Sew Is Life

*’Sew is Life’ has been shortlisted in the ‘Best Women’s Lifestyle Blog Post’ category of the Beauty Heaven BlogStar Awards 2012. Please vote for me and be in the running to win a Rimmel prize!! Thanks guys xo

Being a mum of two kids under 5 (and another on the way) you have to train yourself in many roles FAST! You are pretty much learning on the job, there is no induction or training or group orientation. This is the hardest job you will face in your life and you either sink or swim. Most mums make it in the end…but barely keeping their head above the surface. But that is ok, being a supermum is actually a ‘myth’…if you never had a break down, cry or shout something you regret then you must have arrive from the future to the present day as a cyborg. 

The best thing to do is accept that you will make mistakes doing this job, just like EVERY other job (don’t tell me you never stuffed up before?) but learn from them. Take care of your mental health by scheduling some time away, or getting some help looking after the kids. Like every job, you need a breather! Ever heard the term ‘work yourself to death’? It applies to parenting too.

Here are my 5 tips to share with you time-constraint Mums out there:

1. Keep a diary or at least a whiteboard hanging on the wall so you can jot notes on what needs to be done (e.g. ballet class, doctor’s appointments). So you don’t go into meltdown when you’ve discovered you have missed an appointment you have to wait another month for.
2. If you have a baby/toddler keep your baby bag always packed and ready to go. When you have returned from an outing make sure it is refreshed with wipes, nappies, tissues and leave a small toy in there so it will save you time getting ready for the next outing.
3. Always dress the kids first before yourself, you never know when there will be an accident e.g. spew, runny noses etc that will probably find its way on your new clothes even before you had a chance to walk out the door.
4. Keep a box of cut up vegie sticks, fruit pieces, sultanas and other dried fruit ready in the pantry. So when you are cooking dinner, and your little one asks you for a biscuit…instead of giving into the easy option you have vegie sticks ready for them (that won’t spoil their appetite).
5. Always have a box set aside for craft things, add to it e.g. shiny foil wrappers, cut up egg cartons, wool, milk bottle lids, glue, noodles anything you can recycle really. You will be amazed how much kids love to create and can spend hours making a masterpiece for the fridge.

You can overload yourself with parenting information, so it is best to try things and see whether it will work for you and your family. 

The reward in the end of all this is seeing your children grow up healthy and happy, making a life for themselves. That is where the success is at! Raising amazing human beings :)