via flicker user Sikachu!'s photostream under cc useage

As you can see I’ve been quite busy around here! This new template has taken me hours and hours and according to my hubby….more hours. But I’m quite happy with how it’s looking – although there are still a few tweeks to be made here and there. I’ll work on them as I go as none of them are critical. I bet you see where I’m going with this post -today’s muse for me is New Beginnings. Maternal Spark has a new look and some new goals as well. One of which is to showcase more Creative Moms. So, send me your profiles, your flash fiction and your thoughts. I want to see you all shine here at Maternal Spark!

What’s inspriring you this week? If you’ve written about it, share your link below.

One of my most favorite readers, Stacey from ArtSnark, emailed me the other day to tell me about a group of artists who are working to benefit the Australian Red Cross. In case you are unaware of the situation there, it’s pretty dire. Over 200 people have died and many, many more have lost their homes.

If you wish to help out, visit the Oz Bushfire Appeal shop on etsy. All of the product has been donated by the participating artists and 100 percent of the proceeds go to fire victims. Oh, and it’s free shipping too so be sure to check it out. So far, they’ve raised over $12,000!

You can read more and learn about some of the artists involved over at the ArtSnark blog.

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1) Television

This one is a no-brainer. I’m sure you all know that it’s hard to form an original thought while immersed in a rousing rendition of your favorite show. Now that the new TV season is upon us I know that shows like Fringe are going to suck up a bit of my free time and I’m ok with that. But the problem lies in that many of us have the idiot box (and they call it that for a reason) on all day in the background – even when we aren’t really watching it. If it’s a re-run, turn it off. If you aren’t really watching it, turn it off. If you have something else to do, don’t try and do it with the TV nattering at you in the background. Turn it off and turn your focus on.

2) Lack of organization

Clutter is a killer of free time and free thinking. It’s so oppressive. Our time for ourselves is so precious we can’t have minutes flittering away into nothingness because we can’t find our scissors or that special pen or what ever else you might need to complete your project. If we’re organized then we are able to get down to business at a moments notice.

3) Chaos

Life with kids is a whirlwin of fun, frustration and emotion. As much as we love this about our children, we also need to teach them that there are times for play and there are times for quiet. You’ll be teaching them a life skill when you show them that it is ok to sit and read a book by themselves. They will learn to focus. They will learn to turn inwards. Even if it is only for 30 seconds at a time, teach your children about relaxation and you’ll be doing both of you a favor. As they get older, you’ll be able to work on your creative endeavors while your little one colors, reads or does a puzzle beside you.

4) Perfectionism

This goes back to the quote I posted for Monday’s Muse. Just because we don’t feel we have the time to do a perfect job, or a complete job doesn’t mean we shouldn’t begin. Don’t talk yourself out of it by thinking a little bit isn’t worth doing.

5) Fatigue

I’m always foggy when I feel tired. I know that sometimes it can’t be avoided – like the other night when little H woke up at midnight with teething pain and refused to go back to bed until we’d exhausted a whole rigmarole of tricks. But on days that you stay up surfing the net (I’m bad for this one) or watching those TV shows we talked about while half awake, you could have grabbed a precious hour of extra sleep making you bright and ready to roll the next morning.

What is your biggest block? What do you do to overcome them? Share in comments

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She woke up at 5am. I thought for sure I was screwed. But she was a complete angel ALL DAY. I couldn’t believe it. It was like she was a different child. She sat in her stroller for the longest amount of time she’d ever been in her stroller. She amused herself by snacking on bananna and goldfish crackers while watching a myriad of Baby Einstein videos (I don’t normally use TV to babysit my kid so please don’t blast me over it….this was a special situation).

She even napped in her stroller.

My teleconference went fine. I got my project completed. I changed two poopie diapers on my desk as coworkers passed my office window with looks of sympathy and understanding. Everyone appreciated the above and beyond effort that went into planning a day with a 15 month old at work.

I couldn’t have asked for it to go better and it was nice showing my boss that my new mommyhood status doesn’t change my abilities to perform.

Now, if I can get her on the payroll somehow we’ll be set!!

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a) I don’t like being away from little H 40 hours a week
b) It saves us in childcare costs
c) Hubby only gets every second weekend off. So not every week, but every second week, he is off on Wednesdays – so every second Wednesday we get a bit of family time (did ‘ja get that?).
d) I enjoy my pjs and
e) Time saved commuting is time I can, maybe if I’m lucky and all the planets align and I don’t cook dinner, get some creative stuff done.

Right now at work we are dealing with three HUGE projects that involve a lot of money. I need to be there to help out and coordinate actions surrounding these projects. So guess what. Wednesday came around and I couldn’t afford to not be in the office – there is just too much going on. What I’m doing about it? I’m taking little H to work with me.

Please pray for me that:

Little H doesn’t cover me from head to toe in goo, snot, tears, banana or something else equally embarrassing.

That she doesn’t have a massive poop blowout for all the world to smell

That she sits nicely in her stroller and watches her baby Einstein video during my meeting (yes, I will be in a teleconference meeting!)

That she amuses herself safely and allows me to actually get some stuff done.

My head hurts just thinking about it!

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