Life around here has been full-on fall! We’ve picked out pumpkins, roasted seeds, built cozy pillow forts, and had plenty of playtime.

Here are a few snapshots and thoughts from life lately!

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We’ve had some glorious fall weather here in Pittsburgh lately. Sunshine, cool temperatures in the morning, and warm afternoons. It has been perfect for getting the kids outside on bike rides to the park!

I decided to have the kids do their school lessons in a fort recently and they thought that was the coolest! Even cooler? Mom came inside, sang songs, and read to them!

Lately, when we do school, we start with “Dakota’s school” by reading her speech therapy books. Sometimes I read to her, sometimes Mordecai does, and sometimes Sadie does. I love that we are all involved!

Next we move on to Bible all together, then split off into Mordecai and Sadie’s lessons. With Mordecai, we’re learning letter sounds and using this math workbook. He seems to really enjoy it!

Sadie is doing well with her schoolwork! She actually just recently started occupational therapy and is scheduled to start speech therapy (for some feeding/chewing issues) again soon, too.

We’ve got alllll the therapies going on lately between her and Dakota, haha! It’s honestly a little overwhelming, but we’re finding our groove and it feels good as a parent to show up for our kids and get them all the help they need!

A trail near our house had a night walk event recently. The trail was lined with pumpkins, there were stories, a bonfire, apple cider, hot cocoa, and hay rides. It was just too cute!

I also took the kids to Trax Farms for a little field trip. We walked around their farm market and then the kids each picked out a pumpkin. We had big plans to cut them open and get all the seeds out to roast!

The kids were beyond delighted over the wood cutouts around the outdoor area. They wanted to take a picture in every. single. one. and I totally indulged them!

Little miss got a pumpkin that was just her size!

I just love these three so much. 🥹

I was very brave that day, because we went into the antique loft at Trax. Yes, I took three young children into an antique shop. They did really well, though! Sadie ended up finding Pokemon cards and Mordecai picked out a cool Matchbox car.

I came across this vintage postcard of the Pittsburgh Zoo. I did some research based on the spelling of “Pittsburg” as well as how the other side of the postcard was formatted and figured out it was probably sent somewhere between 1907 and 1911, which would make it about 115-119 years old!

We brought our pumpkins home and had fun scooping out the seeds to roast! We made three flavors: cinnamon sugar, salted, and spicy.

When we were at Trax, we sampled apple cider and the kids surprised me: they all loved it. We brought home a small jug and I totally wish I would have bought a gallon because we drank it all in less than 48 hours!

I also brought home apple butter barbecue sauce. I used it to make a super easy crockpot meal. I added the barbecue sauce and chicken breasts to a crockpot and cooked it on low for around 5 hours. I pulled the chicken and put it back in the sauce. It was delicious.

Dakota enjoyed a smoothie!

Speaking of Dakota, she is almost as obsessed with our hot tub as I am. 😉

Turn those jets on, crank up the heat, and give me a book and I am a happy woman! Right now, I’m reading In the Shadow of Eight by Collin Gosselin (from John and Kate Plus 8) and whoa is it equal parts riveting and absolutely heartbreaking.

Our library had a used book sale and I got to go to it all by myself and it was *chef’s kiss.* One of my favorite ways to spend an hour by myself. Sorting through stacks of used children’s books? The best! I came home with:

• A new story Bible (this one!) for our daily Bible time.
• A picture book about building a house that was written before I was born.
• A huge book about machines like dredges and trucks.
• A St. Patrick’s Day book because I just love that holiday!

The best part was coming home to the kids and showing them the books I picked out just for them. They were so excited and we haven’t stopped reading them since then!

Jimmy had to travel out of town for a night, so I made sure to get the kids out and about for a fun evening. We missed daddy! We ended up wandering around Goodwill, played with a puppy at the pet store, and capped the night off with milkshakes at McDonalds.

The next day, we kept busy by visiting my dad and brother at work. The kids were very excited that there were donuts involved in this outing. 😉

I have more pictures to share (a cute Etsy order, thrifting, and going out for ice cream!), but I think this post is getting pretty long!

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Other Notes and Thoughts 📝

• Mordecai acquired one of these and there have been pranks going on 24/7 in the Zottola home. 😆
• I acquired one of these and my nighttime reading in bed has been taken to new levels of coziness. 🛌
• Speaking of reading, what book would you pay to read again for the first time? For me: Twilight. 📖
• Scripture I’m loving: Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 🙏🏻
• Unpopular opinion here but I can’t wait for Halloween to be over! We don’t celebrate it, and it’s just so awkward for our kids this time of year when everyone in public asks them what they’re dressing up as for Halloween. 🥲
• Recipes I want to make: peanut butter banana granola and stuffed peppers.

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What book would you pay to read again for the first time?