Sew Much Free Time

I've been getting much more free time lately thanks to a paid babysitter and a babysitting swap with a friend. Sew much free time in fact that I've been sewing ;) I've made a few outfits for my daughter Lauren. You can check out more pics on our family blog at www.laurenmouse.com. I find this creative outlet incredibly energizing. Usually I'm beat by 10pm, but this week I've wanted to stay up and keep sewing until almost midnight! I even created a store at Etsy.com to try and sell some of my handmade things. If you haven't ever been to Etsy before you should check it out. They sell all handmade items (and a tiny bit of vintage stuff and crafting supplies). My store is at www.mommysaidsew.etsy.com.

Mary Kay Party

Yesterday I got to attend a Mary Kay party. We got free facials plus a makeup trial with application instruction. We also got some free gifts, and we had lots of fun. Of course, I made some early birthday purchases while there...but I also got to count 2 1/2 hours of Pampered Princess time!

More Free Time on the Way

I was excited that this project came into being right when I had decided to take advantage of a friend's nanny to watch my daughter 4 hours on Wednesdays. That has been going pretty well for the last month now. Every other week I go downtown to meet with my therapist and then browse in a shop or sit outside with a cup of coffee. The rest of the time I try to do something for me, like put pictures in photo albums or work on sewing or craft projects. I haven't done as much sewing as I had hoped to, but I think that's about to change. A friend of mine needs to have someone watch her 1 yr old while she teaches a pre-school class. I agreed to do a time swap with her. So now I'll have 4 free hours on Tuesday too. The trade off is that I will have 2 toddlers every Thursday, but I'll manage. It's worth it to think of all the projects I can get done, knowing that I can start on Tues and finish on Wed and then it won't be sitting around all week (things are cramped in our 2 bedroom condo - but that's city life). I've posted some pics of some hair clips I've made. Tell me what you think!

Back in the Game

Thanks for your post Heidi. I have been preoccupied with the loss of our baby, but I've also finally hired a reliable sitter. She starts tomorrow and will be coming twice a week for a total of 10 hours, plus date nights for Andy and me. One thing that I will be doing with my time is going back to Weight Watchers. Since we're not planning on getting pregnant for another year or so, I would like to work on getting back to a healthy weight. Other things I plan on doing are: working on my photo albums/scrapbooks, reading, and painting/decorating the house.

I wish I could say that I have spent 5 hours every week doing something just for me. The reality is that some weeks I get 5 hours in, and some weeks I'm lucky to get 5 minutes! But the important thing is that I know that it is possible to have time for myself, and that it's a choice that I get to make. I have to decide that it's important enough to make time for, and for me personally that requires support from family and sitters. I know that when I take time away from the daily grind to do things that I enjoy, I am a better mom and a better wife. The world won't end if the laundry waits another day or the toys stay out all night, but lives are definitely affected when I am burnt out and resentful that I haven't had a moment just for me.

A little perplexed

im not sure how this project is going for anyone..haven't seen any posts lately. The last time I posted, i followed some advice, asked for what I needed in my relationship in an adult manner..and the relationship ended..Now, thats to say thats a bad thing. I think it prevented wasted time in something that wasnt going anywhere. But what do we do when we do take care of ourselves? and things dont turn out as expected.
The thing is, I know have 5 hours a week exactly to spend by myself. Three hours on friday night and two on Tuesday while she is at drama. Now that I have the hours, I am a little frightened at what to do with them.

Im jsut wondering if and how this project has changed others lives. If its changed it for the better I am all about hearing that as well.

I Need a Break!

It's funny to me that as soon as I decided to make this a project for my friends and family, my babysitter went on a perpetual vacation and is still not back. I have been trying for over a month now to find a new sitter, but I've had no luck. This weekend though I finally heard back from a girl that sat for a friend of mine. She's away too, but she'll be back in a few days. I can't wait to meet her and put her to work immediately! I think about the project and being a pampered princess all the time, and sometimes I find myself just settling for what I can get instead of what I really want in life. I have been noticing how much I don't ask for what I want. I wish for it, hope for it, hint about it and sometimes even demand it, but I rarely just ask. I guess because there's always a chance that I'll hear "no." But so what? Why is it so hard to hear a no? It doesn't stop my 2-year-old from asking again, so why should it stop me. From now on, when I want something, I'm just going to ask for it. What are you taking on this week?

Feeding My Family = Love

I love to cook, but I rarely get to do it. I do prepare three meals everyday, but they don't count as "cooking" in my book. This past Sunday I got to prepare a yummy meal for our extended family. I spent hours in the kitchen and was in absolute heaven while I peeled potatoes, simmered green beans and made miniature meat loaves. For me, cooking is relaxing - almost a meditation, and to serve that food to the people I love makes me truly happy. While I was preparing this meal, I kept acknowledging to myself that this is something I love to do and rarely make time for, and I actually thought about taking a picture when it was all done to post on the blog. However, by the time the food was ready there were two very young children who were not interested in waiting for mommy to find the camera (and the memory card) and so you'll just have to use your imagination to picture how it all turned out. Two girls from our play group just had babies, and I signed up to bring them dinner, so I'm looking forward to some more opportunities to take time for something that truly brings me pleasure.