September's Bookclub for Kids: Fox and Squirrel

momstown Mississauga moms and kids are lucky to have a monthly sponsor for our bookclub for kids. This month Scholastic Canada sent us an adorable selection Fox and Squirrel by Ruth Ohi.

Our kids loved the engaging story and the adorable artwork. Fox and Squirrel is a story about friends who as they compare and discover their differences, quickly realize that they are not so different after all.

 

With such a diverse community such as Mississauga this is a very relatable story with great messaging for our community. There are parents and kids from all over the world in our city.

Miss Deanna kept the kids entertained at our monthly Chapters story time with the monthly story plus songs and rhymes. After story time, our moms and kids had a great time making this fall themed craft.

We meet monthly for over 20 events all across Mississauga. Please consider joining us next time this event is open to the public and we post details on our Facebook Page. Our yearly membership is only $45/year for the whole family, purchase one today for yourself or as a gift for a friend!

What Families Can Learn at the Our Kids Private School Expos

Article by:  Erin McLaughlin for OurKids.net, Canada's trusted source for camps and schools.

Not sure where to begin searching for the right school for your child or are you interested in learning more about education options? Don’t miss the upcoming Our Kids Halton-Peel Private School Expo on October 20^th, 2013 and the Toronto Private School Expo on October 26^th, 2013.

At the Private School Expos families are able to speak exclusively with school staff and education experts, plus get answers to all of their questions. With a variety of the best private schools exhibiting from across Ontario, around Canada and internationally, these events are geared toward parents who value education and want the best for their kids.

This year’s Expos include information seminars on  “How to Choose a School” and “Financial Advice: How to Pay for Private School” and families can ask questions at the Q&A sessions, as well as meet with school representatives and current students to get an inside view of the schools.

What attending families say:

•       “I found the information sessions so valuable! They really answered my questions and relieved some of my stresses. And, the fact that I could directly and personally ask questions after the sessions was fantastic.” — Parent of prospective student

•       “I was surprised to meet with the Heads of the schools. They were so friendly and approachable; really knowledgeable too.” — Parent of prospective student

•       “I know what to do next. Making this choice is important to me and my family so I wanted to participate and I’m glad I did.” — Parent of prospective student

If you’re interested in learning more about alternate education options for your kids, check out the Our Kids Halton-Peel and Toronto Private School Expos, a quick and efficient way of learning about private education. Bring the whole family and explore your private school opportunities together!

EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Get FREE admission valid for a family of four compliments of Momstown Mississauga using the promocode “momstown” when you register here: http://www.ourkids.net/expo/register.php

Halton-Peel Private School Expo

Location: Oakville Conference Centre, 2515 Wyecroft Road, Oakville, ON L6L 6P8

Date: Sunday, October 20^th, 2013

Time: 12:00 to 4:00 pm

Contact: 1-877-272-1845 (toll free) or info@ourkids.net

Toronto Private School Expo

Location: Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe Street, Toronto, ON M5J 2J5

Date: Saturday, October 26^th, 2013

Time: 11:00 to 3:00 pm

Contact: 1-877-272-1845 (toll free) or info@ourkids.net

Halloween Haunt - Mississauga's Best Halloween Party for Moms, Kids and Babies!

momstown Mississauga is hosting our Halloween Haunt  - a not so scary Halloween Party for moms and tots on October 30th at Streetsville United Church.  With crafts, fun activities, Parachute play, a costume contest, sensory activities for babies and preschoolers and more it's going to be the place to be! 

momstown Mississauga's Halloween Haunt

Wednesday October 30th 10am - 12pm 

Streetsville United Church 

274 Queen Street East 

Mississauga ON 

Come dressed in your best - prizes will be awarded for Best Costume for Moms, Infants 12m and under and Ages, 2  and up

Visitors will enjoy party refreshments (bring your best potluck treat), crafts, silly science, and there will be fun activities to make everyone smile like pumpking bowling, pin the nose on the Jack O Lantern and more! The Little Gym Mississauga East will also be on hand with a fun kids area where they can try a hot-dog roll. 

The event is open to the public for a $2 donation benefitting Red Cross. Members may enjoy the party for free but donations to the charity are encouraged! 
Members must RSVP on our calendar. 

momstown Mississauga's Junior Chefs Create Lasagne with Chef Boyardee

momstown Mississauga's Junior Chefs cooked up some delicious recipes last week at our Chef Boyardee sponsored event. The moms and kids made take home lasagnas using Mini Ravioli's from Chef Boyardee as the base ingredient. 

Cooking & Eating the Chef's Recipes

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The easy open cans allowed the kids to scoop the mini raviolis out into our baking trays after a quick spray with Pam. By adding fresh vegetables, cheese and spices our Junior Chefs were able to create a whole different meal with the canned mini raviolis! Our moms all agreed the taste was surprising. Using the canned pasta as the base to a main meal was an inspiration!  

Quotes from our message board:  

I was pleasantly impressed!
Canned pasta is always kinda a stigma almost for me anyways! So I was curious to taste what you could make with it. To be honest, this is the first time I have ever had Chef Boyardee too and I enjoyed the dishes that were made.  I would totally make them again for my kids! 

I cannot believe how spoiled we were!  An apron for my daughter to take home, cans of food given to us, and we made dinner for that night, which btw both my husband and kids loved and I will be making again!  What a good idea to add spinich to make it healthier.  :)  We are for sure coming to the next junior chefs!!! 

I was impressed as well! I usually stay away from canned foods like this but it really is a quick meal for those busy nights and adding the vegetables and other ingredients it turned out pretty good! We heated up the meal the kids got to make at the event for dinner and dad loved it!

Yummy! 

Did you know that Chef Boyardee can help to make meal time enjoyable for the whole family by providing quick and easy meal ideas!? Yummy enriched pasta, cheese and meaty tomato sauce, Chef Boyardee is a hot and hearty meal or snack.  It’s kid approved pasta, and has no preservatives!

momstown Mississauga families sampled two recipes at our junior chef event, in addition to making the take home lasagnas. The Chef's Pizzaroni Skillet and the Chef's mini-ravioli lasagne. 

Mini Ravioli Lasagne  & Pizzaroni Skillet 

Ravioli Lasagna

Ingredients

• 2 cans (2 x 425 g) Chef Boyardee^® Mini Ravioli^®, Beef Ravioli or Lasagna
• 1 cup (250 mL) finely chopped spinach
• 2 cups (500 mL) grated Mozzarella cheese, separated into 1 cup (250 mL) portions
• 1 cup (250 mL) 2% cottage cheese or Ricotta cheese
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) Italian seasoning

Directions

1. Spray 8" square or round baking pan with PAM^®.
2. Spread 1 can of pasta on the bottom of the baking pan. Place chopped spinach in a glass bowl and microwave for 10 seconds; drain. Spread spinach over pasta and top with cottage or Ricotta cheese, 1 cup (250 mL) Mozzarella cheese and ½ teaspoon (2.5 mL) Italian seasoning.
3. Layer second can of pasta. Top with remaining Mozzarella and Italian seasoning.
4. Bake at 400°F for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Allow 10 minutes to stand before serving. 

Fisher Price Little People Playdate at Baby Basics

momstown Mississauga moms with babies 12 months and under meet weekly at the Taima Zone for our Baby Basics group. There are art projects, interesting speakers, and throughout the year we have fun sponsored events like our recent Fisher Price sponsored Little People® Playdate!

We had Four Different Little People Toys for our Kids to test. The Little People Fun Sounds Farm®, The Little People Happy Sounds Home®, The Little People Wheelies Loops 'n Swoops Amusement Park® and the Little People Disney Princess Klip Klop Stable®.

Boys and girls both loved the The Little People Wheelies Loops 'n Swoops Amusement Park®.  The variety of cars, bright colours and fun action kept them intrigued from baby to 5 yr old! 

The kids had so much fun playing with the animals and listening to the sounds of the The Little People Fun Sounds Farm®.  Our doll lovers were engaged with the The Little People Happy Sounds Home® as the doorbell rings, the bathtub bubbles and the washing machine swishes.  

Over at the  Little People Disney Princess Klip Klop Stable® our princess fans were enthralled with the horses (and Aurora & Rapunzel ) two Royal princesses who with a klippity clop rode their horses down and around the ramp. 

Join momstown Mississauga for other fun events like these at our weekly Baby Basics group. Start having fun, meeting other new moms and getting you & your baby out to meet new people. Visit our website for more membership information or join our Facebook Page to keep up to date with our upcoming Events. 

Setting Your Fitness Goals – CIBC’s Run for the Cure

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s  CIBC Run for the Cure  is held this year on October 6th, 2013! The Mississauga Run is located on the University of Toronto Campus in Mississauga (UTM).  The  momstown Mississauga Team is made up of a variety of women with different experiences, backgrounds and fitness goals.

Reasons to run for the cure may vary, raising money for breast cancer research or memorializing a loved one but we also all want to make healthy lifestyle choices and promote regular breast cancer screening among women. Setting fitness goals is an important first step in making a positive lifestyle change. 

How do you set your fitness goals, do you think about how many pounds you want to lose, what size clothing you would like to be wearing or do you consider what you would like to be able to DO physically (like running the whole 5k in under 30 minutes)?

For me this year has presented many tough challenges and I’ve had a hard time putting myself first. By committing to run the race, I have had to fit in time for my own fitness goals. My personal motivation has been to be able to run the entire 5K and to fit into a certain size of clothing. While many things have gotten in the way this year, by committing to The CIBC Run for the Cure it has kept me making short term fitness goals that have helped me from going astray on my long term plans. 

On the days where I do not have the motivation to run I have been riding my bike with my kids or swimming at the local pool. Both offer great cardio opportunity and are easier on the joints than running.  I know for me that finding activities that I can fit easily into my busy lifestyle raising my family will be the key to achieving my long term fitness goals. 

A little reward never hurts either so planning a special shopping trip for when I fit into that smaller size of clothing has kept me on the right track. Day to day, it’s nice to reward yourself for the runs you have accomplished when you really didn’t want to go by making time to watch a special TV show, having a glass of wine or getting out for a Girls Night Out. 

You can find out about making healthier lifestyle choices and finding new activities to keep you motivated at the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s  new website One NewThing.  Joining a local group like momstown.ca where you can try new things with others in the same stage of life with a young or growing family, can also help provide you with support and motivation.  

Join our team (or find one near you) by signing up at the CIBC Run for the Cure website today. 

 

Mississauga Mom to Mom Sale - October 5th!

momstown Mississauga moms will be selling their gently used baby and kids items in our first ever Mom to Mom sale  on October 5th at 9:30am. 

Find deals on everything from gently used strollers, baby equipment, gently used kids clothing and maternity wear, toys, books and more! Lots of goodies available.  

Need to clean out your home and declutter? This is the perfect chance! Limited number of vendor spaces still available.  

Not a member of momstown Mississauga? That's ok, tables are available for a slightly higher fee. 

Email info(dot)mississauga(at)momstown(dot)ca for all the details.  

Limited number of business spots available as well!

DATE: Saturday October 5th, 2013

LOCATION: Streetsville United Church

274 Queen St S  Mississauga, ON L5M 1L8

TIME: 9am - 12pm

$1 Suggested donation for Admission 
Proceeds will go to our momstown Mississauga Team's Run for the Cure

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