We kicked off our weekend on Friday with an “adventure hike” with the boys before grabbing burgers and fries at Little Big Burger and calling it a night.
Our local Little Big Burger just added Beyond Burgers to their menu and I ordered one to give it a try and was really impressed with both the flavor and the texture of the plant-based burger. Have you guys ever tried any of the Beyond Meat products? My first experience has me curious to try more!
Saturday
Our big plans for the weekend took us up to Carrigan Farms in Mooresville on Saturday morning for apple picking!
Outfit details: Tank top: Madewell (currently on sale for $14.50) / Skirt: Amazon (only $18 — I sized up one for added length since I wanted to wear it high-waisted)
We are always tempted to wait until the weather gets cooler to pick apples but have learned the hard way that if you wait too long in our area, you pretty much miss apple-picking season altogether and are left with rotten, spotty apples. Fortunately the apples at Carrigan Farms this year were perfectly ripe and delicious!
(I think Chase was more psyched about the big tractors on the farm than actually picking the apples.)
We filled three bags with an assortment of apples and headed home discussing the apple-filled treats we wanted to make with our haul!
By the time we made it home, everyone was ready for lunch and then both boys took naps. Woop! While the boys napped, Ryan walked Sadie and I did a little work before tackling a big fridge clean out! My fridge project wasn’t so much about getting rid of unwanted food (we’re pretty good about eating what we buy every week) but more so about seriously scrubbing the fridge down and cleaning out the drawers, shelves, etc.
Fridge BEFORE:
Fridge AFTER:
(I feel the need to point out the fact that we have two mini fridges located to the right of our main refrigerator that we use for all of our beverages since I know someone will inevitably ask where our drinks are in the above pic. The previous owners of our home installed them and they are the BEST thing ever!)
It ended up being quite the ordeal but I feel all kinds of happy and satisfied whenever I open our fridge now. I also ordered some fridge organization bins from Amazon and am a little too excited for them to arrive. Welcome to adulthood, my friends.
Once the boys were up, we piled into Ryan’s car and stopped by the library to pick up the items we had on hold before driving to The Little Gym in Huntersville for JJ’s second birthday party!
JJ is the younger brother of Chase’s BFF Claire and his party included many of our closest friends in the area and their little ones. The kids had a ball running all over the place and Ryan and I loved catching up with our friends in the midst of the kid chaos.
(Something about an almost-15 month old is just so YUMMY. I swear I kiss Ryder’s cheeks, legs and belly a million times a day.)
We made it home a little before 7 p.m. so we immediately dove into all of the usual bedtime shenanigans and called it a night.
Sunday
Sunday morning was a rough one for Ryan. He actually awoke in the middle of the night on Saturday feeling incredibly nauseated and threw up a number of times. I felt so bad for him (he was truly miserable all day) and did my best to keep the kids away from Dad so he could rest and they could avoid his germs. (We’re thinking he likely caught whatever stomach bug Chase had late last week. Ooph.)
With Ryan out of commission, I rallied the boys and got everyone dressed and fed before we did a little early morning crafting!
My niece’s first birthday is coming up next week and Chase and Ryder worked on her homemade birthday cards and filled them with with stickers, stamps and scribbles.
Eventually we made it out the door for the 9:30 a.m. church service. It was a great service and the boys seemed to enjoy their time in childcare as well. Once we arrived bak home, everyone was ready for an early lunch and some playtime.
Chase and Ryder were having one of those afternoons where they were playing really well together so I thanked my lucky stars and took advantage of their solo playing to do a little meal planning for the week ahead. Once they were both settled down for naps/quiet time, I headed off to the grocery store and picked up some food for the first half of the week. Ryan was feeling a little better by the time I arrived home and so we spent some time together as I meal prepped food for our family and my friend Lauren’s family since I’m bringing them dinner later this evening. (They recently welcomed a new baby into their family.)
I also made our family a batch of apple crisp with our apples from Saturday’s adventure!
I followed Tina’s recipe which is my go-to apple crisp recipe when I am looking for something EASY but also incredibly delicious. We paired our apple crisp with vanilla ice cream of course! The only thing I think that particular apple crisp recipe is missing is a little chewiness from oats and maybe a little crunch from pecans or something like that, however, if you’re looking for a quick apple crisp recipe, keep that one on your radar!
We spent the rest of our Sunday around the house, venturing into the yard for some outside playtime and fetch for Sadie. We had both boys in bed just before 8 p.m. and since Ryan fell asleep soon after the boys were down, I ended up reading for a couple of hours before bed and finally finished Summer of ’69.
As for the week ahead, we still have ISR for Ryder (yes, it does feel like it’s never-ending!), preschool and soccer for Chase and yet another followup doctor’s appointment for me. (To make a long story short: My body is still in the process of miscarrying and I was a mess when I found this out early last week. Despite having already passed the baby, I took a second round of medication last week to help pass the remaining tissue but I may still need a D&C later this week. I’m crossing my fingers that will not be the case but we have the surgery booked just in case.)
On the VERY bright side: My mom is coming in town later this week. I am so grateful she’ll be here with our family for a few days and we’re all more than ready for some special time with Mae. Plus, my mom has a way of making me feel like I can exhale and cry all of those tears that seem to say bottled up inside me. What is it about moms and their power to make you just crumble into a ball of emotions around them?
Anyway, I hope all of you have a good week and, as always, I appreciate you making PBF a part of your day. Sending lots of love your way today!
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Hi Julie. Love these weekend recaps and the apple crisp looks delicious! We are moving house soon and I am on a mission to be more organised in terms of our fridge, pantry and medicine drawer. If you have any tips would love a blog post about this!
Also, I just wanted to send you some love and hugs and let you know I am thinking about you and hoping everything goes well this week and u wont need the D&C. I know that I don’t know you personally but my heart hurt when I read that you are still going through the miscarriage process, I am so sorry. Have a good week. xoxo
This looks like such a beautiful weekend and apple picking has always been one of my favorite Fall activities!
Julie, sending you hugs and prayers you won’t need a D&C. I’m sorry you’re going through this. You are right about spending time with moms and letting go. My favorite thing is sitting around the kitchen table and having coffee with my mom when she’s in town. We moms tend to keep things bottled up and just keep going because we have little ones to take care of. Going through a grieving time is difficult when you’re in the mix of everyday life and being “happy” for our kids.
Glad you had a fun weekend, great post!
So sorry to hear you may need a d&c, it seems never ending for you. Sending some prayers your way.
Sorry to say this, but those particular “meatless burgers” are made from 22 ingredients in a lab. They are full of sodium too.
I wish they were healthier but they are not. I always think it’s best to make your own burgers!
Sending thoughts and prayers your way that you don’t need a d&c. Looks like a wonderful weekend with family! Love this weekend recap posts that you do! Hope you guys have a wonderful week ahead!
We’re going apple picking the first day our local orchard opens to the public (this coming Saturday), and I can’t wait! It’s always one of my favorite annual family traditions that we do.
My body took almost a full 9 months to miscarry, because my HcG levels were still showing I was pregnant that whole time. I opted not to do a D & C, but I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had—maybe I wouldn’t have had to wait so long to be able to get pregnant. Regardless of which route you take, I wish you a speedy physical healing, as well as help and comfort in the (longer) emotional recovery.
Thank you, Torrie. This is all very new to me since i had 2 D&Cs with our prior losses. I didn’t know it could be such an ongoing process. The pregnancy test at my doctor was also coming back positive last week, despite having passed the baby. I haven’t had a ton of bleeding since the second dose of medication last week so I am thinking a D&C is likely but was really hoping to avoid one this time. Either way, I’m telling myself that by Wednesday, I’ll at least hopefully have answers and a path forward.
Julie, my heart is broken for you and I’ve been constantly lifting you up in prayer. I lost our baby at 13 weeks and was able to pass the baby at home, but bled for almost 3 months straight before my Dr. finally did a D&C. Thankfully, she didn’t end up finding anything, but it did stop the bleeding. It was so traumatizing to lose a 13 week old baby and then have the reminder of that event each time I went to the restroom. I’ll continue praying for you and specifically that you won’t need a D&C. Let all those emotions out when your mom is there. I’m sure she won’t mind one bit comforting her baby girl.
I am so, so sorry not only for the loss of your precious baby but also for your experience. This miscarriage has felt like such a rollercoaster (hope, then no hope, then fear, anxiety, etc.) and it’s been really hard feeling like it’s done and then having it just seem to go on and on. I can only imagine how hard the experience was for you over a three-month period. Sending love to you. <3 Thank you for sharing this with me.
This sounds like such a great weekend (other than Ryan getting sick). My son is almost a year old and I am still struggling big time with getting out and doing things. I feel like we live life in 3-hour increments between his 2 naps! Praying for you that you don’t have to have the surgery & for peace in this tough time. <3
We went apple picking as well (it was hot and toasty), but we made a pie and served it with ice cream as well! We definitely learned the hard way going too late in the past.
Sending much love and big hugs your way Julie. This must be so hard to grieve while also going through the physical aspects at the same time. Praying you will not need the surgery this week. Keeping you in my prayers.
Oh Julie, I am so sorry. I was afraid that was what was going on. The same thing happened to me. I tried miscarrying naturally (no one ever mentioned medication I could take) and had to have a D&C nine days later. Sigh. It was so hard physically and mentally. The path to having my second son was just so much harder than the path to having my first.
But my goodness seeing these pictures of your precious, adorable Ryder and knowing what you had to go through, makes me feel like another amazing rainbow baby will bless your family when the time is right. Your boys are so cute and you have such a beautiful family. I am so glad your mom is coming. Hugs!
Oh Julie I hope that you won’t need a D&C! Keeping my fingers crossed. That apple crisp looks delicious! Do you mind if I ask what you made for your friend? My friend’s father is very sick and I’m trying to bring her a few meals to make things easier.
I made this recipe: https://paleomg.com/almost-5-ingredient-pizza-spaghetti-pie/ It’s so, so good! If your friend is into healthy eating, it’s a definite winner.
Show us your fridge once you get the organizing containers and let us know how you like them!!
Beautiful pics. I’m glad You mama will be there soon. Xox
Hi! Can you please do an updated makeup routine? I feel like it’s been quite awhile. Your makeup always looks so natural, but evened out and put together! Would love to know what you’ve been using (old staples, new favorites, etc.) A skin care routine would be great too!