Hello October!

October is here! October is one of my favorite months of the year because it feels like the kickoff to three months of holiday fun. The leaves begin to change, pumpkins pop up everywhere, temperatures begin to cool down (though that feels a bit like wishful thinking at the moment in North Carolina)… I love it all!

(Flashback to exactly one year ago at the pumpkin patch with a teeny Ryder! Yes, I dressed for fall weather because I was ready for fall weather and yes, I was sweating my face off.)

I’m not sure when our family will make our way to a pumpkin patch this year but now that October is here, I’m feeling the itch to break out our fall decorations and pile pumpkins and mums on our front porch. But for now, I wanted to pop in this morning to recap our last day of September with an emphasis on food, fitness and family!

Morning

I slept in until 6 a.m. yesterday which felt like a treat. After Sunday’s 5 a.m. wake-up and long drive back to Florida, I was exhausted and the extra hour of sleep helped a lot. I woke up as Ryan was finishing his workout in our garage and joined him in the kitchen for a cup of coffee before I finished up yesterday’s blog post and read my devotional.

While I worked, I ate an egg white oatmeal protein pancake made with slivered almonds, cacao nibs and bee pollen.

Clearly it was more of a deconstructed pancake thanks to my sub-par flipping skills.

Once Chase and Ryder were awake, we did the whole morning routine: Get dressed, read books, eat breakfast and run around the house until it’s time to leave for preschool. Last week, Chase’s teachers told me the backpack Chase has been using for the past two years was a little too small for the folder they send home every Thursday so he got an upgrade!

I’ve had great experiences with Herschel Supply Co. backpacks in the past (high quality + very functional) and ordered him one of their “big kid backpacks” from Zappos. They’re apparently ideal for kids ages 3-6 and Chase was an instant fan! He even asked me to take the above picture to send to Mae.

Once Chase was settled at school, Ryder and I made our way to boot camp for a Monday morning sweat fest.

It’s no secret around here that strength training days are my favorite but something about a challenging cardio workout on a Monday feels right. It seems to kick off the week on a good note and I was a sweaty mess by the time the workout was over.

After my workout, I chatted with my friend Lauren for a bit and then we picked up our kids from childcare. I quickly ate a Larabar and then drove to a local park where Lauren and I met up with three more of our girlfriends and their children for a play date!

I am going to go out on a limb here and say Ryder had fun. I just love that boy’s smile so much. I also loved the chance to catch up with my friends since the previous week was filled with travel and I missed our gang!

We arrived back home with about 45 minutes to spare before preschool pickup. I grabbed a quick shower as Ryder played with toys in our bathroom and then threw together a chopped salad for myself as I set Ryder up with his lunch in his highchair.

I feel like my salad consumption this past summer was at an all-time low but this concoction hit the spot.

We made it to preschool pickup on time and Chase hopped in my car excited about his new job for the week. He is the bag carrier — aka the kid who brings the first aid kit from place to place throughout the day — and told me all about his duties and the latest letter in Letterland. Are any of your kids doing Letterland? Chase is ALL IN and thinks the letter characters are awesome.

I put Ryder down for his nap the moment we walked through the door and then threw together a snack plate for Chase to dig into while we curled up on the couch and read his latest Magic Treehouse book together. (I’ll absolutely share more about our Magic Treehouse experience in an upcoming post but the short version is this: Chase is obsessed.)

Chase then went into his room for “quiet time” while I worked on the computer for 90 minutes and ate a pack of M&Ms like the healthy living blogger I am.

Eventually it was time to rally the boys and get everyone back out the door for Soccer Shots. Other than preschool, Soccer Shots is the only activity we have Chase committed to at the moment so it makes for a full Monday but a fun one.

We signed Chase up with a few of his friends and he really enjoys it. I love watching Chase play but I feel like I spend most of his soccer practice wrangling Ryder because he just wants to run on the field and kick the ball with the big kids the whole time.

Thankfully soccer takes place right next to a big neighborhood park so we always meander over to the park after practice for some evening playtime with friends which makes both boys happy.

We made it home about 10 minutes before Ryan arrived home from work and while Ryan played with the boys, I threw together dinner for our crew.

Ryan and I ate grain bowls topped with my favorite creamy tahini dressing which hit the spot!

In the mix: Quinoa, kale, black beans, carrots and peas.

The rest of the night looked like the usual bedtime roundup of baths, pajamas, stories and sleep. I also finished reading A Beautiful Day (I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a decent breezy read) and began reading Meet Me in Monaco which I’m enjoying so far.

And now I’m off to get this Tuesday rollin’. Hope your first day of October is a good one!