Kimberly Sam has her idea of "me" time down -- it's whenever she gets to be by herself. "My husband will take the boys out and I'll stay home and choose what I want to do. Sometimes I'll sit back and watch TV, read a book, or sleep. It's 'me' time because I choose what I do, even if it's nothing," says the Silver Spring, Maryland, mom of Andrew, 6, and AJ, 14 months.

Admitting to myself that my hair and waxing appointments didn't meet my real "me"-time happiness quota posed a dilemma. I needed to have that stuff done, but I also felt like I wanted a just-for-me activity. "The biggest challenge most moms face is insisting on 'me' time," says Laura Stack, author of The Exhaustion Cure. "If you wait to give yourself time until all your work is done, you'll never get to play." Stack thinks women should feel more comfortable dividing up responsibilities at home and then following through on their "me"-time plans. "It can be a challenge at first, but think about how fun the payback will be once you get used to it," she says.

Erin Acosta, mom of Samantha, 2 1/2, in Orange, California, regularly schedules in her "me" time: "I try to have time alone about once a month -- okay, sometimes two months, if we're being realistic. My favorite 'me' time is when I go out shopping without anyone in tow. I don't have to talk to anyone, I can wander store aisles for hours, and I can try on fifteen outfits without feeling rushed."

Inspired by Rule #2, I talked to my husband about staying home with the boys on Monday nights so I could join a book club a friend was starting. According to Stack, my instincts were spot-on. "Making time for activities that you can't do when kids are around helps you remember who you are as a person beyond being a mother," she says.

A book club felt like ideal "me"-time material. It required that I stop making my to-do lists and become engrossed in other people's lives. Claudia Olmedo, mom of Delta, 9 months, in Maylene, Alabama, agrees: "Reading is when I can get myself lost in a story, without thinking about what I forgot to get at the store or that I need to load the washer again. Even if it's ten minutes, it's paradise."

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