MOPS @ Northgate

help a mama out

2009-06-17T22:35:00.002-04:00

Hi, ladies! I hope you all are enjoying the nice weather we've been having.

I am one of the contestants on The Sling and Swaddle Journey, sponsored by Hotslings and The Miracle Blanket, and a bunch of other awesome companies. Thirty moms have been chosen to microblog their daily adventures on Twitter. Hotslings has given each mom the pouch sling of the mama's choice to wear her babe, and The Miracle Blanket people have donated two Miracle Blankets to swaddle the babies.

There are three criteria for winning:

1. the number of updates/posts

2. the number of followers

3. creative content

The winner receives a prize package of over $2000 in products and gift certificates, and gets to do media-type things for the companies for one year.

Currently, I am doing well in number of posts and creative content. I have more posts than the other mamas, and, well, I'm funny and write clever things. For example, today's first tweet was:

Hello, postpartum hair loss. Who invited you to my party?

See? Funny. Well, not really funny, I'd prefer my hair stayed on my head, but you see what I mean.

Unfortunately, one mama is whooping my behind. She has nearly 600 more followers than me. (Fortunately, she can't spell and her tweets often make no sense.)

Why do I need your help?

If I win, I am donating the prize package to Teen MOPS, so they can bless the young mamas they are nurturing. *

Please. Pleasepleaseplease. Go to Twitter. Sign up for an account. Follow me, my user name for the contest is Mom_17.

You don't need to actually use Twitter. In fact, unless you are sitting around wondering what to do with yourself, I'd recommend against it.

The contest ends June 30th. It will take five minutes.

I will bake you each a cake if I have to. I am not above bribery.

Please? Pretty please? With chocolate ganache on top?

*Everything goes to Teen MOPS except the digital camera. My mother is still using a film camera and it makes me crazy. So she gets the camera.

it's the naughty peanut butter brownie trifle recipe you've all been waiting for

2009-02-07T11:31:00.000-05:00

PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIE TRIFLE

Ingredients:

21 ounce package brownie mix (13x9 pan size brownies)

5 ounce package vanilla instant pudding mix

3 cups milk

1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup cool whip, divided

24 regular sized peanut butter cups, divided

Preparation:

Line a 13 by 9 inch pan with aluminum foil, extend foil by 2 inches over side. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Bake in foil lined pan for length of time required by package. Cool completely.

Lift foil out of pan. Invert on cutting board. Remove foil. Cut into 3/4 inch pieces, using sharp knife.

Coarsely chop 20 peanut butter cups; saving 4 for garnish.

Combine pudding mix and milk in large bowl. Whisk or beat at low speed for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add peanut butter and vanilla; whisk/beat until smooth. Gently fold in half of cool whip.

Place half of brownies in bottom of trifle bowl; top with 1/2 of chopped candy and half of pudding. Repeat layers. Top with remaining cool whip, spooned or piped on. Slice leftover candy in four long pieces. Arrange them vertically on top of cream.

And there it is. Manda would like everyone to know that she is not to be held liable for any chocolate-peanut butter induced comas caused by eating this trifle or any extra pounds gained by consuming this.

It's Bring Your Boy Tuesday at MOPS! (or don't, that's okay, too)

2009-02-06T11:16:00.002-05:00

Our next MOPS meeting is next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Morning MOPS and Evening MOPS are combining numbers for our special Couples Panel event.

Childcare will be available, but it is very important that you let us know if you're coming, and how many short people you're bringing with you.

Please, please, please....even if your significant other can't come with you, or doesn't want to come, you should still come to MOPS! We will miss you and things just won't be the same without you. I'll be coming alone, because my mister is in the middle of a two-week run of being the sound engineer for The Producers, and Lord knows I need to get out.

We have a few topics that will be up for discussion, but we'd love to know what you would like us to talk about in front of your spouse. Yes, that does mean you can totally set him up by emailing me something he does that makes your brain explode. And we will discuss it without even mentioning his name. Because we are subtle like that. Well, Joce and I aren't really subtle, but we'll find someone who is to handle the subtlety.

Here's what we have:

how do you as a couple balance household chores?

how do you show each other you still value, appreciate, find each other attractive?

how do you balance couple time with other responsibilities?

how do you balance self time with other responsibilities without feeling guilty?

how do you get back on track when your relationship is off?

and my personal contribution, how do you get your spouse to put his laundry away and take the screen door off the porch when it's February and you've been asking since October?

Send an email to northgatemops at gmail dot com, except, you know, with the appropriate signs and symbols, or leave a comment. You can even comment anonymously if your topic is too delicate or sensitive for you to leave your name. If we could get a count by Monday at noon, that would give us time to get enough Moppets workers.

o'lacy's

2009-01-13T23:12:00.001-05:00

Wednesday night.
7 p.m.
Be there or be square.

cheese danish rules.

2009-01-06T00:01:00.001-05:00

Stephanie's Cheese Danish

Here's what you need:

2 packages crescent rolls
16 oz. cream cheese (2 packages)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick butter or margarine
cinnamon & sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with non-stick spray. Press 1 package of crescent rolls on the bottom of the pan. Mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Spread cream cheese mixture on top of crescent rolls in pan. Spread out the second package of crescent rolls on top. Melt butter and pour it over the top. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Tell the children the recipe didn't really work out, and eat the entire pan yourself. Because really? Don't we all need to work hard to maintain our Holiday Season Physiques?

you don't want to miss this!

2009-01-03T21:31:00.003-05:00

Save the dates! Put some writin' on that brand new calendar of yours! Exciting opportunities are coming in the new year!!

As promised, Reverend Cy Varland and Pastor Gloria Roorda have planned an exciting parenting seminar, taking place on Saturday mornings for the rest of the month of January. Plan to join us on January 10, 17, 24, and 31, from 10 - 11:30 a.m. Topics include Rules and Consequences; Respect; Boredom, Hyperactivity and TV; and Conflict Management. There is no charge to attend the seminars.

Cy and Gloria will also be doing a marriage seminar on Sundays February 8, 15, 22, and March 1 from 6-7:30 p.m. There is also a Marriage Retreat on the weekend of March 13-14. This will be held at the Holiday Inn, and will feature guest speakers Doug and Margie Newton. Be watching for up-coming details, and plan to attend!

Please note, childcare is not provided for these seminars.

jocelyn wants to be a follower. i hope you do, too.

2008-11-13T20:56:00.006-05:00

At times like this, I wish I was a geek.

No, really.

Because then I could teach you how to be a follower of MOPS@Northgate by taking magical pictures of the computer screen, and Photoshopping arrows and words and stuff so that you could know what to do.

But I'm not a geek. I was a geek a little more than 12 years ago, but I seem to have outgrown that. Not totally outgrewn, or anything, or I would not be an aspiring geek.

Moving on.

To become a follower, you need to have an account with the googles. So go ye to the googles and create an account. It is easy peasy.

Then, when you are visiting MOPS@Northgate, look at the column on the right. There's the What is MOPS? thingie, and the About Me thingie, and then the Followers thingie. Right under the word Followers, are the words FOLLOW THIS BLOG. Click those words. Then, choose Follow Publicly, or Follow Anonymously.

If you're a blogger, and you're looking for traffic, then you should follow publicly, so people can see your picture, click it, and go visit you. That's why you'll see my sort-of-wonky picture with fuzzed out trees and a blue and white striped sweater. Because I likes me some bloggy traffic. And the other current follower? Super cool Sue Smith, the gal who so kindly offered to take those horrific photos of me from Tuesday's meeting. And not that the word horrific has anything to do with her mad skillz, but did you see those pictures?

If you're lucky, I'll take a really, truly flattering picture of you and post it here.

Like this one:

Or this one:

Hi, Courtney. Just kidding. That's not Courtney. Or is it?

And when you become a follower of MOPS@Northgate, MOPS@Northgate will become a follower of you.

And then we'll just run around in circles.

how to make a pop up card

2008-11-12T10:55:00.023-05:00

Big thanks to Sandra for teaching us how to make pop-up cards that are ornaments. Or are they ornaments that are cards? You decide. Here's what we did.

You will need plain cardstock, and pretty cardstock, a piece of ribbon about six inches long, a photo, scissors, a pencil, a ruler (if you like straight lines), and glue.

Fancy.

A paper cut? Already?

Amateur.

When you fold your papers, make sure the top part of the card
(which is on the bottom in this picture, sorry about that)
has more of the pretty paper than the bottom.

In other words, fold the plain paper in half, and fold the pretty
paper so that the top part is bigger than the bottom part.

Got that?

Here is where we make magic. Or something.

Make two cuts, about 3/4 inch long, perpendicular to the fold of the pretty paper.

If you are like me, you'll enjoy using a ruler so it's all very neat and orderly.

This poor woman has been trapped in her house with
three awfully crabby children for nearly two weeks.

Send help.

Sometimes help looks like coffee or truffles.
I'm just saying.

Back to that help request.

Some people can follow directions, and
brought pictures to MOPS this week.

Not me.

That's why you're admiring other people's cards right about now.

And that, my friends, is how to make a fancy pop-up card.

easy quiche recipe

2008-11-10T21:54:00.002-05:00

Easy Quiche
(thanks, Courtney!)

1 10 oz package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup bisquick
3 eggs
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Preheat oven to 400 and lightly grease 9 inch pie dish. Mix broccoli, onion, green pepper and cheese in the pie dish. Beat milk, bisquick, eggs, salt & pepper with hand mixer until smooth. Pour over the veggie and cheese mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and then let stand for five minutes before serving.

reaching out to the children of the world

2008-10-22T22:51:00.003-04:00

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has touched the lives of millions of boys and girls around the world by providing simple gift-filled shoe boxes. Consider taking your kids on a trip to the dollar store to fill a box with little gifts: pencils, paper, toothbrush and toothpaste, bouncy balls, stickers, dried fruits and other snacks that don't go bad.

Some children have never heard of Christmas; many who know about Christmas will never receive a gift. Operation Christmas Child is one simple, inexpensive way to reach out to children in underdeveloped societies around the world. It is also a wonderful way to teach your children about giving.

For more information visit Samaritan's Purse, or leave a comment with your question. Many local churches, including Northgate Free Methodist, are involved in collecting shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, and will be happy to receive your donation during the week of November 17-24, 2008.

coffee night

2008-10-22T00:01:00.001-04:00

What do all these women have in common?
They are already enjoying a fine cup of coffee.
But...

They are all by themselves.

YOU HAVE A CHOICE.

DON'T DRINK ALONE.

Come to Main Street Coffee tonight at 7.
Bring your short people, or don't.

Not a coffee drinker?
Main Street Coffee offers a variety of beverages,
including a most satisfying hot chocolate
that might be necessary if it keeps snowing*.

*Apologies for using the S-Word on our nicey-nice mommy blog. I will do better in the future. I promise.

welcome

2008-09-23T21:45:00.000-04:00

Today was our first official MOPS meeting, and we hope you enjoyed yourselves!

our spectacular centerpieces

yummy treats

making shrinky-dink name tags

that Rachel, she's so creative!

Check out Whimsy's blog to see where we stole borrowed the idea for shrinky-dink name tags. You should say shrinky-dink a bunch of times in a row. Shrinky-dink shrinky-dink shrinky-dink shrinky-dink. It's even more fun when you say shrinky-dinky-shrinky-dinky-shrinky-dinky. Try it. You know, when you're alone and nobody will hear how silly you really are.

And, as promised, the banana bread recipe from today.

Banana-Pecan Bread
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a regular-sized loaf pan. (Or don't if you're not into that. I didn't and the bread still came out of the pan rather nicely.)

In a serious mixer or food processor (at least 7-cup, or you'll wish you hadn't) beat together:
6 Tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
3 very ripe, smashed bananas
3 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Add:
1 cup all purpose (white) flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon EACH: baking soda, baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped pecans (feel free to use whatever nuts you prefer. I prefer pecans because lately they've been cheaper than walnuts.)

Mix together until just combined.
Pour into (un)prepared pan.
Bake for 60 minutes, until the loaf is dark golden brown, and the sides are pulling away from the pan.
Let the bread rest in the pan for five minutes, then cool completely on a rack.