Serenity
There is a link between our sleep quality and our health. Dr Michael Breus, a sleep specialist, wrote some excellent articles for WebMD.com.
Dr Breus emphasizes that relaxation or meditation before going to sleep is beneficial, and that there is a link between sleep loss and weight gain. I’ve taken that to heart, and I now avoid reading the news or watching the news before going to bed. Watching something relaxing or listening to soothing music helps some people sleep. Here in Canada we are fortunate to have digital music channels on cable TV, without any advertisements. I’m now highly conscious of what I allow into my brain before bedtime, and it has dramatically improved the quality of my sleep.
( WebMD.com is an excellent source of medical facts, provided by doctors, which has given me valuable information. )
Enjoy and have a Super day.
Staying focused in challenging times
We’ve been building Community and Healthy Minds since 2010. This post is shared for everyone affected by layoffs or any other life changes. How do we stay focused when our environment is changing rapidly? I’m not a psychologist or a life coach, but experience has taught me to :
1 Reach out to friends and loved ones. Use your network.
2 Take care of you. Make sure you sleep enough and well.
3 I have to say that I draw strength from my faith as a Christian and from my church community.
4 I take it one day at a time. I can get through today. Tomorrow will take care of itself.
Have a super week. May you be surrounded by warmth, peace and safety.
Small Strides in eating: Baby to Toddler to Boy
Today I would like to share some strategies I used in coaxing my young one to eating well at the table. David did all the normal and age-appropriate things like looking me right in the eye and dropping his food on the floor off the high chair. Well, dear exasperated friends, there is hope. This is a phase which will pass. I kept my cool and sometimes took him out of the high chair and let him sit on my lap to eat.
At other times I had his favourite car on his tray and told him: “Look, McQueen wants to have a bite too, he will be sad if you drop it on the floor!” I found that saying ‘No’ repeatedly, just made him test me even more, so sometimes I just ignored the behaviour. Another trick I eventually learned, is that D is not hungry or ready to eat right away when he wakes up. So I give him 20-30 minutes to play or watch something on TV while I work in the kitchen, and then I offer breakfast. Then he is happy to eat. So timing is also a factor.
The same goes at night; he should not have a snack too late in the afternoon, otherwise he will not be happy to eat dinner with us. I also made a list in my smart-phone of all his favourite foods which could also be eaten by hand, and I always asked the daycare mom about his meals and likes, so I could try the same at home. It helped me a lot to have a strong partnership with my wonderful day-mom.
When David went to a bigger daycare centre, I continued to get the skinny on his eating habits daily, and his ‘list’ is still growing. Lately he has graduated to sitting on a bench at our kitchen table. Last night he enjoyed his chicken, rice and beets with his fork, and also had apple crumble afterwards, all by himself. Lots of praise from both mom and dad made him beam with pride, and will hopefully reinforce such great dinner success.
Here is a haiku that I wrote when he was younger (from my book ‘Scallywag: Confessions of a multi-mom’, available at all online retailers).
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You test us, challenge us, make us smile;
You try us, delight us when you enjoy your meal;
You teach us more about truth and trust
and give us an excuse to munch finger foods.
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First week of school went well!
This week marked the first time that I had to prepare a lunch bag daily for D, because he started Kindergarten. Things are going well so far, thanks to Planning. My strategy is to take a few minutes on a Saturday afternoon and plan the meals for the coming week. I plan the lunches as well as dinners. Then I head to the store on Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning, and only buy the items on the list.
Some winning lunch ideas that my son David likes include:
Perogies with Sour cream (packed in separate small containers); these work well because they can be eaten unheated.
Maple sausages with kethup (also packed in separate containers)
Sandwiches with Dill Cream Cheese (Philly) , packed in a small zip lock baggie.
‘Tuna Melts’ - A few tablespoons of tuna and sour cream mixture, with grated cheddar cheese, on an English Muffin or bun.
Cut up strawberries work well for morning or afternoon snack, paired with a small wrapped cheese.
Cut up cantaloupe are also a great favourite, packed in a baggie as well.
I like to bake muffins and mini-cupcakes on weekends and freeze them. Then in the morning they are popped in the microwave for a few moments before going into the lunch bag. Store-bought muffins can also be frozen and used in this way.
David loves ‘Gold Fish’ crackers, but I try to limit his intake of these, and I buy the Multigrain ones.
I have to say something that doesn’t work, is those long wrapped ‘string’ cheeses. They are tasteless and David never eats them.
I pack a small juice bottle filled with mineral water.
For David’s school, everything has to be labeled, even his shoes. So I use Mabel’s Labels http://mabelslabels.com. They are super. Have a super week, enjoy the last few days of ‘official’ summer!
Serenity: Eye Candy
Sometimes I feel my son has had too much ‘screen time’ with TV and computer games with his Dad. One strategy I devised is to show him lovely images, and he really enjoys it. Google Images I love you! Eye candy is good for the soul and keeps a young child riveted for quite a while. Here is how: Go to Google and click on Images. Then type in search terms like ‘Spring Flowers’, ‘Kittens’ etc. Little kids love to browse through the images and choose their favourites. One could even print a few for them.
Go to Google Images
The Power of Gratitude
