D.T.
Why don't you come check out our local chapter of Mothers & More? It's a national organization with locally run groups. The Hamiliton County chapter meets right there in Noblesville and actually we have a meeting tonight. The topic is Autism and should be very imformative. There's always time for eating the delicious snacks and socializing, too. It's a moms-only event so you can come and meet some of the other moms before your son meets them. We have playgroups and weekly 'mom & tot' activites like trips to the zoo, library story times, pumpkin farm trips, open gym, park days, craft times, etc. There's also holiday parties and summer family picnics. For the moms, there's scrapbook club, book club, monthly Moms Night Out and 2 monthly meetings with interesting topics (upcoming topics... autism, creating a will, our Open House/Silent Auction fundraiser) and events for Seasoned Moms (preschool age and older... our needs, and kids' needs, are slightly different than those of babies). http://geocities.com/mothersandmore_indy/ is our website.
All moms are welcome to attend 3 of our moms only events before joining (for safety reasons, no kid events unless you join). Our meeting info is on the website, or contact me privately for more info.
Just to add to what another post said... the yearly fee pays for our speakers, holiday parties, summer picnic and 'paper costs' - the flyers, brochures and stuff used for advertising and running the chapter. Only a few dollars of that fee goes to the local chapter. Most of it goes to the national organization that runs many campaigns at a national level for advocacy and community support. There are dozens of email groups for members on a wide variety of topics, along with a wealth of information at the main webpage (mothersandmore.org). All members receive a bi-monthly newsletter packed with important info for moms and we also get a chance to have our voices heard by policy makers as M&M lobbies for laws to make life easier for all moms.
