momstown Milton Mom of the Month - February 2014: Marylynne Sabbagh

Name: Marylynne Sabbagh

Age: 38

Born In: Toronto

Children’s name and age: Adam - 4 1/2, Brandon - 2

Childhood Ambition: to be a kindergarten teacher, that didn't happen!

Fondest Memory: family trip to France

Wildest Dream: to travel across Europe for a year, or two!

Proudest Moment: becoming a Mom, twice!

Biggest Challenge: when my son Adam was born he wasn't breathing and was air lifted to Sick Children's Hospital. It was a very scary time for us and certainly my biggest challenge to date. We had three amazing midwives, a great team at Sick Kids and after 2 weeks we were able to take him home. He is now a happy and healthy boy in junior kindergarten!

Perfect Day: Any day with my husband and kids...that doesn't involve laundry, meal prep, cleaning, etc. Add a trip somewhere warmer than here right now...and it would be beyond perfect!

First Job: ticket sales at the Toronto Zoo

Indulgence: A night out with friends

Last Big Purchase: sigh...a mini van. At least it's black!

Favorite Movie or Favourite Sport? You've Got Mail - pathetic, but I love romantic comedy's.

How long have you been a member of momstown Milton? Since June 2013 when we moved from Toronto

Describe your experience as a momstown member? With being new to Milton, it's been great to meet other moms and get involved in the community. It's difficult to start over in a new city, but being part of momstown has certainly made it easier!

We would love to have you join us and become part of our momstown Milton family!

 

Register here for your 6 week FREE trial.

momstown Milton Mom of the Month - January 2014: Amanda Ott

Name: Amanda Ott

Age: 34
Born In: 1979
Children’s name and age: Joshua, 2y9m, Elijah 8m

Childhood Ambition: To be a mommy, of course!

Fondest Memory:  Figuring out I was pregnant using an Italian pregnancy test in a pay toilet while on Capri Island on our honeymoon.

Wildest Dream:  Sleeping through the night again!

Proudest Moment: Whenever my kids are polite, or share without cajoling.

Biggest Challenge: Getting my kids to be polite or share without cajoling.

Perfect Day: A nice hike with my family followed by a gourmet picnic lunch, and a glorious nap. Then babysitting for the night so my husband and I could go out for a great dinner, and sleep somewhere WITHOUT INTERRUPTION. 

First Job:  Day Camp Counsellor

Indulgence:  Chocolate – and just recently I fell in love with Flourless Chocolate Cake!!!

Last Big Purchase: Ball pit

Favorite Movie or Favourite Sport? Ultimate Frisbee

How long have you been a member of momstown Milton? Since 2011

Describe your experience as a momstown member?  It is always great to meet and talk to other moms.  Everyone I’ve met has been very nice and inspirational, and it sure helps to have adult conversation in the day.  I would recommend it to any new mom!

We would love to have you join us and become part of our momstown Milton family!

 

Register here for your 6 week FREE trial.

L is for Letters at our momstown Alphabet Play Program sponsored by Post Alpha-Bits Cereal

Our momstown Milton Alphabet Play is already popular amongst our members so when we announced that Post Alpha-Bits cereal was sponsoring the event for the next year our mamas quickly went to work signing up for everyone that they could possibly get into. Mamas love the educational component that is emphasized each week in our programming through books, songs, activities, tracer sheets and crafts.

This week we were working on the letter "L". Our focus was letters so we started off with a simple "L" craft with alphabet letters. The craft was left as an "open" concept to decorate as they wished and our little eager beavers decided that they would use the letters provided to spell out their names.

We then moved on to an identification activity. Flashcards were held up with pictures and the kids had to shout out what letter the picture began with. Mamas helped by overemphasizing the beginning sound to get the kids on the right track - A-A-A-Aligator.

Snack time - I mean craft time. Actually it ended up being both! Each person received their own cup of Post Alpha-Bits cereal to match to an Alphabet Letters worksheet. Kids couldn't resist popping a couple into their mouth as they searched for the corresponding letters.

After tasting a few, one at a time was not fast enough so they actually started to drink their cups and filled their mouths with as much as they possibly could.Needless to say I was reaching for the box to top up the cups 2-3 times! The moms didn't mind one bit since they were aware that Post Alpha-Bits cereal provides a source of 9 essential nutrients plus is an excellent source of Iron and Thiamin.  

We moved over to our next activity which was magnets. These are always a hit with the little ones so my Melissa and Doug Alphabet Magnet board was quickly surrounded by keen helpers to place the letters in the correct order. I did learn that smaller case letters did present a bit of a challenge for this  young crowd but with a little direction we were able to complete the task.

We ended off the program with each participant getting to take an entire box of cereal home with them and taking pictures in front of the pretty blue sign that the kids couldn't take their eyes off of!

A big shout out to Post Alpha-bits for the free swag and for being so generous in sponsoring our Alphabet Play Program for the next year!

momstown Milton Jr. Chef's make Hungarian Apple Soup

What better month of the year to celebrate the delicious apple than September?  All month long, momstown's theme will centre on this fruit that is near and dear to the heart of our community, surrounded by orchards.  Apples, apples, apples!

Our momstown Milton Junior Chefs got busy in the kitchen, creating a delicious Hungarian Apple Soup.  It was a great chance for the little ones to practice their chopping, measuring and stirring.  What a fantastic soup to enjoy on a brisk autumn day
.

We started by identifying the ingredients in the recipe.  Our little chefs were very clever and had no problems calling out the names of the main ingredients - potato, celery, onion and the star of the show, apples.  They needed some help with the thyme and paprika!

This is the recipe we used:

Hungarian Apple Soup

 

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons canola oil
• 2 medium tart apple, peeled and finely chopped
• 1.5 cup diced peeled Yukon Gold potato
• 2/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery, plus leaves for garnish
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• Pinch of paprika, preferably hot Hungarian
• 1 large tetra pack reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 6 tablespoons sour cream

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add apple, potato, onion and celery; cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in salt, thyme, paprika; cook for 30 seconds. Pour in broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover, and gently simmer until the potato is tender when pierced with a fork, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Transfer the soup to a large blender or food processor, add sour cream and process until smooth. (Use caution when pureeing hot liquids.) Garnish with celery leaves, if desired.

We got busy chopping up the celery, potatoes and apples.  The onions were chopped in advance.  Their chopping skills were impressive considering they were using butter knives!  Our youngest Junior Chef was much more interested in tasting the ingredients, but we all agreed that tasting is always an important part of cooking!

We chopped enough to fill our measuring cups, and then added the ingredients to our pot. The kids took turns measuring out the thyme, paprika and salt.  Everyone got a turn adding the stock to the pan, and stirring it all up before it went on the heat of the stove.

Usually for Junior Chef we have another batch of the completed recipe ready for tasting, but today I decided that we would wait for it to cook so that we could smell the yummy smells, and see it get blended up in the blender.  This recipe is simple, quick and healthy - perfect for making with kids.

While our soup cooked, the kids had some fun playing.  Once it was ready to be blended, the kids stood back and watched as their soup got whizzed into a creamy smooth liquid.

We all enjoyed tasting the soup, and us moms agreed that it would have been even better with the addition of some shredded cheddar!

As usual, we had a great time at our Junior Chef program.  The momstown Milton kids really know how to stir up a good time in the kitchen, and are always so brave trying new flavours or new combinations.  We'll see you next month for more kitchen adventures!

To learn more about what momstown Milton is all about - Click Here

To register for a 6 week FREE trial membership - Click Here 

If you are a business that would like to sponsor our events or advertise with us please contact info.milton@momstown.ca

Submitted by Paula Porter, a momstown Milton member and

 mother of two amazing girls.

momstown Milton's Little Scientists Learning About Birds

Last month our momstown Milton Little Scientists spent some time learning about birds with webbed feet!

We started by watching a short video that was shot underwater, documenting the feeding of a large group of ducks and ducklings.  All of the kids enjoyed watching the cute duck feet paddling in the water and had no problem identifying that the ducks used their web feet for swimming.

We talked about bird feet, and how every different bird has feet that are designed just for that bird.  Feet with toes that grasp a branch, feet with claws that catch prey, and feet that have toes that are connected by webbed skin - perfect for swimming.

The kids had a blast playing a game called "Does it Swim?".  Each child was given a card that had printing on both sides - one side was "YES, it swims", and the other was "NOT a swimmer".  We spent a moment identifying the YES and NOT, and then went through a series of pictures of birds.  The Little Scientists had to hold up their card to identify if the bird they were looking at could swim or not.  We had many birds to look at, including a Canada Goose, a Finch, Pigeon, and an Albatross among others.  The kids had fun guessing and shouting out their answers.  

The group moved to the table for our "experiment".  We had fun with two spatulas that simulated a duck's feet moving through the water.

 We also ran our fingers through the water, then did the same thing with a plastic baggy covering our fingers.  The kids could see that more water was moved with our simulated webbed feet.

 

Once our experiment was over, our Little Scientists moved to the back yard for some fun playing and snacking with their curious friends!

To learn more about what momstown Milton is all about - Click Here

To register for a 6 week FREE trial membership - Click Here 

If you are a business that would like to sponsor our events or advertise with us please contact info.milton@momstown.ca

Submitted by Paula Porter, a momstown Milton member and

 mother of two amazing girls.

momstown Milton will be on the Judge's Panel for the Milton Fall Fair - Baby Contest!

Join us at the Milton Fall Fair for the annual Baby Contest on Sunday September 29th. Registration opens at 10am. Judging begins at 11am sharp!

 

 

 momstown Milton is happy to announce that we will be on the judge's panel this year.

Contest is open to all little cuties from 0 -18months - boys and girls.

Here is what we will be looking for:

Girls:

0-6 months                                7-12 months                            13-18 months

Longest eye lashes                    Least teeth                               Best baby jive 

smallest feet                              Most like parent                      Most teeth

Most hair                                   Best party hat                          Least hair   

Dressed for a party                    Dressed for a party                 Dressed for a party

 

Boys:

0-6 months                                7-12 months                            13-18 months

Longest eye lashes                    Least teeth                               Most hair 

Biggest feet                               Most like parent                      Most teeth   

Least hair                                   Best party hat                         Best high five

Dressed for a party                    Dressed for party                    Dressed for a party

Please preregister here in the appropriate category for your child.
 
Prizes will be awarded from 1st place to 5th place AND there will be an additional prize for the overall winner in each category.

Good luck to everyone!

Hundreds of Milton Families partied at our momstown.ca 6th birthday celebration!

This month all of our momstown chapters have been hosting parties across Canada to celebrate our 6th birthday! Here in our Milton community our party has been the talk of the town for weeks amongst our mamas, partners and sponsors and you could feel the excitement mounting as the event day drew closer.

This years line up was DOUBLE ( look carefully at the first pic below - the line up winds down the path and extends all the way back to the old post office - second pic! WOWZERS! ) It was truly astounding to see the number of families that came out to celebrate with us! We gave out over 1200 wristbands at our registration desk and needless to say our 100 goody bags were gone in minutes!

The line up began at 9:22am with some pretty excited moms and tots!

Checking out all the cool swag!

are you ready to party - WOOT WOOT!

and they kept coming and coming and coming! 

 

How do you keep your guests smiling when the line up seems never ending? Have a power team of super friendly volunteers greet them with a smile AND serve them ice coffee or berry tea from the Hawthorne Café to keep cool! I don't believe I heard one complaint at all. 

 

The day was jam packed with tons of  activity stations and demos which were chosen to give everyone (especially trial members and non members) a taste of what momstown Milton is all about. 

Each of the designated stations not only complimented the businesses that was sponsoring it, it also highlighted our educational curriculum and our 6 program pillars that are encorporated in all of our programs and events that we offer year round for just $45 a year! We are so much more then just a  convenient playgroup and I'm confident that we got that point across today at the party. 

Kids of all ages enjoyed making music with Harmony Is, creating messy masterpieces with veggies and fruits at the SupperWorks Picasso's Booth and decorating and building towers at our United Way Station.  

Our Early Literacy station hosted by Indigo was well received by our guests who were happy to have a shaded area where they could grab a book and snuggle under a tree for a relaxing break. The kids were absolutely thrilled to sit still and listen to a story being read about their favourite Scholastic Character - Clifford!

 

Every child has a sense of curiosity and we encourage it through our momstown Science and Discovery programs. Today the kids enjoyed our sensory tables from Wee Ones Childcare Academy, a bubble station provided by Haber & Associates, and a Speedway Ramp from Bullseye Child Safety. Learning though play and having fun was the goal of each of these activity centres.

Anyone who has a toddler/preschooler knows that active play is a must in their daily routine. We made sure there were several fitness stations - Monkeynastix Milton, Rugby Tots, Fire Power Kids and Little Kickers available for ALL of our age groups to burn off tons of energy. An extra large Bouncy Castle from Par-t-Perfect was a great addition to get this party jumping!

  

No matter what age you were, our Change it Up with Zumba and the Academy of Martial Arts demos had everyone up and moving!

We even had a Diaper Derby contest sponsored by Clothworks to encourage our little crawlers to get in on the action! This mama was all smiles about winning the silk sling for being the winner!

Our Play and Social  pillar which is the heart of momstown and how it all began was well represented with face painting from Oxford Learning and Bergsma Paint, playtime with Toys Trunk, a pampering station from our local Seacret rep Sylvia, a gigantic colouring mural from the Town of Milton, a Dora Colouring station from Koba Entertainment, A dress up station with In Step Active Wear, and of course lots of fun crafts provided by Milton Optometry, The Dance Class, & Lisa Roach from Century21.

Can't forget to mention the always busy Fisher Price Little People Play Zone that had four awesome toys for kids to play with. It was great seeing the little ones imaginations soar as they created different play scenarios. Four of our lucky attendees got to take one toy home with them at the end of the event!

 

We were also lucky enough to have a lot of local resources join us to make our party a smashing success. A big shout out to the Canadian Red Cross who set up an info both along with tattoos for the little ones, a great big red Fire Truck from the Milton Fire Hall, Officer  and an ambulance with all the bells and whistles. The Mason Chip Identification Program also offered their services at today's event. So many parents felt a little better prepared once they had the Free Id kit in hand to take home.

Can't have a party without cake, treats and presents! A big shout out to Longo's Milton for 3 very large slab cakes, Hillary's Cupcakes for providing mini cupcakes and cookies and Michelle Hawco for the popcorn!

The draw for the door prizes seemed never ending because there were so many from both local and National sponsors. Highlights included a stroller and a baby carrier from Britax, 2 tickets to see Dora Live from Koba Entertainment and a $200 GC from Milton Orthotic and Wellness Centre towards a new pair of shoes! Check out some of the winners below to see if you recognize anyone?



 

We made sure that no one goes away empty handed this year. We are offering EVERYONE  (new, old, and current) members / non members a gift of your very own! JOIN NOW  and all through 2013 to receive a BONUS YEAR SUBSCRIPTION TO TODAY'S PARENT!

A Big Shout Out to everyone that came out  to support and celebrate with us and all of the wonderful volunteers that made this event possible! It was great catching up with the regulars and just as great getting to know all the new moms that dropped by to experience momstown Milton first hand. A special thank you to Laurie Goodman Photography  for capturing the event! You can see more of her wonderful pictures by visiting our Face Book Page for ALL of the pics from our special day. Don't forget to hit the "LIKE" button to keep up to date with our latest and greatest adventures..... Real moms connected!