Sweet Pea Pageants

I am so excited to announce that the Lower Mainland Children’s Directory will be a proud sponsor of the Little Miss Sweet Pea Pageants again this year and not only will we be sponsoring the pageants but I will be on the judging panel for the upcoming Spooks and Sparkles Pageant taking place on October 23rd, 2010 at the Seaquam Theatre in North Delta!

Sweet Pea Pageants started in August 2009 and they are now celebrating their 1 st birthday! Sweet Pea organizers take pride in the fact that they were B.C.’s first natural pageant. They offer a natural competition, with no fake hair, teeth or tans. No swim suits or heavy make-up are allowed. Their pageants have all the fun of glitz pageants, with prizes, long stem roses, big theatres and even bigger crowns but they don’t have all of the big pageant fees and hidden costs to go with them. Their pageants are run by volunteers from the professional MC to the judges and onstage helpers. The pageants produced are funded by your pageant dollars and a few select business partners. There are NEVER any other fees or extras to purchase and registration fees are kept as low as possible.

Sweet Pea organizers always go all out – from having over 120 mylar balloons to making sure each girl goes home with long stem roses and real Czech crystal tiaras. Sweet Pea Pageants truly believe in putting on amazing productions for the contestants, family and friends. Each pageant is an event in itself, with different fun themes. They even have signature “chap packs” for the pageant moms & dads ~ with things such as water, snacks, wet wipes and more! There are fun draws and prizes for chaperones, audience members and of course the girls! We invite you to come and share in the fun of pageants with us at Sweet Pea Pageants!

Registration is open now for girls from 0-17 years old and boys from 0-5 years. Make sure you submit your registration by October 13th to participate in the Spooks and Sparkles Pageant or take advantage of the savings by getting it in before September 10th!

If you would lie more information or have questions visit the Sweet Pea Pageants website or click here for more contact options!

Visit Signature Vacations for all the details and restrictions that may apply! Or to view departures form other Canadian cities!

I came across a great local business, Eden Cloth Diapering Company, today and have uncovered a wealth of information about Bamboo and why it may not actually be as sustainable and good for us and baby afterall. Read below to hear what Eden Cloth Diapering Company has to say about Bamboo and check out some of the links to read more on the topic.
From Eden Cloth Diapering Company:
Bamboo is often marketed as a ‘green’ material: fast growing, no pesticides, naturally antimicrobial. Unfortunately, we’ve been bamboozled.

There is a wealth of information on this topic available on the Internet. Here is my Reader’s Digest version:

•Although bamboo does grow quickly and can be grown sustainably and without pesticides, there is a lack of enforcement of sustainable agricultural practices in China (the primary source of bamboo). Many Chinese farmers (even those carrying the ‘organic’ label) are responding to the high demand for bamboo by using conventional (read: unsustainable) agricultural practices.
•There are two ways to process bamboo into fabric: mechanically (to make linen), and chemically (to make the velour you would find in bamboo cloth diapers). The mechanical method consists of physically pounding the hard bamboo plant until it becomes soft. The chemical process is long, involved, and toxic. The end product is not technically bamboo. Rather, it is a rayon product created from bamboo.
•In most cases, bamboo’s microbial properties are destroyed in the chemical process.
If you are interested in reading more on the subject, two informative sources are:

• http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_weblog/2008/08/bamboo-sprouting-green-myths.html
•http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/alerts/alt172.shtm

If you’re in the market for cloth diapering products check out the packages available through Eden Cloth Diapering Company and use our EXCLUSIVE coupon code CHILDRENSDIRECTORY to take advantage of $20 off any cloth diapering package! (EXCLUDES STARTER PACKAGES) This code doesn’t expire so share it with your friends and shop often!

Patricia Lessard is a Certified Breakthrough Parenting Instructor in Canada authorized to conduct parenting classes outside of a therapy setting. Innovative in its course content, this parenting program called Breakthrough Parenting® is now being offered by Patricia in the Langley area.

Breakthrough Parenting® programs assist parents in transforming their relationship through well-researched, materials developed over 10 years by UCLA’s Dr. Jayne Major. In fact, the effectiveness of Breakthrough Parenting® is so highly valued it is recommended by some Family Court judges for its benefits with both parents and children.

Patrica is an amazing lady who is always willing to listen and help so please feel free to contact her directly to chat or discuss your personal situation or parenting issue!

Here is a list of upcoming course and workshops, if you are more comfortable with a one on one setting contact Patricia and she would be happy to set up a time to meet with you in person or on the phone, she also does video conferencing via Skype if you are out of town!

Workshop Series
UNDERSTANDING YOUR TEENAGER

Thursday July 19, 2010 7:00 – 8:30pm

HELPING YOUR CHILDREN BUILD & MAINTAIN POSITIVE SELF-ESTEEM
Wednesday August 18, 2010 7:00 – 8:30pm

TACKLING THE HOMEWORK CHALLENGE
Tuesday August 31, 2010 7:00 – 8:30pm

Individual Workshop Price: $20 each or ALL 3 for $50

Summer Class Offerings

These classes cover all the material that is covered in the 8 week course but at a much more accelerated rate. It is advised that you make arrangements to purchase and go through the “Student Pack” at least two weeks in advance so that you can pre-read the materials and complete as much of the workbook before class. That way you will get much more out of this amazing program.

July 12, 13, 14, 15 2010 $200 + one time materials fee $40

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 6:00pm – 10:00pm

July 24, 25 2010 $200 + one time materials fee $40

Saturday & Sunday 8:30am – 12:30pm and 2:00pm – 6:00pm

August 9, 10, 11, 12 2010 $200 + one time materials fee $40

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 6:00pm – 10:00pm

August 28 & 29 2010 $200 + one time materials fee $40

Saturday & Sunday 8:30am – 12:30pm and 2:00pm – 6:00pm

All workshops are held at, 21027 – 93B Avenue, Langley, B.C.

For more information on any of the above workshops and courses please contact Patricia directly or visit her website.

The kids are out of school the weather is heating up and the days have already started getting shorter. Summer will be over before we know it so why not make the most of it with a fun summer camp to help make some great memories that will last long after the summer sun fades into the hustle of back to school and the blustery days of Fall. Whether you are looking for a full day camp, a sleep away camp or just somewhere to drop the kids off for a few hours so you can do some shopping or grab a peaceful cup of coffee, check out our Summer Camps Page for a list of fun filled options to satisfy your little camper!

We are off exploring this beautiful Province of ours and will be returning at the end of July with a list of fantastic family friendly discoveries for you and yours to enjoy on your next family vacation!

Our Blog, Facebook pages and Twitter will still be automatically updating but all email contacts will not be answered until the end of July.

Enjoy the sunshine!

We are honored to be in the running for the 2010 Savvy Mom Mom Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the second year in a row. We are nominated with a number of other fabulous local and national mom run businesses and are in complete awe of the extraordinary women in this country who have taken on the challenge of running their own business and walking the tight rope each day trying to balance family, work and play! Congratulations to all of our fellow nominees and good luck to everyone!

Please take a moment to vote for the Children’s Directory! We thank all of our readers and supporters for standing behind us since day one, your support and encouragement is greatly appreciated.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE!