Stay at Home Mom Moments

**Disclaimer- Biggest picture dump of all time**

Hello, my name is Amanda, and this is my blog.  At least I think it is, it's been so long since I've written, I'm having trouble remembering.  I hate to admit it, but at the end of the day when I'm just so exhausted and my three options are blog, go to bed, or eat a huge bowl of ice cream and then go to bed, I'm more inclined to go with either option two or three (ok, mostly three).  But I am vowing to do better.  It helps motivate me to know that there are people out there that miss me (thank you Susan and mom).

Update on us.  Life is a little crazy right now.  Daniel's job ends on Friday and we don't know where or what we'll be doing next.  It's a little exciting, a little stressful, a little unsettling, but we are prepared and looking forward to whatever comes next.  One thing that hasn't changed and won't change for us is our love for each other and for our little boy.  I still love (LOVE) staying home with Logan and getting to watch him grow and learn each and every day.  He's such a little nut.  To say he is brimming with personality is a vast understatement.  Anyway, we love him so much and he's pretty much the smartest, cutest, most fun baby around and I'll quit bragging and let the pictures do the talking.

My life right now basically consists of 4 different parts.

Part 1:  Elephants

This little boy loves elephants...

Like a lot...

Like so much that he thinks this inflatable one is his little brother.

Part 2:  The Park

We spend a lot of time at the park.  

So much that Logan is learning to do scary stuff like this without help.   

Being outside is Logan's favorite thing to do.

It can cure even the grumpiest boy.  

Sometimes we play alone...

Sometimes we like to bring a friend...

Sometimes we make new friends!

And then there are the times we play tennis...
which Logan is really terrible great at.

Part 3:  Home

Being at home is momma's favorite thing to do.  Because...

Let's be honest who wouldn't want to bake a pie with that face.

Sometimes Logan wishes we could go outside
 when it's raining...

But then he puts my shoes on and changes his mind.

What can I say, he's quite the fashion icon.  

Perhaps that's why he spends so much time playing
hide and go seek in the closet.    

Or maybe he's rummaging through to find his light up Batman
shoes and Superman hat for our next outing.

Or to prepare for the next indoor rain storm. 

On occasion he plays with his extensive collection
of cheap budget conscious toys.

Like this $15 tool bench and tools (complete with goggles)

Or his vast collection of Dollar Store art supplies. 

But usually, he just wants me to chase him while he holds my dish towels.

Part 4:  Miscellaneous Outings

We take a gymnastics class once a week.  

We cultivate young love often.  

And at the end of the day we will most likely
 end up at Target. 

So there you go.  That's what I've been up to the last 2 (3??) months.  I promise to write more if you promise to read.  Deal?  Deal.  

An Apology and an Explanation

Wow, I really have been MIA from the blogosphere.  It hit me a couple days ago, that it really has been WEEKS since I've posted anything.  I apologize, and offer an amusing, slightly gross story as a little bit of twisted entertainment and an explanation as to my disappearance.

It was a run of the mill Thursday morning.  Logan and I dropped off Daniel at the metro station, came home, had breakfast, and plotted out our game plan for the rest of the day.  On our way home from the metro, the "Change your oil NOW" light came on in the car, so I decided we would quickly go get the oil changed, then head over to the playground until nap time.

The man at the Service Station told me it would only be 30 minutes until the car was finished.  30 minutes?  Easy peasy!  I had my iPhone, I had 10+ Fisher Price apps, I had Disney Jr. on demand.  No problem!  Logan was jumping around the room, laughing, smiling at all the other people waiting, until about 10 minutes into our wait, he sat down, the blood completely drained from his face, and he started throwing up all over everything.  And I do mean everything.  The carpet, the chairs, his clothes, my clothes, his shoes, my shoes, EVERYTHING.  And this wasn't baby spit up.  This was full fledged V-O-M-I-T if you catch my drift.  The sounds, the smells, the chunks.  Worst part?  I was completely unprepared.  I had no wipes.  I had no tissues.  I had no change of clothes.  I didn't even have one lonely diaper for crying out loud.  Mother of the year right here.

After I got over the shock and embarrassment of what was happening, I went into damage control mode.  I asked the man saint at the desk for paper towels, I started scrubbing the floors (gagging all the way), I stripped Logan down to the onesie.    I apologized profusely to the room full of bystanders, who all promptly vacated the premises.  The man saint told me not to worry about it, they would just "take the chairs out back and hose them off" and he had an "18 year old daughter, so he understands."  Yeah, when was the last time your daughter threw up all over herself and the 10 surrounding square feet at the gas station service center?

Once I had done all I could do, we still had 15 (ish) minutes left before the car was done.  What's worse than having your kid throw up all over himself in public?  Having your kid throw up all over himself and then having to wait 15 minutes before you can gettheheckoutofthere! Shoeless Logan wanted nothing more than to get down on the puke soaked floor and jump up and down repeatedly.  We managed to make it through the rest of the wait uneventfully, that is, until it was time to check out.  Let's just leave it at, my card was rejected 3 times (they were inputting the expiration date incorrectly, so says my bank), and there was more spewing, a lot more spewing.... all over the cash register.  The customer service was spectacular at this service station.  It's a shame I can never show my face in there again.

5 days, 30+ loads of laundry, 10 baths, and 16 hours of The Muppets, and I just wasn't in a blogging mood.  Glad we can all laugh about it now, right??

Traditions

I am a little bit crazy paranoid that Logan won't have a wonderful childhood.  I just really want him to look back on his time here at home with fond memories and warm fuzzy feelings.  I think sometimes this leads me to over think, over plan, over worry, and over force the fun.  On normal days this can lead to over-stimulation and an overly tired little boy.... but around holidays, the paranoia and panic to make a magical memory gets taken to a whole new level!  Family traditions and fun memories go hand in hand to me, and I'm concerned our family just isn't doing enough in these departments.  Maybe I've been reading too many blogs.  Maybe I've been pinning too many pins.  Maybe I'm worrying for nothing.  I want these things to happen organically but sometimes, they just don't..... so I force it.  And then it's not magical and it's not really that fun.  

But....
BUT!

There are a handful of things that our family does that I think are fun and special and happened all on their own.  I didn't have to do a thing!  Some of these things are age old traditions in my family.  Some come from Daniel's family.  And some, Daniel and I have started on our own (these are my favorites!)  I feel like they are pretty unique (some of them) and fun!  Here's a few things our family does that are our traditions- the ones that we created, the ones where the real family memories are made!

1.  George Washington/Michael Jordan/Woody Hayes Birthday Party-  I also refer to this as "Daniel Hero Day".  It just so happens that George Washington, Michael Jordan, and Woody Hayes all share a birthday the same week.  These happen to be 3 of Daniel's heroes.  This year was a special one because it was MJ's 50th birthday, and WH's 100th birthday.  And we got a day off for President's Day (which is not a real holiday, the REAL holiday is GW's birthday..... don't even get Daniel started on that one...).  We decided this year that we would throw them all a birthday party!  So we invited our good friends over for dinner, had cake and ice cream, and sang happy birthday.  It was pretty relaxed, but I loved the idea!  And Daniel and I both agree we want to continue doing it from now on.  I think it will be a great way to teach our children all about US, Basketball, and Ohio State History.

2.  Oscar Night-  This one is a new one that we are definitely going to keep going.  We fill out Oscar ballots for the big Academy Awards.  Whoever has the most correct at the end of the night gets to pick out a movie to buy and choose all the movies we watch for the next month.  Simple?  Yes.  Fun?  Yes.  That's all you need for a great family tradition for us!  PS- I won this year!

3.  Half Birthdays-  This one started with Logan.  Daniel and I never celebrated half birthdays until he came along.  We still don't celebrate our own half birthdays, but we celebrate his.  We just get him a pretty big gift.  That's all.  It's simple, but fun!  6 months it was a basketball hoop, this year it was swimming lessons.  I want to continue this tradition with future half birthdays and future children!

4.  Yearly Trip-  Ok, so we've only done this one once, but it was so fun, we all agree that we are doing it again, every year we can!  Two summers before Logan was born, we went on a trip with Daniel's Grandma, Aunt and Uncle.  We went to Hershey, PA and Gettysburg.  Although it was only a couple days long, and pretty simple, it goes down in my book as one of my all time favorite vacations.  If you didn't know, the mulch does not smell like chocolate in downtown Hershey, and some General in the Civil War mailed his sawed off leg to the opposing side's General.  We learned this and so much more!  Anyway, we all agree that we are taking a yearly trip to some random destination every year to learn fun facts and but mostly to just spend time together.

5.  Fishing in Minnesota- This one goes all the way back to my Dad's parents.  Living in Illinois, their yearly vacation was to go fishing in Minnesota.  So now that's my family's yearly vacation.  We've been going my whole life.  And my parents still go every year.  We haven't been able to go since Daniel and I've been married, with work and everything.  But, this year I get to take Logan, and I'm super excited!  I can't wait for him to catch his first Northern!

6.  Pumpkining- My mother and I have been going pumpkining since I was a baby.  What is pumpkining, you ask?  Every year before Halloween we go to Half Moon Bay, CA, pumpkin capital of the world, to Bob's Pumpkin Patch to get pumpkins to carve for Halloween.  This is and always will be one of my favorite family traditions.  We used to take days off of school to go, I flew home from college to go, and this year, I got to take Logan for the first time!  You get to wander around the patch, looking for the pumpkin that speaks to you.  We go shopping, we go to a great nursery in town, we go to a couple other patches to go groovy shopping to find treasures such as a talking candy bowl, Hilda, the sexy witch, and "Pumpky" my favorite stuffed toy as a child.  It's a wonderful, wonderful day and one I know I will continue the rest of my life. 

7.  Black Friday- Yes, we are the nuts that stay up all night for the killer deals the Friday after Thanksgiving.  But one thing that we do that is unique with Black Friday, since Logan was born, is give him a "Black Friday Present".  Something big that we snagged an awesome deal on, that he gets that day.  I like it because I hate keeping secrets, and of course he likes it because he gets a Christmas gift early, essentially.  We started this because for Logan's first Christmas, we really wanted to get him a jumper chair.  They had a great deal on them for Black Friday, so we picked one up at a great price.  We got it home, and I was afraid by the time Christmas rolled around he would have out-grown it (I know, first time mom, give me a break!), so we just gave it to him that day.  Of course, he didn't outgrow it for 6 more months, but at least a tradition was born!  This year we gave him this adorable Little People set we got on sale for $20.  He loves it and it was fun for him to have it a little early.  I'm thinking this tradition will help tide the children over until Christmas.

8.  Animal Shelter-  This past Christmas Daniel's boss at work got him a beautiful book as a gift.  He asked that Daniel not get him anything in return, but that instead he go and buy a box of dog treats and take them to a local shelter.  Boom!  Family tradition.  It was so fun to go to the animal shelter for the holidays, Logan loved seeing all the animals, and the dogs of course enjoyed the treats.  This one is definitely a keeper!

9.  Give back-  Daniel and I began this tradition a couple years ago when we asked the Bishop in our ward if there was anyone we could help during the holiday season.  He gave us the name of a sweet lady in our ward who had asked him for someone to bring her a basket of fruit for Christmas.  So we did just that, and had a great visit.  Now, every holiday season we ask our Bishop that same question, and try to spread a little holiday cheer to whoever needs it!  I love the idea of teaching our children to help those in need around Christmas.

10.  The Morgensen Challenge- I specifically like this one, because I am a 2 time champion.  The Morgensen Challenge is a college football bowl pick 'em bet we have every year with my family.  It makes watching all the college bowl games so much more fun.  We each have our own strategy.  Daniel always picks all the Big Ten teams.  I always go big on Boise State.  My dad puts up $50 and whoever has the most points at the end of the bowl season wins.  He loves gloating when he gets to keep the money.  I love gloating when I get to take it from him.  No one else ever gets to gloat because we are the only ones who ever win (yes, that's me gloating).  We are a competitive family, so whatever we can do to bring that out is always a good time.  I just got off the phone with my dad who mentioned a possible March Madness Morgensen Challenge.... sounds like another tradition in the works!

Well there you have it.  It's not much, but it's us.  Actually, writing all of our traditions down makes me feel a little bit better about it.  Like maybe we are doing better than I thought.  In fact, I can almost hear Tevye singing now, ok maybe not quite.... But I think the more I just go with the flow, the more I just let things happen, the more I just try to enjoy spending time with my family, the more traditions will form on their own and the more we will cherish these magical moments.

What about you, do you have any fun family traditions to share??

All boys??

Everyone who knows me knows I am a total girl's girl.  Pink, Hello Kitty, Sparkles is what I'm about.  So of course I've been dreaming of the day when I would have a little girl to dress up, watch princess movies with, and go shopping with.  And what did I get?

A total boy's boy.  He loves dinosaurs, playing with balls, jumping in the mud, and super heros.  Not exactly what I had been dreaming about my whole life.  But guess what, it's BETTER!!  Having a boy is about a million times better than I thought it would be.  Boy stuff is fun.  Cars, Legos, Park Dates, Animals, Sports.... I could go on and on.  And he's so low maintenance.  He doesn't care if he's dirty.  He doesn't care if his clothes match.  He just needs a place to run and a ball and he's happy.  I've always said that if we had 8 boys, we would have 9 kids because I need to have a girl.  But ya know what?  I'm beginning to start to be ok with the thought of only having boys.  I am beginning to embrace  being a "boys mom".  Of course I still want a girl.  But if it ends up that I'm the queen of the castle with a basketball team of boys, I think I would love that as well!

Logan, the Ladies Man

In honor of Valentine's Day (sorry, I'm a day late!)... a post about young love.  

Really young love.

I thought I had a few years (like 15?) before I had to worry about Logan chasing after girls.  Boy was I wrong!  Ever since we moved to Virginia, Logan has been charming girls left and right.  Specifically older women.  I feel like everywhere we go, Logan finds a lady friend.

Flash back to the Ward Halloween Party:

Only a couple inches height difference

During dinner we lost Logan.  One minute he was running around with the toddlers his age, the next he was gone.  When we found him, he had made a new friend.  A girl from our ward, around 8 or 9, was picking him up, spinning him around, hugging him, kissing his head, and rolling on the ground with him.  She definitely looked smitten and so did he!  Every time she put him down, he just lifted his arms up for her to spin him around again.  Eventually we were able to peel him away to take him home, but he definitely loved all the attention from that little girl.  And every time we have a ward party of any kind, he finds her and they rekindle their romance.

Fast forward to this morning:

(I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture of this!)

We go to a mommy and me workout class a few times a week.  Afterwards the kids play in a soft play area in the mall.  Usually I have to corral Logan to keep him from going into stores, or killing himself trying to go up the escalator.  But today was different.  One of the little girls (around age 3) from our class must have caught Logan's eye today because he kept trying to give her high fives and hugs.  She (and I) kept telling him to "Stop" and "No, Logan!"  but he was very persistent.  Soon he was literally chasing her around the playground.  The other moms and I were just busting up laughing, when the little girl approached her mother and told her, "I don't like THAT Logan, make him stop!"  Her mother explained to me that there is another Logan that she plays with that her daughter really likes.  So I took Logan aside to tell him that his girl was "taken" and to "stop trying to give her hugs".  He stopped, until about 5 minutes later, the little girl was in hot pursuit of Logan!  I guess he had won her over because she was holding his hand, hugging him, carrying him around, and even kissing him!  And he was loving it.  He was giddy with laughter and was spinning around and jumping all over the playground!  Sadly, the time came to go home, and Logan cried and cried.  He's going to have to learn that that doesn't win any points with the ladies!

At the end of the day:

Young Love

Livi (age 3) is still Logan's number one gal.  As you all remember, we hang out with Eileen, Livi, and Lucas often.  Logan follows Livi wherever she goes and they sneak off alone to play together all the time!  Whenever I'm having a hard time getting Logan to do anything, all I have to say is, "Do you want to go play with Livi later?"  and he shapes right up!  The other day I was watching them play at the park; Livi was spinning Logan around and he was laughing uncontrollably and looked so smitten!  It made me smile, but it also made me nervous!  If he's already this girl crazy, what are his teenage years going to be like?  I hope he doesn't break too may hearts. Or even worse, I hope he doesn't get his heart broken too badly!  I want to raise a respectful, courteous, little gentleman.... I have a feeling we are going to need to keep an eye on that boy!

Valentine's Day Cookies!

A Day in the Life...

Being a stay at home mom, sometimes my days can get a little muddled, and I find myself thinking, "What did I do today?"  I realized this week that if I can't remember what the heck I did yesterday as opposed to today or last Tuesday, that five, ten years down the road, I'm never going to remember what my life was like when Logan was a baby.  I already have a hard time remembering what he was like as an infant and that was only a few months ago!  So I decided I was going to take a run of the mill day and document it, from beginning to end.  Here you go... a day in the life of Logan!

This was Thursday, January 17, 2013.

8:00 Logan's awake!

After a diaper change and getting dressed, it's time for breakfast!  We can't do anything without Kermit these days, so he joins us, and Logan is sure he gets something to eat as well!

Eat Up, Kermit!

After breakfast we hurry to get out the door because today is our first day of Blast Off For Babies!  A class in the "soft playroom" at the REC Center by our house.

9:15 Class begins and Logan takes off.  The other children stay close to their mothers, but Logan is too busy exploring and climbing on everything to care about what I'm doing.  There's a ball pit, enough said!

Ball Pit = 1 Year Old Heaven

10:00 Class is over and it's not too cold so we go play at the playground for a little while.  Logan has to go down EVERY slide and ends up soaking wet.

10:30 We take the painstakingly long trip up our stairs.

3 Flights of Stairs, 7 Pit Stops, 15 Minutes

Costume change!!  Very into dinosaurs these days.... good thing we had another dinosaur shirt waiting in the wings.

Play for a little while.  Until Logan starts doing this:

Tired much?

And so I figure it's....

Nap time!  And it's a long one today (3 hours!!!!!), thank goodness!

2:00 Logan's awake!

Diaper change and then of course our daily 45 minute lesson on Mammals (Logan's choice, not mine!).

It's a Mountain Lion and a Monkey for the 1000th time!

Lunch time!  Featuring left overs from last night's dinner at Red Lobster.  French fries, broccoli, and clementines.

Skeptical, Brave, Happy

3:15 More playing.  This included an hour long jig with Kermit.  (like I said, we can't do anything without him!)

Did I mention the jig is to 10 pre-recorded songs from our Casio Keyboard?

4:30 Snack time.  Looks like applesauce and animal crackers are on the menu.

Num Num Num

Playing, playing, playing!

6:30 Daddy's home!!!  Deep sigh of relief!

Leg hugs are Logan's specialty

Dinner time.  Don't remember what we had, but looks like Logan was a fan!

He may have been less of a fan after dinner was served.

Bath time.  Take that back.  First it's run away time.  Then it's bath time!

What, running around with a beach ball isn't part of your nighttime routine?

Careful editing on these pics, keeping it PG!

Jump on mom and dad's bed time.

And pretend like I'm not tired time.  

A quick scripture and prayer and it's off to bed.

Praying on the run

7:30 Logan is fast asleep, Kermit in tow.

To you (and everyone else except me) this may seem like a pretty boring, monotonous day, but to me this was a great day.  A little slice of heaven even.  A life full of days like this seems like a pretty great way to spend my time.  He's growing up so fast, I hope I never forget the simple days like this.  I hope I never forget the sound of his little feet running down the hall.  Or the look of accomplishment on his face when he gets BOTH feet off the ground at the same time.  Or the feeling of those little arms wrapped around my neck.

"You will never have this day with your children again.  Tomorrow they'll be a little older than they were today.  This day is a gift.  Breathe and notice.  Smell and touch them; study their faces and little feet and pay attention.  Relish the charms of the present.  Enjoy today, Mama.  It will be over before you know it.  "  - Jen Hatmaker

Too true, too true.