I received a nice comment yesterday from another new mother out there with the creative bug. Thanks Amy! (see her precious creations on Etsy)
It occurred to me that there are probably a lot of moms out there trying to find the perfect balance between babies/kids and creative time. I know it was a huge inspiration for me to find other mothers out there doing all kinds of fun things with their free time (those two words are an oxymoron to a mother's vocabulary, aren't they?) - like My Paper Crane and Wee Wonderfuls, to name but just a couple. I think I had finally found that nice balance just before my second one came along. I was able to spend an hour here and there working on my projects. Now I'm struggling again to finish anything, but I have faith that I'll regain that rhythm. For now, it's all about trying to squeeze in little mini arts-and-crafts sessions whenever I can. This morning, I'm determined to start cutting some fabric for some cloth napkins I've been wanting to make. I've had this fabric printed for weeks now with the intention to make napkins. (I'm always so embarassed to lay down folded paper towels when we have people over for dinner) I'm sure it'll take me all day to cut my pieces at the pace I'm going. Cut one piece, fix breakfast, cut another piece, feed the baby, cut another, change a diaper, and so on. With time, I just might be able to cut two pieces in between those cries for mommy - but until then it's slow and steady that wins this race. To all those other mothers out there, don't lose hope. You'll start to find the time too. I encourage you to keep trying - even though some days you feel like you'd rather pull out your hair. Once you get that good rhythm, it's worth it to have that outlet. Knowing you have that special project to work on as soon as baby is napping is enough to keep you going. Was for me, anyway.
And, for the record, it's taken me more than a half hour to write this. Write a sentence, plop pacifier back in mouth, another sentence, "Mommy, I want to show you something!!!", another sentence, rescue my fabric from the 3-year old's grip, and so on.
It occurred to me that there are probably a lot of moms out there trying to find the perfect balance between babies/kids and creative time. I know it was a huge inspiration for me to find other mothers out there doing all kinds of fun things with their free time (those two words are an oxymoron to a mother's vocabulary, aren't they?) - like My Paper Crane and Wee Wonderfuls, to name but just a couple. I think I had finally found that nice balance just before my second one came along. I was able to spend an hour here and there working on my projects. Now I'm struggling again to finish anything, but I have faith that I'll regain that rhythm. For now, it's all about trying to squeeze in little mini arts-and-crafts sessions whenever I can. This morning, I'm determined to start cutting some fabric for some cloth napkins I've been wanting to make. I've had this fabric printed for weeks now with the intention to make napkins. (I'm always so embarassed to lay down folded paper towels when we have people over for dinner) I'm sure it'll take me all day to cut my pieces at the pace I'm going. Cut one piece, fix breakfast, cut another piece, feed the baby, cut another, change a diaper, and so on. With time, I just might be able to cut two pieces in between those cries for mommy - but until then it's slow and steady that wins this race. To all those other mothers out there, don't lose hope. You'll start to find the time too. I encourage you to keep trying - even though some days you feel like you'd rather pull out your hair. Once you get that good rhythm, it's worth it to have that outlet. Knowing you have that special project to work on as soon as baby is napping is enough to keep you going. Was for me, anyway.
And, for the record, it's taken me more than a half hour to write this. Write a sentence, plop pacifier back in mouth, another sentence, "Mommy, I want to show you something!!!", another sentence, rescue my fabric from the 3-year old's grip, and so on.
2 comments:
hello there! i wanted to tell you that i am a stay at home mom of two boys...one will be 2 next month and the other is 3 months old. i just watched you on martha and i just loved the booties and bib you made! so i checked out your site and all of your creations are soooo inspiring! i am a stay at home mom who just struggles to get one "thing" accomplished during the day. i love to scrapbook and do all sorts of crafts...and i too, like you, do one thing then fix the pacifer...one more thing and play cars...its never ending...but i was inspired by what you wrote and intend to keep my faith that it will all get done...eventually!!! thank you for being so creative and for sharing all your exciting creations!
I also have a hard time balancing life as a creative mom. I really appreciated you post.
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