Summer Play Dates

What an amazing year we had at M2M!!! I hope lasting friendships were made, prayers were answered and your faith was deepened. A HUGE thank you to Dayna & Christina for all their hard work and commitment! M2M was my saving grace when we moved to CA 4 years ago and being a part of this amazing group with all you amazing women is a true blessing. We hope to see all of you this summer at the play dates listed below!!


June 5: Backyard Playdate, hosted by Christina Migge

June 27: RSM Beach Club Playdate, hosted by Naomi Salazar

July 15-19: VBS at Mission Hills CC (Registration Required, $50 per child)

July 24: Tanaka Farm Watermelon Field Trip (RSVP required, $)

August 7: Backyard Playdate, hosted by Christina Migge

August 21: Mom's Night Out, hosted by Dayna Graveline

Also I came across this blog post last night and wanted to share. Raising grateful kids is a lot tougher than I ever expected & I found the post below encouraging and insightful!

http://wearethatfamily.com/2013/03/raising-grateful-kids-in-an-entitled-world/

And last but not least...if there is ever anything you'd like to see posted on here please let myself (Naomi) or Dayna know. We'd love for this blog to be a place of encouragement, sharing & another way for us all to connect.

Happy almost summer ladies!!!

A post that Dayna found... EVERY SINGLE MOM needs to read it!!!! So so good!! The link is below as well as the whole post...enjoy!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lea-grover/dear-less-than-perfect-mom_b_3184445.html

"Dear Mom,

I've seen you around. I've seen you screaming at your kids in public, I've seen you ignoring them at the playground, I've seen you unshowered and wearing last night's pajama pants at preschool drop-off. I've seen you begging your children, bribing them, threatening them. I've seen you shouting back and forth with your husband, with your mom, with the police officer at the crosswalk.

I've seen you running around with your kids, getting dirty and occasionally swearing audibly when you bang a knee. I've seen you sharing a milkshake with a manic 4-year-old. I've seen you wiping your kids' boogers with your bare palm, and then smearing them on the back of your jeans. I've seen you carry your toddler flopped over the crook of your arm while chasing a runaway ball.

I've also seen you gritting your teeth while your kid screamed at you for making him practice piano, or soccer, or basket weaving or whatever it was. I've seen you close your eyes and breathe slowly after finding a gallon of milk dumped into your trunk. I've seen you crying into the sink while you desperately scrub crayon off your best designer purse. I've seen you pacing in front of the house.

I've seen you at the hospital waiting room. I've seen you at the pharmacy counter. I've seen you looking tired and frightened.

I've seen a lot of you, actually.

I see you every single day.

I don't know if you planned to be a parent or not. If you always knew from your earliest years that you wanted to bring children into the world, to tend to them, or if motherhood was thrust upon you unexpectedly. I don't know if it meets your expectations, or if you spent your first days as a mom terrified that you would never feel what you imagined "motherly love" would feel like for your child. I don't know if you struggled with infertility, or with pregnancy loss, or with a traumatic birth. I don't know if you created your child with your body, or created your family by welcoming your child into it.

But I know a lot about you.

I know that you didn't get everything that you wanted. I know that you got a wealth of things you never knew you wanted until they were there in front of you. I know that you don't believe that you're doing your best, that you think you can do better. I know you are doing better than you think.

I know that when you look at your child, your children, you see yourself. And I know that you don't, that you see a stranger who can't understand why the small details of childhood that were so important to you are a bother to this small person who resembles you.

I know that you want to throw a lamp at your teenager's head sometimes. I know you want to toss your 3-year-old out the window once in a while.

I know that some nights, once it's finally quiet, you curl up in bed and cry. I know that sometimes, you don't, even though you wanted to.

I know that some days are so hard that all you want is for them to end, and then at bedtime your children hug you and kiss you and tell you how much they love you and want to be like you, and you wish the day could last forever.

But it never does. The day always ends, and the next day brings new challenges. Fevers, heartbreak, art projects, new friends, new pets, new fights. And every day you do what you need to do.

You take care of things, because that's your job. You go to work, or you fill up the crock pot, or you climb into the garden, or strap the baby to your back and pull out the vacuum cleaner.

You drop everything you're doing to moderate an argument over whose turn it is to use a specifically colored marker, or to kiss a boo-boo, or to have a conversation about what kind of lipstick Pinocchio's Mommy wears.

I know that you have tickle fights in blanket forts, and that you have the words to at least eight different picture books memorized. I've heard that you dance like a wild woman when it's just you and them. That you have no shame about farting or belching in their presence, that you make up goofy songs about peas and potatoes and cheese.

I know that an hour past bedtime, you drop what you're doing and trim the fingernail that your 3-year-old insists is keeping her up. I know that you stop cleaning dishes because your kids insist you need to join their tea party. I know you fed your kids PB&J for four days straight when you had the flu. I know that you eat leftover crusts over the sink while your kids watch "Super Why."

I know you didn't expect most of this. I know you didn't anticipate loving somebody so intensely, or loathing your post-baby body so much, or being so tired or being the mom you've turned out to be.

You thought you had it figured out. Or you were blind and terrified. You hired the perfect nanny. Or you quit your job and learned to assemble flat-packed baby furniture. You get confused by the conflict of feeling like nothing has changed since you were free and unfettered by children, and looking back on the choices you made as though an impostor was wearing your skin.

You're not a perfect mom. No matter how you try, no matter what you do. You will never be a perfect mom.

And maybe that haunts you. Or maybe you've made peace with it. Or maybe it was never a problem to begin with.

No matter how much you do, there is always more. No matter how little you do, when the day is over, your children are still loved. They still smile at you, believing you have magical powers to fix almost anything. No matter what happened at work, or at school, or in playgroup, you have still done everything in your power to ensure that the next morning will dawn and your children will be as happy, healthy, and wise as could possibly be hoped.

There's an old Yiddish saying: "There is one perfect child in the world, and every mother has it."

Unfortunately, there are no perfect parents. Your kids will grow up determined to be different than you. They will grow up certain that they won't make their kids take piano lessons, or they'll be more lenient, or more strict, or have more kids, or have fewer, or have none at all.

No matter how far from perfect you are, you are better than you think.

Someday your kids will be running around like crazy people at synagogue and concuss themselves on a hand rail, and somebody will still walk up to you and tell you what a beautiful family you have. You'll be at the park and your kids will be covered in mud and jam up to the elbows, smearing your car with sugary cement, and a pregnant lady will stop and smile at you wistfully.

No matter how many doubts you might have, you never need doubt this one thing: You are not perfect.

And that's good. Because really, neither is your child. And that means nobody can care for them the way you can, with the wealth of your understanding and your experience. Nobody knows what your child's squall means, or what their jokes mean, or why they are crying better than you do.

And since no mother is perfect, chances are you are caught in a two billion way tie for Best Mom in the World.

Congratulations, Best Mom in the World. You're not perfect.

You are as good as anybody can get.

With love,

Lea"

Staying Safe

So many good tips from our speaker last week, Byron Walls. I don't know about any of you, but as soon as my hubby walked in the door after a long day at work, I felt compelled to tell him just how "unsafe" our house was, as well as how I MUST buy some pepper spray that attaches to my keychain. ;) A bit dramatic, yes, but Byron really got me thinking on how I can do a few simple things to make not only myself safer, but my family. Here's a few notes I jotted down incase you missed the meeting or didn't get a chance to write them down.

* Put a dog bowl (a BIG dog bowl) in your backyard even if you don't own a dog. It will make the intruder think twice about trying to enter your home. You can even get creative and put a name on the bowl.
* Put alarm stickers on every window that's accessible to an intruder. This makes them think you have an alarm system, even if you don't.
* Purchase door stop alarms for windows and sliding glass doors. 

Here is a link to one I found on Amazon for regular doors. Also good to take with you while traveling.

http://www.amazon.com/GE-50246-Smart-Home Alarm/dp/B0000YNR4M/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_1

*When walking to your car be aware of your surroundings. Have your keys in hand. DO NOT rummage through your purse as you are walking to your car. You make yourself an easy target.
* Before you enter your car, make sure no one is in the back seat(s)
*If you happen to break down on the freeway at night, stay in your car and call someone for help. If you do not have access to a phone, just stay in your car. If someone approaches, do not open your door, simply ask them to call the police. Best option is to be carrying a reflective "Call Police" sign at all time in your vehicle. Put this up in your back window and wait for the cops to show up. Another tip is to sit in the passenger side seat. Makes a person with bad intentions think that maybe there was another person in the car who left to get help, that person could be returning at any point.
*Always give criminal what they are asking for, unless they say get in the car. In that case, run! If they ask for your purse, throw it as far as you can and run.
* If you are ever in a rape situation, talk to him. Make it personal. If you can, try & get as close to him as possible. Run your fingers through his hair, then push your thumbs into his eyes as hard as you can. This is your best chance at getting away.

Most recommended weapon is CS/Pepper spray. (OMEGA is a great brand) Get one that shoots a jet-stream at least 8-10 feet. Byron recommends this as the best weapon of choice, because you will not hesitate to use it the same way you might with a gun. 

If you have any questions for Byron or would like to purchase any of the items he had check out his website:

http://www.californiacrimefight.com/byronbio.htm