Monday's Tip: Winter Sweater Care

These chilly, rainy days are keeping our sweaters out of storage for a few more weeks (thank goodness!)... ever wondered how to keep them looking new?

1. Sandpaper. That's right grab a sheet out of hubby's toolbox and rid your sweaters of those unsightly pills. Apartment Therapy's blog tells you how here.

2. The ever knowledgeable source of info on domestic care, marthastewart.com also lists handy tips and  a video on how to care for your sweaters. Click here.

Image source: apartmenttherapy.com 

Ruined For Good?

The following blog post (linked here) by Lysa TerKeurst starts out with the sentence "If you have kids, then I’m sure you’ve felt the frustration of having things ruined." 

Yep, and yes, and totally. 

This post is encouraging and a great reminder to keep things in perspective! Read on, click here. 

Is The Proverbs 31 Woman For Real?

An interesting perspective on Proverbs 31 by author Dena Dyer. Click here to read the post.

My favorite quote of the post was, "As a busy wife and mom, I've come to believe that we can experience abundant life daily if we get off the hamster wheel of perfectionism, recognize our limits, and nestle close to Jesus." 

What did you gain from from this post? 

January Meeting Recap

So great to be back at mom2mom! Lovely to share in fellowship with everyone... and for those that missed, we sure hope to see you back next month!

A few reminders, next meeting is Thursday, February 21. Also, be sure to make note that our March meeting lands on FRIDAY, March 22. Childcare is available for our littles that may normally be at preschool during mom2mom.

At our January meeting, we were very honored to hear from Keith and Nancy Braun on the topic of Love & Respect. They shared personal stories as well as key insights from the book Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. The subtitle of the book is 'The Love She Most Desires, The Respect He Desperately Needs."

The book discusses 3 cycles. 1) The Crazy Cycle. Without love, she reacts. And without respect, he reacts. 2) The Energizing Cycle. His love motivates her respect, and her respect motivates his love. 3) The Reward Cycle. His love is given regardless of her respect, and her respect is give regardless of his love.

Keith and Nancy spoke on the three cycles and also to remember to think of our spouse's as a goodwill person. Even if what our spouse says or does comes off as unloving or disrespectful we are to look inward and analyze how we personally may be coming across. What is our tone? Our body language? If we know that our spouse is a good-willed person, it will help us remember that their intentions are not to hurt. Our husband's can ask, "That felt disrespectful, did I just come across as unloving?" and we can state "That felt unloving, did I just show you disrespect?"

Nancy left us with two challenges... 1) Approach husband and say, 'I've been thinking about you today, and how I respect you...' open dialogue to seek out your husband's view of how you respect him. 2) This Valentine's Day intentionally put a 'respect' twist/focus on the day. Write a card that highlights your respect for your husband by thanking him for specific characteristics and things he does.  Remember that respect is not based on performance, but who he is.

Next Meeting January 17th!

Well, hello 2013! Who's ready to get back into the swing of things? Hoping everyone had a truly blessed Christmas season filled with family and friends and reflection on our Savior's birth. What a truly magical--and exhausting!--time to be mama. 

The past year,  mom2mom was filled with learning, laughter, playdates, and fellowship. We learned about everything from coupons to crafts to building traditions with our families. We were challenged and supported by our great table moms. Friendships were made and grew at playdates fostered from mom2mom.

The new year promises even more great guest speakers. 

We look forward to a new year and new meetings, and getting to grow as mom's side by side.  Our next meeting is Thursday, January 17th, at our usual 9:30 am meeting time. For new moms, online registration is now closed. However, we'd still love to have you join us! Please call Cheryl Washburn at 602.363.3014 for more information and to check childcare availability. 

As we move forward into a new year, we are seeking your input on the mom2mom blog. What would you like see covered? What types of topics? Please let us know in the comment section below!

New Year, New Reflections

Crosswalk.com has compiled a list of questions to reflect on and ask yourself at the start of the New Year. In a blog post titled, Ten Questions to Ask at the Start of a New Year, there are actually 31 different questions to ponder.

For moms, question number three is especially potent: What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

What questions challenged you most?

Romantic Dinner - Winter Feast

We've all heard the age-old adage that the way to a man's heart is his stomach. So as we make a fresh start into the new year, why not add some extra love to your dinner table for your hub? Brush off those cheerios and crayons, and follow these simple steps to a nice (and easy!) 3 course romantic winter dinner.

First and foremost, after the cheerio cleansing, add a few simple and lovely touches to the dining room table:

Rummage through your kid's craft box for some glitter, add to vase of water, pick a single flower and viola! Pretty centerpiece. 

Image via Pinterest

Kiddos are most likely joining you for this romantic feast (they do love to eat on a regular basis, don't they?! ;-) so in lieu of regular-accident-waiting-happen candles, break out several flameless candles with these simple ideas from Home Depot:

Click here for how-to

Okay we got the decor down, now time to start cooking! Our course today is simple: Easy Roasted Beet Salad, Easy Beef Stew, and Easy Stuffed Apples. And did we mention that all have the word "easy" in their recipe title?

Easy Roasted Beet Salad

Click here for recipe

Easy Beef Stew 

Click here for recipe 

Easy Stuffed Apples

Click here for recipe

Enjoy!

New Year, New Date Night Ideas

Perhaps one of your New Year's resolutions is to spend more focused time with your hubby. We look forward to finding and sharing great ideas for date nights. Whether it be a night out at a romantic restaurant or a special night in, it is important to never lose that focused time together. We are planning to include ideas for fun nights out as well as ideas for date night's at home. 

Be sure to share your favorite date night venus and ideas by emailing us at mom2mom.rmcc@gmail.com so we can share it in an upcoming post. 

Date: Dinner & A Movie

This tried and true combo is relaxing. Add a personal twist by bringing two index cards and pens with you, write down any questions, key observations, or favorite lines to share with each other post movie. 

Date Night Out 

Not your average dinner and a movie date, more and more movie theatres are popping up offering a full dinner menu with at-your-seat service. It is recommended that you reserve your tickets at least a day or two prior. Click on the links below to view ticket prices, menus, and venue descriptions. Let us know which ones you try!

AMC Esplande Dine-In Theatre - Phoenix

UltraStarr - Scottsdale

iPic - Scottsdale

Studio Movie Grill - Scottsdale

The Film Bar - Phoenix

Date Night In

Plan out a favorite meal and snacks that are easy to eat while watching a movie. Put your kiddos to bed or if you have older kiddos employ them to be your in-house "servers" with strict rules to be seen and not heard ;-) Park your cellphones away, and turn on your all time favorite movie. Set up the "viewing" area ahead of time with popcorn, your favorite candy, and drinks in a cooler. The library is a great spot to score both old and current movies... and now a days Cable On-Demand, Netflix and Itunes all provide limitless possibilities. Surprise your hubby by downloading one of his all-time favorites. Want to add a cute twist? Tell your hubby to clear his schedule and "hide" a home-made movie ticket on his steering wheel to find one his way to work.