Why You Should Say Thank You to Children

July 28, 2016July 27, 2016 ~ Nicky M ~ 13 Comments

Anyone who works with children will understand the roller coaster ride of emotions you experience over the course of a school year.

Whilst I love my job, working with children can make you feel tired, sad, worried, stressed, daunted, unfunny, a failure, out of touch, old, emotional and rubbish at your job.

Sad but true.

However, you learn so much when you work with children. You get to see things from their many perspectives – straightforward and complicated, innocent and streetwise, selfish and caring.

I’ve learned over the years to take children just as they are.

By adopting this approach you allow yourself to see the world through their eyes. Not to judge them, but to understand why they may behave a certain way, gain insight into their experiences of life so far and to appreciate the little things they do in all their simplicity.

Here are a few examples of the wonderful moments I’ve noticed when with children:

Excitement – is what you experience when say you will get the Lego out during wet play

Generosity – is being given ten drawings by the same child

Happiness – the face that literally lights up when you thank them for something they did

Motivation – children working together to tidy up quickly so we have time for a game

Creativity – 30 children, a whole afternoon, plain old white paper and a box of crayons…

Compassion – half the class offering to take the child who has fallen over to first aid

Appreciation – the handmade card at the end of the year

Humour – because kids are funny. Period

Wisdom – need to know anything about Minecraft? Ask a child.

Courage – for some, just showing up every day

Friendship – navigating the trials and tribulations of the school playground

Confidence – anyone can blossom with a little support

It is a privilege to work with children and young people. Hard, but a privilege none the less.

So I want to say thank you to all the amazing children out there.

I never miss an opportunity to say it, and I want you to say it too.

Children are fabulous educators and the positives far out way the negatives.

Thank them for all they are teaching you.

Share your stories of what lessons children have taught you below. I can’t wait to read them.

Little Miss Sunshine

July 26, 2016August 26, 2016 ~ Nicky M ~ 15 Comments

Who doesn’t love a little sun to shine on their day?

I love getting an award – not just because I’m honoured and humbled to have been chosen (which I am!) but because I get to share some of the new blogs I’ve found with my existing readers.

It’s so great to get a shout out. My heart does little star jumps when I read my comments – the fact that someone has taken the time to read and write on my post makes me smile from ear to ear.

So thank you to Blogmomrocks2 for nominating me for The Sunshine Blogger Award – you are awesome!

The rules are as follows…

1. Thank the person that nominated you
2. Answer the 11 questions from your nominator
3. Nominate 11 bloggers.
4. Give them 11 questions to answer.

Here’s what you wanted to know…

1. A ham and cheese sandwich or a veggie tray?

Probably the veggies – not too fussed wth sandwiches.

2. Friendship or Marriage?

I think a friendship within a marriage is the best answer – too many people are unhappy in their marriages. I love being married. But it’s because we are friends. We treat each other as we would our friends – you have to put the effort in.

3. Facebook or Twitter?

Going to say Facebook – but actually my fave is Instagram – so much friendlier.

4. Your preferred form of transportation?

Walking. I love being outside in the fresh air. I actually can’t drive and have no intention to learn at present.

5. Fiction or Non-fiction?

Oooooh toughest question yet! Going to say fiction has the edge – but I’m loving reading autobiographies of kick-ass women at the minute.

6. Puppies or kittens?

Definitely puppies.

7. Wendy Williams show or Dr. Oz show?

I live in the UK and don’t watch much TV – so unsure who these are….

8. Pants or shorts?

Again, UK gal. Going to say pants (hope that’s trousers) although I prefer skirts and dresses over both.

9. Living in a Mansion or a country home?

How about a mansion in the country? Wouldn’t actually mind either – as long as it felt like home and all my kids were there.

10. Sweet or salty?

Salty. No sweet tooth here!

11. A Nature Preserve center or an Art Museum?

Art museum – it’s good to broaden your experiences.

I proudly nominate…

Hide Away Girl

A Flair for the Dramatic

Yasmin’s Lifestyle Blog

My Favouriite

Life Lessons From Around the Dinner Table

Anyone else who would like to take part and add this award to their blog – you’re all worthy!

And finally, I want to know….

1. What’s the last thing you do every night, before going to sleep?

2. Think of an adjective to describe yourself that starts wth the same letter as your name.

3. How many blogposts have you published so far?

4. What’s the title of the next post you’re going to publish?

5. If you had to choose one colour to wear for the rest of your life, what would it be?

6. What was the last lie you told?

7. Name one nice thing about yourself.

8. When we meet for the first time, what will be the first thing I notice about you?

9. What do you like to do when it rains?

10. If you had to change your blog name, what would it be?

11. Name one nice thing you will do for yourself today.

Hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little more. Don’t forget to give me a shout out when you post as I can’t wait to learn more about you!

Have a sunny day. And remember to keep those smiles firmly in place 🙂

Nicky xo

I don’t need you to like me!

July 19, 2016July 18, 2016 ~ Nicky M ~ 29 Comments

“Other people’s opinion of you is none of your business”, I once told my daughter.

It was born out of a conversation we were having about peer pressure and the trials and tribulations of navigating teenage relationships.

I could identify.

As an unconfident teenager I was constantly seeking approval from my peers, desperately trying to fit in.

I changed my look to theirs, went places they went to, I compromised, I agreed to things I didn’t want to and allowed myself to be used by people who pretended to be my friend when it suited them.

If only I could go back and tell my younger self to walk away.

That it would be better to be alone than in such damaging relationships; that none of these people ‘had my back’ and that I was wasting my time – they were never going to like me the way I wanted them too.

It all changed for me when I started dating a boy from another school and gained a whole new set of friends They were real friends who weren’t concerned with how I looked, what music I listened to and actually championed each other’s individuality and definitely had each other’s backs.

Then, do you know what happened?

I became desirable.

That’s right! My ‘so called’ friends wanted to hang out with me and my new friends. They wanted invites to the things I was doing and places I was going.

So, what had caused this enormous shift? I hear you ask…

It was simple.

I stopped caring what they thought of me.

I realised that their opinion of me was holding me back. So I told myself that I didn’t need them to like me.

I shifted the focus onto myself and became more concerned with my thoughts and my behaviour and less about theirs. I had become more confident in myself and stopped looking for validation elsewhere; which in turn made them want to know more about me as I was no longer an open book who was easy to read.

It was the start of a beautiful relationship with myself.

I had discovered the power that is unleashed when you realise that your opinion is the only one you should listen to.

Deep down you know.

You know how to be authentic.

You know how you wish to be seen.

You know your desires, wishes and dreams.

You know how you want to feel when you wake up each morning.

You know the kind of life you want to live.

People can be quick to give an opinion, criticise or gossip. Almost everyone has an opinion on everyone.

But you cannot let those opinions stop you from being who you’re meant to be, doing what you love or following your dreams.

When I’m upset by something someone has said or done – I go back to the mantra “It says more about them than it does me”. You don’t have to speak every thought that pops into your head – unless it’s a kind one, compliment or praise. I try to see why they may have said what they did, whether their intention was to harm or not.

I try to not take things personally any more. I know where my life needs improving; I don’t need you to point it out thank you very much. And if I do need a little prompt – do it with love.

I wonder, where in your life do you find other people’s opinions of you are holding you back?

Stop spending your energy on people who are holding you back and start devoting it to someone who truly deserves to be liked by you.

You.

Feeling Inspired to Create Awesome Content

July 12, 2016August 26, 2016 ~ Nicky M ~ 20 Comments

For me, one of the best parts of being nominated for an award is the reason behind it.

I love (and am humbled by) the fact that someone nominated you because they read something on your blog that made them smile or resonated, touched and inspired them in some way.

So when I was nominated by Mortisha from It’s a Girl Dream for the Blue Sea Black cat award and read about who it’s for, my soul did little start jumps.

This award is for bloggers who strive to write for everybody, and no matter how many viewers they get, make an impact on a reader. This award is an expression of gratitude to the nominee. It should be awarded to anyone that you choose deserves it and it doesn’t mean that they must have hundreds of followers and likes.

When I started this blog, I had little idea of where it would take me. I wrote because I needed to write, I needed to share my story and had a desire to encourage people to see how fabulous they truly were.

I wanted to be everyone’s personal cheerleader.

I feel I’m starting to have real connections now, through the comments people leave on my posts and my tribe is growing. All I ever wanted was for people to feel inspired to see how beautiful life can be when you live authentically.

And if people are liking what I’m writing about – then I feel encouraged to continue to create the best content I possibly can.

Anyway, Oscar moment over; back to the award…

The rules:

Anybody nominated can nominate up to seven other bloggers.
Anybody nominated answers three questions. The questions you ask while nominating can be any three questions. If any questions asked are offending or simply do not want to be answered, the nominee does not have to answer them to earn the award.

The questions I am to answer:

What is your main source of inspiration when writing your blog?

My life so far. After hitting rock bottom after the death of my younger brother, I spent a lot of time and energy figuring out who I was without him. When I found my smile again I began sharing my story with others who had lost all sense of self and needed a little pick me up…and the blog was a natural progression of that.

Do you see blogging as a side hobby or a future career?

At the moment it’s a hobby (that takes up as many hours as my actual job!) but it would be an amazing thing if I could write and inspire people full time and get paid for it – magic wand anyone?

Which blogger has made the biggest impact on your life?

This is a tough question! When I first started looking for ways to rebuild my life, I read blogs by amazing women like Gala Darling, Marie Forleo and Danielle LaPorte. I watched their videos, bought their books and soaked up every journaling exercise they suggested, all in the name of healing myself.

I still follow these people, but for me the ones who now have the biggest impact on my life are the people I am connecting with through my blog. The people who write about their struggles with mental health and anxiety, the people who travel, the people who share their photographs and their lives, the people who write to inspire you to be kind. I guess I am inspired by what others write about – the real day to day stuff and how they want to help us by sharing their stories.

My nominees:

Floating Speck

Benjiman Grant

The Melodramatic Confessions of Carla Louise

Petra Omoregie Caroline

Anyone else who is reading this – you are worthy.

My three questions to these nominees:

What is the thing you enjoy most about blogging?

What is the one thing, starting a blog has taught you about yourself?

If you could wave a magic wand, what is the one wish you would have in regards to your blog?

Cannot wait to read your posts – I nominated you all because you are all amazing and I believe everyone should have a chance to earn this award.

Continue doing what you do, they way you do it. You are inspiring someone, somewhere.

Nicky xo

Monthly musings: June

July 5, 2016July 4, 2016 ~ Nicky M ~ 26 Comments

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So, it’s goodbye June and hello July. We are officially half way through 2016!

It’s been more rain than radiance – but I’ve still managed to have a little fun and created my own sunshine along the way. Here’s a round up of my favourite bits…