Summer Time

It's summer time for a lot of us now that the preschool year is coming to a close. We have lots of fun events planned this summer and hope you can join us! Make sure we have your email so you can stay involved. We'd like to invite even our graduating or non-returning members to join us. Check out the May newsletter for dates!

Spring is Here & Lots to Do!

Have you all missed my posts or been so busy you didn't even notice? :) It's been so nice outside and there are so many fun activities coming up. Here are a few that I thought might be of interest to those of us with little ones.

Sat, April 14th 10am to 5pm

Art festival with kids activities, art displays, music and more, will be held at Orange Park Town Hall. This event is organized by the Art Guild of Orange Park, a non-profit community art group, and sponsored by the Town or Orange Park.

Art Guild of Orange Park / Orange Park Town Hall, 2042 Park Street / www.artguildoforangepark.com 

Wed, April 18th 10am

Free storytime in Neptune Beach in the courtyard of the shops at 200 First Street. The storytime events are best suited for families with children ages 18 months to 4 years. The Nanny Daisy costumed character will lead the children in educational songs and games and read a short story. She will be available for photos with the children and parents are welcome to bring their cameras.

904-241-2723 / 200 First Street, Neptune Beach

 
Friday, April 20th - Sunday April 22

The 27th Annual Cathedral Festival will feature live entertainment, music, food, bingo, silent auction, fireworks on Saturday night, shrimp dinner on Sunday night, midway rides and more. Visit website for parking, advance ride tickets and more.

Cathedral Parish / Mission of Nombre de Dios, 101 San Marco Avenue / thecathedralfestival.com

 

Saturday, April 21st 10am to 4pm

Join Earth Day Jacksonville and dozens of earth friendly companies for a day for the whole family. This annual event is celebrating its 22nd year at The Jacksonville Landing and features more than 80 booths of educational and interactive displays and live entertainment throughout the day on the main stage. A Children's Stage is added on the West end, offering a variety of kid-friendly hands-on displays.

Jacksonville Landing / 904-353-1188 / 2 Independent Drive / www.earthdayjax.com

 

Saturday, April 21st 10am to 4pm

Come celebrate William Bartram's birthday and Earth Day at Alpine Groves Park. There will be free food, children's crafts, riverfront activities, games, and more. Free orange juice will be served during the morning hours and a hot dog, chips, a drink and cake will be served at lunch time. There will also be a live butterfly release. For more details, contact Beverly Fleming 904-522-1573.

Alpine Groves Park / 904-522-1573 / 2060 State Road 13, Switzerland / www.sjcfl.us/recreation

 

Saturday, April 21st thru Sunday, April 29

Area National Parks will offer free admission, in honor of National Parks Week. Parks include Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, Cumberland Island National Seashore and more.

 

Sunday, April 22nd noon to 5pm

Visitors are welcome to tour any of the farms on the list between 12noon and 5pm. The community is invited to learn about local food production, where the food comes from, and the farmers who produce it. You will need to bring cash for any purchases.

Slow Food First Coast Tour de Farm / www.slowfoodfirstcoast.com

 

Thursday, April 26th 10am & noon

Theatreworks musical based on the best-selling series of books by Cynthia Rylant (Henry & Mudge). For grades PreK thru 3. Curriculum Connection: Relationships and Family, Language/Communication Skills, Literature-Based, Music. Tickets are $7.50 in advance or $8 at the door.

Theatreworks / 904-353-3500 / Florida Theatre, 128 E. Forsyth Street / www.floridatheatre.com

 

Saturday, April 28th 10am to 4pm

Families are invited to celebrate nature at Tree Hill. There will be eco-friendly vendors, food and drinks, a live butterfly exhibit, crafts, animals, presentations, entertainment and more. The live butterfly release will be at 3:30pm. (weather permitting). $5 Adults, $4 Seniors/Military/Students, $3 Kids.

Tree Hill Nature Center / 904-724-4646 / 7152 Lone Star Road / treehill.org

 

Saturday, April 28th noon to 8pm

16th Annual A Taste of St. Augustine features tastes from over 20 of St. Augustine's restaurants. Restaurants will compete for a variety of awards, based on votes. There will also be live music, and a 5K race held the same day. Admission to A Taste of St. Augustine is $5, and food and beverage tickets cost $1 each, with most "tastes" somewhere between 2-5 tickets. Free parking and children under 11 receive free admission.

PIC / 904-829-3295 / St. Augustine Amphitheatre, A1A South / www.epiccommunityservices.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coupons!

This morning we had a fabulous speaker who happens to be the co-coordinator for Murray Hill MOPS. She was gracious enough to let us copy her notes. I'm condensing them here. Look to the February newsletter and our facebook page for more information.

Where to get coupons

• The paper often offers $1 Sunday subscriptions
• Local stores, gyms, etc
• target.com
• Catalina - a printable coupon that is handed to you with your receipt at the store
• Peelies - peel off coupons found on products
• Blinkies - found in the aisle at the store spitting out of the blinking black box
• Tear Pads - Usually displayed next to the product and tear off a pad.
• Sign up for home mailers
• coupon database - www.iheartpublix.com
• brand websites
• Join the store loyalty program
• Follow bloggers and FB pages of people doing the leg work. 

Helpful Tips:

• Publix allows you to stack coupons and accepts competitors' coupons.
• Start a grocery price book and compare price per unit.
• Shop at more than one store
• Plan out your shopping trips.
• Shop with a store circular in hand
• When in doubt, ask.
• Use overages to get free stuff.
• Use store rewards toward your next purchase.
• Stock up during a sale.
• Start a stockpile
• Anticipate store sales and plan accordingly
• Shop online
• Print coupons online
• Subscribe to magazines that offer coupons
• Only buy things you need
• Don't compare yourself to others
• Check out dollar and discount stores
• Donate expired and unused coupons to the military overseas.
• Donate newspapers to schools or pet shelters
• Things you get free you can always donate (think Hubbard House!)
• Learn the coupon lingo

There will be more details in the newsletters to come! Happy saving!

Light the Night and Other Things

Tonight marks our third year of walking as a group for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's annual fundraiser Light the Night. We walk in honor of sweet Liam Gonzalez who was diagnosed with Leukemia 3 years ago when he was a member of our MOPPET program, before he turned 3 years old! He is in maintenance mode now and we're very grateful to be able to support his mom, Teri and this wonderful family. There is still time to donate or join our team!

Our group is a very generous group and we love helping others when we can! We never want anyone in our group to feel pressured to give. We never know what struggles our own members may be fighting privately. Please know that whenever we share an opportunity to help others that we only do so in case you were not aware and would like to help. That being said, if you ever hear of a need that you would like to share with the group, please contact Kathleen. Requests will be placed on the blog instead of flooding your emails. Later today a new page on the blog will be created where you can always see what opportunities there are in our area to help. I know some moms have ideas on how to get children involved in giving and we'd love to post those ideas as well. Keep up the good work ladies of helping to make sure there is "No Mom Alone."

Fun Event Next Weekend

Third Annual Oakleaf Expo!!!

NOVEMBER 5th From 10 am ~ 3pm
845 Plantation Oaks Blvd, Orange Park, FL
Phase 2 Clubhouse

Over 100 Vendors, Bar B Q Dinners, Hot Dogs,
Hamburgers, Train Rides, Face Painting,
Bounce Houses and a Live Dj!

Start your Christmas Shopping Early!!

LOTS AND LOTS OF GIVEAWAYS!!

Mark this on your calendar because
You will not want to miss this .

FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

September News

Our year is off to a great start! It was wonderful to see all the new & familiar faces on Monday. We will be having a monthly newsletter. In addition to a printed version being available at the first meeting of the month, there will also be an electronic version here on the blog for those who either miss the meeting or lose the newsletter. If you have anything you would like to submit to a future newsletter please let Kathleen know!

Important things to know:
Bring a 4x6 profile picture (of your kids) to the next meeting. We will be making silhouettes. They can be printed on regular paper as we will be cutting them up! If you have good quality scissors please bring those as well.

We will be starting a study on Thursdays at 10am hosted at Jan's house. The study will be based on the book Unplug the Christmas Machine which you can order from Amazon or half.com has it for a few dollars. If you're interested in the study but would need childcare please contact Kathleen ASAP. And please let Jan know if you plan on attending. We will begin on September 22nd.

And finally, we will be having our first play-date on Monday. We will be doing art work with our kids for Original Works and then letting them have water play if the weather cooperates. See your email for more information.

New Year & New Things!

We are gearing up for our new year! We are bringing back a few things from the past. This year we will have a photo directory and a monthly newsletter. But we need your help with both! Find a picture of yourself that you like and send it to Suzanne or Beth. Otherwise, we will take your picture at one of the first few meetings. So if you want control of what you're going to look like in the directory, get your picture in! As for the newsletter, we will be selling ad space for $2 an issue or $15 for the entire year (9 issues). If you know someone who would like to advertise to a great bunch of moms please contact Kathleen.