Moms Away retreat ? photos and more reflections | Rowan Family Tree

Photo from Dar

Last weekend on the way home from the Mom?s Away retreat I dictated a blog post into my phone and reflected on the weekend. Here are a bunch of photos from the trip, my I think this weekend has more impact on me than I first expected. Scroll through the pictures and I?ll meet you at the end to discuss how?

Getting to know each other. I?m not much of a icebreaker player, so photographed instead.

Total indulgence ? icecream sundaes as a midnight snack. Note the Baileys.

The is what women do? we talk, we share, we do nails.

MORe delicious food! We were well taken care of each meal.

And in between meals, many many sugar vices.

There were women from Kelowna, Vernon, Lilloet, Willimas Lkae, 100 Mile House, Vancouver, and Oregon.

My friend J helping me prepare our wine tasting snackies.

Yummy! All the ingredients were chosen to highlight the different aspects of wines.

Our one big planned activity ? the wine tasting! organized by yours truly.

I chose a ?Down Under? theme, and cracked off colour jokes the whole time. The wines are all $18-25 bottles, with the exception of the Molly Dooker at $35. Standouts? Kim Crawford?s Sauvignon Blanc, The Cover Drive and of course, Molly Dooker Boxer Shiraz. So fab!

And into the late night, we all got into our pygamas, sipped Baileys and decaf coffee (or daquiris!)?

?and boogied to completely age-inappropriate tunes like Katie Perry?s. Too much fun!

I guess a big take-away from the weekend was how?little time I spend with my girls when I am not distracted or thinking of?the other million tasks I have to do. It?s not that I ignore my children; rather, that I?m always doing many things at once, so?undivided attention is a rarity. My husband would probably say the same thing.

So I decided to make some changes this week. It took breaths, was more patient, and more kind. I tried to crave out an hour each day when I was?concentrating (on the surface at least) solely on the girls. And I?m going to get some more help. (Au pair! More on that later!)

So thanks moms ? for the advice and mentorship. And thanks to the organizer for allowing me that reflective time to think about my parenting and enjoying my children.

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