The Nearly Scientific Journal of

The & Art Science of Mothering

Make Your Dream

Come Alive

Heart of a Child

April 2011

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-flower-doctor-rimagefree2016120-resi2545855

2010—2011 Steering Team

NE MOPS

Coordinator

Stacy Swan

Publicity

Bonnie Daughenbaugh

Note from the Editor

ibrant colors of spring are all around us--pink, purple, yellow, green, and orange; each one beautiful and timeless as the morning sun.

Yesterday, as I was driving with my beautiful little girl, we noticed the dew on the grass. I mentioned how it sparkled and seemed to dance. It was almost magical, some might say magic dust (if you believe in fairies, such as Tinker Bell).

What is indeed magical is the time that can be spent with a child, especially your own. I am so very thankful for the special gift of seeing through the eyes of a child. Within a child’s heart there is so much love, excitement, and curiosity that is contagious.

In this month’s issue there are tips for making your dreams come alive, a heart of a child, homemade sidewalk chalk, adorable bunny cupcakes and so much more. This newsletter is specifically for—and about—our NE MOPS group. If you would like to contribute articles or pictures, please e-mail me at northeastmops@nemops.org. I’ll try to include as many as I can throughout the MOPS year.

Bonnie

Finance

Melissa Miller

Hospitality

Krista Stempka'

MOPPETS

Creative Activities

Dede Fox

Mom Mentor

Kathy Tau

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Discussion Group Leader (DGL)

Lisa Miller

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in this issue

Make Your Dream Come Alive

April2011

Automate those tasks...

Page 6

The Science Spot 4 Delectable Creations 4 Mommy’s Masterpiece 5

An Art Spot 5

Make Your Dream Come Alive 6

MomSense 7 Around Town

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Delectable Creations

What is more adorable than a cute bunny! Your children will have fun making and eating these cute bunny cupcakes. Please email me your crowd-pleasing recipes at NorthEastMops@nemops.org.

• Cupcake

• White icing

• Shredded coconut

• Pink sprinkles

• Pink Jelly beans (nose)

• Blue Sweet Tarts (eyes)

• Large marshmallows

• Mini marshmallows

• Pink decorator gel

Bunny Cupcakes

Pressure!

The experiment for this month is pressure, no not pressure from your job, or your endless laundry. The Experiment: 1. Fill a bottle with hot water and a bowl with cold water. Let both

sit for one minute. 2. Empty out the bottle 3. Stretch out a balloon over the mouth of the bottle. 4. Set the bottle in the bowl of water. Observation: What happens to the balloon? The Explanation: The warm water heats the bottle. When the water is poured out, the heated bottle heats the air inside of it. When the bottle is placed in cold water, the air inside the bottle cools and contracts, causing outside air to be drawn in, pulling the balloon in and inflating it inside the bottle.

THE SCIENCE SPOT

1. Frost a cupcake with white icing. 2. Dip the frosted cupcake into a bowl of coconut. 3. Cut a large marshmallow in half widthwise. Squeeze each half slightly to make an oval shape. Then dip the sticky side into the pink sprinkles. Place on to of cupcake for ears. 4. Add a jelly bean for the nose, Sweet Tart eyes, and mini marshmallows for cheeks. 5. Draw whiskers with pink gel for a finishing touch. Source: Family Fun

Directions:

Ingredients

MOMMY’S MASTERPIECE Heart of a child!

One of my goals as a mother is to raise a child who has a heart for God. A year ago, Cadence was asked by her Papa Jack and Nana Miki to sing a song at the St Jude’s Children’s Cancer Research Benefit in Olean, NY. Over the past year, she had been practicing the song “A Whole New World” from the Aladdin soundtrack. The weekend before the concert Cadence was having problems with her asthma. I told her that she probably would not be able to sing in the concert. She started crying and said, “Yes, Mommy – God gave me the gift to sing. He wants me to sing for the sick children in the hospital.” That just brought tears to my eyes because all she wanted to do was to make God and the children happy. Over the next couple of days we prayed for her asthma to subside. She continued to practice her song. The morning of her concert she asked us to pray with her and ask God to give her courage. When the moment came, Cadence sang her song in front of 500-600 people. All of the people loved her. After the song, Cadence asked her father if he could pray with her to give God thanks. At that moment I was overwhelmed with joy! I will never underestimate the heart of a child or the power of prayer! Mail me your masterpieces to: northeastmops@nemops.org and I’ll publish it!

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Picture by Jenn Hall

Here is a fun activity to do with your child to watch sum-mer unfold. What you'll need:

• 1 cup plaster of Paris

• 1 cup water

• Powdered tempura paint • Mold for chalk (small paper cups, ice cube trays,

tissue rolls…)

• Mixing bowls

Instructions: 1. Mix the water and the plaster of Paris together in

large bowl. 2. Add the tempura paint, set aside for a few minutes. 3. Pour the mixture into the mold, and let it dry (can

take several hours to a day). 4. Once the mold is dry, remove the chalk , and let it air dry.

Source: Family Education

THE ART SPOT Homemade Sidewalk Chalk

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Speaker of the Month:

Heather Neckers

This month you will enjoy hearing from a woman who has followed her dreams. According to a recent Harris Interactive Survey, across America only 20% feel passionate about their work, 33% believe that they have reached a dead end and 21% are eager to change ca-reers. Heather Neckers is a woman who has followed her dream. She had a love for photography since she was a little girl in seventh grade. Heather owns the local photography shop here in North East. When she was growing up her family encouraged her to reach for the sky. It was instilled in her that nothing is impossible. If you dream it, you can achieve it.

Heather wants to share with other women that if you have a passion in your life, reach for it, don’t let the word “no” come into your vocabulary. Determine in your mind that you can do it. Don’t fear the unknown, step out and look to make your dream come alive. With a good attitude, and family support, you can do it.

Here are six other tips to keep in mind to realize job satisfaction: become self-aware; understand your abilities, values and interests; benchmark the type of work you perform in your organization with comparable organizations; identify what is detracting you from your job satisfaction; identify roles and responsibilities that are appealing; and develop a relationship with a career counselor to provide feedback on your expectations. So what is stopping you? Reach for the sky. Let your passion and drive direct you to make it happen.

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MOPS International’s 2011-2012 Theme

OMSENSE: Bold, Loving, Sensible.

Developing a mothering strategy is somewhat like playing a game and this year’s theme is appropriately game-related. Have fun being a mom! Playing games in-

volves being bold and taking risks, loving those in the game with us and being sensible while figuring out what works and what doesn’t.

Combining a mom’s intuition and her common sense helps a woman discover her own unique MomSense. (MomIntuition + Common Sense = MomSense)

2011-2012 MOPS theme will teach and equip moms to embrace their mothering instincts and develop their own parenting style. While navigating through the myriad of daily mom decisions, moms will learn how to be bold, loving, and sen-sible.

Membership Benefits: In addition to the group experience, moms who are registered with MOPS International will receive:

• MomSense Magazine • Weekly Mom e-mails • MOPS reusable Shopping Bag • MOPS iron On Appliqués* • MOPS stickers featuring the VeggieTales

As a mom, you want to stretch your dollars as much as possible. We at MOPS want to help. As a special thanks to you as moms during this past year, we would like to offer a

substantial discount. If you pre- register before May 31, your membership will be $15.00. Typically the pre-registration is $21.95, that is a savings of $6.95. See Stacy Swan or Melissa Miller for the 2011- 2012 MOPS registration form today!

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Better Moms Make a Better World

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Around Town: • Soup and Salad Luncheon—Park United Methodist, Friday, April 29th. 11:00-1:00 p.m. Home-

made soup, salad, and desert. $6.00/per person. • Mommy Mine—Erie Zoo Saturday, May 7th. 9:00-10:00

a.m. $8/Zoo members, $11/non-members. Bring along your favorite stuffed animal, and learn about the animal mothers. Make something special for your mommy or grandmother.

• Spring Craft Bazaar—Findley Lake Fire Hall, Saturday, May 7th 10:00-4:00 p.m. Handmade crafts, door prizes, food. Free.

• Murder Mystery—Peek’n Peak, Saturday, May 7th at 7:00 p.m. Join the Comedy Troupe in helping solve the murder at a wedding. $45/per person.

NORTH EAST MOPS would like to thank Assembly of God Church

for the printing services. Thank you so much!

If you happened to come upon this newsletter and are interested in joining MOPS, please do!

MOPS meets the 2nd Tuesday from 10:00-11:30 am. And the 4th Tuesday from 6:15-8:15 pm.

September thru May.

For more information call 725-3435.

Find us at:

2025 Orchard Beach Rd.

North East, PA 16428

(814) 725-3435

www.nemops.org

Check this

out!

Check this out:

• Sign up for North East MOPS 2011-2012 before May 31st and you will save over 45%. Wow, now that is a savings that is worth checking out. See Stacy Swan or Melissa Miller for details.