Discipline by Design

Next Tuesday, March 26, Mentor Mom Esther will be sharing with us about "Discipline by Design."  Come hear how you can personalize your approach to parenting by considering the unique personality traits of your children.  The book that this advice is based on is now available as a free download, and here is the link:

Discipline to the Design of the Child

Hope to see you on Tuesday at MOPS!

Spa and Shopping Day Tomorrow!

Spa and Shopping Day tomorrow at MOPS!

We have a limited number of time slots available for massages and hairstyling, so come on time and sign-up for your spot before they are all gone. The sign-up table is in the back where we normally have the freebie table. (So don't bring freebies to give away tomorrow either - you can start bringing those again at our next meeting).

If you want, you can also bring some money to shop with as we have several women with home businesses who will be sharing their items with us.  Also be sure to visit our manicure/pedicure station - feel free to bring your favorite color nail polish if you want to relax and give yourself a manicure.   Genevieve will be leading us in a craft to make hair fascinators with pretty silk flowers and feathers.  We will also have some massage chairs, magazines, and a chocolate fountain - yum!

See you in the morning!

Unstuck: A Book Review

Bethany House sent me a copy of Unstuck: Your Life.  God's Design.  Real Change by Arnie Cole and Michael Ross.  Here are my thoughts:

Overall, this book has a great message.  Arnie Cole and Michael Ross use extensive statistics along with real life examples to encourage Christians to read their Bible at minimum 4 times per week.  They claim this is necessary if we are to expect spiritual growth in our lives.  A phrase they use repeatedly is to "engage the Bible" and grow in relationship with God, as opposed to simply reading it only and failing to reflect on and respond to God's personal message to us.

One problem with the book is that it lacks organization - it seems to jump around from topic to topic without a logical flow.  This made the book a little difficult to get through.

I also found myself frustrated with the repeated call to "engage the Bible" and not simply go through the motions of religion, but without much "how to."  A believer who is new to Bible study with life application will need to look elsewhere to find more specific instructions.

Each chapter does end with a verse to read each day and a question to reflect on, so that is a good place to start.  The last chapter and appendix get a bit more specific about how to go about growing spiritually, but it took a lot of plodding through 200+ pages of "why you should engage the Bible regularly" to get there.  More of the "how" and less of the "why" would have been more helpful to me.

Mommy Anger

Every mom will experience Mommy Anger to some degree, and yet, it's a topic rarely touched.

At Castro Valley MOPS tomorrow our speaker will be sharing with us about ways to manage Mommy Anger.  Teresa Drake used to be an angry mom, as she battled post-partum depression while raising two special needs boys.  After years of personal research, developing family solutions by trial and error and a decade of "focused living," Teresa now shares her experience and key strategies for managing anger with other moms enduring one of the toughest seasons of life: mothering young children.  Moms will come away with tools for managing their anger and simple ways to introduce anger management skills to their children.

"Teresa was so open about her own struggles with anger as a mom and offered great tips for managing it.  She made us laugh and she made us cry.  But most of all she made us realize that it's not unusual to struggle with anger as a mom and it is ok to talk about it.  Moms expressed their appreciation...and were motivated to incorporate some of Teresa's anger management tips into their daily lives." (Hanna Kecskes, MOPS Coordinator, Marin, CA)

For more information go to www.teresadrake.com.

Register for 2012-2013

Are you ready to Plunge in to MOPS this year?

Our first meeting of 2012-2013 is next Tuesday, September 11.  MOPS meets at Redwood Chapel Community Church in the Williams Chapel, 19300 Redwood Road, Castro Valley.  Enter the Redwood Chapel parking lot from James Avenue, park away from the orange cones along the retaining wall, and look for the MOPS signs. 

Registration begins at 9:00am and the meeting runs from 9:15am to 11:30am.  First time visitors are free.  Registration fees are as follows, and scholarship applications are available for those who have need:

• $7 per meeting, plus a $24 annual membership fee, or
• $28 per trimester (3 free meetings per year), plus a $24 annual membership fee, or
• $77 per year (4 free meetings per year), plus a $24 annual membership fee.

If you do not already have a registration form, you can click this link to print out the form and bring it with you on Tuesday morning:

MOPS Emergency Form 2012 - 2013

After registering, one of our leaders (wearing a Plunge lanyard) can escort you to the MOPPETS classroom appropriate for your child.  Younger babies are cared for in the nursery and older children have fun with crafts, games, music, and a snack while  you enjoy the MOPS program.  (Only non-crawling newborns are permitted in the MOPS meeting room.)  Please bring a labeled sippy cup and diaper bag (as needed) for your child.

After your children are safely in their MOPPETS classroom, then you can cruise to your "island" in the Williams Chapel and enjoy a wonderful brunch buffet provided to you by the MOPS leadership team.  We hope you will feel welcome and enjoy a wonderful morning as you Plunge in to MOPS this year!

Here is our schedule for this year:
September 11 & 25
October 9 & 23
November 13 & 27
December 11
January 8 & 22
February 12 & 26
March 12 & 26
April 9 & 23
May 14

MOPS is for all mothers of children ages 0-5.  Childcare provided.  For more info email cmast@cvmops.org.

Popsicles in the Park

We will have our next MOPS playdate of the summer, this Tuesday, August 7 at 10am at Greenridge Park - 6108 Greenridge Rd, Castro Valley! Bring your friends, your kids, and some snacks or a picnic lunch. We will bring the homemade popsicles to share.  Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Playdate July 17 at Ardenwood

Join us tomorrow for a playdate and picnic at Ardenwood Historic Farm!  We'll join Ranger Ira for toddler time from 11 to 11:30 - we will meet and learn about goats through stories, chores and fun.  The park opens at 10am - plan to arrive well before 11 so you have plenty of time to park and walk to the farm animal area.

Bring a blanket and lunch for a picnic afterwards in the Farmyard Picnic Area.

Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for children age 4 and up (under 4 are free). 

To Reach The Park

From I-880 in Fremont, take the Decoto Road/Dumbarton Bridge/Highway 84 exit. Go west on Highway 84 toward the Dumbarton Bridge. Take the Ardenwood/Newark Blvd. exit and turn right (north) onto Ardenwood Blvd. The park entrance is ahead, on the right.