Hello from me and my little hot cocoa connoisseurs.

I don’t know how or when it started, but both kids enjoy a mug of cocoa in the morning, just like an adult would have their morning coffee. It’s cute! We’ve tried just about every type of cocoa, too: packets, tubs of the mix, homemade mix, and k-cup pods. This week, we added to more cocoa types to our repertoire–homemade (!) hot cocoa bombs and hot cocoa on a spoon. How many times will I say cocoa in this post? Too many!

One of my–albeit silly–goals for 2025 was to learn to make hot cocoa bombs with the kids. I had an idea of how they’re made based off of making these surprise candy eggs in 2023. So, I pulled out the same silicone molds, we painted melted chocolate chips onto them and then filled them with cocoa mix and sealed them back up with melted chocolate.

Sadie was so excited that she took a picture with my phone! I didn’t get a photo of our finished products but they weren’t very cute haha. They did go over well with the kids, though! We’ll have to make them again for sure 😊

We made the cocoa bombs after playing in the snow that morning! Definitely a cozy way to warm up after sled riding in the yard and neighborhood.

Check out Sadie’s missing tooth smile! I finally decided to just borrow Jimmy’s winter coat because my bump is not very comfortable under mine anymore, haha. Also, I am very thankful Sadie helped me pull Mordecai in the sled!

Other fun things lately have included a family trip to Lowe’s to look at doors. Not the most thrilling activity, but the kids had so much fun running around Lowe’s.

I’ve had a few Etsy orders here and there. I’m much less busy than I was in December and I am a-okay with the slight slow down! The things that have been selling lately are baby shower Oreos, wedding Oreos, and granola!

Sadie found Sonic the Hedgehog yoga on YouTube and the kids had so much fun with that!

Miss Niva has been busy trying to escape our fence. She certainly keeps us on our toes. At the moment, her best husky bud is sleeping over our house for a few nights! This is a major source of confusion for Mordecai, haha. He thinks Runah is our dog since she’s over at least 1x a week. Then, when he realizes she’s not there he says “Where Runah go?” haha.

Owning a husky is not for the faint of heart! They are a whole different ballgame than other breeds (the fur! the hyperactivity! escaping 24/7!). But they’re also so fun and rewarding. And sweet!

We made it to the library to do school one day recently and it was a fun switch up from doing it at home or at Jimmy’s work. Mordecai found the toy above and was totally enamored with it!

Mordecai put Sadie’s axolotl in his dump truck and thought that was pretty cool.

Our Roomba got a little wild and tried to climb Mordecai’s train tracks. I am still a fan of it. I just discovered they make robot vacuums that mop floors, too. Does anyone reading this have one? I’d love to hear your thoughts on them! I see lots of mixed reviews, lol. The concept sounds really great, though.

Sadie and I made another flavor of energy bites: Oreo! We just replaced the chocolate chips in the recipe with crushed Oreos. What flavor should we make next?!

The other type of hot chocolate we’ve tried lately is Hammond’s dunking spoons! Sadie thought these were too cool, especially with snowflake marshmallow toppers!

Let’s see… other things from life lately:

• Our car is in the shop getting an oil change (we drive an SUV) and the dealership offers this cool service where they pick up your car and give you a rental while yours is being worked on. Imagine my surprise when they brought us a BMW 840i Coupe hahah. Definitely not kid friendly! But very fast. I can’t wait to have my car back 😂
• I just finished reading Main Character Energy and enjoyed it! Now I’m onto A Shark Ate My Bagel, which is the story of Bantam Bagels.
• I am officially in the process of finding a homeschool evaluator for next school year! Our state (PA) is one of the hardest states to homeschool in due to regulations. Each student has to meet certain requirements and be evaluated by a licensed clinical psychologist, school psychologist, or a teacher certified by the Commonwealth of PA. It’s a lot! But that’s why I’m getting things ready and set up now!
• Sadie didn’t know what Groundhog’s Day was (do other countries celebrate this?!), so I read her The Night Before Groundhog Day. We also read The House of Love, which is a Valentine’s Day-themed book and it was so cute and cozy!
• Mordecai is napping as I type up this post and I should be folding laundry… but I’d rather be blogging 😇
• My lips are woefully chapped from winter weather. I’m applying this constantly.
• I just made Jimmy’s breakfasts for the week (crescent rolls with bacon and cheese rolled up inside) and lunches (sun-dried tomato wraps with peppered turkey + pepper jack cheese + jalapeños + Chic-fil-A sauce). Always feels good to have that task checked off the list!
• I ordered supplies to do some fun crafting with Sadie! We’re going to make whipped soap, shower steamers, and salt scrub. I can’t wait!
• This week I am having my iron levels checked, working on Etsy orders, and possibly taking Sadie to her first coding class!

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Alright, time to actually get to that laundry pile! It’s snowing here in Pittsburgh and we have a cold week ahead of us with lows in the negatives. Brr! Time to think of ways to keep the kids and pets entertained 😜