Rage Against The Minivan

This post was sponsored by   VSP® Vision Care I've talked a lot about how self-care is elusive to me . . . how I struggle with taking the time to take care of my own needs. It seems like I'm always juggling the needs of others, while putting myself on the back burner. The old "put the oxygen mask on yourself before putting it on your children" analogy? I'm failing at that. One of the areas I've always struggled with, in terms of self-care, is my health. I put off going to the doctor. . . .

A few weeks ago, my kids had plans to spend a week in Yosemite with their dad. I needed to get some writing done, and I also needed an escape from my house. Sweltering temperatures, no AC, and some construction being done have made my house a miserable place to be. I needed a getaway. I'd been dreaming of returning to a Dreams Resort. I stayed at their property in Tulum a few years ago and immediately fell in love with their whole vibe. They call it "unlimited luxury" and it basically means . . .

This past week I had the chance to visit Iraq and Lebanon with World Vision.  The only thing I knew, prior to the trip, was that we would be visiting with families living in refugee camps who had fled ISIS. I’ve seen footage of the violence and destruction that ISIS has wreaked on families in Syria and, like most who have seen the stories of these traumatized and desperate people, I am devastated for the Syrian people. I wanted to go on this trip because I think that their stories . . .

This post is sponsored by Best Buy I've got three tweens in my hose these days, and one who thinks she's a tween. They are obsessed with texting friends and checking Musically and watching youtube. All of the kids have older iphones available to play on when they earn screen time.  In addition to this, we’ve also got three ipads in the home, and Jafta has a chromebook he uses for school. I'm not totally against kids and online . . .