I have a few questions for all those blogging moms out there who are sitting at their computers preparing to post. I can see that many of you blog weekly at least and some of you blog daily. You blog with passion and with humor. You share your art, creative inspirations, your hopes, your dreams. But how does that work? First off when is it that you manage to comb your hair and put on lipstick? Or change from pajamas to clothes for that matter. Do you silently slip out of your warm bed at 5am hoping for a hot shower, those hopeful intentions dashed as you hear your toddler calling out from her own warm bed, "Momma I need go potty!" Or rather do you attempt to brush your teeth on the run with a slap dash effort at washing your face after you have changed her wet sheets and discussed the morning fashion choices with your first grader; twirly pink skirt vs denim OshKosh overalls? Maybe it all becomes a far off dream as you watch her brush her teeth with that disgusting bubblegum toothpaste and listen to her weigh the style benefits of pigtails vs a ponytail. You look in the mirror and finally say to your reflection, speaking to your best self; "this is going to be a good day. Today i will be as patient as the Dalai Lama teaches and as positive as Dora the Explorer. And i will do all my yoga stretches.
Oh but wait....is that an newborn infant i hear mewling from the cradle? First things first. Nourishment and comfort for a newborn comes before eating your own breakfast or making fresh coffee right? And what about you moms who have children across the age range of infant, toddler, child and teen? Mom , when do you wash your face, moisturize or floss let alone blog?
I'm on day 13 of my 18 day visit in Chicago and these questions have been running through my mind as i move from Henry-cuddling, to Olivia-entertaining to emptying the dishwasher for the third and perhaps the last time for the day. There are piles of laundry, clean, dirty and those to be tucked away in a sweet little dresser and a new boyish bureau . Tears that need to be dried, laughter that begs to be enjoyed. We make snacks, meals and create lists of tasks to complete before i leave again for home.
Girl With Brother
Girl With MiMi
I am only a MiMi now. I remember the compelling need i had as a young mother to be creative each and every day and yet i know i lived a far simpler life than mothers do now. So i ask you, the moms out there in blog-land, what do you have to tell us about the balance of your blogging and family life? I am fascinated and want to understand more about what force is at work within your hearts and minds. How is it that you mange to fully engage your spirit in the love of your family and the love of your creative life?
love, robin
I am just as dumbfounded as you are. I have no idea how they do it! I could flop to the floor just thinking about the hectic lives these mothers adapt to.
These pictures are fabulous. Peanut butter and sticky fingers and all.
Posted by: rhayne | March 01, 2010 at 09:28 AM
The peanut picture is so wonderful!!!
Posted by: Kelly | February 28, 2010 at 07:50 AM
This photos are so beautiful...how lovely to recognize the LIFE in each of these wonderful blogs and moms!
I always wondered how mothers of multiple children did it...me with my one...and often feeling so overwhelmed with the wonder of it all. happy to be able to smother the ONE with all of ME
wonderful post!
Posted by: Stephanie | February 22, 2010 at 03:09 PM
Just wanted to say hello....and that I've missed seeing you. xo Cindy
Posted by: Cindy Dockins | February 22, 2010 at 12:10 AM
And here quite serendipitously I assure you, is me; the bad mommy blogger who seems to post and never have time to visit these days! I was only thinking ten minutes ago, "I'll go see what Birdie is up to, haven't been by in awhile." Thanks for the mention!
Well you know, when it comes to blogging for me it happens at my least creative time, the night when all my energy is spent and I've squeezed out the last of my energy to give to the kids. Not twenty minutes ago I was dosing the eldest up with Benadryl, so that she could have a comfortable sleep, then snuggling her until her eyes rolled back in her head with sleep. Yet, our morning started off with a bit of stress...so there was indeed no blogging happening there.
The answer to the question you ask is a mystery wrapped in a riddle, the infamous enigma. I do blog, yet things suffer when I do- so I have to limit it. I have friends ask me where I find the time. I really do not know. I just do. I think if I didn't have the outlet of blogging I'd go mad. I'm really just needing the place for me. I don't even blog a lot of mommy stuff, because it is my sacred space away from all that. (I don't want that to sound selfish...it isn't really.) However, if I were a man, blogging would be my "man cave". It is my place to retreat when I need inspiration, a kind word, a fellow in this human race.
I'll have to limit this answer now because I have a few more places to leave my calling card before bed time. 6 am the alarm goes off so that I can shower and straighten my hair and dress in order to feel human before everyone else demands my time.
xoxoxo
Love ya!!!
Posted by: gillian | February 20, 2010 at 06:46 PM
Robin, I'm a grandma blogger so I have lots of time. ;0)
I really dropped by to tell you that i have given you the Sunshine Award - visit my blog to see! http://hummadeedledee.blogspot.com/2010/02/thank-you-robin.html
Posted by: Deb @Retreat | February 17, 2010 at 09:39 PM
A lot of late nights and sleepy mornings. I try to keep my blogging to after-bedtime hours so that I don't steal time from Sloane. As to balance, it's more about a balanced life a month at a time. There's too much to juggle to be a day by day thing.
Posted by: Relyn | February 16, 2010 at 07:44 PM
thank goodness blogging for me didn't start until my kids were teenagers....
and it's what keeps my sanity today when my 18 year old thinks he knows it all.....
Posted by: beth | February 16, 2010 at 02:44 PM
I have found that blogging has been a must for my mental health. I have 5 children ages 19, 16, 14, 8, 2. I remember when my youngest was a newborn, I asked my husband to feed her so I could shower, so he propped her bottle up in her playpen, I said uh... no you'll hold her and feed her. He whined... but I'm eating! I looked at him, with silent swear words streaming through my brain...I don't even have to tell you mothers that it was well after lunch and I had yet to eat or shower for the day. Kinda got off track there. Some days as the baby is eating toothpaste I know I should get off the computer, but I take no other time for myself, so this is it. I long for the days of being able to sew without interruption or read for more than 5 minutes. But as my dearly departed mother always told me, don't wish their lives away, it'll be gone before you know it! Thank you mom...
Prudence
www.avintagemom.blogspot.com
Posted by: Prudence Rapozo | February 16, 2010 at 12:28 PM
WHat a beautiful blog (and beautiful grandkids!). I am not a new mom. My 'baby' is turning 9 on Friday, and my other 'baby' will turn 12 in March. But I remember those days. I was not a bloger then, don't know how they do it either. But I am a full-time working mom with a 9-midnight passion (making one of a kind works of wearable art) and I know all too well the feeling of being overwhelmed. I am there on many days (and nights). Carving out time for yourself with a community of people who 'get' you is important. And sustains me in many ways. I am always seeking inspiration, and I am so glad that Relyn posted about you here today. I will be coming back to follow you. (And for the record, my own daughter is Olivia and my mother insists on being called Mima).
Enjoy the day! Erin
Posted by: Erin Prais-Hintz | February 16, 2010 at 10:52 AM
I do remember those busy days as a young mom. My creative heart was so strong I didn't blog then, but I definitely had to do something creative in order for my heart to sing. It may have been after children were in bed or taking a nap, but I constantly had something creative going. What beautiful pictures.
Posted by: Marilyn | February 16, 2010 at 09:13 AM
The girl with the peanut butter toast looks very contented. In fact, she seems to be implying that you're disturbing her enjoyment. Lovely shot, good use of the chair as a frame too.
Posted by: mooch | February 16, 2010 at 05:32 AM
That first photo is sooooooooo beautiful!!!!!!!!
Wow.
Stopping in to say hi.
Posted by: Se'lah | February 16, 2010 at 05:07 AM
Lovely pictures, as always. The way i blog is not in one sitting. I start a post and take five minutes here and there until I have something I think is worth pushing the 'publish button' over. This is a way for me to pull away from the stress and chaos, that moment stolen, like a cigarette break, minus the yellow teeth and bad breath :-)
Posted by: corine | February 15, 2010 at 02:21 PM
Since I have only animal boys I can't answer your questions, but I know I don't have any time, so they must never sleep :-). I love these photos. xoxo
Posted by: Annie | February 14, 2010 at 07:29 PM
Oh dear Miss Robin, I do not have time to blog but I make time to read yours. ;) I wouldn't even know what to say. I figure my day is too mundane to be read about. lol I love the new photos of the grandbabies...espeicially the one with Mimi in it. ;) They are both so adorable and I know you are haivng an amazig time despite the laundry, dishes, feedings and such. It is the small moments that touch our hearts the most.
Posted by: peggy | February 13, 2010 at 06:02 AM
What a wonderful post..so full of questions and wonder. How do they do it? I've often asked the same..myself!!!
Posted by: Marcie | February 12, 2010 at 04:42 AM
Hmmm...after reading these comments, it appears no one else knows how they do it, either. I think it ends up just being a matter of finding those small moments scattered throughout the day (lunch break, nap time, waiting for this or that) and rather than just sitting, getting a little further on that project, that blog reading or writing. My daughter is now 20 and away from the nest, but I don't seem any less busy! I still feel I have obligations to my home (which I had even less time for when she was small) and my husband--who actually expects me to spend time with him! Plus I work outside the home during the day. I get these thoughts, these moments, when I am waiting for the next thing, when I take a lunch break, when I take a 15 minute break from my housework, etc. But the magic of it is that the observer only sees the product and thinks that the producer must have had a lot of time to make it happen. I bet most of us are this way. Us moms don't quite know how we do it, I think, even when we are doing it. It is a perception thing...
Posted by: Alison | February 11, 2010 at 12:07 PM
This made me smile. Peanut butter girl is sooo cute, I want to smooch her. I think my sister said it best the other day, something about being young ... that is why you have your kids when you're young. I have no idea how moms & dads get anything done. I have no time and that's without children or grandchildren. xo
Posted by: kath | February 11, 2010 at 06:27 AM
I fell a sleep early last night... together with my son. Always when I do that I wake up in the night. And think. (I like these quiet thinking hours) Maybe it was while you were writing this. One of the thoughts was about my blogs. And I was ashame of myself not to plan and THINK more of my boy instead f planing and thinking of my blog :-((( Blogging is addictive. I admit. I also feel it is a realm where I go for my need and hunger for creativity. But it is time consuming and my intention is to cut the bloggingtime down to half an hour a day. Ofcourse my boy IS the most impotant thing to me. I also started my latest blog hoping to eventually gain new customers to paint portraits for... I need more customers because I need to buy/build a house because nor my boy nor I are that crazy about living traped in an apartment. Well... very, very good question Robyn!!!
Love, Olga
Posted by: Ljus, Färger och Friska Dofter | February 11, 2010 at 12:50 AM
Not that I'm in that age group any more, but when I was, I started on my projects after the boys were in bed and I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. I got up in time to see them off to school. If there is something you love to do you find a way, even if it means burning the candle at both ends. Love the photos of your grandbabies - so cute!! Enjoy the rest of your stay.
Posted by: Toni | February 10, 2010 at 09:59 PM
Robin your grandbabies are gorgeous, and so love see these photos. We have just had little Kai with us (just 2) for the last few days and a night...and we are so exhausted. Have not done a thing..but play, clean up the spills, entertain, pull out/put away the toys, the whole bathroom routine .....like over and over and again some...toilet training is fun eh? I am sure you have been totally occupied, exhausted and loving it all these past 13 days. Yes...how do the young blogging/social networking/working mums of today do it???
Anyway I'm off now to rest my weary head and body and sing myself to sleep with nursery rhymes. LOL xxox Deb
Posted by: pennyshilling | February 10, 2010 at 08:54 PM
i adore that top photo.
It baffles me how these fabulous bloggers, photographers and writers live such beautifully creative lives and find time to and share it with us.
Posted by: spread your wings | February 10, 2010 at 11:41 AM
I would love to weigh in with an answer on this one, but I don't have and have never been in that situation, so I share your awe. I have a hard enough time getting a life with a job outside the home, one I can more or less leave at five or six and not worry about until the next morning, and maybe not at all on the weekend. The mom goes 24/7 -- working outside the home (sometimes) and inside (always).
Meanwhile, I'm glad to see you posting, though between the cuddling, problem solving and laundry, I'm not sure how you had the time! The photos are gorgeous, and I love all three!
Posted by: Jeanie | February 10, 2010 at 07:59 AM
Made my morning to see a new post from you and see the beautiful photos of you and the babes. Oh my. So well articulated the tension between the demands of small children, routine of daily living and the creative aspiration to blog and express oneself artistically. Often I'm blogging or photo-taking at times that are NOT exactly opportune for the family -- when I need an escape or a moment of quiet in the midst of domestic chaos:) For example, the kids are up and trying to get dressed for school and you can find me at the kitchen table, coffee in hand and reading your lovely blog entry!
Posted by: Heather | February 10, 2010 at 06:35 AM