goes to the Circus as our book of the month to read and give away.  

Scholastic has recently reissued many of the Clifford books as part of a special "Be Big" series. While the content of the stories in the "Big Big" series has not changed, Scholastic has placed a badge on the cover on each book that identifies the character lessons that the book emphasizes. 

"Clifford at the Circus" focuses on working together.

The kids really loved the story about how Clifford helped the circus, it was a great book for keeping their attention, and they loved talking about the story afterwards! A sign of a great book!!

Tanya making a growling noise!

Here is our lucky winner of the Scholastic book! Mom couldn't make it to the event, so the kids brought DAD!! He must have been their lucky charm, as they got to go home with Clifford!

Dad, kids and their new book

Then the kids got to work on their Circus crafts that Chapters Organized for us. We had quite a few little kids at this event this month, so we worked on our coloring skills with pictures of the circus to color and discuss. The kids had the choice of an elephant or the big top to color.

coloring time!

Join us next month at our Tales for Tots event, and you just might take home a new book for your family! And as always, Moms or Dads are welcome to accompany their kids to any of our events!!

momstown Music & Movement July 2012

One of our most popular events each month is our Music & Movement Program. It has become so popular we are looking at having it occur more often!! Stay Tuned for the details! 

This event is held at the Chair tease Dance Studio, and it was our Lucky Day! The Air Conditioning had just started to work again right before we arrived! 

All the better to get our dance shoes and our singing voices ready.

learning the Shake & Tickle Song

We usually start with a warmup of singing a few songs, with lots of actions, to get everyone comfortable. Sometimes (most times it is the moms who need to get their singing hats on!) So Don't worry if you are not a great singer, the kids love it and no one cares, but if you are, please feel free to come & sing loudly to drown us out!! Ha ha.

learning some new actions

we can't sit any longer!

Then we play some Freeze Dancing games to get everyone loose, and moving around! The kids love this!!

Everyone is now up and Dancing!

ahhhh the cool breeze!

we love to Dance with the moms!

Keep watching the calendar for updates on this program and so much more!!

Traveling with Kids: Peggy's Cove

After we left Peggy of the Cove and the wonderful painted house, we made our way to Peggy's Cove. I was so looking forward to seeing this "IN REAL LIFE" as I actually have two paintings in my house that were given to me as gifts, so it was time to see this place for myself. Our first stop was the swissair flight 111 memorial at Whalesback. I was a bit concerned that my oldest would be worried about taking the plane home after attending this memorial, but she seemed fine.

enjoying a snack and the view

Peggy's Cove in the distance

We really appreciated how the memorial blends in with the beautiful surroundings, with amazing views of the ocean and Peggy's Cove in the distance. It was lovely, understated and a beautiful memorial.

Peggy's Cove was next just a 5 minute drive and we were there... such a small place with lots of tour buses!! Luckily we chose a cloudy day so the crowds were not crazy! Regardless it is a beautiful place! I was told that it was not kid friendly, as you cannot get a stroller onto the rocks and well they will just be bored... but we did just fine!

The two older girls explored the rocks, CAREFULLY, with our two year old holding our hand the entire time, and we managed to get a few pictures of us as well, but not of the whole family...

Four out of Five family members

Safely exploring with a two year old (hand in shirt)

In almost all of the pictures of our two year old, she has her hand in her shirt, or my favorite, that I didn't notice until we got home, with her hands in her pants!!... I had no idea why she kept doing it, until near the end of our exploring she said "Mommy big owie Tummy!" and then the mess! Thank goodness for the Huggies Wipes we packed and the tourism information place and their bathrooms with a large change table!!

Sometimes it is the small things that really make the trip, especially when traveling with kids, right?

Where is your hand??

So how do you deal with a "runny tummy?" In our house we have competing views, my husband's the Zimbabwean "remove all food until better" and my "Canadian" BRATY diet. Any other tricks?