Man oh man, I needed this past weekend! Spending quality time with Ryan, Chase and Sadie was all I had on my weekend wish list, so it wasn’t too hard to make me happy.
Our weekend kicked off with homemade peanut butter cups and you know that’s always a good thing. I really wanted a Reese’s peanut butter egg when Chase was napping on Friday but since I couldn’t leave the house, I whipped up a batch of homemade peanut butter cups and they were the jam. Is it bad that they didn’t last more than 48 hours in our house!?
The rest of our Friday night included baked ziti, early bed times and reading. Rejuvenating and much-needed!
Saturday
Saturday morning began with a big batch of high protein hemp oatmeal followed by a family trip to the gym. Chase was up by 7 a.m. so we had no trouble making it to the gym by 9 a.m. While Chase played in childcare for 45 minutes, Ryan and I completed our respective workouts and I went through a biceps/triceps/shoulder workout that looked like this:
I wasn’t feeling overly energetic at the gym so I moved through this one rather slowly, but something is better than nothing, right!?
(Hiii baby! FYI, the sweatshirt in the above pic is not maternity and is just an oversize slouchy sweatshirt I cannot seem to stop wearing! It’s from American Eagle and available in a bunch of colors. I’d recommend sizing down.)
The highlight of our morning at the gym came after we scooped Chase up from childcare and spent some time in the gym playing basketball. Chase is all about sports lately (if this child sees a ball of any kind, he makes a beeline for it) and he was in heaven working with Dad on his passing, dunking and dribbling.
After the gym, our stomachs needed some food, so we popped into Clean Juice in Davidson to share a giant carrot cake muffin selected by Chase solely for the icing drizzle on top.
Apparently aggressive eating runs in the family because Chase pretty much face-planted into the muffin. (And no, Mom didn’t get a single bite of muffin that had the icing drizzle on top.)
We also ordered some smoothies to go and sipped on them on our way to Sweetwater Farms in Huntersville. I read about the farm on Hula Frog (<—those with little ones must check this site out for local kid-friendly happenings) and apparently the farm is open to the public for free the second Saturday of every month.
I’m not sure how I’ve never heard about this local gem before because it was such a neat place to visit and the perfect Saturday morning activity for an energetic toddler!
The farm is home to ponies, a cow, a donkey, horses, goats, pigs, chickens and more. Chase thought the animals were cool but he was even more interested in all of the activities around the farm, including the garden center with a big box of dirt for kids to “practice” gardening, lawn games, badminton, hammock swings and tree stump drums.
We will absolutely be back!
Once we made it home, we were more than ready for lunch and dug into sandwiches before Chase went down for his nap. Ryan and I then grabbed quick showers and relaxed together on the couch as we researched some possible vacation destinations. We’re determined to plan a little getaway for the two of us before baby number two arrives in June and had fun daydreaming and Googling up a storm.
The rest of our Saturday was pretty low key and we stayed close to home with the exception of a quick trip to the park followed by a pit stop at the grocery store for Moose Tracks ice cream. Woop!
Sunday
Sunday morning began with the early-morning service at our church. I think we were all a little groggy when we showed up thanks to the time change but left feeling much more awake thanks to a great message and a mad-dash through the rain back to our car once the service was over.
Since I cannot handle wearing real clothes at home for more than five minutes these days, I immediately changed back into my pajamas once we arrived home and Chase and I did a little food prep for the week ahead while Ryan headed off to the gym.
Just after lunchtime, I headed off to a baby shower for my beautiful friend Danielle who is expecting a baby girl at the end of April.
Danielle has such an amazing heart and came into my life at the perfect time after I had Chase. (Our boys are only two days apart!) She’s the leader of our small group and one of the most genuine, thoughtful and supportive women I know. I am so thrilled for this exciting time in her life!
Danielle’s sister-in-law hosted a stunning shower for her complete with lots of pink, balloons, florals and love.
The shower was catered by Zoe’s Kitchen and I’m officially head over heels in love with their guacamole. I’ve been on a HUGE chips and guacamole kick lately but have been largely disappointed by the guacamole at local restaurants. Thankfully Zoe’s nailed it and you better believe I will be making a trip to the restaurant this week for a big ol’ batch of it.
(My top is from ASOS Maternity – only $24 – and my pants are Wendy Bellissimo from Motherhood Maternity but I got them back in 2015 when I was pregnant with Chase. If you have any questions about my girlfriends’ looks, let me know and I’ll get back to you!)
Once I hugged Danielle goodbye and thanked Kat for hosting such a lovely shower, I drove back home to meet up with Ryan and Chase. We didn’t waste much time at home and immediately turned around and drove off to a birthday party for one of Chase’s friends, Cameron, at a local kid’s gym. The party was wonderful and Chase had a blast with all of the toddler-friendly activities. He ran around like crazy, loved clapping for Cameron as she blew out her birthday candles and couldn’t resist breaking into the bubbles he found in his goody bag on the way out.
By the time we made it home, I told Ryan I felt like I lived three Sundays in one Sunday thanks to all of the activity and I was more than ready to crash in bed by 9 p.m. Thankfully Chase did well with his usual bed time despite the time change. He woke up two hours after we put him down but settled rather quickly after a sip of water. (Water is my go-to trick/solution whenever he’s fussy or crying in his crib. Ninety nine percent of the time nothing is wrong and he doesn’t even know why he’s crying but if I go into his room and offer him some water it’s somehow a magical liquid that helps soothe him. I don’t know why it works but I’ll take it.)
I didn’t make it too far into The Keeper of Lost Things before my eyes were heavy and I fell sound asleep.
I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend and aren’t dragging too much today!
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You look so pretty in that pic of you and your friends at the baby shower! This sounds like the perfect weekend — plenty of family and friend time!
thank you!! my friend carrie and i were laughing that we never see each other in anything other than gym clothes/comfy clothes so it was nice to put a little time into actually getting ready for once! 🙂
Sounds like a great weekend! That farm looks awesome!
Sounds like a wonderful weekend! A nice balance of family time plus friend time.
Our son is still obsessed with balls after all these years. A great place to find cool, different balls year round is Five Below. Not sure if that store is by you, but if it is definitely check it out.
I love all the outfits at the shower! Especially the wrap top on your friend to your left 😉 You all look beautiful!
This time change is seriously kicking my booty…I woke up SO groggy this morning – I had a “what day is it?!” moment!
Hope you have a great week!
I had never heard of Hula Frog, but it’s fantastic! I’m definitely going to use it in the future!
What size is the sweatshirt you’re wearing at the gym? I’m pregnant right now too so I don’t know what size to order! 🙂
Go for your pre-pregnancy size! I ordered a small after so many of the reviews talked about it running large and love the oversize/slouchy fit. It definitely runs big!
This sounds like a fantastic weekend! Your maternity clothes are SO cute 🙂 I made homemade Reeses for my husband for Valentine’s Day and they only lasted a few days in our house too, so don’t feel bad haha
Those peanut butter cups look amazing! Wondering about the AE sweatshirt. I’m also pregnant and due about 10 days after you. Wondering what size you are wearing as I’m leaning towards a medium but uncertain with my growing belly! Thanks!
I’m actually wearing a small and would never think to order a size small right now in a non-maternity top but the reviews swayed me when they all talked about it running big! I’d order your pre-pregnancy size for sure! It’s very roomy and slouchy and a pregnant woman’s dreammmm!
Sounds like a great weekend. That cake looked amazing! Was that cookie dough on top? Yummy
YES! The cake was awesome!! Any cake topped with cookie dough and macarons is a winner in my book!
I love the water trick with Chase! I am definitely going to try that when my little one (he’s 4.5 months now!) gets older!
This sounds like a great weekend, Julie. I just love your gym bump picture, and I definitely need to find some of those sweatshirts; I am all for an oversized slouchy sweatshirt!! 😉 You looked so beautiful at the baby shower! I love your outfit. Those homemade peanut butter cups sound delicious…I will be adding that to my “must make list”! I hope you have a great Monday! Xoxo
Your Sunday definitely sounded like it was busy – no wonder you were all in bed early.
I hope your Monday is off to a good start!
I don’t know how you handle such busy weekends – one activity per day for myself and my two year old is my max! I work full time out of the home though and I’m a homebody, so tons of time at home on weekends is how I recharge. I suppose I might feel differently if I was home the majority of the week. I’ve never heard of people having baby showers for a second child, but it seems to be getting more common in blogs I’m reading lately. Interesting!
Never heard of Hulafrog! So many great activities. Will definitely be using in the future.
It’s such a great resource! I check it weekly for ideas!
I saw that workout on your IG and it was the PERFECT inspiration for my workout on Saturday, I modified the movements but kept the idea the same, thank you!
So glad to hear it! Thanks for letting me know, Kelli!
Sounds like a great weekend! And I love the photos!
Kim
http://trendkeeper.me .. swim under $100!
Hi Julie! So sorry to hear you had a rough week last week and have been feeling down. I love all your advice about finding small moments of gratitude and joy to focus on (maybe I saw that on your Instagram, but it was a great reminder for me personally as I also needed to grab hold of moments of joy and savor them. Sometimes it’s a fight and you just have to CARVE them out, like a mountain climber sticking his pick in the rock to lift himself/herself up further.) That reminder was really helpful (to me and I’m sure everyone). Thanks for that! It sounds like this weekend was the perfect pick me up. Also on board with your previous post on how flowers for no reason are 1 million times better than flowers on a special occasion. Amen, sistah!
I agree with whomever above said you look so lovely in the photo at the baby shower (everyone in the photo looks great. I love your pink top, though! Oh how I wish I could wear a light pink!)
That farm looks like it was a blast (and amen to great guacamole! I’m shocked when a restaurant doesn’t nail it – how is that possible?) Anyhow, thanks for sharing your world with us, as always. Love this blog. <3
I am looking for an Easter dress and I am due in June. I have been looking at the ASOS website, I know you like their clothing. What size do you usually wear from them? Just wondering how their clothing runs.
I think their clothing mostly runs true to size. In their maternity wear I’m a 4-6 and that’s my usual size!
The BEST kinds of weekends!! Are you feeling the itch at all to find out baby’s gender? I feel like if I had to endure a baby shower I’d be SOOOO curious! 😉 And props to you for continuing to hit the gym! It’s on my never ending to-do list…ha!
Looks like a good weekend! And let’s get real, any weekend that starts with homemade peanut butter cups is bound to be a good weekend!
Looks like such a great weekend – you have me excited for spring time – we still have several feet of snow where I am but the time outside at the farm looks so fun. I also am drooling over those PB cups. Yum!
You and your friends all look gorgeous at the baby shower. <3 Hope you have a great week!
Hi Julie! Do you mean that if Chase normally goes to bed at 8pm, you put him to bed at 8 last night (though technically that’s an hour earlier?).
Might try something like that tonight!
sounds like a lovely, balanced, refueling weekend!
would love to know where your friend’s grey tie in the front (second from the left!) shirt is from, looks so comfy and put together!
Looove homemade pb cups!! I like making them with darker chocolate than they usually come with. We took our daughter out to some trails for a ski this past weekend. They had a stable there and she got to pet her first horse – she was thrilled! I thought she’d be more intimidated because you know, the size of a real horse is kinda bigger than her little plastic toy horse, but nope!
Hi Julie,
I’m from Jacksonville, FL but have friends w/a farm, not too far from Charlotte. The name of it is Fox Trot Farm in Lancaster, SC. Their farm market is open for visitors on Sundays, weather permitting. In addition to their sheep, they have a horse, mule, pot bellied pig, goats, rabbits & chickens & honey bees. They sell their lamb, honey, eggs & assorted home made craft items. You might want to check them out – http://foxtrotfarmnews.com/
We had an easy transition with Daylight Saving too- I’m wondering if it’ll get harder and kind of nervous! Ha!