Saturday, January 2, 2010

Mommy Skills

I think there is a unwritten rule that if you are a stay at home mommy, you are supposed to have superior mommy skills of some sort. Up until recently, I did not have any such skills. Some mommies are super chefs, some are thrifty shoppers, some are spiffy cleaners, some are exquisite seamstresses, some are supreme teachers, some are top-notch organizers, and some are profound photographers. While I can cook, shop and save, clean, teach, organize, and take a photo, I am hardly an expert of any of those things. (Notice I did NOT say that I could sew.) The only mommy skill I think I could possibly claim is that of an excellent reader of books. Otherwise, although I have all these other responsibilities too – my skills are just so-so or average. For example, I clean and do laundry, but my house will never win a prize for those lackluster skills. Recently, I decided that I would try to become an expert in the areas of knitting, crocheting, and baking.

For Christmas, I knitted and crocheted many things to give as gifts. I’ve been knitting since I was in 3rd grade, but I just learned to crochet this past November. It is much easier than knitting and a whole lot faster too. I started off with a scarf and a hat for myself, then an alligator for Speed Racer, then a teddy bear (knitted) for my nephew, a monkey for another nephew, and three additional scarves (one of which was knitted) for my mom, sister, and mother-in-law. I was extremely proud of the blue, crème, and brown one because I came up with the pattern for it all on my own. I also made a seal for Princess, but it is still under construction, meaning since Christmas I have taken a break from my new hobby. Here are some pics of my completed projects.

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Speed Racer’s alligator

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My first attempt to crochet – my hat and scarf

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Knitted teddy bear

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Crocheted monkey

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Crocheted scarf – same design as mine

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My favorite scarf – my own crocheted design

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I think she loves it!

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Knitted scarf – takes a lot longer to make,

but easier to do with this kind of yarn

Also, I have always loved to bake, so I baked many cookies for Christmas goodies. I also made caramel-chocolate covered apples as gifts. Today, I decided that in order to become a baking extraordinaire, I needed to learn to bake bread and rolls, so I made cinnamon rolls from scratch using yeast and all of that fun stuff. I think they turned out really well, especially for my first try. Here are some pics of the Christmas goodies and cinnamon rolls that I made.

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Chocolate covered cherry cookies

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Sugar cookies

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Sugar cookies and peanut butter brownie cookies

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Peanut butter brownie cookies

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My apples – I think these may have been the favorite treat

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Cinnamon rolls – before baking

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Cinnamon rolls – after baking with icing

5 comments:

  1. I did not know about this unwritten rule! Boo on that!

    And I don't really agree that they are all "mommy skills". I am a baker and knitter, but not a mom.

    Your knitting & baking look great, by the way!

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  2. I think for your own sanity's sake, as a mom, you need a skill that you love and are good at.

    No, they aren't all mommy skills - that's true. Hope you weren't offended.

    Thanks! Miss yall.

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  3. No, I definitely was not offended. They are definitely "domestic" and I know that often goes with mommyhood too.
    Why do you think that moms especially need a skill that they love and are good at, versus women without children? I'm not disagreeing with you, but curious how you think moms are different.

    We miss ya'll too! I think about you guys every time I see that Lost is starting soon!

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  4. Well, I was calling out stay at home moms in particular, but I was not meaning to make a statement when I wrote it, but this is what I was perhaps alluding to:

    First of all, I'm not sure that it makes a difference for a wife or mom or even working mom. I've never been a working mom, and there are times that I imagine it to be harder than staying at home and there are times that I imagine it to be easier, but I don't really know having never walked in those shoes. I was giving a working mom an out on having a hobby because she works and may not have additional time to add a spectacular hobby to her long list of things to do. And I was assuming beside the need to have an additional paycheck, one reason she works is for her own self gratification - a need she is fulfilling within herself. Again, this may not apply to all working mothers.

    I have found that when I was a wife and not a mom too, I had a lot more freedom in my responsibilities, but I understand that not all wives may have that same freedom. I had time to sit down and watch a movie and not feel guilty about it, and all these other things were not stacking up behind me if sat down or if they were, I didn't notice.

    As a mom, there is rarely any time to do anything for your self. You are working 24/7 and there are not enough hours in a day to accomplish all the tasks you should, and you are always doing for someone else. Not only that, but it is just expected of you to be this all in one person fulfilling so many needs for so many people. When I worked, if I did a good job I got recognized and felt a sense of achievement. There is very little recognition or sense of achievement as a mom. There is always still more work to be done, plus little kids are always undoing what you've done too. Having a hobby that you love gives you that outlet or sense of pride. Of course, I blog too, but knitting, crocheting, and baking have more concrete tangible results that I can take pride in.

    As a mother, you put a lot of sweat and tears and hard work into your children, but they are people which are variable not constant (lost ref) - who they become is not entirely dependent upon you, but also directly on their choices and God, so you can have pride in them, and although some do, I don't think you can take credit for who or what they become, even though you are one of the main influences in their lives.

    Does that make sense? Basically having a hobby gives you some self gratification that you have when you work. Having a hobby when I worked was just a bonus - a way to pass time. Now it adds more value to my self worth (makes me feel more valuable, though I know my worth is from God alone.)

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  5. Thanks! That was what I was looking for you to explain. That makes sense. I hope to be a stay-at-home mom one day, so I am curious about what that will mean. Thanks for blogging and giving me a picture of that. :)

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