I feel like it was just yesterday that I saw those two lines on the pregnancy test.
When the kicks and the excitement of hearing your heartbeat was like no other feeling.
When my water broke and your daddy and I had a panic attack thinking, “this is really happening. We are parents.”
When I held you in my arms for the first time.
When daddy and I were wondering how in the world we were going to be able to do this at home on our own.
Your sweet smiles and cuddles have been the absolute light of each day.
Watching you grow and learn and be the sweet, outspoken, adventurous little boy that you are has been the best ever.
Through these uncertain times, you and your daddy have been the constant joy I needed. And I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous for you to grow up in this world.
As we approach your first birthday on Friday (silently crying) I can’t help but think of all the things I want to teach you.
You’re so sweet and innocent and I love being a mommy to such a precious, wild boy. As you grow I want you to know things, especially in the world we are living in now and even more so when you are older.
Your feelings matter. You matter and don’t ever forget that.
Dream big and chase those dreams because we will always be there chasing them with you.
Be kind. Always. People will always remember the way you treated them.
Treat everyone equally and don’t be afraid to.
Be whoever and whatever you want to be. You are forever supported.
No always means no, no matter what.
Stand up for what you believe in, your voice is always heard.
Use the words, “I love you” wisely. Three small words that have the biggest meaning.
Choose good friends, they have such an impact on your life.
Know that you will forever be loved, supported and taken care of, I promise you that.
I am so lucky to be your mama. I just want you to know that I will be there always, no matter what.
Monday mornings can be such a drag, especially after a Holiday weekend.
Luckily my son is being very good eating breakfast in his high-chair and letting me drink a HOT cup of coffee!
To be honest, I was having such a hard time thinking of what to write about for today’s blog post. Usually I have mine done far in advance but writer’s blog hit. My inspiration journal was just not doing it’s job and I couldn’t come up with a single thing I wanted to talk about.
So I thought for today, maybe we would just chat and get to know me a little better!
For those of you that are new, my names Amanda. I usually write the Monday posts here on Quirky Workin’ Moms.
I am 26 almost 27 in August. I’ve been married almost 2 years to a total sports fanatic that I have been with for 8 years! We have an adorable almost 1-year-old (silently crying while I say that) son who we just can’t get enough of! We are a pretty active family but most of the time you can find us on the couch watching The Office or Cheers on Netflix.
I am an avid reader and writer, I actually even have another blog more specific to the books I read called hanging with amanda. Anything romance or mystery/thriller is right up my alley. Even historical fiction as well!
I enjoy wine and margarita’s and the sunshine on my face. Fall is one of my favorite seasons, you can’t beat the beautiful colors in Michigan during the Fall. I absolutely LOVE dogs. We are hoping to get a golden retriever next year and it has me so excited.
Sweet Home Alabama and Legally Blonde are two of my fav movies. Every time Sweet Home Alabama is on TV you can usually find me stuffing my face with popcorn and chocolate.
The simple things in life like family and friends just make me so happy and that’s usually how I spend my days when I’m not working!
I’m just really happy we are connecting with so many other moms out there and bloggers like us! It’s been so much fun and we are just getting started! Plus today’s post marks our 20th one and that is exciting!
It’s time to heat up my second cup of coffee and get this little man of mine down for a nap.
Do we have anything in common? I would love to hear more about you all and your favorite things!
I love summer! The sunshine and being outside all day truly does the body good.
The kids are out of school, and I FINALLY took some vacation time to enjoy these long summer days, and these warm summer nights. But what are you going to do with your vacation?
I love when we all go camping as a family. We have done a trip to St. Ignace to visit Mackinac Island, Port Austin to kayak around Turnip Rock, we even took a trip to our most favorite spot, Great Wolf Lodge in Ohio!
Summer Time is the best time to make lasting memories with your family. Some of my most favorite memories as a kid would be camping with my mom and my siblings, or showing animals at the local 4-H fair.
I wanted to share with you all some of my families favorite summer activities!
Swimming
We love to swim! We are surrounded by so many beautiful bodies of water, and we are so fortunate to live just miles from Lake Huron. We love a good beach day. Just us on our “secret” beach and some snacks. It’s like heaven on earth!
Camping
We love to camp! Just last weekend for Father’s Day, we decided to pitch the tent in the back yard. We love going to different camp grounds here in MI too! Michigan is so beautiful and there is so much to explore, camping can be a good low cost way to travel and see your home state. Our favorite part would probably be the s’mores though!
Which leads me to our next favorite activity…
Campfires
We probably have a fire going in our little pit 3-5 times per week. We don’t always have s’mores at the campfire, and maybe we’re just burning up some sticks after we picked up the yard, but we’ve made some great memories around the fire. We like to play little games like “Would you Rather?” or “Never have I Ever” while we sit around the fire. It’s such a good way to bond with our girls!
Slime Making
Our girls are little chemists, I’m telling you! Slime is the messiest, grossest, and hardest thing to clean, but the girls LOVE it! I need to buy stock in Elmers glue, and food dye. LOL! We are constantly making it, and most recently the girls found “Slime Baff”. Yes, you read that right. It’s a slime bath, and they can’t get enough of it!
Games
I went to Five Below, and picked up some fun outdoor activities! We got Velcro ball, a new basketball, a giant checker board, and a frisbee game. It’s not super expensive, but it keeps them occupied. We even made our own paper airplanes, and had a little race. Dad won of course!
Summer comes and goes so fast, so we really try to make the best of it. It’s hard during the week since both my husband and I work out of the home, but what ever time we do have with them, we make it count!
What are some of your favorite activities you do with your kids? Or if you don’t have kids, what do you enjoy doing?
I say that because I think one of the hardest things about being a working mom is having to walk away to go to work.
My son is at the age where meltdowns have started and you could find me wiping tears from my eyes the other day when I had to leave for work and he cried and held his little chunky arms out for me.
Don’t get me wrong, working and being a mom is bittersweet. In one way it’s an outlet when you just need something for yourself and human interaction but on the other end it’s one of the hardest things because you feel like you aren’t present enough.
My son is 11-months-old so he is SO close to taking those first few steps and through this whole first year that was my worst fear, not being present for all those big milestones.
In this crazy life and these even crazier times I think that’s the one thing all of us moms struggle with, being present as much as we can. And I don’t mean just being in the same room. I mean in the moment, doing whatever silly things our kids are doing and just really being there!
We have work, we have laundry overflowing, a house to clean and everything else in the world to do but I am learning all those things are important, yes. But being with your children, making little memories takes the win!
So here are five great ways to be present for your kids.
Family Day/Outing.
My son is still little but I still love having a family day! I know in this pandemic it’s hard to get out and about but really, staying at home counts too! Get some burgers and hotdogs, start the grill. Turn on the sprinkler/splashpad. Have a pool day. Start a bonfire and indulge in tons of smore’s. Set up a projector in the backyard for a movie night. Go for a walk or to the park. Have a game night. Summertime is the easiest way to have family day’s so make the most of it!
Put Your Phone Away.
This is the biggest thing I am working on right now. Keeping my volume on incase of emergency but just setting it aside for the day. The last thing I want is my son to view me from behind a screen. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram can all wait until nap time or bedtime. I know how much of a struggle it is though, I am having a hard time staying away from my phone as well. Which makes me want to even more though, because it’s so sad how much these phones have taken over!
Find Fun House Chores Your Kids Will Help With.
I remember growing up, I used to love to help my nana clean up her house. I don’t know if it was because I was involved and felt like I was helping out but to this day I still enjoy cleaning! So find things your kids want to help you with around the house, even if it’s simple. You may be surprised at what they end up enjoying and helping with when given a chance!
Make Sure Your Ears Are Open.
I think one thing children want the most is for adults to listen to them. Like for us, communication is so important. Kids love to babble on about everything. Even our baby babbles, they love you to listen to them. To focus on them. Just listening is an easy way to be present with your children. Learn about their day, what they are thinking, even if it’s just for 10 minutes.
It also opens up that area of being able to know what is going on, especially with your teens. It gives you a chance to ask questions, and to just be involved. Listening is such a crucial thing when being a parent.
Self-Care.
You’ve probably seen a lot about self-care floating around lately. Have you ever had those days or weeks where your frustration takes over and you just can’t be there for anyone because you don’t even have time to be there for yourself? Yeah, me too! So that is why self-care plays such a huge role in parenting. To be able to be fully present with your children, to take care of them and do fun things with them you need to first take care of yourself.
Have a cup of coffee and turn your show on for an hour. Take a bubble bath. Read a book you’ve heard so many good things about. Buy a new outfit. Take a walk.
Self-care doesn’t have to be hard, and it really helps you focus back on what’s important, yourself and your family and not focus on the negative.
There are so many ways to be present with your kids. I am going to try my hardest to use all these tips and really make the most out of this Summer with my bub!
Giving our full attention to our children when we are home or spending a day with them should be easy, not hard!
Do you use any of these tips to be more present with your children?
If you have any other tips, please share them with us!
My perfectly styled hair at some point in the day has been replaced by a messy bun.
My coffee energy has run out a long, long, longgg time ago.
My eyes are tired and as soon as I walk in the door and the baby see’s me, he will cry for me.
So I have to rush to change my clothes, rush to take the work day off of me.
I normally work later than my husband so I quickly grab my son with usually no more than a little hi to the man I promised to love forever.
I am exhausted, I have a baby to tend to, a decent meal to put on the table, and night time routines to get to.
And at the end of all that? All I can usually think of is how good my glass of white wine is going to taste when I get a chance to myself.
But I need to stop and take a breath.
I really need to learn how to do this, because the man sitting on the other side of the couch with a beer in his hand?
He’s had a long day too.
He’s came home from work and has had to quickly change and quickly wash the work day off of him so he can grab our son.
He’s had to quickly get some things done, quickly eat dinner and help with night time routines.
We are a team.
And you know what?
He deserves so much more than a quick hi when I get home and a couch buddy to wind-down with at night.
You always think your romance will never die. That even when you have kids you promise you will still have date nights and time to be alone together.
It’s so hard.
It’s hard to be a wife, and a husband, and a parent and an employee.
Life is just hard.
But you have to make it work. You have to fight for the communication, for the little bit of time when you are alone, for the date nights even if it’s one at home in front of the TV.
It’s easy to get lost in the chaos of everyday life. To think you just always have to go-go-go to feel worthy.
But you don’t, not always at least.
So next time I come home from work, tired and just thinking of that glass of wine waiting for me while I put my feet up on the couch…and maybe even rub them on my husband even though he hates it… 😉
I’m going to make sure I come home and quickly change my clothes, quickly take the work day off of me.
But slowly kiss my husband hello. Slowly take my son from him with a smile made just for my man.
Because he deserves it and you know what? I deserve it too.
And you need to fight for your marriage, even when there’s not a thing wrong with it.
Because at the end of every long day? After the kids are in bed? It’s always going to be just the two of you.
This is always something I personally have struggled with.
Just think about it, a person that is going through the same thing you are at the moment. It’s 3 AM, and this is the fourth time you’ve been awake with the baby. You just WISH there was someone you could reach out to, someone that would understand the total body exhaustion you feel. Messy bun, yesterday’s makeup running down your cheeks because the tears streamed down your face, wet t-shirt from the spilled milk.
This is something that we STRIVE for. The perfect friend.
I’ve surrounded myself with so many people, it’s hard to say that I have that BEST friend. The person I tell all my secrets to.
For some people it’s your mom or sister. Someone you that has known you from the beginning of your life. Some one that understands every thing that has made you, you.
It could be the friend you met at the Mommy & Baby music class, at the downtown library. Kids who are the same age, and you know they would make a great long time friend to your daughter.
Maybe it’s your husbands coworkers wife. They are the couple who is older and wiser, and will always give you the best advice. Someone who you became friends with their whole family, and know that your village is getting bigger, and stronger.
Your high school best friend, that even though is worlds away, and when her world is completely different, you know she is always just a text or phone call away.
It could be a new friend. An unexpected friend. You know that she would never judge you, and would do anything to keep you and your family safe and happy.
The sister in law that is always there for your children no matter what. Someone you can share all of the best memories together. Watch each other’s kids grow up. Enjoy big life moments, like marriage, child birth, birthday’s and so much more.
And, your person. The person that chose you and you choose over and over. The one you know has seen all your darkest days, but will easily brighten them. The one you will do life with in the bad, and the good.
These are crazy times, and we all need that friend. So when I say “mom” friend, I don’t mean a friend that IS a mom. I mean any friend that you know you would never want to do life without.
These are my true friends. This is what my village is made of.
Howdy, y’all! I reckon I’m ‘bout to show you my chicken farm!
Hahah, just kidding! I’m having too much fun with my chickens, sometimes I wish I had my own farm.
Fun fact: when I was growing up, my grandpa and great grandpa had a Hereford Farm. I actually showed steers at the 4-H Fair growing up! That was an experience on it’s own. It’s definitely something I wish my kids would be able to participate in if they wanted too.
Anyways, my chickens are now officially HOME! They enjoy their little house so much. It’s not 100% complete, as we are still deciding what we’d like to cover the coop in, and we have to paint it, but other then those cosmetic details it’s DONE!
Have I said on here that my husband is a genius, yet?! I kept showing him all these elaborate, chicken palaces, that were quite expensive, and he just would smile and nod. He knew that no matter what prefab coop I bought, in the end I wouldn’t truly be happy. He asked me what I’d want out of a coop, and he made it happen.
The first thing I wanted was a run that I could walk into to interact with my girls! He made it 8’ tall in the front, and 6’ tall in the back, so no matter where I go, I won’t be bumping my head!
I also wanted a door on the coop, so I would have easy access to the eggs when it’s time for them to start laying. Also, it will make cleaning A LOT easier!
Last thing that was a must was the slanted roof! It is eventually going to have a gutter system that will collect rain water for the birds! It’ll really help so I don’t have to drag the hose over every time I need to give them more water!
The process was actually quite simple. We started out buying just 20 2×4’s, four sheets of plywood, four metal roof panels, and chicken wire. All and all this cost around $250, and honestly is WAY better and more sturdy then any of the prefab models I saw online.
We started out with the bottom frame. We wanted as little waste as possible. The 2×4’s we got were 8’ long, so that’s what the bottom is, 8×8. Then we just worked our way up. With the slanted roof we cut down the back posts to 6’! Don’t worry, those 2’ we cut off, were definitely used!
After we had it all framed out, we started working on the actual “barn” part of the coop/run. Cody thought it was a good idea to raise it up, allowing the girls to have a spot under the coop to lay and get out of the sun! We used the two 2’ pieces we cut off and made a nice base for the coop, and then we enclosed it. This is where the nesting boxes will be. A nice quiet place to lay eggs!
Then we added the chicken wire! ALL THE CHICKEN WIRE! I think this was the worst part! It was just tricky making sure it was all straight. The staple gun broke mid way through, so I had to make ANOTHER Lowe’s trip!
The final step was predator proofing the coop! We couldn’t waste all our hard work on our ladies, to have them eaten by a critter. Now, we don’t live in a rural area, but we aren’t in the middle of a city either. We have raccoons and opossums for sure and they will kill the chickens if they get to them, so to combat that, we dug a “trench” a foot wide, and just a few inches deep, and we buried chicken wire. That way critters can’t try and dig under the fence!
We have to add a few finishing touches, and we definitely have to paint, but all in all, I think it turned out great! It was a lot of work, but I love it! That is truly all that matters, right?!
I love doing DIY’s, and you will probably read a lot about my little home projects! Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next Thursday! (:
We were bored in the house, and in the house bored. So we decided to get CHICKENS!!!
I went, alone, to Tractor Supply to get dog food, and I walked out with four chicks! I think Cody just about died when I called him. Oops!
We got two Silver Laced Wyandotte’s, Lacey and Ella (or Kylo Hen as we like to call her), and two Ameracauna chicks, Lucy and Emily. Both breeds are known for being calm, and good overall family farm birds. Unfortunately, one of our Ameracauna’s, Emily, didn’t make it.
Here is one of our babies, Lacey, when they first came home! So tiny and fluffy!
Becoming a chicken owner is definitely something you should think about BEFORE you get them. We really had so much to learn, but over time, and after losing one, we definitely learned a lot!
These babies grow SO FAST!
With in a few weeks they had doubled in size. From a little fluff ball that would fit in the palm of my hand, to an almost full sized bird who wanted to roost on my arm, we knew we needed to get working on our chicken coop! Here is Lacey at 3 weeks old:
She started getting her feathers which meant we could start to lower the temp in the brooder. The brooder is the little bin that they stay in until they are fully feathered.
Not long after they started getting their big bird feathers, did they begin to want to fly. Yes, I said fly. I didn’t realize they could get as much air as they did. We didn’t initially keep a lid on the brooder, because when they’re not feathered, they don’t even attempt to “fly”. Right around 5 weeks is when they were ready to get out and explore!
I went back to work after having these babies for a few weeks, but my flock was about to get bigger! We added three Silkie chicks! They’re names are Piper, Penny and Fancy. Fancy is actually a showgirl Silky, so her neck and her bum is naked.
I could go on and on about their cute little faces, but I would never stop writing.
On my next post, I’m going to show you our next step in “chicken farming”, the coop!
I’ll share more about my other birds in the next post, because my flock just keeps growing!
I don’t know about you, but my work weeks are pretty hectic! The madness that is trying to get ready in the morning (thank goodness for dry shampoo and concealer). Your actual work day and then coming home, figuring out dinner and trying to find time between bath and bed to actually play with your kids.
I’ll say it though, there are seriously not enough hours in a day!
Just craziness! So I have come up with some essentials I use throughout my work weeks to make them a little more bearable and cuts down a teeny bit of the crazy.
Amazon Prime.
Can I get a high-five for this one? Amazon is a life-saver when you need something fast that you forgot about. Need a last minute gift? Amazon Prime is there for you. Need something super random just because you were scrolling around at 11pm? Amazon Prime is there for you. Defiantly an essential for a busy mom.
A Large Bag Or Purse.
I will admit, my husband got on my case the other day saying I needed to clean out my jungle of a purse. I have a large purse but it holds my life’s needs. I may have a diaper or two in there and some wipes. I may have emergency snacks. A book. A couple water bottles. Honestly, who knows what is in there but the point is, you can go from work to hockey practice with one large bag or purse and be prepared!
Reusable Tumbler/Bottle.
I carry one constantly! I’ve been trying to keep up on my water intake lately which is it not hard? I find it hard to consume enough water in the day when I really just want to chug coffee or have a nice ice cold coke. Which brings me to why reusable tumblers/bottles are awesome because you can use them for all three! Could probably even splash some wine in there at the end of the night.
By the way, I am typing this without even really looking because my son is going crazy at the moment…
A Good Schedule Or Calendar.
I love a cute calendar planner. I actually like taking a minute at the beginning of each month and filling one out as well. It just keeps things in line and I will actually know what I am doing each week or month. Your phone calendar or a scheduling app works wonders though as well. There are even some apps where you can sinc your schedules with others.
A Good Podcast For Commute Time.
I love Podcasts, they are becoming quite popular lately and there are so many out there! Podcasts are great if you have to commute for work but they are also great for just putting on when you are doing things aroung the house as well. Personally I love True Crime Podcasts! My current obsession is Crime Junkie Podcast.
Snacks.
Oh snacks, last but certainly not least. As a mom we are the snack getters, the snack makers and packers. You know what though? We need snacks too! So I always pack a few of my own favorite snacks in my purse and maybe a snack or two my son likes in there too…either way snacks are defiantly essential!
I hope at least one or two of these are essential for a busy work week for you as well! Weather you are a busy mom or just a busy person in general these can go for anyone.
What are some of your essential work week things that weren’t mentioned above? I’d love to know!
Quirky Workin' Mom's 