Escape

Recently I spoke with another Mom from my daughter's school. We were talking about some of the craziness we had to deal with when you have 2 or more young children in your home. She is also dealing with a teenager and said most days she is quite overwhelmed. She explained that she didn't use to work-out but has recently started because she needed an "escape." That might sound a little harsh but I totally agree that Moms desperately need a break and should definitely look for a way to "escape." Don't look at it as an escape from your children. Look at it as a time of refreshing and renewing for you.
Here are some of my "escape" (refreshing and renewing) tactics:
1) Exercise-- I've never been a fan of working out either. However, as a child and even an young adult I loved to bike. Recently I decided to start biking again. We have an exercise bike and I have found that I've been biking almost every day. At first I was skeptical because it is kind of hard to get away from the kids because of my husband's work schedule. They are usually with me for many hours before he gets home. However, I have found that even 20-30 minutes on the bike gives me a much needed "break." Even if the kids are bickering, I put on my I-Pod and I just listen to my music and go and go. Last night I did my first 45 minutes while they were already in bed and it was the best. Yippeee!!!
2) Hobby-- I love reading. I mean if someone would pay me to be a professional reader that would be what I would do. I also don't mind research but of course it is a lot better to read just for pure pleasure. Also, I love writing too. Both reading and writing are my passions.
3) Relaxation Techniques-- I constantly do deep breathing exercises; it helps to calm me down when I'm facing conflicts and plain craziness. Also at nights when I go to sleep I sometimes have a hard time going to sleep and deep breathing exercises have helped me alot. Some people like to drink tea, I am not the biggest tea fan (I'm more of a coffee drinker) but I have found a tea I like (it's a combination of ginger and lemon grass).
Of course if I could get a massage every day I would absolutely love that. However, that won't happen so I try to get a massage every once in a while (every quarter is my goal right now and so far I've gotten 1 this year already so we'll see). Another relaxing thing to do is to take a bubble bath. Why not go all the way and get some really nice bath oil, salts and aromatherapy-type products and even light some candles. This is one of my favorite thing to do.
4) Just DO YOU--Do something that you really enjoy as much as you possibly can do it (I know that some of the things we like can get very expensive so we have to be mindful of that). However, treat yourself to a mani/pedi if you like that; buy yourself some new shoes if that's what you like. The bottom line is to take time to spend time with you. If you get a rare opportunity to take a "break" just take it even if you don't have anything planned. It's okay to do something by yourself just for you.
I know that there are many ways that you can get an "escape" so if I have forgotten something please leave a comment and tell me of some of the things you do to get a break. I would love to get some new ideas.