Taking a Moment with Pepperidge Farm® Milano® Cookies & $100 Visa Gift Card Giveaway!

I am all about the simple little pleasures in life that make a huge difference in my day.  As the mom of 3 growing boys, and wife to a police officer husband whose work schedule changes from day to day, I have learned to carve out a few minutes to myself during the day to re-charge.  Because life sometimes gets overwhelming.  And we deserve a break, right?  Simple things like fresh flowers, a good book and a sweet treat can go a long way in reducing stress. Taking a little break just makes the whole day better.

My most sacred "me time" is just before elementary school pick-up, around 2:30pm.  Throughout the day, I have been busy working on this blog and taking care of all the many things that are necessary to keep our home up and running.  I am sure all moms can relate!  We juggle so many different roles every day, but often don't feel like we're doing all of them really well.  Sometimes it's important to take a moment to focus ourselves and to pause from our everyday busyness to savor the present.

I like to take a few moments to enjoy my afternoon tea and treat myself to a couple of Pepperidge Farm® Milano® Cookies (the Mint Milano cookies have been a long time favorite of mine!).  I gather my thoughts, maybe read a chapter in a book, and mostly just savor the quiet.  Because the busiest part of my day is about to happen!  With school age kids, it seems the most important (and craziest) parenting hours are those from when school gets out until bedtime.  I want to be fully present with my kids as we get homework done, take care of the many after school activities, and finally cook dinner and eat together.  It is a lot to get done in a short amount of time.

But before all that happens, if I take a few moments for myself, I am ready to face the rest of my day head on.  When my kids were younger, I always savored their nap time as my time.  Now that they are in school all day, I find that I need to consciously stop myself from all of the running around and take some time to re-group.  It makes all the difference.

What is your favorite way to take a moment for yourself?  Tell me in the comments to enter for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card.

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Entry Instructions:
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You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

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4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 5/4/15 – 6/30/15.
Be sure to visit the Pepperidge Farm® Milano® Cookies brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!