November NMF Holiday Meeting

Pregnant NMF Women!
Idea Swap: (See below for description)

Add-A-Pearl Necklace

Magnetic Picture Holder

1/2 of the Red Envelope Family Tree

T-Shirt Quilt

Framed Mosaic

Jen Our "Creative Crafter!" :)

Everyone working on their homemade holiday gift bags.

Maria, Danielle & Amy

Our box of children's mittens for First Step!

Our November meeting was a huge hit! We had an excellent turnout! Our meeting consisted of good food, wine, crafting, idea sharing, and great conversation!!!

Topics Included:

• Thank you so much to everyone who donated children's mittens to First Step.
• Our group voted on Make A Wish Foundation as our charity of choice for the upcoming year. Our spring walk/run will be announced at a later meeting. Fellow NMF member, Tara, had an excellent idea of a "Make It, Bake It, Fake It" fundraiser at our one year anniversary family bbq in June.
• Fellow NMF member, Andrea, gave an excellent talk on Blood Cord Banking.

From CBR: "We are always excited to share the latest advances in medical treatment using cord blood with you. A large percentage of our clients have told us they chose to bank with CBR, in part because of the advances in Regenerative Medicine - the science of using the body's own cells to repair and replace damaged tissues and organs. In the attached media clip - you can see an example of how cord blood stem cells can potentially repair damaged brain tissue associated with cerebral palsy." Click here to watch the remarkable story of one of our clients

CBR: 1-888-932-9010

Andrea, Danielle & Stephanie have coupons available for anyone interested in getting a discount off of their initial investment.

http://parentsguideblood.org/ is a great resource also.

• Congrats to the new moms-to-be!!!! Christine, Ashley, Kim, & Corey.
• Upcoming Meeting Schedule: Dec.- off, Jan.- 30 Minute Meals, Feb.- Organization
• Welcome Back Amy!!! It was so great to have you back! Thank you for your heartfelt talk and wonderful words of wisdom!!!
  
  ***Idea Swap: Holiday Gift Giving Ideas:

1) Maria- Make a framed mosaic with proof sheets from your digital photo orders, Family ABC's scrapbook, T-shirt quilt

2) Tara-Bracelets with baby-to-be's name made for mom and grandparents during baby shower to say thank you, chocolate carmel apples with pecan nuts as gifts

3) Christina-"My Own Fairy Tale" book with your child's name. Christina, send us the website for this book! :)

4) Amy- Add-A-Pearl necklace. Buy your little one a pearl every year and add to a necklace. By the time they are 16, they have a beautiful pearl necklace. Larsons in Novi sells the necklace.

5) Mel- Big tins of homemade popcorn.

6) Jen- Personalized fortune cookies. Place in oven for a few minutes to get the old fortune out and put a personalized fortune in it.

7) Holly- Framed Scrabble board with words that describe a loved one. Glue the words in place and frame the board. You can order extra letters when you buy the box of Scrabble.

8) Andrea- Personalized stationary http://www.tinyprints.com/, Diapers with baby's name on it http://www.diapergrams.com/.

9) Amanda & Kristy- Magnet strips from IKEA, cover with fabric and add magnets with a ribbon to hang in the kitchen or den.

10) Jodi- Family Fun handout describing the tradition of "Gordy" a traveling Gourd and journal that is passed between family members. Family members write stories about the gourds adventures.

11) Danielle-Personalized homemade family tree http://www.redenvelope.com/

Favorite Recipe of the Night provided by NMF member Christina:

EGGNOG TRIFLE
1-1/4 cups cold fat-free milk
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Reduced Calorie Pudding & Pie Filling
4 Tbsp. orange juice, divided
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg (I used a little more - you can keep adding a little bit to your liking)
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping, thawed
1 pkg. (13.6 oz.) fat-free pound cake
1/4 cup PLANTERS Sliced Almonds, toasted (spread in single layer on baking sheet, bake at 350°for 5-7 min) & 3 cups halved strawberries

POUR cold milk into large bowl. Add pudding mix, 2 Tbsp. of the orange juice and nutmeg. Beat with wire whisk 1 minute. Gently stir in whipped topping. SLICE cake horizontally into 4 layers. Sprinkle cake layers evenly with remaining 2 Tbsp. orange juice. Cut into 1-inch cubes. PLACE 1/2 of the cake cubes in bottom of 2-1/2-quart straight-sided bowl. Spoon 1/2 of the whipped topping mixture over cake cubes. Top with strawberries and almonds, reserving several for garnish, if desired. Layer remaining cake cubes and whipped topping mixture over strawberries. Top with reserved strawberries and almonds. REFRIGERATE until ready to serve. Store leftover dessert in refrigerator.

CONGRATS TO JEN M. FOR RECEIVING THE CREATIVE CRAFTER AWARD!!! :) :)

Thanks again for attending!