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Monday Happenings + Upper Body Strength Workout

July 26, 2016 by Julie 49 Comments

Hey, hey! How are you guys doing? I hope your Monday was a good one!

I actually managed to snap pictures throughout the day yesterday in an effort to recap what a random Monday looks like around here and figured I’d share them with you today in a post that is reminiscent of the PBF days of yore when I actually had the ability to blog in real-time and share day-to-day updates with you guys.

Maybe one day I’ll get back to blogging that way, but life doesn’t seem to allow for that kind of blogging these days (planning and working ahead is the name of the game around here with a little one), so until then I hope to still sporadically share some of these personal peeks into our life. (Following me on Snapchat is probably the best way to see the behind-the-scenes stuff! Username –> juliepbfingers)

Breakfast

Since I was pretty bad about sticking to my usual schedule and working on my Monday morning blog post on Sunday, I ended up waking up at 5 a.m. to type up yesterday’s blog post and get it published before Chase was up for the day.

Breakfast Frittata and Banana

Thankfully a pre-prepared frittata made breakfast a breeze and I ate two slices along with a banana and a mug of coffee made with a tablespoon of collagen and a splash of Fairlife whole milk.

Chase started to fuss a little before 6 a.m., so I headed upstairs to nurse him. He seemed rather sleepy after he was done feeding, so I placed him back in his crib and crossed my fingers for another hour of baby sleep/mama work time. My wish was granted and I worked away until Chase was up for the day around 7:30 a.m.

I am still nursing ALL the time and am trying to cut back on some of Chase’s feedings to encourage him to eat more real food, so rather than breastfeed him again when he woke up 90 minutes after his last feeding, I gave him a pouch of pureed apples, kale and spinach and let him pick at some of our dinner leftovers before we headed out for boot camp.

Upper Body Workout

The workout of the day at Burn Boot Camp was an upper body strength workout (my all-time favorite!) and I loved every second. After a five-minute warm up, we went through the following circuit three times:

upper body strength workout

I have been challenging myself to lift heavier weights during my strength workouts and have really been working on my pushups, so it was a great day to lift heavy and feel the burn first thing in the morning.

Once I said goodbye to my workout buddies and Chase’s BBC childcare friends, we headed home and I put Chase down for his morning nap before heading into the kitchen to make myself a morning snack and another cup of coffee.

Egg White Oatmeal Protein Pancake

I ate my egg white and oatmeal protein pancake while working on a blog post about collagen, creating the workout image for this blog post and following up with the AC repairman because our upstairs air conditioning stopped working for a few hours yesterday. As always, Chase’s morning nap passed by in a flash. I feel fortunate that Chase almost always naps for a solid two hours in the morning, so I really rely on this time for productivity.

Lunch 

Once Chase was up, we read a book together and played with some toys before lunch. Chase is still obsessed with his learning walker and Ryan and I now have every song it sings memorized.

sit to stand learning walker

11 Month Old Baby Walker Toy

(That is Chase’s “I can’t stop watching Sadie” face. He’s still absolutely enamored with his big sister.)

On the menu for Chase for lunch yesterday was an assortment of chicken, broccoli and puffs and I bet you can guess what called to him most… 

Baby Food 11 Months Old

Yep, the puffs. What is it about puffs that drives babies bananas?

Of course Sadie stayed close during mealtime, hoping for rogue bites of chicken. Lucky for her, Chase now thinks it’s incredibly amusing to throw food on the floor, so she made out like a bandit.

Dog under High Chair

I’ve noticed that Chase eats better when Ryan or I eat with him, so while he ate his lunch, I snacked on an apple dipped in a small batch of Monica’s peanut butter fruit dip made with Siggi’s vanilla yogurt, a splash of maple syrup and Tru-Nut butter.

skinny peanut butter fruit dip

(Pic from my Instagram!)

While we were eating, the AC repairman arrived and checked out our unit. Apparently there was a loose valve and another issue that he kindly took care of before saying goodbye. Chase and I usually head out on a play date with friends after his morning nap, but since we had to wait for the AC guy and I wasn’t sure how long our appointment would take, we didn’t make any plans and had a free hour or so to kill before Chase’s afternoon nap. Since I could tell Chase wanted to get out of the house, I figured I would cross ordering a couple dozen bundtinis from Nothing Bundt Cakes for Chase’s birthday party off my to-do list, so we paid a visit to the Birkdale Village location to pick out flavors and place an order.

Nothing Bundt Cakes Birkdale Village

While we were there I couldn’t resist diving into a double chocolate chip bundtini and it was so ridiculously delicious. I may have a hard time not eating all of the bunditnis we ordered for Chase’s party before the guests arrive on Saturday!

By the time we made it home, Chase was ready for a nap, so I nursed him and put him down before quickly throwing together a late lunch for myself. I made a mixing bowl salad that included broccoli slaw, chicken, avocado and Naturally Fresh ginger dressing.

Mixing Bowl Salad

I love using mixing bowls for my salads because they hold more food and make it much easier to stir everything up without spilling. They may not look as beautiful as a perfectly plated salad but they do the trick. 

As I ate my salad, I hopped back on the computer to start typing up this blog post and worked until Chase was up again. Chase didn’t settle in his crib as quickly as usual for his afternoon nap, so he ended up falling asleep later than his usual 2 p.m. naptime. I didn’t want to wake him up to make his afternoon swim class because I’ve learned the hard way that disrupting a solid nap is a recipe for swim class disaster. Fortunately our swim class has a one-class-per-month makeup policy, so I call to reschedule his class for another day and let Chase sleep while I worked away.

Before too long, Chase was up again and we went into evening play mode! There’s something about the stretch between Chase’s afternoon nap and bedtime that makes him extra chatty and explorative. I let him crawl around, climb on everything and we babbled back and forth, making ridiculous noises to each other before heading into the kitchen where I set Chase up with some Tupperware to play with while I got a jump start on dinner and snacked on some almonds. Ryan and I didn’t get the chance to make it to the grocery store on Sunday, so dinner was a hodgepodge of things we already had and freezer food.

I defrosted some Whole Foods’ sockeye salmon filets and served them with mashed sweet potatoes and mashed garlic butter cauliflower.

Salmon Cauliflower Sweet Potato Dinner

When Ryan has to work late, I usually eat with Chase before he gets home but he fortunately made it home in time for us to eat as a family yesterday. We got a kick out of watching Chase shove tiny handfuls of salmon into his mouth and I’m pretty sure salmon is his favorite form of protein. I was one heck of a happy mama as I watched him go to town on the fish and broccoli we put on his high chair tray.

We spent the rest of the time before Chase went down for the night playing with him and laughing as he tried to climb over anything and everything. He is a baby on a mission these days!

Eventually it was bedtime for Chase, so I nursed him and put him in his crib where he happily chatted away and did some random baby acrobatics before settling and falling asleep within 10 minutes.

Once Chase was in bed, I threw a load of laundry in the washing machine while Ryan made up the beds in our bonus room for my family who will be arriving later this week for Chase’s birthday party. I then grabbed a cup of Siggi’s coconut yogurt and topped it with various toppings for some crunch and used it to fuel me through evening work time at the computer before I joined Ryan and Sadie on the couch for an hour or so before bed.

yogurt with bananas and cacao

I’m pretty sure I fell asleep within five minutes of my head hitting the pillow last night which was a relief! Chase had me up again around midnight for a feeding but ate well and went immediately back to sleep.

And that was our Monday in a nutshell! A mix of the usual grind and lots of baby and Sadie playtime. Hope you guys had a good one!

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I'd love to connect with you! I am always so grateful when you let me know you tried one of my recipes or workouts and tag me in your photos or updates. Thank you so much!!!

Filed Under: Breakfast, Lunch, Strength Workouts, Upper Body Workouts, Workouts Tagged With: breakfast, dinner, lunch, salmond, upper body workout

About Julie

My name is Julie and I am a full-time blogger, new mama, fitness enthusiast (certified personal trainer and group exercise instructor) and food fanatic (mostly healthy... but also not-so-healthy) living in North Carolina with my husband, dog and baby boy. Thank you for visiting Peanut Butter Fingers! I hope you enjoy little glimpses into my life and have fun trying the sweaty workouts I frequently share and making some of my favorite recipes along the way!

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Comments

  1. Viloshni Govender says

    July 26, 2016 at 7:03 am

    Hi Julie- loved this post! Definitely felt like a throwback to the old PBFingers 🙂 Totally understand that things are hectic with a baby so thank you for taking the time to write this and for all your other posts too! All the best with Chase’s birthday party- can’t wait to see pics and how your theme came together!

    Reply
    • Julie says

      July 26, 2016 at 7:07 am

      Thank you, Viloshni! This is still my favorite kind of post to write but man it’s hard to blog in “real time” these days! I hope to keep it going and share this kind of a blog post when time allows. Thank you for reading!! <3

      Reply
      • Stephanie says

        July 26, 2016 at 11:52 am

        I loved this one too! So neat to get a peak at how you mix all the different parts of life into your day. I especially liked hearing how you parse up your work time around everything else…I’m amazed at your efficiency!

        Thanks for the enjoyable Tuesday morning read 🙂 (as always!)

        Reply
  2. Laura says

    July 26, 2016 at 7:14 am

    Seriously, those puffs. Mine would eat them all day long!! Our days are very similar…we’re trying to cut back on nursing a bit and eat more finger food, and we love that walker and all its songs!!! I wish I had more nap time to work with for party planning 🙂 I look forward to seeing what you do for Chase’s party, which I’m guessing is this weekend.

    Reply
    • Julie says

      July 26, 2016 at 7:16 am

      Right!? Why can’t vegetables taste like puffs to babies!? 🙂 And yes, Chase’s bday party is on Saturday!

      Reply
  3. Megan says

    July 26, 2016 at 7:21 am

    “Welcome to our learning farm, we have lots to show you! Shapes and colors, music too – there’s so much to do!” My daughter has the same walker and she LOVES it. It drives me insane.

    Reply
    • Julie says

      July 26, 2016 at 7:28 am

      AHHHHHHHHHHHH! I swear I sing that song in my sleep!!

      Reply
      • Tera Boyd says

        July 26, 2016 at 9:25 pm

        bahahah! That was going to be my exact comment. My husband and I always yell “the cow can moo wherever she wants” because apparently she only moo’s in the barn. One morning after being up every hour with my little one, I hid that toy, I just couldn’t handle it. I love to hear about your adventures with Chase. I can’t believe he is about to be a YEAR old, I feel like you just announced you were pregnant.

        Reply
  4. Natalie says

    July 26, 2016 at 7:36 am

    I can’t believe Chase will be a year old! Time flies!

    Reply
  5. Katherine @ Katherine Lynn Fitness says

    July 26, 2016 at 7:37 am

    Thanks for sharing, Julie! It looks like an awesome day, and I’m loving that workout. Best of luck with the birthday party! Can’t wait to see the recap 🙂

    Reply
  6. Linz @ Itz Linz says

    July 26, 2016 at 7:59 am

    William ate puffs fooooorever!!! Yesterday he went to camp and I took him to swim class!

    Reply
  7. Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says

    July 26, 2016 at 8:01 am

    Nothing Bundt Cakes are the best! And they’re so cute!

    Reply
  8. Patricia @Sweet And Strong says

    July 26, 2016 at 8:29 am

    Love getting inspiration from your workouts. And that apple and PB dip looks amazing and refreshing in this crazy heat!

    Reply
  9. Heather @ Polyglot Jot says

    July 26, 2016 at 8:50 am

    Sounds like a solid day! My niece was never in to her walker…she loves her little train thing with wheels that she can ride on though…those songs are in my brain haha!

    Reply
  10. Nikki says

    July 26, 2016 at 8:57 am

    Loved this – these are my favorite posts!

    Reply
  11. Katy @ Dirt to Delish says

    July 26, 2016 at 9:18 am

    Loved the old school ‘real time’ posts! I started reading your blog way back when this was the norm. (Like 3 times a day, too?!) Can’t blame Chase for loving the puffs…they make it into my grocery cart every now and then and end up as an office snack. 😉

    Reply
  12. Brynn says

    July 26, 2016 at 9:20 am

    Loved this post – such a throwback and reminded me of my days at home with my son. He is now in school and I work full-time, but I loved my days of two naps, outings and watching him feed our dog. Ha!

    Reply
    • Julie says

      July 26, 2016 at 9:24 am

      two naps is so crucial right now! i have no idea what i’m going to do when he drops one! ah!

      Reply
  13. Minna says

    July 26, 2016 at 9:28 am

    Loved this post and the little peek into your current everyday life! Old school PB Fingers indeed 🙂 I think the puffs to babies are just about the fun texture and how it changes in your mouth, babies are so funny that way. I also love eating my salads straight out of the mixing bowl too- so much easier to mix in without spilling, and it encourages me to use and eat extra greens!!

    Reply
  14. Melissa @ melissakolbeck.com says

    July 26, 2016 at 9:31 am

    I can’t believe he’s going to be one!! And two naps still? My daughter went down to one nap around 10 months old. I think the adjustment was harder than the actual reality of it. Once I got used to it it was fine. And some days she naps for 3 hours, so I can’t complain.

    Reply
  15. Christie says

    July 26, 2016 at 9:42 am

    LOVED this post! Definitely had a throwback feel!

    Reply
  16. Angela says

    July 26, 2016 at 9:45 am

    Awesome workout and food!!! I can’t believe it has been a year since you showed all of us Chase for the first time. That flew by!
    Let me just also say that I love that you still keep your pictures pretty “real life” on here. I love it. It’s so refreshing that you are so genuine.

    Reply
    • Steph says

      July 26, 2016 at 12:09 pm

      I totally agree – that’s what keeps me coming back! So many blogs are perfectly manicured and just don’t feel like real life. I love that your blog is so relatable, Julie!

      Reply
  17. Jessica @ Semi-Sweet Tooth says

    July 26, 2016 at 9:51 am

    Love the day in the life recap! After over half a decade of blogging, I still struggle with these – I even struggle with What I Ate Wednesday posts! I so often forget to take pictures and just have to save them off of my Snapchat instead, ha!

    Adore the Chase/Sadie combo. Such adorable siblings. 🙂

    Thanks for sharing!
    XO, Jessica
    http://www.semisweettooth.com

    Reply
  18. Alyssa @ RenaissanceRunnerGirl says

    July 26, 2016 at 9:56 am

    I loved this post, and for a busy mama you sure got a lot done in a day! That bakery sounds awesome. We’re planning to visit the Charlotte area in the fall and I’ve been keeping a list of places to check out 🙂

    Reply
  19. Fiona @ Get Fit Fiona says

    July 26, 2016 at 10:31 am

    That workout looks great. The gym at my school has a ton of TRX, which I need to start incorporating into my workouts more. I’ll have to use this workout when I get back to school in September.

    Reply
  20. Bethany says

    July 26, 2016 at 10:32 am

    I love reading your blog and seeing you juggle blogging/being a mom/etc.
    I can’t wait to experience being a mom (soon!) eek!

    Reply
  21. Shel@PeachyPalate says

    July 26, 2016 at 11:07 am

    Salmon and sweet potatoes, it never gets old!

    Reply
  22. Kim from MN says

    July 26, 2016 at 12:03 pm

    Thanks for the fun day-in-the-life post from pbfingers of yore! It’s always fun to see how you “make it work” <—Tim Gunn reference. Can you tell us more about the garlic butter cauliflower – how did you make that? Even your "hodge podge" dinners look good to me.

    Thanks for the fun update!

    Reply
  23. Beth says

    July 26, 2016 at 12:46 pm

    Hi! Loved the post. Was the book Chase was holding Pat the Bunny?

    Reply
  24. Kristin says

    July 26, 2016 at 12:48 pm

    If you want more baby songs in your head you should check out Little Baby Bum videos on you tube. We try to limit technology to 15 min a day for our 10 month old but when she does watch tv she loves these videos! And I sing the songs all day long ?

    Reply
  25. Andrea says

    July 26, 2016 at 1:52 pm

    This might be super boring for some of your readers, but I would love if you could do a post on your ups and downs with Chase’s sleep and night time feedings. I remember the one you wrote when he was about 6 months old, and now that he’s back to eating in the night again, I’m wondering what your experience has been. What are your thoughts on eliminating night feedings and getting baby to sleep through the night? I loved the post where you had readers comment on what they wish they knew before they had a baby – it would be awesome if you could do a sleep version, haha, where other parents could comment on what worked for them to get babies to fall asleep on their own, do night time weaning and getting their babies to sleep through the night? A totally random suggestion but just wanted to throw it out there!

    Reply
    • Halley says

      July 26, 2016 at 7:50 pm

      Yes I would love a sleep version as well! Love the blog

      Reply
    • Bethany says

      July 27, 2016 at 3:11 pm

      This would be a great blog post, especially because baby sleep is always the number one topic we as parents talk about/stress about.

      Reply
  26. Kaitlyn @ Powered by Sass says

    July 26, 2016 at 2:30 pm

    Nothing Bundt Cakes is my absolute favorite. Their icing! My gosh!

    Recently posted -> “The Comparison Trap” https://poweredbysass.com/2016/07/26/the-comparison-trap/

    Reply
  27. Bi says

    July 26, 2016 at 2:51 pm

    Hi Julie, I’m curious as to what Chase’s schedule is like. I have an 11 month old also and her schedule has been changing recently. Can you tell me what time are his naps usually and his bed time? I try to put mine to bed at 10am, 2:30ish, and 8ish.

    Reply
    • eliz says

      July 26, 2016 at 10:12 pm

      I have an 11 month old too! She’s up for the day between 6:30/7:00. Her first nap is normally 9-10:30, second nap 2:00-3:45, and she’s in bed for the night at 6:30pm. 🙂

      Reply
      • Bi says

        July 27, 2016 at 10:52 am

        Wow, you have a good sleeper!

        Reply
  28. Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment says

    July 26, 2016 at 3:24 pm

    The yogurt dip with apples looks SO good. And it is so easy.

    Reply
  29. Brandi Luna says

    July 26, 2016 at 4:39 pm

    I’m looking forward to your post on collagen! I keep seeing articles about this and am interested on your take and if you’ve noticed any benefits or results?

    Reply
    • Julie says

      July 27, 2016 at 7:09 am

      It will be up on the blog this morning!! Just finalizing it right now! 🙂

      Reply
  30. Bethany says

    July 26, 2016 at 8:27 pm

    Love these types of posts! I am also looking forward to your collagen post. I am a breastfeeding mom as well. I love nursing but boy does it stress me out!

    Reply
  31. Lg says

    July 26, 2016 at 9:36 pm

    “Welcome to our learning farm; we have lots to show you”! Our guy Rex is 16 months old and STILL loves his walker…he’s mostly walking now but he uses it to cruise super fast in the house. :0)

    Also! Do you have an OXO salad chopper? I held out for the longest time because we have a small kitchen, but it’s amazing!! Somehow salads taste so much better with lots of pre-chopping.

    Reply
  32. Annette@FitnessPerks says

    July 26, 2016 at 10:02 pm

    It’s so fun to read about a day in the life of other moms! 🙂 Chase is a cutie!

    My baby has been nursing less & less and it is so nice because she sometimes bites me! I think if that’s your goal, that going for ‘real’ food first is a good way to slow it down–if that’s what you want, of course! Now my baby just nurses morning and night before bed, and eats all her meals as real food.

    I can’t wait to see pics of the big birthday bash, wahoo!

    Reply
  33. eliz says

    July 26, 2016 at 10:12 pm

    You should give him a taste of that peanut butter dip! 🙂 Looks good!

    Reply
    • Julie says

      July 27, 2016 at 7:09 am

      I did! He loved it!! 🙂

      Reply
  34. Melanie says

    July 27, 2016 at 7:38 am

    Loved this post Julie- fun to see what a full day with a little one is like. Hope to see more like this! 🙂

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Julie and I am a mom to three energetic boys and a personal trainer and blogger living in Charlotte, North Carolina. Welcome to my blog! Peanut Butter Fingers follows my life and my interests in food, fitness, family, travel and (mostly) healthy living.
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