MOPS in a Nutshell!

Not that it's really possible to sum up MOPS so easily ... but many of our non-US friends have been asking about MOPS as it's something Jenny is involved in ... so here is an attempt to give you a little glimpse of what it's all about!

MOPS stands for Mothers Of PreSchoolers (www.mops.org) and in Coshocton there is a group that meets on the second Friday morning of each month during the school year. This year (end of last summer) we kicked off with a fun day for the whole family to enjoy with a BBQ and homemade water slides down the hill.

It was lots of fun and as you can see Abigail enjoyed chilling out, fully clothed, in one of the little paddling pools!!

There are other fun events planned throughout the year, last month we had an overnight lock-in ... a chance to hang out, play silly, games, enjoy a spa room, watch movies, get crafty and have some kiddie free time ... except for a couple of newborns who joined us for the event and got cuddles from all the mums there! There are also a couple of resale mornings where you have the chance to either sell off all your old baby stuff or get things you need for a fraction of the price ... the next one is just days after Bubble is born ... so if it's boy ... we'll be first in line to purchase a whole new wardrobe when the doors open!!! ;o)

When we meet each month we have the chance to drop our kids off in different groups and a great team of volunteers come and play/teach them (depending on the kids ages) giving us a couple of hours of 'mom-time'. It's all very flexible though and different children will decide that they would rather stay in with their mum's from month to month ... we all understand how it is!! Our monthly meetings have a different theme each time we meet. The overall theme for this year is 'Mom-ology - The Science of Being a Mum'. Sometimes we watch one of the official MOPS DVD's and discuss set questions, another time we may have a seasonal theme (Christmas Party!), this week it will be a cookery/nutritional theme. Below is a photo from a Spa morning ... a couple of the ladies had make-overs and we all got a 5 minute neck and shoulder massage ... and then practiced some of the techniques we learnt on each other!!

Each month the meetings start with food ... so if it's too rushed getting the kid(s) up and out by 9.30am there is always breakfast ready and waiting!! The main group is split into 5 smaller groups of which Jenny is one of the leaders ... and each month a different group is responsible for providing the food and drink so it's always a little different!! There is a real mix of woman who come, some married, some single, some church going, some not, some with one child, most with more (some have up to 7 kids!), some with their own kids, some with adopted or step-children ... so we really get a chance to learn from each other and be there for each other through it all!! In addition to the main monthly meeting the smaller groups try to get together at least once a month as well, either for a 'playdate' or something else ... this last weekend Jenny's group joined forces with another one and had a lunch/jewellery making party for a few hours which was good fun (see the photo's below!).

Within the Coshocton MOPS group there seems to have been an explosion in pregnancies this year ... with over half the mum's with newborns or expecting over the next few months. Since December, I think I'm right in saying that, there have been twin girls, another baby girl and four boys so far ... but from week to week this is changing and there are a lot more of us almost ready to pop too! It's great that we're all there for each other through this time of adjustment in so many of our families too!! We get to learn from each other and the Mentor Mom's ... a couple of ladies who have grown up kids who come and put a different and encouraging perspective on so many things!

There is a steering committee of 5 led by Amy, with Amanda, another Amy, Angie and Brenda ... all mum's of between 1 and 4 kids who do a great job of organising it all ... it's such a valuable time for all who come ... each one of the steering committee are complete stars for the time and commitment they put into the Coshocton branch of MOPS! ;o)

Opposites Attract!

For those of you who know us (Jenny & Mark) well, you'll know that while we are similar in many things and have a relatively harmonious relationship the majority of the time ... the things that 'float our boats' are in completely different areas!

Jenny loves anything crafty ... and small town America is a GREAT place if that's what you enjoy! You may remember this time last year she took a quilting class where she learnt the basics ... well almost exactly a year later she finally finished her first quilt (see above), one she completely designed from scratch (probably why it took so long!!). Mark on the other hand is a real boy when it comes to tools ... just as well considering his current profession ... so when Croham Road Baptist Church gave us some money from their Ambassador Gift Day at the end of last year ... Mark was super excited to be able accrue some more, much needed but expensive tools to his collection (see below). He will use these daily, both here training in the States and later when we're working in an MAF operation somewhere else in the world! Thank you CRBC!!

One similarity we do share is that we love to hang out together ... something that we haven't had a chance to do as much as we'd like, in fact we haven't had 24 hours off together since Abigail was born ... one of the downfalls of moving away from family and having to build up a new circle of friends and surrogate family! As we'd had a bit of a yucky January and with Bubble due to arrive in just a couple of months time, Jenny got really sneaky and planned a surprise overnight getaway! All Mark knew was to take last Friday afternoon off work ... and the rest had been plotted and planned to perfection ... a night in Columbus with yummy restaurants, 'proper' shopping (you have to understand when you compare London to Coshocton, there is a HUGE difference!), a lie in and some quality time together ... while Abigail was having a whale of time back at home with a couple of Jenny's lovely friends and their families!! Thank you Laurie, Kristin and the rest of the Gettles for having fun with our little munchkin ... we owe you big time!! Below is the only cheesy shot we took in front of the hotel, so that we can look back and prove that it actually happened!!

After some mummy and daddy time on Friday and Saturday ... we enjoyed the brighter spring weather today (Sunday) as a family, at Lake Park! We went for a walk, fed the ducks and had fun in the playground ... strange when you consider that Friday morning was heavy snow and today it was all melting ... even though the lake was still mostly covered in ice, except for around the fountain!! See below a few wintery yet spring-like shots we took while we were out!

The weather was warm and the sun was shining ... two posers needed their sunglasses to play in the park ... one thing we love about an Ohio winter ... the sky is often clear and blue and sunglasses are definitely an all year round accessory!!