Open Week: Monday, 26 March thru Friday 30 March 2012.

Have fun, meet new people and find out what goes on at your local centre.

FREE activities for parents/carers with children under 5 every day in one of the five Children’s Centres in the North West Locality.

Each centre has their own day that offers extended hours so everyone that was interested in a late drop-in will get the chance to experience it from 3-6pm and during that time slot, older siblings will be welcome as well. In W9, Harrow Road Children’s Centre (Essendine and Rumpus at Mary Paterson Nursery School) has the late afternoon opening on Monday and Queen’s Park Children’s Centre has it on Friday.

Listed below is the itinerary for the week for the different settings of the Harrow Road Children’s Centre and the Queen’s Park Children’s Centre. Please feel free to visit the Bayswater, Queensway, and Westbourne Children’s Centres during the open week. If you are interested in any of these schedules, email us at maidavalemums@yahoo.co.uk and we’ll endeavor to get those to you.

HARROW ROAD CHILDREN’S CENTRE

MONDAY, 26 MARCH

Monday is the ‘Open Day’ for the Harrow Road Children’s Centre. During these time periods, there will not be a normal drop-in. Parents/carers and children are invited to come and go so you shouldn’t fall in to a situation where you are turned away due to the setting being full. However, in busy times, there might be cut-offs for a short period due to ensuring proper maximum room occupancy. The rest of the week the sessions indicated are normal drop-ins but with the activities listed taking place during the session.

Essendine (ECM Building)

9.30am-12noon

• Vegetable kebabs with Lindita
• Eat, sleep, learn, play
• Meet John the Music Man
• Meet Zohra our Health Trainer
• Get money advice
• Book a relaxing massage (20 minute slots must be booked with Lindita on the day)

1-3pm

• Listen to a story (librarian)
• Make some music with your child
• Make a smoothie on a bicycle
• Practice your yoga with Janet

3-6pm

• Make a t-shirt
• Make a pop-up book with Family Learning
• Make a smoothie on a bicycle
• JobCentrePlus advice sessions

Rumpus (at Mary Paterson Nursery School)

The first two sessions are geared towards babies so it is definitely something to put in your diary if you are a parent/carer with a baby.

9.15am-12noon

• ‘Baby and me’ DVD
• Babyhood across the world

1-3pm

• Sing with your baby
• Parents weaning group, make your own baby food
• Advice from experts (other parents)

3-6pm

• Practice your yoga with Janet

TUESDAY, 27 MARCH

Essendine (ECM Building)

9.30-11.30am

• Stay and Play drop-in
• Meet your Outreach Workers

Sunday 18 March, Mother’s Day, is fast approaching and we have the following great offers for Maida Vale Mums to help make your day extra-special….

A Pampering Treat

Why not suggest an appointment with “Maida Vale’s best kept secret” – Reflexologist and Beautician Lydia Harrison AKA The Homebody. One MVM describes her has having “truly magical hands” and others have said she is “a breath of fresh air with her calming aura…”, “relaxing and rejuvenating, a real treat!”, and “seriously one of the best out there!”

Lydia can come to your home and is offering Maida Vale Mums a Mother’s Day treat with the packages listed below at a special MVM rate of £35:

• Flexiped – 40 minute reflexology session followed by a file and paint on your tootsies
• Reflexology Facial – 60 minute reflexology facial including face mask and arm and hand massage
• Mani and Pedi – with hot oil treatment , nail maintenance, hand massage and polish
• Facial Rejuvenation – 60 minute treatment, with cleanse, tone, facial massage, face mask and hand and arm massage

In addition, if you book another session you will receive a 15% discount on that one! Call Lydia on 07905 464 399 and mention MVM to get this special deal.

A Dining Discount

Treat Mum to dinner at Four Faces Thai restaurant, and they’ll take 50% off the price of her meal! (Food only, this offer is not valid in conjunction with any other offer excludes service charge). See menu and book online at www.fourfacesrestaurant.co.uk

Capture the Moment

You could arrange a special photography sitting and benefit from one of two special offers we have at the moment:

Alexandra Photography is offering Maida Vale Mums a £25 discount off the sitting fee (normally £145). Book by 15 March for a photo shoot any time this year. Contact: alexphoto@hotmail.com / Tel. 07973 417936.

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Rosalind Hobley is offering Maida Vale Mums 20% off her session fee for a weekday morning session (until July 15th 2012). Contact Rosalind to book a session or for more details: info@rosalindhobley.com / Tel. 07966 315504.

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Wishing you all a Happy Mother’s Day next Sunday!

MVM Roberta Montagnoli has provided the following blog post:

I’ d like to recommend you see the musical Legally Blonde on Wednesday 8 February to show some support to one of the actresses, Aoife Mulholland, who is coming back to the show after her maternity leave.

Aoife is in the original cast and plays Brooke Wyndham, a personal trainer accused of murdering her husband. She took a year of maternity leave, more than most people, because producers thought being pregnant didn’t fit with the role of her character. She always intended to go back to work and as such, she informed producers in December that she was coming back in February for the last 8 weeks of the show. What followed was a deluge of venomous tweets from Tamara Wall, her understudy, who was Aoife’s maternity cover and played Brooke in the interim.

I don’t know if you read the story in The Mail on Sunday, front cover and page 3, Tamara Wall (Martina on BBC’s Eastenders) has vented her anger on Twitter about how ‘nasty’ Aoife is to take her role back, and “how can she do this to another person?”.  She also tweeted “…reiterate producers tried all they could to stop this… (Aoife’s return) but apparently it’s the law!”.  On top of that, many of Tamara’s followers on Twitter joined her campaigning against Aoife.

Aoife has maintained a dignified silence on this matter but understandably she must be very upset and somewhat anxious to have her opening night on Wednesday with these awful things being said against her. Surely it is wrong for someone to launch such an attack on a mother’s choice to return to work especially when it’s understood the mother is on maternity leave.

I would like to show support because like us, she’s a mum too and we know how hard and demanding that role is and how important maternity leave is for the baby and the family. Hope to see some of you there!

Read more about this story here and here.

Do you feel your make up is looking a bit tired? Or that you’re using the products you’ve relied on since being a teenager? If so, you’re not alone. 

Maida Vale Mums in need of a beauty overhaul, are rushing to the door of local mum, Renu Williams, a trained make-up artist and personal shopper determined that we busy, stressed out mothers do not let ourselves go.

Just in time for those Christmas parties, Renu is offering (exclusively to MVMs) an image make-over which includes a make-up lesson and a tour of West End cosmetic counters to select products that most complement your skin. Having worked for Laura Mercier, and approached by Armani, Renu is on top of beauty trends but won’t let you go out looking like a Mac mannequin.

“The most common mistake women make is to choose the wrong shade of foundation”, Renu tells me. “It is rare to find a foundation that suits a woman’s face. I prefer to blend two to produce the perfect complexion.”

Her toolkit, a luscious looking Laura Mercier palette of colours with brushes of all shapes and sizes, is an Aladdin’s Cave for any girl, even if she is the wrong side of 40.

Renu lets you select between rich Baked Earth tones, or sparkly emerald and topazes, and then teaches you the tricks of the trade so that there will be no more excuse for you not to go out and dazzle.

Renu took me into her capable hands after advising me at the school gate that my foundation was two shades too orange. Some might be mortified but I felt privileged that this beauty godmother had come to my rescue. After an hour and a half with her, I turned heads for the first time in five years and even my husband admitted he was mesmerised by my eyes –  more likely by her skill at applying that frosty, cinnamon eyeshadow I now covet.

Renu charges £65 for a one and a half hour make-over and make-up lesson. Prices for personal shopper on application. To book a make-over and make-up lesson or personal shopper, contact Renu at 07809676992.

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Photo credit: Dave Poole.

If you’re looking for a photographer, contact Dave at 07540765758.

MVM Karen hosted the first ever Maida Vale Mums meetup at the Everyman Maida Vale at their first ever baby screening last Wednesday.

She reports back that…

“The performance was so much fun – saw Marylin (Monroe) – light hearted film, perfect for the first baby & mum performance. I asked and they said they sold 16 tickets. As every mum and baby took at least one of the double seaters “Screen no. 1″ seemed full. Very exciting!

The ticket price seems steep (£13/parent) but it does include a hot drink, mineral water and a cake – not bad. Really nice venue too.”

Lucky us – she was able to snap some pics so that we all get a little sneak preview of what it looks like.

Thanks Karen!

The little ones showed off their best dance moves last Sunday at the 2011 Maida Vale Mums Christmas Party.

We had a wonderful turnout of under 5′s from 5 weeks to 4 years old filling the room with laughter and joy.

Katie from Baby Bop in Pad Rec immediately captivated the children with rousing dance tracks to Christmas classics to a Michael Jackson number. There was record scratching, raising the roof, top hats, pom poms, disco lights, ribbon dancing, hoops, wiggling, bubbles and more. What a treat!

All I can say was that if you missed it, do yourself a favour and try a taster class, you won’t regret it.

If this wasn’t enough, the kids also proudly decorated wooden Christmas ornaments from Izzy Jones with paint pens and glitter leaving them a lasting memento of the day.

Some were sprinkled with fairy or pirate dust by Girls Bliss.

The adults were in for a real treat as well. Four Faces Contemporary Thai Kitchen cooked up a sensational batch of fresh food for us – Asian wraps with crab and prawns, spring rolls and prawn crackers – and not a bit was left. The thought of writing about this gave me such a craving, I had to order delivery from there tonight.

Pure Vida Food provided us with their Living Raw Onion Bread and Living Slow dried fruits. Their website lists several locations in nearby W2, W8, W10 and W11 where you can buy their products.

Beautiful Christmas cupcakes by Mikima Cakes were definitely a hit with my daughter who eyed these up immediately begging me for a snowman – although I think by the colour of her lips later on in the party, she helped herself to some more.

Wrapping up the party was our annual Christmas raffle. Congratulations to all the winners. Huge thanks to all the people who bought tickets for such a worthwhile cause and to all the businesses who took part to ensure that there was such a fantastic assortment of prizes. We raised more than £300 this year which will be very much appreciated by the Winnicott Foundation.

Of course Christmas isn’t just about giving – there has to be the receiving part too, especially for the children who each got a Christmas present on their way out. All the kids loved their little wooden cow, chicken, frog or ladybird cars from Izzy Jones – and I think they are super adorable.

If you left early and did not receive one, let me know and I’ll get it to you. We had a few left after the party.

ENORMOUS THANKS to everyone who came to the party and to the lovely W9 Elves who helped with the party – Maggi, Mana, Sofia and Jyoti.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Perfect for busy mums – they deliver from 12noon (or you can eat in or get take-away at their restaurant on Harrow Road and Portnall)!

Four Faces Contemporary Thai Kitchen is offering MVMs the following special lunchtime menu (which also includes a beverage):

STARTERS

• classic spicy fresh lemongrass soup with prawns mushrooms, spiced galangal, lemongrass, chilli and lime;
• asian wraps with prawns & noodle, chopped peanuts and mint; OR
• crispy vegetables spring roll with sweet chilli dipping sauce.

MAINS

• red duck curry with tomato, lychee, lime leaves, sweet basil and coconut;
• stir fried beef in oyster sauce with spring onions, mushroom, and bell peppers;
• pad thai king prawns fried noodles with bean sprouts, shallots and white radish; OR
• pan fried hot & sour cod fillet lightly battered with sweet basil and chilli.

(All mains except pad thai are served with a choice of jasmine rice or egg fried rice).

Call 020 8960 1022 to order quoting MVM lunch deal – I’ve had the spring roll and pad thai on numerous occasions and they’re always yummy!

More vegetarian options area available and many dishes can be made as vegetarian, so just ask.

Feeling lucky? Buy as many tickets as you can for our Christmas raffle with fantastic prizes from our very generous local businesses and beyond – that supports the Winnicott Foundation (the neonatal unit at St Mary’s Hospital).

Tickets are available now until our Christmas party on Sunday the 4th of December. They are only £1 each. Email us to find out how to buy them if you’re not going to be at the party or if you just want a head start. Last year, we had lots of winners that weren’t at the party.

And just like we said last year, the more you buy, the better your chances.

To date we have raised just under £1k (£962) for this amazing charity – £702 last year and £260 the year before. With your help, we can build on this achievement to help out the tiniest ones entering our community. Just think, if every person on our mailing list buys one ticket this year, we will have surpassed last year’s donation!

Veronica from the Winnicott voiced her appreciation for our efforts and shared their wish list for 2010 so that we’d have an idea of how the money raised could be spent.

RAFFLE PRIZES
(we’ll update this page as new donations come in)

A big thank you to all the businesses who have contributed!

1. Izzy Jones voucher for two to come and do a drop-in painting session.
2. Izzy Jones 15% off any purchase in the store voucher.
3. Lucky London jewellery.
4. Acorn Gymnastics Club half term of classes for the Wednesday, 4.30pm Club Little Venice class.
5. Personal Training with Jacqui voucher for a one-hour fabulous personal training session with Jacqui who will give you a session that will motivate you to continue exercising – full of fat burning festive fun – worth £55.
6. Buggyfit Pass with Jacqui voucher for five hour long classes of fat burning, postnatal exercise joy – worth £47.
7. Mikima Cakes voucher.
8. Diddidance voucher for four consecutive sessions at any of Gina’s locations (Kensal Rise, Queens Park, Notting Hill and West Ken) suitable for boys / girls between 18 months and 4 years.
9. Babiesknow six sessions at the Friday morning (10.30am-12noon) parenting group at Viveka.
10. Reflexology session (pre-natal or regular) by Helen Biscoe-Taylor of Babiesknow.
11. Bluebirds Ballet School voucher for five pre-school ballet lessons.
12. Zebra Ceramics framed clay print – worth £75 – that can be done in their shop in Muswell Hill or at Izzy Jones.
13. Sporty Bump Robe-Around Maternity Towel.
14. The Art Club private art lesson for up to three children of any age over 2 years old.
15. Little Dish rucksack with meal vouchers and a Mabel stuffed toy.
16. Smallprint £20 voucher.
17. Girls Bliss manicure and pedicure treat for Mum.
18. Everyman Maida Vale pair of tickets.
19. Gigi & Leo bag for children and a £50 voucher towards a G bag from G by Turel (handmade leather bags for women).
20. Club Petit Pierrot (St John’s Wood/Maida Vale) voucher for one term of classes plus a free Play Session supplement in one of their Parent and Toddler groups.
21. Trolley Dolly – stylish shopping bags with eco conscience.
22. Natasha Wiening 2x £150 studio vouchers. Two lucky winners will have the opportunity to have a studio photography session of up to 3 hours with Natasha as well as £50 towards anything they would like to buy.
23. School of Rock-a-bye Babies Winter 2012 term of Baby City Rollers (birth to 9 months) at any venue.
24. School of Rock-a-bye Babies CD x5.
25. Zumba with Claudia – Class Pass for 6 Zumba lessons – worth £35.
26. Kiddikicks – 6 weeks of classes with a Kiddikicks t-shirt.
27. Sew Much Fun – ready made penguin (from the collection of sewing kits they have).
28. Masiel Bebé – £70 oucher for this super stylish children’s boutique on Bristol Gardens.
29. Pura Vida – yummy goodies

Zorro, Spiderman, Superman, a pretty pirate, penguin and pumpkin, witches, ghosts and more all shook their hips and did the Spooky Kooky at this year’s MVM Halloween Party.

Looking amazing in their costumes, the 30 children took part in over a half hour of strutting their stuff on the dance floor with Gina from Diddidance. Scarf, ribbon and hoop dancing, reaching to the sky, to the side, marching, wiggling their toes and bouncing around to the beat – all of which they absolutely loved.

There was some spooky designs on black card with chalk beforehand, but once Gina had them all dancing, there was no going back to more sedentary art.

The littlest ones got to dance around in Mummy or Daddy’s arms with the youngest party goer at just 4 days old!

While the kids were busy dancing, the parents were enjoying delicious homemade Italian biscuits by Cucina Mia (07881 517914 or maria.carbonara@btinternet.com).

I couldn’t get enough of the Cucina Mia coconut crunchies!

The kids weren’t left out on the ‘treats’. Maria from Cucina Mia made ghost, witch, bat and pumpkin cookies for them. My daughter still asks for ghosts. I’ve tried to offer her other biscuits since and she says, “no, ghost!”

Luckily Diddidance burnt off so many calories, that the little goblins were also able to enjoy mini Halloween cupcakes by The Riff Raff Cake Company – one was even decorated as a mummy! Loved that one.

We tried to balance our ‘guilty pleasures’ with oranges in the goodie bags.

Hope everyone had as much fun as my family and I.

Big thanks to MVMs Joanna and Jyoti for all their help, as well as to Gina from Diddidance, Maria from Cucina Mia, and Mythili from The Riff Raff Cake Company.

The fun didn’t stop there…

On to Monday and our first ever MVM Halloween Meet-up in the Rose Garden at Paddington Recreation Ground.

Even more children were there in their Halloween finest, running around collecting treats, doing hide and seek, playing with the autumn leaves, and having a blast.

We were so lucky to have professional photographer Russ McClintock there to photograph some of the little trick-or-treaters. If your child’s picture was taken, please get in touch with us and we’ll send you the details of a secure website he has set up with the images so you could see them. You can even purchase a print from him for £5.

I know one little girl who was very sorry to see the end of Halloween. With all this fun, who could blame her?

Big thanks to all the MVMs who showed up on the day and to Russ.

…and if you enjoyed these events (or liked the sounds of them), don’t miss our Christmas Party on Sunday the 4th of December at St. Saviour’s School – more details coming soon!