It’s Sunday night! Babies were down by 7 and I had my pajama’s on by 7:05. I am officially a grandma…and I am totally okay with that! In all seriousness, I was eager to get some blogging done tonight and catch you guys up on all the randomness that goes through my mind and life  (which is a lot of random, random, thoughts). Let’s dive on in!

Saturday:

My sister’s graduation from residency at Northwestern was in the afternoon so we were scrambling to pack everything we needed for the trip to Chicago! Jennah is officially a family Doctor, yay! Dr. Jennah! We somewhat lucked out because the ceremony did not start until 4:30 p.m. which meant we could start our three-hour drive during the babies long nap time which typically starts at 12:00 p.m. It’s funny how happy you get as a parent if an event cohesively goes with your babies nap time. It’s the little things, my friends! We started our day off fairly normal! Woke up, ate breakfast, and made our game plan for the day. Matthew headed to the gym while the babies and I went on our morning run. The weather was perfect and I have to be honest, taking Oliver and Olivia with me on my workouts gives me such a happy high. I don’t know how to explain it but it’s just the best of both worlds. They doze off for a little while I workout yet we don’t have to be apart. It just works out so dang well! Not saying it always works out smoothly. For example one time Olivia just did not want to be in the stroller, period, so for the last mile of our walk, I carried her as I pushed Oliver (who was asleep) in the stroller. It was so horribly funny and slightly scarring hahaha but I guess my point is that when it all goes well – it’s so pleasant – and Saturday was one of those glorious days! I arrived home and let the babies wiggle on the floor as I did some ab work. Short and simple but I’ll share it none the less!

  • Forward plank
  • Right side plank
  • Left side plank
  • Russian twists
  • 3 sets x 45 seconds

After our morning workout, I got cleaned up and starting going into crazy mom mode! Baby bags were my first priority to pack and once that was organized I started on packing some snacks for the road. I have briefly talked about this in my previous posts but I’ll do a short recap. It’s so easy to go off healthy eating when traveling. Whether it’s for a day or a few weeks! Something about traveling makes you want to just indulge, or maybe that’s just me? I hope not! Having treats is a must! But I do not like to use traveling as my reason, especially if that’s my only inkling for wanting to! To make it easy on myself (and Matthew) I always pack a travel bag of snacks so it’s not tempting to stop at a fast food joint or buy mysterious gas station food. My favorite go to’s are:

  • Boom Chicka Pop! The kettle corn…SO GOOD
  • Cheese sticks
  • All the fruit! Apples, cuties, banana’s
  • Turkey & veggies sandwiches (for Matthew!)
  • Water & G2
  • Protein Bars ( I love my luna bars)

Once the snack bag was packed and Matthew arrived home I snuck away to run a few errands. As I had some time in my car to think I spontaneously signed us up for a 4-mile race that will be taking place this coming Saturday! Call me crazy but it’s a race where we can push the babies in the stroller and just take turns doing the pushing – so I figured why not? I think it will be funny to be able to tell Ollie and Liv that they “ran” their first race at 9 months old! Ha! What’s crazy is this is a race that I have been running in almost every year of my existence since I was about 8 years old. Part of me can’t believe that this year I will be running with my family of four…the real question is where does the time go? It just blows my mind and makes me feel very sentimental. Anyways, after I arrived home we got ourselves packed up and hit the road! Every time we go on a few hour drives I learn something new about traveling with (almost) 9-month-old babies so here is my biggest takeaway and regret! When purchasing my car – which is a 5 seater) we did not take into account that when one, or two, of the babies, throw a tantrum, neither of us will be able to fit in the back due to how big their car seats are (and with there being TWO!). Several times on the road when one baby was not having it and half my body was in the back seat trying to calm them while the other half is still in the front. Now this isn’t the end of the world or anything and we make it work, but I figured I would bring this up because super pregnant with twins Rachel did not think about this! If there is a pregnant momma to be reading this, in the process of upgrading their car, think about if it will have enough space to pack all your belongings and have room for you if you need to sit back with your babes! I really wish I would have thought about this but hey, ya live and you learn!

We arrived at the hospital, unloaded the babies, and were ready to see Aunt Jennah receive her diploma! Goooo Aunt Jennah!

Now, it was interesting bringing two babies to a formal, intimate graduation (only 7 graduates). It lasted for about 2 and a half hours. It started off with a cocktail hour and then there was a nice dinner. At the dinner we let the babies wiggle on the floor. I put some toys there for them to play with and let them get a little energy out! Once speeches started Matthew and I took turns with them in the hallway. Lot’s of diaper changes, feedings, playtime, and tantrums took place in that last hour! Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do! There was an exit door right next to our table which made it extremely easy and less disruptive to the speakers, whoever was in charge of the table placements was definitely thinking!

After the ceremony, we headed home around 7:15 which was right around bedtime anyways. Three hours later, we put our sleepy babies into their cribs and went to bed ourselves!

Sunday:

It’s funny because after a day of traveling with babies I always wake up feeling like I ran a marathon…or got hit by a bus! We were so glad we were able to be there but today we were going to stay at home and take it easy. I started the day off with COFFEE (my main food group!). I’ve switched over to a coconut coffee creamer and have been adding a scoop of collagen to it as well! For those that do not know, collagen – it is the most abundant protein in your body – has so many benefits its kind of insane! Such as:

  1. Brain and Alzheimers protection
  2. Heal leaky gut syndrome
  3. Ease Joint and knee pain
  4. Prevent and treat heart disease
  5. Improve skin elasticity!!! (HELLOOOOO!)
  6. Less back pain

So there’s my little schpeal on collagen! I am just very excited about it because I mean, did you read those benefits listed above?! Not to mention, I have had some sitting in our kitchen for months now untouched. I’m going to use this bad boy up in no time! Along with my coffee, I’ve been having Better Oats oatmeal. It is delicious! My favorite flavor so far is the cinnamon roll which I dound at Kroger!

The morning consisted of cleaning out the car, unpacking the happy mess from yesterdays quick trip and cleaning the house. Once we got our lives in order we settled down to play with the babes and relax before their big nap. Once they were down for the count Matthew and I whipped up some taco’s for lunch and ate together – talk about delicious! We didn’t use any special recipe. For the meat, we used lean ground turkey and blue corn taco shells. For vegetables, we used spinach and avocado0 the last of what we had in the fridge!

After eating, I made my way to the grocery store! I also managed to sneak away after shopping to get some Father’s Day gifts for Matthew and my dad! I can’t believe next week will be Matthew’s first Father’s day – Cue the happy tears!

Matthew headed to the gym and I brought out my 5-pound weights (dusted them off, hehe) to do some light lifting while Ollie and Liv played on the floor It’s mind-blowing – not to mention HUMBLING – that five pounds felt heavy to me during particular exercises when I use to lift 20-25 pound weights! I’m okay with working my way back up, that’s just how it goes, but dang I have some work to do! I love a good challenge.

Here was the workout sequence I did before Ollie & Liv and I went on our 3-mile run!

  • Bicep Curls (5-pound weights)
  • Upright Rows (5-pound weights)
  • Plank Shoulder Taps
  • Lying tricep extension (5-pound weights)
  • 3 sets x 1 minute

Our run was a hot and sweaty one – Holyy humidity! But it was just what I needed. It’s funny because I ran for longer periods and pushed myself more knowing I have to make it through a four-mile race. This is exactly why I like signing up for races! Nothing like a little pressure to make you work harder!

We wrapped up the night shortly after, and here I am talking to you! I hope everyone had an amazing weekend! Check back in a few days for Things You Ask Thursday! Oh, don’t forget to check back Monday as well to see how the babies first race goes!

Happy Monday & Stay lively!