Juggling Life; Part IV; Hobbies {and work}

8.09.12

{And Work}

Being a mom is a 24/7 responsibility. How our child is raised, what they learn, what they do, and how they act becomes our main priority. And in the meantime, often times, the other aspects of our lives are slacking. Cooking, cleaning, blogging, and hobbies. How do we make time? What works? This week I will talk about these 4 subjects, and talk about how each one is incorporated into my day to day life.

Last  but not least, my hobbies. How do I make time to do the things that I love to do?

Read. Craft. Photography. Just to name a few.

I think it is important as mothers, as women, that we find things that we are passionate about. Things that we love to do. Things that we love to create. Things that make us feel proud, accomplished, and complete. Things that bring us happiness. Things. Not people.

If we could find just one thing that we are consistently doing in our lives. Its a start. Something that balances out the motherhood, the marriage, and the daily challenges of life.

Something that doesn't hold us accountable or have consequences.

That, is what a hobby should be all about.

So for me? My number one is photography. And I don't mean the kind where you go out and shoot images of the environment, and flowers, and landscaping. Not me. My photography hobby is inspired by memories and my desire to capture every moment of our lives. Its a passion of mine. Growing up, I lived with the camera by my side. I was the girl that took all the pictures. And now? Its the same. But its more advanced now. And I continue to learn. But I make sure that my camera goes with me almost everywhere we go. And it is always downstairs to capture any spontaneous moment in time.

I also love to craft. And for me, this was a challenge as 1. I am cheap. and 2. How do I find the time!? The thing about it is... there's plenty of time! I'm just never prepared.

So to prepare myself, I challenge myself to make at least one craft a month. And I hold myself accountable on the blog by making sure I have a craft post on the last Tuesday of the month, every month.

And this has been great! Awesome actually! And the greatest part about it? All my crafts have been free or less than 10 dollars! Happy mama.

To read. Oh my. I could cry just talking about this. Prior to starting a family, I used to read a book in one night. I would find a book and I would get lost in it. Forget technology. Forget social media. Forget Andrew and my friends. It was me, my bed, and my book. Sometimes the couch.

And boy did I love it. I was always out in search for the next greatest book. And I was passionate about it. The stories inspired me. They made me think about life. They brought a warm, fuzzy, happy feeling in my heart.

But unfortunately, I didn't know how to balance reading and family and everything else going on in my life after having Elliana. I just didn't have the desire. I lost it.

Slowly though, I picked up a few books. The twilight. Some of my favorite Jody Picoult books. John Grisham. Nicholas Sparks.

And although I still have a ways to go, I have finally found time to read. Not a book a night. Now it takes me about a week. But I make time. Whether its on break at work... or during nap time. Or while Elliana plays independently. I try to read a few chapters.

A few chapters go a long way.

Photography, reading, crafting. These are just a few of my favorite things to do. And although they are last on my priority list, they definitely make it on that list.

To do. Priorities. Check check check.

And as far as working goes? Definitely not a hobby, but since many of you have asked about it during this series of "Juggling Life," I thought I would go ahead and squeeze this in at the end.

To begin with, let me just say that the reason why I didn't include it in my series is because it is part of my life that I don't have a choice. Well, I do... but right now, it's a permanent part of my life until I decide otherwise. It's kind of like me writing about being a mommy. Sure, I could have included that in my series, but I write about that every day. Being a mama is 24/7 for me and definitely not a chore or job by any means. It's what I am best at, and what I love to do most.

But when it comes to working? It's definitely a big part of my life. I work nights as a registered nurse 3 days {nights} a week, 12 hour shifts. Yes, I watch Elliana full time, which means no I do not have someone come and babysit or help out. Yes, my mom and my sister will come over from time to time. Yes, it's much easier when it's my weekend to work {every 3rd weekend} and the husband is home to take off a lot of the load off my shoulders. But, would I have it any other way?

Absolutely not. Many of you may not know this, but I worked day shift for the first 2 months back from maternity leave. And? I hated every minute of it. So? I made the decision to switch to nights. Because being able to be there with my child, and future children, is number one for me. Being able to raise her and see every single milestone as she grows was of the utmost importance to me in my life.

If that meant I had to sacrifice a little sleep? So be it.

So how do I do it? I just do. I sleep when she naps {usually 3 hours} and then I make sure to catch up on sleep the nights that I am off... which means some nights I will pass out at 8pm. I never work 3 nights in a row, and try to do two nights on, two off, then work one. It honestly works best for me.

And? It's definitely not for everyone.

At the end of the day, juggling my life means keeping the house cleaned, keeping my two {soon to be three} loves of my life in this house well fed, being the best mama I can possibly be, a great nurse, and squeeze in some of my favorite hobbies which include photography and blogging.

I'm not perfect by any means. Neither do I try to be. I just try to do my personal best for my family that I love more than anything in this world.

I'm not always the best juggler out there, but I sure do try my hardest.