For our family, this week has been all about soaking up the last bits of summer before the (unofficial) arrival of fall. We spent a lovely day at the Pittsburgh Zoo, homeschooled outside as much as possible, and I’ve started thinking about the next season and what we’d like to do and focus on!

The weather in Pittsburgh has been cooling off and the season is definitely shifting. While I’m sad to see summer start to make its exit, I’m looking forward to the coming months and all the joy I know they will bring. I can’t control the seasons (I’d make it summer forever 😉), I can control my attitude towards change and enjoy life in every season.

While I’ve been living in this in-between—the end of summer but not yet fall—I’ve been focusing on making the most of each day. Here’s what our week has looked like.

Exploring the Pittsburgh Zoo with Kids 🐧

We kicked off Labor Day weekend by visiting the Pittsburgh Zoo! Jimmy took Friday off of work (making it an extra long weekend 🎉) and we surprised the kids with him going out to grab coffee and donuts before they woke up. They were thrilled to wake up to a sweet treat and have daddy home in the morning. They were even more thrilled to learn that we were going to the zoo!

We had one of those rare, perfect family days that just flowed. The zoo wasn’t busy at all since most kids are back in school. The weather was chilly in the morning and sunny and warm by afternoon. There were zero potty training accidents.

I was really impressed with the kids’ behavior, too. They listened and didn’t ask for toys from all the gift shops when we said no. It’s always nice to have those good days with the kids, when they’re happy and we’re relaxed and all together and feeling so blessed 🥹

We even got to see the steel penguins Jimmy’s shop made!

Taking Our Homeschooling Outdoors 📓

We did more homeschooling outside this week. We have a neighbor who offered to hang out with Dakota while Mordecai napped so Sadie and I could do school and it was such a gift. I had both hands! And Sadie had all my attention! That happened two days last week and I was amazed at how quickly we finished because we could both focus 😂

I’m so glad I did our little front porch spruce up. It’s so nice doing school out there these days! Sadie also likes to take her work that she can do independently (like her handwriting workbook) and pick a spot in the yard to work.

The transition back to school and more structure has been a good one for us so far. I’m really thankful God has blessed me with the responsibility to teach, care for, and raise these sweet kids!

Life with My Favorite People 🫶

Life lately with the kids and Jimmy has looked like lots of hot tub time, movie nights (Sadie and Jimmy watched Aristocats together… who remembers that Disney gem?!), laying in the backyard and drawing pictures, Starbucks trips, baking experiments, bike rides, crafts, ice cream outings, and general chaos! You know, the usual 😉

Jimmy’s favorite time of day to use our hot tub is early in the morning. Miss Sadie must have sensed he needed company because Saturday morning found them together in the hot tub at 7:00 am!

Dakota sported a leopard outfit on Saturday! I should have had her wear it at the zoo so she could blend in 😉

When the kids get what I like to call the “I’m boreds” I pull out random craft supplies and objects and challenge them to make something out of it all. I’m always surprised at what they come up with! Who knew a Starbucks cup could become a purse and buttons on piece of paper could make a face?! I love it.

Mordecai has been in a cute phase where he’s constantly pulling kitchen utensils out of drawers and carrying them around the house. Where’s my spatula? Probably in Mordecai’s bedroom because he was using it as a sword 🤷🏼‍♀️

Sadie had this idea for a mini Oreo cake. When I say mini, I mean mini. She got out her doll’s plate for this project, ha! Her idea was to make a cake that was three tiers, Oreo-flavored, and the “frosting” was the creme from Oreos.

Did you know you can make an Oreo cake by crushing Oreos, adding milk, and microwaving the mixture? We crushed four Oreos, added three tablespoons of milk, and spread the batter into a glass dish. We microwaved it for about 30 seconds and then cut circles to fit Sadie’s doll plate. We put creme between each layer and made her dream cake 😂

It was messy and she ate it in one bite but she was so proud!! Maybe I have a future cake decorator on my hands?!

We made a family outing to grab ice cream at Scoops in Carnegie. Gotta love a good old fashioned ice cream parlor 🍦

The kids are loving bike rides around the neighborhood. It’s still weird for me to see Mordecai be so independent lately. Ahhh! Can he stop growing up 🥹

I know I say it a million times, but the everyday moments with this little family God has blessed me with are everything 💛

Planning for the Season Ahead 🍂

Ready or not, September is coming. Which means fall will begin soon. How did that happen?! I’m not ready for summer to end, but I’m just going to embrace the upcoming season anyway. How? I start by dressing the kids in cute seasonal clothes 🎃😉

Other ways I’m embracing the upcoming season:

• Decorating for fall –> The kids get so excited for this!
• Making fall sensory bins for the kids.
• Pulling out autumn-themed books, wrapping them, and letting the kids open one each day at nap time.
• Baking –> always! These sound good right about now.
• Lighting candles –> I’ve been eyeing up a new candle from Yankee called “Trick or Treat” that smells like candy corn!!
• Making a fall fun list –> I want to visit a farm to grab apples for apple pie 🥧
• Taking on a few organizing projects. It feels great to clear out that junk drawer or long-neglected shelf in the closet!

Other Notes and Thoughts 📝

• On the day Dakota was born, I went to Starbucks and the barista’s name was Dakota. We saw her this weekend when we stopped in for coffee. Guess what? She told me she’s expecting a baby… and she’s due on Dakota’s birthday! How insane is that?
• Jimmy has been requesting this five ingredient soup. I feel like it would also make a good meal for Dakota since it’s pureed!
• I used this spice rub on grilled salmon the other day and it tasted like I was at a steak house for a fancy dinner 😍
• I head to the hematologist this week to check my iron levels. I was supposed to go back in May, but we had so many appointments for Dak’s hemangioma that I put it off until now. I’m curious to know what my levels are and if I’ll need any iron dextran or iron sucrose infusions.

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I’m signing off here! It’s Sunday morning as I type up this post and I’ve been up since 5:00 am with Dakota. I finally got her back down about an hour later and now Sadie is up! It’s time for breakfast and getting dressed for the day. We’re off to church and then maaaaybe going mini golfing today?!

How do you embrace the upcoming season?

What have you been up to this weekend?