Crafty-Day Get-Away

Come to Erin Pres MOPS this Thursday, January 23rd at 9:30am and let your craft juices flow freely.  We will be doing a very cool craft that can be used as home decor, gift for your kiddo, or even a disciplinary tool...and no, we are not making paddles for spanking.  Aren't you curious now? Well, you'll have to come to MOPS to find out what it is!

AND if that doesn't get you out of bed and into the projected 32 degree weather, know that we will also be having a HOT CHOCOLATE BAR.  Yes, you read that right. In addition to our usual coffee and snacks, we will be having an all-you-can-drink hot chocolate bar complete with gourmet flavors like Warm Oatmeal Cookie, French Vanilla, Mint, and just the usual milk chocolate.  Of course, marshmallows, whip cream, and Hersey syrup will make a guest appearance.  Heck, we might even just put on some Norah Jones and really live it up coffee house style!

Looking forward to seeing you all for fun, fellowship, and laughs.   Oh, and we'd love some new faces too, yes, I'm talking to YOU! Free childcare and free parking next to the playground.  No excuse not to come...unless you had a baby in the last 2 weeks...you know who you are ;)

CPR, First Aid, and Emergency Preparedness

Do you have nightmares that your child is choking or turning blue in the face from not breathing? Will you know what to do if your child has a life-threating emergency? Come to MOPS this Thursday, January 9th at 9:30am at Erin Presbyterian for a Red Cross presentation specifically geared toward moms of infants and toddlers.  This is something that you will not want to miss.  Actually, please invite your friends, neighbors, grandparents, and playgroups.  You never know how the information in the session might save the life of your child or someone you know.

Our speaker, Mary Franklin, is a certified Red Cross instructor/trainer.  She teaches classes on CPR, First Aid, AED use, Water Safety (Learn to Swim +), Lifeguarding, and Babysitter's Training.  She has generously offered to give our group a "Cliff Notes" of the classes that she teaches.  Mary is extremely knowledgeable and will help prepare us for the unknown and the unthinkable.  We hope we never NEED this info, but if we need it, we'll be infinitely thankful that we have it.
(On a side note, Mary is also a mom herself and officiates competitive swimming from the college level all the way down to the little tikes. I bet she can even tell us some tips of teaching our littles to swim...or just let us know how to sign up for swim classes.)

Sleep better and gain incredible peace of mind from knowing you are prepared for emergency situations. We hope to see you this Thursday at 9:30 at Erin Pres MOPS! As always, childcare will be provided, snacks and coffee will be consumed, and everyone will be welcome just as you are.

**If Knox County Schools are on a 2-hr delay or closed due to weather, MOPS will NOT meet and will reschedule our Red Cross Speaker for another time.  If Knox County is on a 1-hr delay, MOPS will meet an hour late at 10:30.

Stay safe and warm!

Now that the holidays have begun, you are probably already receiving gifts and inevitably wondering what the heck you are going to do with that not-so-lovely gift you got from Aunt Martha.  Well, MOPS has a solution for you! At our meeting this Thursday (Dec 12th), we're having our yearly White Elephant Gift Swap.  You can relieve yourself of an unwanted, unneeded gift, although you'll be leaving with another one, and hopefully the one you get will be wanted/needed. Here is what you do: Find a re-gift gift in your house OR buy a gift for $10 bucks or under.  Wrap the gift, and bring it with you.

(The elephant exchange is totally optional, and of course, you are welcome to come without doing the swap.)

During Thursday's meeting, we will also be doing a fun holiday craft, and these never disappoint due to some crafty minds in our crew.  Oh, and as with all MOPS events, food will be present, so feel free to bring a yummies to share.

Lastly, Thursday night, we will be holding our annual cookie swap at Julie's house.  Since we are a pretty low maintenance group, store bought or slice-and-bake cookies are totally acceptable and never judged. Bring a couple dozen cookies of your choice and join us for more laughs, beverages, and fun.  For more details, email Julie (juliebrts@yahoo.com). 

We hope you join us for these fellowship opportunities as we encourage and uplift each other during this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas!

P.S. If you and your kiddos are looking for some FREE holiday entertainment tonight, the Bearden Public Library is having a "special holiday story time and craft" at 6pm.  Also, the jolly ole elf is making his rounds to the area libraries to take FREE picts with your kids.  Lines aren't usually long, so grab your camera and check here  to see when the fat guy will be at a library near you.

P.P.S. Other holiday events in our area: knoxville-this-holiday-season

Tis the season, of too much CANDY!

Does your house have too much pesky candy that beckons to you during nap time or late night hours?  Why not donate some of the sweets to Operation Christmas Child* and thus give it to needy children around the globe?  (BTW, only non-meltable candy can be donated. Hard candy, suckers, mints are great.) While you're at it, why not go through some toy drawers and clean out some small toys or stuffed animals that can also be donated.

Even if you've eaten all your child's Halloween candy already (I don't judge you- I'm eating my son's candy as I type this!) or don't have any toy clutter to clean out (really?!), please come help us wrap and pack shoe boxes that will be sent around the world.  You don't need any experience with OCC or with MOPS, and I guarantee you will be blessed by the experience.

We will meet in the Fellowship Hall at Erin Presbyterian at 9:30am this Thursday, November 14th.  Free childcare will be available, and feel free to bring coffee/snacks for yourself or to share.

If you want to contribute something more than your time, the following items are always needed to fill the OCC boxes: new socks, washcloths, note pads, coloring books, small toys (cars, balls, stuffed animals), and oh, we can always use shoe boxes and wrapping paper.

(Monetary donations are welcome too. It cost $7 to ship each box to a needy child.)

Oh, and it was so great to meet some of you our fire safety day! Hope to see you Thursday or later at a more traditional MOPS meeting.  :)

Happy Veteran's Day!

*to find out more about OCC and what is acceptable to be included in the boxes, visit here

Young or old, big or small, who doesn't love a real-life fire truck to climb on and explore?!  Erin MOPS is fortunate to have Captain Paul Trumpore from the Knox Fire Department this Thursday, October 24th from 9:30-11:30am.  While we climb on and through the fire truck, he'll show us firefighter tools and gear and explain new fire safety procedures. Additionally, his team will also be bringing the TWO-STORY FIRE SAFETY HOUSE to provide a hands on educational experience and practice escape procedures! All are welcome and encouraged to join us for this FREE and fun event.  Oh, and rumor has it that there will be all sorts of badge stickers and fire safety souvenirs for kiddos, so bring also neighbors, family, and friends....and your camera!  You won't want to miss this!

Fall is here and your kids are on fall break! Come on out to the Fruit and Berry Patch with us this Thursday (Knox County Fall Break) at 10am for pumpkins, hayrides, cider, and the patch's famous fried pies.  There might even be a small corn maze and goat feeding opportunities.  Bring all the kiddos, some neighbors, and maybe a grandparent or two.  Hope to see you there!

www.thefruitandberrypatch.com

MOPS Thurs, October 10th at 9:30am

Hello Everybodeeeee! (Yes, way too much Grover in my life this days.  I need more adult interaction!)

Whether you are starving to discuss new fall reality T.V. or just looking forward to the yummy food and coffee, please join us for MOPS this Thursday, October 10th.  We will be doing a craft, which I'm sure will be something much cooler than the straw flowers pictured above.  In addition to a craft, we'll have discussion questions that help us to get to know each other more and talk about our "beautifully messy" lives.

As always, all children and visitors are welcome and encouraged to attend...and all visitor with children are especially welcome.

If you would like to contribute to our Operation Christmas Child (OCC) collection efforts, please start saving shoe boxes and bring soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. We'll also continue collecting school supplies.

Special thanks to last meeting's wonderful speaker, Heather Cockrum! Thanks to her presentation and suggestions, we can get free and almost free stuff for OCC or our own families! Oh, and in addition to her slides and sample meal plans that she provided, she thought this link might be helpful:
http://www.southernsavers.com/2013/10/publix-gas-gift-card-scenario-idea-get-52-for-14/

See you Thursday! Happy Fall Y'all!

Oh, and don't forget to mark your calendars:
October 17th: MOPS outing to Oakes Farm for all things fall: pick your own pumpkin, hayride, corn maze.  http://www.oakesfarm.com/
October 24th: Captain Paul will be bringing a fire truck and the 2-story fire safety building to our MOPS meeting.  Kids will especially LOVE this...and he'll have fire safety stickers and color books.