Egg Hunt FRIDAY!!!!

Come one, come all! We are having our annual MOPS Easter Egg Hunt this Friday, April 3rd at 10:30am.  SUN or SHOWERS!!!

We'll have a short story time and an assortment of snacks and sweets followed by our egg hunt.  Bring a basket for your little ones to collect eggs, and bring a camera...because there is nothing cuter than a little toddler walking right by eggs and not seeing them.  

Hope to see you there!


If you are able to, please bring 12 stuffed eggs per child hunting.  If you are unable to, no worries, come anyway.  

Wine, Women, and Wisdom- MNO Coming Soon!

Well... maybe there probably won't be too much wisdom shared, but there will definitely be laughter...and wine...or margaritas. (Alcohol cycles out of breast milk in about 4 hours, right?)

Mom's Night Out (MNO) will be on Thursday, April 16th at 7pm

Location will be the patio of Casa Don Gallo in Rocky Hill/Bearden
7741 S. Northshore Dr.

Let's be honest, we all need to get out a little.  Come munch on chips and salsa with us!

(For those of you who this date does not work, we will try to schedule another MNO in late spring or early summer.)

Meal Making Party Anyone?

Hey Ladies,

It was so good to see you yesterday and we sure missed those of you who couldn't make it.  Did you enjoy your Gourmet Java Burgers or Mozzarella and Tomato Chicken Pasta last night for supper? Whitney sent me this message and asked me to pass it along to our group...

It was nice to meet you, and thank you for having me today! I hope everyone was able to have at least one take away. 

I know many of you expressed interested in a Wildtree Freezer Meal Workshop. I wanted to send a few dates. 

Open Dates:

Friday 4/10 (register/prepayment due 4/3)

Sunday 4/12 (register/prepayment due 4/3)

Monday 4/20 (register/prepayment due 4/3)

Monday 4/27 (register/prepayment due 4/9)

Tuesday 4/28 (register/prepayment due 4/9)

Hopefully we can pencil one of these dates in as I only do 8 parties a month and they will fill quickly. 

Look forward to hearing from you!!!

Whitney Overbay

865-300-8386

whitneyoverbay@gmail.com

www.mywildtree.com/whitneyoverbay

www.facebook.com/wildtreeknoxvilletn

****Also, our annual Easter Egg Hunt will be this coming Good Friday (April 3rd) at 10:30am at Erin Presbyterian. Bring friends, family members, neighbors, anyone and everyone is welcome! If you are hunting, please bring at least 12+ filled eggs per child hunting to the church when you come on April 3rd.  

Beef- It's What's for Dinner

"What's for dinner tonight?" 

Wouldn't it be nice to come to MOPS on Thursday (March 26th) and leave with dinner ready for that night? Well, that is exactly what is going to happen! 

Whitney from Wildtree will be our guest speaker, and she will bring most of the necessary spices and ingredients for each person to make either Gourmet Java Burgers or Mozzarella and Tomato Chicken Pasta. Yum, right?

So, here is what you need to do...

COME TO MOPS with either 1-2 pounds of cubed, uncooked chicken OR 1 pounds of each ground turkey and ground beef. Bring your meat in some sort of lunch box or freezer bag with ice to keep it cold during the meeting.  Here is how Whitney broke down the two options with everything you need: 

OPTION A: Gourmet Java Burgers

 Bring to meeting: 

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• ½ medium onion, finely chopped/diced
• ¼ cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 4 oz blue cheese, feta, asiago, or parmesan cheese

At cooking time: 

1 egg     

Optional: 4 oz mushrooms, finely diced

OPTION B: 

 Mozzarella and Tomato Chicken Pasta

 Bring to meeting: 

·         1 ½ - 2 pounds chicken breasts, cubed

To Add to meal when serving:

·         1-16 oz. package mini penne pasta or bowtie pasta (or choice of pasta)

·         1 pound steamed broccoli or Zucchini (may substitute frozen mixed veggies)

·         ½ cup reserved pasta water- for sauce

·         ½ cup half and half- for sauce

·         Parmesan cheese (optional)- for garnish

Hope this makes sense.  If you have additional questions, email Whitney at whitneyoverbay@gmail.com or call/text: 865.300.8386.

See you Thursday!

P.S. Wishing ALICIA PEARSON a very happy birthday today! Hoping the joy you bring to others comes back to you.

Assuming NO MORE SNOW, MOPS Thursday!

Hey there,
Remember us? We're your MOPS friends.  And as long as there isn't another wintery mix (or just forecasted snow in which Knox County is still canceled), we REALLY hope to return to MOPS this week, Thursday, March 12th at 9:30am.

Our marriage counselor speakers will be rescheduled for April or May, so we'll have some sort of craft, discussion questions, and yummy treats.  Oh, and before it warms up too much, this Thursday we'll have our annual gourmet hot chocolate meeting! A hot chocolate maker with all sorts of mix and topping options will be present at our meeting. Marshmallows, chocolate syrup, whip cream, oh my!

SO, put away those snow pants and come thaw out with us! We'll share stories of how we've been going stir crazy while we indulge in snacks (feel free to bring anything to share!) and hot chocolate.  (And if that doesn't entice you to MOPS, then just come for the company and time away from your kiddos.  Oh, and there might be some Spiderman tattoos for any little ones who need an extra nudge of encouragement to get out the door.)

See you this Thursday at 9:30 at Erin Presbyterian!

(and I am NOT going to include the inclement weather cancelation policy because I am crossing my fingers that we will NOT need it.)

Spring has sprung (well, maybe almost)!

It is currently in the 70s (according to the weather thing in my car). Can you even believe it!?! Knox County had no school for two straight weeks due to snow and ice and now its in the 70s. (There is talk of snow tomorrow.....but let's ignore that for now, shall we.) Spring is almost here and that means we will be out and about with kidlets in tow. I don't know that the two following recipes can even be called recipes, but they will make your trips to the park, the zoo and endless baseball practices more enjoyable.

Monster Mix
Cheerios
Raisins
M&Ms
Peanuts
Butterscotch chips

Throw various amounts of each of the above in a bowl and mix together. Divide into little snack size baggies (or re-usable bags-looking at you, Ceri). Yup, that's it. Here's what we used.


You will note it is completely different then the above "recipe". That's because this here is what we call more of a suggestion, then an actual recipe. Use what you have on hand and what your kids like. J is currently boycotting peanuts, so we went with Bugles instead. Then we added Craisins. And peanut butter chips. Tada! Monster mix my kids enjoy. Keeping a little baggie of this in your car for when Mama gets cranky has low blood sugar wouldn't hurt anything either.

Chex Mix
3 C Corn Chex
3 C Rice Chex
3 C Wheat Chex
1 C mixed nuts
1 C pretzels
1 C bagel chips
6 T butter (or margarine)
2 T Worchestershire sauce
1 1/2 t season salt
3/4 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder

Mix first 6 ingredients together in a big bowl and set aside. Mix seasonings together in a little bowl and set aside. Melt butter in the microwave (about 30-40 seconds). Add Worchestershire sauce and seasonings to the butter and mix. Pour over the cereal mixture and mix well. Microwave on high for 6 minutes, stirring well every 2 minutes. (This smells sooooo good when it's heating up in the microwave. We call the smell "the deliciousness of Chex.") After its heated, pour out on paper towels (I use wax paper) and let cool. Nom, nom, nom. You can store in a resealable bowl, baggies or throw in the freezer for later consumption.



So here's the thing, I have never completely followed this recipe. Ever.  That's not even my picture-I just took a picture of what was on my recipe. I use Cheez-Its instead of bagel pieces. A whole can of nuts instead of just 1 cup. More season salt (a whole teaspoon) and I add red pepper flakes. And the cereal, well, that depends on what is on sale. And yeah, I've been known to throw Bugles in this too. So use what works for you and your clan.

Check out Chex's website for a bajllion other ideas for snack mixes.
http://www.chex.com/recipes/chex-party-mix

Next MOPS meeting is at Erin Presbyterian on Thursday, March 12 at 9:30 am. We hope to see you there!