Morning
I’m pretty sure Ryan and I were both asleep by 9:30 p.m. on Monday night so thankfully my early-morning alarm didn’t feel too brutal on Tuesday. I kicked off the day with the usual routine: Coffee with collagen and frothy coconut milk + My latest devotional + Work until the boys woke up!
Chase was up first yesterday and the two of us eased into the morning with a few books in his room before we heard Ryder making noise on the monitor. Chase loves getting Ryder up in the morning and after his naps and I will often keep the monitor on the two of them and let Chase climb in Ryder’s crib for some “brother time.” Ryder seems to love it, too, and yesterday their time together gave me the chance to get dressed for the day without two kiddos running around. A win for all!
Once I was dressed, I scooped the boys up and we headed downstairs for breakfast.
If I thought I was a muffin-making machine after I had Chase, now that Ryder is just as muffin-obsessed as his big brother, I feel like I’m making muffins non-stop around here. I made myself a smoothie while the boys ate sweet potato muffins and clementines before Mike arrived.
We hired Mike, the same contractor we used for our kitchen refresh, to build us a small screened-in porch and it looks amazing! He’s adding skylights this week and finishing up the ceiling and I cannot wait until it’s all done and we can spend lots of time in our new space.
Eventually, it was time to head out and we made our way to the YMCA. I intentionally skipped Burn Boot Camp yesterday because it was a core workout and I’ve been experiencing some really odd pain on the left side of my waist/core/upper hips. It feels almost like a brush burn on the outside but tender bruising on the inside and the pain is located pretty much exactly where I perch Ryder whenever I carry him. Has this ever happened to any of you guys out there? It’s pretty uncomfortable (especially at nighttime) and I’m not sure if I should just wait it out or see someone about it. It’s been going on for about a week now and I’ve been trying to carry Ryder on the opposite side hoping for a reprieve but am not sure what else to do. Gotta love motherhood injuries.
Anyway, back to my workout! Once we arrived at the Y, I dropped the boys off at childcare and completed an incline walking workout while I caught up on Bachelor in Paradise like the classy lady I am. I followed my incline walking with a short upper body circuit and called it a day.
In and out of the gym in less than 45 minutes!
After picking up the boys, I ate an RXBar in the car and we drove straight to their ISR lessons. Yesterday was probably the best day we’ve had so far!
Chase managed to float with only the assistance of his instructor’s hand on the back of his head (huge progress for him) and Ryder splashed and clapped for himself anytime he did basically anything at all. (Gotta celebrate yourself, right? When do we stop doing this!?)
I will absolutely update you guys with our ISR progress and provide a full recap of our experience but in the interim I don’t want to paint a picture that’s inaccurate because while our boys are adjusting very well to ISR, it can be really, really hard, too. Ryder cried through his entire lesson on Friday which isn’t uncommon at all for babies and kids doing ISR. Thankfully the tears haven’t been too dramatic for the boys (yet?) and I think this may have to do with their ages and how they both handle water. Ryder LOVES water and isn’t in the “stranger danger” phase of life yet, so I feel like we’re in a sweet spot for him. I think Chase would’ve had a MUCH harder time with ISR at a younger age since he never liked water on his face/head as a baby and has always been really cautious. He benefits from talking through everything and I think beginning ISR at age 4 helped him feel more secure since he can understand what’s going on and why he’s learning certain skills.
Afternoon
After ISR, we drove to a local park to meet up with my friend Lauren and her kids, Chase’s BFF Claire and JJ. It was Lauren’s due date for baby #3 yesterday so we’re all getting really excited to meet her littlest little one soon!
It was H-O-T outside yesterday but we thankfully chose a shady park so the kids could run around and have fun without getting too overheated! Eventually we made it back home for lunch and I fed the boys before managing to get both of them down for a nap. Woop!
While they napped, I checked in with Mike and then made myself lunch to enjoy while I worked on the computer. I heated up a Daily Harvest Brussels sprouts + tahini harvest bowl and added leftover shredded chicken, frozen cauliflower rice and frozen edamame to beef it up a bit. I also added a little drizzle of some of my favorite creamy tahini dressing to the bowl and it was so delicious and very filling.
Once the boys were awake, we played at home for the rest of the afternoon. I recently checked out a library book that’s filled with a bunch of bug-related activity and craft ideas and it’s been awesome for inspiring some fun crafts at home!
Chase loved painting ladybug rocks on Monday and requested that same craft project again yesterday so we painted rocks for a bit while Ryder had free reign of the toys.
Evening
After craft time, while the boys entertained each other, I threw together a simple dinner which looked like pesto pasta!
I used ditalini pasta to make it easy for Ryder to eat and made the pesto with a combination of hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and basil. (I actually got the recipe from the Plant Based Juniors ebook I previously mentioned that I especially loved for recipes for Ryder when we were first introducing solids.) We all dug into dinner when Ryan arrived home from work and then the boys played superheros for a bit while I mixed up the ingredients for a coconut oil and peanut butter chocolate bark!
Once Chase realized what I was doing, he asked to help and suggested adding sprinkles!
I need to measure out the ingredients of this bark next time to share with you guys because it was so, so good. I LOVED hint of peanut butter in the chocolate and the whole family enjoyed this simple dessert.
Eventually we got the boys in bed and then Ryan and I stayed up for a bit chatting until we read in bed before falling asleep. I finished reading It All Comes Back to You by Beth Duke (interesting and sweet if not a little cheesy) last night and began reading Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger which pulled me in immediately.
Plans for the day include more of the same around here — ISR, hopefully a workout and possibly some park or splash pad fun. Hope you all have a great Wednesday!
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Can’t wait to see the new screened porch!
I’ll def share pics when it’s complete!
BIP is crazy this season! Be glad you are skipping Big Brother. My favorite summer show is CMT’s Making the Team: I Want to be a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader! lol! It’s so entertaining!
I remember loving that Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader show in college! I didn’t realize it’s still on — definitely a fun one to watch!
I have that hip pain! Sometimes at night it feels like my side and back round my hip are burning just laying on the couch. I’m pretty sure it is over use and it’s my carrying side for a heavy almost 2yo. It certainly didn’t happen suddenly or anything, I just noticed it hurting one day. The physio just said he could feel that side of my lower back the muscle was swollen compared to the left, so just gentle massage and rest.
I recently finished reading Ordinary Grace and loved it!!
I agree, Ordinary Grace, is a GREAT book. Also, as a non-mom, I totally to google “what is ISR?” lol
Oops I should’ve linked to my post last week where I explained ISR! And I’m so glad you liked that book — it already feels different from anything else I’ve read before and I’m looking forward to reading more tonight.
That left side pain sounds a lot like how my shingles started for me. It was after I had my second child and I thought it was how the baby carrier was rubbing (felt like a rope burn type sting just on my left). It ended up turning into shingles . If you catch it early you can take antivirals to help shorten the duration. I did a ton of research on it and if you have had chicken pox as a child the virus lies dormant, but can activate at different times in your life as the shingles form of the virus. Your pain could totally be nothing at all, just letting you know my experience.
I didn’t have shingles but my sister did – I came down here to say the same thing. Definitely sounds like the symptoms she described.
Hope you feel better soon!
Did you have a rash or anything like that? I don’t have anything noticeable in my body at all & when I quickly Googled shingles it sounds like a rash is common. Just wondering your experience because I just had another reader chime in thinking it could be the same thing. Thank you for your help!!
I too suffered from shingles after my second child! My rash (which was really just a few bumps) developed a week or so after I was feeling the intense pain. I thought I had pulled my back!
I just got a few bumps and they showed up after the rope burny pain
I had shingles last fall and mine also started with pain before I got the bumps. Definitely get it checked out- as another reader already said, the sooner they can start you on the meds the better. That was some of the worst pain I’ve ever felt.
Thank you for weighing in! After so many people shared similar feelings, I did end up going to the doctor yesterday and it is not shingles. They think it’s just muscle strain but didn’t really have an explanation for the brush burn type feeling I have on the outside of my skin which is so odd!
Glad you got it checked out! Hope it gets better soon!
Will you post about your new screened porch? That is something we have talked about doing in my home and I would love to see how yours turned out!
Hey Julie!
First, I love reading along daily! Thanks so much for providing a positive message to start my days!☺️
On another note, I’m a Dermatology PA and just want to make sure that discomfort is not the beginning on shingles. It’s becoming more common in young people, especially those with busy routines, which includes chasing after active kiddos!?
Hi Julie! Love your posts as always. Just want to chime in – after my second boy I had strong pain actually at a different spot. Right side under my breast along under my underarm. I had it for so long and it was the way I was carrying him. I was so worried I went to my Dr and she didn’t feel/see anything. After a while it did go away. Just wanted to say it might just be the way you’re carrying Ryder as it happened to me. I have two boys around the same ages and my oldest loves to climb into the crib with his little brother, it’s so cute! Thank you for the rec on the bug book! My boys love bugs and we just bought two books – Ultimate Bugopedia NG Kids and My Giant Fold Out Bugs and Spiders!
Every time I read about all your muffin-making/eating, I really think I need to step up my muffin game! Do you batch make a bunch and freeze them, or are you so in the habit that you just always have them fresh on hand?
I always make a double batch and freeze one! But even with that little trick, I still feel like I make them non-stop!
If the boys are into bugs, you should check out these books! https://t6337.myubam.com/search?q=bug
I was going to ask if you thought it might be shingles!! EEEKKK!
I would get checked for shingles!
Hearing a lot of this recommendation & planning to go to the doctor today. Thank you!
Hi Julie! My days looks a lot like yours with two little ones and always trying to be present for them! I’m genuinely wondering – when do you find time to do simple household tasks like unloading dishwasher, folding laundry, cleaning up allllll the messes?! (And I am totally not talking about deep cleaning because goodness knows that is not on my radar LOL!). I find I usually have a lot of chores left after the kids’ bedtime which is not fun, and I would love to find a better system!! Thank you!!!
Oh man, it’s ALWAYS a battle and our house is pretty much never perfectly clean and all the chores are basically never totally done! I do try to squeeze in as much as I can when the kids are awake and playing well together. This is usually the really short chores — wiping down counters, unloading the dishwasher, throwing in a load of laundry, putting away clothes in their rooms when they’re playing next to me, etc. I think it’s good for them to see us doing some housework and helping if possible/when age appropriate. Now that Chase is older, he’s responsible for cleaning up his toys/helping us clean up toys at the end of the day. I used to feel like I was constantly cleaning up toys but now I just basically leave the toy mayhem until the end of the day and then we’ll tackle putting all of it away at one time. I say all of this in one breath but I, too, feel constantly overwhelmed by things that need cleaning/attention. I also swear by 10-minute clean ups after the boys are in bed. This is usually focused on the kitchen/family room and helps our house look less like a disaster zone going into a new day!
Fitting in those small clean ups helps keep your head above water especially in those main living areas. I’m wondering how you are able to keep up with the bigger clean up tasks. For example, I have two small ones at home and the front of our cabinets in the kitchen, especially the lower ones, end up needing a deeper clean every once in a while. Same goes for baseboards, that often collect dust, or vacuuming, or deep cleaning the bathrooms (especially the kids’ one – I have a bath time pooper on my hands!!!). I realize some of these things often have to be let go of with small ones, but at the same time – these things can eventually get out of hand and soon it feels like eeeverything needs to be cleaned. We are considering hiring a cleaning service to come every so often to do these things, but before we commit I’m wondering if you had a system that works.
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond!! Really appreciate it! <3
I have the same question as the commenter Kelly above!
I have 2 children nearly the same ages, and I also work part-time from home with little outside childcare. My husband and I spend most of our evenings cleaning up, taking care of finances and other paperwork, working, etc. a 9:30/10 bedtime is not a reality for us…
Would you share any tips you have?
Hi Mary! I just responded to Kelly’s question above and didn’t want you to miss it! 🙂
Oh, I do the same things during the day as well! It just goes to reminds me that looking at a day’s snapshot of someone else’s life doesn’t fully capture how people get tasks accomplished. I guess we all just looking for some “magic” solution to fitting it all in. Ha!
I’ve been hesitant to order Daily Harvest because just from looking at the offerings I know they aren’t enough for a meal for me, a suspicion confirmed by your habit of supplementing with other ingredients! Do you feel like they are worth the expense event though the convenience factor is significantly reduced by having to add other ingredients?
Also, what is your “incline walking workout”? I’ve been replacing most of my running with incline walking recently to get that added booty burn, but I just walk… at an incline…lol. Would love ideas to mix it up!
Thanks!
I truly love my Daily Harvest cups and usually eat them 1-2x a week. They just make meals EASY and while I’m sure some people find them filling enough on their own, I always beef them up a bit with leftovers, etc. For me, it’s still worth it because I love the sauces in the cups and they tend to be very flavorful and cover additional veggies/proteins well.
As for your second question, I love interval-based incline walking workouts! Here’s an example of one I love: https://www.pbfingers.com/15-or-30-minute-incline-walking-workout/
Craft projects are great, I love being able to do them with my niece! Also, the chocolate bark sounds incredible!