Kids Eat Free

Thanks to Lisa McCoy for this information!


Smokey Bones on Stringtown Road
"Kids Eat Free" * - Mondays from 5pm to 7pm.
* Buy one adult entree, get one kids meal free

Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Yummy!!! I made these cookies yesterday and they were delicious. If you love the pumpkin and you're looking for a recipe to help jump into the fall season ....this is it! I found this recipe on Bakerella.com.

Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies
2 1/4 cup self-rising flour
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks

* Whisk together flour and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside. (I added the spice to the pumpkin instead of the flour)
* In a large mixing bowl, cream butter.
* Add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy.
* Add vanilla.
* Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined.
* Add flour/spice mixture to sugar mixture in three additions. Alternate with pumpkin in two additions, ending with flour mixture.
* Stir in chopped pecans and chocolate chunks.
* Drop on cookie tray lined with parchment paper.
* Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes about four dozen cookies.
* Let cool.










Maple Brown Butter Frosting
3 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp maple flavoring

* Sift sugar and set aside.
* Melt butter over medium heat until golden brown. Watch closely so it does not burn.
* Add butter to sugar, scraping all the butter into the bowl.
* Add milk and maple flavoring. Stir until smooth.
* Spread on top of cookies with an knife or offset spatula.

New Ohio Booster Seat Law

I found this article on NBC4 website.

Every child must be in a car or booster seat unless they’re 8 years old or 4 feet 9 inches tall or taller.

The law goes into effect in October and means that once a child outgrows their safety seat, they move to a booster or combination seat.

“Before this law, here in Ohio, we were required to have a child in a car seat until she was 4 years of age or 40 pounds. Now, all those kids beyond 4 years of age have to be in a booster until they are 8 unless they are 4 feet 9 inches tall,“ said Judy Hirschfield, a passenger safety program specialist.

The reason for the change is that kids who are between the ages of 5 and 8 don’t fit well in a seatbelt made for an adult. The seat gives them a boost.

The booster seat attaches with the seatbelt.

“The lap belt is low on the pelvic bone and the shoulder strap comes right over her shoulder when we have her in the booster,“ Hirschfield said.

The booster can have either a high or low back—both protect children in a crash.

“There is an inclination for the child to put the should belt under her arm or behind her back and then in a crash, she lunges, her body lunges forward and there’s a lot of serious injury,“ Hirschfield said.

Warnings will be given to parents starting in October and citations will be given starting in April 2010 as a second offense.

For more information, click HERE it's a flyer of detailed information about the new law from Nationwide Children's Hospital

Mom's Night Out!!!!!

Our first Mom's Night Out is coming up this Friday, Sept. 25th.

We are meeting at the food court in the church at 8:30 pm (or whenever you are able to get away!)

This event will be REAL casual (pj's allowed!).

Please bring a simple snack or beverage to share.
We will provide games and great conversation.

Our theme this year is community and this is a great way to start building that.

Can't wait to see you there!

Natascha

More Beautiful You

I rarely listen to the radio. We usually have either Boz the Bear or Veggietales in the CD player. About a month ago I was driving to the grocery store (by myself) and was listening to 104.9 on the radio. This song came on that made me smile! I thought to myself, this is what every girl and women needs to hear so I wanted to share it with you! You might have heard this on the radio but have you ever really listened to the lyrics.

More Beautiful You
By Jonny Diaz

LITTLE GIRL FOURTEEN FLIPPING THROUGH A MAGAZINE
SAYS SHE WANTS TO LOOK THAT WAY
BUT HER HAIR ISN’T STRAIGHT HER BODY ISN’T FAKE AND SHE’S ALWAYS FELT OVERWEIGHT

WELL LITTLE GIRL FOURTEEN I WISH THAT YOU COULD SEE
THAT BEAUTY IS WITHIN YOUR HEART
AND YOU WERE MADE WITH SUCH CARE YOUR SKIN YOUR BODY AND YOUR HAIR
ARE PERFECT JUST THE WAY THEY ARE

THERE COULD NEVER BE A MORE BEAUTIFUL YOU
DON’T BUY THE LIES DISGUISES AND HOOPS THEY MAKE YOU JUMP THROUGH
YOU WERE MADE TO FILL A PURPOSE THAT ONLY YOU COULD DO
SO THERE COULD NEVER BE A MORE BEAUTIFUL YOU

LITTLE GIRL TWENTY-ONE THE THINGS THAT YOU’VE ALREADY DONE
ANYTHING TO GET AHEAD
AND YOU SAY YOU’VE GOT A MAN BUT HE’S GOT ANOTHER PLAN
ONLY WANTS WHAT YOU WILL DO INSTEAD

WELL LITTLE GIRL TWENTY-ONE YOU NEVER THOUGHT THAT THIS WOULD COME
YOU STARVE YOURSELF TO PLAY THE PART
BUT I CAN PROMISE YOU THERE’S A MAN WHOSE LOVE IS TRUE
AND HE’LL TREAT YOU LIKE THE JEWEL YOU ARE

SO TURN AROUND YOU’RE NOT TOO FAR
TO BACK AWAY BE WHO YOU ARE
TO CHANGE YOUR PATH GO ANOTHER WAY
IT’S NOT TOO LATE YOU CAN BE SAVED
IF YOU FEEL DEPRESSED WITH PAST REGRETS
THE SHAMEFUL NIGHTS HOPE TO FORGETS
CAN DISAPPEAR THEY CAN ALL BE WASHED AWAY
BY THE ONE WHO’S STRONG CAN RIGHT YOUR WRONGS
CAN RID YOUR FEARS DRY ALL YOUR TEARS
AND CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT THIS BIG WORLD
HE WILL TAKE YOUR DARK DISTORTED VIEW
AND WITH HIS LIGHT HE WILL SHOW YOU TRUTH
AND AGAIN YOU’LL SEE THROUGH THE EYES OF A LITTLE GIRL




Luke 12:6-7 (The Message)

"What's the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million canaries."

Friendships

Why Moms Need Each Other
by Elisabeth Corcoran
From Christian Women Today

I believe that God wants me to have friends that will walk through this life with me. One of the best parts of my life is the amazing friendships I have. I lean on my girlfriends. God provides so much tangible love and support through my friends.

In fact, a while back, I was having a pretty big struggle in my marriage. And two women seemingly dropped into my life just for that season and just for that issue. I am stronger in my relationship with God and in my marriage…due in large part to their support. I have two girlfriends that I’m in an accountability relationship with - we’ve opened up our lives to each other and we pray for each other - because we know the value of living out our lives in community. I even have a friend that cares for me so much that she has helped me try to mend a relationship with a mutual friend. This is what true friends do.

"The rule of the universe," wrote C.S. Lewis to his friend, is "that others can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, and one can paddle every canoe except one's own". For me, cultivating my friendships is a necessity - and it should be for you as well.

I read recently that the divorce rate is high partly because women are isolated from each other. It mentioned that so many of the things a healthy marriage needs, such as accountability, emotional support and prayer, flow from women’s friendships.

So make the time to develop those female friendships. No matter what season of life you’re in, you’ll need to be creative:

• Start a playgroup-- let the kids run wild while you have lunch.
• Meet at a kid-friendly restaurant or a park in the middle of the week with a girlfriend and her kids.
• Find a church that you love and start attending and plugging in.
• Get in a small group that meets regularly.
• Find a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group in your area.
• Something I took advantage of last year was my kids’ naptime. I have a few different friends who either aren’t mothers yet or have kids in school - they would come to my house during naptime to catch up or for a more formal study time together (that way, I was accomplishing building my friendships with these women, while not having to leave my house or my husband or the kids one more time each week).
• Other tips: use e-mail; make dinner dates while a sitter watches the kids; send funny or encouraging cards to each other; celebrate special occasions together; just celebrate your friendship together.

All these suggestions simply to say - friends are going to be one of your main lifelines during these years - so find them and work at making them strong. It will be an investment of time that you will never regret.

And if you find yourself in a lonely season friendship-wise, it may mean that you’ll need to take the first step. Most relationships begin because one person took a risk to share their heart with someone. But it will be well worth your effort if you do.

Elisabeth K. Corcoran is the author of Calm in My Chaos: Encouragement for a Mom’s Weary Soul (2001),

Family Fall Fun Idea

Have you ever been to Lynd's Fruit Farms in Pataskla? We took Caleb there to pick his first pumpkin in 2004 (ok, so he was 3 months old, it was more for us). I've wanted to go apple picking with my boys but have never actually done it. This fall we're going to do it, no really I mean it. We have the "u-pick" schedule on our refrigerator and I have the date on our calendar (we're planning to go the weekend of October 3rd because the Red Delicious apples will be ready and those are our favorite)!

My boys are going to love it. If you're thinking about going apple picking this fall and your kids are anything like my 5 year old, you need to check out this movie "Apple Farming for Kids". The Grove City library has it but only in VHS (we still have a VHS player, can you believe it!) If you reserve it online (ask me if you're not familiar with how to do this) you can choose the DVD from another library.

Another thing they have at Lynd's Farm is a Giant Corn Maze.....and I mean GIANT! Here's an aerial picture of it.



I've never been through a corn maze this big and I think my kids might be too young for it but if you have older kids, they would probably love it. They chose a theme this year, "Persian Nights". As you can see from the picture they went to a lot of work to design that maze. They have something new this year for the younger kids, barrel train rides.

So if the weather is nice and you're looking for some "Fall Fun" for the whole family this might be a great choice.

Happy Fall Y'All
(this is my favorite time of year.....I just wish it lasted longer)


**** For those of you who are new to the "Blog World" when you see text underlined and in a different color, that usually means you can click on it to take you to a link/website. For instance at the beginning of this blog "Lynd's Fruit Farm" is underlined and is blue. You can click on the underlined word and it will take you to Lynd's Farm website where there is more information. Hope this helps!

Awesome 1st Meeting!

We had our 1st MOPS meeting last Friday and it was so wonderful to see all the returning moms from the previous year. Then God blessed us even more with some moms that have joined us for the first time! Welcome

Thanks to everyone on the steering team that worked together to make our first meeting so awesome. All of your hard work paid off. We wouldn't be able to have a meeting at all if it were not for our Moppets Coordinator, Winnie and all her dedicated volunteers that helped take care of our children. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

Natasha explained the Planet Mom vision for our MOPS year and Sue Fuller shared an wonderful devotion (her poem is posted HERE).

Meeting Fee - $3
Delicious snacks
Adorable new babies
Seeds for new friendship planted - Priceless

It was the 1st of many great meeting to come this year. If you weren't able to make it to this meeting we would love for you to join us on October 9th!

WOULD YOU . . . .?

By Sue Fuller (shared at the September MOPS meeting)

WOULD YOU take more time to play with your child if you were convinced that fairness, sharing, honesty, and pure joy are better caught than taught?

WOULD YOU prepare meals with more purpose and be more committed to family dinnertime if you realized you were exampling servant hood, meaningful conversation, manners, and a heart of gratitude.

WOULD YOU respond with kinder words to your husband if you knew your daughter would say those exact words to her husband some day?

WOULD YOU choose your closest friendships more carefully if you were convinced those relationships would make a forever impact on your child by reinforcing the character qualities you have been teaching them?

WOULD YOU be more deliberate with worship attendance and daily communion with God if you were absolutely convinced that eternity started now and what Jesus said really could make a difference in your daily life?

WOULD YOU treat your own parents with more tenderness and honor knowing that someday you will be treated that same way by your children?

WOULD YOU change anything about your parenting if you knew your child was to become—
--a missionary to a lost nation to impact thousands with the gospel
--a doctor who ministered with skill to heal bodies and truth to heal hearts
--a teacher who embodied Christ’s love to the unlovable

WOULD YOU change anything about your parenting if you knew your son
or daughter would parent your grandchild JUST LIKE YOU?

"Coffee" Cake Recipe

I didn't get a picture of this cake but Melissa Phillips brought it as a snack for the MOPS meeting today (9/11). It was the chocolate cake in the 9x13 pan with the chocolate chips inside. It was yummy and Melissa gave me the recipe to share with everyone!

Here is the recipe for my "Coffee" Cake:

Mix:
1 box of brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup of coffee
1 cup of oil
3 cups of flour
1 tsp of vanilla
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of baking soda

Top: 1 pack of 6oz of chocolate chips ( I mix most of the chips in the mixture and then just top with the rest)

13X9 pan for 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes

The Legend of Supermom

Faster than a speeding toddler ... more powerful than a Hoover upright ... able to leap large PTA meetings in a single bound!
It's a bird ... it's a plane ... it's Supermom!



Or at least that's who you're trying to be. The problem is, being the perfect mom is as impossible as becoming an actual superhero—it is not who we were created to be.

Barbara Rainey, co-author of the book Parenting Today's Adolescent, understands the pressure to be perfect. "It comes from expectations that we place on ourselves that may not be in line with what God's called us to do," explains the mother of six. "God clearly has expectations of us that we would walk with Him and that we'd raise our children to become godly adults. I think a lot of times we get confused on how to get there."

The notion that you're failing if your kids aren't involved in the right activities or schools leaves moms feeling discouraged. The idea that you're a lousy Christian if you're not reaching out to your community and active in your church leaves moms feeling defeated. Add on the desire to exercise, keep your home in order and have something left over for your husband, and women can feel downright crushed—which is how the archenemy of moms wants them to feel.

The only expectations that matter

"Too often behind our smile is a growing frustration and fatigue that starts to come out in other ways," writes Carol Kuykendall, director of communications for Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) International. "We have less patience. Shorter fuses. Headaches."

Thankfully, with God's priorities as a plumb line, and God's power as their source of strength, moms can conquer these feelings of discouragement and foil the evil one's plan. Moms can meet the only expectations that matter—God's.

His priorities for you are different in motherhood than they were for you as a single woman or as a wife without children. They also differ from person to person, but God can tell you what you can and cannot handle.

Challenges of a stay-at-home mom

Nancy Kern found herself succumbing to the pressure that she had to do everything right when it came to raising her two boys—especially when son number two turned out to be a challenge. His hyperactivity caused problems in school and in her heart. "I didn't know how to keep his self-esteem up through all of it," says Nancy, "and yet enable him to fit into the school system."

Nancy realized she needed to give up the idea of perfection and give it to God. Her main objective became loving her son and introducing him to Jesus.

The stay-at-home mom also dealt with others' assumptions that she had tons of time to work at her church, head up committees and dive into other commitments. "I ended up being hurt by my own failure of not doing it all," says Nancy. "But I realized if [during the day] all He was calling me to do was read to those kids, then that's all I was going to do." Nancy withstood the pressure to participate in activities, instead preserving family time, and her sons—now adults—both walk with God and married Christian women.

Whether you have one child at home or 10, whether you work outside the home or not, and whether you're single or married, God's Holy Spirit can help you sort out His priorities from unnecessary pressures you put on yourself. But there is no quick fix to the supermom problem.

Relinquish control to your Father and tap into His power. The power that raised Christ from the dead can conquer the misleading urges to try to do it all and be all things to all people.

As a believer in Christ Jesus, God has given You an amazing gift -- His very life, breath and power lives in You in the person of the Holy Spirit.

We experience the Holy Spirit's constant help, guidance, comfort as we ask Him and we trust Him to keep on filling us. When we do, we overflow: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).


From Christian Women Today
Written by Elizabeth Bahe
To see the complete article, click on the link below.

http://christianwomentoday.com/parenting/supermom.html

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

If you like chocolate and peanut butter you have to try this recipe. It's super easy and tastes amazing! I found the recipe on another blog called Baked Perfection.

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
Recipe adapted from Nestle’s Very Best Baking

Makes 40 brownies as adapted

1 box of your favorite brownie mix
1/2 cup peanut butter chips (I didn't have any of these so I just put mini choc chips on top)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray or grease 40 mini-muffin cups.
Prepare boxed brownie mix as directed.
Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups (about 1 heaping teaspoon).
Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top is set and a toothpick inserted into center comes out slightly wet.

After brownies are out of the oven, wait for centers to fall. This will happen upon cooling. If not then tap the centers with the back of a teaspoon to make a hole for the peanut butter.

Place peanut butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 45 seconds then stir. While brownies are still warm spoon about half a teaspoon of peanut butter into the center of each brownie. Top with semi-sweet chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Cool completely in pan.

Excited for the New Year!

This year's steering team got together today to go over some last minute items for the meeting next week. Everyone is very excited to see what God has in store for our MOPS group in the upcoming months.

We couldn't have had this meeting if it wasn't for Lisa and John McCoy. They watched ALL of our children so we could have some uninterrupted time. We are so thankful for their help! Thanks McCoys!




Jen Grundy (our Hospitality Leader)


John McCoy and Stacie Garvine's (Coordinator) son Evan (isn't he adorable)!

Winnie Kaati (MOPPETS Coordinator), she was the answer to a lot of prayer!

*********************************************************************

Don't forget to put the 1st meeting on your calendar!
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 11th @ 9:30a.m.

We pray that this blog becomes a helpful tool to our moms. A wide variety of information will be found on this site, such as:

• Upcoming Events (monthly meetings, Mom's Night Out, Mom's Prayer & Praise)
• Yummy New recipes
• Pictures from MOPS events
• Helpful Local Information (great places for kids, cost saving deals, & more)
• Prayer Requests
• Devotions

Please email me if you'd like to have something posted on this site to share with other moms! Any suggestions for making this site as helpful as possible to all our moms is always welcome!!

Have an safe & blessed Labor Day weekend and we look forward to seeing everyone at our 1st meeting next Friday.

"And the fundamental mission of motherhood now is the same as it always was: to nurture, protect, and instruct children, to create a home environment that enables them to learn and grow, to help them develop a heart for God and his purposes, and to send them out into the world prepared to love both fully and meaningfully. It's up to us to embrace that mission as out own, trusting God to walk us through the details and to use our willing mothers' hands as instruments of his blessings."

The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

A Message from the Steering Team

WELCOME LADIES!

We hope you have had a nice summer with your families. But with the weather turning cooler, and the hum of school buses in the morning, that can only mean one thing. . . IT'S TIME FOR MOPS! (AND BUCKEYE FOOTBALL!!! YEAH!!)

The steering team is very excited about the 09-10 MOPS year,and it is already bringing some changes from last year. . .Lisa McCoy, our coordinator for the last two years, is taking on a different role with our hospitality team. Natascha Hinduja, Stacie Garvine and April Litman are serving as coordinators this year. Can you imagine; it's taking three women to do the work of one? Thanks for your hard work Lisa!

Just like mothering, our MOPS year is going to be full of change. I am eager to reconnect with my MOPS friends and to get to know new women. It's a blessing to be a part of MOPS.

Our theme for this year from MOPS International is “Together on Planet Mom”. The MOPS experience equips women for the joys and challenges of their lives as moms. One key factor in the MOPS experience is the relationships built within a group. MOPS moms share that the friends they make in MOPS are significant for this season of their life and on into the future. God created us for relationship! It’s one of the defining parts of being human.

However, when you become a mom, all your relationships change. It’s like you have landed on a different plant – Planet Mom – and the relationships on “Planet Mom” don’t look like the ones on your previous planet. Your relationship with yourself is different – you are a mom! Your relationship with your husband, girlfriends, extended family, community and God have all changed. Many of these changes are positive,some are not. Even positive change requires adjustments on your part.

During the 09-10 MOPS year, we will explore how to thrive in relationships Together on Planet Mom.

Blessings,

Natascha Hinduja