The Last Tuesday in January

Hey friends! How are ya? I’m here with my first day-in-the-life post of 2023! I hope to continue to sprinkle these into my blog content because they’re always fun for me to write and take me back to the beginning blogging days before social media was mostly used to recap in-the-moment content. Blogging will forever and always have my heart and off-the-cuff blogging about random life musings is nostalgic (and fun!) for me.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning began with good news. As I mentioned on the blog back in October, my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the beginning of 2022. We hoped his cancer would be slow-growing and that he would remain in the “active surveillance” stage for a long time but after a few biopsies showed additional growth, we learned over the holidays that surgery would be the best course of action.

My dad’s surgery was scheduled for Monday and I spent most of Monday awaiting updates from my mom. She was incredible about keeping me and my sister in the loop with everything she heard from my dad’s surgeon but her best update came when we learned my dad was out of surgery and doing okay. His surgeon said my dad did really well and he got to go home on Tuesday afternoon. When I spoke to my dad, he sounded like he was in pain but also filled with relief the surgery was behind him. We are all feeling incredibly grateful my dad’s surgery went well and we are just praying for a smooth recovery and good news following his next appointments. Also, you know I have to thank all of you for your prayers and encouragement. Prostate cancer is quite common and hearing stories about the loved ones in your life who are doing well after their diagnosis has helped me so much.

Clearly my dad’s surgery and recovery is at the top of my mind so I just wanted to keep you guys in the loop with everything before sharing more about our Tuesday.

Now to recap our day…

Morning

I was up before the sun on Tuesday morning and began my day with my latest devotional followed by a short 5-minute walk down the street with Pepper. I am happy to report Pepper’s potty training has come a LONG way and we’re so pleased with her progress. I hope to share a more detailed Pepper update soon but she has been the best little addition to our family. I swear this little girl came into our lives at the perfect time and has brought me so much comfort and joy.

Once Pepper did her business, we headed back inside and Pepper was thrilled to see Chase and Ryder coming downstairs so she could cover them in kisses. As the big kids played with Pepper, I made breakfast and assembled lunches. Ryder wanted to help with lunch duty and as he filled lunchboxes, he said, “I just wish my whole lunch could be raisins.” Spoken like a true 4-year-old.

Tuesday morning included an in-person Burn Boot Camp workout with Rhett and Ryder before preschool for me which is something that hasn’t happened in a looong time — more than a year, I think! I miss the 8 a.m. camp so much!

It was such a treat and only happened because Ryan was able to take Chase to school and all the boys were up early. (Ryan usually begins his work day at 7 a.m. so I’m typically the drop-off parent.) With Ryan handling Chase’s school drop off, I was able to easily make the 8 a.m. boot camp class with Rhett and Ryder and it felt amazing!

After boot camp, I drove to Rhett and Ryder’s preschool and got them settled before heading home for a quick shower.

It was a rapid-fire shower (bless you, dry shampoo) and once I was ready for the day, I headed to my favorite local coffee shop to squeeze in a little work.

(Sweater: Old Navy but last year / Jeans: GAP Barrel Jeans / Lug boots: Amazon / Bag: Freshly Picked / Checkered Phone PopSocket) 

I didn’t get quite as much done as I anticipated because I ran into the builder of our new home! We ended up chatting for a while and it was so, so good to see him! We’re still regularly communicating about little odds and ends but it was nice to just catch up outside of house stuff because Luke has been such a big part of our lives for the past 2+ years.

Eventually I had to head out to a special performance at the boys’ preschool. The Children’s Theatre of Charlotte performed The Lion and  the Little Red Bird and families were invited to attend. The boys were enamored by the performance and it was so cute!

The play meant the school day was over a little early so we headed home, hung out with Pepper and dug into lunch 2.0 since the boys ate most of their packed lunch at school. (After school snacks/second lunches typically look like re-plated lunchbox leftovers and some fresh fruit, cashews, yogurt, etc.)

My lunch looked like leftover chicken soup from Monday night’s dinner along with Annie’s cheddar snack mix straight out of the box (#momlife) and more than a couple peppermint bark Dove Promises I’ve been hoarding from the holidays.

Afternoon

After lunch and stories, it was time for Rhett’s nap. While Rhett slept, Ryder requested some podcast time during his quiet time which sounded good to me since my Tuesday kid-free work time was rather minimal. Ryder is all-in on the Molly of Denali podcast (he has some episodes memorized at this point) and while he listened and worked on his latest melty bead design (our big kids’ current obsession), I pulled up a chair next to him at our kitchen island, worked and made a few melty bead creations with Ryder.

As always, Rhett’s nap time flew by but thankfully Tuesdays are the easiest school pickup days for me from a nap/schedule standpoint because Chase has an afterschool art club that pushes back his pickup time by an hour. That hour makes a huuuge difference for Rhett’s naps and he was able to sleep soundly right up until I woke him for pickup.

Once we arrived back home, the boys were all about free playtime so while they entertained each other, I made dinner (and listened to my latest Ruth Ware thriller novel audiobook when they didn’t need me!), did some dishes and threw in a load of laundry. I knew Ryan was going to be working later last night so I was all about starting our bed time and dinner process on the early side of the evening to make things run smooth.

On the menu for dinner last night was my first attempt at air fryer chicken wings! I marinated the wings overnight in teriyaki sauce and then cooked them at 400 degrees for a little less than 20 minutes (flipping halfway through) in the air fryer. Sides included mashed sweet potatoes and roasted broccoli!

Ryan arrived home just as I was finishing up dinner and while we chatted, the boys spent a little more time doing their melty beads and requested evening bowls of cereal which made me smile because clearly they’ve picked up on the fact that I like my cereal as an afternoon or after-dinner snack most.

After a speedy bath, it was time for stories and bed! Most nights Ryan handles Chase and Ryder’s bed time stories while I read with Rhett because Rhett is still too young to really sit through bigger kid books without driving his brothers crazy. Once I have Rhett settled in his crib, I join in with Ryan and the big kids to wrap up their bed time. It’s a system that works well for our family and we just kind of fell into it after Rhett was born.

Once the kids were all in bed, we did a quick 10-minute pickup around the house and not long after we noticed Chase quietly walking down the stairs. Ryder was already sound asleep and since Chase seemed wired, I asked if he wanted to finish the final chapter of the third Harry Potter book together.

We’ve taken our time with this book and read the chapters over the course of a few months during small pockets of time when Rhett and Ryder are asleep at night and Chase is restless. He loves getting some some special solo “big kid time” with us and as big-time Harry Potter fans, Ryan and I are excited he seems to love the books so much! Chase said this book was a little spooky but not too scary for him but I also know the fourth book in the series is darker so we will probably take more time before beginning that one.

Pepper joined us for Harry Potter but wasn’t quite as enamored with the book and couldn’t hang.

Eventually we all took a page out of Pepper’s book and went to bed, too!

As for today, our plans look like school for the big kids and MyGym and a Burn Boot Camp workout for me and Rhett before their pickups. We also have some afternoon plans with friends after school so it will be a full day but a fun one!

I hope you all have a great Wednesday!