Better Moms Make a Better World

"Better Moms Make a Better World" is one of the MOPS tagline. We are all about you, the mom. That's one thing that sets us apart from other moms groups. You come to a meeting, drop your children with Carolyn, then come take a break and fill your soul. We are here to support you, make sure you are getting what you need so you can be your best self when caring for your family. We know you are carrying a lot on your shoulders. We are here to help. Our meeting topics are designed to strengthen your soul and provide you with content to be the best mom you can be. Let us know if you have ideas for topics or speakers. We still have a few spots to fill this year. For our second meeting of the new year, we had 2 meetings in one week. The first was a zoom meeting we tapped into with the St. Marks MOPS. It was a school choice panel. Kelly Risdon spoke about her experience with private school at St. Marks. Laurie Cutlip talked about homeschooling. Charlotte Joyce spoke about Duval county public schools. Dr. Withun talked about charter schools. There's no right or wrong answer here. You have to do what works best for your family and sometimes each child individually. We hope the information on this panel was helpful. 

The following Thursday we still had our regular meeting at St. Matthews. We did a toy swap in the parking lot. We popped our trunks and browsed each other's toys. Whatever was left was donated to Catholic Charities. The weather was perfect so we sat outside by the softball field for the rest of our meeting. Meghan's frittata was delicious!

Kate hosted a zoom moms night out on Monday. It was a Disney trivia night. We are still in these crazy times where everyone has a different comfort level. If you feel okay meeting in person, come on out! We can also zoom or FaceTime you in for the meetings. Kate has been great about making both zoom and in person moms nights out.

Outside play dates are the best, pandemic or not. One Tree Hill is a favorite spot. You can learn about local wildlife and watch goats walk on boardwalks! Our group met there one day this month. There was also a last minute meet up at Chuck E. Cheese. We hope to see you soon, we have lots of fun planned for February!

Chasing Joy in 2021

I was thinking I'd be blogging once a month and then all of a sudden, it's January. Please, feel free to take over the blogger roll as I am failing. Let's do a recap. Our first meeting in November was moved to Tillie Fowler Park. Our one and only nursery worker, Carolyn had a COVID scare so she stayed home to be extra cautious. There also happened to be a scheduling error so we took that as a God Moment and moved to the park. We wrote thank you notes and talked about all the things we are grateful for. It was perfect timing headed into the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Kate has been awesome at putting together girls nights and hosting them at her home. She even has party cups for us and a neat air filter system in her house to keep the air circulating in these COVID times. After Halloween she hosted a movie night to watch Witches. 

Anne has been putting together some play dates. A group went to the beach, Cummer Museum, zoo and the Jax Arboretum in November. There have been a few pop up play dates, too (a perk of being in the Facebook group). 

For our 2nd November meeting, Jinny put together and led us in a crafting meeting. We used old hymnals to make angel ornaments. We made 50 ornaments that were sold at the V Pizza Victory party which raised money to help support families displaced by Cancer.

Keri Napoleon, a registered dietician came to talk to us about healthy eating in December. Just in time for the Christmas food fest! She gave great tips on healthy eating for kids and good snacks for us moms. She's all about good gut health with probiotics and super foods.

Kate hosted a cookie exchange. We each baked 4 dozen cookies from scratch and brought them over. We played a few games like "Name the Ingredients" and voted on best dressed and best cookie. It was a SWEET night. It was also a great night of group therapy as we prepared for family gatherings (or not) for Christmas. We swapped cookies so we each had some of all of them to share with neighbors, friends and family.

Our first meeting of the new year was a meeting to get organized. Our very own, Meghan shared her tips on getting her family of seven on the same page. She has a color coded family calendar. She also showed us the materials she uses to keep the constantly growing children's clothes organized. So helpful! Is anyone busy organizing closets now? I did move a few containers to the attic today.

Kate hosted another awesome girls night this month. She got an escape room in the mail (Finders Seekers). We sipped healthy chai, ate chips and gummy worms (not on anyone's resolution list) and worked through puzzles and riddles to "escape". It was actually pretty hard. We had a great time using our brains!

We have lots of fun events planned for the winter. Our next meeting is January 21st for a school choice panel. Come CHASE JOY (another MOPS theme this year) with us!