Thursday, May 31, 2012

momstown Edmonton North Luau games with Huggies!

I was so excited that May`s theme was luau! The first thing I did was go and find games so we could do luau games. Then came the exciting news that we would be able to sample the new limited addition Hawaiian Huggies diapers. Our luau theme came just in time for the weather to get nice so we could do it outside. However the day of our luau games it was crazy windy! An excess of 50 km winds! However our mama`s are rock stars and braved the wind and joined me for our games!!


We started off with a twist to musical chairs and did musical towels. In theory this is a great game, add a lot of wind and it doesn`t quite work. I am sure we spent more time chasing the towels down. I think we will try this game again but when we have less wind. We went old school and I brought my tape/CD player and the kids ran around with a gusto.


Next was our kiwi relay races, the kids absolutely loved this game. Who knew putting kiwis on spoons and getting the kids to run around our boxes of Huggies diapers would be so entertaining. They played until the kiwis were dropped and or exploded open.


Ever played duck, duck, goose? Make it luau and change it to shark, shark, fish! The kids were playing shy and didn't want to run around the circle, which meant us moms were picking the kids up and running for them! Oh man did it ever tire us out!


First I have to say I have hips to bear children, however I do not have hips to maneuver a  hula hoop. I was shown up by 4 year olds! It is a good thing that we had enough hula hoops for everyone because everyone participated in hula hoops.


To finish off our games we had coconut bowling. Again fun in theory but with wind we had a hard time keeping the pins up but that didn't deter the kids from trying to bowl with coconuts. To close off our game we had a pudding eating contest! It was nice to have the Huggies wipes on hand to clean up the mess especially since we were at a park. Always a good way to end a day!


Back to our rock star mamas, even though we had the kids all bundled up because of the wind they still wanted to try the diapers on children! The children were also rock star because they thought that it was great running around in the colourful diapers. Thank you everyone who made it out to our event, you all made it a great success.

momstown Edmonton North


Wednesday, May 30, 2012

momstown Edmonton North reads Giraffes Can't Dance





  momstown.ca partners with Scholastics Canada, and every month we get to read and then raffle off a book that goes with our monthly theme.  May's theme is Luau!! For this fun theme we got to read Giraffes Can't Dance by Andreae Giles. 

This month we combined our Play and Social and our Tales for Tots. The kids got to get all their energy out by running around and playing then afterwords they all sat down to read Giraffes Can't Dance. This is a fantastic book that lets kids know that it is okay to be different and dance to your own beat.

Also the illustrations in the book are colourful and alive. The dancing animals bring out cute little giggles from the kids. This is definitely a book that can be read time and time again!

 When we raffled off the book this month our winner was Riley!! Congratulations! 

momstown Edmonton North reads `I am Small`

  momstown.ca partners with Scholastics Canada, and every month we get to read and then raffle off a book that goes with our monthly theme. April`s theme was small animals and to go with that theme we read I am Small by Emma Dodd.

 When we all met for April`s Tales for Tots we brought our little stuffed animals to join us in reading I am Small. The book is visually striking and holds the attention of all the kids. While I was reading the book the kids noticed that I am small is repeated through out the book and they started saying it out loud with me while I was reading.

 This is such a sweet book, every time I read it I get choked up, and every time I read this book to my son I wish that we had our own small penguin!

                             A big congratulations to this months winner Brendan!!


Monday, May 7, 2012

Mommy Politics....How Low Will They Go?


A couple of weeks ago I  went on a local Facebook group for moms (not to be named) and they were discussing controversial parenting decisions. One of them was circumcision, so I thought I’d read on and see how that went over. 
Oh my! I’ve never seen such judgement, and distasteful arguments in my life. There was swearing, name calling,  judgmental comments like “I question your competence and ability to make educated choices for your children”.....really? It was like a high school cat fight.
What is it about our choices as mothers that make us so heated? Why can’t we all respect each other’s decisions and agree to disagree? I’m all for a debate, or an expression of your opinion, but there is a point when people have to stop and question whether they’re just sharing their views, or just criticizing others to be right. 
While there are some choices that I feel strongly about as a mother, such as my daughter growing up a Christian, it does NOT make me determined in any way to force anyone else to see my perspective, or push it down their throats. As long as my choices are respected, I will show respect to those who disagree.
I think what these moms who engage in mommy politics are missing is the bigger picture: THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY TO PARENT. No matter how many studies are conducted, or how many people tell you you’re right, there will always be someone who sees their role differently, or has a different perspective about how a child should be raised.
Honestly, whether you cloth diaper or use disposables, rear face until your child is 15 or switch them at a year (okay, that’s the law, not really a parenting choice), circumcise or not, etc. etc. etc. there are many moms who will do it differently, and their children will be fine just the same. The child will not remember whether they were cloth diapered, or bottle fed, or any of those things. What they will know (we hope), is that regardless of the choices we made for them, we made every choice in their best interest, because we love them and want the best for them. We do the best we can. And pushing an opinion on someone else isn’t going to correct a wrong, it’s going to cause hurt, and resentment. Why? As moms, especially those that are new moms, we should be supporting each other’s choices. We know how hard being a mom is. We take heat from every side - in laws, husbands, seniors who always seem to have done it better 50 years ago, our own mothers....so now we’re turning on each other? We’re a team. We should support and respect each other. It’s tough to be a mom, and we do what we we feel is right, and what we can manage.
I went for a walk with one of our members the other day, and told her how disturbed I was over these cat fighting moms, and she pointed out that it’s hard for moms to find support like we have as momstown members. This is one of the many reasons I love momstown. Regardless of your choices, even if not everyone agrees with it, you’ll be respected, both on our message boards and in person. We all know that half the time, we’re just trying to SURVIVE. Who has time or energy to attack others? We know it’s hard. And the momstown mamas ARE a team, a support system. When our moms are having a hard time, we make them meals, offer our help, and encourage them. When everything is great, we celebrate and congratulate them. No attacks, or hate, no resentment or loneliness. Just love and support. Love it! 
And now for a little friendly reminder to the moms I witnessed cutting each other down on Facebook: 





Your momstown Edmonton North mama,

Amanda