This past week has been Lucy & Anthony's Easter Break.

This time of year is our family's "busy season". Our family greenhouse gets very busy in the spring, and there will never be a March, April, or May when we leave town as a family. Honestly, this leaving town thing has never bothered me because I am a major home body. Also, I LOVE LOVE LOVE, spending time at the greenhouse so I really don't feel like I'm sacrificing. I hang out, take pictures, and love every moment.

What's always hard for me is breaking out of the structure I thrive on.

I have to be honest. I am thrilled and annoyed by these moments. I love spending time with my kids, but sometimes I need to work without interruption.

On a normal week day we get up, get ready, and bring Lucy & Anthony to school,

I get Starbucks, I eat my breakfast, I fold laundry, We play babies, We watch trolls, lunch, naps, time to work... The days are the same. I know what to expect.

On a break, I do not. I've been trying to get into shape. I'm in the middle of several projects: Finishing filling orders; Editing March photos; Designing a book inspired by March Photos; etc. so on and so forth. When I don't have time to work on the things that I want to get done, and need to get done, or that I've committed to. I start feeling behind, and I start feeling everyone is in my way, I get mean.

This year I decided to do this differently. ... I decided that I was going on vacation whether I was right here at home or not. Here's my approach:

1. Define the length of your vacation. How long do you need to vacate? Relax? Enjoy yourself! You decide!! I decided that I'd make my vacation the length of Lucy & Anthony's break. I love vacation, but I am also proud of all of the hard work I put in daily, and I love the things I've placed in my life. I love vacation, but I also love to come home.

2. Determine what you need from your vacation. Are you worn out? Are you needing inspiration? Restoration? Define it, and then make it happen. I chose relaxing, enjoying time, with my kids, and indulging. I went with the flow (within reason :), I worked on projects with my kids, and I ate and drank my favorite things!

3. Think of something you'd really love to work on that you just haven't had time for and work on it! It could be something you do for you or someone else. Choose something you'd really love to work on and enjoy the process. The results don't matter. For me, I felt called to start a a quilt. I love fabric. I love color. I love involving my kids in projects. I love design. I'm terrible at sewing.. Who cares!!! I began a completely frivolous project. A story quilt. I totally made this concept up, but I can't wait to tell you more about it! I have a really strong need to create & to feel productive, so this really helped me to let loose, lose myself in a project, and feel like I was moving forward. Also, I'm super excited that I'm now starting a series of quilts for my kids. Something that I've always wanted to do, but hadn't made time for.

4. Take a break from anything you need to take a break from. I'm a terrible rule follower. Rules feel constrictive to me. But without any sort of structure, I wander. So ... I've become someone who loves structure and planning. As much as I LOVE planning my week, I do feel great to take a break from it. This week... I took a break from exercise, eating healthy, and following a plan. I was lazy when I wanted to be. I ate and drank what I wanted when I wanted... and I wandered! And I feel incredible!

5. Have a night with friends!! As much as I love hanging out with my family. A week with kids is tiring. So I went out for the evening with my neighborhood girls! We ate, we drank, we vented... We had a great time!

Lucy & Anthony start school again tomorrow, and instead of me not being able to wait for it... which definitely sometimes happens... I am refreshed, I feel inspired by a new project, and I enjoyed our week. I love that because I gave myself a break, I was able to be present for the the ordinary, but meaningful moments, and we were able to enjoy our break together! Give this a try!! You deserve it!! Let me know how it goes!!!

Have a great week!!

Mandy

How to take a vacation without leaving town!