Friday
Truthfully the usual extended weekend that accompanies Memorial Day doesn’t feel like a long weekend over here mainly because Ryan has to work today and also worked an event most of Sunday, but we still tried our best to make the most of our shorter-than-usual weekend. We kicked things off on Friday night with dinner out at Midwood Smokehouse with six of our friends and all of our little ones. It was a hands-on dinner experience as I’m sure you can imagine but thankfully Midwood Smokehouse has a little game area outside that entertained the toddlers (and the dads!) while we enjoyed dining al fresco.
Saturday
Saturday morning began with a downpour. It ended up raining on and off all day on Saturday which quite literally put a damper on our outdoor plans for the day but in the end everything worked out because we were crazy productive inside.
Ryan was actually a little under the weather on Saturday as well, so we stayed close to home most of the day and spent a TON of time putting together furniture and making some much-needed progress on the new baby’s nursery. Considering the fact that prior to Friday the nursery was essentially a storage spot for diapers once Ryan cleared out all of his gym stuff back in April, I’m really happy with how it came together over the weekend!
We still have a lot to do and are planning to make some more updates once our baby is born and we know the sex but here’s a little peek:
Of ALL the furniture we assembled for the nursery – a crib, glider and a nightstand – the nightstand was the most miserable to put together. That thing took WAY longer than I anticipated but I blasted the Legally Blonde Pandora station (no shame) and hunkered down. I find furniture assembly oddly satisfying when it doesn’t make me want to throw things. It’s like some giant adult puzzle and I feel a little too proud of myself when I finally complete a piece.
Once Chase went down for his nap, Ryan wanted to rest a bit since he wasn’t feeling great, so he hung out with Sadie and I headed off to run some solo errands which felt kind of amazing! I took all the time I wanted browsing for items for Chase’s big boy room upgrade and came home with a TON of stuff to show him. (I’ll be returning a handful of the items but wanted to have a good selection to work with and avoid running out for more things!)
I wasn’t sure about a theme for his room but when I saw the giant wood whale at Hobby Lobby, a nautical theme began to come together. Since the walls in Chase’s room are beige and we’re not feeling overly motivated to paint at the moment (and Ryan is 100 percent convinced that Chase will lose his mind if I move his beige glider our of his room since we still use it daily for stories and nighttime prayers), I wanted to keep the color scheme something that will work with beige. We’re planning to do a navy/white/grayish teal color scheme with the beige looped in through nautical rope and driftwood and I hope it ends up looking okay!
I arrived home not too long after Chase awoke and since Ryan needed to pick some things up for Sunday’s work event and I wanted to grab some postnatal care items from Target, we piled into his car and headed off for more errand adventures. Our first stop took us to Lowe’s where we had to take some time to “drive” the tractors with Chase since it makes him light up inside! (On this particular adventure, Chase and I drove to the river to fish and then brought the fish back home to feed the dragons. It was important stuff.)
This activity always makes me laugh because the day I picked Chase up from preschool after all the kids returned from spring break, he told me all about his friend Claire’s trip to Disney World. He was so excited for her and the fact that she got to meet Mickey Mouse. When I asked him what he told his friends he did over spring break he told me, with just as much enthusiasm, that he told his friends he “went to Lowe’s and drove tractors!” Oh the simple joys of being a kid!
Before heading back home, we decided to pick up some food to grill outside which made Saturday evening feel like summer!
Ryan grilled up some cheeseburgers and hot dogs and we ate them with watermelon and bowls of ice cream while we played with Sadie and enjoyed the warm weather before more rain rolled in.
Sunday
Sunday morning began with blueberry banana protein pancakes followed by a family walk!
We packed up Chase’s portable potty (a seriously solid recommendation from you guys!) and headed out for two hours. We walked for a bit and spent plenty of time at a little playground before making our way to the nearby boat dock to look for fish, ducks and turtles.
By the time we made it home, we were ready for breakfast 2.0 followed by more furniture assembly. Ryan took the lead on a big dresser I ordered for Chase’s room while I moved his changing table into the baby’s nursery and continued with nursery organization. Chase found the dresser’s cardboard delivery box awfully amusing which allowed us to be semi-productive. I’m hoping to complete the dresser while Ryan is at work today because Chase’s room is a bit of a disaster area at the moment. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to notice or care but it’s gnawing at me!
Ryan had to leave for a work event in the late morning and while he was out, Chase and I spent the rest of the morning at home, playing, baking and reading together until I settled him in for his nap on the earlier side of the afternoon. He slept for a little more than an hour and then the two of us headed off to my friend Carrie’s parents’ house on the lake for a big cookout and lots of swimming.
I made sure to pack bathing suits for myself and Chase as well as his new puddle jumper (BEST THING EVER) which was a good decision because the minute we got there, Chase wanted to jump on and off the big floating raft they had set up in the lake. We had a great time splashing around and I’m pretty sure the only way we got our toddlers out of the water was by turning on the bubble machine in the backyard. Yep, even at nearly three years old, bubbles are the coolest!
(And yes, I packed Chase’s pajamas for him to change into after swimming. Bedtime shortcuts for the win!)
We stayed through dinner and dug into a delicious spread of cookout staples before making our way home around 7 p.m. Ryan walked through the door about 20 minutes after us which was great since we were able to hang out as a family a bit before Chase went down for the night.
The two of us climbed into bed shortly after Chase and I continued reading An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. I’ve seen this book pop up as a must read all over the internet lately and it sucked me in immediately when I began reading it on Friday night. I’m about halfway through it now and can already say I’d recommend it!
And now I’m hearing noises from Chase’s room so I’m off to grab my little buddy and get this day started! I’m hoping to begin the day with a walk with Chase and Sadie and then I’m crossing my fingers and hoping Ryan will be able to head home from work on the earlier side of the evening so we can take the boat out for some lake time today!
I hope you all have a great Monday and if you’re on the tail end of a long weekend, I hope you enjoy every minute of some last-minute relaxation today!
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Hope Ryan is feeling better, sounds like you squeezed some fun into the weekend!
Hi Julie, My husband and I are taking advantage of the 3 day weekend to potty train! This is Day 3 for us. I would love a potty training post and update on how things are going if you have time before your new bundle of joy arrives.
My LO has been doing great, but I am nervous to put her in shorts/pants at home. And, of course, run errands! I’d love any tricks you’ve found.
Thank you!
As a FTM who has a due date in August I would LOVE to know what your must haves for momma are after delivery and what you are getting to use and have at home this time.
Hi Torry!! I’m stocking up on Tucks Witch Hazel Pads, a Perineal Irrigation Bottle, Dermoplast Pain Relieving Spray and extra heavy pads. I already have a decent number of nursing tanks/bras from Chase but otherwise I’d definitely recommend getting some of those, too! This blog post highlights a few of my must-haves for postpartum care: https://www.pbfingers.com/wish-knew-baby-born/
Also, I love this idea for a blog post because I’m SURE that even though I’ve been through this before I’m missing something so I’ll definitely keep it on my radar as a post to share a few weeks after I have our little one!
I did read that post and it was helpful – I just thought may be something a little more in depth. HOWEVER I know you have a lot on your plate right now. I just read today’s post and not only did it make me so excited for you to meet you baby but also kinda freaked me out about everything I need to do too! I’m almost 29 weeks so I still have some time but I feel like these weeks keep ticking by super fast!
That’s a gorgeous crib! I’m also currently on the potty packing team … I use the potette plus (off amazon) and it’s great!
Sounds like you have had a fun long weekend so far. I hope you get out on the lake once Ryan gets home!
Happy Memorial Day!! Hope all your plans come true! Can you share details on the puddle jumper? I would really appreciate it!
Yes!! Just Amazon Primed it last week and it’s AMAZING. Chase is 100 percent obsessed with it! –> http://bit.ly/2LFydlk
Sound like a fun weekend!
Quick Question.. maybe… How do you get Chase to go to sleep? We struggle with our toddler at bedtime where it usually ends up being way later than we want when he finally settles in. Any tips?
I know you’ve mentioned listening to podcasts before. Do you listen to Death, Sex and Money? It’s my favorite podcast and Tayari Jones was just interviewed. I haven’t read “An American Marriage” but want to after hearing her interview.
I haven’t but I’ll look it up! Thanks for the recommendation! She’s a fantastic writer.
Julie- when we re-did our son’s room we also bought that wooden whale from Hobby Lobby. Target also had the coolest wire whale shelf that they do not sell any longer but there is one on EBay. If you want to see it search for wire whale shelf and it comes right up – it is silver nickel finish, easy to hang and well made. They are selling it for $25.00 with free shipping. I am almost positive that’s about what we paid when we bought ours. Just wanted to share in case you want to check it out.
The baby’s nursery looks great so far. It’s always the best feeling to get things organized.
Thank you!!!
Nursery looks great! We are also pregnant with our second baby, who is due in September. We have a daughter who is a little younger than Chase. I’m curious if you are going to get a double stroller, if so which one??? There are so many options I don’t even know where to start!
My husband works for the government so traditional three day weekends don’t apply to our family either! He worked all weekend and today, but we still made the best of it!
Just curious-what field does Ryan work in?
Sounds like a perfect weekend! Ours was the perfect kick off to the summer and it has me so excited for the months ahead!
Such a fun weekend! The weather has been a huge bummer in Virginia, too! I’ve been curled up on the couch most of the weekend reading, which has been a nice treat. 🙂 – Kaitlyn | http://www.poweredbysass.com
I wish they made puddle jumpers for adults too! lol You always impress me with how much you guys can get done in such a short amount of time! It’s impressive/aspirational.
Hope Ryan feels better asap! It’s 95 degrees here, so that boating adventure sounds really good right about now. Have fun!
It looks like you had a great weekend, Julie! The weather has been pretty chilly around here all weekend, but luckily it is supposed to warm up this week and the sun is shining today. I hope Ryan is feeling better, I feel like my body is fighting a cold or something, but I’m hoping it is nothing! The nursery looks so great, I love it!! Hope you are having a great week so far 🙂 xoxo
Loooove the nautical theme for little boys! We spent most of the weekend close to home because of some sciatic pregnancy pain I was having, but luckily the weather was funny in the Philly area too so I didn’t feel too bad staying inside!
Chase’s room is going to turn out so cute! I love that you’re incorporating a taste of Florida! So special!
I just finished An American Marriage this weeekend and it was so good!! I think we have similar taste in books as I’ve read a lot of your recommendations and loved them. I’m currently reading The Women in the Castle which is a World War 2 historical fiction and I think you would like it!
The nursery looks like it is coming together so nicely! I might share that craft cart idea with a couple of my pregnant friends because it seems like a convenient way to carry around the diaper supplies!
Thank you for the book recommendation!!
Great progress on the nursery! I am due with our first baby 10 days after you, so have really enjoyed following your journey. I laughed when you wrote about how long the nightstand took you to put together. It’s really amazing how deceiving some furniture can be. My dad and father-in-law put together the dresser/changing table for our nursery, which we ordered from Target, and it took them 5.5 hours!!! I could not believe it took that long, but I’m so appreciative for them doing that. And we definitely plan to keep it for a long time. Plus, we can tell him that his grand-dads built that for him.
GAH I’m obsessed with anything nautical!! Sully’s room has a nautical theme and I just love it!!! It’s funny because we don’t live near water nor do we own a boat, I just think it’s the greatest for all things kids!
The nursery looks amazing too, one day I might steal that colour scheme 🙂
I’ve been eyeing that same end table for our nursery as well. I just won’t mention to my husband that I’ve heard it’s a tough one to put together 🙂 What brand and color is that grey? It looks perfect!