I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but I do know how. Being new to the mom thing, I assumed that when my children grew up, I would have more time. That was just naive. The older the kids got, the more activities they became involved in. That means, less time I have with them and less time I have at home. Currently, our schedule consists of activities 5 out of 7 days of the week. Monday-Thursday, I am running kids around from 2:30-8:30. Saturdays, we're booked until noon. That leaves little time to make fun crafts. That leaves little time to do fun science experiments. That leaves little time to make holiday decorations...heck, there's barely time to decorate with what we have! The time we have is used to sit down and eat dinner together. It's used to have family game time. It's used to do homework or read. We're choosing to spend our time doing things other than making crafts.
When Sunshine started school full time, people asked me, "What are you going to do with all your free time?" That first year, I would respond that was going to get my life in order. Three years later, I still haven't gotten my life together. Why? There's no time. I thought for sure I'd be able to do so much while the kids were in school. For the most part, I can. However, I do all the things that I used to do with kids. I grocery shop. I clean. I do laundry. I bake. Then, the kids get home from school and I'm running. I no longer have time to grocery shop, clean, do laundry, or bake after the kids get home from school, which means if I don't do those things while the kids are in school, we go hungry and naked. Or, I don't sleep and, believe me, you don't want me to give up my sleep.
Life is too short of trying to be the perfect mom. Every day is struggle just to keep my head above water. I don't need the additional stress of having to craft every last thing in my children's lives. That's why Amazon Prime was created. Prime is for when moms get real and realize they can't do it all. More accurately, when they realize they don't want to do it all. I would rather spend the time I have with my kids experiencing new things rather than crafting. Don't get me wrong, I still like to craft, to a point. That's what winters are for. When we're stuck at home, we need a creative outlet. We still do science experiments, but we reserve those for yucky days. I still bake several times a week. I'm still "that mom" who does a lot of fun, creative stuff with her kids. The difference is, the kids pass out store bought Valentine's. I don't make cuties snacks for class parties (but I am room mom). Every gift grandparents get is not handmade. Our ornaments for the Christmas tree are from Hallmark.
I still save a lot of ideas on Pinterest, but the genre has changed. I pin meal ideas. I pin dessert ideas. I pin books to read. I no longer pin cute crafts for March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb. I no longer pin science experiments since my kids have gotten so many science kits. Do I miss being that Pinterest mom? At times. But it's more about missing them being little and being home with me. Crafts were just a way to be together, and that's what I truly miss. We spend our free time being a family and doing what we all enjoy. That's much more important than if I get my ideas off Pinterest or if I order them on Prime.