Hi, everyone! I’m Amanda, one of the newest contributors to the Mid-Michigan Moms Blog! My husband of five years, our beautiful three-year-old daughter, and our two mini-dachshunds {or mini hot-dog dogs} have resided in the quaint little Village of Holly for the past two years. I was raised in the heart of Rochester Hills and spent two years teaching English in Vietnam after college, so moving out of “the city” has been a welcome change for our family! We love the small-town feel of Holly with its antique shops and local farms, while still being close enough to larger cities like Fenton and Grand Blanc to enjoy their perks {like Target!}.
I was a stay-at-home mom for the first 2.5 years of my daughter’s life while my husband worked outside the home as a busy robotics engineer, often traveling for 1-3 weeks at a time. During this time I developed a thriving wedding & portrait photography company: Life on Purpose Photography. As much as I love my kiddo, the stay-at-home life just was not for me; I needed more than a folded pile of laundry to feel accomplished, so I headed back to working outside the home providing customer service at the same robotics company my husband works for. Now our daughter is thriving at a small, local daycare and we are juggling busy workloads with raising a toddler!
As a family we love exploring new restaurants and trying new recipes at home, thankfully our toddler is a rare, good-eater! We also love being outdoors whether it be playing at a local park, swimming at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, or just taking a walk around the block in the evening. Of course, as a photographer, I spend a ton of time outdoors scouting new locations and photographing couples and families! Our families also have cabins Up North, one near Gaylord and the other on the Au Sable River near Grayling. We spend as much time there as possible. We spend our time there fly-fishing, hunting for Petoskey stones, and riding ATVs on the trails.
As for me? Alone-time is a fruity beer on the couch watching a football game {Go Lions!}, praying my Fantasy Football team does well that weekend while scrolling Pinterest for new recipes to try when I manage to plan ahead for once. My girly side loves experimenting with makeup {thank goodness for ipsy so I can try new stuff!}, getting my nails done, and putting together outfits.
I’m excited to add Mid-Michigan Moms Blog to part of my routine and look forward to sharing my thoughts and experiences here!
What a beautiful family! Welcome to MidMiMB! I felt the same way going into the final countdown of my due date. I have always worked. Always. I worked in High School. I worked through College. And at 20 years old, I was working full-time while juggling school. I managed. I enjoyed the “pressure”. My husband and I talked about me becoming a SAHM after our daughter was born, but the more I thought about it, as much as I already loved my unborn baby and as much as I knew I would come to love her, I knew staying home wasn’t for me. I took the first 4 months with her. Now we look forward to our special “Mommy & Me” days and our nights and weekends. We’re all moms doing our best, so kudos to you for making that decision that was right for you and your family! I look forward to reading more from you!