Don't Stay "At Home" Tomorrow

Instead of staying at home tomorrow, come to MOPS for our speaker, Kristen Lavalley from the blog When At Home.  Click here

Here is a picture of Kristen from her blog.  The photo on the right makes me think she just might be weird enough to fit into our group perfectly...and that photo on the left, well, here is what she says about it:

"Isn’t that photo on the left such a nice and fashionable looking necklace review photo? Don’t worry. I wasn’t actually posing here. The look you see on my face is the look a mother has when she’s given up on life and sees her fully potty trained child rip his pants off to pee directly on the porch. Not even a bush. Just  right there where he was standing. Isn’t that awesome of him?"

Bring snacks to share and friends, and we'll have a good time with Kristen tomorrow morning at 9:30am. See you there, At MOPS!

Long Time No See

Barring unforeseen snow, we will finally see each other again this week!  In addition to a devotional, sweets, and coffee, we will be doing a craft.  Hope to see you there for some fun and fellowship! Bring a friend, bring your kiddos, bring a food to share.

What: MOPS
Where: Erin Presbyterian
When: 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month (Feb 27th)
What time: 9:30am
Why: Because it's great! Come as you are.

Oh, and we will have cupcakes with lots of frosting in honor of the birth of our fearless leader, JS and the wonderful JY.  :)

No MOPS Thursday, Feb 13th

Since Knox County Schools are closed tomorrow, Thursday, February 13th, we will not have MOPS.  We hope to reschedule our speaker, Kristen Lavalley, for another meeting.  In the meantime, you can check out her blog (When at Home) and get to know her a little bit virtually.  

Stay warm, and we'll see you Thursday, February 26th!

P.S. Happy birthday to JY! We were going to celebrate tomorrow with cupcakes, but that will also have to wait until our next meeting.  :)

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