Morning
I think I kiss Ryder’s fluffy mohawk nearly every morning and thank our child for being a good sleeper. I fully expected to be awake many, many times a night at this point (he’s 10 weeks old) because that’s what we were used to with Chase so to only wake up for a single nighttime feeding feels like a gigantic gift from our sweet little guy. I guess you could say my morning began at 3 a.m. when Ryder woke up for a feeding but since we both went back to sleep fairly quickly, I’m going to go ahead and say my morning began at 5 a.m.
Ryan wakes up to work out in our garage gym almost every weekday morning at 5 a.m. and I’ve been using his alarm as my own for the past few weeks since I’ve been feeling a little more rested. Now that I can no longer count on Chase’s nap time to work with Ryder in the mix, waking up early is crucial for me to accomplish anything.
Once I was up for the day, I headed into the kitchen, chugged some water and made myself a cup of decaf coffee with coconut milk (from a can) to sip on while I read my devotional and worked away for about 90 minutes. Eventually my stomach told me it was time for breakfast!
I whipped up a thick and creamy smoothie bowl that included a rather ridiculous number of ingredients.
I call this my “How Not To Die Smoothie” in honor of the How Not To Die book + cookbook I previously read (see this post for my thoughts) since it includes so many healthy additions! In the mix: Almond milk, spinach, frozen cauliflower, Primal Kitchen Vanilla Coconut Collagen Fuel (I buy mine through Thrive Market), flax seed, chia seeds, turmeric, frozen banana and almond butter and topped with pepitas and cacao nibs!
I was just about halfway through my smoothie bowl when Ryder began to make noise, so I inhaled the second half and went back upstairs to nurse Ryder and get dressed for the day ahead.
Once Chase was up, we spent the morning around the house as I got the boys fed and dressed and eased into the day.
Chase is still being incredibly sweet to Ryder and loves to check on him, play “doctor” with him or pretend he is a baby animal. Now that Ryder is making a lot more noises and coos when we talk to him, Chase has fun trying to get him to chirp or coo back at him and it is so darn adorable! (It’s moments like these that I reflect upon later in the day when Chase is having an afternoon meltdown. Phew!)
We had Chase’s Meet the Teacher ice cream social on the agenda for the morning so once we were all loaded into the car, we made our way to Chase’s preschool.
Chase is clearly more than ready for the school year to begin because the minute we walked into his classroom, he basically ditched me and went right to the toy kitchen to play with the other kids. See ya, Mom!
After some playtime in their new classroom, all of the kids headed out to the preschool playground for ice cream!
Bring on the sprinkles!
Most families didn’t stay too long at the playground because it was 90+ degrees outside and since I could tell the heat wasn’t Ryder’s friend, we said our goodbyes as well.
We ended up with plenty of time left in the morning before lunch, so I ate an RXBar in the car and we made our way to the gym where I squeezed in a quick workout while Chase and Ryder had fun in childcare.
I completed some incline walking intervals on the treadmill along with a little lower body strength training and we were in and out of the gym in 45 minutes.
Afternoon
Everyone was hungry by the time we made it home and I quickly assembled lunch for Chase while I downed an apple and a packet of cinnamon almond butter and nursed Ryder.
Eventually it was time for Chase’s nap and after no naps for him several days in a row, I crossed my fingers that yesterday would be our lucky day. Thankfully Chase managed to nap for a solid two hours yesterday which he clearly needed because he was 10,000 times happier yesterday afternoon than he has been all week long. Thaaaank goodness!!!
One thing that I underestimated about motherhood was how frustrating it can feel at times when you know what to do for your child to make them feel better (eat, sleep, rest, etc.) and yet they absolutely refuse to do it. Truthfully that feels like the theme of our week over here right now and it can really try my patience. Yeesh!
During Chase’s nap, I took a shower, worked for a bit on the computer while Ryder snoozed in my lap and eventually got around to making myself lunch.
Yesterday’s lunch looked like a combination of salmon and a Daily Harvest chickpea + za’atar harvest bowl.
It came together quickly once I heated up the harvest bowl in a skillet and added leftover salmon from Tuesday night’s dinner. Such a yummy lunch and quite filling, too! (Reminder: You can use the code pbfingers to get 3 free cups on your first Daily Harvest order if you’re interested!)
Evening
After the week we’ve had so far, I was so, so happy to have a happy three-year-old on my hands when Chase woke up from his nap yesterday. We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening at home, playing imagination games and a million rounds of seek-and-find games which Chase adores.
(I hide his toys all over the house and he tries to find them. If they’re too tough he asks me for a “hunt” — aka a “hint” — which always makes me laugh.)
Eventually Ryan made it home from work and joined in the fun of forts, trains and stories.
Of course Sadie is never far from the action!
Dinner last night looked like seared tuna (I seared in in Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel Seasoning and it was great) paired with sweet potatoes and green beans.
Plus some toast with butter and jelly (breastfeeding hunger, I’m tellin’ ya!) and ice cream for dessert because I’m on a bit of an ice cream kick right now.
We spent the rest of our evening before the whole bed time routine in our backyard, playing fetch with Sadie, refilling the bird feeder and swinging on the swing.
Somehow we had both boys sleeping a little after 8 p.m. — woohoo! — which meant we got a little reading in before bed. I am in the middle of reading The Husband Hour and it’s pretty entertaining so far.
Aannd now I’m awake and ready to begin this whole routine all over again!
Hope you all have a great Thursday and I hope to see ya back here for my usual Things I’m Loving Friday roundup of favorites tomorrow!
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It always amazes me you accomplish so much in a day.
Thanks for saying that, Valerie! Especially since sometimes I feel like I accomplish nothing on my “to-do” list but sometimes that’s okay, too! <3
What do you all have to make up your garage gym? My husband and I are trying to put one together as we’re expecting baby #1 and having some workout equipment at home would be awesome as we figure out life with a baby!
We have a treadmill, rowing machine (Ryan uses it almost every day), dumbbells, a stability ball, yoga mats and resistance bands! If we were to add more to the space, I would love a weight bench, BOSU ball and medicine balls, too!
also, you can kind of see the layout here if that helps!! –> https://www.pbfingers.com/fridge-cleaning-weeding-and-other-super-cool-weekend-fun/
Love these day in the life posts!! Has Ryder always gone to bed by 8? I’m trying to inch my 8 week olds bedtime earlier, but most nights it’s still 9 before she’s totally out.
My 3 year old hasn’t started fighting naps yet but they are getting shorter and shorter, so I know the end is near haha. We finallly turned her crib into a toddler bed a few weeks ago and it’s gone much smoother than I expected. That was a relief!
Love the day in the life posts! I agree with the person above who says you get so much done in a day. Plus cooking!! Future post idea – I saw your comments about how you use a planner and write things down and get your weeks planned out, but if you have any more details about how you organize your to do’s and how you capture it all, I’m all ears!
Chase is looking like such a little boy now! And Ryder is kind of a mini-Chase. So entertaining that Chase is blonde and Ryder is a brunette!
Thanks for another great post!
You go girl! You’re doing great at the mom of two thing! I’m wondering how naps or lack there of change Chase’s bedtime. My 2.5 year old still naps but he’s often in his crib for an hour plus just chatting away. He will skip a nap every now and then and falls asleep right away on those evenings. Is it the same for you guys?
It’s safe to say that you do more in a random weekday that I do all week!! I love this post, I don’t have children so it’s neat to see a glimpse into someone’s else’s world…
The pics of Chase are absolutely angelic! He is sooo photogenic.
Man, you sure do have your hands full! Isn’t that the truth though, trying to eat your food in peace only to get interrupted by the sweet sound of baby. Good luck to you!
JUlie yet curious about Ryder and when you put him down to sleep. I have a 2 week old and I want him to be able to go to sleep better than my 2.5 year old (who had to be rocked or nursed to sleep til we sleep trained). I Want to try and avoid sleep training this baby. How do you put Ryder to sleep even for naps? Nurse him to sleep? Put him down drowsy but awake? I’m trying to get the hang of that. Thank you soooooo much!!!!
EEEEEEE! ryder looks quite a bit like chase!
That pic with Chase + Ryan + Sadie in the tent made me laugh. We have that tent and my toddler always wants me to play inside it with her.
I’m not sure if you’ve mentioned it here yet but is Ryder’s name the name you guys liked for a baby that is from a tv show? Is it Paw Patrol? I always think of it when my son watches haha ? if y’all have another baby you need to keep with the theme and add a Marshall or Skye ? love both your boys’ names!
It is!!! I had such reservations about it because of the Paw Patrol connection but in the end we loved it too much to stop us! And we’ve totally joked about having the whole Paw Patrol crew… the next one will be Rubble 😉
Haha I still love it! And I love the warrior meaning behind it especially with all he went through ?
Get used to life with no naps! It’s just one of the lovely parts of having a 3 year old 😉
Say it isn’t soooooo! Ah!
Toast with butter and jam is my favorite it’s after dinner and I’m still hungry snack 🙂 although I don’t have breastfeeding to blame, I’m just always hungry haha
It’s such a good before-bed snack! Something so satisfying about it!
I have had the exact same thought this week with my 2.5 year old twins when you say “One thing that I underestimated about motherhood was how frustrating it can feel at times when you know what to do for your child to make them feel better (eat, sleep, rest, etc.) and yet they absolutely refuse to do it.”
Does Chase know how to climb out of his crib? That’s my latest challenge – I’m not sure they are definitely ready for toddler beds yet and I know that some days, they are tired but now that they can climb out of the crib, tend to try to get out and play rather than just lay down and rest for a little while (which would certainly help them fall asleep more easily on the days they really need some rest!).
you have any tricks for getting him to nap?
I second (third?) your statement about how frustrating, and admittedly at times infuriating, it can be when you know what will help make your child and your family’s day better, but it is something you have absolutely no control over. My 2.5 year old daughter started preschool this week. Combine that with 5 am wake-ups (WHY?????) and no naps meant that making it to bedtime without a gazillion meltdowns and sobs over things like too much toothpaste on the toothbrush was nearly impossible. This made for an exhausting week for everyone. I want so badly for her to sleep a little later or to take a nap, but all I can do is give her the opportunity and try to make the conditions right. Uff. Parenting is a real exercise in letting go of control and feeling helpless a lot of time.
Hey Julie! I was wondering how Ryan finds energy to work out at 5am everyday while you have a newborn in the home? We are expecting our second child any day now and I know my husband is worried about having energy to get to the gym for his normal routine.
Thanks!
Katie