Almost that time of year again..

Its hard to believe that summer is almost over already! I myself am looking forward to it though! I love fall, but with Fall and Winter comes the dreaded Flu/RSV and other yucky illnesses season. These illnesses can be particularly dangerous for some children and even some adults. We always try to encourage moms to keep their kids home if you or the child has been sick because there are tons of stomach bugs, colds and other viruses going around all year long.  Its this time of year however, that we REALLY stress to all the mothers to keep your children home from playgroups etc if they have been sick within the last 48 hours OR if you or anyone in your house has been sick within 48 hours because you could still have a virus and spread it without having any symptoms. 

The typical Flu season runs fall to spring It will start as Early as October, Peaks in January or February and lasts as late as may. 

Signs of the flu include the following:

Fever

Headache

Chills 

Cough 

Sore Throat

Fatigue 

Vomiting & or Diarrhea (more common in children) 

Flu is most often spread by germs in the air when a person coughs or sneezes but can also be contracted through infected surfaces and objects. Its important to wash your hands and use sanitizers!

RSV season runs alongside with Flu season and is October to April in Colorado. 

Please visit http://www.cdc.gov/rsv/about/symptoms.html for more information on RSV and the effects it can have on infants and children. 

Your cooperation helps stop the spread of Flu, Stomach flu, Rsv etc.  

 

Spring/Summer Weather!

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring! I am so excited that the weather is finally warming up, this means outdoor playgroups! This also means were at the end of the wintery virus season! 

As the weather gets warmer we start to sweat more & the more active we are we sweat even more! 

Kids can dehydrate very easily so its very important to make sure that when attending outdoor events that enough water is brought to keep our little ones properly hydrated! :) 

Also, its very important to protect yours and your childs skin from the hot sun! Here are some tips to help keep your skin safe! 

Whatcha Think?

Hey Everyone! 

How are ya liking the new designs? Theres some changes here and i wanted to let you all in. I have created a pinterest board for the group. There is also a recipes & crafts page (coming soon) The links are up in the banner as well as linked below it. 

Sorry I didnt set up playgroups this week it completely slipped my mind. Weve been sick in my house and ive pretty much just sat here on the couch like a zombie. I will set them up for next week, promise! 

For people new to this page who are not in the CSM group, there is a link at the top for you to join the group if you would like to. Were a lot of fun! Have a goodnight everyone

St Pattys Day Potluck!

A huge thanks to Laura Lee Libert for hosting the potluck today!! If it wasnt for her this potluck would have been cancelled due to the weather.
Here are some pictures, everyone had a blast!

Thanks to Laura Lee Libert , Tomarra Carey & Melle Jackson for these wonderful photos.

Looking forward to the Easter Potluck & Egg Hunt for the kids!! 

Easter Potluck & Egg Hunt Help

We are one month away from the easter potluck and egg hunt! I still havent received any feedback from you all in regards to helping out with the plastic eggs and goodies for the inside of them. In order for each child to be able to participate in the egg hunt i will need your help!! I have a pay pal account for those of you who would like to make a donation OR you could pick up some plastic eggs and/or goodies to go inside! I will be getting some as well. I usually dont ask for the groups help with these events because its usually just the potluck but i thought it would be so fun to have the egg hunt as well! 

Contact me for more information, Thanks

Brittany

Playgroups & Stuff

Today we had our first playgroup at the Mountain Grounds Coffee House and loved it!! Its so comfy, great coffee and its so so kid friendly! The owners are very nice , we will totally be going back...every week!! 

The plan is to have 3-4 playgroups for people. One during the week at The coffee house One during the week at Giggling Grounds Play Cafe and at least one on the weekend at the coffee house. 

Starting in April , Giggling grounds will be charging $5 for the first kid and then $3 for each sibling. We've worked out a group rate, If we show up with 4 or more moms, it will be $4 for the first kid and then $2 for each sibling. It will still be free through the end of March though.

Make sure to "Like" their pages on Facebook!

Giggling Grounds

Mountain Grounds Coffee House

Also....

The St Pattys Day potluck is most likely going to be held at Memorial Park, More details to come soon.

Still looking for plastic eggs and goodies or small donations to help cover the cost of the eggs and candy for the kids egg hunt at the Easter Potluck & Egg Hunt. Contact me for more information.

If your new to the group please introduce yourself! We like to get to know all of our members :)

Brittany 

Giggling Grounds Play Cafe

I am sure many of you remember Giggling Grounds. When it was first opened it was a baby and children's consignment store. It was also a location where weekly playgroups took place once weekly as well as other activities. Colorado springs moms group had many gatherings at this little store and we loved it! 

This year the owners decided that they wanted to transform the store into a play cafe. A place where moms ( and dads) could bring their kids to play while they socialize with other parents and enjoy a nice cup of coffee! As a mom who runs a local moms group, i have to say this is brilliant! There aren't many places like this in the area that is directed at children in the way that giggling grounds is! Along with open play times, they also offer weekly enrichment classes.This is a great addition to our community and I am grateful for such a wonderful place. 

 For more information please "like" Giggling Grounds on Facebook , Visit their website or you can contact them at gigglinggrounds@gmail.com

Events & Reminders

Invites

I just updated the events and "invited" all the new members to everything we have planned. Please remember to always check your events section on facebook to make sure you see what we have! It also helps very much if you could select, going, not going or maybe. This is how we plan how much of things we need , like t potlucks.

Easter Potluck & Egg Hunt

We need your help! In order to make this easter egg hunt happen along with the potluck, we need eggs for the kids to find! Those plastic ones , and goodies to put inside!! If you do not have the time to shop for these or put them together, small donations would be amazing! If you are unable to help out with this , please do not feel like you and your family cannot attend, this is not the case at all! For more information please contact me!

Your Ideas

Please feel free to let us know if you have ideas for the group or if you would like to host something and we will set it up and invite the group for you! We love it when our members are active. 

Thanks everyone, Brittany

Sales & The rules of the group

We understand that there are many mom's out there that are using their best attempts to remain stay at home moms and still be able to help out financially! I would say that probably half of us do. 

When i created the CSM group a year ago one of my main things was , hey , look a group without a thousand sales people and spammers. That was the first rule that i set, i wanted this group to be different than all the others ones that i had attempted to join that were full of home business ads and every possible make up, candle and weight loss product available today. No sales, advertising, or spamming of any of these things. From personal experiences , it has caused me to leave previous groups because honestly i got tired of seeing it. Every comment that was made, someone had to come back with some sort of direct or indirect sales pitch. Or there are the people who are constantly setting up "moms pampering parties" and inviting the whole group into a secret sales pitch. We dont mean to come off rude or disrespectful. We have tried several times to enforce these rules and it seems that people either one, completely break these rules without caring or two, attempt to sell things in a indirect manner. 

If you want to advertise these things on your personal page please do. You can add each person in the group individually to your friends list if you wish, but please do not use the CSM group to advertise and sell things. Again, we mean no disrespect. It clogs up the group news feed, irritates other members etc. From now on, anyone violating these rules will be removed from the group without notice. Thank you for your understanding and your cooperation on this matter! Have a wonderful day.

Brittany

Recipe - Chicken & Biscuits

I love recipes like this! Its almost like a pot pie. 

What you will need :

1 lbs chicken breast

1 bag of frozen mixed veggies

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth or chicken stock (i used chicken stock)

2/3 cup milk

Salt & Pepper

1 can pilsbury biscuits (i used southern style)

Cook chicken breasts 

Shred or chop the chicken up, set aside 

Melt butter in pan

Whisk in flour until mixed well 

Whisk in chicken stock until mixed well

Bring to a boil 

Whisk in milk 

Bring to a boil 

Add frozen veggies and chicken

If the sauce seems to thick you can add a little more chicken stock etc. 

Add salt and pepper to your liking. 

Cook for another 30-45 minutes

Cook biscuits as directed on package

Pour mix over biscuit and enjoy! 

Brittany

End of Flu Season!?

End of flu season, Beginning of Mom & Kids Season. I think we all pretty much go into hibernation when cold/flu/rsv/miserable season begins. I know we have! All winter long i have sat and waited for the flu to die down and for the weather to start warming up and i think we are finally here! Im looking forward to being able to get out of the house again. I know Jace sure does need the interaction with other kids. 

That being said, we have a few options in terms of weekly playgroups. 

We could keep it at the same location as last year, 225 coffee shop (some of you have said you feel that this is too crowded and noisy)

We could find a new location ( i would need all of your help on this one) 

We could change it up every week. 

Your input into this truly does matter and helps us make the best choices for this group! So please send us your feedback , you can either comment on this post, send an email to bbchristman1985@yahoo.com or you can send me or one of the other admins a message on facebook. I look forward to hearing from you

Brittany

Moms Night Out

Saturday night some of us went and had a great time at the Cracker Barrel for moms night out! Thanks to everyone who came, i myself had a blast!  I would have loved to see more of you there. Moms night is a must for any mother in my opinion. Its time just for YOU. No worrying about what the kids are getting into, no having to hide in the closet to scarf down your food ( haha). Its a great stress relief , well to me at least. Even if it is just a few hours, it is very much needed for your sanity. 

I would like to do more moms nights, i would also like to get more of you involved. SO, what would it take? What kind of moms night would you be most interested in attending? Let me know in the comments either here, by email to bbchristman1985@gmail.com or via facebook. If you have any other ideas that you would like to share with me and the other admins that would be great too! We would love to see all of you active at our upcoming events this spring and summer! Hope your all having a wonderful day today, its gorgeous outside, but probably not for long. After all, this is COLORADO. 

Brittany

Upcoming Events

List of upcoming Family events for 2014. I didnt mean to add moms night out on this list lol obviously that is not a family event. If you have any other suggestions please let me know! In addition to these we will also be having our weekly playgroup and the occasional mom and kid brunch playgroup. If you are interested in hosting anything please let me know!! 

Also on another note, this blog will be used to post pictures of events and such, if you do not want you or your childs pictures on here please let me know :) 

Brittany

Welcome to the Colorado Springs Moms Group Blog!

I created this page to hopefully be able to keep everyone posted on upcoming events, ideas , to share pictures, recipes and whatever else with you guys! I have big plans for this page so make sure you subscribe for the updates. 

Brittany