Meeting Recap - February 20, 2014

Our February 20th MOPS meeting was a little unique; we had not one but two male guest speakers! But first, some important announcements.

• Our next meeting is on Thursday, March 6th, and it is our annual SPA DAY!  Massages will begin at 9:15 am (that's 15 minutes before our usual meeting time). So get there early if you can. Also, be sure to wear comfortable clothes! There will be a CABI stylist with clothing available to try on, as well as yummy food provided by our Mentoring Moms.
• Please note on your calendars that our second March meeting will be on the 27th due to parent-teacher conferences at ECDC.
• MOPS will be having an adult Dinner Party on Friday, April 11th from 6:30 to 9:00 pm.  There will not be childcare provided for this event, so please line up your babysitters now. The funds we save from childcare will be donated to a memorial fund in honor of Mundy Richards.
• April 24th will feature guest speaker Janet Mancini! Later that evening, our Mom's Night Out will be spent hanging with Janet at Lauren B.'s house. Janet's great advice and hilarious stories make this something you will not want to miss!
• Please remember our Mentoring Moms in prayer; Nancy R. lost her mother and Ruth W. recently lost her mother-in-law.

Our favorite things door prizes were provided by Melissa R. and Cari B. The winners were Karen, Jenny, Gina, and Amy. Congrats ladies!

Ben Ryalls

Our first speaker was Ben Ryalls, son of Nancy Ryalls, one of our Mentoring Moms and Director of Women and Children's Ministries at First Baptist. Ben talked to us about the financial advisory firm he started, saying that one of the main reasons he became a financial adviser was to help families financially be able to have a stay-at-home-parent. Ben handed out some awesome door prizes that were won by Lauren B., Amy S., and Katie S. Many thanks to Ben for sharing with us!

Dr. Chris Scott, a local dermatologist and husband to Corie, was our next guest speaker. Although many mamas were nervous when he broke out a slide show [haunted by visions of Dr. Wolanski's visit last spring], Dr. Scott promised that no one would leave the meeting traumatized.

Dr. Scott spoke in great detail about the effect of the sun on our skin, and touched on other subjects such as brown spots, moles, eczema and allergies.

Dr. Scott, pictured with his family.

Some of Dr. Scott's recommendations included:

- Using a "broad spectrum" sunscreen on your face, neck and hands year round
- Using mild bar soaps such as Dove or Tone, and non-scented lotions such as Eucerin, CeraVe, and Curel, during the winter months to help with excessive skin dryness
- Having a doctor check out any moles that have changed shape, or have irregular borders or shading
- Taking Biotin as a supplement for hair and nail growth - 3-5 mg/day

Some of Dr. Scott's favorite OTC products include:

- Aquaphor healing ointment as a salve
- Free & Clear brand for sensitive skin
- Sarna lotion as an anti-itch
- Almay deodorant as hypoallergenic
- AmLactin foot cream

After the slideshow, Dr. Scott addressed a myriad of questions from the group. If you'd like to learn more about Dr. Scott and his practice, please visit his website here.

We hope to see you at our next meeting, MOPS Spa Day, on March 6!