A little bit of me...!!!
I thought for a while about writing blogs other than my monthly artist feature, but I just couldn’t think of anything to write about.
My partner had mentioned to me about writing about my daily life with the kids whilst running a small business. I instantly questioned it, I mean...who wants to hear about me and my life ?! But then I thought, why not...I may aswel give it a go.
I suppose I should start by introducing myself. My name is Jordan, I’m 33. Love crafts of all kinds, snowboarding, longboarding, rock climbing. Anything that gets me out the house I’m down for. I get bored easily if I sit still too long. I think that’s also why I start new projects before I finish the last. I get bored and am eager to move on. Don’t get me wrong, I do love some downtime after the kids go to bed. Give me some chocolate, a good documentary and I’m sorted!
I have 3 kids (yes 3! I still can’t quite believe it myself) Gabrielle, 9. She’s a bit like me, likes to chill and enjoy a book, but not for too long. Active, smart, outgoing, complete goofball and she’s also getting to that pre teen age. So can be super sensitive at times.
Then there’s Felix, 6. Also a goofball LOL. Extremely energetic, has ants in his pants 90% of the time. The only way I can tire him out, is to take him rock climbing. He loves to dance, especially to Michael Jackson and probably has more rhythm than the 5 of us put together!
Last but not least is Delphine (pronounced DELFIN) who will be 1 on April 18th. She’s very much like her bro and has tones of energy. Crawling at 6 months and walking at 10.5 months. Even though she’s the youngest, she probably has the feistiest temper out of the 3 of them and could probably eat us all under the table.
My partner Dominic, handsome, French-Canadian, (he made me slot that in there!) works away from home Monday to friday, so it's just me and the kids during the week. I try to follow some kind of routine, but to be quite honest 80% of the time, I just Wing it! I really love the spontaneity of things. I just can’t get my head around planning in advance, so the spontaneous approach works best for us.
Running a small business with kids is definitely not an easy task. You certainly need to learn how to juggle and be a pro at multitasking. (Little tip...for all you knotting mamas out there, if you have a little one and don’t have an Ergo baby carrier, then you should get one!) My Ergo has been a lifesaver for me. Knotting, cooking, cleaning, all with Delphine on my back (it also gets her off the floor, so that she doesn’t chew on my rope) it’s one of the ways I can get a lot of jobs done. It also ends up being a good workout. So a win win in my eyes!!
Anything online is done a little bit at a time, whenever I get a spare moment throughout the day. Not gonna lie, if I’m desperate and I need to write a blog, update products on my website or do a task that I know is gonna take some time. I will put some mind numbing nursery rhymes on, so that Delphine is completely glued to the TV for half hour. Yep, bad mom award goes to me. But let’s be honest, we all do it! I mean her naps just aren’t long enough, I’ve heard about these super babies that nap for 2-3 hours at a time...That’s amazing! I’ll get an hour if I’m lucky!
Most of my instagramming is done after 8pm. The only thing I am strict with and have a bit of a routine with is bedtime. All 3 kids are in bed by 7:30-8. Just so I get an hour or 2 (if I can stay awake) of me time. Work at this time of day is always done whilst watching Netflix or catch up, because it’s near impossible for me these days to stay awake to watch all of BBC ones 9pm Drama. Seriously what did we do before catch up TV.
Obviously I get easier days than others, which allows me to get more things done that day. Some days when im feeling like superwoman, I may even do a load of laundry or cleaning. Very low probability though! I can’t stand these tasks. But seriously, going with the flow definitely works best for us. Kids aren’t predictable, life isn’t predictable, you just can’t plan things. Kids may have melt downs, teething, doctors appointments, school plays etc. I just go with it, and do what I can when I can. If I could move my studio into my car, I totally would. I mean what mom doesn’t spend the majority of her day in there - mom taxi!!! I would get so much more done.
Weekends I will put work aside and just spend time with the family. With Dom being home, we like to get out the house and go on little adventures or get our weekly climbing fix. One thing I do occasionally, is post orders on Saturday morning. But only if I know we’re going to pass a post office. I do still Instagram, but limit this to car rides and evenings only.
I love a hectic life, the busier the better for me. I love having things to do always. So working for myself is perfect. Plus it fits in around my kids, because let’s face it...finding a job that works around school pick-ups and drop-offs, and allows you to wear a baby on your back are pretty scarce. If anybody knows of one, send me a DM, I’d like to apply.
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