The Real Contributors of the FWMB

Ever wonder what it’s like to be a contributor for the Fort Worth Moms Blog? Yes, there are deadlines (two a month, in fact) and a fair amount of email and notifications, and the occasional opportunity to snag a prize or two. But the best part? Meeting and making new mama friends who’d never cross your path otherwise — and hanging out with them!

Here’s a behind-the-scenes peek into the life and times of the FWMB contributor team at our recent “business” meeting.

For the July gathering, we infiltrated Van Grow: Art Studio for Kids for an evening of food, a little business, and a whole lotta creativity.

First, a BIG SHOUT OUT to Pegaso Diner (on one of our favorite FW spots: the Bluebonnet Circle) for providing a taco bar that had us going back for seconds. Pegaso literally had the nicest catering staff ever: served our food, BROUGHT FLOWERS, and cleaned up like a champ. Great restaurant. Kid-friendly. Great catering. Tacos, enchiladas, burritos. What more could you want in an eatery?

Second, since we were (mostly) all in one place, a bit of business went down. While no beans will be spilled here, some new features, events,  and fun social media interactive are on the way! The biggest news of the night is how well our FWMB community is growing — and we are TICKLED to pieces about it. FWMB gained 1,000 new followers on social media in quarter two 2015 AND enjoyed 26,000 page views in the last 30 days (and June-July is our slow season!). Holy moly wow. Thank you for being such faithful friends; we are excited to know more about you and to make this mama community even stronger.

Third, in addition to the delicious (not even exaggerating) taco dinner, Tiff’s Treats provided the FWMB team with dozens of warm, gooey, sugary goodness. Y’all this company delivers warm, freshly-baked cookies to.your.door. Did you catch that? WARM COOKIES TO YOUR DOOR. (And all the new, nursing mothers just rejoiced.) Thank you Tiff; you are my new best friend.

Fourth, on this fateful night in July, these mamas had FUN! Mr. Van Grow himself (bravely) led the FWMB team in painting one of Van Gogh’s finest. By the end of the painting session, the FWMB team laughed tons, and to our surprise found that painting was so relaxing and came to this conclusion: All mothers should paint . . . every day. We also learned quite a bit about this fantastic mom-owned business our Cowtown is lucky enough to call its own.

Van Grow: Art Studio for Kids offers weekly fine art classes for ages 2-17. The weekly after-school art program and Saturday workshops focus on creative idea development. The instructors teach drawing, art history, and introduce students to all artistic mediums. The weekly preschool program focuses on line-by-line drawing instruction (to help define fine motor skills) and fun projects using paint, clay, and collage. Van Grow also offers “Parent and Me” classes so that loved ones can experience being creative together. During school holidays and the summer, kiddos can attend day camps. Each day is filled with fine art and “FUN art” activities based on a central theme. It is an action packed day full of creative projects and free time in the studio. Birthday parties are always a winner too as well as the Paint Your Own Pottery Studio. And, of course, you can book Van Grow for a moms’ night out party!

In a nutshell, the evening was a success! Stay tuned for more updates about our contributors and the ins and outs of making Fort Worth Moms Blog what it is. We are so thankful YOU are on our TEAM, dear reader! Let us know how FWMB can better serve you . . . what topics you’d like covered . . . what events we must know about . . . what businesses to feature . . . and how to better champion motherhood in Fort Worth.

Now, don’t freak out; we didn’t steal Van Gogh’s original. We painted these ourselves but understand how someone might mistake them for the original. **clears throat**