Author: Allie Zottola

Five Thoughts

Happy Memorial Day weekend! Do you have any fun plans for the weekend, or are you staying home?

We are going to two first birthday parties and that’s about it. Hopefully our weekend is a mix of fun and relaxation. Here are five thoughts I have today, with a few affiliate links included!

1. We planted our garden! 

Fruit and vegetable garden

We had planned to plant last week or even the week before because we had everything ready but it snowed. I’ll share more details in another post, but this year’s garden includes some fruit! I’m excited to see how that goes since we usually only grow vegetables and herbs.

2. “School” with Sadie

Toddler learning activities

I’ve been trying to set aside a little bit of focused time each day to do a few learning activities with Sadie and she seems to be enjoying it almost as much as I do! It has been so rewarding to see learn. We do things like:

  • Go over different words with flash cards
  • Practice sign language
  • Do puzzles
  • Work on a sticker workbook
  • Draw, paint, or write
  • Play with her fine motor hedgehog toy
  • Cook or bake simple recipes together
  • Read books and ask/answer questions

3. Thankfulness. 

Husband and wife smiling

Our clothes are dry!

Remember how our dryer broke and we were trying to fix it? We had to throw in the towel and buy a new one. We went about a week without a dryer and now every time I fold clothes I am reminded of how thankful I am for things like dryers to make our towels fluffy and clothes dry!

4. Living the husky life. 

Husky shedding

Niva is blowing her coat for the first time! I told my mom and sister that and they were like isn’t that just shedding? No, it’s shedding on steroids, haha. Huskies have a double coat so they can survive in cold weather and they shed their undercoat each spring to keep them cool in the summer and make way for a new one when winter comes.

It’s wild to find full tufts of fur on the couch when Niva gets up, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. She’s awesome! 

5. Reading. 

Bible and coffee

I’ve been in a good reading groove lately. I’m all over the place with what I’m into, as usual. Just finished reading Philippians and this book on submission. I’m re-reading this book on Amish life, and I plan on starting this midwifery memoir next. 

What are you reading?

Spring, Hamburger Cakes, and Morning Routines

It’s finally beginning to warm up here in Pittsburgh! Last Saturday, it snowed. This Saturday, I think it hit 80 degrees! It sure was nice to see the sun shining and go outside without gloves and a hoodie on, lol. 

Toddler eating popsicle

Sadie has been enjoying lots of popsicles and loves wandering around the yard. We’re hoping to plant our garden this week and I’m going to be baking a hamburger cake! If you remember this cake, you’ve officially read my blog for nine years! Jimmy and my brother-in-law requested I bake it for their birthdays, which are just a day apart 🙂

Something I’ve been doing lately to celebrate the spring weather is taking my watercolors outside and spending some time painting while Sadie plays in the yard. 

Watercolor Orange

Someone who isn’t into the warmer weather lately is Niva. She definitely gets tired out quickly in the heat!

I’ve been making sure Sadie and I walk her first thing in the morning, and then as a family we try to walk her around dinnertime when it cools off again. 

Siberian husky sleeping

Speaking of Niva, she and Malcolm are so excited to eat breakfast each morning that they make quite the ruckus when Jimmy and I get up. Our bedroom is right across from Sadie’s and they’re usually so loud that they wake Sadie up, so we decided to try a little experiment. 

We like to have a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, but that usually gets hampered by the pets waking Sadie up and us tending to her and feeding them. So, I had the idea to make a little coffee bar in our bedroom so we could have our mugs of coffee in peace and not wake Sadie up at 5:00 am!

Bedroom coffee bar

The verdict? It worked! We had coffee in peace and quiet and didn’t even have to leave our room. Most importantly, we didn’t wake Sadie up, lol. I don’t know if we’ll keep doing it, but it was nice to just sit in bed with a cup of coffee, pray, and stare out the window as the birds chirped! 

Do you have a morning routine?

P.S. Our latest vlog is here!