Meeting the Moms: Jessi Killilea

During our first meeting Elyse led us in a great ice breaker activity. Throughout the year we will be featuring profiles on our Moms to help us continue to get to know each other better. We would love to include you! First off, meet Jessi and her twin boys.

1. How long have you been attending MOPS? 

I've been attending MOPS for a year. I started attending Sept 2013

2.If you had a 25th hour in your day without your children present, what would you do (aside from napping)? 

I would love to go kayaking. I got a kayak the summer before my boys were born, and I haven't found time to use it since. Living so close to the beach, it would be great to find time to use it again.

3.What you have found to be the best "product" for kids? 

Best product is a hard one, my boys enjoying playing with recycled materials: boxes, containers, empty bottles. Product I'd recommend to a new mom would probably be my stroller: city select with an extra seat (twins).

4.What is the best parenting advice you ever received? 

Read "The Sleep Easy Solution." Best book on sleep for any child 5 months to 5yrs. My twins have slept through the night since 8 months old, 12 hours!

5. What has been the hardest thing about parenting for you? What have you enjoyed the most? 

Hardest thing would be the long days with little adult conversation. The one thing I enjoy most is watching my boys imagination unfold, they are insanely creative!

6. Favorite fill in the blank (food, place, song, book, movie, etc). 

That's a hard one. I feel like so much of me has changed over the past two years. Favorite place would be anywhere near water, and I love going into Boston.

7. Any recommendations on Boston area kid-friendly places? 

We love going on the train to the Boston Common (Park Street).

8. Anything else you might like us to know? 

I love to travel. I'm hoping that we can find more times during the year to travel with the boys. Before children, my husband and I visited Ireland and Mexico, and I've spent time in England and Europe.

The Start of Something Brave

First Fall Meeting: September 11th at 9:30

Fort Square Presbyterian Church

16 Pleasant Street

Quincy MA

2nd and 4th Thursdays

9:30-11:30 a.m.

$50 for the whole year.

First three meetings are free!

Final 2014 Summer Play Date: Watson Park

Our final Quincy MOPS summer play date of 2014 took place at Watson Park.

On the Braintree/Quincy line it was an ideal location for many.

A relatively hidden South Shore gem, it includes a splash pad, playground and nature trail by a beach-- all for free!

There was some shade for snacking and opportunity for conversation, while the kids delighted in the water and the sun.

MOPS of Quincy Summer 2014

                                                   

Several Quincy play dates have taken place this summer.

Kate offered up her backyard in mid-July for the younger set.

It is a wonderful shady spot that features a variety of play structures and toys which Kate and her husband have aquired with their yard sale and side of the road searching skills.

She provided a delicious fruit salad which appealed to both the Moms and the kiddos. Several of the children had never been to the childcare program at MOPS, but will be attending in September, so it gave them a chance to interact with new playmates for the coming year.

 

              

A few blocks away on the same day, Darcy featured a fun and messy outdoor arts project for slightly older kids.

  

At the end of July it was a beautiful day to be at the beach when MOPS held a play date at Caddy Park, the playground located right across from the ocean on Quincy Shore Drive. About a quarter of the current MOPS membership turned out, and some new Moms expressed interest in joining.

If you weren't able to make any of these, there is still one more play date happening on August 20th from 9:30-11:30 at Watson Park on Gordon Road off of Quincy Avenue in Braintree. The park features a splash pad to add to the fun.

Invite a friend who has never been to MOPS or come on your own to make or deepen friendships with other Moms.

If you aren't able to come on August 20th we look forward to seeing you on September 11th at 9:30 for the MOPS fall kick off at Fort Square Church, 16 Pleasant Street, Quincy. 

Thanks to Jessi Killilea and Ashley Lynch-Mahoney for providing the pictures for this post!

How you used to spend Summer

I won't ask you to close your eyes (since you're reading) but try this with me....

Remember back to a summer before you had kids....

Now remember further back to a summer before it occurred to you that someday you would no longer be a kid.... 

What was the best thing about that summer? 

Is it something that you could recreate for your kids? 

I would guess that it was something pretty simple and inexpensive. 

My favorite thing about summer as a child was spending time in the woods that bordered my backyard. I spent many hours wading in the creeks that ran through them, and alternating between seeking shade from the tree branches and climbing up in them.

Many of us are raising our families in places where we need to do more to get to the woods than open the back door. In fact some of us usually get in a car before we play outside.

Our daughter is at the age where she still considers dirt and sand food groups, but we have done our best to spend lots of time outside this summer. 

When we do get outdoors, we try to physically take a few steps back, so that she can decide if the shovel is for digging this time or if instead it is a hat. We try to let her experience the texture of the sand squeezed between her fingers even if it means we sometimes wait too long and end up sweeping our fingers through a mouth filled with grit. 

Her summers will be different from how mine were in some ways, but I want to offer her the slowness and space necessary to create those imaginary worlds in which I spent my summers.

What might your children remember as the best thing about this summer?

What will have been the highlight for you? Is it similar to what it used to be?

Use the comments section to leave ideas for other moms to use for the remainder of the summer.

Ruthlessly Eliminate Hurry

At our most recent meeting, we looked at the role that Hurry plays in our life. Our fast-paced lifestyle is doing more than just causing us stress; it is affecting our children in numerous ways!

We closed with a blog post and wanted to post it here for those who may have missed the meeting.

"The Day I Stopped Saying 'Hurry Up'"

Since then, I stumbled across a Christian Mom Blog who wrote about the same topic and wanted to share that link. It is amazing how many people are becoming aware of what we miss when we hurry about.

What Slowing Down Teaches You That Rushing Never Will

So as we get ready for the busy end of the school year, and a busy summer after that, remember to slow down. Even if it is just a little bit, let's make the time to notice our children, delight in their joy and even get a chance to experience some of our own joy!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Wow!  December already!  Time really does fly during the holiday season.  Even when we try to simplify there are still a million things to do.  Baking, shopping, wrapping and all of the seasonal activities are enough to suck the joy out of the holiday season for us busy moms.  Oh, and if you are having people over for the holidays, don't forget the cooking and the cleaning!

As we all attempt to keep in mind the true meaning of Christmas and open our homes and hearts to others , it is important to keep in mind the important distinction between entertaining and hospitality.

This article is a great reminder of why we should be practice hospitality and how it can be a blessing to us when we bless others in this sincere way!!

Choose Hospitality

(And it's short, because who has time to read more during this busy time???)

Merry Christmas, friends!!