Tropical Smoothie Fundraiser!

Come and join us for a fundraiser with Tropical Smoothie Cafe!  15% of your sales will go to MOMS Club of Front Royal and our Clean Birth Kits service project (be sure to mention this fundraiser!).  Tropical Smoothie Cafe has great variety of menu items for breakfast, lunch, dinner and a post-workout refuel.  I am very excited to indulge with the Hummus Veggie toasted wrap (minus the pepperjack cheese - of course!) which I would enjoy with the Lean Machine smoothie (dairy free!).  You can view their menu online and then check the nutritional calculator to see what items you want to add or change to customize your order to your liking!  

I love that the fundraiser goes all day so that I can bring my guys in for an early lunch before the pool or a summery dinner after a day at the park.  The kids menu options allow you to pick a fruit, chips or cookie to go along with their meal (and your sanity level).  I hope to see you all there!   

 

Did you know that every minute a woman dies of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth?  99% of these deaths occur in developing nations.  For every woman who dies in childbirth, another 30 women incur injuries and infections which are often preventable.  (Source: World Health Organization.)

The MOMS Club of Front Royal, VA is excited to announce that we are working on a service project to help reduce maternal and infant mortality in developing nations.  We found a program that provides Clean Birth Kits to very poor areas around the world.  The Clean Birth Kits include eight simple items in a plastic bag including a piece of soap, plastic gloves, squares of gauze, cotton string, a utility blade, plastic sheeting, a clean cloth to wrap the baby, and a pictorial diagram.

As stay at home moms, this project is very dear to our hearts.  As Americans we have access to state of the art medical services.  These small bags of supplies could help ensure that moms in developing nations will survive the birth of their child to raise them into adulthood.

Please consider donating supplies, gift cards, and/or money to help the MOMS Club achieve the initial goal of 250 Clean Birth Kits by the end of July 2012.  The MOMS Club of Front Royal, VA is a 501(c)(3) publicly-supported charity registered with the IRS.  As such, your donations may be tax deductible, check with your tax advisor.

Thank you in advance for your support with a life saving project!

Sincerely,

The Clean Birth Kit Project Committee

The MOMS Club of Front Royal, VA

Teacher Gifts - Round 1

Teacher Gifts for Zac's three main teachers:  A book made out of 4 pages with pictures from his very first days of school (Sept. 2010) to recent days.  With his cute little one-letter-on-top-of-the-other signature. 

Zac plugged his ears when overwhelmed

Top:  Open House    Bottom:  2011 Graduation ceremony

And my little guy hamming it up.  I have a hard time really expressing how much it means to me to have him say "Cheese" and smile for the camera.  It's amazing!  And I have some teachers to thank! 

The 2 bus drivers (he has a morning and an afternoon bus driver) and 2 aides also get little cards:

And of course everyone got some homemade chocolate chip cookies.  I know today will be emotional!  I can't believe that this is the end of preschool for Zac.  I anticipate lots of tears from me as well as his teachers!  But I know my little guy is going to shine in kindergarten.  And we will have a busy summer to keep me from getting too worried.

Next week I will be pulling together gifts for Kyle's teachers - and I will probably be doing it last minute - because that's me!

Second Summer of Giving: Planning Teacher Gifts

I have been asked whether we will be doing Summer of Giving again (yes!) and I am excited to do it - then I realized that all my boys will be home in one week.  Zac's school wraps tomorrow and Kyle's last day is next Tuesday.  So summer starts soon!  I am definitely a procrastinator but I think our Summer of Giving will start today with teacher gifts.  

Photo Source

I have a hard time with teacher's gifts.  We have been so lucky to have such amazing teachers for the boys.  I wish I had millions of dollars to pay off their mortgages, or increase their salaries to the numbers they really should be getting (definitely 6 figures).  I wish I could send them on vacation or even afford to send them to a spa for the day.  But what I really want them to know is how incredible they are.  These women (they have all been women so far) have a huge place in our hearts and our lives.  They literally take my children each day and help them grow and learn.  I get all weepy just trying to think of what to say to them to express how much I appreciate them.  Between Zac with his autism and his intelligence that is a little hard to pull out, and Kyle who is also so smart but is a 6 year old boy who likes to play with his friends (at inopportune times), these teachers have helped us overcome obstacles and found new ways to approach problems.  They have taught my guys reading and math and social skills.  They have braved field trips and dealt with accidents and meltdowns.  They have the kids walk in lines, take turns, use iPads and Smart boards.  They somehow manage to do all this with a class full of children and then they go home to their own families.  They worry about an entire room full of children in addition to their own children.  I lose sleep and stress-eat just dealing with my three!  

So I want to thank my children's teachers - and all the teachers out there.  You get up each day and make a difference in the lives of your students and their families.  You will be the ones that are remembered long into life.  You aren't just teaching them from a book - you are taking them and helping them develop into their future selves.  You are making a huge impact and you are some of the most important people that will ever enter into our children's lives.  Thank you!

I will try and post pictures as we make the gifts today - the boys love doing it and I am excited too!