A Tuesday in the Life (March 2024)
Tuesday
My alarm went off just after 5 a.m. and after letting Pepper out, I eased into the day with a whole milk latte and my devotional before working until the boys woke up.
My brain functions best in the morning hours, so taking advantage of the pre-dawn time to work has suited me well in this phase of life. I’d much rather work before the boys wake up than after they go to bed.
Painting
Eventually all three boys were awake just before 7 a.m. Ryan took Chase to school yesterday which freed up the morning a bit for me, Rhett and Ryder. After saying goodbye to Ryan and Chase, we ate breakfast together before moving onto our first activity of the day which looked like painting at the kitchen counter.
The number of activities we do in our house before preschool drop off never ceases to amaze me. Yesterday it was painting, a round of the game Trouble, Legos and free play with cars and trucks. Two intense brother fights also found their way into our morning. Rhett is a spicy little guy when bad things happen to him during board games right now which doesn’t mix well with a 5-year-old who insists on following all of the rules of Trouble to a tee.
YouTube workout
Once painting was done, the boys played together and I saw a workout window emerge and did a quick YouTube workout while they played nearby.
I then took a super-fast shower as the boys played with monster trucks in our bathroom and got ready for the day.
(Sweatpants: Vuori / Tank: Madewell / Bralette: Amazon / Sneakers: New Balance / Denim Jacket: Free People / Quilted Bag: Free People / Hat: Nike)
Wacky Tacky Day
Just after 9 a.m. we made our way to preschool for Wacky Tacky Day! It’s spirit week at the boys’ preschool this week which has the boys all kinds of excited to go to school every day.
With the boys settled in school, I made my way to my favorite local coffee shop to work fueled by a half-caff whole milk latte. I didn’t snap additional pictures for the next couple of hours because they all would’ve looked like this! I worked through the morning, voted and then headed to preschool pickup in the early afternoon.
Rhett, Ryder and Ryder’s friend Quinn piled into my car at pickup and then we headed back to our house for a playdate that largely centered around Pokémon cards.
Both Chase and Ryder are all-in on Pokémon cards lately and a bunch of their friends are as well. I know more about Charmander, Squirtle and damage points than I ever thought possible. If your kids happen to be Pokémon-obsessed, I cannot recommend this book enough. Ryder and Chase reference it regularly and have truly spent hours pouring over the pages.
Dinner Prep
As the kids played, I ate lunch and then did a little prep work for dinner since I knew we’d be out and about most of the afternoon. I tossed together the spices needed to season some chicken, roasted brussels sprouts and baked a couple of sweet potatoes ahead of time.
Eventually it was time to pick Chase up so we dropped Quinn back off at his house and then made our way to Chase’s school. Tuesdays are our zero activity day which meant we had the afternoon free to do whatever we wanted until dinner time. Yesterday this looked like a playdate outside at my friend Carrie’s house!
Her house is heaven for our boys because they have a creek in their backyard which is all our kids need to entertain themselves for hours on end.
Chase, Ryder and their friend Tommy spent a solid 2 hours in the creek catching and releasing baby salamanders and searching for crayfish.
I loved the catchup time with my friend while the boys thoroughly enjoyed plenty of outside time with their buddies. We figured we should head home a little after 5 p.m. so we wouldn’t be too rushed with bath time, dinner and stories before bed.
The boys went immediately into the bathtub/shower when we arrived home and Rhett was very clearly ready for bed on the early side of the evening. He ate a speedy dinner and then we spent some time reading a few Daniel Tiger stories together before he fell asleep 2.5 seconds after I shut his bedroom door a little before 6:30 p.m. Early bedtimes are where it’s at for our no-nap 3-year-old.
Dinner
Ryan arrived home as I was getting Rhett to bed and I threw some chicken into the air fryer to pair with the Japanese sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts I prepared earlier in the day for us to enjoy for dinner.
We ate with Chase and Ryder (the boys had eggs for dinner — see this post for why I’m cool with our kids eating different meals from us sometimes) and dinner was a rather comical one because it included lots of bird calls.
At Chase’s school a while back, I was browsing a wall of the student’s artwork where the kids all wrote about why they are “a star.” Chase said he’s a star because he’s good at “making bird calls and playing soccer.” My cousin Andrew loved this story and sent the boys an assortment of bird calls which absolutely made their day.
Bedtime Routine
Dinner was followed by the big kids’ usual bedtime routine which looked like a few books with Ryan before I joined everyone for prayers before bed. Once Ryder is asleep (which almost always happens within 10 minutes of us saying goodnight), Chase knows he’s allowed to slip out for a chapter or two of a big kid book. Right now Chase, Ryan and I are on book three in the Percy Jackson series and all three of us are enjoying it!
Once we were done reading with Chase, he headed back to bed and Ryan and I read our respective books until we could no longer stay awake. I recently finished The Coworker and am about a third of the way through She’s Up to No Good which is a winner so far.
Now it’s time for me to wrap up this blog post and get my Wednesday started. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week!
Diana Jochums says
We’ve been loving the POY air fryer chicken also! I alternate between that and your marinated chicken thigh recipe.
Curious how you’ve liked your expresso machine? I remember asking you a few years back and you splurged on a nice one but got it refurbished?
Julie says
Yes! We have a refurbished Jura and love it so so much!!!
Monica says
Where is your pan from? The one with the roasted Brussels sprouts? It looks perfect for roasting vegetables and I’m in need of an upgrade!
Theresa Verstreater says
I am not exaggerating when I say I make this chicken at least three times a week! 🙂 I stray from the recipe a little and cut the chicken into strips before seasoning and air frying and I have this for lunch…. basically all the time. 🙂
Megan says
Such a sweet day! I love these peeks into a day in the life with 3 boys! My 3 year old also just stopped napping so we are in a similar place in that respect 😉
Michelle says
Love these day in the life posts. I would (Selfishly) love a day in the life of Pepper post. We recently got a small puppy & are struggling with routine. I’d love seeing how Pepper spends his day!
Julie says
Oh this is such a fun idea for a post!!! I’ll try to do this soon!!