February 21st Meeting

This week we were privileged to hear words of wisdom (and wit) from our dearly appreciated Mentor Moms! Our Mentor Mom panel took questions from you and shared their thoughts, mistakes, and successes when it comes to being a mom. Here are the cliff notes...

How to incorporate faith on a daily basis:
- Enjoy creation
- Breakfast bible reading
- Car time
- Pray together
- Be real with them

Chores:
- Don't make it more important than it is
- "Family Fifteen" 15 minutes of cleaning as a family at night
- Make it into a game
- Show them how one-on-one

Clutter:
-BASKETS

Book recommendations:
-Parenting by the Book
-The Five Love Languages (Chapman)
-The Power of a Praying Parent (Omartian)
-The Power of a Praying Wife (Omartian)
-Grace Based Parenting (Kimmel)
-Do You Know Who I Am? (Thompson)

Teaching kids to share:
-Spend time individually with them
-Transforming the Difficult Child by Howard Glasser
-Catch them doing something GOOD and praise them
-They don't have to share everything
-Don't use idle threats. Follow through on what you say.
-Don't bring it up again once it's dealt with.

Stopping wining:
-Tell them you don't understand wining
-The Wining Chair, where you sit until you are done wining

Tantrums/tantrums in public:
-Say what you mean and follow through
-Hug it out
-Have a daily quiet time, alone and quiet

Transition to school:
-go to school before the first day
-talk about it; role-play
-role-model bravery
-give little ones chances to play apart from mom, like in MOPPETS or church nursery

Picky eaters:
-Remember that every child is different, and so is every parent!
-Sometimes it's just a stage
-It's okay if they skip a meal once in a while
-Pick your battles
-Be consistent

Praise God for our dedicated Mentor Moms!

February 7th Meeting

 We got to hear from the lovely Dina Martens at MOPS on Feb. 6th. Dina is from Davao, Philippines, and has lived and worked in Thailand, Korea, and Mongolia. She now now calls Minnesota home, along with her husband and two children, ages 5yrs & 11mos.

"What defines you?" Dina asked. Though she was privileged to have a good education, a good job, and even enjoyed fame in the Philippines for her singing voice, she often felt lonely. Eventually God called her to missions, and then to being a wife and mother.

"Generosity is not just giving. It is giving, and giving, and giving until it hurts."

Thank you, Dina, for sharing your journey with us!

Zoe also showed us how to make:

No Bake Playdoh!

1/2 cup flour

2 TBsp salt

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 1/2 tsp  vegetable oil

1/4 - 1/3 cup hot water, add food coloring drops to water

1. Start by shaking the dry ingredients together in a ziplock baggie (at least sandwich size).

2. Add oil and water/food coloring to the contents in plastic baggie.

3. Press out most of the air, and close ziplock bag.  Knead together until everything is mixed.

If playdoh is too dry, add a few drops of water at a time and knead; if it's too wet, add a little more flour and knead.  More food coloring can be kneaded in after playdoh is fully mixed, if desired.

Playdoh can be kept in the ziplock baggie, or transferred to air-tight containers, such as: baby food jar/container, jam/jelly jars, small cottage cheese or sour cream containers, tupperware, etc.

Recipe was adapted from:  http://www.preparedpantry.com/how-to-make-playdough.htm

There are also instructions for baking and painting playdoh.

Directory and March Newsletter

Here are the online PDF versions of our latest print materials! Use the directory to get to know fellow moms better, and check out the March newsletter for a Valentine's devo, interviews with steering members, and some savory soups!

 Mops Directory 2012

March Newsletter Page 1

March Newsletter Page 2

0212 Page 3 PDF

0212 Page 4 PDF

January 17th Meeting

MOPS UNIVERSITY

 Sign-up for Sessions

Zumba

Photography

 Mentor Moms

Contour Drawing

Yoga

January 3rd Meeting

Welcome to 2012! We were all blessed with a scrumptious breakfast and a lesson in loneliness on an icy morning to begin the calender year. MOPS strives to be a place to find connections, support, and encouragement, and speaker Beth Beebe shared her stories of her own experiences and struggles in making real connections and sustaining relationships in your community. Beth is a preschool teacher who lives in Bloomington with her husband and two teenage sons, and she gave us personal and practical ways to give and receive help in times of loneliness. The truth is that we can be surrounded by people and still feel isolated.

Whether living in a foreign country where you don't speak the language, a bustling city with where no one gives out their phone numbers, or a tiny middle-of-nowhere town, we all need to find community and friendship. Someone to talk to, be encouraged by, lend a helping hand. A verse in Proverbs says "He puts the lonely in a family," and Hebrews chapter 10 says "Let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds." When the way is narrow, go deep with God. Beth exhorted us to be "God with skin on" for each other. Seasons bring change, she explained, and change brings hope. She also recommended the book A Place of Healing by Joni Eareckson Tada.

What strikes you about Beth's stories? Are you in a situation of loneliness? If not, what could you consider doing to be a source of comfort to someone who is?

Dec 20th Meeting

MOPS "Spa Day" is our annual outlet to just kick back and pamper ourselves, whether you enjoy exercising physically or creatively, getting a massage or a manicure, chatting & conversation, or just listening to music with your eyes closed. Here are a few photos.

Dec 6th Meeting

This morning John Havelka of Edward Jones gave us a run down of financial planning for families. The financial advisor stressed the importance of having financial goals, both short and long term. He answered questions about credit scores, life insurance, retirement saving, college saving, and investing. It may be hard to find time to discuss your budget with your spouse, but it is very important.

"Create a strategy, and then review your strategy periodically." -John Havelka

After our speaker, we had a mixer to meet other moms in our public school districts and shared our favorite Christmas traditions.

We finished up the morning putting together "Cookies in a Jar" to keep or give as gifts.

Cookies in a jar:

Cream 2 tbsp. of water, ½ cup of butter, and 1 egg together until light. Add entire contents of the jar and stir until well blended. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto an greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350º for 10-12 min.

Ingredients included:

¼ cup white chocolate chips

½ cup rice crispies

1½ cups flour 

¾ tsp baking soda 

¼ tsp baking powder

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup chocolate chips

½ cup rolled oats

½ cup white sugar

...see previous post for our December Newsletter!