October 2011

Game On: Life on Mayne Street

By Chris Mayne (1/3 Mom)

“Mommy! Come see what Linky did!”  Those are words that I came to dread over the course of this past summer, after my littlest guy, Lincoln, turned two in May.  It seemed that he had to prove to someone that he really was two, and my 5 year old, Donovan, was usually the bearer of bad news.  Lincoln went on a 3 month run of creating one disaster after another almost daily, from puddles of lotion and globs of Vaseline all over his room to flushing everyone’s toothbrushes down the toilet five minutes before we had to leave for a doctor appointment.  Many of my Facebook friends started to tell me that they looked forward to the latest installment of the “Linky Adventures.”

I have to admit that I don’t always handle these situations with grace and aplomb. I don’t always see the “teachable moment” in a bathroom covered in splashes and puddles of strawberry liquid hand soap five minutes before company is supposed to arrive. And if you have ever woken to find a naked toddler crying outside your bedroom door at 6:30 in the morning after he has raided the refrigerator, let the dogs out of their crates so they could pee on the carpet, and then peed on the carpet himself, then you can totally identify with the MomSense it requires to diaper this child and send him to the naughty corner for his own safety while the chaos he created is attended to, all before I’ve had a chance to wipe the sleep from my eyes.

There are times when as a Mom I feel completely lost, and I secretly envy the mom I see at the mall whose hair is perfect, clothes are stylish, and she somehow managed to convince her kindergartener to wear clothes that match.  I wish I had my mom close by, or even *gasp* my mother-in-law, to lend a hand or just some encouragement on those especially challenging days. But God always provides exactly what I need, and He has blessed me with the love and encouragement of friends (many of them other MOPS moms) who are experiencing similar struggles and older moms who are a few steps farther down the road. They come alongside me and say with a knowing smile, “I remember those days . . .”

I think most of us tend to doubt our Momsense, our God given intuition, common sense, and unique gifts and abilities. But God has equipped each of us to be exactly the right mom for the children He has blessed us with.  I am slowly coming to the realization that God is using my journey as a mom to raise and grow me into the person He wants me to be just as much as He is using me to raise my boys.  I make mistakes as a parent, and I’m not the amazing, all-knowing, perfect person my children sometimes see me as. I’m an imperfect guardian of a precious treasure entrusted to me for a short time.

I’m so excited that another year of MOPS has begun, and I’m looking forward to sharing the next few steps of this journey with all of you as we share encouragement and swap horror stories and figure out this thing called motherhood.*

“Mentor's Favorite Things…”

“One of my favorite Fall/Winter recipes is Beef Stew in my crock-pot. SOOOOO EASY! Make it in the morning and you’re all done cooking for the day. It makes a great leftover meal too. It’s so tasty and so easy. Lots of meat and vegetables! It’s a meal in itself. Just add some crackers and you’re good to go! Brown 1 or 2 packages of stewing meat and put in crock-pot. Then add cans with liquid of the following: 2 French onion soup, 2 corn, 2 peas, 1 carrots, and then a bag of frozen cauliflower.”  -Margie Alford (1/3 Mentor)

“One of my favorite things is a "Blessing Bucket."  I keep a small bucket with a cute notepad and pen next to it on my kitchen table.  When our girls do something "nice" I write it on the notepaper and put it in the bucket.  If they come home and have had a bad day, they can take one out and read it.  My girls are teenagers and I just started it this past year, but I think it would have been fun to do when they were younger.”  -Mary Kubo (1/3 Mentor)

Time Out To Cook

Pumpkin Soup

2 Tbsp. butter

1 cup chopped onion

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 can pumpkin puree, unsweetened

4 cup low sod. can chicken stock warmed

Fresh grated nutmeg

Salt/Pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 scallions, thinly sliced

* In a heavy large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and cook until tender about 5 minutes. Stir in thyme, stewed tomatoes, and pumpkin puree and bring to a simmer. Stir in warmed stock and return to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Puree soup in 3 batches in a blender. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in cream and return to simmer. Serve with sliced scallion.

Frosted Pumpkin bars (Jody Hemmingson - 2/4 Mom)
4 eggs
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
15 oz. canned pumpkin
2 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Frosting:
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

* Mix together cake ingredients and bake in 9x13 greased pan around 30min, or until set and toothpick comes out clean.  Meanwhile, using electric mixer, mix all frosting ingredients until smooth.  Frost cake once it has cooled. Recipe can be easily cut in half and baked in 8x8 pan.

Game Stats

How many hours do you average on Facebook a week?

Under 5 hours:      67%

5-10 hours:           21%

Over 10 hours:      5%

None:                   7%

The Christ Community Church MOPS Facebook page has 111 followers, 18 more then last month. Are you one? Join in and see updates and engage on Facebook with your CCC MOPS friends between meetings. (Click here to go to the Facebook Page.)

Do you like to dress up for Halloween? 28% said yes! When asked “As what?” here were the responses:

Snow White, Always wanted to be Dorothy and Toto from the Wizard of Oz, Space cadet, Milk cow, Fairy (2 yr. old’s request), Cute and happy things, Witch, Something coupled with Hubby, A bear with my son, Suburban Mom, Tweedle-Dee, Owl, Thomas the Train, Flo from CARS, Changes every year, Something silly or ugly, Anything

Go Play Around Town

It is Vala’s Pumpkin Patch time again, through October!!! (Click here for Vala's website.) You may purchase tickets to Vala's at any No Frills Supermarket in the greater Omaha area. These "SUPERPASSES" are $12.99 each and contain a coupon for $2.50 off a pumpkin and a "Vala Buck" for $1.00. Total value of the SUPERPASS is $16.49! For a listing of store locations, click here.

Want to take your kids to a Saturday matinee movie for $1??  Click here to see how!

For more info of what is happening around Omaha visit: www.visitnebraska.org

Be A Team Player!

Would you like to be a part of a team this year in MOPS? If you have any interest in showing hospitality, assisting with creative activities or submitting a story for the blog, please let your DGL know and she can get you connected with the right person!

Announcements!!

October 7 & 14:  Mentor Panel. Come and hear from our experienced Mentor Moms!

October 21 & 28:  Lisa Brown will be sharing on her “Favorite Things”
November 4: Spa Night (You don't want to miss this, so put it on your calendar!)

Prayer hotline:  Have a prayer need? Please send it to: prayer4mops@gmail.com

MOPPETS

Thank you for serving your 2 days in MOPPETS! It is VITAL that you show up on your assigned days so we can continue to provide quality care for all children. If you have a conflict, please switch with another MOPS mom and contact Heidi Harner(2/4) or Shantel Crellin(1/3) ASAP of the change. When you arrive at the church at 8:45am, check the posting by the nursery check-in table to find where you have been assigned to help. Thank you for your cooperation! This months assignments are listed below:

October 5 -  2/4 Steering

Heidi Green
Brenda Boggs
Emily Dugger
Amanda Zach

October 7 - 1/3  Meeting
Lindsey Bitter
Deana Loibl
Collette Schmidtke
Shauna McCoy
Jackie Ryba
Karrie Kelly
Becky Sessions
Holly Gillespie

October 12 – 1/3 Steering
(9:00-11:45am)

Jessica Beck
Wendy Sewell
Kylie Shada

Courtney Scott

October 14 – 2/4 Meeting

Emily Banks
Shelley Williams
Amanda Derby
Jenifer Burchfiel
Jenny Reid
Sarah Hoegh
Louise Pedersen

October 21 - 1/3  Meeting
Chelsea Little
Hope Preece
Becky Sessions
Kristi Langford
Susan Perkins
Jennifer Doetzler
Nicole Deprez
Nicole Shields

October 26 - DGL Training
Christina Ingraham
Valerie Wallace-Camp
Polly Mock
Yolanda Hardesty