Hi guys! How are we halfway through the week already? For some reason last week felt incredibly loooong but this week is flying!
Morning + Breakfast
I woke up right around 5:30 a.m. and the allure of a creamy cup of coffee motivated me to make my way downstairs, turn on the computer and sneak in a little bit of work before my tiny playmate was up for the day.
I sipped on my coffee and put together a report for a previous PBF sponsor with data regarding engagement, views, etc. It took me a solid hour to compile everything I needed to send over but it felt nice to check off one of the more mundane blog-related tasks I had on my to-do list first thing in the morning.
Once I was done, I made myself breakfast. On the menu for Tuesday’s morning meal was a smoothie made with frozen banana, almond milk, Greek yogurt, almond butter, frozen cauliflower and a handful of frozen strawberries.
As I sipped on my smoothie, I chatted with Ryan for a couple of minutes before he headed off to work just before 7 a.m.
Chase was up for the day soon after and the fun began! His love for books is at an all-time high and he now requests books both before and after nap and bed time. There’s a lot of reading going on in our house these days… And by reading, I mean there’s a lot of pointing out animals, matching the colors of cars and trucks, searching for the tiny mouse on the pages of Goodnight Moon, etc. (I know the Where’s Waldo books are way beyond his age range at the moment, but I have a feeling he will be ALL IN on those books one day because he loves searching for the smallest things in his books at the moment. Where’s Waldo books always remind me of my childhood dentist’s office.)
Once we made our way through a couple of books, I wrestled Chase into his clothes… and I really do mean wrestled. Getting Chase dressed and changing his diapers = Wiggly chaos these days. With a hastily-dressed toddler on my hands, we made our way downstairs for breakfast before heading off to a morning Burn Boot Camp class.
Upper Body + Core Stack Workout
Our Tuesday/Thursday morning swim lessons ended last week so I am excited to add a few more BBC workouts to my weekly routine now that our schedule allows for it again!
Tuesday’s workout was an upper body + core stack workout.
Stack workouts are admittedly my least favorite of the BBC workout formats we do during boot camp because they feel so darn repetitive but this one wasn’t too bad! It incorporated upper body strength exercises (my fav) and core work which – while challenging – doesn’t usually made my heart rate skyrocket. It was formatted as a partner-style workout and I went through it with my friend Lauren which made it fly by!
After my workout, I snacked on the RXBar I had in my bag and gave Chase one of his beloved Earth’s Best Organic Sunny Days Bars (his favorite food of the moment) as we headed off to Gymboree.
With swim lessons conflicting with Gymboree, we haven’t been to Chase’s favorite hot spot in a while and it felt good to be back!
Chase was clearly in heaven running around and playing with his little friends.
Afternoon + Lunch
We said our goodbyes after Gymboree was over and headed home to leash up Sadie for a quick walk around the neighborhood before lunch.
We got back in time for Chase to dig into a quick lunch that included a cashew butter and jelly sandwich, cucumber slices and raspberries before it was time for his nap.
Once Chase was settled in his crib, I ate an apple as I threw together a quick lunch for myself that included sautéed squash and zucchini, two chopped teriyaki salmon burgers and reheated roasted potatoes.
While the squash and salmon burgers were sizzling away in a skillet, I prepped a marinade for chicken thighs (I followed my easy baked chicken recipe but added rosemary and garlic) and chopped and roasted some veggies so I could quickly throw dinner together at the end of the day.
I ate lunch at my computer while I began working on some upcoming blog posts, including my summer reading list! (Flashback: Last year’s Summer Reading List post includes 10 books I previously read and loved if you’re looking for something to read in the meantime and my Books page is constantly updated with new favorites. This year’s list will be a little different and include 10 books I cannot wait to read.)
Chase was up from his nap around 3 p.m. and after we read a couple of books in his nursery, it was time for a quick snack before we made our way to a friend’s neighborhood pool for a play date with a bunch of my girlfriends and our little ones!
Side note: If you are coconut-obsessed like I am, you must try Pure Organic’s cashew coconut bar. It tastes like an ooey-gooey coconut cookie bar!
Chase is all about swimming and splashing in the pool these days and had a blast filling cups of water, crawling around and practicing his kicks in the kiddie pool and running his toy tractor under spouts of water. I loved chatting with my friends and laughing at our energetic toddlers as they had a blast!
My friend Carrie and I were the last ones at the pool and headed home a little after 6 p.m. As I was loading Chase in his car seat, I received a call from Ryan telling me he was on his way home from work. Perfect timing!
Dinner
Ryan and I pulled into the driveway within 30 seconds of each other and after saying a quick hello, I put chicken thighs in the oven to do their thang while I grabbed a shower and Ryan played with Chase.
Once I was nice and clean and the chicken was ready, I reheated the veggies I roasted earlier in the day and dinner was done!
After dinner, we played in the living room with Chase and did about 20 rounds of “This Little Piggie” (no exaggeration) before it was Chase’s bed time. Once Chase was all settled in his crib, I joined Ryan on the couch for two episodes of House of Cards.
I almost fell asleep a few times on the couch while we were watching even though I think the fifth season is pretty entertaining so far but once we made it upstairs and crawled into bed, I was wide awake again and couldn’t fall sleep. I hate it when that happens!
Despite a rough night’s sleep, I am hoping today will be a good one. Aside from the usual to-dos, I have an appointment to see the dermatologist (gotta keep up with getting my skin checked!) and need to start packing for some upcoming travels this weekend.
I hope you guys have a good Wednesday!
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Awesome workout that targets the arms and sneaks in some abs too! I’m not so great about getting a little cardio in for strength but this is the perfect balance!
Whenever you post Burn Boot Camp workouts i get a tiny bit jealous! You make BBC sound like an awesome workout but there are no studios near me
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We don’t have any BBC gyms around us either, but I found that an indoor bootcamp class at my gym seems to replicate the workouts pretty well! I’ve only gone twice, but the instructor pulled out a white board to write down 3-5 minutes worth of workouts to do & it reminded me of BBC!!
Oh I’ll have to look into that! I recently moved so I don’t have a gym yet but I’ll keep the classes offered in mind since you mentioned it. Thanks!
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Do you have Richard scary cars and trucks book? Chase would love finding Goldbug! Most kids are obsessed and we actually have 2 copies, for home and car LOL.
We do have those books!!! They are wonderful! We also have the plane and boat versions… basically any books about transportation = GOLD for Chase!
I’ve never done a stacked workout but that looks tough! I bet you’re so tired of the first few exercises by the end. And I NEED to check out your Summer Reading lists. I don’t read much except during the summer and I’m definitely looking for a few good ones.
I already feel like it’s nearly impossible to get my 8 month old’s diaper and clothes on, I can only imagine how much harder it gets as they get bigger!
The same thing happened to me last night – I could not fall asleep in bed even though I was falling asleep on the couch. I didn’t fall asleep until 2 AM. Sounds like you’re pretty productive. I’m jealous! How do you do it?
Oooo I’ve done stack workouts recently too and I’m also not a huge fan haha!! Upper body is also my favorite
Looks like a fantastic Tuesday!! Mine was similar! And last night I also slept horribly. I had a bowl of coffee almond fudge ice cream last night and am wondering if the slight amount of caffeine that late in the evening messed with me. Bleh!!
Hope you have a great Wednesday!!
I am a long time reader of your blog and wanted to say I love your blog! Have you used the “I Spy” books with Chase? My toddlers both love them even though they can be tricky at times. The Early Reader versions are a bit easier.
If Chase loves to find things I need books, my kids LOVE these Look and Find books. I have noticed he likes “Dory” here is an example of one of the books, they have all different characters! Perfect for little ones, not quite ready for Waldo
Disney Pixar Finding Dory Look and Find Book Hardcover (PiKids Media) Phoenix International – ISBN 9781503705029 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1503705021/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_KI-nzbBSE9Q93
He would LOVE this!!!! Thank you for the recommendation!
Love the workout! I am going to incorporate it into my routine next week. Is it one minute of each, as in one minute of bicep curls and then the next round is one minute each of bicep curls and mountain climbers? Thanks!
Awww that smiley one of Chase is so cute!! Love that he loves reading–just like his mama!
Sounds like a great day I love reading these recap posts.
I think I’ve commented this before (maybe just thought!), but I love how active you and Chase are. I wish there was a Gymboree closer to my house. They look so sweet. You also reminded me that I should make an appointment with my dermatologist. It’s been on my to-do list for months, but I keep putting it off. They always get on to me for my freckles (like I can help them?)!
I love how much you talk about reading with Chase on your blog. I can tell you are such a wonderful mom! Have you ever heard of Usborne books? They are amazing, so well made, educational and fun! They have all different books like look and find, lift the flap books and 1001 things to spot that it sounds like Chase would love. My girls (almost 4 and 19 months) and I love the books so much that I decided to become a consultant for Usborne
Looks like an awesome workout. I will have to try that Cashew Coconut Bar, I love their brownie one!
One random thing (and I totally don’t work for these people, I’m just a customer), but have you ever looked into Sprout Social? It’s not crazy expensive each month, but it gives you on-demand social media engagement reports. Just trying to help a fellow mom get her mundane work done quicker. I work in higher education social media and it makes my job a lot easier (plus their reports are really pretty – lots of graphs! – so my bosses love them)
That cashew coconut bar looks right up my alley! Going to definitely pick one of those up next time I see them.
My husband and I love House of Cards – I agree the current season is definitely entertaining, but at the same time I feel like previous seasons have been way more intense. I’m hoping things heat up even more soon which seems to be pretty typical.
Gosh, is there anything better than that first sip of coffee in the morning? My iced coffee + collagen + almond milk blend every morning is the first thing I think about when I wake up, and I cannot wait to dive in. Smoothies have also been a go-to for me for breakfast, usually post-workout. Loving them! I need to try adding cauliflower. Do you think TJ’s cauliflower rice would work??
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You guys sure fit a lot into the day! And I’m not a fan of stacked workouts either — I definitely prefer regular circuits and reps. But it is super nice that you can just roll into BBC and have them create the workout for you. Especially when you aren’t feeling too inspired. Have a fab day, Julie!
Exactly! Which is how I was feeling today — definitely grateful to have a place to go that lets me unplug and not think about anything!
Ohhhh yes!! I am totally trying this workout soon, I need a new one that targets arms but gets in some ab work too. That straw for your coffee, I need that straw! I must get it soon, I keep using ones that I get at Dunkin’…they look at me like I am crazy because I get a hot coffee and ask for a straw, oh well! I love that you do so much with Chase! I hope to do that when I am a mom one day, I know it can be challenging to try to get out of the house everyday (I know because of my sister). I hope you have a fabulous day!! Xoxo
i’ve never tried a stack workout! it sounds HARD though. if i’m feeling particularly motivated this week, i’ll have to give yours a try also definitely need to try the Pure Organics bar – that sounds delicious!
Your day sounds similar to mine! Haha!! I’m trying to get up BEFORE the kids are awake, a couple days a week to workout and have some alone time! My little ones are loving splash pad time too & swim lessons!
I wish there was a Burn Bootcamp around me! Looks like a good workout!
Your dinner looks delicious. And I love how easy it was to put together.
My 2.5 year old son also points out the mouse on each page of Goodnight Moon! So funny that they like to do that!
I’m the same way with workouts, can’t handle them being too repetitive. But I bet your biceps were dying by the end!! I’m the same way with sleep too. I’ll barely be able to keep my eyes open, go wash my face and I’ll be wide awake….so frustrating!! Sounds like it was a good day overall
I’ve never really seen a stacked workout like that before, but it seems awesome! I’m guessing it’s typical to switch from upper body to lower body?
Toddler life is busy!
If he doesn’t already have it, you should buy Chase “Cars and Trucks and Things that Go” by Richard scarry. It’s a huge hit with my friends’ kids and I always give it as a gift. Tiny little illustrations of cars, and a little gold bug he can find in each page!
Wow – now that’s a stacked workout!! I love the name of your website – going to check out your boot camp now.