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This is Part 6 in our series on Nurturing Yourself while Raising Your Child

“Don’t look at it as exercise — instead, play games and have a ton of fun! The main thing is just to get outside every day and do something you think is fun. You can play sports like soccer, basketball, or badminton. You can play games like freeze tag or ride a bike or do running races with your friends or family. You can go on hikes with your family or go swimming or paddling. Do lots of different things, and again, focus on having fun, and doing it often.” – Leo Babauta

You're a parent, so you don’t have time to exercise, right?   I can relate.  But moving our bodies is a basic part of self-care.  We can't talk about nurturing ourselves without figuring out a way to get physical.    READ POST

Thursday, February 02, 2012 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink

This is Part 5 in our series on Nurturing Yourself while Raising Your Child.

“There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost.” -- Martha Graham

Raising a child takes so much out of us that we often sacrifice most everything else that's important to us. But if we don't stay connected to what keeps us energized, we run dry.  READ POST

Wednesday, February 01, 2012 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink

This is Part 4 in our series on Nurturing Yourself while Raising Your Child.

"The only way to help our child is to do the work ourselves. Our child needs a guide through the tsunami." – Leslie Potter, Purejoy Parenting

Life has a way of doling out lessons that we didn't ask for, but that help us develop more wholeness. When we resist those lessons, they land in our lap again in exaggerated form, until we finally tackle them.   READ POST

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink

This is Part 3 in our series on Nurturing Yourself while Raising Your Child.

"What I start to feel is not just anger appropriate to the situation, but old feelings I carry from the past.  And those feelings have nothing to do with my child or the situation.  They have come up for me to take a look at them.  They are part of me.  But they don't belong in my relationship with my child.  They have to do with me and the person who raised me."  -- Laura Davis & Janis Keyser  READ POST

Thursday, January 26, 2012 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink

This is Part 2 in our series on Nurturing Yourself while Raising Your Child.

“I know one thing for sure. It is impossible to find one’s own balance from the outside in. I now know beyond a doubt that finding—and maintaining—our balance is an inside job.” – Lu Hanessian

As you go through your day, you have a running list.  Change the baby, feed the toddler a snack, teach the preschooler to pick up her toys, help the elementary schooler with homework, help the tween braid her hair, negotiate with the teen, make dinner, fold laundry, pay the bills, email the boss, connect with your spouse... the list never stops.  But have you fallen off your own list?  READ POST

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 | Comments (1) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink

"My commitment to this kind of parenting is fierce, and when I falter it is always because I have a mountain of unmet needs - usually of the basic nature (sleep, food, etc) and often including more complex like interdependence and creativity."- Jennifer

“I start yelling, and I can't stop.  Later, I feel terrible.  She was just being a kid.  And I was acting like my mother, who I still can't forgive.” -- Karen

The bad news is, having a child changes everything.  The good news is, having a child changes everything.

Seriously, having a child can be the best thing you ever did. What else offers such rich rewards while helping you grow into a more loving person?  But sometimes the rewards are elusive, and we find ourselves screaming inside "This isn't what I signed up for!"   READ POST

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 | Comments (1) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink

"Ok, you screamed at your kid. Now what? Unpack your baggage so your kids don't have to carry it.  It's all grist for the mill...The joy of the journey is in the detours." -- Lu Hanessian

As the year turns, and we try to turn over a new leaf, we're reminded once again of our inability to simply will ourselves to change. We are human, after all.   READ POST

Thursday, January 05, 2012 | Comments (1) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink