Toddlers and art

 I know that not all of you have kids, but I just feel the urge to talk about being an artist and a mom.

Oh, Toddlers!

They can sometimes be exasperating!!

Little darlings that they are.

Last week one of my fellow etsy team members on Inland Northwest Team, posted that she was... 

I don't want to say in desperate need... but because that's the way I've felt on the subject that's the word I'm going to use.... 

desperate to know how parents of toddlers worked artistically and had a shop on etsy and kept their sanity.

That's what I've been wondering, for sure.

I'd say that how much kids need you immediately has been my biggest challenge as a parent. I don't know if it's because I was older when I had my son or its just my personality. But I frequently described myself as not having post postpartum depression as having postpartum anger. 

I would seriously get grumpy when I was in the middle of a project or just picked up my pliers and he needed me again. 

Childish, maybe. 

But it was what I had to work through. 

Now that he is bigger and we can talk about his needs, he can work in the office with me: hammering on beads, writing, playing hockey with a bead and a pencil crayon - and it's sunny, so that he can go outside and play in the dirt - we're both a lot happier!!

But I'll definitely be taking Sarah's advice if and when we have another baby. It's so civilized and sensible.

As I said, there was a post to my etsy team and

there were lots of great suggestions - 

it's a super supportive team with quite a few moms -

and

Sarah from sarahndippity had great suggestions!

To paraphrase her post, she encourages self sufficiency in the kids and balances that with some craft and reading time together.

Awesome!

That way your children/child develops self esteem because he can do for himself. She also can see that you care for her because you sometimes include her in your work.

(I changed pronouns because that reflects the politically correct time frame in which I studied English. Can't be helped really!)

As you can see, I have managed to share my craft space with my short friend!

I wish he was an artist in training! While he will draw/color for a short time, he always get back to organizing his supplies!
Lining up his crayons, putting all his beads in a piece of leg: not necessarily cleaning up - as you can see!
But organizing none-the-less!

But I still need to work on letting go of my ...what?
What do you call that voice in your head that says "oh, right. I wanted to..." and "I said that I was going to..."

That's what I need to let go of.
Cause I find myself following it, much to Zeke's dismay.
But to be frank, he's not really that self sufficient yet.
We haven't been working on that much at all.
I still do WAY too much for him.
(As the long deserted bowl of his third helping of yogurt and toast will attest to.
Hey.
He just had to have it!)
So what if it took me two hours to write this post, while I edited product photos to send to a customer and commented on team discussions, while he ate and watched tv, and he showed me how to jump from the ottoman to the chair and moved the 'chickens' inside and outside (which were actually containers of plants) and I cuddled them and made him round after round of breakfast...

I might get a handle on being an artist mom...
Is that possible??
;D
xx