Good morning, my friends! How are you guys doing so far this week? It’s been a good week but a busy one over here so far. The self-imposed pressure to get a ton of stuff done before our baby’s arrival has definitely kicked in big time but fortunately I’m making headway which makes me feel slightly less stressed than I felt last week when my to-do list seemed to be a mile long.
My Tuesday morning began with a big bowl of oatmeal made with pumpkin, flax seeds, chia seeds, blackberries, cinnamon, collagen, cacao nibs and almond milk and topped with a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds.
I sat down with my devotionals as I ate my oatmeal and it was just the way I needed to begin my day. I’ve let my morning devotional time slip here and there over the past month mainly because my sleep has been so terrible. If I sleep in as little as an extra 30 minutes in the morning, I feel like I need to use every second to work before Chase wakes up otherwise I feel behind all day long. Yesterday morning served as a good reminder that waking up a bit early is more than worth it to begin my day with my devotionals!
Oh, and this is kind of random, but as I was putting my devotional stuff away, I realized the kitchen cabinet I cleaned out months ago following the advice I read in A Simplified Life is STILL clean and organized!
Here was the BEFORE:
And this is the present-day AFTER (5 months later):
It made me think back on the other spaces I’ve organized using the tips in A Simplified Life and ALL of them are still rockin’ a more organized look. This is HUGE for me since so often I’ll clean up a space and a few weeks later it’s a disaster again but I think the tactics in that book (taking everything out of a space to evaluate, eliminating duplicates, etc.) worked better for me than winging it in the past.
Eventually I made my way into my office to work until Chase was awake and ready for action! Chase is in half-day summer camp this week (I have him signed up for three sporadic weeks of camp spread throughout the summer and this is one of our “on” weeks) so after reading a few books and playing together in his room, we headed downstairs where Chase ate breakfast and I packed his lunch.
We were out the door a little before 9 a.m. to make it to Chase’s school in time for summer camp drop off and once he was happily playing with his friends, I headed back home. I opted out of the gym yesterday morning in favor of taking Sadie on a walk and we covered right around two miles while I caught up on a past podcast episode of Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me.
Even though it was just after 10 a.m. when we wrapped up our walk, my stomach needed food, so I whipped up a batch of egg salad to eat with some Simple Mills crackers.
Plus a golden kiwi!
As I ate, I responded to some time-sensitive emails and did some social media scheduling before I had to head out to my eyebrow appointment which lasted all of 10 minutes. (I’m going every two months or so and just use this cheap tint kit to give my normally iridescent blonde brows some color in between appointments if they start to disappear on me.)
With my brows shaped and my face nice and red and blotchy from the wax, I headed back to Chase’s preschool lookin’ fine and scooped him up before heading home. We grabbed a snack to bring with us to enjoy on the back patio swing while we played fetch with Sadie and it became clear pretty quickly that Tuesday was going to be a No Nap Day in our house.
We have a few no nap days a week right now and rather than fight it, I decided to take advantage of Chase’s seemingly endless energy and take him to Birkdale Village for a haircut before we grabbed his and hers smoothies at Clean Juice and met up with a friend at the splash pad for some afternoon fun.
A haircut for Chase was one of those random things on my to do list since his hair was basically a giant fluffball and beginning to get in his eyes and I’m pretty sure I walked into Snip-Its with a two year old and left with a five year old.
What it is about kids’ haircuts that make them look so much older!? My little man!
We had a fun afternoon at Birkdale Village before we made our way back home and threw together a roast chicken for dinner. I had grand plans to follow Ina Garten’s Perfect Roast Chicken recipe to a T but cut some corners for the sake of brevity and we still loved the end result! (I roasted it upside down to make the breast meat extra juicy.)
Ryan arrived home on the early side of the evening which was a nice treat and we spent some time hanging out as a family as the chicken roasted away.
I also took a much-needed shower before dinner and realized how AMAZING it feels to take an evening shower on occasion. (I am usually all about nap time showers.) I did a load of laundry earlier in the day to clean our sheets and I’m convinced there’s something magical about climbing into freshly cleaned sheets after you’ve had a shower at the end of the day. Bliss!
We made our way upstairs after dinner and Ryan and I took a few things down from the attic that we’ve been meaning to bring back out before our baby arrives, including some swaddles and clothes, a Rock ‘n’ Play (worth its weight in gold!), baby bath tub, activity play mat (Chase loooved this!) and a 4moms mamaRoo swing (Chase never liked this thing but we held onto it hoping it might be a hit with baby #2).
Just seeing all of these baby items made me realize for the thousandth time how FAST the baby phase goes by. It may not seem like it on the fussy days or when your child still isn’t sleeping through the night after months and months (I FEEL YA), but it’s crazy for me to think that I have an almost three year old who I swear just yesterday was distractedly oogling the lights and fans in our house as I tried to get him to nurse. Aaand here I go with my emotions and hormones again!!!
After some attic unpacking, we did the whole bed time routine before I read for a bit and turned out the lights.
Plans for today include my 38-week prenatal appointment this morning which includes an ultrasound. I’m admittedly a bit more nervous going into this one because last week my belly measurements were behind again so we’re just checking on the baby’s growth to be safe. I measured behind my entire pregnancy with Chase so I know that’s perfectly okay but I just get nervous since, during this pregnancy, I’ve been measuring ahead most of the time. Lots of praying is happening over here, as usual!
I hope you guys all have a fantastic Wednesday and I hope to see ya back here tomorrow!
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Aw Chase does look so much older with his haircut, but still so cute! And i’m looking forward to taking some walks and listening to podcasts this summer, what are some of your other favorites?
I am all over the place with my podcasts! I also love This American Life, The Healthy Maven, Urban Monk, Babes and Babies, Food Blogger Pro, Wellness Mama and more!
Hi Julie! Thanks for sharing. I am currently going through the trials and tribulations of mothering a fussy, teething, not sleeping through the night 9 month old and it is tough! Some days and nights are better than others though – the ebb and flow keeps me on my toes for sure! How did you get through the sleepless nights? Coffee? Ha. That’s my go-to survivor technique at the moment. Love your blog posts! Happy Wednesday to you and hope your ultrasound goes well. Xo, Jess
COFFEEEEE! And I will NEVER forget the time I put a FULL cup of coffee away in our cabinet because I was so tired. I didn’t find it until the next day! I feel for ya for sure! I also tried to remind myself that it’s all so, so temporary. What is a battle one week (or one month) often goes away and is replaced by something else but truly centering myself in gratitude did (and still DOES) wonders for me. <3 Sending you supportive vibes and best wishes for MORE sleep!!! <3
Thank you so much for your advice! I needed that today. I also meant to ask where you get your devotionals from? I could use daily devotionals in my life!
Never mind… I see the link you posted. Thanks Julie! Have a great day!
I always love the day in life type posts! What devotionals do you use? I would love some suggestions!
Hi Courtney! I’m still working my way through the devotionals mentioned in this post: https://www.pbfingers.com/wednesday-toddler-battles/ I hope this helps!! I really love the Joyce Meyer one!
Ahh the Merlin suit! We LOVED ours with our boy, and have you to thank for introducing us to it. Too bad it doesn’t come in toddler sizes.. 🙂
right!?!? that thing absolutely saved us! i still remember cracking up the first time we put chase in that thing!
I’m currently in the midst of life with a two year old who refuses to nap but gets super cranky because he’s tired… Trying to at least transition to “quiet time” but that doesn’t seem to be working either >.< Lol #twoyearoldproblems
Yes!! He can hang until about 6pm and then the no nap thing totally catches up to him & he’s so fussy!!
I can absolutely relate to the stress of measuring behind. I always measured behind during my first pregnancy. I’ve been measuring ahead or on track with pregnancy number #2, but then I suddenly started measuring behind ahead. My doctors ordered a growth scan and turns out, I’m actually measuring ahead even though my fundal height measurement is behind. I’m trying not to put too much emphasis on the measurements (easier said than done) because they seem super inaccurate! Sending positive thoughts your way mama 🙂
Yes, I feel like I blinked and my tiny little bundle of joy is now a chunky 8 month old haha! I am already starting to get sentimental about her birthday in September!!!!
Both of my kids hated the mamaroo. I never invested in another swing. We just used the rock n’ play. The thing I don’t like about the mamaroo is that it isn’t deep enough to hold a baby in there swaddled without being strapped in. I know. Gasp! When they are so little and not moving, it would have been nice to swaddle them and toss them in a swing, so I could have gotten some stuff done around the house.
We splurged on the Mama Roo and neither of my kids liked it either. The Rock N Play, on the other hand, we used with both until they were too long to sleep in there anymore!
With my daughter, my belly never grew with the fundal measurement after 35 weeks. She ended up being smaller than my son who did, but still a decent size at 7.7. Thinking of you and PBF # 2 this morning! 🙂
Such a handsome boy with his haircut, crazy how it makes him look so much older!
We splurged on the Mama Roo and neither of my kids liked it much either. I am with you on the Rock N Play, though, both kids slept in there until their feet were hanging out!
With my daughter my fundal measurement never increased after my 35 week appointment. She was smaller than my son whose did but still a decent size at 7.7. Thinking of you and PBF baby # 2 this morning!
I’m always amazed at how productive you seem to be during the days! I feel like I go strong until about 2 or 3 and then I’m done for the day. Also, totally in aw that you’re roasting a chicken in the summer! Here in AZ we try and do as little oven cooking in the summer as possible! Lol. It’s just wayyy too hot for that!
Aww! Chase looks so adorable with his hair cut, and all grown up!! I just love when they get hair cuts, I swear it makes them look so much older no matter how old they are! I think “No nap Tuesday” was a trend yesterday, because neither of my nephews napped either and were full of energy. I love that you took advantage of his energy and did stuff, instead of “forcing” him to rest and try to nap when you knew it wasn’t going to happen. I hope you have a great Wednesday! Xoxo
Praying for a great 38 week checkup!! Eeek do you think you’ll be checked? Curious to hear if you’re progressing any yet! I love that you aren’t fighting Chase’s no nap times, and are instead being productive and basically super mom! And I totally agree, we’ve been digging out baby gear too and at the time, I felt like the newborn stage was NEVER going to end, and 2.5 years later it feels like it only lasted like a month!
These are my very favorite posts. Thanks for always sharing a peak in to your life.
Hope the drs appointment goes well today. We had our 24 week yesterday. The dr found the heartbeat right away and smiled and commented on how strong and healthy it was. Good job Baby Smith!!
Praying for a great checkup! I think sometimes the baby’s position can affect your measurements. I also measured small towards the end. I did have a small baby but she was perfectly healthy and is growing by the minute and is 6 weeks now! We kept all the baby stuff for our second and she doesn’t like laying in anything other than our arms…specifically mommy’s lol. It’s funny because I feel like starting over, I can’t even remember what our 2.5 yr old liked/didn’t like, how much/often he slept/ate at this age? You have your blog updates to refer to! And often times I refer to yours and other mommy bloggers for a refresher!
Sorry we missed you at Birkdale! Were in town visiting family and took MIL to Barnes and Noble yesterday. I wondered if we might see you, but we left about noon. Always love our visits to the area (and such beautiful weather yesterday)!
Sending some prayers for your ultrasound and baby health and growth! I’m so excited for baby number two for you! The watch is ON!
Great post AS ALWAYS. 🙂
38-weeks! I guess it hasn’t clicked just how far along you are! So excited for you, Ryan and Chase! Sending prayers for a good prenatal appointment. Enjoy these last few weeks as a family of four (Saddie included of course ;))
I loved reading this, as it brings me back to those final days with just my husband and son before our daughter was born. The day before she was born the 3 of us hung out in our driveway watching my then 2-year old try his new balance bike. He insisted Mommy ride her bike, and I hefted my huge self onto my bike and rode a few laps around our cul-de-sac (to my son’s delight). By that time the next evening I was holding a little baby in my arms. Craziness! Enjoy these final days as a family of 3, but know becoming a family of 4 will be incredible!
Hoping your appointment went well!! I’m excited to read through all your pregnancy posts and get some recommendations for baby stuff!
Also very random, how do you make your egg salad? It looks delicious.
I finished reading a Simplified Life a few months ago, and now I feel like I need a re-fresh. That book was so great! And Chase’s haircut makes him look so grown up, so sweet!
Saw your eyebrow comment and wondered what you actually have done? I’ve been drawing mine on for ages (Auntie Gwenn used to tell me to “always wear your eyebrows”) but would love to find a better solution. I love how your mom’s look but am not sure how to find somewhere to do that around here…
Love your posts… you’re in the home stretch now! XOXO
This is such a cute story of you on your bike super pregnant to support your son. 🙂
Hi Julie! I just saw a sample lunch that you make for Chase on one of your IG stories, and it seems that you use the Bentgo Kids lunch box. Do you really like it? I have two specific questions—does it really keep foods separate (particularly dips)? And does the Bentgo Lods box allow you to use an ice pack? It wasn’t clear on the website if it would even work for you to use the ice pack they sell separately. Thanks!
What do you tell the stylist when they cut Chase’s hair? I have a two and a half year old and almost every time I get his hair cut, they mess it up! I don’t ask for anything crazy lol I don’t know why it’s so difficult.
Unpacking baby stuff was my favorite part of the prep work for baby 2! Such an exciting time in life when you are about to meet your baby. My second one is 2 months old now and you’re absolutely right, the baby phase does fly by. I feel like I’m doing better at enjoying it and not stressing as much this time around. Wishing you all the best during this amazing time <3
I’m certain your 38 week ultrasound will be fine. You’ve managed to get pregnant 3 times and carry 1 baby to full term in the time I’ve been trying and struggling to get pregnant and still haven’t. So I’d say you have alot to be thankful for.
Can I ask how you manage your sanity and nap challenges? I have a 10 month old and am a part-time stay at home momma now. My daughter is still taking two naps a day, but her naps are super inconsistent with timing and lengths. Part of that is my own fault since I feel like I need to get out of the house and interact with other adults, so we are going to the gym/bible study/ and moms group several mornings. I guess maybe I should just stay at home to help her get those naps in, but it really has a negative effect on me! Thanks in advance xoxo