Working on the Nursery and Weekend Updates

Hey friends! Today is Memorial Day in the United States and while I have a feeling many of my American readers out there won’t be spending too much time on the computer today, I still wanted to pop in and say a quick hello. I hope you’re enjoying time with your family and friends and that there’s sunshine wherever you may be today! I also hope you’ll join me in taking time today to remember the brave men and women who gave their lives for our country. We are so grateful for their ultimate sacrifice.

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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