Tips for Having Hobbies with Kids Underfoot.

  As a homeschooling mom (that’s living a three days drive) from where I grew up, I understand having to parent without any extra help. I am with my kids all-day every-day. Unless I physically leave the house, they’re asleep, I put my headphones in and go to another area of our small  house, or my husband takes them elsewhere, I’m involved in what’s going on with them.  Someday that may change, but for now that’s what I’m working with. I mention this not for pity, but to explain completely that I don’t have a relative or trusted friend taking my (highly intelligent but high-energy kids) elsewhere while I shut the world out completely and just “do my thing”. A lot of my creative time happens while they’re asleep, they’re occupied in the other room, or right next to them.  

   As a mom, I have had to learn that I can’t save my creativity for later. I’m not going to wait for the perfect time to do a creative project because those moments seldom come. I have however found that there are a handful of ways I can be more creative more often, and I’d like to share them with you. 

1. Make the things you have to do more fun. There were years when most of my creativity went into cooking, baking, and getting food on the table. I do love to cook and to bake, but during those early years of my motherhood and marriage, I think I put in more effort than I do at the moment. Not only was it an outlet for my creativity, but it helped ease the edge of tight finances because I learned how to make a wider variety of things, including holday treats and birthday cakes. And hey, you have to keep yourself and the little humans alive, you might as well have some fun with it. There are a lot of ways that you can do this. I would like to add that I have never gotten the hang of sourdough, so please don’t feel the pressure to do whatyou see other moms doing. Just find ways to have fun with it because I do believe that a lot of moms could learn to stop hating the task of feeding their family if they learned to enjoy it in a way that works for them

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2. Do creative things that are kid friendly and do the adult version in close proximity to them. Things like coloring can be fun for mom if you find an adult coloring book you like and markers or pencils you enjoy. Beading, crocheting, needle arts, drawing, and painting can all be done alongside your child while you all get creative together. Of course I understand that you won't get as much done as you would have if they were otherwise occupied, but the more you do things with them the more they get used to it and the better the flow you will find. 

3. Work on healthy boundaries and routines outside of creative time so they understand them during creative time. Our kids are almost always in bed from 7PM to 7AM. I’ve always leaned towards an earlier bedtime because my kids are prone to getting up early. I’ve tried to push that from time to time and they usually end up tired and easily irritated the next day, so we make it a priority. I wake up between 5AM and 5:30AM most mornings to work-out or write for my blog. Sometimes they wake a little early, so I picked up a $20 night light/clock that turns green when they’re allowed to get out of bed. I understand that everyone’s bodies work differently and it may take a while to establish a good bedtime routine… but it is soooo worth it in my opinion! When it comes to boundaries, I mean that my kids don’t have free reign over my art supplies. They aren’t even allowed to touch them without asking. We give them their own art supplies and they’re allowed to have hobbies too, but they’re absolutely not allowed to get into mine. There are times I will offload supplies I know I won’t use in a timely fashion, or I get into my supplies to teach them how to do something (and then make it clear that they can have what was used during teaching time). As a rule, I have my stuff they have theirs. Their stuff gets brought out when I can oversee it and they’re going to be responsible with it. Messy stuff doesn’t leave the kitchen table. 

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   Keep expectations realistic, and learn how to scale down. Do you like to crochet but you have kids underfoot? Pick a simple pattern or project. Do you like to draw? Maybe keep it to bits and pieces in a sketchbook while you wait for the time to do larger things. Sewing? Find a project that’s easy to do and not costly when you mess-up. I’m just now getting back into painting and sewing after quite a long break, but I don’t have a dedicated large art space at this exact moment. I have dreams of doing LARGE and exciting works that will be a lot of fun. But the time for those intense painting sessions is not for now. I am learning to play with colors and textures on a smaller scale so I can build up the skills while I wait for that season. 

5. And finally, allow yourself to develop an interest in more than one thing. Maybe you just can’t sew right now, but you can take a 15 minute walk 3 times a week and work on photography with your phone. Maybe you can’t make yourself a new wardrobe for the spring, but you can start learning how to quilt and then make doll quilts for your kiddos. As an added bonus I would like to say that if you start spending time doing creative things that benefits your kids in some way can helps them understand the value of what you’re doing better. 

At the end of the day, learning how to have creative outlets with kids underfoot is a journey just like everything else. There are going to be days when it feels like you’re crazy for trying, and maybe that specific day you are. But motherhood lasts a long time. I don’t think it’s good for kids to grow up without hobbies or interests, and I also don't think it's healthy for them to see their moms give up every interest they have because children are underfoot.

Even if it’s 5 minutes here and there, hobbies are worth having as a mom. They build the skills we need to enjoy the life we have!