Christian

Toddler girl wearing romper and rain boots by garden

Much Needed + Trash

Jimmy and I went on our first date since the onset of COVID restrictions! Whew did we need that time alone. My mother-in-law graciously watched Sadie for a few hours on Friday night while we went out to eat and walked around a few stores.

Toddler with rubber band bracelets

Sader Tot had a blast with her Grandma!

Of course with mostly came home with toys for Sadie (this animal set has been a big hit, as have these puffy stickers), but Jimmy also picked up spirograph and has been having a blast unwinding with it at night and reliving childhood memories. 

On Saturday we picked up trash! Our church gathered together and headed to a local park with a bike trail and picked up litter. 

Group of people picking up litter on trail

I was thinking that we have so much fun with our church family that it doesn’t really matter what we’re doing together.

Sometimes there are hard things, hard work, and hard times, but fellowshipping with our family in Christ makes it all so much better. It’s such a blessing to have a community of believers to spend time with and share our joys, hardships, and everyday life. There’s just nothing like it. 

Other happenings around the Zottola house lately:

  • I planted more mums to spruce up our front porch and literally every time I see them I smile.
  • We filmed another vlog and my favorite part is Sadie helping me plant the mums. 
  • We are on week two of homeschooling and loving it so far. 
  • Our garden is slowing down big time, with mostly tomatoes and peppers growing at this point (sad!). 

How about a few photos?

Mom and toddler smiling

Sadie is going to be two-years-old soon. She is growing and changing so much lately. I can’t wait to share her two year update.

Also, if you could say a prayer for her eye to heal, that would be so, so appreciated! I mentioned that she has a nasolacrimal duct obstruction and that we were trying eye drops for about a month before doing anything invasive.

Her eye hasn’t had any progress so we will be talking to her doctor at her yearly checkup later this month. I know the procedure to unblock the duct isn’t too bad, but who is excited for their child to go through that, you know? I watched a video of the procedure and totally shouldn’t have, LOL.

Purple and orange mums in a black planter

Here’s a look the mums I planted. It’s just a planter filled with happiness for me, haha. 

Toddler girl wearing romper and rain boots by garden

My little garden helper ❤

When we went to clean up litter on the bike trail on Saturday we brought Sadie’s trike along and she was so happy to be pushed around and stayed in it almost the whole time (<– miracle).

I totally thought it would be a disaster to bring a toddler to clean up litter, but she surprised and impressed me! 

Toddler girl riding Radio Flyer tricycle

Last but not least, our Niva girl has been loving the cooler weather lately. She stays outside longer when it’s below 60 degrees and just lays in the yard. It’s adorable and I’m excited to see how she likes the snow this winter.

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but she truly is great with Sadie and we are so incredibly thankful for that. Case in point, Sadie put Niva “night night” by piling her with pillows and a blanket and she just laid there like “okay, sure!” haha. 

Siberian husky with pillows and blankets

Alright, I am signing off here. We’ve got a busy day ahead. Sadie is going to be learning the color yellow today, I’ve got real estate work and some cooking to do, and I’m taking Sadie to her first chiropractor appointment (outside the womb, lol) this evening! 

What are your plans for the day?

Spend The Day With Us

It has been such a long time since I wrote a day in the life post. In fact, 2015 was the last time I shared a day in my life. Things have changed so much since then! I was working as a household manager for a busy family and was trying to go full-time with pet sitting. Lola was our only pet, too! Man do I miss her.

These days, I’m busy with real estate work, some pet sitting here and there, taking care of our pets, and caring for our sweet toddler. Life feels totally different. I thought it would be fun to bring you along for our Friday. I filmed a vlog of the day, too!

Our Day | August 21st, 2020

5:30 am I wake up and hear Jimmy feeding Niva and Malcolm. Niva was spayed on Wednesday so we have to give her medication for the next couple of weeks. I grab a mug of coffee and read my Bible at the kitchen table. Jimmy leaves for work at 6:00 and I see him off.

6:30 am Niva and Malcolm are playing and running around the house, which will wake up Sadie so I give Niva a bone to chew on and shut Malcolm in the bathroom. I make breakfast and eat quickly.

7:00 am Sadie is stirring in her crib! She sounds happy so I take a few minutes to make the bed and straighten up the house. I’ve been working on cleaning the grout near our tv stand. I used a mixture of dish soap, vinegar, water, and baking powder and scrubbed it with this and it started to look a little less dingy 😉

How to clean grout in tile

Once I go into Sadie’s room to get her, I nurse her and we read a few books and play. Afterwards, we make oatmeal together and I feed her.

9:00 am It’s a beautiful day so we head into our yard to hang out. I make another coffee and bring my prayer journal with me outside. We head up to the garden and pick some tomatoes and zucchini. I also check on the arugula I recently planted, which is growing well.

Arugula growing in pots

10:00 am Snack time! We nibble on some crackers, fruit, and have a drink. I make a marinade out of honey, mustard, garlic, and spices for chicken I want to grill for dinner. I work on cleaning up the kitchen while Sadie runs around the house. I change out the garbage, wipe down the counters, and vacuum.

11:00 am We go back outside to play a bit more.

Toddler standing at garden fence in overalls

12:00 pm We head inside and go into our basement so I can swap out our laundry. I start a fresh load, put the wet clothes in the dryer and…. Sadie fell. On her head. She had what I would call the definition of a goose egg.

She cried, but not as long or had as I thought she would. Right afterwards, I nursed her and she went down for a nap. I was so afraid she had a concussion. I kept checking on her with our baby monitor to hear if she was breathing, lol.

12:30 pm Once Sadie was down for her nap I made myself lunch and then did real estate work until she woke up.

2:30 pm Sadie woke up, I nursed her, and we read this sweet book. After reading, I folded laundry while Niva and Sadie played on our bed. Once I finished putting everything away I made Sadie a smoothie and we went to Walgreens to pick up a photo order for my mother-in-law’s birthday. I also snagged some $0.69 candy 🙂

3:30 pm Sadie helped me unload the dishwasher and then we went back outside! I worked on some learning activities with her. She did a few pages in a workbook, colored, went over animal flashcards and played with her fine motor hedgehog.

4:30 pm I started grilling the chicken I marinated earlier. Yes, our grill is still see-through, lol. I also cooked up some potatoes and made a salad. Jimmy came home with a work truck filled with concrete for more patio renovations he wanted to work on over the weekend!

Chicken, fried potatoes, and salad

5:30 pm We fed the pets, caught up on our days, and ate dinner outside. Jimmy played with Sadie and her toy trucks after dinner while I cleaned up the kitchen.

7:00 pm Jimmy, Sadie, and I walked to a local park and played for a bit. We usually walk Niva each night, but she’s on bed rest from her surgery. We also walked Sadie from the park to a creek nearby and walked along the water.

Dad and toddler walking by creek

8:00 pm We head home, Jimmy bathed Sadie, and I read her a few books and nursed her to sleep. I had a snack and plopped on the couch with Jimmy and Niva to watch this movie about Creation. I fell asleep about halfway in, but Jimmy watched the whole thing and said it was great!

10:00 pm I brush my teeth and go to bed.

Again, the vlog from that day can be found here in case you’d rather watch than read 😉

What does a typical day look like for you?