Re-Cap: ICMB Health Fair & Family Day!

We wanted to start the week off by saying THANK YOU to everyone who came to our first Health Fair & Family Day this weekend! We had a great time, and we hope you all did too!  The weather was beautiful, our sponsors were amazing, and we were so happy to see each and every one of you loyal ICMB supporters at this event!

Our Sponsors!

The purpose of this event was two-fold: first, to inform families in our community about how to keep our kids healthy and happy; and second, to provide a fun-filled morning for the kids!  A HUGE thanks to all of our wonderful sponsors, we think it’s safe to say that we accomplished both of these goals!

  • The University of Iowa Dental College and Clinics gave a great display on how sugar-filled drinks can affect our (and more importantly, our children’s) teeth.  The kids especially loved this booth, because they were handing out FREE toothbrushes and the kids could choose whichever one they wanted (always a plus!).  To top it off, they received a sticker for their shirt (or, in my son’s case, for his knee cap).  Be sure to stop and visit the Dental College booth at the Johnson County Fair this Tuesday, and tell them the Iowa City Moms Blog sent you!
  • The Children’s Center for Therapy was another big hit with the little ones, as they provided a super fun (and messy) craft.  You can never go wrong with finger painting!  As an added bonus, they were handing out fun little sunshine toys to all the kids.  Free toys AND a handful of paint? They know what the kids like for sure! Check out their website for more information on their upcoming Bike Camp on August 3rd.  We will be there; hope to see you there, too!
  • runningwildRunning Wild seemed to be quite the hit with the “big people” at the Health Fair.  With samples of their new products, and knowledgeable staff on hand to discuss any and everything running-related, this was a hit with many of our readers (and in particular with two of our contributing writers, who are avid runners). We were so glad to have Running Wild with us again for this event!  P.S. Stay tuned to the blog later today…Running Wild might just have a little something for one of you!
  • Robinson Family Wellness was another big hit with the moms and dads on Saturday.  We are so grateful to have Dr. Ron and his colleagues at our events, as they are such amazing resources for our family to stay safe and healthy in this busy life that can be SO hard on our bodies!  If you didn’t get a chance to talk to Dr. Ron and the team, be sure to check out their website, which happens to be brand new and pretty awesome by the way!  Also stay tuned in the coming weeks to hear more about Ron and his family, and their once-in-a-lifetime trip to Africa for the Africa Yoga Project.  We can’t wait to hear those stories!
  • The ladies of Advocare were hitting it off with quite a few of the mommies at our Health Fair.  Their samples of the Advocare Spark were also going quickly! We were glad to have Advocare represented this weekend, and we hope to see more of them soon!  In the meantime, check out their website for more information and/or to place orders!
  • We were beyond thrilled to have The University of Iowa Children’s Hospital represented at our Health Fair.  Their booth was so helpful and FULL of information.  First, they were handing out information on their Safety Store (which is awesome, by the way!) and second, all of the families were lucky enough to have Dr. Rami Boutros (General Pediatrician, Iowa River Landing Clinic) on hand to answer questions and share valuable information about how to find the best medical care for our children in this community.  And if you haven’t heard about the clinic at Iowa River Landing, now is the time to check it out.  They have extended hours, weekend hours, and their clinic offers (in addition to a WIDE variety of medical services) a children’s play area, a coffee shop, and FREE parking.  Be sure to check out their website for more information!
  • kidsightAs noted in an earlier blog post, we were so happy to have Iowa KidSight at our Health Fair offering FREE eye screenings for all children who attended the fair.  Many parents (including myself) were not aware that eye screenings are now a requirement in Iowa for entering Kindergarten, and on Saturday many of these parents were able to check that task off of their to-do list! The staff from KidSight were so patient with the kids as they climbed up in the chair to “get their eye’s picture taken”. Thank you!

 

 

arbonneThe ladies of Arbonne (both named Julie, by the way) were such a great addition to our sponsors.  I noticed lots of ladies spending a lot of time at this booth, learning more about their natural, safe products for our families.  If you didn’t get a chance to see all of their products, or if you’d like to place an order with one of “the Julies”, please check out their website!

 

 

  • usborne2Suzanne and her team from Usborne Books had an amazing display of Usborne products available at the fair.  They also had a coloring contest for the kids, which was so fun to watch!  If you aren’t buying Usborne books for your kids yet, now is the time to check them out.  They are affordable, great quality books for our families, for children of all ages.  They offer many educational tools, language books, and more on their website. I’ll admit that I spent quite a bit of time going through the catalog and folding over the pages preparing for my order!
  • Cindy and her colleagues from Hope Springs Behavioral Consultants were perhaps the sweetest, happiest bunch at the entire event!  The kids were LOVING the fact that Cindy brought along bubbles and pinwheels, both FREE for all of us to take home! They sure know what the kids like! Be sure to check out their website for more information on Hope Builders and all of the great services that they can provide for your family.
  • sweet feet kids 2If you could get any sweeter than the Hope Springs bunch, it would have to be Sweet Feet Yoga (no pun intended).  Dana has a way with children that cannot be fully understood until you see her interacting with the children.  Her mini-sessions were such a hit with the kids, I saw many of them going back for two or even three sessions!  Music, movement, and laughter. It doesn’t get much better.  For more information on class schedules at Sweet Feet, click here. I guarantee it will be your kids’ favorite time of the week!
  • With no need for a booth (or even an introduction), the Coralville Fire Department was the hit of the party.  What could be more exciting than a chance to climb all over a REAL fire truck and talk to the REAL firemen? Need I say more?  Thank you so much to the CFD for coming, and for letting all of our kids climb all over your truck!  They also enjoyed the coloring books and stickers, too!  We can’t ever get enough of those, either!  Thank you!

facepaint1

Also, many of our little ones came home with adorable little hearts and kitty-cat faces, thanks to our amazing Face-Painting volunteers, Tristan and Anita.

 

 

 

 

 

facepaint2** If you got any pics of your kids at the fair with their faces painted, be sure to tag us on Instagram at @icmomsblog, #icmbhealthfair, and #icmomsblog! We’d love to see your little ones’ faces, too!

 

 

 

Our Snacks!

pink umbrellaWhat is a party without food, right?  And what is a Family Day event without FREE snacks for the little ones?  ICMB would like to thank Crystal Farms for sending us samples (for all of our guests!) of their brand new snack-cheese products, called “Nibblers”.  Watch for Nibblers in stores soon, and watch the blog for our review of this product!  After the kiddos enjoyed their new cheese snacks and a juice box, they were treated to some delicious frosted sugar cookies from The Pink Umbrella Bakery! And if you weren’t there to try them (or if you just want some more!), be sure to look for The Pink Umbrella and their goodies at the Iowa City Farmer’s Market.

Our Supporters

That would be YOU!  Our faithful readers, our new friends, the reason that the Iowa City Moms Blog even exists!  Without you, there would be no blog, and there would certainly be no events like the Health Fair this Saturday or the Moms Night Out that we hosted in June.  We appreciate each and every one of you, and if you follow the blog but haven’t had a chance to come to any events yet, we encourage you to do so soon.  It has been truly amazing to see the friendships form, and the encouragement between moms in our community. THIS is our purpose in doing the blog, in writing for you every day, and in planning these events in the Iowa City area.  Keep your eye out for details on upcoming events, and be sure to check out our Events page for updates.  Also, if you aren’t on our VIP email list yet, please email us at [email protected] and we will add your name ASAP.  Seriously, you WANT to be on that list.  Everyone who signed up on Saturday was entered to win a FREE 1-hour massage!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS HEALTH FAIR & FAMILY DAY SUCH A SUCCESS!

**A special thanks to Kelsey Sutton Photo, for all of these amazing shots from the event! Check out our Events Page to see more photos from Saturday! And an extra special shout-out to D’Vinyl Designs, who made our awesome t-shirts and ICMB banner for this event! Thank you!

sarakaitlyn

Iowa City Moms Blog
At Iowa City Moms Blog we’re a group of local moms who are passionate about connecting other moms to one another and to our community! Whether you’re an experienced mom, a newbie, expecting, or aspiring to be a mom someday, this blog is for you! Join us as we navigate this journey that is motherhood in the Iowa City area!

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