Alpharetta, GA

Our Chapter

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Our Chapter will officially fold as of February 26, 2003. We are sorry to inform you of this and absolutely regret having to do so but we did not have the membership or interest to keep it going. Mothers and More is a wonderful thing and hope you will contact another chapter for additional information. Meetings| Mom and Tot Activities| Mom's Only Activities| Book Club| Playgroups| Community Outreach| Seasoned Moms| Support Systems

Our meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month (7:00-9:00 p.m.), without kids. In the past few years, we met at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on Haynes Bridge Road in Alpharetta. Beginning on March 1, 2001, we will meet at two NEW locations: -- The first Tuesday of each month meetings will be held at the Saddlebrook Kroger (community meeting room) on State Bridge Road, Alpharetta. -- The third Tuesday of each month meetings will be held at the Crabapple Kroger(community meeting room) on Crabapple Road, Roswell.

We have two typical formats, an informal discussion among members on a chosen topic, or inviting a guest speaker to talk about parenting issues and answer questions. Certain topics are repeated every year or two. Topics we discussed in the past two years include:

• Who am I? - Transitioning from workplace to home
• Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
• Mothers and guilt - making time for yourself
• Raising sons, raising daughters - the difference
• Discpline Problems
• Discussion based on the book "How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk" by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
• What to expect when expecting the 2nd, 3rd or 4th child
• The best vacations for kids
• Helping our husbands understand our roles
• Your ups and downs with in-laws and how you cope
• How to tame the TV in your household and TV-free activities

Issues addressed by guest speakers include:

• Play with a purpose
• Breast Health Educatoin
• Question the Pediatrician: the latest in pediatric medicine
• Private, Public, Montessorri or Homeschooling for your children
• Financial Planning
• Teaching children about strangers
• Anger and stress management and the importance of modeling good behaviors for your children
• The importance of good dental hygiene and what to expect from a dentist
• Music and your children
• Affluenza - raising kids in an affluent society

Be sure to check out our forthcoming topics. (table of contents)

Mom and Tot Activities

We plan field trips, parties, and other gatherings for moms with toddlers and preschoolers. Examples from the past: a fall family picnic at Roswell Area Park, a trip to visit the pumpkin patch and enjoy a hayride at Berry Patch Farms, halloween party for moms and kids, fall afternoon at webb bridge park, nature walk/ride on Alpharetta Greenway, bowling with kids, Valentine party, Easter egg hunt, a trip to Cagle's Dairy Farm, watching a show at the Center for Puppetry Arts at the group rate, end-of-summer back to school party, etc.. (table of contents)

Mom's Only Activities

Mothers & More^TM is more than just Monday meetings and playgroups. Every month there are interesting activities to let you recharge your batteries!

MOVIE NIGHT -- The second Tuesday of every month. Check out a new movie with the girls and enjoy your own popcorn and raisinets.

MOM'S DINNER NIGHT OUT -- The 4th Tuesday of each month. Dine without having to bring toys or a bib. Members go out together and are "served" in various restaurants around town. (table of contents)

Book Club

Join other bookworms for a discussion on books selected by the group. Our discussions usually take place at the Starbucks on the corner of Mansell and Alpharetta Highway.

Books read and discussed in the past include:

• "Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guphson
• "Tara Road" by Maeve Binchy
• "A Walk to Remember" by Nicholas Sparks
• "The Hunger Moon" by Suzanne Matson
• "Beach Music" by Pat Conroy
• "Other Peoples' Dirt: A Housecleaner's Curious Adventures" by Louise Rafkin
• "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Anne Burns
• "Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquirel
• "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" by Rebecca Wells.(table of contents)

Playgroups are a great opportunity for children to learn social skills and appropriate behavior. Children are placed in similar age groups and meet on a rotating basis at members' homes. We have a playgroup coordinator to help connect the moms. (table of contents)

Community Outreach

The Community Outreach committee is engaged in hands-on, physical, and people-oriented volunteer projects which help people or organizations in need. By reaching out to other mothers, children and families who need our help we make a step towards changing the stereotype of mothers at home, as well as working to make our city a better place.

One of the ongoing activities under this title is the Ivy Hall visits. Once a month, our members and their children visit the elderly residents of The Ivy Hall Assisted Living Facility. We usually meet for an hour and a half and are not sure who gets more out of the visits - our kids or the residents we visit!

We also have a long-term relationship with a family shelter. Members have donated to the shelter articles such as women's bath products, socks, children's art supplies, coloring books, and makeup and jewelry for pre-teen girls. (table of contents)

Seasoned Moms

Seasoned Moms was introduced by our national office several years ago to cover Mothers & More^TM members' expanding roles. This group is for members who have made the transition from work to home and ARE MOVING TO THE NEXT STAGE OF MOTHERHOOD. Subjects for meetings center around issues other than parenting, such as goals and plans for returning to work, or around issues related to the parenting of older children, such as school matters.

Apart from meetings, past activities for seasoned moms have included:

• Stone Mountain Sunday Hike
• Sunday Hike at Amicola Falls
• Art and Soul Cafe - make ceramics
• Bunko - a card game
• A trip to High Museum of Art

In times of personal needs/crisis, illness or when a new baby arrives, our members donate time and resources to each other. We have a care committee to help arrange members to deliver meals to fellow moms who have newborns and to baby sit their older children.(table of contents)