Hi, friend!

I’m sitting here next to a sleeping Charlie. We just got back from vacation, and everyone slept great last night. Charlie didn’t wake up until about 9:30am (that’s 10:30 in DC time!), and he went right back down for a very early nap around 11:30. Kid must have been pooped.

As soon as we got up this morning, I decided to make a big yummy breakfast (sausage, eggs, biscuits, potatoes). Annabelle set up a fake lemonade stand, but then she and Alexander both decided to try to make lemonade, even though we have no lemons. Then A had the interesting idea to add mini Reese’s PB cups to his - when I asked why, he said it’s like the little balls in boba tea. 😅 

We’ve all got something to teach

I really believe that. Everyone has something to learn, and everyone has something to teach. Lately I’ve been going back and forth about what my value is. Some days I can come up with loads of things, and other days, I feel like I’m wasting my time and everyone else’s. Honestly, today’s one of the latter, but it helps me to remember that we all have something to teach.

What’s your something? I mean, if you’re a beginner at sewing, you’re a step ahead of the person who has never touched a sewing machine. If you make a mean grilled cheese sandwich, you’re a step ahead of the person who’s never made one. You see what I’m saying?

A few (more) of my fav IG folks

Physics Fun - This guy showcases a lot of gadgets that demonstrate Physics, and then he talks about what’s happening. They’re fascinating!

Sarah at Broma Bakery - She seems like a silly, fun person, and she posts these decadent, delicious recipes every day!

Daniella Siebert - Daniella is a lovely lady to follow. She’s got 2 kids, but her main focus is CLOTHING. She explains how to wear certain things, capsule wardrobes, body shapes, color palettes, that sort of thing. And she’s very sweet and down-to-earth.

Recipes I want to TRY

A little different this time - Normally I’d post recipes I’ve tried and loved. But today I’m posting a few things I’m going to try (probably before the next newsletter, that way I can tell you how they went!). These are all things I ate when we were in DC.

1. Pistachio croissant (Here’s a recipe I’ll try… it doesn’t involve making the croissant, though, so I will have to find a separate recipe for that)

2. Something Ethiopian (flatbread, misir wat, atakilt wat, berbere spice blend)

3. Vegan “chicken” fried rice (Recipe from Minimalist Baker!)

If you’ve got something you’d like me to try, send it my way. 🥰

Oreo cake!

I followed the chocolate cake recipe from Broma Bakery. I made the buttercream frosting as I usually do, except I whipped the butter for a lot longer before adding sugar. I added some Oreo creme as well! Then I decorated it with buttercream and Oreos on top. It was the day before we left for our trip, and I was just in the mood for Oreo cake!

10 random things

1. I want to start reading more. I haven’t read much in (honestly) a year. I got 2 new books recently! One is Agatha Christie and the other is Mark Batterson.

2. DC got us walking a lot. And it was tiring, but it also felt good to move. I’d like to move more every day!

3. There’s a scene in Bluey, the episode called Sticky Gecko… mom is trying to get the girls out the door for a playdate. They’re already running late. Bingo really wants to wear her roller skates. Mom says okay but you’ve got 1 minute to put them on. In the meantime, lots of other little things happen. Then Mom steps on a toy, and she loses it. She says, never mind, we’re not going, and we’re not going anywhere ever again! Mom has a chat with Bluey and feels better. Bingo realizes she has put the skates on the wrong feet and must start back over. Then, they get a text from the other mom (the one they’re meeting), and she is also running late! Bingo finally gets the skates on right and says, “Was that 1 minute?” And Mom says yep! And then she asks, “You have no idea what 1 minute is, do you?” And Bingo smiles and says nope! Anyway, it always gets me 🥹 - it’s a nice reminder that they’re only little for a little bit.

   

4. There’s a song that I really like called I Speak Jesus (by Charity Gayle). It’s nice at first and by the end, it’s so good.

5. Charlie has his hand on his face, and he’s still got those little knuckle dimples. When do those go away? They’re so cute.

6. I was sitting on the airplane yesterday, watching Cam as he was just watching a movie, and thinking, I’m so glad he’s my guy. We get along so well, and he’s handsome and helpful and encouraging and even if we get mad at each other, we chat about it and figure stuff out. I almost started crying 😄

7. There was a Potbelly’s at the Houston Airport, so we grabbed that before heading home. I always get a Wreck, no salami, and provolone instead of swiss. It’s making my mouth water just thinking about it.

8. Also, someone suggested this Starbucks drink that I finally got. It was really good! It will be my go-to treat drink! Iced white mocha, vanilla sweet cream cold foam, light ice, no whip, and caramel drizzle. 😋 Also they spelled my name WAY wrong haha

   

9. Next week we’re starting up our summer semester (I just made that up just this second). Basically we’ve been going back and forth with homeschooling, a few days on, a few days off, and I’d like to kick it up a notch for the next 6 weeks! Here in the US, some schools break up the year into 6 week chunks, and some places do 9 weeks. What about in other countries?

10. We’ve got basically no groceries right now. Cam is going to town today for Alexander’s gymnastics, so he’ll do a grocery pickup. I will have to get creative for dinner though! What are you having? And he’s going to pick up my sewing machine - it was getting serviced. Yay!

Okay thanks for hanging out! I’ll send the DC-specific recap email in a couple of days. It will have a ton of links, reviews, tips, photos, yada yada. 😇

That's it for this week. Have a good one!❤️ Bethany