I am often asked, "how do you do it?", how do I find the time to do the things I love, to sew, knit, crochet, bake, all while parenting my 3 kids.
I have no secret abilities, I can not fly around the world, make it spin backwards and give myself more time in the day (yep... superheros reign all my thoughts!), but I do have a few tricks that make my life a bit easier and allow me to find time to do the things I enjoy in addition to raising a family.
1. I stay home. While being a full time mom is no easy task it does mean that I don't need to come home from a long day dealing with other peoples problems, feed my family, deal with any possible family dramas, clean the house, tuck my kids into bed, do laundry, and then find the energy or desire to work on something other then my dreams. I can easily find a minute or two during the day to sew a quilt panel, knit or crochet a row of something or glue down some pictures in a photo journal. I can bake at 10am instead of 10pm and clean up at noon instead of midnight. While my day is still only 24 hours, how I spend those hours are a bit more flexible then they would be if I worked outside the home.
2. I set goals and I plan. We've established at this point that I am an over planner but in this case I think that is one of my strengths. I set out weekly goals (sew ___ quilt squares, finish the cowl I've been working on, decide on pictures for the journals etc) and then I plan how and when I will work on these goals so I will be successful in completing them.
3. I follow a schedule. This could probably be tied into my planning, but our family is pretty well based around schedules. After I had Zac I realized how important it was/is for my sanity to work off a schedule. I realize scheduling isn't for everyone, believe me plenty of people have teased me about it, but I need to know that at 1:30pm each day I will get a break due to nap time; or if everyone is grumpy at 3pm it could be because I forgot snack. Knowing what to expect everyday also allows for me to plan some crafty intervention times during a nap time or at the table while the kids eat their lunches/snack.
4. I prioritize. Everyone has priorities in life, creating and loving my family are mine and I will always allow/find time to do those things. Having a spotless kitchen or a tidy living room are usually not a priority for me, while we do tidy our house, I will always opt to "wait until tomorrow" to wash that pot or clean up after the kids if it allows me 10-20 minutes extra in front of my sewing machine, reading a book with my kids or alone with my mister.
5. I keep all my supplies out and easily accessible. It is so much easier to find 5-10 minutes to work on something and if I am going to spend those 5-10 minutes pulling out all my scrapbooking/journaling supplies then it's not going to get done. If I keep all my stuff in say a basket or on a shelf that I only need to pluck something off of, then when I find the time to work on a project I will work on the project, not getting ready to work on it.
6. I married a very supportive guy. My mister really is an awesome man and he knows that I need time to create, food or items, to be happy. He will almost always watch the kids to allow me a few minutes to finish something I'm working on, or get to a point that I am happy to leave it for a few hours. He's just as proud once I finish a project as I am, not sure I could ask for more.
There you have it. No tricks, no special powers - that's how I do it.