Car Seat Safety link!

Hey Girls...
Remember our good friend Officer Wrzesien that visited us to talk about child safety?!  He sent me a message this morning with a great link to car seat safety that you all might find extrememly interesting and helpful!

You can access that link and information by clicking HERE!!!

Thanks Officer Wrzesien!

Have a great week!!!
Blessings,

A Great Website to Check Out!

MOPS Moms,
Are you looking for a way to save time and money when it comes to meal planning and grocery shopping?  Check out  http://www.e-mealz.com/ .  e-mealz offers options for all types of dietary needs, including gluten-free, points system programs and low-carb.  This site even includes a specific plans for all of our Publix-loving moms out there!

Meeting Re-cap, April 20th!!

SUMMERTIME SKIN CARE was our topic today!! Here in Florida , we LOVE the sun, surf, and sand! Do we really know how to take care of our skin? Do we know how much is too much?
Our special guest speaker today was our own Nicole Casavant. Nicole works as a PA-C at South Lake Ob&Gyn with her husband Matt!!
Her background in dermatology came very handy for our talk today!!

There are three kinds of Skin Cancer:

Basal Cell Carcinoma

Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Melanoma

DID YOU KNOW?
Skin cancer is the number one form of human cancer.
50% of all cancers diagnosed in the US are cutaneous.
One in five Americans will develop a skin cancer in his or her lifetime.
Basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma accounted for >1.2 million skin cancers in 2009
Melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma caused approximately 11,500 deaths in 2009

HERE ARE SOME SOBERING FACTS:
2009
Total skin cancer deaths
11,590

Non-Melanoma skin cancers
2,940

Melanoma’s
8,650 (over half)

RISK FACTORS for Skin Cancers:
Caucasian decent
Those who burn rather than tan
Those with Red hair
Those with Blue eyes
Older Adults
Hx. Of sever, blistering sunburns as children or teenagers
Abnormal moles
Persons with 50 or greater moles currently on your body
Those with a family history of melanoma

HOW DO I PICK THE CORRECT SPF FOR ME?

15 SPF X 15 MINUTES UNTIL SUN BURN = 225 MIN OR 3 HOURS AND 45 MINUTES.

30 SPF X 15 MINUTES UNTIL SUN BURN = 450 MIN OR 7 HOURS AND 40 MINUTES.

This is the spf x's the amount of time it takes for you to burn... this will tell you how long you have to stay in the sun before needing to re-apply!!

When choosing a sunscreen...keep in mind!!!!!!!

UVA – CAUSES AGING

UVB - CAUSES BURNING

NEED TO ONLY PURCHASE SUNSCREENS THAT HAVE BROAD SPECTRUM COVERAGE W/ BOTH UVA & UVB


OTHER PROTECTION TIPS:
Avoid deliberate sunbathing
Wear wide brimmed hat
Sunglasses (Melanoma can occur in your eyes)
Protective clothing
Always use broad-spectrum sunscreens with both UVA & UVB protection
Use at least a SPF of 15 on all exposed skin including the lips even on cloudy days.
Reapply frequently –2hrs.
Seek shade
Avoid OTT 10am-4pm
“Broad-spectrum” reflects both UVA & UVB rays.

Ever realize that a tanning bed resembles a coffin/casket?
AVOID TANNING BEDS!!

HMMMMM?????????

SOME CONSEQUENCES OF OVEREXPOSURE TO THE SUN:

FRECKLES
Age spots
WRINKLES
Dilated blood vessels
Changes in the skin that make skin look older.

This is reason enough to take care of our skin starting at childhood...

80% of skin damage is done before 18 years of age.

The regular use of sunscreen with an SPF of 15 during the first 18years of life can cut the lifetime risk of melanoma by 78%

A HUGE thank you to Nicole for sharing with us today!!! I am enlightened!!
If you have further questions or concerns... you can reach Nicole at
South Lake OB&GYN
352-241-7050
or
their website HERE!

We want to say Baby CONGRATS TO :
Pregnant: Sylvie Osgood
Boy: Charity Garrett
Cindie Butts

If I missed you... pls. email me so we can send congrats out to you via the blog!

Okay girls... you girls have already stepped up and out in faith in helping us raise $$ for the BODIN family!!! You still have 2 more meetings to turn in any change, cash, or gift cards to help us purchase gift cards for Matt and the kids!!! You continually blow me away and we are so excited how GOD is usually all of you to bless this family!

Don't forget to register for the CLIMB women's event at Real Life!! (May 1st-- 9:30 till noon) You won't want to miss the breakfast, testimonies, and awesome worship!! www.getreallife.com to register!!! If you need help with childcare, please contact the church office to let them know.

Our next MOPS meeting is May4th!!
"launching pad" will launch us into summer!! Summertime things we can do with our kids!
We will also be rolling out our MOPS plans for next year!!! We are excited to share with you!! We hope you will make it a point to come and here all about it. IF you know of a friend who is considering coming to MOPS in the fall... bring them to this meeting so they can hear all about it!!
Have a great weekend...
See you all on the 4th if not sooner at the THE CLIMB!!!
Blessings,

Meeting Re-cap, March 16th!!

HOPE in the Tough Times!!
I am so glad that we have HOPE!!

Today we started out with some :BABY NEWS:
Having TWIN BOYS: Tammie B.
In celebrating motherhood in ALL SHAPES, SIZES, and forms:
Lisa Y is adopting a baby girl in April!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congrats to both of you ladies!!

Our ice breaker today was a great game that used our minds. Some it came easier than others, but it was awesome to read scripture after scripture about HOPE!

Our guest speaker today was Dr. Jeff Barnes from Wellspring Counseling Center! Dr. Jeff also serves as an Elder at Real Life Christian Church, our chartering ministry! Dr. Jeff shared on DEPRESSION! Did you know men are more likely to get into deep depression than woman? I first found that to be weird, but then it made sense. Woman talk to people and rarely keep their emotions bottled up. Men , not so much!!
I was also grateful to learn that depression is not a sin. It is an appropriate emotion in response to a stimulus. Here are some thoughts on how to deal with depression!

1. acknowledge the emotion and identify the severity of it.

2. decide who or what is going to be in control of our lives.

3. share the concern with God.

4. Ask yourself, "what is this depression telling me?"

5. Identify the causes-- usually more than one cause.

6. Get busy and make the changes!

Here are some helpful encouraging scriptures that Dr. Jeff has shared with us.
Psalms 16: 8
Psalms 18:28
Psalms 27:1
Psalms 46:1
Romans 8:37
Put them on index cards and read them everyday to keep your mind captive!!

Know that the ultimate HOPE is found in Jesus Christ! He loves you, friends! There is no depth of depression that he can not find you and offer you a hand up!! IF you need more help in understanding or more questions that need to be answered.... here are some resources to help you!

Real Life Christian Church
www.getreallife.com
352-394-3553
1501 Steve’s Road
Clermont, Florida 34711

Wellspring Christian Counseling Center
http://reallifechristian.net/wsblog/
352-241-WELL (9355)
2220 Cluster Oak Dr Unit F
Clermont, FL 34711

Florida Domestic Abuse Hotline
www.fcadv.org
1-800-500-1119

Okay... our next meeting is April 6th!! We will be having our last DVD of the series entitled "living together with God"!

You guys did a great job with our March outreach. For April , we will be bringing in soaps! Bubbly soap, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bar soap, hand soap!!

Thanks girls!!
WE LOVE YOU!!
See you next month!!

Meeting re-cap, March 2nd!!

4, 3, 2, 1 Blast off!!!!
Sometimes that is what our communication and anger management all boil down to! The counting and then the inevitable blast off of emotion!! Well our two special guests helped us learn how to become mission control and really take hold of our communication and anger management!!

David Benzel came to speak to us about the quality of our conversations. Do we fit into "fight" or "flight" or are we in the healthy middle? When faces with an issue that needs to be communicated, these four things should be looked at...
1. what is the event? what is happening?
2. what is my interpretation of that event? Is what happened really what happened or am I putting my own spin on it.
3. how am I feeling about this?
4. what is my behavior because of my interpretation?

NOTE: The event itself does not determine your feelings!
When dealing with an event that needs to be communicated, look for 3 things...
1. common purpose w/ whom you are communcating to
2. ultimate respect
3. mutual understanding

We so appreciate David Benzel sharing with us today! He has written a book called, "From Chump to Champ" and can be found at www.growingchampionsforlife.com

Our next guest was one of our own!! Sarah Palermo shared with us about how to deal with your child and their anger management issues!! WOW... big one!! Here is some points she shared!

· We set the example for our children about how to interact with others

· We must teach our children how to verbalize their anger – teach them to use “I” statements

· The emotions that our children express reflect the state of their hearts

· Prov. 27:19; Matt. 12:34; Prov. 4:23

· Most important parental training we can do with our children is to help them realize the state of their hearts and their need for Jesus

· Scriptures that we can use when we talk to our children about their anger

· Eph. 4:26; Prov. 15:1; Prov. 29:11; James 1:19

· Have children apologize to each other by saying “Please forgive me for….”. Say “sorry” when something has occurred by accident

· Stage of infancy

· How we handle our infants when they cry sets a pattern for the future – turn our attention away from the child or remove the child by putting him/her in their crib for a few min. (2-5 min.). Child will not make negative association with their bed because child knows difference between being cuddled to go to sleep and being placed in crib for a time of isolation.

· Teach sign language – please, thank you, more, all done, eat, and drink

· Stage of toddler years

· Remove your child from attention – child go to his/her bedroom and sit on their bed until you come into the room to talk to them

· We give our children too many opportunities throughout the day to make their own decisions. Implement “no choice day” – during that entire day child is not allowed to make any of their own decisions.

· Stage of early childhood (ages 6-13)

· Remove your child from attention

· Really listen to your child – the more you listen and less that you lecture the more they will feel comfortable to talk to you about what is really going on in their hearts.

· Use more scripture because they will be more able to understand God’s word and apply it to their lives

· When children become angry with each other, use scriptures that talk about creating dissension vs. creating peace - Prov. 15:18 Ask your child “With your actions, are you creating peace or dissension?”

· Stage of adolescence

· They need to know that they can trust you and that you are wanting to work with them as a team. When conflict arises, say to teenager, “Let’s work this out together. I am here for you. I want to help you.”

Thanks so much Sarah!!

Today's
BABY NEWS:
Having a girl: Sandra!!!
Congrats!!!!

Our creative activity today was making "treasure boxes" for our kids. Paired up with a short behavior chart... we decorated boxes to keep small little "rewards" in for when they do a good deed or finish their behavior chart!! Very cute!

We were so happy that you joined us today!! We are growing by leaps and bounds and are LOVING it!!! Keep inviting your friends!! Our next meeting is March 16th where we will be talking about HOPE in the tough times!! You won't want to miss out !!
Also, our outreach for the month is dental hygiene items!! Even the little samples are good!!

We love you girls and are so excited that you choose to join us each meeting!!
Have a great week!

Dating God!!!

Happy Valentines day!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today we welcome some thoughts and
ponderings from our own Erin Ramsey!!

Try to recall a time when you've been in a dating relationship (maybe you're in one now, bless your heart) ... if you're married..then think about your relationship pre-wedding day.

If you had a typical dating relationship it's safe to say that you did at least 1 of the following: Daydream about each other, write each other sickening sweet notes, exchange thoughtful gifts, stay up late talking on the phone until you fell asleep (and fight over who was going to hang up first).

And if you had a typical dating relationship it's also safe to say that all those feelings and actions didn't last forever. That is just typically how relationships cycle. You make a great connection with another person, you try to see them as much as possible or you even go out of your way to be with them. Then someone gets selfish. Someone starts to think of their own needs instead of the other person's. Maybe your eyes start to drift away to someone else.

I fell in love with my husband almost instantly after meeting him. My feelings for him were so strong that I thought it'd be a good idea if we broke up. So I called him up and told him I wanted to "just be friends". Sounds logical right? No, it wasn't logical, it was called "I was scared." I was scared of the commitment of a relationship. I had known all of the fun and good feelings of dating, but I didn't want to actually work in my relationship.

Have you dated God? Have you made an Awesome, life changing connection with Him and lost it? Did you start to think of your own needs more than him? Have you turned your attention to someone else or other activities to fill your life?

Thank goodness, my husband loved me enough to stick around and wait for me to come to my senses. I called him back a few weeks later to tell him I missed him too much to break up.

My husband isn't the only one I've broken up with.

And my husband isn't the only one who accepted me back.

If you've broken up with God, He wants you back.

It may not have been a dramatic break-up, you may even still be dating..but you're starting to lose those "lovin' feelings"... He's still as in love with you as the day he Made you!!! All you have to do is tell Him you'd like another chance.

"... Return to me, and I will return to you," says the Lord.

Malachi 3:7

Have a great Valentine weekend!! Can't wait to see you all on Tuesday, February 16th.... You DO NOT want to miss this one. The topic... "LOVE ON MOM"!!! You will be so happy you came!

Getting rid of the pacifier

I know for many moms the thought of this can be terrifying! But where there is a will there is a way right? I know with my first child the pacifier was probably something that helped me more than her, so getting rid of it was not something I looked forward to. As with anything else that involves children the time for each one to do this is different. For us it was when my daughter turned 2 and I found out we were expecting. Whatever the reason or time, it can still be something that is daunting. So in starting to think about how I was going to go about getting rid of it I started to look at some "alternative" options. Some of the ones I found where as follows:

1) Using a "paci fairy" thanks to Supernanny! This is where you have the child "mail" their pacifiers to the paci fairy, in return the paci fairy leaves them a small gift and/or a letter thanking them. (they also left glitter, feathers, etc. around the mailbox to make it seem as though she had really been there.)

2) Finding a baby that "needs" them and having the child give their pacifiers to the baby.

3) Make a "paci bear." You take the child to Build-a-Bear and have the child put their favorite pacifier in a bear. This is the option we chose and it worked wonderfully. We even put a recording of her saying "bye-bye paci" in the hand of the bear. This way they still have the pacifier, just not in hand.

4) Snipping the ends or poking a hole in the pacifier, this way when the child goes to suck on it, it won't work. This will make them less appealing resulting in the child not wanting them anymore.

These are just a few of the ideas I found, and there are many more. Whatever you decide to do just know that you are not alone. There is an end in sight and always remember they won't go to school with one..... or will they!!:)

Here are some more resources:

Baby books guide

Love to know

Keep kids healthy

If you have a an idea to help other moms out in this area, leave a comment with your idea or encouragement!!
Blessings and good luck!