We spent our Friday night at the marina near our house, kicking the soccer ball, watching the boys drive their Jeep and enjoying the sun as a family.
Ryan and I also finished the last episode of Schitt’s Creek after the boys went to bed and I’m oddly sad that we’re all done with that show. It was so, so good and I know I’m going to miss it! Thank goodness for re-runs.
Saturday
Once everyone was up and fed and dressed, I kicked off my Saturday morning with a workout! I did 30 minutes of strength training in the garage and then followed up my strength session with a one mile run/walk with Sadie.
A brief bit of one-on-one time with my favorite furry lady was such a nice way to kick off the weekend! I am very slowly easing back into running and plyometric exercises in this postpartum period of life. I intentionally waited 6 months to do any running and jumping as I am prioritizing pelvic floor recovery big-time right now. (I will likely dive more into this in an upcoming post, but in retrospect, I believe I did too much too soon after I had Chase and have been much more cautious with my workouts after Ryder and Rhett.)
After my workout, I grabbed a quick shower and then hung out with our crew until it was time for Rhett’s morning nap. I nursed him and put him down and then Chase, Ryder and I said goodbye to Ryan and headed out to a local park for a birthday party for one of the boys in Chase’s class.
Chase and his friend Matthew have been in preschool together for three years and Matthew is one of three boys in his family as well! They have the sweetest friendship and I’m glad we were able to celebrate Matthew’s special day with him.
I didn’t get any pictures of Chase at the party because he was in his element with his friends and I’m already getting glimpses into my future where Mom falls down a couple of rungs on the coolness ladder. At least both boys slowed down enough to paint a bird house!
We arrived home at the same time Ryan, Rhett and Sadie were finishing up a neighborhood walk and spent the rest of our Saturday at home. Ryan had some yard work to do and while the big boys played outside with him, Rhett took another nap and I styled some food photos and worked on an upcoming Instagram collaboration.
Once Rhett was up, we joined the crew outside and set up soccer goals in the driveway for family soccer… and apparently some pants-free bike riding for Ryder.
(Highly recommend these pop up soccer goals! They were one of Chase’s favorite Christmas gifts from my mother-in-law and we use them all the time.)
Ryder is doing well with potty training around the house when his potty is close by and he can run to it but we’re struggling a bit with getting him to tell us he needs to go when we’re out and about. He will use the potty if we’re not home and we take a potty break and tell him to, but getting him to stop playing himself to tell us he needs to go is hit or miss. Any tips for handling this potty obstacle?
Oh and check out the newest member of Sadie’s Fan Club…
Rhett is enamored with Sadie lately and Sadie is nothing if not consistent when it comes to attention from our babies and she, once again, could not care less. Our little princess.
We wrapped up Saturday night with early baths, delivery pizza and family movie night.
(Loooving these waffle sweats from Beyond Yoga. They’re the perfect lightweight jogger for spring.)
Gotta love those couch cuddles!
Sunday
Sunday morning began on a chilly note so we spent the morning reading books, doing crafts and easing into the day.
Chase’s awesome preschool teachers sent home some space-themed sticker sand art last week and the boys were so into it!
Since a lot of crafty activities fall flat with Chase, having one that was an instant win was awesome! I’m keeping sticker sand art in mind as a goodie bag idea for the boys’ birthday parties in the future.
By the late morning, we were all itching to get out and went on a walk/bike ride around the neighborhood.
Rhett was over the walk before everyone else, so I made my way back home with him and did a little meal planning and food prep while he played on his play mat and smacked his favorite wonder wheel high chair toy around and watched me cook.
Once everyone was back home, we dug into sandwiches for lunch and then played in the yard until my father-in-law came over and headed off to Ryan’s soccer game with the big kids while I stayed behind with Rhett. I have to laugh because when I first mentioned that Ryan is an alternate in a men’s league, one of you (hi Jen H.!) commented saying that your husband was also an alternate in a men’s tennis league and got called to play every week and it’s looking like that will be the case over here, too. Ha! It’s not a bad thing at all because the guys all love the activity and I don’t mind a little semi-quiet one-on-one time with Rhett. While Rhett slept on Sunday, I worked until he was up and then we headed outside again on another walk with Sadie. The weather was too beautiful to resist, I’m tellin’ ya!
Ryan, Chase and Ryder arrived home in the early evening and we wrapped up the weekend with bath time, dinner and stories.
Still loving Dragon Masters over here!
Ryan and I went to bed not too long after the boys and read until we fell asleep. I am about halfway through Kindred, a novel by Octavia E. Butler, and it’s admittedly very hard to read in parts but quite compelling. I will likely need a nice easy, breezy read after this one!
And now I’m off to get this Monday started. I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead and appreciate you kicking off your Monday with me!
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That’s a hard thing about potty training. He sounds ready physically but doesn’t quite have the executive functioning to understand and inhibit his desire to keep doing the fun things to attend to the boring but important things. Kids like that can end up constipated because they hold on for too long so keep an eye on that.
Id buy a portable potty with the liners and remind him regularly. It might be awhile before he’s ready to be fully independent
I would love to see a post (or if anyone has any tips) on getting things done with small children. We have a 19-month-old son and I am 13 weeks pregnant with my second child. My husband and I struggle to accomplish most things besides the basics: laundry, meal plan/prep, dishes, light cleaning, quick yard work, etc. Admittedly we need to take better advantage of the one short nap we get a day, but we are exhausted. It’s not unusual for him to work from 7 am until late into the night and I am struggling with exhaustion and pretty bad perinatal depression. I think we are still so overwhelmed with how hard it is to do anything with a very demanding little person around who either wants to get into things he shouldn’t or still really struggles to have individual playtime. Any suggestion, ideas, advice, etc would be awesome! I have been wanting to start some sort of online business for ages, but between depression, anxiety and now young parenthood it feels impossible.
Oh Hillary, I am so sorry you are struggling. You are not alone in your struggles and clearly have a lot on your plate already. <3 I don't want to overstep here at all and don't feel qualified to speak to your personal situation but I am just wondering if you have spoken with your doctor about your depression/anxiety? Again, I'm not qualified to offer advice in this area at all, but I have a very close friend who had postpartum depression after the birth of her baby and struggled to do anything (among her other symptoms) and it wasn't something she could have (or should have!) just "powered through" -- it needed care and help. Professional help was the only way she began to feel like herself again and the only way she felt like she wasn't drowning in other aspects of her life. I love that you have ambitions to begin a business and am excited for you to do just that but I just want you to care for yourself above all else. I sincerely hope my comment doesn't come across in any way other than from a place of love and concern and a desire for you to feel your absolute best. <3
Thank you for your sweet response. I have talked to my doctor and because of covid it’s been impossible to find a therapist who has experience with eating disorders (it’s been a 20-year battle) and perinatal/postpartum depression who is accepting clients. I had about a month between weaning and getting pregnant again when I was able to experience joy and was able to feel love for my husband or anyone/anything again. I didn’t realize until then that it was that bad. It’s sad/funny, I love being pregnant and nursing, but I hate who I become during those times.
As for child rearing, my husband is finally starting to realize why I keep saying it’s impossible to get anything accomplished while caring for our son. I guess that’s another season of life. Hopefully we will continue to adjust and problem solve, but man balancing quality time, chores/must-dos, and personal down time just feels impossible right now. I know the internet highlights life, but you guys seem to have a pretty good balance and I have no clue where you get the drive and motivation to keep it all together 🙂
Hi Hilary! I feel you on all of the depression/anxiety/feeling overwhelmed being a parent. I finally admitted I needed help and was able to find a great therapist through a local place. She moved away, but now is offering online counseling for anywhere. One of her specialties is overwhelmed moms. 🙂 This is her web address: https://www.thewellcounselingforwomen.com/ I mention this in hopes that either she can help you or maybe you can find another therapist online since you mentioned it was had to find one locally.
Hugs to you!
Our 2.5 year old is the same way. He’s great about going when we take him to the bathroom but won’t tell us he has to pee. We are just prompting every hour and taking him to the potty. They’ll get there eventually! He is doing a great job telling us when he has to poop so I don’t mind reminding him to pee! Over the weekend he started to pee while playing and immediately noticed his underwear was wet-he stopped and told me so he could finish in the potty. His underwear was a little wet but there was no mess to clean up so I was happy.
That picture of you and Chase on the couch! I love it when my 5 yr old still snuggles with me. Best feeling!
Regarding potty training, my 5 yr old used to hold it until the very last second. We talked about listening to our bodies. I used the same thing for when he says he’s done eating. I ask does your body feel like you have to potty? Does your belly feel full? It might be a little much for Ryder right now, but it was a process for us. I haven’t started the process for my 2 yr old, but we do talk about if her belly feels full so she’s getting the idea (I think, I hope, who knows! hahaha)
YES! We’re doing a lot of “listening to your body” talk and hoping that makes a difference!
This is such a random question, but is that a removable slip cover type of thing on your white couch?
YES!! The IKEA Ektorp couch — got it after blog readers recommended it as a good white couch option with kids b/c it’s so easy to clean!
This is SO random, but I’m curious what Ryan reads? My fiancé loves reading but struggles to find books that he likes as a late 20-something!
Hi – They have watches on Amazon that will vibrate to remind one to take a potty break.
I have been loving this beautiful NC weather, too! I am also slowly going through Schitt’s Creek and will def be sad when it’s over!
It’s just too funny! And I looove the characters!
Frame that pic of you and Chase!!! GORGEOUS!
Thank you! Love his smile in that one ❤️
Have you seen the Daniel Tiger episode about Potty Training? One of the main things they focus on is stopping while playing to go to the bathroom – it has a song that goes with it (as with all Daniel Tiger episodes!). That actually really helped my boys because we could sing it when we noticed they had to go. It could be a fear of missing out on fun that is stopping him from going. Good Luck!
I used to work with Ryder’s age group and it takes a while before theyre able to tell you they need to go. We just always kept them on a schedule and told them to come potty, not giving them an option (sounds worse than it is-it was just expected that they came potty at potty times).
We had them go at 9am, 1030am, 1130am, 1230pm (before nap), 3pm (after nap) and 430pm. Id say just have him go before and after transitions (before going outside, when coming in from outside, etc.)
Good luck!
Thank you!! This is really helpful!