Pittsburgh

Toddler snuggling with mom on couch

Summer Sniffles + Why I Love Our Neighborhood

I loved all the comments on my last post! It made me feel a lot better to read about your kitchen mishaps and hear that a few of you thought the melted carrier looked like art. Jimmy and I were thinking the same thing! He thought we should name it “Sunday Afternoon in The Zottola House.”

I’m happy to report that my $77 mistake is all fixed! I ran a self-cleaning cycle on the oven yesterday and the new racks came in the mail. I even did some baking and nothing tasted like plastic. I thought all was right until Malcolm knocked my beloved milk frother (which was still plugged into the outlet–eek!) into a pan of sudsy water in the sink. When will I learn to wash dishes ASAP?!

I slept in a bit yesterday and was reading my Bible before Sadie woke up. I spent some time in 1 Peter and read the chapter that our monthly memory verse is in. Since becoming a parent, I truly treasure any quiet time I can get with my Bible and prayer journal!

Bible

Once Sadie woke up, I realized she had a case of the sniffles. Poor girl must have sneezed 50 times yesterday. Her nose was running and she was pretty miserable unless I was holding her. 

Toddler snuggling with mom on couch

We made it through the day and did one of my most favorite rituals: we took a walk as a family in the evening.

We were walking past a house that has beautiful landscaping and a garden when we came across this bag taped to their fence. 

Bag of free jalapeño peppers from vegetable garden

The homeowners were sitting on their porch when we grabbed the bag, waved, and thanked them. That is one of the many reasons I love our neighborhood 🙂

What should I cook with the jalapeños?

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!