As a mom, do you get stressed out easily? What stresses you out? Your job? Your kids? (Not that you don’t adore them, but the fact that being a mom can cause any woman to get a wee overloaded.) Your spouse? Your friends? Life in general? Oh, and trying desperately to maintain a healthy balance regardless of whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, full-time working mom or a work-from-home mom? When I get stressed, I exercise…..and stress-eat. I know, I know. But this is how I deal. Now, my form of “mommy sanity” exercise often equates to nothing more than a low-impact jog with my dog a few times a week or taking a Pilates class here and there. It works for me. And, after exercising, I enjoy eating a balanced meal. And then stress eating. I’m talking about indulging in healthy doses of chocolate. It could be brownies, cake, candy, chocolate covered almonds or even Death by Chocolate Cake. Any form will do. I find chocolate really helps me stay in control. Unfortunately, when I indulge in too much of the stuff, I have a tendency to suffer from a lack of sleep. And when I don’t get enough sleep, I get grouchy and want more chocolate the next day. This hamster-in-a-wheel way of dealing with stress is my way of telling the world, “I realize my system may seem crazy to you, but it’s how this mother stays sane.” 😉

Did you know that chocolate is actually good for you? (As long as you don’t over-do it like I do.) A recent study of 8,000 male Harvard graduates reveals that chocoholics live longer than those who go without! There are some other fun facts about chocolate on this web site: http://www.chocolate.org/

Check it out and enjoy! And please don’t forget to send in your mommy insanity stories and dessert recipes to jackie@ventingsessions.com. Your story or recipe could be in my next book!