Hello, I am Amy, thank you for checking out my website today. I am a homeschooling mom of eight who blogs. I am happily married (since 1996) to my husband that I met in college.
The original creator of this website is my friend, Katelynn. You can read her story here:
I'm a small town Saskatchewan gal married to my best friend (how cliché), trying to figure out the whole married with children (and a dog, house, garden, acreage, cats & needs of my own) thing.
I was craving a creative outlet other than sewing and crafting. I was feeling a serious NEED to write. Hampers&Hiccups was born. I'm loving it. I really am. Every little minute I get to sit at the computer is pure pleasure, even if I'm screaming at the screen because I've all but deleted my entire website code and nothing has changed.
Here's the thing… I'm a relatively new mama. My Sweet Girl just turned 2 and Pip is about 7 and a half months old.
So, because I'm navigating these waters with you, I know what you're going through. I know the feelings of frustration, pride, love, amazement, overwhelming panic, and failure all mushed together in one nice little package we like to call motherhood.
Seriously people – we're superheroes of our own type!
I know you're looking for guidance, advice and friendship.
Or maybe you're not. Maybe you've got your shit together in nice little colour-coded piles. In that case, you rock. You're a superhero. You'll be able to enjoy this blog at face value and take advantage of the great posts, products & offers.
You yourself are a superhero mama just trying to figure it all out as you go. You're trying to juggle the homemaking lifestyle with a baby on your hip. Tending a garden. Mending clothes. Creating awesome decor and sewing projects. All while keeping the house respectable, healthy meals on the table, and the kids out of the garbage can. And you're likely doin' it on a budget, t'boot!
You're feeling alone. You want to shout your pride from the rooftops about what little Johnny did today. You're expecting baby #2 (or 3 or 4) and you're not sure if you're quite ready.
Overwhelmed is the best word to describe your feelings. You look around and cannot decide where to start, let alone how to get the house you live in to be a home you love.
All you're really looking for is a comfortable place to raise your family and a few minutes of solitary relaxation in your day.
I get it. I was that woman not so long ago. And I will. never. forget.
It's those humble beginnings that bring us to where we are and, ultimately, where we want to be. From a place of fear, depression, helplessness to a place of contentment and, eventually, pure happiness and pride.
So let me fill you in on MY humble beginning…
Back in September of '11 (wow, 6 years ago already!), I bought my first home. By myself. I was a new home owner, had a job with great potential that I was enjoying, was finishing some online courses, and had a new boyfriend who I was quite smitten with. A few weeks later I bought myself a new (kick-ass!) truck. I was young and semi-successful in relation to my demographic (said in a deep, Sherlock-esque voice). My “other half” was super fun and intelligent. We were livin' the dream.
My now-husband pretty much lived with me right from the start. There was no “let's move in together” talk or any apprehension. A couple nights each week soon turned into a full time snuggle buddy. He helped around the house and used his manly handy skills to help with a few minor updates I wanted to do. Ah, young love.
WAIT – I thought this was supposed to be about your humble beginning? This sounds like a fairy tale.
I'm getting to it, just hang tight.
Nearly 2 years went by. Over that time we fell into a solid routine of chaos.
Yes, you can have a routine of chaos, it is not an oxymoron. Because I said so.
The house wasn't specifically dirty, but stuff was NEVER put away in its place (or didn't have a place). We routinely spent a crazy 1 or 2 hours cleaning on a Saturday or Sunday (whichever fit our party schedule best), or instigated a whirlwind cleaning session right before expected company was coming.
It sometimes got tiring that we didn't have the right organizational systems or cleaning routine, but we were young and having fun and it really didn't matter.
Then we got engaged. July 15, 2013. We were married October 19 of the same year. A 3 month engagement.
Oh, did I mention we had started to build a house and I was getting a promotional job transfer at the same time?
Yep. Told you it would get more interesting.
Oh, to be young again (hehe).
After spending the summer in a camper, we moved into my in-laws basement suite from September/October '13 to January 30, '14. Most of our stuff went into storage, but our bad habits didn't.
I would still leave our kitchen a mess for the night and vow to deal with it the next day. Usually the next day would roll over and build onto the next day like a big juicy cinnamon bun… that doesn't make sense… a big juicy pile of MESS.
Our evenings and weekends were spent at the new place trying to get it live-able. I had a deadline in my head and I intended to keep it! My husband will tell you this has never changed.
Side note – our building site was just as cluttered and unorganized as the rest of our living situations.
After both working full time all week, the last thing we wanted to do was clean. So we didn't.
We moved into our new house January 31, 2014. It was far, far, FAR from complete. We had drywalled our bedroom to allow for a place to sleep. One storage room was turned into a make-shift kitchen. But the rest was bare studs. We didn't have running water, a toilet, or even proper lights.
Livin' on love, baby.
Character building.
Again, my cleaning habits stayed the same. Maybe even got worse. We were living in mess upon mess and I could not take it any longer.
Something had to change.
Architecturally, the house got to a respectable (barely) point, but still, the mess was there. The clutter. The dirty dishes. The piles of unfolded laundry. Hey, at least they were clean!
I was so tired of living like this. I didn't know where to start. How to rectify this giant ball of disaster that I had created. I felt like a failure of a wife. I was working full time bringin' in the slightly fattier bacon, trying to cook real meals every night, and had super intentions of cleaning that never came to fruition. Not to mention my social life, family life, and life with my husband. I was exhausted. It was making me physically sick.
Oh ya, and we had been trying to make a baby for a while.
There just wasn't enough of me to go around. My solution was to quit my job. That's right, I quit my high paying job with unrivaled benefits and side perks (cell phone, truck, trips). We really didn't plan for it. I just walked in one day and explained everything to my boss.
That was the end of my career.
I came home and sat on the couch. Numb with what I had just done. I loved my job. I enjoyed learning and helping others. But, even though it took a lot of guts, it was the easiest thing to give up in my life. And guess what, I don't regret it.
Sure, I miss it. I miss having a purpose and identity outside of the home. I miss interacting with other adults in a professional setting. I miss learning about my interests on a daily basis and getting paid to do so.
But I LOVE being a housewife.
My house started to be more organized and tidy.
Related Post: Why I Wear An Apron
I picked up a little side job soon after. It was casual work and it only lasted a few months because I then launched another idea – I decided to babysit from home. I had some awesome kids to start with and they kept me going until the next batch would roll in.
I had more time to get our house shaped up. Plus I needed a safe environment for the kids I was watching! I eventually started a Cleaning Routine, prioritized, and figured out what I needed to stay sane and healthy.
And, guess what? We were finally able to have a baby! One day I'll fill y'all in.
Sweet Girl was born in the spring of 2016. Since then, my life has taken on new meaning.
I'm full of motivation, productivity, and pure love. I was meant to be not only a mama, but a stay-at-home-mama.
My house is clean. My garden is tended (mostly). We eat homemade meals every night, as a rule. I get to spend time at my sewing machine and read books for enjoyment. My husband is happier. We enjoy family outings.
My life has a purpose, and so does yours. I'm going to help you discover (or re-discover) it. We're going to work on this together. The planning process is FUN when you enjoy what you're doing. Then you implement your plans and see them come to life and the reward is like nothing else.
You'll be filled with motivation, productivity, and pure love. Just as I am.
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How are you, a stranger, going to help me when I can't even help myself?!
I'll tell you how. You're going to read my emails and posts and relate to them. I'm going to show you where to start. How to make manageable baby steps to get real with yourself and your stuff.
I'm going to give you your life back. Your family is going to be happier. You'll be less stressed. There will be more time to spend with your kids and husband AND you're going to get more accomplished in a day.
You'll be filled with motivation, productivity, and pure love.
Then you're going to have time for you. You'll be finding yourself on my sewing page looking for your next project idea.
I know this seems insurmountable right now, but, trust me, you'll get there. By following a few simple and basic rules you will be that kick-ass superhero mom that I mentioned earlier. You'll look back at your old self (which is your current self) and wonder why you waited so long to reach out.
I'm here to help. Honestly. From the bottom of my heart I want every woman to feel happy, empowered, and full of life. In our demanding lives it's too easy to get caught up with our To-Do list that's a mile long. Being a homemaker should not be overwhelming. It should be purposeful and rewarding.
Seriously. You get to stay home with your kids! Nobody has a better job. There's women (and men) who would give almost anything to have what we have. And yet, we don't always realize that.
So make that your first action item.
I want you to remind yourself daily that you are fortunate. Start a list and each day add just one item to it. These items are to remind you to be grateful – keep it somewhere you can see it often. It will make you smile. Add more items as you start to feel more full of love.
Today I'm grateful for my husband's steady job, my healthy daughter and growing baby, and you, my readers.
I know, it seems like such a small thing. How can this change the mess surrounding you. It's a small step towards a huge change. This is going to take time. It's going to be work. It's not going to fall into place at once. But it will fall into place. It will get easier. And you'll never look back.
~Content created by original creator, Katelynn Hegedus.
