Hey!

The solar eclipse is happening this week. It’s actually going to be in full totality pretty close to where we live, but I hear that it’s going to be SO crowded in all the little towns on that path - and it’s supposed to be really rainy. Have you ever seen a solar eclipse in totality? It’s truly remarkable. We drove up to a tiny town in Missouri several years ago (2018 maybe?) when there was a total blackout happening, and I’m so glad we did. The difference between 99% totality and 100% is literally night and day!

A few life updates

Remember the hypnobirthing courses I mentioned in the last email? I finally got around to watching some of the course videos, the first two modules of one course. And it’s already been really enlightening. One big thing is that when you feel fear going into labor and delivery, that leads to tension, and tension leads to pain. So the hypnobirthing techniques (affirmations, breathing, mindset shifting, etc) are all to re-train your body and brain to release that tension and fear, to minimize the pain. It ends up being a nasty cycle - you feel fearful, so you tense up, which leads to pain, which makes you feel more fearful of the pain still coming, and you tense up even more. And so on and so on!

I’m starting to feel a tiny bit of hope that this 4th delivery will be amazing and smooth with minimal discomfort. I’m envisioning it for myself and trying to expect only good things.

The house add-on project is really picking up some steam! This is an old picture, actually. They’re done framing and covering all the exterior walls, as well as this little triangle space that will connect to the kitchen. Hard to explain, but it will make more sense once it’s done and I can show you the inside! They’ve got windows cut out, plus most of the roofing. It should just be another day or two, and all the LOUD stuff will be done. After that, the electrician and plumber will be out to set all that up. And then the drywall guys to do the interior walls and ceilings. And THEN the finishing stuff: paint, flooring, bathtub, etc. Hopefully it’ll be totally done by May 1, and no later than May 15.

Shows, Movies, Books

I was SO good about reading in January. I read 4 books in January (fwiw, I read maybe 1 book in all of 2023, so 4 is doing great). But then I read maybe 1 in February and 0 in March. I gotta pick up the pace again! I think what happened was I finished a series that was 5 books long, and then I just didn’t know what to do next: read another series by the same author? Read a stand-alone book in the same genre? Change genres? So I just stopped altogether.

Anyway, I did read a book last week: Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God. It really got me thinking about a lot of things, but to be honest, I was left a little confused about certain things as well. A good friend of mine suggested reading it, so I’ve asked him if we can have a chat about it soon!

I’ve not watched ANY movies lately - I was on a real movie kick back in January and February:

• Nyad

• The Lodge

• Freaky

• Murder on Maple Drive

• Splinter

• Society of the Snow

• Those Who Wish Me Dead

• Haunting of the Queen Mary

• The Nest

• Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case

• The Cave

• The Holdovers

• A Life Too Short: The Isabella Nardoni Case

• Head Count

• Lover, Stalker, Killer

• Fear

(I put rankings and reviews on the app called LetterBoxd. It’s like Goodreads for movies.)

Can you tell I have a type? 😅 Most of those are true crime, intense drama, horror… The only one that’s sort of funny is Freaky, but it’s still in the horror category.

As for SHOWS, I’ve recently watched 2 short series that I’ve liked, both on Netflix:

• Homicide: New York - This is true crime, but it’s specific to NYC. There are many former members of the NYPD who are part of the episodes, sharing their experiences with various cases throughout their careers. It’s interesting to see it from their perspectives, and I really liked seeing the old footage and photos from older NYC.

• A Nearly Normal Family - This is a Swedish drama that’s 6 episodes. (Sometimes the audio dubbing on foreign shows is AWFUL; on this one, it’s actually pretty convincing.) The first episode was fine, but I really got sucked in after episode 2. There are a lot of twists and turns! It was also interesting to see how very different the justice system works there (I know it’s a TV show, and maybe the system is highly misrepresented, but what’s shown in this show is so different from what we’d see here in the US!) TW: sexual assault.

Homeschool stuff

I haven’t talked about school stuff in a newsletter in a while! So let me fill you in.

Alexander’s at the end of 4th grade in Language; he’ll finish by the end of May. He’s nearly halfway finished with 6th grade in Math. We skipped over 5th grade after taking online assessments and seeing that he could already pass the 5th grade end-of-year exam with 80% (or better) accuracy.

Annabelle’s at the end of 2nd grade for both Language and Math. Her biggest struggle is still reading, but she’s grown leaps and bounds this school year.

Charlie puts together puzzles every day, can count to 5 so we’re working on 6-10 now, and knows a few letters. I’m not as intentional with him as I’d like to be, but he does get some “school time” every day in one way or another. REMINDER: little kids learn best through play! So just play, play, play, as much as you can. ☺️ (NOTE: He’ll be turning 3 in about a week!)

Both the big kids have also been learning some USA geography, and for science, we’re finishing up the Human Body curriculum we got.

I’m really interested in looking into unit studies for next year. Have you done that before? I’ve Googled it but haven’t had a chance to dig in anywhere.

Recent IG questions

I get a lot of questions in my Instagram messages, and I really should keep track of the common ones so I can share them here!

For now, here are some that I can remember!

1. How many rooms/how much square footage are you adding? Our house is currently 2 bed, 1 bath (plus a kitchen, living room, small office we turned into a pantry, and entry/laundry room), 1100 square feet (102 square meters). We’re adding 2 bed, 1 bath, and extending the living room, an additional 650 square feet (60 square meters).

2. Do you know what you’re having? YES I actually found out this time. Having 2 boys and 1 girl, I just wanted to know ahead of time. It doesn’t matter either way, but I was just so curious. Both Annabelle and Charlie were surprises, which is really fun too.

3. Is this your last one? Most likely yes! I’ll be 40 this year. And 4 kids seems like plenty. But I should also say (and have been reminded by many people😅) that I said we were done having kids after Alexander, and Annabelle, and Charlie… so only time will tell. I mean, Gordon Ramsay’s wife Lana just had their 6th kid, and she’s exactly 10 years (to the day!) older than I am.

If you have a question, just email me or DM me or whatever - I’ll answer pretty much anything. At the same time, who am I? I’m just a random lady and wife and mom who happens to have a little bit of an IG following. And I’m so grateful for the folks who have been around for nearly a decade, as my page has grown and changed, and for those who are newer as well!

A couple recipes you should try

I tried two new things last week that were real winners, and I want to share them with you!

This Noodle-less Chicken Pad Thai is outstanding. I made it twice last week! It’s basically chicken plus a ton of veggies, in a delicious sauce. And it definitely hits the spot if you’re looking for pad Thai but can’t have noodles for whatever reason. Here’s the recipe!

There are two main types of cornbread - sweet and savory. And honestly, this cornbread recipe is right in the middle. It’s a bit coarse and just slightly sweet, so I think it would be GREAT smothered in butter and/or honey. Like, it can go either way. No surprise it’s from my baking bestie, Sally’s Baking Addiction (she has no idea who I am😏).

Things I’ve bought recently

This won’t be a regular section because it feels a little too influencer-y, BUT I got so many link requests on IG for these few things, I figured I’d share them here too!

Okay so first up, I got this super cute, 2-piece maternity top/skirt, from Target (the one pictured there is from my order history page!). It’s NOWHERE on the Target website (I literally just got it 2 days ago). So I looked around online and found it on the Ingrid & Isabel website, but it’s only in blue, and it’s $125 [sad face]. Maybe your local store will have it, if you want to check!! I got it in Medium.

This maternity dress from Amazon is SO cute and comfy. I feel real fancy when I wear it. It’s a tiny bit too low cut for me, but I’ve worn it anyway. If I wore it to church, I’d pin the neckline a little bit or wear a tank top underneath. I got a Medium in this one as well, in the color pictured.

This is a wall-mounted (using a sticker*, not screws) light that uses a charger rather than batteries or a plug. What’s fun about it is that it has 3 settings: on, off, or auto. Auto means that it lights up when you walk past it. The vertical part in the picture is like a flashlight; it’s attached to the base with magnets, so it easily comes off and re-attaches. For now, it’s a light in the kids’ room that they can grab and use if they need to get up in the night. *Now, please don’t come for me if the sticker peels off the paint when you try to remove it! We haven’t tried to take it off the wall yet!

TikTok round-up

1. This artwork blows my mind. You have to see the end of it! Even though I can see how it’s made, I still can’t get my head around the illusion!

2. I really want to try this tortilla “quiche”!!

3. Haha, this BBQ grill just goin’ for a walk

4. I’m awful at the “Real or Cake?” videos. I get almost every one of them wrong.

5. New obsession: paint color mixing

HEY, what sorts of things do you like to see/read in these emails? I mostly go with my gut and just share whatever comes to mind while trying to maintain some sort of variety. But I can go heavier (deep thoughts, discussions), lighter (only funny, fun stuff, recipes, TikToks), creative (activities, recipes, home projects)… For now, I do a bit of everything, as it comes to me! But I’d love your feedback, if you have any! ❤️ 

Until next time

I hope you and yours have a great week. Please let me know if you need anything from me: prayers or suggestions or encouragement or anything.

If you’d like to support me and my content, then here are two ways:

• My Amazon wish list!

• Buy Me a Coffee - it’s basically a virtual tip jar!

Much love,
Bethany