Hey friends! I hope you are stopping by the blog today feeling great! I’m hoping for a good day ahead full of a little more fun than yesterday and with a pool play date on the agenda, things are definitely looking up!
Morning
My Monday morning began at 6 a.m. when I woke up, sipped on some coffee and tackled my e-mail inbox before Chase was up for the day half an hour later.
Chase usually sleeps in until 7 a.m. or so but began waking up close to 6 a.m. all last week when we were in Florida. He began making noises at 6:15 a.m. again yesterday morning and by 6:30 he was ready for action but in a very grumpy mood.
Chase is usually a pretty happy little dude but sometimes he wakes up on the wrong side of the crib and it’s hard to know what to do to make him happy. I tried a bit of everything and he wanted nothing to do with 90 percent of it, including breakfast. He eventually settled down when I pulled out a stack of books and cuddled up with him to read for a while on the couch. I managed to get a muffin topped with some cashew butter into him (and myself) before it was time to leave for boot camp and hoped getting back into the swing of our usual weekday routine would help snap him out of his little funk.
Workout + A Visit to Geico
Once Chase was settled in childcare, it was workout time! A few of my girlfriends and I went through a leg workout at Burn Boot Camp together that included three one-minute rounds of the following exercises:
- 5 Dumbbell Sumo Squats + 5 Squats
- Band Jump Squats
- 3 Squat Pulses + 1 Full Squat
- 3 Jumping Lunges + 3 Alternating Lunges
- Monster Walks
After the workout, Chase and I said goodbye to our friends and headed off to a Geico Claims Center. A couple of weeks ago, I actually got into a very minor car accident. A new traffic light was recently installed near our house and I did not expect to have to stop so suddenly and hit my breaks hard as I veered off the side of the road. Well, I didn’t veer fast enough and bumped the bumper of the SUV in front of me. I actually had both Sadie and Chase in the car with me at the time so I was a little flustered even though I knew right away everyone was safe since the accident truly felt like a very tiny tap.
Thankfully the man I hit could not have been nicer to me and said not to worry about him at all as I profusely apologized. He then said, “Don’t worry about it. My car doesn’t have any damage and yours looks worse.” It wasn’t until then that I turned around to see the damage on my own car which was somehow pretty intense! I bumped the side of his SUV’s bumper with my headlight (apparently a costly fix!) and now my car is in the process of being repaired while I drive around a snazzy rental for a week or so.
So far I have been incredibly happy with my experience with Geico and our time at the claims center went pretty darn smoothly as my car was examined and I received my rental. Chase even got some Geico stickers and a little stuffed lizard so his day was made!
I don’t think the kind people at Geico realized the little lizard toy would quickly morph into our early-afternoon entertainment once we arrived back home! After lunch, we played many, many rounds of “find the lizard” and Chase LOVED it. I’d tell him to cover his eyes with his hands and close them tight (whether or not he listened was debatable) while I hid the lizard all over our living room. He had the best time searching for it and I was just happy to see a smile on his face again after a moody morning!
Chase went down for his nap around 12:30 p.m. and even though I snacked on some no bake nut butter balls with him during his earlier lunch, I found myself feeling hungry again and reheated some Pad Thai leftovers to enjoy while I worked.
A little while later, I wanted something crunchy and poured myself a bowl of kettlecorn to fuel me through my naptime work session.
Once Chase was awake, the two of us had to run a couple of errands, so we headed out on a little adventure. My small group has officially been meeting for a year and we wanted to celebrate our incredible group leader, Danielle, at our meeting yesterday evening. I picked up a gift card from all of us and a bouquet of flowers and we each wrote her a little note to thank her for the time and effort she pours into planning group meetings that center around topics that encourage thoughtful, vulnerable, honest and often hysterical conversation.
(I also met the sweetest blog reader while we were out and about – also named Danielle – and wanted to give her a little shout out and say thank you for saying hi! And big congrats again on your newborn baby girl!!)
After everything was checked off my list, Chase and I headed home for dinner. Ryan arrived home not long after we walked through the door and the three of us ate an easy dinner of chicken sausage with peppers and onions and roasted white sweet potatoes with a bit of butter.
I had to head off to my small group meeting as Ryan and Chase began bath time so I said goodbye to my boys and Sadie and spent the next two hours with my friends, diving into our latest study.
It was so nice to see everyone after a week away and I loved our time together as always.
I arrived back home around 9:30 p.m. to find Ryan reading in bed, so I quickly changed into my pajamas and joined him with my book. I didn’t sleep very well on Sunday night, so I was pretty tired by the end of the day on Monday and ended up drifting off to sleep when I was only about 30 minutes into reading A Hundred Summers.
And now Tuesday is here! My plans for today include a workout, a pool play date, naptime workin’ and hopefully grilling out with our neighbors this evening.
Hope you all have a fantastic Tuesday! Thanks for stopping by the blog today!
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I totally get the little one’s waking up like that. Mine little boy tends to do it at nap time some. Lately he has also wanted to get a bit more picky with his food and throw it if he does not like it. He is a great toddler most the time and this new phrase is not going over well with momma and daddy.
We also have that car set =)
Hope he sleeps late in the morning! 😉
My little guy has started waking up really early too, it’s no fun! I’m glad your car accident wasn’t too serious and everyone was okay!
My daughter (she’s almost 2) wakes up grumpy like that too! I hate when she doesn’t wake up her happy little self! Your sausage dinner looked really good!
I’m so sorry to hear about your accident! Glad everyone is safe and I’m sure it’s just one of those things that’s more a hassle than anything! Hope everyone wakes up on the bright side today 🙂
I’m glad the accident wasn’t major! A few months ago I got into one…on my way to a job interview! They are not fun at all. Have a great day Julie!
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Oh my gosh. How stressful! I am so glad you are okay! (And I also hope your interview went well! 🙂 )
Where did you find those white sweet potatoes? They look delicious!
The only place I’ve found them near me is Publix! They are so tasty!
Grilling out on summer nights is the best 🙂 I’m glad everyone was OK in he accident!!
I’m so sorry to hear about the accident, but luckily everyone is ok. Something hit and cracked my windshield when I was driving last week and I was just frustrated I had to deal with it, but kept telling myself something way worse could have happened. Sounds like you have a fun Tuesday planned! Enjoy!
I think Chase is going to be a very studious boy ifbooks get him out of bed hah 😉 ive heard great things about Geico, but havent had the chance to use them myself. Looks like a delicious dinner!
My daughter (19 months) is often grumpy after her afternoon nap. She needs awhile to fully wake up and be ready for the rest of the day. I normally leave the lights off and sit in the room with her while she wakes up. She gets a paci when she sleeps and she knows to hand it over before she can get out of the crib. I know she’s ready and no longer a grump when she grins and hands it over!
Where are you getting those adorable gift bags?
Also Chase and that lizard are adorable!
It’s the bag that you get for free with any lululemon purchase! Since I bought a gift card there, it’s the bag they gave me for with the card! 🙂
Glad to hear everyone is ok from your accident – how scary. There’s nothing worse then working with a headache of a company when you’re dealing with a not so great situation.
So glad to hear everyone is okay after your fender bender! If you’re filing an insurance claim, make sure to mention that Chase was in his car seat at the time. They should replace his car seat, no matter how minor the accident. Once a car seat has been in an accident of any kind the insurance companies deem them “unsafe” as it can cause small fractures in the plastic, and they’re required to replace it for you.
A man at Geico mentioned this to me yesterday as well and I’m definitely going to look into it… At first I felt silly because the accident was so minor but he also mentioned that it could be a safety issue so it definitely seems worth replacing to me, especially if they are willing to cover it.
That’s a gecko! 🙂
I am glad the accident was minor and everyone is okay! I love your coffee mug.
I love that you said Chase woke up on the wrong side of the crib. When I was younger & had a friend spend the night, I too woke up a total grump. My friend Amy told my mother I woke up on the wrong side of the sleeping bag (back in the day when you always took your sleeping bag with you). To this day, we still laugh about it.
Hi Julie – I hate when babies wake up grumpy! I have 3 (4,2 and 9 months) so there’s like a 70% chance that on any given day ONE of them wakes up in a MOOD. lol. Not sure if you are aware, especially being a first time mommy, that anytime you are in an accident with a child in a car-seat, the seat may be deemed unusable. Each manufacturer has different rules and guidelines on what is considered an accident or not, so I’d def call the company (Graco, Chicco, etc) directly to make sure. Glad you are all ok otherwise though!!
So awesome to hear about geico! I was just thinking of switching to their car insurance! As a side note, I would love to hear how you guys decided on the church you did. My fiancé and I have been struggling to find one to few a bit more involved and plugged in lately.
I am so glad your car accident was not major and you are all okay!! I hope you have a great day, Julie!! Xoxo
I’m glad your experience with your insurance company was so good – usually they’re not so positive! Your workout looks like it was fun.
Oh my gosh, it was so awesome meeting you yesterday!!! Your little Chase is even cuter in person ?
My two year old has ALWAYS been an early riser (we are talkin’ like 5:30/6 am ?) and just this past week he’s slept until 7:30/8 like 4 times ??
Thank you so much for taking the time to say hello — especially with your baby girl with you! <3 Loved meeting you! And YAY for later sleeps!!
That little coffee mug is too cute. I think having cute mug makes getting up early more fun! And gosh, my daughter used to wake up at 6am ALL the time and I just thought that’s what it would always be….but now she typically sleeps past 7am! But we all have those early and grumpy days once in awhile!
Fender benders can be so frazzling. I got in TWO in the span of a few months about a year and half ago, but I swear it leaves a lasting impression. Driving can be so scary sometimes!
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I don’t have children but I know that as soon as my room gets lighter in the AM I am wide awake, even if I wanted to go back to sleep I can’t…you could already have dark out curtains but thought it might be worth mentioning.
Too bad about the fender bender! I had to get my car serviced recently and got a terrible rental — yours is nice hahah! And it’s so funny how kids can be so moody — I look forward to finding out on my own little guy in a few months! 🙂 Happy Tuesday, Julie!
I love the yellow mug, especially the saying on it! Where did you find it, if you don’t mind me asking?
It was actually a gift but I think my friend found it at HomeGoods!
So glad to hear you and the fam are okay after the fender bender! And your rental is snazzy! It kind of reminds me of the cool car Hugh Grant drives in “About A Boy” (a fave movie of mine).
Thanks for another great recap – even though I am not posting a long response, I just want you to know that I always enjoy your posts and I read every one!
For your q&a… My diabetic sister is addicted to G2 as she is always thirsty. She does not work out… Ever.
We have all reminded her that G2 has 5g of sugar and that thirst means she needs water not a sports drink.
How do you feel about sports drinks vs. water especially when you you don’t exercise?
Janet
Ps had the same accident a few year’s back… Crunched my car not theirs like you.
My small group just finished Proven. Absolutely loved it and hope you do as well!!