MOPS Shop

We are excited to announce our MOPS Shop event this year.  It will be held on December 13, 2014 from 9am-3pm.  Lots of wonderful vendors will be there for this one-stop shopping.  Did I mention childcare will be available? Interested in being a vendor? Volunteer? MOPS mom?  Check out the info below!

To be a vendor fill out the application linked below.

 VendorApplication

Guest Blogger: Be Well Conway

What a stormy morning! Glad that many of you still made it out to MOPS and enjoyed a very wellness-focused morning. For those of you that couldn't join us, here's a short summary of my workshop:

My name is Moriah Bruner and my professional interest is helping people live healthier so that they have more energy and more ability to do all the things they need to do in their daily lives. I don't know about you, but as a mom and a wife I certainly need all the energy I can get. Can I get an AMEN? Well, that means we need to arm ourselves with fact-based food knowledge and solid nutrition resources so that we can make healthier food choices for ourselves and our families. 

First, we need to be savvy and informed consumers. Reading factual, unbiased nutrition information is way more reliable than relying on fear-mongering bloggers on the Internet or fancy and misleading corporate marketing campaigns. Two resources I highly recommend to help build up your arsenal of food knowledge are "Nutrition Action Healthletter" published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (www.nutritionaction.com) and HealthyChildren.org powered by the American Academy of Pediatrics (click on the "Nutrition" tab). 

Second, let's all have a firm grasp of basic nutritional concepts. Make sure you understand what a calorie is and how to count them and remember that it only takes 3,500 calories to equal 1 pound of body fat. Burn more calories than you eat to lose weight and you've mastered the "big secret" to weight loss. Ok, so maybe we aren't all so great at counting calories and watching our weight. So that takes me to my challenge for all the women of Conway MOPS: The 7-day food journal challenge! Grab a notebook and pen, visit a food tracker website, or download an easy-to-use app on your smart phone and record everything you eat for 7 days. EVERYTHING! Water you drink. Condiments on your sandwiches. Additives in your coffee and tea. Once you are done recording for a week then have a look. How are you doing? Did you realize how much you are consuming? What are your areas for improvement? Even if you aren't trying to lose weight, are you still needing to improve in areas such as fiber or calcium consumption? Remember, too, that by performing this exercise you are also learning how to more closely monitor your children's diets. In fact, why not do this exercise for your kids too? It might just highlight areas that need tweaking. (Note: Be discreet with older children and talk to your pediatrician for any major nutritional concerns!)

Finally, a few reminders and encouragements from one mom to another: I want nothing more than for all of you to have enough energy and feel good every day to be the best mamas you can be. Our children and our spouses demand a lot, if not all, of our energy and so it is really important for us to take care of ourselves so that we are able to take care of others. Here's a statistic for you: 72% of the food eaten in a household is controlled by the nutritional gatekeeper-- this is the person who chooses the food, buys it and prepares it and they are the opinion leader when it comes to establishing beliefs and preferences about food. Who is the nutritional gatekeeper for your family? Is it you? Do you bring a positive influence or a negative one? Just something to think about.

Lastly, if I leave you with any bit of advice it’s this: No mom is perfect in any aspect of parenting, including their children’s nutrition. Do not live with the burden of guilt. Treats, in moderation, are perfectly acceptable and an important part of food enjoyment. A cookie (or two) here and there is fine if balanced with veggies and fruit later. And remember that if you make an effort to be knowledgeable about food and surround yourself with the resources you need to understand the food environment we live in, you will always be prepared to make a HEALTHIER choice, even if the HEALTHIEST choice isn’t available or an uphill battle with your child. 

For questions, or for a free review of your 7-day food journal, please don't hesitate to contact me at BeWellConway@gmail.com. For other great tips, articles, and wellness news you can follow me on Twitter @BeWellConway or find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BeWellConway.

First Meeting

Wow! What a wonderful first meeting we had last Monday. It was great seeing old friends again as well as meeting so many new moms. If you missed it, we introduced our theme for this year, "Be You, Bravely." Skits, songs and a video from MOPS int. were on the agenda. Our discussion time was spent all together and learning about things as 'mothers of preschools' that we have in common. By the end of meeting we were literally all tied together. 

And, what would a MOPS meeting be without a little excitement?  We are happy to report that the little girl that fell at the end of the meeting is doing just fine! Thank you to everyone that called, asked and checked up on her. It's truly a blessing to be in a group that cares so much for one another. 

Our next meeting is this Monday....YES.....in 3 days!  We look forward to seeing everyone! Be sure to read your newsletters and fill out the sheet on the back. It will help us as we proceed through the year. 

-Lindsay

Meeting Dates

Mark your calendars now!  Here are all of the meeting dates for the 2014-2015 Conway MOPS year.  Don't forget we meet at the University Church of Christ in Conway on the corner of Dave Ward and Country Club from 9:00-11:30am. Childcare drop off begins at 8:45.

 

Also, don't forget to print off the registration form and mail it in ASAP so you will get your MOPS Int. gift!

Check us out

Facebook: Conway MOPS   Twitter: @MOPSConway 

 

Team Builder

Steering is getting all ghouled up for the new year and we hope you are too!  Our first meeting is Sept. 15 9:00-11:30am at the University Church of Christ at Dave Ward and Country Club.

Registration 2014-2015

Here is the registration packet!  Fill it out ASAP and return to MOPS @ 3155 Dave Ward Drive, Conway, AR 72034.

Just Click on link below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9qiJjTCiwvCbFdzZTl1ajN5U0E/edit?usp=sharing

2nd Annual Park Meet 'N' Greet

What an awesome time we had!  So happy that there was such a great turnout of moms and kids. It was wonderful catching up with the returning MOPS moms as well as meeting so many new faces. Also, a huge thanks to Snow Paradise for selling snow cones and iced coffee. It was a treat to have them there!

Save the Date

Steering Retreat

Just a little update to tell you about the 2014-2015 Steering Retreat.

It was WONDERFUL!

We are so excited about the upcoming year with MOPS Conway.  We've been hard at work getting the meetings planned out.  Here is just a preview of what you can expect....

-C- Crazy Skits
-O- Outstanding Speakers
-N- New Topics
-W- Wang Chung (you never know....)
-A- Amazing Friendships
-Y- Yarntastic Icebreakers

The challenge for this year is to have the courage to "Be You, Bravely."  If you watch the video from the previous post you will see that every MOPS member will get a "courage key."  We are taking that concept to heart and will be focusing on this main idea all year.

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer.  Keep on the lookout for information about our park playdate in August!

-Lindsay

Be you, Bravely Membership Unboxing

If you aren't excited enough about how awesome this next year will be, take a look at this!  It's a video about all of the wonderful things you will get with your MOPS Int. membership.

End of the Year Picnic

What a wonderful turnout!  We had over 25 moms plus kids come out to celebrate the end of a great MOPS year. Interested in how you can join in the fun for the 2014-2015 year? Check out our "about" tab for more info.

Just some of the treats that were gobbled up

-Lindsay

Arkansas Birth Fair 2014

You know you are a "mother of a preschooler" when...

You use your child's washable paint to make signs!

Our booth at the Birth Fair with Jeanne and MoMo

We had such a great time at the Arkansas Birth Fair 2014. Big thanks to Birth By Design for inviting us to be a part of this fabulous event!

MOPS Conway may have gotten our feet wet, literally, but the fair was a huge success. We were able to meet so many moms and community members. Several of our MOPS moms even stopped by the booth to say "hi." 

Looking forward to next year (and hopefully drier weather)!

-Lindsay