Nurturing Big People - listening to body talk

a day of rest...just what the body ordered!

As a mother, I spend a lot of my time nurturing my family, building my nest and feeding my brood. All of which I love. As a Massage Therapist, I dedicate an hours time to nurturing another and channeling energy. As a Hospitality Manager, I spend a lot of my work making sure people are having a good time and ensuring that my staff feel supported and encouraged, nurtured. 

So you see, there is a lot of Nurturing going on in my life. It is a busy life, as you will find the story with most mothers and parents. However, when we are busy, we often forget to nurture ourselves and we find it hard to hear when our bodies are talking to us.

I've been having some restless sleeps of late, and waking up feeling a bit stiff and cloudy in the head. Generally a big cup of Peppermint and Green tea lifts the cloudiness and some Sun Salutations stretch out the bed aches and stiffness. 

But there has been something lurking in the background. A little voice as barely audible as a whisper has been calling me.  

 "Rest. Stop. Breathe. Sleep".

And so today I awoke feeling even more cloudy and foggy than usual. My body feeling heavy, tired. And over that cup of tea this morning, as I noticed a feather floating down from a tree outside, I heard my body loud and clear.

"Rest. Stop. Breathe. Sleep".

This morning, I took the boys to school. I purposefully left my bag at home, so as not to be tempted to one of the cafes in town. I wore my bed socks and daggy tracksuit bottoms, so as not to be tempted to meet up with the school mums and engage in school politics. Today I will rest, stop , breathe and sleep. My body is telling me I am tired. It's been a busy three weeks since moving house, and it's caught up with me.

It is so important to look after yourself and give yourself the time to recharge your energy. Being a nurturer, you have got to listen to your body talk, and pay attention to the messages it sends. 

When you really listen, what does your body talk say to you? How do you nurture yourself?

Be Happy, 

Nicola

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Grateful for Time

time, is merely a perspective, a point of view

Time, time time, see what's become of me. When I look around for my possibilities. The Bangles

I have discovered that life is based upon choices and perspective. This has become even more apparent since having children. Time is merely a tool used to measure the day by. It's a perspective, a point of view. You either have lots of it or not enough of it. 

Since moving house two weeks ago, I suddenly have more time. I don't know if it is the novelty of a new house and space to live in, but I really feel as though time is on my side. I walk the kids to and from school, a good fifteen minutes each way. I get the domesticity out of the way early and discover I have time up mys sleeve. Lot's of it. And I like it. More time for family togetherness.


The more I don't focus on time the more I seem to have. And this makes me very Grateful...and happy.

What are you grateful for this week? Link on over to Maxabella Loves Grateful Saturday to check out her Gratefulness and that of others! 

 

Be Happy
Nicola


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Touch for Kids

children experience stress too

One of the many 'Hats' that I wear in my life is as a Qualified Massage Therapist. I have performed and given hundreds of massage treatments over the past twelve years. I am most passionate about giving nurturing touch to children, babies and pregnant women.

As adults, we all know that tension and stress manifests itself as knots and muscle soreness commonly in our shoulders and neck, with the odd headache attached. This is no different for children. Particularly in boys. Steve Biddulph writes in his book, Raising Boys, that male children from the ages of 8 to the teenage years often have shoulders that are "hard as rocks". 

I have found this to be the case on my 8 year old. He carries a heavy school bag, he climbs trees and gym equipment, he uses computers daily at school and concentrates hard on reading and writing and learning. It's no wonder his shoulders become so tense.

give your child the gift of touch

Over the years, as Junior Hoges has gotten older, he has become less inclined to just come and snuggle or cuddle with me. To counteract this, I have taken to giving Junior a regular weekly shoulder and neck massage of about fifteen minutes in duration. 

I ask Junior to sit on a chair, leaning into a cushion. He sits facing away from me, back to front on the chair. Using a medium firm pressure (I always ask what is comfortable for him first) I massage my way around the top of the shoulders, between the shoulder blades, at the base of the skull and the sides of the neck. For me, this a great way for us to bond and for me to express love. For Junior, he gets to receive the gift of touch, learn to relax and connect with mum.

This week, why don't you introduce the gift of touch with your kids and feel the connection.

Be Happy
Nicola 

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Good Manners on Monday # 3

roxanne at "things I no likey" agrees that saying "huh" is bad manners

 Pardon me for being so rude, it was not me it was my food

It just popped up to say hello, and now it's gone back down below.

I am sure we all remember this one from our childhood days. It's one of those rotten rhymes that no one really knows the origins of. On another level though, this weeks Good Manners on Monday is focusing on the use of saying "Pardon" or "Pardon me".

How many times do you hear your child, or even yourself saying "huh?" or "what?" when your don't hear something correctly or misunderstand someone? A simple, "Pardon me I did not hear you" demonstrates good manners and correct use of proper language.

Accidentally stand on someones foot in the classroom, or supermarket...perfect opportunity to say "Pardon me for stepping on your foot". In this instance, the use of manners acts as an appropriate apology.

And finally, letting out that accidental burp or fart. The correct thing to say is "Pardon me", and leave it at that.

Good Manners, they are so simple to use, yet they go so far.

Have you got another example of using Pardon or Pardon Me to demonstrate Good Manners?

Be Happy 

Nicola

 

Lamp Chop Wednesday

lamb chop wednesday...delicious!

It can be challenging to feed the family at times. Everyone has a different palate and are at different stages of growth. But one thing I know I can make, with out fail is lamb chops. That's why every Wednesday is Lamb Chop Wednesday in our house hold. 

Char grilled lamb chops, parmesan mash, steamed greens, gravy and mint sauce...it's simplicity at its best, and its a winner!

What's your fail safe dinner that you just know everyone will eat?

Be Happy

Nicola

Favourite Reads

Here at Hogan Central, we love books. I mean we REALLY LOVE books! I didn't realise just how much we love books until this week when I boxed up 38 large boxes of books to relocate to our new house on the weekend. That is a lot of books, and a lot of reading.
I asked the children to choose three of their favourite books to keep out and we'd read those over the week. Here is their selection:


Mini Hoges' top three reads:

the quiet book

the potato people

just jack

Junior Hoges' top three reads:

I think, I am

disgusting dave

world without fish

For myself, I often find I have two or three books on the go at once. I am currently reading "Soul Lessons and Soul Purpose" by Sonia Choquette, "What Alice Forgot" by Lianne Moriarty and "The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul" by Deborah Rodriguez. Hoges is enjoying "How to Make Gravy" by Paul Kelly and "Breaking the Sheep's Back" by Charles Massy.

What does your family love to read?

Happy Days, 

Nicola

Friday Night - Movie Night!

popcorn, movies = family togetherness

When I was growing up, we often had a Friday Night family game night. We'd all sit around the dinner table and play Monopoly or Scrabble or Uno. Music would play on the record player and we'd enjoy treats like chocolate or crisps as we spent quality time together as a family.

Jump ahead 25 or more years later and I have developed my own family togetherness ritual - Friday Night Movie Night. This entails an evening of early easy dinner and baths, everyone in their jarmies and a classic family movie to watch together.

Tonight we are making homemade pizzas and watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original with Gene Wilder). Our movie treats include popcorn, icecream spiders and chocolate dipped strawberries for desert.

I look forward to our Friday night ritual, especially in winter. It is a great way for us all to connect and wind down together after a busy week of school and work, preparing us for the weekend ahead.

Do you have a weekly family ritual that gets you enjoying quality time together?

Happy Days

Nicola

Nurture the Little People

carefree and fun, feeling nurtured

Hello and welcome to Nurture the Little People! 

On this blog you will find useful information to support you in your journey as parents and caregivers. My goal is to share with you my experience and what has worked for me. And to provide you with a valuable resource when all else fails. 

I believe that it is our role as parents, to provide the most nurturing and supportive environment for children so that they grow up to be resilient, feel loved and worthy and are confident in reaching their full potential.

My posts will be based around six main themes:

Touch - integrating massage and healing into your child's life as a way of bonding and expressing love

Fuel - food glorious food - what you eat and what you child eats is the most fundamental way to nurturing our bodies

Play - sharing ideas and exploring new ways to play imaginatively and with nature

Read - we love books and will share with you our favourites and new finds and essential reads for the parenting journey

Create - craft based fun, using mostly recycled and repurposed goods 

Big People - adults need nurturing too! Explore ways to give yourself the time to re-energise so you can Nurture the Little People in your life.

You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back.  ~William D. Tammeus

I look forward to connecting with you in the future!

Nicola