Hellooo! Another Monday is here and I have a feeling I’m not the only one currently scratching her head wondering how the weekend passed by so quickly… yet again. Phew!
Our weekend kicked off with more of my mini cleaning projects on Friday night. You’re all incredibly jealous, I know. I knocked out sorting and storing Chase’s 9 – 12 month clothes and ended up going through all of our old baby stuff that we either never used or somehow received duplicates of to save for our newest addition, donate or throw away. (Apparently nipple cream expires. Who knew!? I thought that stuff was some kind of thick, oily jelly that lasted for all time.)
We rounded things out with some family time on the couch and watched the last third of the movie Cars 3 on Netflix in preparation for Sunday morning’s activity. (See below!) Ryan and I both agreed the movie was really cute, especially since we had zero expectations for Cars 3 since it’s the third movie in the series. Chase wasn’t the only one who enjoyed watching Lightening McQueen!
Saturday
Saturday morning began on an active note! I had another baby sprinkle on the agenda for the morning so Ryan and Chase drove into the city to spend the morning at Discovery Place. When they headed off, I made my way to an early-morning boot camp class with my friend Carrie and followed it up with a quick shower before Elisabeth’s sprinkle.
(That onesie was part of a set with a t-shirt for Elisabeth that says, “I’m so tired.” Ha!)
Elisabeth is just shy of two weeks away from her due date with her second baby boy and it was so fun to be able to celebrate baby Miles! Elisabeth and her husband were surprised by the sex of their first baby but opted to find out this time around so I loved talking to her about our reverse situations since we’re doing the opposite! (Side note: I am LOVING not knowing this time! It was kind of hard at first but now it’s way more fun than I anticipated. I can’t think too much about the moment when we officially find out our baby’s sex because I get almost weepy and way too excited. I am a mess.)
The sprinkle was a lot of fun and I could not stop eating piece after piece of the best quiche! The hostess said she made three different kinds of quiche by following Julia Child’s recipes and I basically wanted to dive into the pie plates head first.
While I was at the sprinkle, I had to laugh when I got a few text updates from Ryan because I instantly felt like I was missing out on fun with my two boys despite the fact that I was looking forward to some quality kid-free time with friends all week and truly had such a wonderful time with my girlfriends. I guess that’s motherhood for ya! But come on, just look at these two in their matching outfits:
Love them!
I arrived back home around 1 p.m. just in time to snuggle up with Chase, read The Cat in the Hat and put him down for his nap. Saturday afternoon was cold and dreary so it was definitely hunker-down-and-cuddle-up-at-home weather and once Chase was napping, I changed into my pajamas and joined Ryan on the couch for some chill time. I ended up flipping through magazines and looking through some blog posts I saved to create our meal plan and grocery list for the week and you better believe one of Julia Child’s quiches will be popping up for us for dinner one evening!
Here’s a quick glimpse at our meal plan for the week ahead:
- Monday: Paleo Pizza Spaghetti Pie
- Tuesday: Cauliflower Fried Rice
- Wednesday: Quiche Lorraine with Side Salads
- Thursday: Cauliflower Cream Cheese Soup with Garlic Bread
- Friday: Sweet Potato Noodle Bowls with Almond Butter Curry
(Also, this is probably inferred, but while I loosely plan out what meals we’re going to eat on each day of the week, this often changes based on how much time I have to make a certain recipe, what foods need to be used up and what I’m in the mood to eat that evening, etc. It’s a flexible plan for sure!)
The rest of our Saturday centered around snapping some pics for an upcoming blog campaign as well as an evening church service, dinner at home and ice cream on the couch!
Sunday
Sunday morning was an active one! Chase was up early so the two of us made a large frittata for breakfast while Ryan worked out in our little home gym.
Once we were all fed and happy, we piled into Ryan’s car and drove into the city. We made a quick pit stop at 7th Street Public Market for lattes but couldn’t resist sharing a freshly baked muffin and cinnamon-sugar doughnut at the indoor market as well.
Cinnamon sugar kisses!
A little after 10 a.m., we headed on to the NASCAR Hall of Fame museum.
We caught wind that an exhibit featuring Lightening McQueen and some of the Cars’ gang was at the museum and since Chase is a big-time Cars fan and we hadn’t been to the museum in more than a year, we figured it was worth another visit!
The exhibit wasn’t overly in depth but it was entertaining enough for a two-and-a-half year old thanks to a giant Lightening McQueen car and a couple of small tables set up with toy race cars that called to Chase and ended up entertaining him for a solid 30 minutes.
Once we left the museum, we made our way to NoDa because, despite the fact that we just shared a doughnut nearly two hours earlier, Ryan insisted I must try the seriously hyped doughnuts from Reigning Doughnuts since I had yet to try them out for myself!
Doughnuts twice in one day? Don’t mind if we do!
By the time we made it home, Chase was ready for lunch and his nap and snoozed away while I worked on the computer and Ryan took Sadie for a walk.
The rest of our Sunday included cleaning, a grocery store run and plenty of playtime around the house.
Chase only has preschool on Wednesday this week (he doesn’t have school today in honor of President’s Day), so I’m not sure what our Monday will hold at the moment. I’m hoping to make it to the gym, visit with some friends for some toddler play time and check a few things off my to-do list! I hope you all have a great Monday!
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What a fun weekend! My little guy is a huge Lightening McQueen fan, he would have loved that.
Ahhh- I love the matching outfits! Glad you all had a fun weekend 🙂
Weekends go by waaaay too fast!! I made that zucchini lasagna recipe you had posted, and yum! So, so good! Thanks 🙂 I’ve been sorting through baby stuff as well, and organizing it into the new baby’s room. ( unfortunately due to a new email system my hospital/obgyn uses we found out we are having another girl when they sent me the overview of my 20-week U/S. I wanted to be surprised again and was a little bummed, but it’s nice now for decorating and organizing purposes!) Enjoy your Monday. I’m glad my daughters daycare is still open….I have off, and have so much to do around the house!!
Wasn’t that lasagna SO good!?!? We loved it! I just wish it was a bit easier to make and not quiiiiite so time consuming! Also, I cannot believe you accidentally found out the sex of your little one but YAY for another precious baby girl! I’m sure that helps a lot with planning and organization!
How was the Cars exhibit? Worth a trip??
It was fun but I honestly wouldn’t make the drive over from Raleigh for it. It was pretty small and while Chase clearly enjoyed it, we live close by which made it a decent option for us… but if we had to drive 2+ hours for it, I don’t think it would be worth the trip.
Good to know….we are going to be in Charlotte a couple times over the next few months, so we will be right near it. Did you feel like it was worth the entrance fee?
Sounds like a great weekend! We did not find out the gender of our baby and I LOVED it. I wanted to throw out a (unsolicited) suggestion that someone made to us and we really loved. We asked our doctor to show the baby to my husband right after delivery and then have my husband announce the gender to me (versus the doctor/nurse shouting it out). Obviously there are circumstances this wouldn’t work out, but we were fortunate it did and it was an amazing moment for our marriage. Just thought I would pass it along becuase I was glad someone suggested it to me. Best wishes with your pregnancy! Very happy for you! 🙂
We didn’t find out our second pregnancy and I thought for sure I was going to cheat and ask when my husband wasn’t there… I held out and it was worth the wait. I have C-sections with both babies so when I came to the birth center with number 2 they asked if I wanted a clear drape so I could see baby when they pulled baby out. At first I was like why would I say yes and actually told the staff I changed my mind. But ultimately I knew I wanted to see. So when they dropped the blue drape, my on goes are you ready?? She’s like this baby is trying to bite me. Haha so she pulled them out but since I was laying flat I could only see baby from belly button up.. which obviously was not enough to determine the sex. I laughed and said… Can you lift that baby a little higher?!? Just to see it was another boy!!! You will love finding out that day!!!
OMG, my nephew is about Chase’s age and is OBSESSED with cars he would not know what to do if we took him to the Nascar hall of fame! I do the same thing with meal plans and suggest my meal plan subscribers do the same thing! As long as you have all the ingredients in the house you can flip flop the meals as needed!
What a fun weekend!! I am so in love with the pictures of you and Chase, especially the ones where he is kissing you! So beyond sweet!! I hope you have a great Monday! Xoxo
Similar to you, being that I’m home with my Brady during the day, I rarely get a chance to get away — then, when I do get away on the weekends for a couple of hours and he stays with his Daddy, I want picture texts the whole time. So I feel for you that you were happy to be free but we’re missing out on the fun they had together hahaha! Ohhhh mom life! And how will that EVEN feel when you have two babies??? ahahah Enjoy your day, Julie! 🙂
Double donuts sounds like my kind of weekend! And omg I bet those quiches were amazing! Such a yummy brunch!
Looks like a fun family weekend! I’ve never been to a duck donuts…but now I think I’m going to have to find one!
2 donuts in one day sounds perfectly acceptable for a weekend!
Can I just say (in the most complimentary way) that Ryan has a very Chip Gaines look going on in that picture of him and Chase?!
Hi Julie- Congrats on the sweet baby news! I’ve been a reader since 2011 and I’m so happy for your little family. I was wondering if you would consider doing a post on how you’re prepping for the new baby without knowing the gender. My husband and I are due with our first baby in August and we’re not finding out the gender either… I can’t WAIT for that special surprise! I’d love to hear how you’re decorating the nursery and buying clothes with a gender neutral mindset. Any advice/tips would be helpful!
I’m pregnant with number two and not finding out the gender either. I thought for sure I would have tried to cave right now, but I am loving not knowing. It makes me so excited for the birth. It does make planning and nesting more difficult, I feel like I have nothing. My first is a girl and everything I saved is very girly, so I second the blog post idea from above.
I didn’t find out the gender with either of my girls. It was so much fun not finding out. I had a really, really long and difficult labor with my first that end with an emergency c-section and honestly the anticipation of finally getting to find out really helped me stay calm through it all.
Not sure if your doctor or a friend has mentioned this, but at my first hospital when I delivered all the doctors and nurses got got quiet and had my husband be the one that said “IT’S A GIRL!”. I will never forget that moment. It was extra special because it came from him. He later told me how much it meant to him to say it and then be the one that told our families in the waiting room.
It honestly was the only thing on other than a safe delievery my “birth plan” with my second.
Thanks for sharing you journey – I love following along.
Double donuts is *always* a good idea! Thank you for mentioning that you don’t always eat what you planned to. Some weeks, my non-cooking responsibilities take over and I cook absolutely none of what I planned to cook. I always feel like such a failure, but it’s nice to know I’m not the only one!
Such a fun weekend!! Y’all are the cutest family. What’s that grey shirt you are wearing to the car exhibit?! I need it!