vacation

No one ever told me that relaxing would be such a hard thing to do.

You don't have to feel lost without your children, or miss them to the point of paralysis to be a good, even a great, mother.

If you're one of those people who has 100,000 excuses as to why you can't take a vacation, I'm here to tell you why and how to make it happen — even on a budget and with no time!

When our bodies and minds are constantly under stress we begin to break down. Stress floods the body with stress hormones which has been linked to a weakened immune system, slow metabolism, inflammation, disease, decreased attention span, decreased productivity and creativity, impaired memory, fatigue, depression, and irritable moods ... and this is an abbreviated list!

"I love my kids. I don’t love Portland more than my kids. What I loved, besides books and donuts and peonies, was being alone. Or at least alone without kids. So not really alone as much as just not being screamed at or hit by a couple of tiny tyrant assholes."

So, I ask myself: “Self, how much would you spend at Disneyland for a 3 day trip?” and then I would counter that with, “Self, how much could that money get you…anywhere else?”