CHOPPED. Ambrose Edition

Hello there, long time no blog. Here is what's new in our home:

Hayden is almost 10 months. He has 6 teeth (but working on 7 & 8), is army crawling everywhere, and is working very hard on walking. I gave him his first haircut last week (which went pretty good actually). He is a very happy little boy, who fills our home with laughter and love. Here is a recent picture of our little cutie!

Here in the Ambrose home, we have a family reunion that we are stoked about going to later this week, which I will also be posting about in the near future. Otherwise, Kyle is busy as usual with the Lodge events and his trading, and I am swamped with a squirmy baby, yard, and house. Busy is good, though, and we are happier than ever.

Oh, and one more thing is new in our home: CHOPPED AMBROSE EDITION will be starting right after our vacation! YESSS! 

For those of you who don't watch the show Chopped on the FOOD Network (I'm a food network junkie); it is a competition to see who makes the best meals out of several ingredients, and the best person wins $10K. The other chefs get "chopped" out of the competition throughout the show, when their meal isn't best.

Here is our little twist on the CHOPPED game we will be playing:

To see who is the best chef in the Ambrose home we will be competing over two weeks, to be able to claim the right as the BEST AMBROSE CHEF in the house (which will be me, of course).  

Rules:

-Each participant must make 5 meals. 

-$50.00 limit per week ($25 per person). 

-Each Chef will alternate choosing their menus (In case we choose to prepare the same meal). 

             First choice decided by Ro-Sham-Bo (best 3 of 5). 

-Each Chef will have 3 extra meals planned in case of duplicates. 

-Foods will be judged upon both the initial quality as well as leftover quality. 

-At the end of the competition, both Chefs will rank all meals in order from best to worst. 

-At least one meal must be new to our Kitchen Stadium. 

JUST SO YOU KNOW- We don't have $10 K, Dang! But, the winner gets their reward of choice (the sky's the limit!)                       I may need some help thinking up some good ideas for my reward.....


Also, we did make this official by contract; which has already been signed and dated this evening. It will be effective immediately after the family reunion.

This competition is awesome for two reasons. One, I am incredibly competitive and love to beat Kyle. Two, I get out of making a few meals (YESSS!). 

Along the way we will be posting pictures of the finished meals. That way you can all see what has been prepared and you can choose who you think should win. We have both sworn to each other not to be biased towards our own dishes; which I'm sure will be impossible to tell. Scouts Honor!


Alrighty! We will be posting the beginning of our competition beginning in about two weeks.


Here are a few more photos of our little man. Sorry, can't help myself!
Until then!

 

8 Months Old!

Ahhh! I have an eight month old. Crazy!! This has gone by way too fast.

I love being a momma; even despite the rough nights and the demands that come with a little one. Here is a little about our little man and what he is into these days:

Hayden is a super active little guy, who is very happy and content 99% of the time. The remaining one percent  of time is due to the fact that he still isn't sleeping through the night.

Hayden currently has six teeth (four on the top, two on  the bottom), but he is working on two more on the bottom jaw. He loves to chomp, chomp, chomp on everything and anything he can get his hands on! He is a very curious little fellow; who constantly scans rooms multiple times, studying all things thoroughly before proceeding to play or eat. He notices little details now like electric outlets and hair pins on the floor.

He loves to paint with his food (as can be seen above), and is currently in a phase of wanting to eat only what Mom and Dad are eating. It's becoming a struggle to get him to eat baby food. He likes watermelon, baby cheetos (Ala gerber graduates), apples, breads, corn, squash, and arrowroot cookies.

Hayden does not crawl yet, but sits up completely on his own these days. He is walking like a champ when we hold his hands, and he is pulling himself up on things now. I'm starting to think he will skip the crawling stage. Some of Hayden's favorite things to do are: to go on a jog with his momma, to read books, to sit in the grass under trees or touch flowers, to jump in his jumper, and to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Hayden seems to think his mom and dad are the funniest people in the world right now. I really loving being able to get those belly giggles out of our little guy.

I can't say enough this little boy. He brings joy to my day and more meaning to my life. 8 months already. Wow, that is blowing my mind. My little baby is growing up!

I am so lucky to have both of these wonderful boys to protect and love me!

Master's in Motherhood

Recently a lot of my friends have been asking me what I am going to do with my degree now that I am done. I thought I would answer this here on my blog and explain my reasons as well. I chose to blog so I could discuss this choice and what that means for me; plus, I think that would be an incredibly long Facebook status.

I am excited to say that I have decided to become a full time wife and mom. My mom likes to say I'm becoming a domestic goddess, but I like the way Kyle puts it: I'm getting my Master's in Motherhood. Telling some of my friends about my decision to stay home has brought on so many different responses; both good and bad. Apparently this is something I have to explain, by the way some people have responded and questioned my choice. Well, here it goes:

Firstly, this subject is something incredibly near and dear to me. My mother stayed home for me and my siblings and Kyle's mom did for his family too. I would like to thank each of them for this sacrifice. Being a mother is not easy. It is the one job that I think someone is completely emotionally invested. It's close to the heart, and that's what makes it so exhausting and worthwhile.

This is the part where I express my blunt opinion on the subject, which people may not like to hear. Please don't be offended by my thoughts and feelings, we are each entitled to our own. Here are mine:

I am incredibly grateful and fortunate that my husband provides us enough for me to stay home with our baby. It's a luxury that not everyone can afford. I am thankful for this opportunity. Saying that, I feel like people belittle those who choose to stay home with their children, and the importance that that holds in raising children. I think this is incredibly important, and my child's development and future children's lives are my top priority.

I want my kiddos to know I am always there for them; whether its just a regular day that they walk through the door from a hard day of school, or I'm cheering on the sidelines of a sport activity, or when a kiss is needed on an "ouchie". I want to be there for every moment. This is something that I desire more than anything; above having a career and entering the workforce.

I want my children to be responsible, fun loving, hard working, obedient children of our Heavenly Father and Savior. I honestly don't think that can be done on a part-time basis. At least I know I can't teach and exemplify those things for my kids on a limited time basis.

I have seen the look in some people's faces that says, "You're throwing your education away". It makes me sad that I can read that thought apparently on others faces. I can't think of another job more gratifying and worth applying all that I know.

Now, I understand that there are those of you that think differently than me. I understand that. Keep in mind that I just think this is the best choice for me. Each person chooses their path in life that is the best for themselves individually; and I say go and find what you think is best for you.

Yes, I have dreams and aspirations that I will have to put on hold for a little while. Yes, I want to continue my education further down the road. Yes, I eventually want to start my own business. I do have other dreams. But my dream right now is being able to provide for my family my knowledge, my time, and my love. I hope this helped explain my choices and my feelings.

Seriously, who wouldn't stay home with a cutie like this?

Thanks for listening. Here are a few pictures of graduation that I would like to share:

 Love this man more
than anything!
Thanks for your support.

Wonderful Little Reminders

Recently I have had lots of wonderful reminders that things in my life are changing. These reminders have taught me that there are many beautiful things ahead of me, and that with every thing there is a season. I have begun to get a deeper sense of what this really means. I would like to share some of these things; I don't really have a journal, so this is the best place for me to really jot these types of things down so I can remember them later.

This week I reorganized Hayden's room. While I was doing that, it was my first time that I packed up his tiny, tiny baby clothes. This made me sad and excited at the same time. While my little baby is still very little, he is most definitely past the newborn stage. I am enjoying playing with my 'not so small' guy. He giggles and smiles at me when I play with him, he adores reading books with his Dad, and he loves to be with me 24/7. While I am enjoy all this, packing up his clothes still made me sad because he is growing up. I guess this means I will be having more babies then. I already miss having a newborn. I had the newborn fever again when I got to hold my friends little week old boy, and I had to pass him back to her.

Next reminder: Kyle has this little patch of grey hair on one of his temples. When I run my fingers through his head at night, I always notice it (note: Kyle is in denial that he is graying, so I don't bring it up). But this little patch always makes me smile. This reminds me that I am one lucky girl to get to grow old with this man. This reminds me that we will only be getting older, and that I need to enjoy my time with him each and everyday.

There have been a few more reminders, that I feel are a little too personal for me to share here. Words can't express how I have been prompted recently to enjoy EACH day. Enjoy family moments, enjoy my hardships (as hard as that may be for me), enjoy all that life has to offer. I never realized how busy I could get. But as busy as I am right now there have been several moments in my days where I have been able to pause, take a  breath, and find beauty in my somewhat crazy life. I am grateful for all that I have been given. I am grateful that I have such a loving husband who supports me, and a son that I adore more than anything. Life couldn't get any better.

To end my post, I wanted to add some pictures of my 'not so big' boy. He is already five months old! Crazy!

Our Little Fish

Here is a little video that shows Hayden's first swimming experience. Kinda Fun. But I hate how annoying my voice sounds in it; but it is really a cute one of him.

Ending Chapters and New Beginnings

Alright, please bare with me as I express my situation right now. I just needed some place to write it out, and I figure, why not here?

Right now I am feeling very overwhelmed. Between school, and being a wife and mother I feel like I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Right now in my life, this is a time that a huge chapter is ending, and a new one is opening for me. This is how I am feeling these days:

With me being on the verge of being finished with school (I'll be done in April), I am excited, anxious, and worried. I am excited because I have been in school for the last 18 years of my life, without any sort of break. I feel like this has been my life! These last two years, my longest break from school has been a month. I also am excited because I am the first person in my family (of all my siblings, parents, and grandparents) to finish and receive a college degree. I am really excited!

I am anxious; despite this semester being the lightest credit load I have ever taken, it is definitely the most difficult for me. Being a mom and wife right now is so time demanding. Hayden is in need of constant attention. I find myself wanting to be able to just play with him all day instead of doing homework. My house is an utter disaster, my fridge and pantry are both completely empty, and I am in sweats most of the day, everyday (YUCK). I almost get no quality time with my hubby, and I am used to spending loads of time with him; it is hard because he is my best friend and I LOVE spending time with him (yes, he stills drives me crazy at times just like any normal husband).

An assignment that would normally take me thirty minutes, now takes me two hours to complete. I barely finish my assignments on time right now, and they are not to the standards that I have held myself to; this drives me crazy.  For all these reasons, I am anxious to finish and see how I will do.

I am worried because I am afraid of what I am going to do once I am done with my degree. I'm not going to start a career; I made that decision a long time ago. I have been fortunate enough that my husband that can provide for us so that I can stay at home to be a Mom. However, I don't feel like I have any hobbies or skills that I can use being at home, and that makes me worried. What am I going to do with myself with my extra time? I know that is something so dumb to be worried about, but seriously, I am. My whole life my spare time was filled with sports, and I can't do that all the time now. I have never been crafty, but I have the desire to be; but I don't know where to start.

I've started to think that maybe I should just go for a Masters. But I've decided that no, I should try to develop myself in other ways.

So, overall, I am doing great. But I feel like I have all the drive and vision that I would ever need in some areas of my life, and that I am completely blind in others. I am feeling bittersweet about these changes; but overall excited. I know that I'll figure it out. I know that I will love 'just' being a mom. I know that I will enjoy being at home and not having to plaster my face to a screen for hours a day. I know all these things confidently.

Sometimes I see my life as scaling a mountain. Once I get to the top, I have always had higher one behind it to tackle. This time I am almost to the summit, but I don't see another peak to scale- at least not yet. So, for now, I focus on pushing through to the end.

 Thanks for listening.

We Have a Three Month Old!

We can't believe that our baby boy is already three months old! That flew by too fast. It's kind of bittersweet for me to have my little guy getting so big so fast. I know it will only be a matter of time until snuggles with mom will be traded for time wrestling with dad, that his eyes won't search a room for his Momma, and that he will start having his own important agenda. But I have some time before all that, and I know Hayden will have some siblings down the road. I guess I just love having a baby in my home.

Now, about my little man. At three months, he already is teething! Oh my gosh! I never thought it would happen this early. He has two bottom teeth that should be cutting any day. I can see the tips of the teeth poking out of his gums. He is trying to roll, but not very hard. He is content where he is apparently.


Here is a little bit about my little man and his already BIG personality:

• He LOVES to talk with people. It holds his attention for about 10 minutes (which I think is a good span for a baby).
• He smiles big open mouth smiles to the people he's comfortable with.
• He gives me and his dad this quizzical look at times that says: "Make me laugh funny man! Come on, show me what you got."
• He gets my attention in one volume: LOUD. By that I mean the crying that makes him turn all red.
• These days, he has to be entertained. He quickly lets me know when he is bored by smacking things away with his hands or turning his face into my chest. 
• He has a crooked smile when he is annoyed with the people talking to him.
• He LOVES to be sung to. Sometimes he sings with me. 
• He kicks with excitement when he's being changed. 
• He hates being wrapped up to sleep. I wake up at night to find his arms up through the neck of his shirts to get his arms free.  
• His favorite new toy is his fists. 

Words cannot express how happy this little guy makes me.  I have three month old pictures I will post later today. I'm out of time right now unfortunately. Dinner calls!

Ignore how awful I look. I had to post this. My little cooking assistant!

YUM! I love my fists

Thoughts on School as a Mother

Yuck! Finals week starts today. Honestly, I am blogging right now mostly because I want to find any excuse to get out of finishing my classes and having to take exams. I know that sounds really stupid and I'm sure you're thinking, "Just finish them!"  But there is some invisible wall that erects itself at the end of every semester; and it always seems impossible to break through or climb over. Or at least it takes too much work to get over it. So, needless to say, here I am 'trying' to motivate myself to just get started finishing my classes. But while I am making excuses about why I am avoiding the inevitable painful end of the semester, I might as well blog about how schooling and motherhood is going right?

Here are my thoughts about going to school with a newborn as a first time Mom:

IT'S HARD; it's challenging for a lot of reasons. I want to clarify before I go on that I LOVE Hayden, and am so glad he is here. I LOVE being a mother. I would never change the fact that he is here, right here, right now. I just thought I would write about my feelings about going to school while having a child, and my experience thus far. I want to start this story with my labor (my five hour, got to a nine labor before my c-section). While I was in labor, I tried to convince Kyle to crack open the laptop so I could finish some tests that were due that day. I did get through a few, but everyone thought I was insane. But I have deadlines people! And surprisingly teachers aren't that flexible.

Sad, I know. But continuing through school, I have found it hard to jump out of bed to find a filthy house I can't keep up with and a stack of books with endless assignments to stay ahead of. But that isn't even the worst of it: the most difficult thing about it all is that I JUST want to be a Mom.

Enough of the schooling, boring reading, and assignments; I just want to cuddle up with my little kiddo. I want to play with him, and talk to him in high pitched baby voices (that I swore I would never do) to get him to smile at me. I don't like having to watch him kick around on the floor for hours while I have homework. Which, by the way, he is perfectly content doing. Most of all, though, is it drives me crazy that I am taking all these parenting classes. I don't want to learn about parenting from a book, I want to learn hands on.

I think that summarizes my feelings. I know that everyone who checks my blog is not in my situation, but from now on, I am going to recommend that no one do what I have done. Finish school first people! Get it done first! Do it so you can love JUST being a Mom. I know I look forward to April coming up, so that I can proudly just be a mom. An everyday, full time mom; but highly educated!

And yes, I have to finish off this post as usual with a photo of my little man. And maybe a video. Sorry, I just can't help myself:

Now I have no more excuses for putting off school... Sad. Well, wish me luck!

Christmas Tree

Long time no blog... I feel like I have a lot to catch up on. First off, our Christmas Tree is finally finished! We got our tree on Wednesday and brought it home in our traditional Ambrose manner; inside the car instead of on top!  After that, it took me a few days to trim it and put the lights on. Finally, today we put all the decorations on it. I love this time of year; and I feel like it couldn't get any better now that we have Hayden with us.

Here are some pictures of the finished product:

Our Finished Product

Hayden LOVES the tree

Favorite picture yet!!

This is my favorite time of the year by far. I love all traditions that revolve around this holiday; the music, the food, spending family time together... I even love the traditions that many seem to dislike including egg nog and mistletoe. I always feel like I can't get enough of it. I know this sounds quite childish, but sometimes I wish it was Christmas all year round. With that, I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Hayden's Blessing

This past Sunday our little Hayden was finally blessed (at 5 weeks old). It was a spectacular day filled with lots of family. We had about twenty family members to come and support us and our little man. We had a little luncheon before our service to have everyone over and take some pictures. It was really relaxed and fun to catch up with my family.

Here are a few pictures of some of the group:

Four Generations on My Mother's side

Kyle's parents

Four Generations on my Dad's side

We were fortunate enough to have Kyle's parents in town to take part in the blessing and to visit with our little guy.

The blessing outfit that was originally given to us didn't fit. We could fit two of him in it! Good thing my mother in law and I checked a few days before the blessing... Because the next two days we spent the entire time looking for something appropriate for him to wear. All I can say about it is that I can't believe how few of a selection of sweaters and button ups there are circulating in the babies department. We hit Gymboree, Children's Place, Crazy 8, Carters, Burlington Baby Depot, Baby Gap, and that's not all the places we ended up going to! Here's the end result on the outfit:

Doesn't he look so handsome?!! It was such a great day. I wept my eyes out, Kyle did a fantastic job, and we were surrounded by people we love so much. We wish that our whole family could have been with us, but it will have to happen for our next little one.

Bath Time and Starting to Chunk up!

Hayden is beginning to LOVE bath time! Today, Hayden took his first bath with his Daddy. Truth is, it took me a while to convince Kyle to take a bath with Hayden. He was worried that Hayden would decide to go to the bathroom while in the tub.

Thank goodness Hayden didn't spring any kind of leak, because I know Kyle would not have been up for bathing him like this again; and I just love to watch these kinds of moments as a new Momma. Being there to witness bonding between my honey and our beautiful son. Here are just a few of the pictures that I took:

Here is our little Superman! Showing off his muscles to Mom. What a cutie! He is starting to get so BIG! I can't believe how fast he is changing and how quickly he is growing. Kyle and I have quickly noticed how much heavier he seems and how much he is filling out.     

Here are some additional pictures of our little peanut for Grandma and Grandpa Ambrose. We can't wait to see you in 10 days! We're counting down!

Hayden Arrived!

I know this is over two weeks late, but I finally have a breather and could sit down to blog about his birth.

Hayden Robert Ambrose was born October 10th at 8:18 P.M.
He was 7 pounds 4 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long

So about the delivery: October 10th was his due date, but our doctor had suggested not to induce but to have me go into labor on my own. Kyle, my mother in law, and I went in for the 40 week doctor's check up at 2:30 P.M. Everything was looking great, and I had been contracting irregularly and dilated to a two for the last two weeks. For one last check, our doctor wanted to see how much amniotic fluid was left around him. She checked it, and said she would probably send us home, but wanted to have me checked on a newer machine to be safe.

So we were walked into a delivery room in the hospital, where they proceeded to check my fluids. At this point (3:30 PM), we were told there was essentially no fluids around him, and that we were having this baby today. I was nervous and was not expecting to have this baby today. I was instantly admitted into the hospital and was put on the lowest dose of Pitocin to induce my labor. Short Version: I was dilated to a 6 within three hours, taken off Pitocin and given my epidural. At that point Hayden's heart dropped, and I was given some meds that would raise my heart rate and stop the contractions to try and raise his heart rate.

In another hour, I was at an eight, but his heart rate dropped again. It went from a 130 to 50 on the monitor. It was scary! This time, about seven people rushed into the room. I was asked to get on my forearms and knees to get him off his cord and raise his heart rate. It didn't work. I was asked to sign a consent form, and within a minute was rushed off in tears into the operating room.  I was injected on the short walk to the operating room with more medications so I could go into surgery. Kyle barely made it into the operating room, when seven minutes after being rolled into the O.R. Hayden was delivered. Here is our first family picture:

I was closed up ten minutes later. It was all a blur, but I remember all the scary and overwhelming emotions. In a matter of about six hours, I became a Mom. People keep saying that they were sorry that it happened the way that it happened; but you know what? I'm not. I'm grateful. I will always remember Kyle stroking my hair and holding my hand, and thinking that we (Hayden and I) were going to be okay only because he was there with me. I was glad it was just the two of us. It allowed me to become closer to him in a whole new way. I know Kyle was stressed beyond belief, and worried sick, but we had each other.


These days, Hayden is such a happy little baby! He is gaining weight quickly (about 1 1/2 pds per week) and has the cutest smile in the world. He LOVES to be held, and is awake and alert more as the days go on. At night, he sleeps in three hour stretches between each time I nurse, which is really great! I will add more pictures of him soon.

I know this post is really long, but I just have one more thing to say. I am the luckiest girl in the world, surrounded by the most fun, happy, and handsome boys. They are my world, and I love watching them together. Life cannot get any better. Today, I am grateful for eternal families, and the promise that if I live righteously I can have my family with me forever.

Nursery Completed!

I am proud to announce that five days before Hayden's due date we have FINALLY completed the nursery! I know, I know, insane right?!! At least that's what friends around us have insisted that we had better hurry up before he comes. It is officially my favorite room of the house. I remember walking into my mother's nurseries and the peace and quiet that existed in each one. I have found the same thing to be true in our nursery. I love the spirit that lingers in there. I can't wait to bring him home into it!

So maybe we are crazy for not having it completed it earlier; but I feel like I would have gone even more stir crazy if we had completed it earlier. I am already going nuts as it is! After going on long walks, going golfing, and etc. there has been no progress, I still am having irregular contractions. I can't get this baby to come out!

Now it is crunch time, because Kyle's Mom flies out on Sunday along with my older brother. Yikes!

I am still feeling good, despite the normal discomforts that women talk about (lack of sleep, multiple bathroom trips, etc.), but I really honestly can't complain. I feel like I have been blessed significantly for having such a smooth pregnancy. I'm not so sure Kyle feels the same way -having dealt with all the hormones, poor guy- but as far as sickness and energy goes, I have been super lucky. Hopefully all the rest of my pregnancies in the future will be the same.

The next post that I will put up will be of our little boy! Words cannot express how impatient we both are for our little guy to come. We both have to remind ourselves that good things come to those who wait. I will admit that it does help when you do have an end date in sight. Thank goodness for the induction date that has been set for a week after the due date (October 17th).