Life

Four Thoughts

Hey hey and happy Wednesday! Sadie is currently taking a nap and I have a pile of laundry sitting next to me, but I’d much rather blog. So here I am 🙂

Just sharing a few thoughts and snapshots from the past week or so!

1. Sarris Candy

Sarris Candy Canonsburg, PASarris Candy Chocolates

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but Jimmy and I live pretty close to a famous candy store called Sarris Candies. It’s fairly well known in America and I don’t know what it is, but their chocolate is some of the best I’ve ever had–it’s so smooth and creamy.

We decided to get out last night and take Sadie on her first trip to Sarris! The store has tons of candy, stuffed animals, and holiday displays. It’s safe to say that Sadie enjoyed all there was to see and mom and dad got stocked up on chocolate!

2. Bowling

Guys bowling with baby girlSisters hugging

Jimmy, Sadie, and I went bowling with our church over the weekend. I actually bowled better than I thought I would (I got a strike and a few spares!) and had fun catching up with family and friends. There’s just nothing like having fun with our church family!

3. Meal Prep

SandwichesEgg and hash brown casserole

Another thing I don’t think I’ve mentioned here on the blog is how I do meal prep for Jimmy’s breakfast and lunches! Basically, I have a rotation of breakfast recipes I make and freeze for him. I also make a week or two of sandwiches in advance and freeze them.

I used to make his lunches each night and he would have a bagel for breakfast, but we started getting a bit more streamlined around the time Sadie arrived and it has been making our lives so much easier! Would anyone be interested in a full post on my method and the recipes we like to use?!

4. Making friends with problems

I was recently reading a devotion about treating persistent problems as something God can fit into a pattern for good (Romans 8:28) if we love, trust, and walk with Him through them.

Basically, problems can become a stumbling block and cause self pity, or we can see them as something that is transforming us into the person God wants us to be. The key is that we get to choose to make friends with difficulty and even learn to thank God for it or react with anger and distrust. It really resonated with me so I thought I’d share!

Well, I better get going because Sadie just woke up! Looks like the laundry will have to wait until later 😉

Scenes From Valentine’s Day + Two Trips to the ER

Well, we have had quite the week in the Zottola house! Our Valentine’s Day get-together was absolutely lovely.

Aunts and uncles with baby girl

We had Jimmy’s siblings and their significant others over for games, candy, and a dinner of grilled barbecue ribs, chicken, roasted potatoes, and salad with apple pie and cupcakes for dessert.

It was such a fun evening and had Jimmy and I wondering why we don’t do things like that more often!

Valentine's Day Dinner of grilled barbecue ribs, roasted potatoes, apple pie, and candy

We went to bed with full bellies and full hearts from such a fun evening. Jimmy and Sadie even made me a Valentine’s Day card together!

Jimmy said it involved a little crying on Sadie’s end, but oh will I be treasuring that card forever!

Dad and baby with homemade Valentine's Day card

We woke up around 2:30 am thinking that Sadie needed to be fed, but she actually ended up throwing up and had a fever. We gave her Tylenol and rocked her back to sleep. She was so pitiful. The next morning she threw up again, so we headed to the pediatrician where she was diagnosed with the stomach flu.

We spent Friday just trying to keep Sadie girl comfortable. She slept most of the day and it just killed me to see her so sick and sad. Thankfully my mom was able to come over and help with snuggling Sadie.

That night, Jimmy started throwing up pretty nonstop. He couldn’t keep anything down, was shaky, and feverish. I called his mom and she brought him to the emergency room where he was given anti nausea medication.

Right when Jimmy got home from the hospital, I started throwing up. Thankfully Jimmy’s mom came over and took care of Sadie while Jimmy and I spent the day sleeping and getting sick.

At one point, I had a fever of 103 and felt so shaky. My mom and dad stopped by in the evening to help out with Sadie and by the time they left, I started feeling really awful.

I got up to brush my teeth before bed and passed out. Somehow, Jimmy caught me while he was holding Sadie. I have no idea how he did it.

He called his mom and she came to the emergency room with us and held Sadie while I was treated. Poor Jimmy somehow managed to carry me to the car when he must have been feeling so weak himself.

I was able to get two bags of fluid, anti nausea medication, and some ibuprofen before we were released a few hours later.

We think the combo of throwing up, not being able to eat or drink, and nursing Sadie was just too much for my body.

Whew. What a crazy past few days! We seem to be on the upswing and have even managed to eat some food! Sadie is still pretty worn out, but in good spirits.

We feel so incredibly blessed that Jimmy’s mom and my parents were able to help us out because we literally have no clue what we would have done being the sickest we’ve ever been while caring for our baby.

Unfortunately, my parents caught the bug and have been down for the count, which we feel so bad about. Somehow, Jimmy’s mom was spared, though, which is great news!

We are looking forward to a (hopefully!) uneventful week this week 🙂

Have you ever had the stomach flu?

Did you do anything fun for Valentine’s Day?