A MOPS Baby Shower

Mops of Quincy hosted a baby shower in partnership with the Boston Center for Pregnancy Choices. 

Part of the mission of Mops is that all Moms are welcome, and we wanted to reach out to a Mom who lives nearby! 

Alleah and her family gave us their permission to share some of the photos of the time we celebrated together.

Trying to guess the gestation lengths of different animals

Getting to know each other while eating delicious food

Making babies out of playdough for Alleah to choose the winner

Opening presents for the Baby Girl

The bathtub was popular with the little ones

In addition to the food, games, and presents, each of the women put their finger print on a special gift to send our support with this Mom.

We hope Alleah might be able to join us for a future MOPS meeting!

The Family Dinner Project

 

Lynn Barendsen, Executive Director of the Family Dinner Project came to talk with us.  She told us that recent studies have linked regular family meals with higher grade-point averages, resilience and self-esteem, lower rates of substance abuse, teen pregnancy, eating disorders and depression. She also gave us tips for setting dinnertime goals, overcoming obstacles such as conflicting schedules and engaging everyone in meaningful conversation.

 

If you missed the meeting, or would like to learn more, you can go to thefamilydinnerproject.org, where you will find:

 

*A Guide for "4 weeks to better family dinners"

 

*Easy Recipes

 

*Dinner Games

 

and

 

*Conversation Starters

 

Click on the links above, or go to the website to sign up for the newsletter with even more ideas!

Paint Night

Mornings together for breakfast, a stirring topic, and great conversation are the mainstay of MOPS, but every so often we have an evening out!

This time we created hopeful encouragements to Spring at Paint Night.

Pick up a copy of "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed, so that you can join us for book club, which will be our next MOPS night out in May!

In This House We Will Giggle

Recently a fellow Mom let us know about an upcoming Saturday morning conference 

through the Mops of Quincy Facebook page. Eight of us (plus a MOPS Grandma!) were able to spend the morning in Norwell to receive some encouragement from Courtney DeFeo.

As a mom in the throes of parenting, Courtney believes that instilling virtues in children starts with laughter, not lectures. That perspective propelled her to write "In this House we will Giggle", in which she offers motivating reflections, real-life stories, and inventive ways to cultivate virtues.  Each chapter focuses on one virtue with insights into how this plays out in real life and activity ideas. 

In addition to recommending the book, we wanted to share an idea from each virtue to get you started and perhaps thinking about how some of these might work for your family. Here are some of her practical and fun ideas for empowering our kids to become responsible, humble, patient, loving, joyful and generous adults!

Responsibility:

When it's time to clean up, set a timer and make it a game.

Humility:

After a friend or sibling does something big, transfer jealousy to praise by encouraging them to make a congratulations card.

Patience:

Provide them with a choice between a small treat now and a larger treat for later that is hidden in a bag.

Love:

Remind children that they are uniquely made and loved by writing a specific post it love note for their lunch bag or bathroom mirror.

Joy:

Make dance parties a regular part of your routine.

Generosity:

Teach them to distribute gift cards anonymously to a friend or neighbor who needs help or encouragement.

In addition to the book, Courtney also has a blog at: http://courtneydefeo.com/blog