Picture an Hour: March 2024
6:15 a.m. Coffee + Devotional + Work Time
After letting Pepper out, I began my day with coffee and my devotional followed by some work on the computer until the boys were awake. A while back, I briefly mentioned the fact that I moved my phone away from my bed at night. I was never a nighttime phone scroller since I read before bed, but I found myself in the habit of checking email, Instagram, etc. first thing in the morning before I even got out of bed. I realized every morning I felt the same way: Behind on life, kind of grumpy and just blah.
It sounds like such a small thing but moving my phone away from my bed and waiting to check my phone until after I’ve had time to ease into the day has been huge. It sounds unnecessarily dramatic, and maybe it is, but I swear I am never going back. It feels like fresh air found its way back into my mornings and I cannot tell you how nice it is to leave phone time for later in the morning after I’ve had my coffee and read my devotional. Phone time impacts people differently but if you feel like time on your phone is putting you in a negative headspace to start the day, I cannot recommend postponing your scrolling enough. It’s been way more positive for me than I ever anticipated.
7:35 a.m. Breakfast
Ryan took Chase to school yesterday and since they love to stop for bagels on their way into school, it was just me, Rhett and Ryder for breakfast at home yesterday morning. I toasted some of the Simple Mills waffles I prepared a while back and froze for the boys and served them with butter, maple syrup and pear slices. I made myself a yogurt bowl with Icelandic Provisions cold brew extra creamy yogurt (so good!), cottage cheese, Catalina Crunch cereal and sprouted pumpkin seeds. I was influenced to purchase the Catalina Crunch cereal and have mixed thoughts. I am very sensitive to monk fruit as a sweetener and strongly taste it which is a negative for me. I definitely prefer the cereal mixed into yogurt bowls versus on its own.
8:15 a.m. Fill Easter Eggs
The egg hunt at the boys’ preschool got moved up two days due to weather so we filled eggs for Rhett and Ryder to bring to school. This ended up entertaining Ryder and Rhett for quite a while as they chose the little surprises to include in each egg.
9:50 a.m. Workout
After dropping the boys off at preschool and stopping by the post office, I made my way back home for a quick workout. I streamed this Caroline Girvan workout I turn to when I want a solid upper body burn and kept the workout on silent while I caught up on the finale of the Bachelor. Caroline Girvan workouts are seriously the best because they’re easy to follow while you listen to your own music or audiobook or watch a favorite show. She doesn’t talk and offers great cues with a very visible countdown timer. I’m still not the whole way through the last episode of The Bachelor but it felt like a little treat to sneak in 30 minutes of the show during my workout.
10:45 a.m. Shower + Work Time
(Sweater: American Eagle but old / Skirt: Anthropologie / Boots: Amazon / Necklace: Gorjana)
I took a quick shower after my workout, got dressed for the day and then spent the next hour or so working until I had to head off to a dentist appointment.
11:55 a.m. Dentist
My dentist was amazingly accommodating yesterday and got me in and out of my appointment in just over 30 minutes when I explained the changing time of the boys’ egg hunt. My express dentist appointment passed by in a flash and after a quick cleaning and exam, I rushed back to the boys’ preschool!
12:50 p.m. Preschool Easter Egg Hunt
The boys loved every second of their Easter egg hunt and I loved watching them search for their eggs! They were both so into their respective hunts and ended up with 12 eggs each!
1:15 p.m. Back Home + Lunch + Sorting Through Easter Eggs
We headed straight home after the big egg hunt and the boys immediately opened all of their eggs while I ate a quick lunch of dinner leftovers, made the boys’ preschool lunches for the following day and threw in a load of laundry.
2:55 p.m. Park Playdate
Once we picked Chase up from school, we made our way to a local park for some playtime. My friend Carrie and her kids met us there which made the afternoon all the more fun!
4:15 p.m. Park Playtime Continues
Our kids are content to play outside for hours and played on the playground for a little bit but spent most of their time wandering the trails, digging in the dirt, collecting rocks and running around with their friends. I am now convinced I should fill Rhett’s Easter eggs with rocks on Easter because I’m fairly certain he’d like that better than anything else.
5:50 p.m. Bath Time + Dinner
Once we made it home, the boys got all cleaned up before putting on their pajamas. Once Ryan was home from work, we ate dinner which looked like chopped Asian salads for the two of us and grilled cheese with watermelon and green beans for the boys.
6:30 Puzzles + Indoor Hockey
Our evening wound down with puzzles (for Rhett) and indoor hockey (for the big kids). Eventually I could tell Rhett was ready for bed so we headed upstairs to read Daniel Tiger for the one millionth time and I settled him into bed just before 7 p.m.
7:30 p.m. Stories for Chase and Ryder
Chase and Ryder continued their indoor hockey game for a while until Ryan and I told them it was time for bed. After a few stories, it was time for prayers and we all said goodnight, knowing full well we’d be seeing Chase again once Ryder drifted off to sleep.
8:15 p.m. Clean Up + More Reading with Chase
After saying goodnight to Chase and Ryder, Ryan and I did some house clean up and let Pepper out. Chase then came back downstairs once Ryder was asleep for our nightly “big kid book time.” We’ve officially finished the Percy Jackson series and all loved it so much. It’s full of action and the way it incorporates Greek mythology into the series is immensely creative. We’ve now moved onto The Lost Hero, the first book from The Heroes of Olympus follow up series. So far, so good.
9:15 p.m. More Reading
My phone was already plugged in across the room and charging by the time we started reading with Chase so I don’t have any additional pictures from the day. Once we said goodnight to Chase, Ryan and I read our respective books until we could no longer keep our eyes open. I just finished Dark Matter which absolutely BLEW ME AWAY. It was a bit of a departure from my normal books and I cannot stop thinking about it. Someone out there please read it so we can chat about it! I’m now onto reading When in Rome which could not be more different and reads more like a Hallmark novel. It’s a delight so far!
As for today, it’s time for me to sign off and get this Wednesday moving! It will be a busy one as it’s the last day of school for our boys before spring break. We’re Sarasota-bound and I have lots of packing to do today! I’m not sure how many blog posts you can expect from me while we’re on vacation but I’ll try my best to pop in while I can while still soaking up as much family time as possible.
Enjoy your week and Happy Easter on Sunday to those celebrating!
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I read Dark Matter a few months ago! I usually enjoy sci-fi thrillers, but this one got a little dark and far-fetched for me toward the end. I felt very stressed reading it and had to follow up with a fluffy book haha! What did you think of it?
Oh man it was a wild ride! I really loved it. I found it to be twisty and thought provoking and also immensely creative! Plus, I really liked the main character. Do you have any other sci fi thrillers you’d recommend?
Please share your thoughts on the bachelor once you finish the finale! Did you watch this whole season? I’ve been watching since the first season in 2002 ( when Daisy and Kelsey were three – ha!) and this was one of my favorite seasons ever!!! I mostly just “followed along” (listening to recap podcasts) during some of the seasons over the past few years but this season (and the finale especially!) were just so great!!
I finished it and loved it so much!!! Totally agree — one of the best seasons and best couples/final 3!
I think Daisy will be bachelorette in a year or two! She gives me Emily Maynard/Jen Schefft vibes!
Oh I could TOTALLY see this happening!!
I agree with you on the Catalina Crunch. The chocolate peanut butter tastes good (though, yes, something is “off” sweetness-wise), but I’m not sure my body likes it. It helps that it’s super expensive, and I know oat bran or oatmeal with peanut butter tastes, digests, and satisfies better. Catalina Crunch is not bad, and it’s not something I’ll buy again after I use up this last one.
It’s been yeaaars since I read it but Dark Matter was SO good! My mom was a book reviewer for a while and would get copies of his books early and we would read them before release- it was great. If you liked Dark Matter I recommend Project Hail Mary (Andy weir I think?) not at all the same topic but for some reason those books remind me of each other. That one is also SO good
How cool!! I bet that was really cool!!! And thanks for the Project Hail rec!
Do you have a good alarm clock next to your bed? I’ve been wanting to move my phone, too, but keep using the excuse of needing a quiet(ish) alarm like the one on my phone!
I don’t but I’ve considered getting one. I don’t love getting out of bed to turn off my alarm but that’s what I’ve been doing. Have you looked into the Hatch Restore? It seems amazing and can even wake you up with light that is supposed to simulate natural daylight.
I second Project Hail Mary – not my usual genre but so so good!!
Ah Dark Matter is one of my favorite books! Recursion is also amazing. Both the Martian and Project Hail Mary are also top of my list!