I’m back in action today and want to catch up with you guys. I am in the process of putting together the roundup of 30-minute at home workouts a bunch of you requested on my last Instagram Stories Q&A post but it’s taking me longer than expected (believe it or not roundup posts take 10 times longer for me than day-in-the-life posts) but it will be coming your way soon, I promise. In the meantime, how about a recap of our Tuesday!?
Morning + Breakfast
Tuesday morning began with coffee and my new devotional before I settled in to work on the computer for a bit.
My friend Lauren was in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania to help with the Burn Boot Camp location she and her husband opened a couple of weeks ago and asked if I could watch her sweet daughter (one of Chase’s best buddies) for her while she was out of town and her husband worked.
Claire joined us for the day a little after 7 a.m. and we hit the ground running! Chase and Claire helped me make a batch of Greek yogurt whole wheat pancakes for breakfast (I need to recreate this recipe to share ASAP because they both loved them!) and they were both quite thrilled with their mini bowls of syrup for dipping.
I made a double batch of the pancakes so I could freeze some to quickly reheat for breakfast in the future. I’m all about simple shortcuts!
Chase and Claire have such similar personalities – they’re both very active and engaging – and we spent most of the morning playing with every single toy we own, exploring in the backyard, running all over the house and coercing Sadie into lots of rounds of indoor fetch.
We stopped only for snack and lunch breaks before it was naptime!
I also couldn’t resist snapping a few photos of these two cuties and was shocked when they actually sat still for more than 2.5 seconds. Chase and Claire cracked each other up as I snapped away and I just love watching them grow up together!
Afternoon + Lunch
I was a little concerned about getting both kids down for their nap at the same time, but I set up Claire’s pack-and-play in our guest room beforehand and was shocked with how seamlessly they both went to sleep. They must’ve worn each other out!
Once Chase and Claire were napping, I got to work on my lunch. It was an easy one thanks to leftovers and I chopped up some chicken and roasted veggies to use in a cheesy quesadilla.
Plus sliced peaches on the side!
As I ate, I worked on editing some photos I shot on Monday for The Laughing Cow (I have a year-long contract with them for monthly freelance work for their social pages) and used the rest of naptime to sneak in a quick 20 minute workout, send out some invoices and continue working on the 30-minute workout roundup blog post for you guys.
Claire and Chase surprised me by napping for two and a half hours (amazing!!) and once they were up, playtime resumed in full force!
Lauren arrived at my house to pick up Claire at 6 p.m., almost the exact same time Ryan walked through the door after work.
Evening + Dinner
Since Chase and Claire ate dinner together around 5:30 p.m., by the time Ryan and I were ready to eat, Chase wasn’t too hungry but we’ve been trying hard to get really good about sitting at the table to eat a family dinner together almost every night. Chase snacked on some apple slices and peanut butter while Ryan and I dug into a hodgepodge meal of chicken thighs with avocado and a lentil garbanzo bean mixture.
Once dinner was over and the kitchen cleaned up a bit, we cuddled up on the couch with Chase to look for goldbug. Chase is 100 percent OBSESSED with finding goldbug on every page of Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go and, I’m not going to lie, goldbug is one elusive little creature! He’s seriously hard to find sometimes!
After our goldbug spotting spree, it was time for Chase to go to bed. Chase is usually fairly easy to get to sleep at night but started bawling his eyes out when I tried to put him down and said “Hungry!” which is pretty much the only word I listen to when he’s trying to get out of bedtime. He’s such a tiny little dude and I jump at any chance to get some more calories in him, so telling me he’s hungry (which he doesn’t do often), works like a charm. We came back downstairs and Chase ate another snack before he easily went down for bed about 20 minutes later. He was probably playing me but at least he ate, so I’ll take it!
After Chase was settled in bed, Ryan and I dug into a small bag of Sour Patch Kids (don’t judge, you know they’re delicious) and spent some time researching fall mountain vacations. We ended up feeling awfully overwhelmed with ideas and possibilities! We visited Boone, Banner Elk and Asheville for a week these past two fall seasons with my family and would love to plan another mountain vacation this autumn. We’re considering Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Highlands or Maggie Valley, North Carolina and a few others but I’d LOVE your recommendations. We’re looking for a mountainous destination that’s drivable from north Florida and Charlotte that also offers some things to do outside of simply hiking (which we also LOVE). And kid-friendly is absolutely a plus! Any suggestions!?
Our Tuesday wrapped up with reading in bed (I’m cracking up at Amy Poehler’s Yes Please at the moment) before turning off the lights around 10 p.m.
Plans for today include playing catch up on blog stuff, a morning play date with friends and a much-needed trip to the grocery store to stock up on food before my father-in-law arrives in town tomorrow!
Hope you guys have a great Wednesday!!
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How fun that you got to watch Claire for a day. The pictures of her and Chase holding hands is adorable! It’s great that they are such good friends from such a young age.
My family went to the Smokey Mountains a few years ago and we visited Gatlinburg. It was great! They have an Alpine slide which is a favorite of mine. If you don’t know what it is, a ski resort lays a track down the mountain and you get in a sled like contraption that has wheels and go down. I’m not sure if Chase would be old enough but the adults would enjoy it for sure! The town by Gatlinburg was fun and had cute shops and restaurants to go to.
Have a great day Julie 🙂
I’ve never done an Alpine slide before but that sounds like a BLAST!!! So glad you enjoyed your time in Gatlinburg!
My husband and I just went to Gatlinburg in July. It was awesome – we stayed waaay up in the mountains! It was one of our best trips – I highly recommend.
I had to laugh at Chase yelling “Hungry!” That’s the one tactic that my little girl can successfully use to delay bedtime, for the same reason as you. I figure a few extra calories trumps an extra 10-15 minutes of sleep!
Absolutely!!
Interesting that Chase had a tough time going to bed…my daughter is the same age (5 days older) and just started the crying at bedtime this week. She begs for more songs, then sometimes after crying for a while will start saying “eat! eat!” (Usually we just chalk it up to a stall tactic, but the other night we brought her downstairs and she ate an ENORMOUS amount of food at 8pm after she had skipped dinner.) She also has started to cry through naps on occasion, but I’m not giving up on those.
My friends tell me that right around 2 years old there is a tough spot of bed/nap struggles, so I’m preparing in for a few weeks of this 🙂 I’m guessing the extra clinginess and hunger must be mean a big mental growth spurt is happening!
Whenever I watch my niece I stress about getting her and my daughter down for a nap, but it’s always so easy. I’m always amazed at how my daughter’s daycare gets 8 toddlers down for a nap within a 15 minutes time period. I’ve asked and they say it’s actually the easiest thing they do all day. Toddlers are so interesting like that!
That dinner looks so good and easy. I love meals in bowls.
Yes please is so funny! Looks like a fun day.
I’m looking forward to your workout post!!
Your time with two toddlers looked like so much fun! Can’t wait for your pancake recipe 🙂
I’ve been wanting to go to Gatlinburg for a while! And I’m pretty sure we are taking Kimber (our dog) on her first hiking trip this weekend – we live in Virginia so hiking in the Shenandoah Valley/Blue Ridge is the best!
Have a great day 🙂
Oh my gosh they are just so cute together! What a fun play date 🙂 Not judging you on sour patch- those babies are good!
greenville, sc is one of the best hidden gems in the south! the perfect downtown full of cute shops and top-ranked restaurants and the beautiful falls park, very walkable. just north of greenville (on the edge of sc and nc) is paris moutain, table rock, lake jocassee. my husband and i lived there for several years before returning to our home state and loved every second!
Greenville sounds like such a wonderful place to visit!
I LOVE Blue Ridge, GA. I went there on a girls trip last summer and we absolutely loved it. The downtown area is so cute, there are plenty of good restaurants to try out and there’s an orchard! Plus a ton of hikes and river tubing! We had a great time. I also recently went to a wedding in Highlands and it was beautiful! (We actually rented a huge cabin for a bunch of us to stay in – so if you need a recommendation I would be happy to send the info to you!)
Thanks, Elissa!! Our friends recommended Highlands to us and it seems like such a gorgeous place, especially in the fall. Do you think there was much to do in the area?
There isn’t a ton to do there besides hiking….they have a cute downtown area (really a street or two) – but it’s very charming!
Haha yes we spend many an hour at our place trying to find the elusive goldbug! We actually have a copy for he car, my son is so obsessed!
Gatlinburg is beautiful and a lot of fun. The downtown is super cute with lots of shopping/restaurants, and an aquarium. Pigeon Forge has a ton of stuff as well. (I believe pirate show, etc). You are kind of in the same area I am with my almost- 3 year old. I want to do ALL the fun things with him, but he is just a tad too young to really appreciate/enjoy. I am dying to start doing amusement parks and stuff, but honestly, my son is just as happy at a playground or going for ice cream!
I was shocked how hard goldbug was to find the first time we went through it!! And you’re so right about the playground/ice cream being just as big of a hit as “bigger” ticket items at this phase… though Chase loooved the aquarium and the zoo already, so maybe we should just stick to the things we know will be a big hit! Thanks so much for the Gatlinburg insight!
I think Meghann from Meals and Miles took her toddler to Gatlinburg TN a while ago, she had some great ideas on her blog!
Thanks for the tip!! I’ll look for her posts!
That picture with the tongues out… so cute!!
Hi! Love your blog! Where did you get that lunch box with the different compartments?
Thanks!
Deb
Target! The brand is Bentology and it was in the lunchbox section! They also have it on Amazon: http://bit.ly/2vp0Biv
I always heard Gatlinburg is overrated, so it’s interesting to see so many people recommend it! Maybe we should consider checking it out this fall too! I know somebody else mentioned Greenville and I want to go there too. I don’t have recommendations for fall trips though. My parents had a cabin in Blairsville, GA so that’s where I have spent all of my time in the fall, but they sold it last year. Time to find our own fun fall family place! My sitter watches my son with her son (same age as mine- 1.5) and her 3 year old daughter and I always wonder how she does naptime too! I think all of the kids go down easily, but it seems like so many kids to wrangle!
Same — I read it can be very touristy but then when I talk to people who have been everyone raves about it!
Chase and Claire are so, so cute together! My son, Benaiah, is at that stage where he and his buddies ‘observe’ one another but have yet to actually play together. I can’t wait for the upcoming buddies stage, that Chase is in! It is so sweet 🙂
Super random comment but I love your son’s name!!
Thank you, we love it too! It means either ‘God has built’ or ‘God has delivered,’ and he is one of King David’s mighty men, which we thought we pretty cool!
I adore watching Mitch and his friends play together. He is close in age with his cousins and they are a hoot. We have the best holidays watching them dance, play and entertain themselves.
Gatlinburg in the fall can’t be beat. There are tons of things you can do that Chase will enjoy. Given his love for fish, Ripley’s Aquarium is a must. They have a great selection and the shark tunnel that you go through ( not scary) he will love since there will be all kinds of fish surrounding him! They have a great selection of Dinner shows which are always a blast. The Island in Pigeon Forge is a great place for food and shopping, also check out their Ferris Wheel, it’s enclosed and gives you one of the best views of the mountains. Then there is the Great Smoky Mountain National park, the colors in the fall are reason enough to go there. There are tons of hiking trails to waterfalls, and small little rivers you can get out and wade your feet in! Chase will love seeing all of the animals, and make sure you stop off at the Sugarlands Welcome Center, tons of great information about the park and the best trails, they also have a small museum with all the animals that you can see in the park, my little boy always loves that!
Thank you so much for all of this info! Super helpful!
The photos of Chase & Claire are adorable. <3
Planning trips is always so much fun. I wish I had some advice to share, but I live in an entirely different country. I hope you’ll share once you decide on an destination and activities.
How fun and a lot of work I’m sure watching two toddlers for the day. I’m sure they definitely wore each other out!
Aww! Those pictures of Chase and Claire are just TOO cute!!! Looks like it was a fun day! Have a great Wednesday! Xoxo
the hand holding! So cute!!
What a sweet day! We love taking trips to the Pocono’s 🙂
My little brother was obsessed with Goldbug when he was Chase’s age–and he just turned 25! Some things are truly timeless 🙂
Have you tried the tropical sour patch kids? They are deadly!
Have a great Wednesday, Julie!
I haven’t tried them and honestly didn’t know they made tropical flavored SPKs! I LOOOOVE the watermelon ones the most though!
Claire and Chase are both adorable and it looks like a fun-filled day!
How cute are Claire and Chase!?!? How fun!
PS: What is the container that you used in your laughing cow picture? I’m looking for a bento type box for my daughter’s lunch box exactly like that with removable compartments, not only one solid container with different spots. This in the first time I’ve seen one with so many removable compartments. Thank you!
I JUST got it over the weekend at Target and the brand is Bentology! I also found multiple color options on Amazon: http://bit.ly/2vp0Biv They only had the red one at Target.
Thank you SO much!! I think these will work for us!
My husband has done Table Rock near Greenville, SC. He loved the hiking and Greenville is adorable!
I second this! But I also live in Greenville, so I might be biased 😉
definitely need that pancakes recipe!!! love that you can reheat them – so convenient! and i always forget quesadillas are an option…i need to go grocery shopping and grab ingredients for them asap!
Gatlinburg and the neighboring Pigeon Forge are a great place to visit especially with Chase. The Ripley’s Aquarium is awesome for little ones and there are lots of things like putt-putt golf and carnival type spots along the strip to enjoy. The area is rebuilding from the wild fires last fall so you will have an easier time finding a cabin to rent in Pigeon Forge but please don’t let that keep you away. It’s a tourist town and if people don’t visit, it can’t rebuild.
The Highlands is stunningly beautiful but if I were you I’d save that for a kid free get away. There isn’t too much for little ones to do and you’d enjoy the fancier restaurants more without a toddler in tow. Don’t miss Old Edward’s Inn’s spa, it is one of the best that I have been to.
Another suggestion is Helen, GA, my husband and I took our kids there when they were 1 and 4 and we had a blast.
I had the same thought about the Highlands — might be better for just me and Ryan. Thank you for your insight into Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. They both sound like a great option for us!
IF you do decide on Gatlinburg….Deer Farm Petting Zoo is a little off the beaten path and so fun! Apple Barn has the BEST apple fritters as an appetizer. There is a place called Shakes and Dawgs where you can get thick shakes and mac and cheese on a hotdog (among many other things). Wild Plum Tea Room is a little cabin in the art district that has a limited but great menu (ahi tuna, quiche, house recipe tea, banana nut muffins as an appetizer) (go when they open at 11). Dollywood has an incredible kiddie area and they have shows for everyone!!! Depending on when you go, they have a Rudolph the red nosed reindeer exhibit that is fun. Forbidden Caverns are fun to go through and there are SO many hiking trails of all different levels. Keep in mind that most trails are not dog friendly but if you bring Sadie they do have a couple of good ones. You can spend a day in knoxville. They have a great Farmers Market Saturday mornings off Gay Street and the Zoo is solid! You can go to the top of the worlds fair golden ball thingy in the middle of Knoxville and walk around Worlds Fair Park.
They do have some damage from the fires but the wildlife has taken back over….it is mostly just the cabins now that need work. You may never even notice that something so devastating occurred now if you weren’t looking for it.??
I love making breakfasts that are quick and easy to grab! I made some breakfast cookies a couple weeks ago and they have been so nice to just grab from the freezer.
I love Gatlinburg! I actually live about 40 minutes from there, and my husband and I take day trips there all the time. There’s an aquarium, tons of restaurants and shops, and lots of hiking. Pigeon Forge is just up the road, and there’s quite a bit to do there. Also, Cades Cove is only a few miles away for a day trip. Hiking Abrams Falls is beautiful!
Please, don’t let the wildfires from last fall scare you off! There are actually tons of places to stay. You may want to broaden your search to locations near The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, so you’ll still be really close, but not necessarily in Gatlinburg specifically.
(Full disclosure, I majored in tourism management in college and while that is not my current profession, I still get really passionate about the tourism aspect of the area.)
I don’t know how far you’re willing to travel but I highly recommend the Adirondacks in NY. There are so many places you can go and so many things to do (hiking, boating, parks, the Wild Center). I like the Long Lake area, but Lake Placid is hugely popular and might have more family stuff to do.
I am from the Sevierville/Gatlinburg area, and would totally recommend it for a family getaway. The fire rebuilding is almost complete and in most places, you can hardly tell that anything so devastating took place. I would suggest the Townsend or Pittman Center area for a quiter and more mountainous feel. I love the HIghlands area, but there isn’t much to do with kiddos. I would definitely go there for a couple’s getaway, and do stay at The Old Edwards Inn!!
Wow! What a busy day with two kiddos! At least they’re best friends and get along. 🙂 Yes Please is such an amazing book. I recommend Lauren Graham’s Talking as Fast as I Can, as well! Fiercely funny women are my favorite!
Chase and Claire laughing together and holding hands is the cutest! I love reading about your fall getaways and can’t wait to see where you end up. I’m trying to convince my husband and friends to rent a house in Asheville after reading your recap last year! After moving the past two weeks I’m ready for a vacation asap.
Hi Julie! Those two are so cute together! That’s super nice of you to watch Claire too. As far as reading — I also read Amy Poehler’s “Yes Please” last year, and it was good — but made me realize that show business it not as glamorous as it sounds — I guess you will see that too! And you know, I didn’t realize you could freeze pre-made pancakes. Game changer! Thanks for that! Happy Wednesday! 🙂
Chase looks very small, especially for a two year old boy. Have you spoken to your pediatrician about it? Perhaps he/she could advise from a nutritional stand point to gain more caloric intake? I know toddlerscan be rough eaters!
We had his 2 year appt last week and he is quite small but our doctor isn’t concerned because he’s been growing/gaining weight within his same little curve all along! Our doctor said he’d be concerned if he ever dropped below his curve which he hasn’t and told me not to stress about his small size. He said Chase looks healthy and that some kids are just tiny! 🙂 we just try our best to feed him (and lately his appetite is thankfully increasing!) but he would always rather eat than play and there’s definitely no force-feeding a 2 year old!
I live in Knoxville TN and we frequent gatlinburg and pigeon forge. This fall Dollywood, which Chase will love and be able to ride tons of things( my son is two and 27 pounds on a good day and still fits on most kids rides), will have the park decorated with tons of carved pumpkins. The hikes are also super kid friendly.
The pics of Chase and Claire are ADORABLE. OMG, so cute. And I had a best friend who was a boy and my neighbor when I was their age, and we’ve remained friends throughout our whole lives! It tickles me to see them laughing and enjoying their time together, because I have pictures very similar to this of me and my first bff ever. So cute!
I *almost* went to Pigeon forge in the spring, so I did a lot of researching in that area. And there was just SO MUCH to do and see. My husband’s been there before and he loved it, I haven’t. But it’s obviously popular with tons to do. I’m pre-excited for the eventual blog posts about this fall vacation! So much fun traveling vicariously through you and others. And congrats on the Laughing Cow gig, even if it’s belated congrats.
You should go to the Shenandoah Mountains in Virginia! I did a weekend trip with my sister where we drove Skyline Drive when the leaves were at their peak (most spectacular views ever), went to farm stands, hiked and stayed at this historical bed & breakfast on a farm. It was magical and the perfect fall weekend. I would highly suggest looking into that!
Those toddlers are adorbs together 🙂 love those pics!
And yum – I want a quesadila for lunch now! And SPK’s (Sour Patch Kids) for dessert.
Have a great day!
My toddler loves that Goldbug book too! I was super impressed with how good he was at finding the goldbug until I realized he had just memorized where he is on every page after reading the book a few times, haha. Oh well! It’s still one of his fave books an entire 1.5 yrs after we first got it 🙂
Hi Julie!
I would go to Gatlinburg! We have gone 3 times now (my brother got married there so we go back every other year as a family because we love it so much)! We stay in the Highlands Condos which is up on the mountain with amazing views of the mountains and town below! It’s one of my favorite places. Unfortunately, it burned down when Tennessee had the wildfire 🙁 My brother got married at the Highland Condos because the view is unreal! They are rebuilding, but will not be complete by the time you go on vacation. I would recommend staying out of the town and up on the mountain for a more relaxing/quiet vacation (downtown is quite commercial). You can easily drive downtown where there are restaurants and cute little shops everywhere and park in the parking garage- we would go downtown almost everyday. The Smoky Mountains National Park is very close and beautiful! There are various hiking trails around Gatlinburg (Clingman’s Dome, Cade Cove, etc) and even a short trail that starts at one end of the town that follows a small creek. I love mountain vacations because fall is my favorite season! Hope you have the best time! I love Gatlinburg so I had to write a comment!
Check out gatliburg falls resort! A community of cabins right outside town with amazing views and tons of cabin sizes to fit your needs. We have stayed in probably 10 different ones over the years and loved them all. Very kid friendly!
Highlands is so beautiful and a great place to visit. I would highly recommend it for a kid-free get away. There are great restaurants, shopping, hiking, and spa time at Old Edwards, but not a ton in the way of toddler-friendly activities. I lived in Highlands for a summer during college and loved all the town had to offer during peak season!
I love the picture of them looking at each other & holding hands. Adorable! I am impressed that they both went down for a nap at that same time.
Good post!