Dancing in the Rain

24 hours to go!

Enrolment closes on Living Life Too Tired at 1.00pm TOMORROW

Will you be joining me?

Are you on the fence about joining?

Are you thinking do I need this?

If you are in burnout, exhausted, constantly stressed, overwhelmed and cannot see a way out, let me take you by your hand. Together we will discover ways for you to live your life, for you to feel calmer and happier, for you to experience joyful moments and most of all so that you can cope better with the demands and challenges that life throws your way on a daily basis.

Drop me a message if you have any questions.

It's time ...

Find Balance

Let your light shine through

https://learn.dancingintherain.uk/living-life-too-tired

LIVING LIFE TOO TIRED

INSTAGRAM LIVE: Question and Answer session

8.00pm Wednesday 30th October

Your opportunity to come and ask any questions about my programme. Either ask me during the live or drop a comment and I will answer during the live.

I will go through:
* Why I created this programme
* What you will get
* All the details
* Important dates

I hope you can join me

As parent carers you are the most important, most essential, most needed person in your child's life ... and likely to be the most neglected ... it is time to change that.

LIVING LIFE TOO TIRED

My new signature twelve week programme.

'Living Life Too Tired starts in November. Supporting parent carers to find ways to thrive not just survive.
Go from feeling exhausted, stressed, and overwhelmed to finding renewed strength, calm and joy in your life.'

*Eight modules of live online training
*Supporting workbooks and guides
*Additional weekly support sessions
*Dedicated, private Facebook community
*Initial online get together
*Celebration event to finish

If you have any questions or want to know more please drop them in the comments or send me a message. I will be going live tomorrow evening, to answer you questions and tell you all about the programme.

Have you joined our community yet?
Dancing in the Rain: well-being, self-care and positivity for parent carers

If you feel exhausted, stressed or just struggling with the demands of being a parent carer, the daily challenges we face and the ongoing battle for services. If your wellbeing has been neglected and you dream of feeling rested, rejuvenated and relaxed then this is the space for you.

It's full of people who just 'get it', without judgement or explanation. Somewhere to let off steam, share stories, and find understanding. As well as somewhere to learn accessible ways to improve your wellbeing, with information, hints and tips and regular focus weeks. You will also learn more about my journey as I navigate my way through life's trials and tribulations.

If this sounds like you come on in, you will be made very welcome.

FIND YOUR BALANCE.
Having our lives in balance, feeling steady, in control is key to managing, when we are out of balance we are exhausted, stressed, overwhelmed, unable to to cope. When we pour everything we have into our children, when we are exhausted by the constant fight, when life is full of stress, we feel off balance, which often leads to a downward spiral. if you recognise yourself in this, it's time to find new ways to get life back in balance, so that you feel steady again and able to cope.

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE THROUGH.
We, as parent carers loose ourselves in the extremes parenting every day, in our caring roles. We no longer do the things that bring us joy, make us happy, light us up. I know for a while I forgot even what these things were, never mind doing them. But it is essential that we do these things, not only for our wellbeing and health, but also for our children. They see us living, we are modelling life, they need to see us happy, joyful, laughing and shining our light.

In my Living Life Too Tired programme I will walk along side you, hold your hand, guide you and support you while you regain your balance in life and find your light so that you can shine bright again.

Today while I was sitting watching my boys play, both content, both doing things they enjoy, both smiling I couldn't help but think how far we've come, all three of us.

The challenges we've faced in my boys' lives have been enormous, there have been times when I have been at absolute rock bottom, in despair not knowing what to do. But each and every time we crawled out, found a way, made things better.

I did that.

I crawled out.

I found the ways.

I made things better.

I found ways to build strength, drew on my resilience, I learnt how to reduce the effects of stress, I learnt to be less overwhelmed, I put processes in place to make things smoother.

And I know you can make things better too.

If you need some support with that I can be by your side, so you can start Living Life Too Tired

LIVING LIFE TOO TIRED

Twelve week programme

Supporting parent carers to create a life feeling less stressed, less overwhelmed and more able to cope with challenges.

Who is this programme for?

* You might be waiting for further support
or for referrals.
* You might need to give yourself the capacity and time to make the changes that are needed.
* It may be that your child just doesn't sleep or that you've tried everything and everyone and have no solutions.

There are no quick fixes.

Even if you have started with changes, it takes time…

You deserve joy, happiness, calm, ease.

https://learn.dancingintherain.uk/living-life-too-tired

Taking time to just be this morning.

It's the start of half term holidays here, I've given us a low demand, at home day. I used to call them ‘do nothing days’ but actually we quite often end up getting stuff done with the demand of getting stuff done taken away.

We've spent some time just sitting in the garden, enjoying the autumn sunshine … still in our pj's (or in my case my Christmas snuggly, which is one of my favourite things) watching the clouds, listening to the leaves falling off the trees, drinking coffee.

We've also started tidying the garden for the winter, cleaning toys and putting them away, sweeping paths and I've hung the washing out. Just pottering about, no shoulds or need tos involved.

I've spent the majority of the week inside on my computer with launching my new programme, which has been amazing, I'm so proud that I have got to the point of being able to do this, to be at the point I can support others, I've put a lot of my time and energy into it.

My boys have both had a difficult disrupted week at school.

I'm still dealing with the inevitable appointments, services, paperwork that comes with being a parent carer.

So remembering to take my own advice is even more important when there is lots going on.

How are you taking time to just be today?

For those of you who were signed up to the Sleep: Back to Basics Masterclass, your recording should be winging it's way to your inbox.

If you would like the link to the masterclass, drop me a comment or an inbox and I will send it your way!

It includes lots of information about sleep science, how our bodies work, what happens if we don't get enough sleep as well as when and where to get further support. Including my new 12 week programme 'Living Life Too Tired'

I am incredibly excited to present to you my new signature twelve week programme

Living Life Too Tired

When you are down in the trenches, exhausted, sick of the constant battles, the lack of sleep, the daily challenges it can be difficult to see how to dig yourself out.

That is where this programme comes in.

With training, support, and community you will find ways to start living life again, even with the challenges you face. The training will help you find what works for you and your family.

Take yourself from exhausted, stressed, and overwhelmed to calm, in control and living your life

FIND BALANCE. LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE THROUGH

For more information and to sign up
https://learn.dancingintherain.uk/living-life-too-tired

Find out what this is, what it means and so much more in tonight's masterclass

Sleep: Back to Basics

Starts at 8.00pm

Join me

https://learn.dancingintherain.uk/sleep-masterclass

SLEEP: BACK TO BASICS MASTERCLASS

DETAILS:

* Today, Thursday 24th October at 8.00PM
* Online with Google Meet

* Sleep science: cycles, systems and hormones - what that means for us
* How much sleep do we really need?
* Why do we need sleep?
* Challenges for children with additional needs
* When and where to seek further support
* Including something new from me!
* Question and answer session

SIGN UP HERE

https://learn.dancingintherain.uk/sleep-masterclass

I often talk about my journey as a parent carer, through the massive lows and crawling back out again and again and finding strength I never knew I had. Learning new skills such as mindfulness and meditation, new knowledge around sleep, wellbeing and self care. But life before children is a huge part of my journey. This is true for the things life threw at me and the choices I made.

Many of the career choices I made have coincidentally been a massive support to me in my life as a parent carer, I don't know if I believe in fate or not but having the skills, knowledge and experience in a professional capacity have been unbelievably useful. From first aid to benefit advice, advocacy to accessing services, seeking out advice and information, writing reports to creating activities.

My experience also informs the work I do now, having spent many years working with children, teenagers and families, empowering them to believe in themselves, make positive change and create a better life.

I think it's all too easy for society to dismiss parent carers as just that, but we are always so much more, we had a life before, and it's important we have a life now.

Does your life before children inform your life now? Or does it feel like it's a memory?

When our kids struggle with sleep it is unseen to the rest of the world. It's an issue in our homes, our family.

No-one can ever quite understand how it feels, what the issues are, how life is affected. But it also means that there is often blame laid at the parents feet and guilt taken on when your child doesn't sleep because it feels like no-one else has the same issues.

It can be isolating and lonely, I know in the long, dark nights I still feel it.

What it does mean is that you are yours and your families greatest asset, a source of knowledge and experience on your family, your children, you.

Come find community and add to that knowledge in my Sleep: Back to Basics Masterclass and you have the power to be the difference you and your family need and put that guilt and blame to rest.

https://learn.dancingintherain.uk/sleep-masterclass

Sleep as an investment, the act of devoting time, effort, or energy with the expectation of a worthwhile result. Sleep is a worthwhile investment, getting good quality sleep improves our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Being rested, feeling rested has a positive impact on our entire lives, just as being exhausted, sleep deprived and restless affects every part of our life.

[Image description Faded blue background with orange and yellow splatters in the corners and words in white "Sleep is an investment in the energy you need to be effective tomorrow." Tom Roth]

SLEEP: BACK TO BASICS MASTERCLASS

Join me for my sleep masterclass at 8.00pm on Thursday 24th October

You will:

* Understand more about the science behind sleep
* Find out what sleep we all actually need
* Know why we need sleep
* Gain awareness around the impact of not enough sleep

As well as a chance to ask questions at the end.

Comment SLEEP to sign up

Join me on Thursday 24th October at 8.00pm

FR3E Sleep: Back to Basics Masterclass

Knowledge is power. Knowing the facts and having the information needed will help you get the support you need for you and your child.

I will be covering:
* Sleep: An overview
* The science behind sleep
* Sleep needs
* When to seek support

AND at the end of the Masterclass there will be a question and answer session, where you can ask questions about the topics covered

Sign up here:
https://learn.dancingintherain.uk/sleep-masterclass

Even if you cannot attend, please sign up because everyone will be sent a recording.

LAST CALL

Rethinking sleep starts at 10.00am

If sleep is an issue in your family come and join us.

https://learn.dancingintherain.uk/rethinking-sleep

If you are joining me tomorrow for Rethinking Sleep, don't forget to join the Facebook group.

Link is in the email

Sleep is as essential to our wellbeing as food and water, without sleep our physical, mental and emotional health is negatively affected. Yet as a society sleep is massively undervalued. Its time we changed this and placed value on sleep and rest.

We need sleep.

We need rest.

We need support.

"Sleep is the single most effective thing we can do to reset our brain and body health each day" Dr Matthew Walker

From my ever light state of sleep I hear the creak of the bed, followed by the flick of the light switch, the sounds of my son getting out of bed, I look at my watch, it's just after midnight.

There was a time I'd have dived straight out of bed, tried to coax him back into bed, lifted him in again and again, told him it was night time, sleep time … it was a frustrating, pointless battle with no winners, that often went on for hours. It was stressful, exhausting and upsetting for everyone in our house.

In the darkness, this morning, he played, his toys spun and whirred, he giggled. While I lay in my comfortable bed, resting, listening. There in case he needs me or something changes, he's not chilled every night.

After a couple of hours my bedroom door slams open, it was already open but he likes to make an entrance. He potters over to my bed, he can't quite get in yet so I lift him in. We clap and interact with verbal sounds, after a while he indicates he'd like to get into the covers. This is new in many ways, he's only used a duvet in his bed for around a year and has only started getting back into bed, albeit mine, for a few months, it feels like progress.

After a lot of squiggling, pushing, rearranging, taking up most of the bed he settles back to sleep. It's around 4am by this point.

So, I get myself comfortable, take a few deep mindful breaths and let myself drift off for a couple of hours till morning.

We've come a long way with our night times, they don't look like they are ‘supposed’ to but by observing and trusting what my son needs and accepting that it's different we've found a calmer night.

Is sleep an issue in your family?

Does your child struggle to get to sleep? or stay asleep?
Does that have a knock on effect for you and the rest of the family?
Do you struggle with sleep? Are you exhausted?

Starting on Tuesday, for three days, we will support each other in a private pop-up Facebook community to think differently about sleep.

Day one: Delving into your knowledge

Day two: Exploring your families sleep issues and challenges

Day three: Creating a plan for making changes

If you feel like you have tried everything, come and try something different.

https://learn.dancingintherain.uk/rethinking-sleep