Husky

Getting Back in the Groove

The past few days have been spent catching up and diving back into our normal life after our camping trip. This means laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, mowing, gardening, catching up on real estate work, and cleaning. 

Toddler, husky, and black cat sitting together

These three are happy to be reunited! Malcolm was sunbathing, Sadie was playing with her trucks, Niva was napping, and my flip flop was resting in the middle of the kitchen. All was right with the world 🙂

I’ve been making sure to spend some focused playtime with Sadie amidst all the catching up and busyness. I ordered this arts and crafts book by Abeka (<– affiliate link!) and we had fun making a creation mobile together!

Abeka homeschool nursery arts and crafts book for 18-24 months old

Toddler doing homeschool craft with Abeka homeschool materials and curriculum

I’ve also been shearing our sheep… I mean brushing Niva’s fur… 😉

Husky fur from blowing coat and shedding

Since it’s a new month, we have a new memory verse in the Zottola household. Jimmy chose this month’s memory verse from 1 Peter. 

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 1 Peter 1:13 (NIV)

Okay, off to get a bit more done around here and maybe do some crafts 🙂

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?