Don’t let being busy keep you from enjoying hobbies
Life

Don’t let being busy keep you from enjoying hobbies

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment
Anastasia when she received her basketball shirt
Local Community Learn and Play – Learning about Fish

If someone asks my how I’m doing, my usual answer is ‘tired’ (I’m trying to fix that). Truth is, like so many, I am busy what is seemingly, all the time. I am a wearer of many hats. I am a full-time working mom while also a stay at home mom, i.e. I am a work from home mom. I am also a student at Western Governors University trying to get my Bachelors degree and also a homeschooler for my girls who started pre-school this year and as a homeschooling parent my biggest concern is making sure my girls get the socialization which involves scheduled activities at our local community; tiny tots basketball, nature lessons at the local park, and soon toddlers soccer. (Just want to clarify that I do NOT homeschool WHILE I am working but do it when I am not working.) All of this is in addition to the usual never ending lists that need to be done. I have two separate mountains of laundry currently, one of clothes that needs to be washed, and the other of clothes that needs to be folded and put away. I have the cooking, cleaning, organizing, and whatever other adulting things that you have to do.

Watercolor Mountains

But I am a person of many interests, it is the way I was raised. My parents always encouraged me to try and learn new things and as such I am a big advocate for having hobbies. My reason for this is simple, if I were forced to follow the absolute monotony of the day, work, school, teach, chores, and repeat, I think I would very quickly lose my marbles. I need to break up the repetitive day with activities that are my own, to remind myself who I am again. It is very easy for the title ‘Mom’ to take over your entire identity and get to the point where you sort of forget who you were before you had kids.

We’ve already established that I love to travel and take pictures. But I have many other interests as well. I enjoy gardening, reading, writing (journaling and stories as well). In 2019 I also started to take up crocheting, it all started because I wanted to make a baby yoda for my kids after watching the Mandalorian but then continued because it was a hobby I get from my own mom and I enjoyed showing her my creations and asking for her tips/tricks. It is something I continue to do both, because I love doing it, and as a way to remember her by.

Obviously, living in such a busy world means I don’t have the time to partake in ALL of the hobbies I enjoy on a daily basis. But I make it a point to do something on a daily basis, whether its writing, painting/drawing, or creating something with yarn. I’ve shared these with my girls as well. They will ask me to make themselves or ask to paint/craft. They especially love to paint. I share the things that I like to do and encourage them to do so as well. Granted, this has gotten us in some trouble especially during the toddler years, my walls currently need to be repainted due to their artwork. I once had someone tell me that I was ‘brave’ for having things like markers and crayons inside my house, and yes this person was a parent with younger kids, but I cannot be angry at my girls for doing something that they are just copying from seeing me do. Both their bedroom wall and door are murals. So I can I blame them for thinking that it was ok? We are working on that and for the most part have broken their habits but I definitely don’t plan on discouraging them for pursuing their interests or stopping them from expressing their creativity.

Girls room theme: Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will move mountains.

Bottom line is, apart from expressing oneself creatively, hobbies are away to keep yourself grounded after being constantly thrown around by the never-ending to-do lists. As I said above, it’s a way to keep yourself sane. Sometimes its needed to clear your thoughts, where as other times its needed to help you think. Hobbies and interests have so many purposes. If work is especially grinding or frustrating, I enjoy going outside for my dinner break and checking on my garden, I’m new to gardening and not the greatest but have found it very peaceful and rewarding when you get to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I like crocheting when I’m watching a show with Josh at the end of the day, it’s a great way to wind down after a long day. Painting and drawing depend on my moods, those I tend do more when I have a lot on my mind, I don’t know why to be honest but sometimes I feel like that like with journaling, it is the way I organize my thoughts. To summarize, there’s so many reasons for hobbies, don’t let the business of this world take that away, even if you just set aside a few minutes a day.

A hobby a day keeps the doldrums away.

Phyllis McGinley
Birth and Loss and Memories
Christian Momma · Life

Birth and Loss and Memories

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment
Mom and Anastasia, Thanksgiving 2018

As we have passed and celebrated my Emily’s 3rd birthday I can’t help but think about my own mom. You celebrate birthdays and you celebrate birth but there’s nothing like going through a loss to make you face your own mortality. I’ve been thinking about mom a lot these past few days, its been over a year and a half since she passed and I was thinking about her a lot yesterday and honestly miss having her to talk to. She was my biggest supporter and encourager and my role model. She taught me so much and I wasn’t ready to lose her, but I don’t think you can ever be ready to lose someone.

Experiencing loss as a Christian offers you solace, you know that they are in a better place and are much happier than we are back here, but as humans we are also trying to learn to cope with being left behind.

Mom and Emily, Thanksgiving 2020

Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

John 16:22

There’s a confliction with being happy that they are in a better place but at the same time sad about them being gone. For a long time after she passed the girls would ask on a nightly basis to see pictures and videos of her. Now, as time goes back the pictures get older and there’s no more new ones. No more new memories can be created with her, all we can do is think back fondly on the memories we have made and that pushes me to make more memories together with my girls while I am still here. To show them, to teach them, to take more pictures with them. I strive to become their role models the way that my mom was for me.

Me and my girls
My mother is so full of joy and life. I am her child. And that is better than being the child of anyone else in the world. 
- Maya Angelou
Why I choose Airbnb as a Mom
Life · Travel

Why I choose Airbnb as a Mom

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment
Hotel Selfie in Asheville, NC – 2018

Before I had kids I was told all the time to travel I wouldn’t he able to do it as much once kids came along. But honestly, thats just not how I was raised. While I haven’t mustered up the courage to fly with the girls yet, we have still found ways to travel ever since our oldest was around 8 months old or so. They might be in a closer radius, we have not gone much further than 8hr road trip yet, but we still get around and Airbnb has made it that much easier for us to have a good time as a family.

I didn’t really use Airbnbs very much back then, and would get a hotel room but would sometimes feel stressed, especially at night with a baby. I mean let’s be honest not everyone is like us, a family with a baby that can/will cry at night. Some people are there to relax and that’s not easy when it’s 2 am and you have a screaming baby in the room next door(was usually the norm for us on the first night, thankfully has gotten better as girls got older). I usually would try to book a family-friendly venue since I’d hope that would involve more families with kids. I mean don’t get me wrong I’m not really someone who strives to make everyone happy but I try to give people the understanding I would like to receive myself. I recognize that what I’m ok with is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Ciui Family Reunion Cabin in Gatlinburg, TN 2021

So, after going on a couple group vacations with extended family where we used Airbnb or Vrbo we quickly realized the benefits.

Don’t get me wrong, there are pros and cons to everything. If you’re looking for a relaxing vacation where you don’t have to do any cooking or cleaning for yourself then this might not be your first choice. But if you’re like us and you enjoy your privacy and letting your kids be kids, well then…

Another time, another cabin in Gatlinburg, TN

And there are ways to make your trip easier too, plan easy quick meals or prep before your trip for less work or even get takeout if that’s your thing. Cleanup duty is done as a family and rather than figuring out a way to repack I’ll either put all the dirty clothes in one bag and the clean in the other or pack a trash bag to throw dirty clothes in, so much easier than trying to repack everything. It’s also important to be aware of what amenities are already provided, that way you avoid bringing things you don’t need.

Enjoying the view at Okie Dokies Smokehouse in Ashville, NC 2018 – The best jalapeno hushpuppies!

So, to summarize, it’s private, you have the amenities of home (sometimes even nicer than what you have at home), and you get to let your kids be kids and not worry about other people. I mean don’t get me wrong my girls don’t run around screaming at the tops of the lungs(often), but I still don’t want to have to constantly shush them for being a little too loud just because we are conscious of the fact that there are other people or families in rooms above, next door, and/or below. I love that they can run and jump when they have the opportunity to and at the end of the day when they just konk out from pure exhaustion I know that they had fun too.

Two very sleepy babies

Everyday we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.

Charles R. Swindoll