Saturday
Saturday began with a family walk with Sadie and the boys before we swapped the double stroller for Chase’s new Power Wheels Jeep and cruised around the neighborhood. Chase is 100 percent obsessed with his Jeep and neighborhood cruisin’ in “turbo mode” seems to happen every day over here ever since Nona and Papa surprised him with his awesome early birthday present!
Once we arrived back home, I put the overnight English muffin breakfast casserole I prepped the day before into the oven for us to dig into, settled Ryder down for a nap and then we spent some time making a birthday card for Chase’s best friend, Claire.
Lauren and Tony planned Claire’s fourth birthday celebration at their house and had a water slide bounce house, tractor rides courtesy of their neighbor, water gun fights, water balloons and tons of summery fun activities for the kids to enjoy.
(Hat: Wallaroo via Amazon / Wide Leg Culotte Cover Up Pants: Aerie and currently on MAJOR sale. They have a stretchy waistband and a breezy true-to-size fit but if you’re between sizes, I’d size down. / Top: Dee Elly via Stitch Fix / Sandals: Francesca’s – color is “nude”)
We wore our bathing suits and cover ups and spent all day at their place. The boys were lovin’ life and we enjoyed the time with our friends, too!
Also, how beautiful is Lauren in her flowy green dress!? She’s currently 35 weeks pregnant with baby #3 and I am just so excited for her! (For any new readers out there, Lauren and I became very close friends after we met at boot camp when Chase and Claire were babies! The relationship our oldest children share is one that absolutely melts my heart.)
We snacked on wraps and birthday cake while the kids ran around and it was such a fun summer afternoon! Ryder fell asleep within two minutes of our drive back home and our Saturday evening was very low-key after a full day outside in the sun.
Sunday
Sunday morning began with pancakes for breakfast followed by the siblings class at My Gym.
I’m not sure who loves the Sunday morning My Gym class more, the boys or Ryan, but it’s is a great way for all of us to play together and for the boys to get some of their early-morning energy out!
Also, this is random but my lack of a wedding ring in the above picture made me think of it… Have any of you guys ever had “wedding ring rash” on your ring finger? Over the course of the past month or so my wedding ring has been making my ring finger itch like crazy! I spoke with my dermatologist about it during my annual exam two weeks ago and apparently it’s a common thing. What!? Ryan and I have been married for almost nine years and it came out of nowhere!
Aaanway, after My Gym, we popped into the grocery store for some food before heading home and tackling some household chores and playing with the boys. We also managed to sneak in a little adults-only time on Sunday in the late afternoon with six of our friends. We all booked babysitters for the kids and spent a few hours on the lake together which was so, so nice!
We had a blast floating around, sipping drinks and enjoying the sun. (Anyone else loving Truly hard seltzer? It’s my drink of choice this summer for sure!) We made it home before the boys’ bed time and spent some time playing ninjas with Chase and rolling balls with Ryder before Ryan and I climbed into bed and I read until my eyes could no longer stay open. I began reading Next Year in Havana late last week and I’m enjoying it so far.
As for the week ahead, it’s another camp-free week so I’ll do my best to sneak in blogging when I can. I am also heading to NYC for a quick trip but I’ll share more on that soon! Hope you all have a wonderful week!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
What a fun weekend! Oh yes, I got the wedding ring rash after having my second child. When I complained about it to my doctor, she said, “I have it too!” Strangely, she had also recently given birth to her second, and all three of us have two boys each. Weird! I am convinced it is worse in the summer because of sunscreen, heat irritation, etc. I always feel self conscious out and about with out my ring but I rarely wear it now sadly. And I am about to celebrate my 10 year wedding anniversary!
Yes! My dermatologist said summer is even more common bc of all the stuff we are putting all over our bodies. She also said it’s often a reaction to nickel in rings which, as you wear your rings and they become more worn, comes through & can bother the skin.
Yes! I was going to say this. If it’s white gold (?) you can have it re-dipped in rhodium because a lot of people are allergic to the nickel underneath. Check with a jeweler!
This is exactly what I was going to say! I have to get mine re-dipped once a year or so, but then it’s good as new until it eventually wears down again. It always seems to happen in the summer with all the sunscreen, hand washing, etc.
I’m not married, but I get wedding ring rash like crazy from my regular rings. I’ve found that taking them off at night helps alleviate the issue- and if you get your ring re-dipped, that should help a lot, too!
Truly hard seltzer used to be my favorite until I discovered the Bon and Viv brand (it has a mermaid on the can). They taste so much lighter and have a more clean flavor. The grapefruit and black cherry rosemary are my favorites. The Truly’s almost taste artificial compared to the Bon and Viv. Keep enjoying your summer!
ooh! i’ll be on the lookout for that one!
I completely agree! I used to love Trulys, but since drinking Bon Viv, I can’t go back to Trulys. Bon Viv has a less sweet/less artificial taste!
Did you not have a party for Ryder when he turned one? I know you mentioned his bday but I didn’t see a post write up about a big party like you did for Chase. Or maybe I missed it?
Looks like such a great summer weekend! Glad to hear/see Chase and Ryder had a lot of fun at My Gym, etc! I hear they have such great programs for kids!
Ring – I have always taken my ring off for cleaning, lake/pool etc. I switch it for the rubber rings and I haven’t seen to have any problems that way. But I have friends that have had the same issue with the itching.
Beverages: Truly is absolute yummy! My girlfriends and I drink that or the Smirnoff spiked seltzer. I like Truly’s but I think the Smirnoff version has a bit more flavor!
White Claw is my new favorite hard seltzer!
I’ve had “ring rash” before, too! The very best way (for me anyway!) to prevent it is to always take my rings off when I’m doing something that involves getting my hands wet (keep a little dish for them near the sink), and dry my finger / between my fingers really well before putting my rings back on.
i cannot handle any moisture under my rings anymore! totally agree with you on that one. it definitely exacerbates the itching!!
Ring rash here too! I figured out what was going on with mine was that the white gold plating was wearing down after a few years and the base of my ring, which is made of a metal combo including small amounts of nickle, was irritating my skin. Long story short, I got it re-dipped with rhodium (which another reader mentioned). This not only made my rash disappear, but it also made my ring bright white gold and very sparkly again! Since my hubby bought a protection plan for the ring, the rhodium dip was actually completely free to me and I have the ability to get it done anytime I want. Wish I would have done it sooner and I will likely plan to do this every 1-2 years. I would definitely recommend looking into it depending on what your ring is composed of!
Yes re: wedding ring rash! I wore my ring 24/7 for 4 years without any issues and then suddenly got the itchy rash that was unbearable. Now, I only wear my rings during the day when I am leaving the house and otherwise don’t wear one or wear my silicone ring. So weird!
yes!!! i always wore them 24/7 as well — showering, to the gym, etc. — and had NO issues!! it seems so weird to me that it seemingly came out of nowhere!
So fun! My husband actually was having issues with his wedding ring and he eventually just got a ring tattoo! HA! Problem solved!
Glad I’m not the only one with the ring issue. Didn’t start having sensitivity until after I had my daughter. Went to the dermatologist and come to find out that I now have a sensitivity to fragrance. I used to use Meyers scented soap and loved it, but now I have to go with fragrance free soap and lotion.
babies really do change everything, huh!? i swear i sweat more now that i ever did pre-kids and i definitely gravitate toward more gentle products (both cleaning & beauty) post-baby. my sister is very sensitive to fragrance and swears by castille soap for almost everything!
Yes, they do! I used to always be freezing, but now I’m always hot!
Definitely use castile soap often….unscented of course. 🙂
Next Year in Havana is one of my favorite books! I’ve reread it so many times. She wrote another book featuring Marisol’s great aunt Beatriz, When We Left Cuba. She’s great!
this is my first book by that author and i’m about halfway through. i’m already so intrigued by beatriz so that sounds like a great one to read next!!
Same rash situation happened to me after the birth of my 3rd! Totally fine for 6.5 years,wore it 24/7. The jeweler said sometimes its just a matter of soap and lotion, etc. getting stuck and then irritating. I just don’t wear it at night or showering or to the gym and it’s fine, but now I have the fear of losing it!
SAME!!! I’ve been taking it off a lot more and I’m terrified I’m going to lose it now!!! I neeever took it off before and it makes me anxious to take it off so frequently now.
Yes, on the ring rash. I also have one on my wrist by my fitbit. It happens in the summer. It has been so darn out. I take both my rings and my fitbit off all the time.
I had the same issue with my fitbit! Love it, but ended up switching to Garmin…similar look, but it’s “waterproof”. No rash and I even wear it when I work out, which is always a sweaty mess!
What type of metal is your ring? Mine is white gold and every couple of years I take mine into the jeweler to have it dipped in rhodium. It makes it all shiny again and stops the irritation.
I love spiked seltzer. Especially the berry ornwild cherry flavors. Yum!
Thanks for this tip! My engagement ring is platinum but my wedding band is white gold & I think that’s the source of my itching. Love the dip tip!!
I actually can’t wear my wedding ring anymore because I started getting the ring rash (also out of the blue) about two years ago. Sometimes I’ll still try and wear it for short periods (esp if it will make things less awkward for whatever reason), but I usually just have to keep it off. It’s a bummer too, because I love my ring! Let me know if anything fixes it for you!
I have the ring problem too. No issue for probably the first 9 years of marriage and now for the past couple years I can hardly wear my rings anymore. I haven’t really found anything that helps but haven’t tried getting them redipped. Ugh SO annoying!!! But also great to hear I’m not alone!
Definitely consider getting them re-dipped. This fixed the issue for me and was actually covered under the protection plan we got when my husband bought the ring. Good luck 😀
I had this problem out of the blue too! Absolutely no moisture on your finger/rings. Let your finger completely heal before wearing them again. It took a long time but I was finally able to put them back on. Then two kids and swollen fingers later I had to get my engagement ring sawed off! ?
I love your pants (red with white print)! Where are they from, please?
I’ve treated wedding ring rash with athlete’s foot spray powder with good results.
So glad to hear this wedding ring rash is a thing. It just started for me last month after wearing the engagement ring for 8 years and the wedding band for 7! I thought j was going crazy! I also wear mine all the he time and get nervous when I don’t have it in.
You can have a Paw Patrol pup call him on his bday – just join the Nickelodeon fan club and it’s free to schedule. It’s really cute!
such a sweet little party! Yes I had the ring rash about 2 yrs ago? married for 6yrs this year and it was dry, itchy, and almost scaly! i tried E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. and nothing but time healed it! Sorry! lol
aquaphor cleared mine up. Amazon sells it…I have to get it Subscribe and Save as I go through gallons of it!
HI! It is SO WEIRD that you mentioned the wedding ring rash as mine started late last week. I attribute it partially to the summer and my hands swelling so the rings are tighter. It happened right after I had my baby (I was the dummy that didn’t take her rings off as I got more and more pregnant and had to leave them on until all my preeclamptic swelling went down) and it just happened again. I had to leave my rings off until the itch went away and it started to dry up and peel as gross as that sounds. So glad I’m not the only one! Love your blog by the way!
My wedding ring makes me itch all the time – I found the more I washed my hands or used hand sanitizer it got worse.
I cannot wear it all summer long … it catches too much sweat.
AND My ring is titanium which is supposed to be non-allergenic.
AQUAPHOR!!!! Makes all the difference.
Soak your ring in hydrogen peroxide! It kills all the germs and won’t damage your ring.
I get wedding ring rash a lot when I happen to switch up what hand soap I am using. At my office, I have a pretty solid wash hands/use lotion regimen. But I noticed when I use particularly drying soaps, or I use soap a lot on the weekend and don’t apply lotion right after, I get it. I actually am just getting over it again. It also makes my finger swell a bit so it’s harder to get the rings on/off!
You linked to the items in your first outfit, but I want to know where your red flowy pants are in the pic with no ring 🙂 I didn’t see links. They look so breezy and comfy~!
Thank you!! They were from a recent Stitch Fix delivery but the brand is Boom Boom Jeans!
Yup. Contact dermatitis. I got it after being married a couple of years (and engaged longer than that). It only lasted one winter, but it was AWFUL! I don’t even remember how I got rid of it other than putting on hydrocortisone and not wearing my rings for awhile. Fingers crossed it heals quickly and doesn’t come back.
Looks like a fun weekend!! Thanks for always sharing your outfit details. You always look adorable and give me so many ideas! 🙂 Wilmington, DE
Silicone wedding rings. They are super comfy and no itching rash problems. I have one and love my silicone wedding ring! It’s all I wear now!