Sometimes it sure feels that way! There is never enough time in the day! I find myself stating that things will slow down someday, someday I’ll get around to getting the house organized, someday, someday, on and on it goes. The problem is, someday never comes. I know this all sounds way to familiar. But what is one to do? As mothers, we have to take care of our kids, do the laundry, cook the meals, clean the house and run the kids all over heck and gone! And usually, hold down a job at the same time! I don’t know about you, but there isn’t a Wonder Woman suite hiding somewhere in the back of my closet! I did try that role for a while. Boy was that a mistake! Nope, Wonder Woman I am not! A sad reality I had to face.
Can’t we just borrow some more time for a while? No, I guess we only have24 hours in one day. I have tried many a time to just take that much needed time from the sleep allotment time slot. Well, that doesn’t work so well either. The next day I just find myself completely exhausted and worthless, with a huge dose of bad attitude to top it off! Okay, so you can relate well with me can’t you? So what are we to do? It is our general nature to nurture. We have so many people depending on us to take care of them. Well, let me ask you this…who is going to take care of you? Reality check. You need to take care of you. But wait, did you not hear me? I don’t have enough time as it is, and now you want to add another person onto my list to take care of?! Nope, eliminate that one; it can be scratched off that daily to do list! Not so fast! You need to move you to the top of your priority list. You really need to take care of yourself and by doing so you will be doing the best thing for your loved ones at the same time. You will feel better, have more energy, have more patience, think clearer and be a happier person all the way around. Now before you decide that you’ve heard it all before, hear me out, and try these simple tips. I do have some great tips that have helped me out tremendously .You will feel much better and more in balance. ‘Cause let’s face it…your life is out of balance if you don’t have time for you. So here we go!
Tip #1
This is my favorite stress reliever! Teach it to your whole family! Especially your kids before big tests! Cross your ankles and your arms and relax. It works almost instantly!
Tip #2
Write down positive affirmations and read them twice daily. They really, really do work. Sit quietly somewhere and visualize your affirmation as a reality. A few examples,” My mind is clear and my body is strong,” “I make time every day to take care of myself because I am a valuable person”
Tip #3
Listen closely to your self-talk. We gravitate toward what we think about. So make your positive traits stronger and the negative weaker. Talk highly to yourself about you.
Tip #4
Take at least 30 minute, preferably one hour, every day and dedicate it to you. Take a walk, climb into a hot bath with a good book, do something that brings you happiness. Try Tai Chi. It is an excellent way to get fit and relieve stress. Today, right now, make a list of 5 things that you enjoy doing. You may find this difficult. If so, it is a warning that you are severely neglecting yourself.
Tip #5 Get 8 hours of sleep every night, eat healthy and take vitamins and supplements.
Remember, you are worth it!
Tag Archives for kids
HOW TO GET KIDS TO EAT HEALTHY SNACKS
As a parent, we’ve all been there. We want our kids to eat heathier, but sometimes it’s the snacks that seem to be killing all of our efforts! We cook them healthy meals, but a few hours later they have a huge bag of potato chips by their side . What are we to do?
Well I have found something that works! One thing that works is to elimate any unhealthy “junk” food in the house. But in my case, it always seems to resurface somewhere! And also, too much of a healthy snack is not a good thing either. Cashews have great health benefits. But I can easily sit down and eat a whole jar of those babies! And before you know it, I ‘ve eaten enough calories in cashews to last me for a week!
The first trick is to have the kids “buy in” to the program. So this is what I have found that works.I take my daughter with me grocery shopping, preferably one more on the health concious side, like Henry’s or Trader Joe’s. We then walk through the snack & bulk sections together. We get a nice variety of healthy, and maybe a few not-so-healthy snacks. We then go home to start the fun! We sit down at the kitchen table with all of our treasures and a box of plastic bags. We figure out how many of one item equals 100 calories. This might be a certain number or a measured amount. For example, 5 Triscuit crackers or 1/2 cup of trail mix. Now we just put the items in individual 100 calorie baggies. You can mix & match, or have bags with just one kind of item. But the point is to have them all only equal 100 calories.
I also make sure I have items like pre-packaged granola bars and the frig full of snacks too. The refrigerator can have snack such as cheese sticks, yogurt, pre-cut carrot & celery sticks and fresh fruit.
Now when the kids want a snack, they have a variety of good snack choices! The only rule I have is that they can only eat 1 snack in a 2 hr. time frame. This teaches the kids a variety of things. They have to make a concious decision on what they eat. Are they going to eat something good for their body, or choose something that is not so good? But even if they choose the not so healthy option, they are limiting that amount. It is also teaching them portion control. How many crackers should one eat? One should eat only a few, not half a box! In a short period of time they will learn how to eye-ball the correct healthy portion . They will then be able to utilize this new information when they are not at home. It is also something they can utilize their whole lives. And you know what else? You will be learning the same things by teaching them 🙂
Children & Chemicals
In a day and age where we increasingly seek a quick solution to our problems we find ourselves confronted by the cost that we are really paying for convenience. Health and environmental groups around the world are calling for bans and action on everything from pesticides, phthalates in perfumes, arsenic and chromium in CCA pressure treated wood to lead contamination in our homes. Medical groups such as the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment educate their members and lobby for change.
Their president, Dr Warren Bell, has expressed his concern that doctors are not educated on the prevention and treatment of environmental illnesses and diseases in our institutions of learning so therefore those effected have little opportunity for treatment. Scientists are conducting studies on the effects of these chemicals and presence in the average person with alarming results.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) just released a study showing 116 chemicals in the blood and urine of subjects, chemicals stored in body fat were not taken into consideration and children showed the highest levels of pesticides.
DNA Damage in Babies
A special by Bill Moyers last year entitled Kids and Toxins dealt with many issues including the damage done to the DNA of babies from the chemicals their mothers breathed in while pregnant. Dr. Elizabeth A. Guillette, world renowned anthropologist, with the University of Florida has documented alarming differences in the Yaqui Valley Mexican children who have been exposed to pesticides compared to the children in the foothills who do not face the same contamination. These changes include premature breast formation and cognitive and motor difficulties.
Seeking Ban – Massive increases in chemicals The Environmental Working Group, one of many organizations
working to seek a ban on CCA pressure treated wood have recently released a study on toxins in the body as well. They tested the blood and urine of nine people who did not work with chemicals or live near industry for 210 pollutants
and found traces of 167 of them. Since World War II there has been a huge
increase in chemicals, some 750,000 have been introduced. Increases in many
diseases have also risen since that time at alarming rates.
Increase in autism
In 1998, nearly 800 kids in Ontario, younger than 6 were newly diagnosed with the neurological disorder autism, a 53 per cent jump over the same period two years earlier, stated a study released at Queen’s Park by Michael Gravelle in March 2000. Science magazine has reported that “As science progresses, large numbers of epidemiological studies continue to find evidence that short-term and long-term exposures to low concentrations of particles are associated with sizable numbers of morbidity and mortality events in developed urban areas around the world.”
Hilary Stead of the Guelph Mercury staff published an article quoting Patrick Kehoe as stating that as owner of Halton
lawn care company he sees first hand how pesticides caused illness in those who worked in the industry and that he supported a ban.
On Feb. 7 2003 the Consumer Product Safety Commission released it’s Health risk assessment on the dangers of CCA treated wood to children. Among their findings were that children had a 2 to 100 chance in one million of developing cancer from playing on these structures. A one in a million risk is usually the cause for the government to take notice. As the CPSC meets in March to decide on whether to seek a total ban on CCA in playground equipment you might feel like sticking your head in the sand. Not a good idea. The warnings of Dr.Dieter Riedel of Health Canada and Dr David Stilwell of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station have been confirmed once again by a cross Canada study of playgrounds released in Jan.by Environmental Defence Canada, the sand is full of arsenic.
References The entire Center for Disease Control (CDC) report is online at
www.cdc.gov/exposurereport,http://www.cape.ca/
http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript117_full.html
www.ewg.org
Guelph mercury story
http://www.therecord.com/topstory_02112684549.html
http://www.caes.state.ct.us/FactSheetFiles/AnalyticalChemistry/fsAC001f.htm
Residues of Arsenic, Chromium, and Copper on and Near Playground Structures Built of Wood
Pressure -Treated with “CCA” Type Preservatives Unpublished study by Dieter
Riedel available by emailing deborahbarrie@hotmail.com Unpublished study by Dr
Dieter Riedel http://www.edcanada.org
WARNING These toxic chemical products may contaminate your children!
FOR SAFE PRODUCTS VISIT: http://VitalityOrganics.com
On The Way Health 