Crafts!

Our only December meeting of the year is normally a crafty meeting and this year was no exception! We actually had 3 craft stations set up. We had a jar mix station, mason jar Christmas tree snow globe and glass plate painting (we had left overs from the last craft meeting).

In years past, we had made cranberry cookies in a jar, but this year we decided to switch it up and make Peppermint Brownies in a jar as found on Skip to my Lou. These were a little messy to make, I think we were all covered in flour & cocoa powder by the time we were done! One of the ladies made these for our annual Christmas party and they were delicious!

Our snow globes were inspired by the ones you see at Anthropologie. Mari has a great tutorial which is basically identical to what we did. These came out really cute and really quick to make.

I can't believe the MOPS year is half over, but we have a lot of great speakers to look forward to in the new year! A sneak peek at what's to come...

Our annual white elephant gift exchange just in time to see the real elephants at the circus! I'll have another post up in the next couple of days with more information on the circus, but in the meantime I have a special discount to offer our readers -  Get $5 off select seats by using code MOM13 (Note: Offer not valid on premium seating, opening night seats, or the Saturday 3:30 p.m. performance.) Make sure you get all the information about our lunch with the circus elephants on January 17th!


 

DIY Glass Birthday Plates

At our last crafty meeting we made glass birthday plates! This was a fun and pretty easy project. We got our idea from a couple of other blogs:

• http://www.whimsy-love.com/2008/02/tutorialor-not-tutorial-that-is.html
• http://www.alwaysexpectmoore.com/2012/09/happy-birthday-cupcake-plate.html 

You can really make any sort of plate really. Great thing about these plates, since the paint is on the back, it's completely food safe!

A few things that we found helpful:

1. Print out images on paper for inspiration or tracing (a ton can be found on pinterest)
2. Using a dry-erase marker, trace or draw what you want to paint on to the front of the plate
3. When you start painting on the back, make sure to paint the top layers first (like lines, or candles) as you will be painting the image in layers.

Glass plates can be easily found at the dollar store and with coupons you can get the paints for a pretty reasonable price! Would be great for Cookies for Santa plates, Family plates, etc. Even get your kids involved!

St Mark's MOPS moms who missed the meeting but still would like to make a plate, contact Kathleen or Amy for the supplies. We have plenty extra!

Child Development

In October, we were blessed to have Cathy Hardage (Head of School) and Stephanie Kowald (Early Learning Program & ELP Extended Day Division Head,  Pre-Kindergarten I Teacher) from St. Mark's Episcopal Day School. They shared a lot of information with us about child development. They were even so kind as to put the presentation online for us to view! If you missed it or would like a refresher, check out the presentation here: http://www.slideshare.net/skowald/mops-presentation-15053409

Many thanks to Mrs. Hardage & Mrs. Kowald for taking time from your busy days to come and speak with us!

Light The Night

We are so privileged and excited to be walking for the fourth consecutive year in honor of six year old Liam Gonzalez who's strong spirit and courage is an inspiration to all of us as he nears the end of his treatment protocol in his long battle with leukemia. Liam's mom, Teri, was a member of our group when Liam was diagnosed.

Liam will be done with his 3 1/2 year treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on December 8th of this year. He has stayed in remission this long....thanks to advances in research, attention, medicine and cures. He has to remain in remission for at least 5 MORE years to be considered "cured". We are hopeful that those advances in medicine have done all that they needed to do for our little superman! Please consider donating in his honor, for all the other children that don't stay in remission, because they need new and different medicines! THANK YOU!!!!!

Please consider being part of Team Liam by donating to our Team or by walking with us on Nov 1st!!! Meet us at the Landing around 6:30pm so we can walk as a group. Families are welcome as it's a leisurely stroll and stroller friendly. Plus participants who raise funds will receive a lighted balloon to help Light the Night. What kid wouldn't want to play with a balloon that lights up?!

Many of us know or love someone who has been affected by Leukemia or Lymphoma. By joining with Light the Night four years ago, our group did the one thing we felt could make a difference for the Gonzalez family. We appreciate your support and no donation is too small! Click on the "Donate Now" button on the right to be taken to our team's page. We'd love to see you all Thursday at The Landing to help us Light the Night for Liam!

Labels!

Our kids starting school can be a stressful time for all of us. A new experience for everyone! Lists of things to remember, new schedules to adapt and lots of stuff to keep track of and hope your kids don't lose! We spend all this time and money to get all the supplies, only to have our child leave something at school, never to be seen again! I can't tell you how many sippy cups I lost that first year we did preschool. Then I heard about Mabel's Labels and we ran into them at the first MOPS Convention I attended. They told us about this awesome fundraiser they have and we took all the information home. We have been doing this fundraiser for a few years now and I've only lost one thing since (yes it was labeled and no I don't know what happened to it). We also lost a pair of shoes at KidsPark once. It was an honest mistake, all those target shoes look alike, someone just got a size up while we ended up with a size too small. I've just purchased our second set of shoe labels for my 5 year old. They are on our must list now! I've used the bag tags on lunch boxes, diaper bags, labels on sippy cups & food containers and tag mates on jackets & dance gear. I recently purchased the 4-1-1 wristbands to use when we go to theme parks or crowded places. They're customized to say "If lost please call..." with our cell numbers. You could also customize them with allergy information. While ordering the wristbands, I couldn't get a preview to load. The online chat service was amazing. The rep sent me an image with all the options with my wording on them so I could see exactly what it looked like before ordering. I love Mabel's Labels for the items it has saved me and for the support they have given to my favorite MOPS group! We get a percentage of all orders placed through our personalized website. The picture in this post is for their fundraiser combo - something you can only order through fundraisers. If you click on it, it will take you directly to the site that supports our group. If your kids go to our nurseries at MOPS, we ask that you label any diaper bags, sippy cups or bottles. This is a great way to get all you need and support our group at the same time! And the labels last! I've had some of the same labels on our sippy cups for 4 years now and they still show no sign of coming off. Feel free to share our link with anyone you know. They make great baby gifts and they also have plenty of items for us moms as well!

Time to Vote!

It's time to vote on your favorite t-shirt design! Please vote by Tuesday, August 31st. Don't take into account the pricing as we will research to get the best quality for the best price. Here are the entries:

Doesn't have to be a black shirt...

I Need A Time Out

 Better Moms Make a Better World

Plunge

Shirts!

It's been years since we've had shirts made for our group. I know we have a lot of talented ladies in our mist so we're having a t-shirt design contest! To help get your ideas flowing, I've added the MOPS logo, tagline & Plunge (theme for 2012-2013) logo to this post.

Send your design to Kathleen or email them to stmarksmopsjax@gmail.com by July 25th. If you want a copy of the original images, let me know. Everyone will then have a chance to vote on a winner by July 31st. In August you'll have an opportunity to order a shirt which will be available for pick up at our first meeting in September. The creator of the winning design will win a free shirt! Can't wait to see all the great designs!

Organic Produce

The Neighborhood Garden is helping us out with a fundraiser again!
This time all you have to do is indicate that you heard about it
through St. Mark's MOPS in the comment section when ordering. We will
receive $2 per full bag and $1 per half bag with no extra effort on
our part. All they'd like is some help spreading the word about their
awesome produce! Please feel free to share on your FB, with friends,
family, etc. So order your bags now!
You can choose your location as well, of course we'd love for you to
pick up in our Avondale area with Heather Tritt.

To order, simply click ORDER FORM http://www.jaxorganic.com/ and place
your order online.  Place any "extras" in the comments section of the
order form! Make sure you put St. Mark's MOPS in the comment section
so we get credit. If it's your first time ordering please remember to
bring 2 reusable shopping bags with you. After your first order you'll
only need to bring 1 bag each time.

*Special Note*  We will gladly substitute up to 2 items per bag!  Thank you!

Head to their website to place an order and pay through PayPal
or email us for an invoice!

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!