Confession Time

I’ve noticed something about myself that, quite frankly, I don’t like.

I’ve become a kind of silent Karen. (No offense to any actual Karens… my mama’s name is Karen!) You know that moment in The Office when Angela is explaining something to camera and then says, “Why are there flies in here?!” That’s how I feel I’ve been acting (or at least thinking) lately. Is that a Karen? I’m not sure, I just feel crabby.

How can I just chill out? How can I stop being irritated by all the little things? I feel like I’m going a bit crazy, and I just want to be more easygoing!

Books and a movie

There’s a local bookstore (45 minutes away but still fairly close!) called 2nd and Charles that’s closing down. They won’t close until October but until that point, they’re discounting everything. Currently it’s at 15% off anything new and 20% off anything used. Earlier this week I decided to browse this store after a Facebook friend mentioned the closing sale. I did not realize how huge the store is, so I was there for close to 2 hours (I got burned out after a while).

I picked up 9 books: 3 of them were new, and 6 were used. I’m going to go back soon with the kids and let them grab a few things!

I’m rereading A Separate Peace by John Knowles. It was one of my favorite books when I was in high school, but I’ve not read it in more than 2 decades. It’s so good so far!

Balloon Boy is a documentary on Netflix right now (part of that Train Wreck series). It’s the only one I have not finished. About halfway through, I shut it off. Honestly, the story just made me mad! And when I looked it up afterward, I was even more irritated by it. Do you know the story? Basically - no spoilers - an experiment-loving dad decides to build a flying saucer with his 3 boys. Launch day, they let it hover just to see if it works and, uh oh, the tethers break loose and it flies off. THEN, bigger uh oh, the younger son might be inside of it…

Have you seen or read anything worthwhile lately? Let me know!!

Summer Schedule

What does summer look like at your house? Since we homeschool, it isn’t THAT much different from the school year. The biggest things are bed time, wake time, and screen time. I’m just more lax overall. Is that pretty standard for other folks? In the age of the internet, I do often look up what everyone else is doing, but I think back to when I was a kid…

In the 80s and early 90s, I’m guessing my parents just did what their parents did or what sounded right to them. I love that we have so many resources these days, but it can be overwhelming, you know? I fear I’ve lost a lot of my natural parenting instincts because I’m always looking up what other folks are doing, mixing it all together, and seeing what comes out the other side.

So this summer, the kids are going to bed “too late”, sleeping in, and getting a little more screen than usual some days. How about you?

Family Meetings

It’s only been two weeks, but I want to share how we are doing family meetings!

Mondays at 7pm, we have family meeting. The official name is The Kings’ SnackChat. (Annabelle came up with that.)

Cam and I talk beforehand so that we are on the same page, then I type up and print an agenda for everyone. One person leads it (so far it’s only been me) and one person takes notes. There’s a talking object: you must be holding the object if you want to speak! (We’ve had a talking whisk and a talking avocado.)

It gives us things to get excited about that week, a few things to work on, and it’s just nice to get on the same page as a family! I can share an agenda in the future if anyone is interested.

The “snack” part is that I make a few snacks that we can eat while we chat. (The picture shows Cheese sticks, meringue cookies, homemade TWIX that didn’t set!) The meeting lasts 15-20 minutes, which is perfect for A and AB but a little too long for Charlie and Bea.

Anyway so far so good, but I’ll share more details as we fine tune it!

*Cheese sticks recipe!!

Mad Gabs

You know the game Mad Gab? The goal is to figure out the hidden phrase within the random words. For example, “Ooh Node Host Race” would be “Uno Dos Tres”. Alexander’s been making a bunch of these lately (the “uno dos tres” is one of them), so I wanted to share a handful!

I’ll put the solutions at the very end of the newsletter. ❤️ 

• PIN SALT HIP

• OPEN TUG ON HAH SEWN LEAF HIVES IDES

• WHOMP THE SWAN EAGLE STEW

• CHECK CURSE ANXIOUS

• I’LL HIKED YOU HE TAP HOLE SAND BAND AN US

A few more things!

Cam’s added some trim to the new coop, and it’s nearly finished now. I’ll probably have a final picture of it next week!

MAD GAB ANSWERS: pencil tip, a pentagon has only 5 sides, one plus one equals two, checkers and chess, I like to eat apples and bananas

Okay it was a shorter email this week!! I’ve been busier than usual. Next week I’ll be done with the dinosaur mural for Charlie’s room, and I’ll have some pictures and tips related to that.

If there’s anything specific you’d ever like to know about, let me know so I can include it in a future email!

Hope you have a great weekend ❤️ Bethany