We have had 19 new members join since our new year started in July. That’s huge!! I’m so pleased that we have been able to welcome so many new members into our group, and I hope they are enjoying the benefits our membership has to offer.

Because our new membership numbers are increasing, we also need to increase the number of volunteers we have in our welcome committee! Welcoming a new member takes just a little bit of your time but makes a big impact. If you can help us out by joining the welcome committee, we would really appreciate it! Please email Deb Hossenlopp at [email protected] to volunteer.

Thanks!

Our Halloween party just got more fun! Fiona’s Childrenswear has signed up to be one of our sponsors and will be creating an activity for our kids during the event! We will have a little “Neverland” set up complete with a backdrop, fairy wings, pirate hats, alligator hats and other costumes for the kids to dress in.  They can then act out a story and give mom and dad a chance to snap some fun shots!

She will also be bringing along a couple of her creations for the moms to purchase. The costumes range between $20-30/set. You can also go visit her store at  6534 Gateway Avenue  Sarasota, FL 34231 where she has additional costumes. They also carry many fabulous clothing lines like Zutano, Persnickety, and Mud Pie. See hours and more online at: http://www.fionasfairys.com/

It’s been nearly two years since the Pediatric Unit was opened at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, but when we discussed its existence at a recent monthly meeting, many of us couldn’t tell you anything about it. That could simply be because we have been lucky enough that none of our children have required hospital care. However, realizing that we couldn’t share any information about what services are offered there it became clear that we need to know! What if we do need to take our children to a hospital? What can they do at the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, the nearest hospital to many of our members?

One of our newest members, Dr. Victoria Riley, MD, happens to also be the Pediatric Unit Medical Director. She will meet us for an overview of what the Pediatric Unit is as well as invite us to tour the facilities and answer any questions we may have. We hope you can join us for this visit. Children are more than welcome to attend, just be aware that they’ll need to be closely supervised while on the tour.

When: Monday, September 22nd from 10:30AM-11:30AM

Where: Lakewood Ranch Medical Center – Conference Room #1
8330 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. | Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202

To RSVP, please visit the facebook event at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1457043421236425/

The YMCA’s Back to School Splash bash was HUGE this year. Tons of families were there enjoying the festivities and there were many activities for the kids to do. Of course, in our mind, the best table to be at was ours! We had a backpack decorating station where the kids were able to color all over little canvas backpacks and then decorate them with letters, shapes and gems. We managed to talk to a lot of moms and share information about our group while we were there. Thanks so much to the ten moms who volunteered to help out by manning the booth and helping with clean up. We really appreciate your efforts on such a hot summer day!

If you have any great pictures send them in! The newsletter and website would love them!

September’s monthly meeting will be a little different this month.

Rather than our standard dinner forum, we are inviting the kids this time! We will have Sheriff Deputy Younger come out to speak to the kids about safety. They can enjoy pizza and drinks while here with us. Instead of a forum where we will be discussing a lot of stuff, we will just have some of the moms give you a brief update on what they’ve been working on after the Deputy Younger finishes up. We really hope to see you there!

When: Wednesday, September 24 at 6:00pm – 7:30pm

Where:  Lakewood Ranch Medical Center
8330 Lakewood Ranch Blvd, Bradenton, Florida 34202
Conference Room #1

Get Updates:  https://www.facebook.com/events/293867754129373/

Wine Styles Signup! – Membership Meet and Greet

Back to school is in full swing, so it’s time to Kick Off the new year!

September 4th – 7pm Wine Styles for Drinks and hors d’oeuvres. Cost is $12 per person and space is limited so at this time it is only open to members.

The Lakewood Ranch Medical Center is going to conduct a doctor meet and greet for our members in September. It will likely consist of a 15 minute Pediatrician talk/interactive presentation followed by a tour of the pediatric unit. Once finished with this, we will have a social hour with refreshments, lunch, dinner or just heavy hors d’oeuvres, depending on the time of day we decided to have this event. Children are welcome to be a part of this event, but must be closely supervised when touring the facilities.

I would also appreciate it if you could fill out the one question survey to let us know what time frames work best for you. We’d like to make sure we select the best time to get as many of you able to attend the event as we can!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QL7RMLJ

Hello everyone!

We had a great meeting yesterday, so I wanted to recap it for those of you were not able to attend.

FELT was represented last night with two of their volunteers to help explain what it is they do and how we are able to help. It sounds like our fundraising efforts will go to a great local charity and will really make an impact on the health and well-being of local children. They are having a golf tournament in October, and it would be great if we could sponsor a hole. The consensus at the meeting was that this was something we should be able to pull off. We would just need to raise $150.00 in order to do this. The event sounds like it will be enjoyable for children too. They mentioned there will be a golf ball drop from a hot air balloon and a rubber ducky race. Julie Ruffing will be working on figuring out a way for us to begin collecting money for the sponsorship for this event. In the meantime you can use this button to donate now!

Lisa Kirkland from the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center stopped in to discuss our Doctor Meet and Greet event next month. After having a conversation with us, it became clear that a lot of us are unaware of what the pediatric facilities are like at the hospital. A tour of the relatively new pediatric unit and visits with the pediatric doctors that work with the LWRMC will be the focus of our night. Keep an eye out for a survey to help us select a date for this event!

Jenn Otterness has been busily working on building our new website and it was revealed last night! It is absolutely amazing and Jenn deserves tons of praise for her efforts of bringing us up to date technology-wise. Take a look around at our site, www.lwrmomsgroup.com and register as a member, so you’ll be able to access the members only side. Our PayPal account is up and running, and we’ll begin taking payments for our events this way. No more stamps, no more need to drop off envelopes at people’s homes! She isn’t done with the project. Soon you’ll see our email newsfeeds and other great features begin to appear. The calendar is up and running! Here are new instructions on Syncing Your Calendar to your phone!

We also brought up the idea of a charity/benefit concert, and it seems like we are likely going to move forward with this event. We have been in talks with a Grammy winning children’s band, The Okee Dokee Brothers, who are able to come and perform in town for us on January 18^th. I know it is a holiday weekend, but I think this will be a great family friendly event where we will be able to raise some funds to donate to FELT. The concert will include a chance for the kids to meet the artists as well as at least one song where some children will be invited up on stage to play instruments with the band. Check them out at http://www.okeedokee.org/ to see what they are all about. I’m sure you’ll become a fan!

Next month, we are hoping that our monthly meeting will include a safety talk for our children from the Sheriff’s department. This meeting will, of course, be kid friendly. We look forward to seeing you then!

The new website is underway.  The calendar has been updated to make it even easier sync with your personal phones and family calendars.

Syncing Your Calendar