The Mom Squad

Tis the season of the cold and flu *cough* *sniff*

This year the sick bugs seem to be rampant! Maybe it’s just us, but having a Kindergartener, we all seem to catch whatever there is to catch…often.

There are so many methods of treating said germs. We usually stick to the basic rest and plenty of fluids and hot drinks/soups method. Along with the tried and true “cover your mouth if you sneeze or cough!” method.

Whenever there is a virus or cold in the house, my job seems to be to make the food and clean sanitize the entire area. Constantly.

What has worked for us (as far as containing the germs to just one person, or two) is a type of quarantine for the sicky. That person rests in their own bed and everything they come in contact with gets washed down.

A family of four can easily get stuck in the house for a month if a person a week gets sick. UGH.

Desperate times, people.

What do you do for colds and flus? What works for your family?

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~Michelle is a mom of 2 who loves to sew, create, thrift~ and to be a Mom. You can read more about Michelle at her blog Falafel and The Bee (formally Noggin’ Toppers), where she has been blogging and creating since 2008.

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It’s that time of year, isn’t it? I can feel the stress and panic start to creep up behind me like an old, loose pair of underwear. Holidays are coming fast.

Yes, it’s a time to enjoy family and friends and large alcoholic beverages, but somehow for me it turns into striving for the Perfect and completely unobtainable Holiday Experience.

Which is why I am so grateful for the time out I have been putting myself on by going to a moms’ group I love, Mom’s Morning Retreat.

Mothering is, ironically, such an isolating experience. Do you have a supportive group of moms? Maybe you know some moms, but guess what? They are busy moms. Is there any other kind? And your mom friendship consists mainly of comparing notes on best baby foods, best playgrounds, best schools, best healthy lunches or best torture device that leaves no marks.

I have loved having a place to go twice a month where I can talk about real issues about being not just a mom, but being a whole person. Bev Gaines leads the group discussions and gives us all delicious food for thought.

This week we had a service activity of making fleece blankets for foster kids.

Fuzzy fun!

Whether we get deep or just have a laugh, we all leave feeling a little less frazzled and hopefully a little more ourselves.

Which can only help everyone around us, before, during and after the holidays, right?

Mom’s Morning Retreat meets 1st and 3rd Thursdays, Sept.-June, on Bainbridge Island and is open to moms of children of all ages. Coffee, snacks and even child care are provided during meetings.

Wendy is a mom, writer, reader, runner and singer of off-key tunes. You can find more of her writings and photos and ramblings at Let the Dog In! and join her on Facebook and Twitter.

This past Sunday, September 25, was the Annual Harvest Fair over at Johnson Farm on Bainbridge Island. Every year the Friends of the Farms work hard to organize this fabulous family friendly event.

Each year, my husband is honored to be one of the Pie Judges, and the girls and I come along to enjoy the fair!

This time, when we awakened on Sunday morning to see the rain teaming down, we were a little disappointed. We all bundled up in rain gear and trudged out to the grounds. When we got there, the rain stopped and we saw this:

It turned out to be one of the nicest Fall days complete with sun and a rainbow.

There were, also, animals…

And Produce. Both grown…

Beautiful Strawberries grown by Sol Farm.

…and made!

And then there were the pies. Oh the pies!

And those who judge the pies.

Add some spectacular music and the whole experience was complete!

Cat Loves Crow was one of the many bands that played and created a lively fair atmosphere.

So if you haven’t ever had the chance to attend this wonderful community event, I highly recommend marking your calendars for next year!

In the meantime, you can check out more photos of this day over at Falafel and the Bee.

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~Michelle is a mom of 2 who loves to sew, create, thrift~ and to be a Mom. You can read more about Michelle at her blog Falafel and The Bee (formally Noggin’ Toppers), where she has been blogging and creating since 2008.

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Keep up with news posts by subscribing to our RSS feed (it’s free!). And don’t forget to join our Facebook fan page! It’s where all the cool kids are hanging out… It’s true.

This Summer, my family has discovered an extraordinary activity where you drive for miles with all your stuff and then sleep under the stars!  I know camping isn’t a new idea, but it is to us. I know you all must be shocked being that we live in the camping capital of the world (or maybe it just seems like that).

I have no excuse really. Other than I just never did it. My husband and i grew up in Urban NJ very close to NY and camping wasnt a priority in either of our families.

That has all changed! We are hooked. Our girls too.

What a fantastic experience for us all.

We camped at Sol Duc Falls in the Olympic Mountains and it was beautiful! *sigh* If you have never been, it is so worth it!

We were all squished in our 2 person tent, but had a blast eating outside and hiking and even just listening to the quiet.

I know we will do so much more of this before the Summer is over!

You can see more images and read a bit more about it here.

What new things will you try this Summer?

Do you have any favorite places to camp in WA?

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~Michelle is a mom of 2 who loves to sew, create, thrift~ and to be a Mom. You can read more about Michelle at her blog Falafel and The Bee (formally Noggin’ Toppers), where she has been blogging and creating since 2008.

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Keep up with news posts by subscribing to our RSS feed (it’s free!). And don’t forget to join our Facebook fan page! It’s where all the cool kids are hanging out… It’s true.

Looking for a few things to do with the family this hopefully sunny and warm weekend? Well, guess what?! There are some!

Saturday, June 4th

Did you know it’s National Trails Day? Well, now we both do! And the City of Poulsbo has Walking Ambassadors on tap to walk you around nine different routes. No pre-registration required! Read more at their site.

Also, Saturday, get your filthy (well, mine IS) car washed and help out the Bainbridge Island School District. Bainbridge Schools Foundation is hosting a car wash from 9am-3pm at the island’s Chevron station. Do good and look good for it!

Sunday, June 5th

Kitsap Mini Maker Faire is happening Sunday and will have all kinds of items made by knitters, welders, inventors, craftsmen, artists, you name it. Plus, a food booth, so who can beat that?! All the stuff I am totally unable to do and totally impressed by those who can!

Once you’ve checked out the Kitsap Maker Faire, save some energy (and $) to come to Bainbridge Schools Foundation Family Fun Fair from 1-5pm. They’ll have a dunk tank, cake walk, crafts for sale, putt putt golf and more, at Bainbridge’s high school.

So, there, you have no excuse not to have fun this weekend and tear yourself away from your yard for a few hours! Enjoy!!

If you’d like to see my post about dyeing eggs naturally, hop on over to my Blog Falafel and the Bee!

Have an eggceptional Hoppy Easter from The Mom Squad!

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~Michelle is a mom of 2 who loves to sew, create, thrift~ and to be a Mom. You can read more about Michelle at her blog Falafel and The Bee (formally Noggin’ Toppers), where she has been blogging and creating since 2008.

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Keep up with news posts by subscribing to our RSS feed (it’s free!). And don’t forget to join our Facebook fan page! It’s where all the cool kids are hanging out… It’s true.

We have a lot of runners around here! And a lot of events to choose from, but few are family-focused!

On May 7th, don’t miss out on the See Kids Run 5k and Pancake Breakfast All proceeds from the SEE KIDS RUN 5k & Pancake Breakfast benefit the Suquamish Environment Education Boosters. to help fund important educational programs for their students.

Let me spell this out:

1. Fun family exercise time
2. Pancakes
3. Helping education

Sounds like a win to me!

You can register online here. If you register by April 17th, you receive a free t-shirt!
- Jenny is a scattered mom of 3 who loves to dance, spray glitter, and dreams of being famous… You can read more about Jenny at her blog Jenny On The Spot, where she has been telling tales of maternal defeat and digression since 2004. You can also find her on Twitter.

It may be 46 degrees and cloudy, but guess what? Farmers don’t care! Guess what started up again today—-

I checked out Bainbridge Island’s own market, running every Saturday morning now through summer (oh, summer, where are you?!). For the next few weeks, you may want to first shop for fleece at the market!

They even have wool felted soaps in every color–even soap may get cold!

Amazingly enough, there were loads of fresh greens,

and shallots

and even goose eggs (which I am here to tell you, are not a big zero, they are HUGE).

First day of market, everyone comes out, even a 2-day old baby.

Precious, right?

She was born on the island at the wonderful (and extremely hardworking) Port Madison Goat Farm where they make DElicious cheeses (I’m pretty sure they put that ice there; it didn’t just form on its own).
So bring the whole family to come check out the action at the Farmers Market.
You can’t help but feel the love.

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You can read more from Wendy at her blog, Let the dog in!, you can “like” her at facebook.com/letthedogin, and you can also tweet to her at twitter.com/letthedogin and to her dog at twitter.com/beccadog, who is an amazing speller. They’d love to hear from you!

Today I went with a friend to the History and Heritage 2011 Kitsap Antique Show.

It was held at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds in Bremerton by The Kitsap county Historical Society and the Puget Sound Genealogical Society.

We had a blast! Or maybe I should say a blast from the past!

We strolled around and looked at all the different collections, from long ago and not-so-long ago (at least in my mind).

Is it dating myself if I admit to having had one of these when I grew up? I think it might have been pink.

We each brought an item to be appraised.

If you like to see a picture of my script from a Hard Day’s Night head on over to my blog.

We had an educational day filled with stories and tips for storing antiques. Overall it was great to talk with the vendors and stroll down memory lane ~even if it wasn’t mine.

What have you done today?

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~Michelle is a mom of 2 who loves to sew, create, thrift~ and to be a Mom. You can read more about Michelle at her blog Falafel and The Bee (formally Noggin’ Toppers), where she has been blogging and creating since 2008.

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Keep up with news posts by subscribing to our RSS feed (it’s free!). And don’t forget to join our Facebook fan page! It’s where all the cool kids are hanging out… It’s true.

Did you know that Kitsap Childrens Musical Theatre (KCMT) has been providing local youth with a positive, professional environment to learn about and perform in musical theater for more than 10 years?

The mission of the non-profit, all-volunteer organization is to be available to all young people who want to participate, regardless of background or financial standing. The theater group produces three shows a year in addition to running a very popular summer camp.

But KCMT takes it further… As a parent of children involved in KCMT, I have seen something especially wonderful about this “all-volunteer” program. Many of these volunteers are teens. They comprise the invaluable “teen staff” component of KCMT. These teens are taught and mentored not only in theater-involved responsibilities, but in skills that will benefit them as adults.

[photo credit: Scott Sorensen]

Teen staffers are given the privilege of responsibility, and of ownership in key parts of each KCMT production. There are times I have had questions about a show. My questions will often be directed to the teen in charge. It’s their job.

Sara Adams, the director of the upcoming production of 101 Dalmatians said these teen staff members put in as many hours as she – often up to 1,000 hours of volunteer time per production!

1,000 hours.

In return for their time, they get experience and Sara Adams fills out many-a-recommendation letter. The teens are regarded as a vital piece of the creative machine that is KCMT.

An example of this mentorship is the 101 Dalmatians teen staff photographer, Lauren Wolbaum. Scott Sorenson, the main KCMT photographer for many years has been been mentoring Lauren as she develops her skill as a photographer. She IS the 101 Dalmatians cast photographer. This is Lauren in action…

You can see Lauren’s 101 Dalmatians photography here, and below:

It would be easy to farm out the many responsibilities to parents. However, the leaders of KCMT value and recognize the skills and potential of our local young people… the potential our teens have, and the potential this opportunity grows in the future of these talented young people. Teens who had started as chorus actors are now choreographing numbers for current shows, checking in and tracking the 100 children as they walk through rehearsal doors 3 days a week, writing original scripts for the very popular summer camp, and play a huge role in running the backstage… the list is long.

All of this – right here in our own backyard! There are so many positive and good things are being planted and nurtured in our children and teens through KCMT.

We began our journey with the group because my daughter saw Willy Wonka… years later we are deeply rooted. It is exciting and encouraging as a parent – to watch teens positively impact my children, and to know there is a positive place right where we live where my children can learn and grow.

Tickets are available for 101 Dalmations! Show opens the weekend of April 8th and runs through the following weekend. Visit KCMT.org for information on how to buy tickets or how to get involved!

- Jenny is a scattered mom of 3 who loves to dance, spray glitter, and dreams of being famous… You can read more about Jenny at her blog Jenny On The Spot, where she has been telling tales of maternal defeat and digression since 2004. You can also find her on Twitter.