Parents Night Out

CALLING ALL COD PARENTS! Do you need a night out without the kids? Or do you have some errands you'd like to get done child-free? COD Youth to the rescue!

The COD Youth Group is hosting four Parents Night Off in July. By providing babysitting for church families, the high school kids will be raising money for camp. Although there will be adults present, the high school kids will be doing all the work - playing with your kids!

Babysitting Rates: $5/hour for each child, Max of $30 for a family
Ages: Infants to 10 years old

Dates:
Friday July 10th, 5:30pm-9:30pm
Saturday July 11th, 9am-12pm

Friday July 24th, 5:30pm-9:30pm
Saturday July 25th, 9am-12pm

RSVP to Angela Collett in the church office at 626-914-4646.
Or Via Email at angelacollett@verizon.net
Please bring your children already fed! They will not have meals.

Please forward this information to other parents.

Happy Independence Day!!

Here's a craft we threw together this morning from things on hand: Sparkler Wands!

Twist some red, white and blue chenille pipes together. If you have some star gift wire add that too. We used a pipe cleaner and a straw for the handle.

Super fun, festive and easy! Enjoy!

Transition to Mommy-hood

I had a friend recently ask me about my transition from full-time work to full-time mom. And I had to stop and pause and think back to almost five years ago. Doing so has created this post and I hope you enjoy it!

My transition was pretty easy. See ever since junior high I've known I was going to be a stay-at-home mom. I vividly remember going to my friends Sarah's house one day after school to work on a project. Both my parents work to send me to private christian schools (an education I am extremely grateful for), so I spent lots of time in after school care until my parents or my older siblings could pick me up when they were done with sports or drama practise or whatever else.

So on this particular day I remember being picked up right after school got out and getting into her moms car as she came through the pick up line. We hopped right in and shared about our days and chatted about this and the other as we drove to her home. When we arrived we went in and (no lie!) had fresh homemade cookies from scratch that were still cooling having been removed from the oven on the way out the door to pick us up. And as I sat right there eating cookies and milk it hit me. I was missing out. I was smart enough at the time to still understand the sacrifice my parents were making for me, but I was missing out! And I decided right then, I would be a stay-at-home mom. Years before the desire to have children had already been growing, but this was new, this was a cognitive decision to make sure that with my best efforts I would stay at home. And then I began praying it. Not regularly mind you, but every so often as another event arrived and I was reminded of what I was missing, I prayed, Lord let me stay home.

This was such a huge issue to me, it was one of the first things Jon and I talked about early on our relationship. By then I knew I need a spouse who felt the same way. I remember bringing the subject up without sharing my heart, and sighing with relief when DH shared, timidly, that he knew he wanted the mother of his children to stay home with them.

By the time I was pregnant and about to hit maternity leave I was working in a fabulous job with great friends and bosses who created a family friendly work environment and hoped I would return to work with baby in tow. And DH and I considered it! It would be the best of both worlds! But somehow, neither of us could go through with it, and we finally notified my employer I wouldn't be returning. It was sad, because I loved the people and the work, but I was easily cheered by some snuggles with my newborn.

So the literal transition from full-time work to 24/7 stay-at-home work was easy so to speak. As easy as sleepless nights, feeding and poop, rinse and repeat can be anyway. But a few more months done the road, was DD1 (Dear Daughter 1) grew into a little person, and the routine became familiar, I remember thinking: what in the world are we going to do all day?

And that's when I got going! I volunteered at church more because I had the time to coordinate, plan and serve during the week. I joined children's classes to find interaction for me and DD1 and to get out of the house. I spent a lot of time looking for free and not-so-free activities for in and out of the home (I'm quite the source should you need some help!). A friend invited me to a moms group and we attended regularly. We fell into a routine and every so often as life happens the routine would jumble and we'd settle back down again someplace new.

Early on I realized I was not super-mom. I needed help, and since I know you're like me to, I'm mostly not worried about admitting it. I needed childcare here and there, I needed advice and encouragement from other moms young and old(er). I needed some alone time, a lot of adult time, and some date time with DH. I realized that even if my kiddos were going crazy at home and driving me nuts, a trip out of the house usually produced better behavior and longer naps! I discovered timing can be everything. A half hour late for nap could be disastrous, and a week late on time with DH makes two cranky parents!

In some ways I'm still adjusting to parent-hood, I don't think you ever really stop, we just keep growing up! But I'm pretty sure it didn't take me long to transition from full-time career to full-time mom. I'm lucky, and I thank the Lord often for allowing me to stay home.

Tell me about your transition: Was it hard, was it easy? What helped? What didn't? Were you a full time working mom when you transitioned to be a stay at home mom? Or where you new to motherhood when you transitioned? Either way, I'm glad we're in it, growing up together!!

FREE & $1 Summer Movies

Every summer Regal offers Free Family Movies. For more information visit Regal Movies.

Selected G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. First-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. The Free Family Film Festival is safe, lots of fun and a great way for kids to spend a weekday morning in the summer.
Tickets for our 2009 Free Family Film Festival are exclusively available at select theatres’ box office on the day of the show.

Here's the schedule for the La Verne Stadium 12
950 East Foothill Boulevard La Verne ,CA 91750-3557 /909-392-4894

06/16/2009-06/17/2009 Space Chimps (G) Igor (PG)
06/23/2009-06/24/2009 The Tale Of Despereaux (G) Nim's Island (PG)
06/30/2009-07/01/2009 Horton Hears A Who (G) Spiderwick Chronicles (PG)
07/07/2009-07/08/2009 Kit Kittredge: American Girl (G) Hotel For Dogs (PG)
07/14/2009-07/15/2009 Charlotte's Web (G) Kung Fu Panda (PG)
07/21/2009-07/22/2009 Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Veggie Tale Movie (G) Inkheart (PG)
07/28/2009-07/29/2009 Everyone's Hero (G) Madagascar 2: Escape To Africa (PG)
08/04/2009-08/05/2009 Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G) Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)
08/11/2009-08/12/2009 Doogal (G) Surf's Up (PG)
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AMC Theatres also offers $1 Movies:
These you must purchase a ticket for in advance!
For more information visit AMC Theatres.
AMC Covina 30
1414 North Azusa Ave. , Arrow Hwy. and Azusa Blvd.
Covina, CA 91722
Guest Services: 626-974-8628

All admission and concessions proceeds* from AMC Summer MovieCamp will benefit Variety – The Children's Charity and the Will Rogers Institute. Families, schools and organizations alike are invited to see great kids' movies during AMC Summer MovieCamp.

Available at select AMC theatres, this fun-filled program brings you:
$1 movies from June 17 – August 5
Shows starting at 10:00 a.m. every Wednesday
Great field trip opportunities – groups can purchase tickets one week in advance starting June 10 at the box office or online at participating theatres .

Movie Schedule
June 17: Space Chimps
June 24: Kung Fu Panda
July 1: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
July 8: Tale of Despereaux
July 15: Horton Hears a Who
July 22: The Spiderwick Chronicles
July 29: Nim's Island
August 5: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Sibling Rivalry

My morning has been full of 'stop hitting your sitter', 'you two need to seperate', 'Emma stop...', 'Audrey stop...', 'No', 'Stop', 'That's NOT okay', interspersed with yelling, tears, giggling and laughing - this mommy is going nuts and its only Monday morning!!

Have you ever had one of those moments, when you come across something at just the right time without even looking and you just have to sit back and say, "Okay, Thank you Lord, I see the billboard!"

This morning I saw the billboard. It had neon lights and arrows pointing to it. This morning I came across this blog Like A Warm Cup of Coffee and an excellent entry Ten Tips for Dealing with Sibling Rivalry chalked full of great wisdom.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's dealing with sibling rivalry, if you aren't yet, I'll give you a couple weeks, now that school is out and they're spending more time together. Either way, this is a great read, so grab a cup of tea or some lemonade and give yourself 5 Mommy Minutes!

LA Zoo 20% Off Membership Coupon

The Clipper Magazine that comes in the mail has a coupon for 20% off LA Zoo membership for new members. Anyone want my code? You can use it online or over the phone.

Free Summer Activities

Okay, as my summer callendar fills up with vacation and swim lessons and pint-sized adventures and the like, I thought you all might like to know some of the things I've come across in planning our summer callendar.

Glendora Library: has several different year round Story Times, Family Crafts and the like. This year they will also be having some free afternoon activities, which I will list here. For a full list of summer activities and details for the events below check this link .

WILDLIFE COMPANY ANIMAL SHOW - Tuesday, June 23 at 1:30 & 3:30 p.m.
MAGICWAYNE - Wednesday, June 24 at 7:00 p.m.
SWAZZLE PUPPETS - Tuesday, June 30 at 1:30 & 3:30 p.m.
THE CAT IN THE HAT MOVIE - Tuesday, July 7 at 1:30 & 3:30 p.m.
MUSIC, MUSIC EVERYWHERE - Tuesday, July 14 at 1:30 & 3:30 p.m.
CURIOUS GEORGE MOVIE - Tuesday July 21 at 1:30 & 3:30 p.m.

Family Craft of Musical Instruments & Activities
Thursdays, June 25, July 2, 9, 16 & 23 at 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Blue Chair Bookstore - has Story Time, Music Time, Family Nights and a new bouldering wall coming soon. Blue Chair also hosts theme parties on Saturdays - these events are free!

Flag Retirement Ceremony: The 24th annual flag retirement ceremony, conducted by Boy Scout Troop 482 and the Serrano Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 13, 2009, at the United Methodist Church, 201 E. Bennett Ave.

Family Movies in the Park: Movies start at dusk in Finkbiner Park. Bring a blanket and some chairs and some movie treats and take in a flick outdoors with the whole family! FREE.
July 1 Madagascar (PG)
July 8 Kung-Fu Panda (PG)
July 15 Wall-E (G)
July 22 Tale of Despereaux (PG)
July 29 Hotel for Dogs (PG)

Concerts in the Park: Concerts start at 6pm in Finkbiner Park at the bandstand. Bring blankets and chairs and maybe your dinner. I gaurantee there will be dancing for all ages. FREE.
July 12 The Answer (Classic Rock)
July 19 Stone Soul (Soul & Motown)
July 26 Disco Diva (’70s Dance Music)
August 2 Elvis
August 9 The Wiseguys (Big Band)
August 16 All American Wranglers (Country)
August 23 Cold Duck (Classic Party Favorites)

San Dimas Farmers Market: From 6-9 on Wednesdays, check the link for the concert schedule. San Dimas also has concerts at city hall and other events this summer too! You can check those out here.

Citrus College Pool Open Swim: Daily, 2pm to 4:45pm, Fee: $1

This post has already gotten to long, so I'll be stopping here. What events are you looking forward to this summer?

Happy Father's Month?

Father's Day, its coming...and every year I forget or wait until the last minute to plan something. So this year, with the start of this month, I'm doing something. Want in?

This year for Father's Day I'm committing to pray for my husband for 31 days. We talked about such things before, especially in relation to our children. But as I thought about what to do to show my appreciation it dawned on me that I could be doing something that would make him a better father, deepen our marriage and build good habits (and cross something off my 101 things in 1001 days list) over the entire month.

I'm going to be using this list which is the printable version from reviveourhearts dot com.

So, do you want in? Are you up to the challenge? Post a note if you're making the commitment!

New Gum'mer

I'd like to introduce you to Benjamin Michael Rubio born today at 2:46pm. He weighed in at 7lbs 12oz and 20inches. Please continue to pray for mama's recovery and for this new family of 4!

Happy Mother's Day!

To each of you mother's. To my friends, and confidants, to my encouragers, inspirers, role models, commiserators and co-horts. THANK YOU. On this mother's day I want to thank you for being there, encouraging, sharing, loving, teaching, guiding, playing, talking, laughing, loving, crying, dancing, singing and crafting with me. You make each day brighter, easier, and more fun. I couldn't do it without you! Happy Mother's Day!