Hey, hey! How are you guys doing? I hope your Monday was a good one!
I actually managed to snap pictures throughout the day yesterday in an effort to recap what a random Monday looks like around here and figured Iād share them with you today in a post that is reminiscent of the PBF days of yore when I actually had the ability to blog in real-time and share day-to-day updates with you guys.
Maybe one day Iāll get back to blogging that way, but life doesnāt seem to allow for that kind of blogging these days (planning and working ahead is the name of the game around here with a little one), so until then I hope to still sporadically share some of these personal peeks into our life. (Following me on Snapchat is probably the best way to see the behind-the-scenes stuff! Username ā> juliepbfingers)
Breakfast
Since I was pretty bad about sticking to my usual schedule and working on my Monday morning blog post on Sunday, I ended up waking up at 5 a.m. to type up yesterdayās blog post and get it published before Chase was up for the day.
Thankfully a pre-prepared frittata made breakfast a breeze and I ate two slices along with a banana and a mug of coffee made with a tablespoon of collagen and a splash of Fairlife whole milk.
Chase started to fuss a little before 6 a.m., so I headed upstairs to nurse him. He seemed rather sleepy after he was done feeding, so I placed him back in his crib and crossed my fingers for another hour of baby sleep/mama work time. My wish was granted and I worked away until Chase was up for the day around 7:30 a.m.
I am still nursing ALL the time and am trying to cut back on some of Chaseās feedings to encourage him to eat more real food, so rather than breastfeed him again when he woke up 90 minutes after his last feeding, I gave him a pouch of pureed apples, kale and spinach and let him pick at some of our dinner leftovers before we headed out for boot camp.
Upper Body Workout
The workout of the day at Burn Boot Camp was an upper body strength workout (my all-time favorite!) and I loved every second. After a five-minute warm up, we went through the following circuit three times:
I have been challenging myself to lift heavier weights during my strength workouts and have really been working on my pushups, so it was a great day to lift heavy and feel the burn first thing in the morning.
Once I said goodbye to my workout buddies and Chaseās BBC childcare friends, we headed home and I put Chase down for his morning nap before heading into the kitchen to make myself a morning snack and another cup of coffee.
I ate my egg white and oatmeal protein pancake while working on a blog post about collagen, creating the workout image for this blog post and following up with the AC repairman because our upstairs air conditioning stopped working for a few hours yesterday. As always, Chaseās morning nap passed by in a flash. I feel fortunate that Chase almost always naps for a solid two hours in the morning, so I really rely on this time for productivity.
Lunch
Once Chase was up, we read a book together and played with some toys before lunch. Chase is still obsessed with his learning walker and Ryan and I now have every song it sings memorized.
(That is Chaseās āI canāt stop watching Sadieā face. Heās still absolutely enamored with his big sister.)
On the menu for Chase for lunch yesterday was an assortment of chicken, broccoli and puffs and I bet you can guess what called to him mostā¦
Yep, the puffs. What is it about puffs that drives babies bananas?
Of course Sadie stayed close during mealtime, hoping for rogue bites of chicken. Lucky for her, Chase now thinks itās incredibly amusing to throw food on the floor, so she made out like a bandit.
Iāve noticed that Chase eats better when Ryan or I eat with him, so while he ate his lunch, I snacked on an apple dipped in a small batch of Monicaās peanut butter fruit dip made with Siggiās vanilla yogurt, a splash of maple syrup and Tru-Nut butter.
(Pic from my Instagram!)
While we were eating, the AC repairman arrived and checked out our unit. Apparently there was a loose valve and another issue that he kindly took care of before saying goodbye. Chase and I usually head out on a play date with friends after his morning nap, but since we had to wait for the AC guy and I wasnāt sure how long our appointment would take, we didnāt make any plans and had a free hour or so to kill before Chaseās afternoon nap. Since I could tell Chase wanted to get out of the house, I figured I would cross ordering a couple dozen bundtinis from Nothing Bundt Cakes for Chaseās birthday party off my to-do list, so we paid a visit to the Birkdale Village location to pick out flavors and place an order.
While we were there I couldnāt resist diving into a double chocolate chip bundtini and it was so ridiculously delicious. I may have a hard time not eating all of the bunditnis we ordered for Chaseās party before the guests arrive on Saturday!
By the time we made it home, Chase was ready for a nap, so I nursed him and put him down before quickly throwing together a late lunch for myself. I made a mixing bowl salad that included broccoli slaw, chicken, avocado and Naturally Fresh ginger dressing.
I love using mixing bowls for my salads because they hold more food and make it much easier to stir everything up without spilling. They may not look as beautiful as a perfectly plated salad but they do the trick.
As I ate my salad, I hopped back on the computer to start typing up this blog post and worked until Chase was up again. Chase didnāt settle in his crib as quickly as usual for his afternoon nap, so he ended up falling asleep later than his usual 2 p.m. naptime. I didnāt want to wake him up to make his afternoon swim class because Iāve learned the hard way that disrupting a solid nap is a recipe for swim class disaster. Fortunately our swim class has a one-class-per-month makeup policy, so I call to reschedule his class for another day and let Chase sleep while I worked away.
Before too long, Chase was up again and we went into evening play mode! Thereās something about the stretch between Chaseās afternoon nap and bedtime that makes him extra chatty and explorative. I let him crawl around, climb on everything and we babbled back and forth, making ridiculous noises to each other before heading into the kitchen where I set Chase up with some Tupperware to play with while I got a jump start on dinner and snacked on some almonds. Ryan and I didnāt get the chance to make it to the grocery store on Sunday, so dinner was a hodgepodge of things we already had and freezer food.
I defrosted some Whole Foodsā sockeye salmon filets and served them with mashed sweet potatoes and mashed garlic butter cauliflower.
When Ryan has to work late, I usually eat with Chase before he gets home but he fortunately made it home in time for us to eat as a family yesterday. We got a kick out of watching Chase shove tiny handfuls of salmon into his mouth and Iām pretty sure salmon is his favorite form of protein. I was one heck of a happy mama as I watched him go to town on the fish and broccoli we put on his high chair tray.
We spent the rest of the time before Chase went down for the night playing with him and laughing as he tried to climb over anything and everything. He is a baby on a mission these days!
Eventually it was bedtime for Chase, so I nursed him and put him in his crib where he happily chatted away and did some random baby acrobatics before settling and falling asleep within 10 minutes.
Once Chase was in bed, I threw a load of laundry in the washing machine while Ryan made up the beds in our bonus room for my family who will be arriving later this week for Chaseās birthday party. I then grabbed a cup of Siggiās coconut yogurt and topped it with various toppings for some crunch and used it to fuel me through evening work time at the computer before I joined Ryan and Sadie on the couch for an hour or so before bed.
Iām pretty sure I fell asleep within five minutes of my head hitting the pillow last night which was a relief! Chase had me up again around midnight for a feeding but ate well and went immediately back to sleep.
And that was our Monday in a nutshell! A mix of the usual grind and lots of baby and Sadie playtime. Hope you guys had a good one!
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Hi Julie- loved this post! Definitely felt like a throwback to the old PBFingers š Totally understand that things are hectic with a baby so thank you for taking the time to write this and for all your other posts too! All the best with Chase’s birthday party- can’t wait to see pics and how your theme came together!
Thank you, Viloshni! This is still my favorite kind of post to write but man it’s hard to blog in “real time” these days! I hope to keep it going and share this kind of a blog post when time allows. Thank you for reading!! <3
I loved this one too! So neat to get a peak at how you mix all the different parts of life into your day. I especially liked hearing how you parse up your work time around everything else…I’m amazed at your efficiency!
Thanks for the enjoyable Tuesday morning read š (as always!)
Seriously, those puffs. Mine would eat them all day long!! Our days are very similar…we’re trying to cut back on nursing a bit and eat more finger food, and we love that walker and all its songs!!! I wish I had more nap time to work with for party planning š I look forward to seeing what you do for Chase’s party, which I’m guessing is this weekend.
Right!? Why can’t vegetables taste like puffs to babies!? š And yes, Chase’s bday party is on Saturday!
“Welcome to our learning farm, we have lots to show you! Shapes and colors, music too – there’s so much to do!” My daughter has the same walker and she LOVES it. It drives me insane.
AHHHHHHHHHHHH! I swear I sing that song in my sleep!!
bahahah! That was going to be my exact comment. My husband and I always yell “the cow can moo wherever she wants” because apparently she only moo’s in the barn. One morning after being up every hour with my little one, I hid that toy, I just couldn’t handle it. I love to hear about your adventures with Chase. I can’t believe he is about to be a YEAR old, I feel like you just announced you were pregnant.
I can’t believe Chase will be a year old! Time flies!
Thanks for sharing, Julie! It looks like an awesome day, and I’m loving that workout. Best of luck with the birthday party! Can’t wait to see the recap š
William ate puffs fooooorever!!! Yesterday he went to camp and I took him to swim class!
Nothing Bundt Cakes are the best! And they’re so cute!
Love getting inspiration from your workouts. And that apple and PB dip looks amazing and refreshing in this crazy heat!
Sounds like a solid day! My niece was never in to her walker…she loves her little train thing with wheels that she can ride on though…those songs are in my brain haha!
Loved this – these are my favorite posts!
Loved the old school ‘real time’ posts! I started reading your blog way back when this was the norm. (Like 3 times a day, too?!) Can’t blame Chase for loving the puffs…they make it into my grocery cart every now and then and end up as an office snack. š
Loved this post – such a throwback and reminded me of my days at home with my son. He is now in school and I work full-time, but I loved my days of two naps, outings and watching him feed our dog. Ha!
two naps is so crucial right now! i have no idea what i’m going to do when he drops one! ah!
Loved this post and the little peek into your current everyday life! Old school PB Fingers indeed š I think the puffs to babies are just about the fun texture and how it changes in your mouth, babies are so funny that way. I also love eating my salads straight out of the mixing bowl too- so much easier to mix in without spilling, and it encourages me to use and eat extra greens!!
I can’t believe he’s going to be one!! And two naps still? My daughter went down to one nap around 10 months old. I think the adjustment was harder than the actual reality of it. Once I got used to it it was fine. And some days she naps for 3 hours, so I can’t complain.
LOVED this post! Definitely had a throwback feel!
Awesome workout and food!!! I can’t believe it has been a year since you showed all of us Chase for the first time. That flew by!
Let me just also say that I love that you still keep your pictures pretty “real life” on here. I love it. It’s so refreshing that you are so genuine.
I totally agree – that’s what keeps me coming back! So many blogs are perfectly manicured and just don’t feel like real life. I love that your blog is so relatable, Julie!
Love the day in the life recap! After over half a decade of blogging, I still struggle with these – I even struggle with What I Ate Wednesday posts! I so often forget to take pictures and just have to save them off of my Snapchat instead, ha!
Adore the Chase/Sadie combo. Such adorable siblings. š
Thanks for sharing!
XO, Jessica
http://www.semisweettooth.com
I loved this post, and for a busy mama you sure got a lot done in a day! That bakery sounds awesome. We’re planning to visit the Charlotte area in the fall and I’ve been keeping a list of places to check out š
That workout looks great. The gym at my school has a ton of TRX, which I need to start incorporating into my workouts more. I’ll have to use this workout when I get back to school in September.
I love reading your blog and seeing you juggle blogging/being a mom/etc.
I can’t wait to experience being a mom (soon!) eek!
Salmon and sweet potatoes, it never gets old!
Thanks for the fun day-in-the-life post from pbfingers of yore! It’s always fun to see how you “make it work” <—Tim Gunn reference. Can you tell us more about the garlic butter cauliflower – how did you make that? Even your "hodge podge" dinners look good to me.
Thanks for the fun update!
Hi! Loved the post. Was the book Chase was holding Pat the Bunny?
If you want more baby songs in your head you should check out Little Baby Bum videos on you tube. We try to limit technology to 15 min a day for our 10 month old but when she does watch tv she loves these videos! And I sing the songs all day long ?
This might be super boring for some of your readers, but I would love if you could do a post on your ups and downs with Chase’s sleep and night time feedings. I remember the one you wrote when he was about 6 months old, and now that he’s back to eating in the night again, I’m wondering what your experience has been. What are your thoughts on eliminating night feedings and getting baby to sleep through the night? I loved the post where you had readers comment on what they wish they knew before they had a baby – it would be awesome if you could do a sleep version, haha, where other parents could comment on what worked for them to get babies to fall asleep on their own, do night time weaning and getting their babies to sleep through the night? A totally random suggestion but just wanted to throw it out there!
Yes I would love a sleep version as well! Love the blog
This would be a great blog post, especially because baby sleep is always the number one topic we as parents talk about/stress about.
Nothing Bundt Cakes is my absolute favorite. Their icing! My gosh!
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Hi Julie, I’m curious as to what Chase’s schedule is like. I have an 11 month old also and her schedule has been changing recently. Can you tell me what time are his naps usually and his bed time? I try to put mine to bed at 10am, 2:30ish, and 8ish.
I have an 11 month old too! She’s up for the day between 6:30/7:00. Her first nap is normally 9-10:30, second nap 2:00-3:45, and she’s in bed for the night at 6:30pm. š
Wow, you have a good sleeper!
The yogurt dip with apples looks SO good. And it is so easy.
I’m looking forward to your post on collagen! I keep seeing articles about this and am interested on your take and if you’ve noticed any benefits or results?
It will be up on the blog this morning!! Just finalizing it right now! š
Love these types of posts! I am also looking forward to your collagen post. I am a breastfeeding mom as well. I love nursing but boy does it stress me out!
“Welcome to our learning farm; we have lots to show you”! Our guy Rex is 16 months old and STILL loves his walker…he’s mostly walking now but he uses it to cruise super fast in the house. :0)
Also! Do you have an OXO salad chopper? I held out for the longest time because we have a small kitchen, but it’s amazing!! Somehow salads taste so much better with lots of pre-chopping.
It’s so fun to read about a day in the life of other moms! š Chase is a cutie!
My baby has been nursing less & less and it is so nice because she sometimes bites me! I think if that’s your goal, that going for ‘real’ food first is a good way to slow it down–if that’s what you want, of course! Now my baby just nurses morning and night before bed, and eats all her meals as real food.
I can’t wait to see pics of the big birthday bash, wahoo!
You should give him a taste of that peanut butter dip! š Looks good!
I did! He loved it!! š
Loved this post Julie- fun to see what a full day with a little one is like. Hope to see more like this! š