J.,
Welcome! I've lived in Bloomington for over three years now, and I love it here! There is a very large mom's group here known as The Bloomington Moms Meetup Group, or Hoosier Mamas. I'm one of the co-organizers, and here's our website (we use Meetup.com to organize our group): http://www.meetup.com/hoosier-mamas/.
You're welcome to become a member any time to get an idea of our calendar and what we like to do. The month of July has been really low key, probably because most of us are on vacation. Also, because of IU and Crane, Bloomington's population tends to be pretty transient. A lot of families move here and then move again because of jobs or schooling. However, when school starts next month, I'm sure our group will get busy again. We schedule lots of play dates and take tours of our community and just have a lot of fun.
As far as recommendations go, I can't really refer you to anyone in Ellettsville, since I live on the southeast side of Bloomington. However, many families in Ellettsville use the doctors in Bloomington because the towns are so close. Here are some of the larger groups/practices that I know/use:
Pediatrician: Southern Indiana Pediatrics. There is an office on the east side as well as the west side of Bloomington. There may be an office in Ellettsville, as well. I take my boys to Dr. Malone at the Clarizz office on the east side.
OB/GYN: There are a couple of larger practices in Bloomington as well as a few that practice on their own. Aegis Women's Healthcare has four OB/GYNs (one of whom happens to be my husband). There are also two nurse practitioners and one strictly Gyn physician in the office. The four OBs share call, so if you go to this office, you will see all of them throughout your pregnancy. Whoever is on call will be the one to deliver you, unless you schedule a C-section. I personally love the group. My younger son was delivered by an OB in their office (but not by my husband).
I don't have a family doctor, so I can't refer you to anyone specific, but IMA (Internal Medicine Associates) are huge and have a lot of physicians to choose from. One of the moms in our group is also a nurse practitioner with their office.
As far as dentists go, there are quite few practices to choose from. My husband and I don't have a dentist yet, but our sons go to Dr. Keith Roberts on the east side. He's a pediatric dentist in his own practice, and we love him!
For groceries, I usually go to Kroger's because it's close and has everything I need. I usually go to the one on College Mall Rd (it's only five minutes from my house), but there are a few to choose from. Also, the only Target store in the area has a small grocery section now. I like to go there if I need various items. I don't shop Wal-Mart much because it's not close to me, but we do have a membership to Sam's Club. If you like to buy more natural, local, organic foods, Bloomingfoods Co-Op is the way to go, although it can be very expensive.
I'm a sewer and don't scrapbook, but I know you can get supplies at Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's Fabric or Michael's. There may be some smaller scrapbooking stores in the area. I know several moms in the group who make their own greeting cards, so they may know of places for scrapbooking supplies.
I hope that helps, J.. If you have any more questions, you're welcome to send me a message. Or, you can join our group, and post any questions you have on our message board. It's a very active group!
A.
