Momstown Mississauga is Open for Business!

This Friday there’s a new group in town. No, it’s not a biker group or a musical group - it’s a mom's group! And not your mother’s idea of a mom's group either- it’s momstown Mississauga! 

First a little bit about me. My name is Sarah Ryan and I am the proud new owner of momstown Mississauga. I’m a mom to four year old twins and a first-time entrepreneur.  It is exciting to learn so much about starting my own business while doing something I love in my community.  I am thrilled to be able to bring momstown to our city! The passion for education of momstown’s founder 

Ann-Marie Burton is evident in the early literacy and education focused programs that make up momstown’s pillars.

What is momstown? It’s a national program that connects local parents with the businesses that serve them through 20+ events each month.  The programs feature a focus on early learning and literacy. What sort of activities do we provide to get you out of the house? Read on for highlights of some of our upcoming events in June.  

Picassos In the Park – a painting event where we line up picnic tables in the park and get messy! This is a favorite momstown event in momstown chapters across the country.  We will be holding it in parks all around Mississauga  throughout this summer.

Tales for Tots – Sponsored by Scholastic Canada, our Tales for Tots event features a “book of the month” that the children will enjoy at story time, as well as an opportunity to win a book courtesy of Scholastic!  In June ,we will be reading Old Macdonald’s Farm. It is an interactive puppet book, tfitting for our monthly them for June – On the Farm.  This event will be held at Chapters in the Erin Mills Power Centre.

Baby Basics  - This weekly program is designed for moms with babies aged 0-12 months looking to connect with other moms in the same stage of life. We will discuss topics like breastfeeding, infant massage, and sleep, every other week with a local expert.  On the alternate weeks, momstown will lead you and your child in a short “Baby Picassos” art session where you and your baby will create a keepsake craft.  Each session also includes plenty of time to get to know your fellow Mississauga moms in momstown. We will be holding this program at the Taima Zone throughout the summer.

Other exciting events and programs you can be a part of with momstown are:  Mama Meet & Greet, Sip & Stroll, Mom's Nights Out, Bookclub, Mama & Me Fitness, Discovery Field Trips, Junior Chef, Art & Play and  momstown Monet. The list goes on and on! 

These are just a small taste of the programming and activities available through momstown Mississauga.  For more information about the programs, event calendars or to just get to know momstown Mississauga a little more, visit our new website mississauga.momstown.ca

I am excited to start building our community, bringing together local moms like you together with your kids for fun, learning and support. I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events!

What is it like to be an Entrepreneur – momstown style!

For those of you who are new to momstown, Ann-Marie Burton founded the company in Burlington five years ago. The reality of entrepreneurship is that just under half of all small businesses fail within the first year, and within five years that statistic grows to an even larger number (highest I found quoted 80%). Simply stated, it’s a big deal to have a small business celebrate five years. Ann-Marie has accomplished it! She has built a team of entrepreneurs across Canada who are bringing her idea to life: connecting Canadian moms online and in person to support child development through literacy and early learning.

As a new momstown mama and someone who is new to entrepreneurship I wanted to answer the question I have been asked most lately: “What is it like to be an entrepreneur?”

Just like parenting, it is both rewarding and challenging. There are long hours - there’s rarely a moment where you feel your work is done for the day. There’s always more you could be doing whether it be researching new ideas, networking, program development, planning or administrative tasks. After my twins were born and I decided to be a stay at home mom, I quickly realised it was much harder than my previous employment in an office environment. What this new venture has taught me is that being a work at home mom is perhaps the hardest job of all –there is no escaping your workplace and as a new business owner (and a mother) the work is simply never done. Some days it feels like I’ve taken on a new job but not quit my old one!

However, I have to say I am very grateful to Ann-Marie for starting momstown, providing myself and our whole team of 24 entrepreneurs with this wonderful opportunity. Owning your own business is both empowering and exciting. It is a great opportunity for me to use many skills I have developed before AND after becoming a mom and learn some new things along the way too. In addition, the flexibility of working at home is terrific. For example, it is great that I can work after the kids go to bed (which is never early enough!) or stop working when it is time to pick them up from school or take them to an activity.

As I continue to learn and grow as a business owner and a mother, I am happy to be surrounded and supported by such a great network of women like our team at momstown! Thank you Ann-Marie for all of the hard work you have put into creating and growing the company into what it is today. I am thrilled to be joining you as we embark on the next 5 years of success!

Photo: Anita Woo Photography

Top 5 Mississauga Parks for Families

Once you have kids, you definitely start visiting parks more often! Prior to starting a family, you may have visited the park for a leisurely dog walk, or even a date night stroll. With kids, park visits become an almost necessary part of your week, and can make the trip to the park a very different experience than before!
For example, I remember the first time I took the twins, as babies, for a walk in a nearby park with a stroller. The board walk that I once loved, had suddenly turned the stroller into a vibration machine! And the beautiful vistas from that walk along the stony beach are no longer for quiet contemplation as you realize the bathroom is really far away. Everything changes with kids in tow – parks are no exception.

Mississauga is packed with green space. Did you know there are 480 different parks in our city?! Whether you are looking for a great picnic spot or a place for the kids to quickly burn off some energy on a climber, there is definitely a park in Mississauga to suit your needs.

My top 5 are below –these are all close to my neighbourhood  – I’d love to know your favourite, perhaps in other areas of the city? Please share your favorites in a comment below or on our Facebook Fan Page.

5. Jack Darling Park & Rattray Marsh 
These two parks join together and I love both of them equally. You can park near the marsh and walk to Jack Darling or vice versa - it’s a wonderful excursion with a great mix of nature and playtime-fun. The marsh does have the aforementioned wooden boardwalks so vibrating babies beware – consider bringing your sling or baby carrier! The marsh feels like a conservation area you’d find out of town – it is great to feel like you have left the city for awhile!  Over in Jack Darling there are two playgrounds,one with a newly redone splash pad. Be sure to get there early on the weekends –it’s busy!

4. Streetsville Memorial Park
This is a quiet spot, when you cross onto the island you feel you are leaving town (do you see a leaving town theme here?!). The willow trees add to the dreamy feeling in the summertime and make it seem impossible you are just two streets away from a vibrant downtown.

3. Port Credit Memorial Park
What a fabulous playground! There are playhouses including a store, post office, fire truck and a ship to encourage imaginative play. With lots of swings and a rubberized surface, it’s fantastic if you have crawlers. It’s a great way to get the kids burning off some steam!

2. Lakeside Park
This park has it all –a fantastic splash pad, a giant sandbox, a huge spinning net and walking trails down to the waterfront where you can skip stones! There is even an adjacent dog park if you have a furry family member in need of exercise before waiting it out at the playground.

1. Erindale Park 
This is the largest park in Mississauga. There are kilometers of walking trails along the Credit River. The playground is great, lots of sand and there are even some shady trees to spread your picnic blanket underneath.  It has something for everyone and is great for a quick visit or a family picnic. We will be hosting many events and playdates from Erindale Park including our big birthday bash in August!

View looking over Credit River

A trip to the park can be a lot of things: a way to cool off on a hot day, a great escape, a way to get back in touch with nature or a place to build memories with your family. Down the street or across town, our city parks have much to offer and we’re lucky to have all 480 of them in Mississauga!

Birthday Parties for Twins

Last week my twins turned four! They are a boy and a girl and are the best of buddies. So far each year we’ve opted to have a shared party.  We plan to do so until our kids start having different friends and different interests – probably in the next couple of years as they move into the school system, are in separate classes and focus more on ‘gendered’ activities (we all know about superheroes & princesses!).  


Having two kids share a party is not just a twin-thing! I have a close friend with daughters who are two years and one day apart. As a result, the girls share their birthday too. It can be challenging to celebrate with a joint party while at the same time making sure each child feels special.


For example, gifts can get tricky with a shared birthday.  One of our twins is very conscious of everything being “fair and equal”. This can make gift shopping a challenge and questions from friends are common. We are lucky that so far there has been a nice balance of a separate gift for each twin or a shared gift that they can use together (games, sports equipment etc). Also, when the twins are invited to a party, I always make sure I let them choose one gift each for their friend. It helps them feel like individuals at the party they are invited to. Loot bags are also a challenge, having everyone share in the choosing helps! 


At our shared parties, we don’t sing the Happy Birthday song twice - after all who would go first? I do however make each child their own cake. I love to decorate cakes (I’ll admit it would be easier if I could make them a week apart!). 


In the beginning, I spent extra time baking from scratch. I quickly realized that you can’t really taste the cake under all the frosting and toppings. Now I use a cake mix which definitely saves time.  I was able to make both cakes for around $25 dollars. They were a huge hit! Don’t think you need to be a professional to do it right – you can’t get caught up in making things “perfect”.  Kids are pretty easy going critics and they’ll love whatever you’ve made for them.


The kids requested an Excavator and an Ariel cake respectively. Read on for how I made them:


ARIEL

For Ariel  I baked the  cake in a glass mixing bowl, making sure the bowl was buttered and floured well so the cake released easily. I inverted the cake, slicing off the top to make it sit flat. Be sure to ice the cake and let it set up before inserting the doll! I used gel food colouring which delivers a brighter colour and does not change the consistency of the icing. When it was time to insert the doll, I removed her legs, and inserted her into the cupcake and cake securing her with wooden skewers. Her tail was piped on with a leaf tip (sounds complicated but I promise it's easy- practise a few times on a kitchen towel or plate)! 


Excavator 

For the Excavator I baked the cake in a loaf pan and used the additional batter for cupcakes. After cooling completely, I trimmed the cake to make it a flat rectangle then cut off 1/3 to stick on the top for the cab of the excavator. Then the fun part: decorating!  I used yellow licorice for the backhoe, Twix to hold on the scoop (2 cupcakes carved & glued with icing), chocolate doughnuts for wheels as well as lots of jujubes and other candies for finishing details. 


Birthdays are important events for kids, they create memories that last a lifetime.  We all can remember our favourite birthday party, either our own or someone else’s we attended. What are your favourite birthday memories? Do you have birthday traditions and tips you’d like to share? Let us know here or on our Facebook Fan Page!

Mother’s Day Gift

Four years ago today I celebrated my first Mother’s Day. It was a day early as my twins arrived at 6:30am on Saturday morning, Mother’s Day weekend. Becoming a mother was, at first, a surreal experience. I had spent those long months preparing with my husband for their arrival. And it seemed like suddenly, we were meeting these babies! It was was astonishing - I couldn’t stop thinking “wow they are real - they’ve arrived”. Which of course then lead to  “So now what do we do?” and finally  “What if we mess things up?”. 

There is no other job in life that comes with more responsibility than being a parent and yet there are no licenses, no tests to write and no classes to take beyond the labour and delivery. There is no boss other than your new baby, to tell you if you are doing what is required in this new position. 

As a first time ‘twin mom’ I think things ended up being easier for me than someone having just one child. That’s right I said I think it was easier having twins than a single child (OK, only in some ways, in others definitely not!). Because I was scared by the thought of how to cope with two babies, I sought out all kinds of help and resources in advance. I hired a postpartum doula consulted with Peel Public Health, went to twins prenatal classes and joined a Mississauga twins club.  While I was well prepared, I did learn that two babies are definitely twice the work from a time/energy perspective. (I couldn’t tell you how many people commented it was less work from the perspective of 'getting it all done at once!'). But all of those resources helped me to realize that what I needed most was the support of other moms. When you surround yourself in a "community" of other moms who have gone through or are going through the same things you are, it's easy to let go any “competitiveness” or worries about milestones etc.

As I start up momstown Mississauga, I am excited to bring moms together to support each other while on this crazy ride called parenthood! A friend recently commented that people with twins ‘find’ each other and that is true – we know it’s overwhelming so we seek each other out! People with their first child may not always seek out that support initially. First time parenthood can be overwhelming whether you are having one baby or multiples. Talking with other people who are going through the same experiences as you can really help. momstown Mississauga events are perfect for this as they are focused on bringing moms together to support each other and have fun, while at the same time learning about our six program pillars!

I’m counting down now to our ‘opening’ June 1st!  Make sure to visit the momstown Mississauga Facebook page for updates! I’m getting so excited to bring momstown to Mississauga!

momstown Mississauga: A Sneak Peek at our programs

The countdown is on for the upcoming launch of momstown Mississauga! We are set to “open” in just a few short weeks on June 1st.   Many partnerships are being forged with local businesses to deliver the awesome programs that momstown has developed to our local mamas!


Tales for Tots


Sponsored by Scholastic Canada, our Tales for Tots event features a book of the month that the children will enjoy at story time, as well as an opportunity to win a book courtesy of Scholastic!  A new book is shared each month, followed by a simple craft and free play time. This event will be hosted by our local Chapters at Dundas & 403.

Alphabet Play 
momstown’s own alphabet crafts come to life in this program focused on early literacy and letter sounds. Each month we cover a different letter with a creative craft. Starting in June we will be located at
The Fun Side.  This fabulous indoor playground is built for the whole family to have fun.

Art & Play
Our flagship monthly event! Based on our educational curriculum and theme of the month, moms and kids will do a craft together, enjoy parachute and circle time, and have some free play time to socialize. During summer, Art & Play will incorporate Picassos in the Park, momstown’s famous ‘let’s get messy’ outdoor painting activity.  Our June event will be held at Creative Kids Place!

Hope you will join us on this new adventure! Looking forward to meeting some new Mississauga Moms and kids and having fun while learning!

The photos above are graciously shared from momstown Oakville to illustrate upcoming events. They are not specific to the locations mentioned above.