It’s Halloween time, and my fam is going as some Super Mario folks! We’ll be Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Peach, Rosalina, and Daisy. Randomly, a month or so ago, both A and AB came to the breakfast table and said they had an idea for a family costume this year. WOOHOO. Usually, we’re all random characters (or nothing at all).

Now, naturally, it’s the afternoon of Halloween, and we’re still working on costumes even though I have had a month to get myself together. I’ll try to share a few pics next week.

I think Halloween is a mostly-USA thing, but did you do anything, wherever you are? Dress up or have a party or anything?

Today’s newsletter agenda:

• Recent recipes

• Gift ideas: last year’s Christmas

• My cleaning tips

• Movies

• Fitness chat

• 5 random things

Recent recipes

I have been meaning to ask you what types of content you prefer… recipes, homeschooling, parenting, life, beauty, working out… but then I remembered I am SO BAD at actually keeping up with that sort of thing. If I got an overwhelming response of “MORE PARENTING PLEASE,” I’d share a lot for 1-2 weeks and then forget to do it again.

So I hope you are okay with a random assortment of topics each week. I’m trying to keep it varied, though, week to week!

Here are some recent recipes I’ve made that we really enjoyed:

• Chicken Cabbage Soup: This is a Whole30/Paleo recipe, but we eat it other times too. In fact, I made it for dinner last night. It doesn’t look or sound very good to me😆, honestly, but it tastes amazing! It gives chicken-and-dumplings vibes, in my opinion!

  

• Pork and Sauerkraut: My friend Amanda is from Pennsylvania. We were chatting recently, and she said that her favorite meal is pork and sauerkraut. I’d never heard of that combo! Since it’s her favorite, it MUST be good - I had to try. Turns out, it’s amazing!! You cook pork together with sauerkraut; she said to eat it over mashed potatoes and with corn on the side. (The recipe I linked is not one she sent to me, by the way! It’s just one I found that was delicious!)

  

• S’mores Bars: I haven’t made these recently, but when I think to myself, “What’s a sweet treat that I LOVE?”, these bars always come to mind. If you’ve never tried them, you gotta! One of the ingredients is marshmallow fluff, and you probably know me well enough to know that I LOVE homemade marshmallow fluff. Here’s the recipe I’ve used for years (I’ve subbed honey for corn syrup in the past!) - NOTE: without a candy thermometer, you can aim for 8 minutes on the sugar.

What’s something you’ve made and loved recently?

Gift Ideas

A video popped up on my feed this week. The person said that she doesn’t want to know what this year’s hottest gift is for kids: she wants to know what gifts your kids got LAST YEAR that they still like to play with.

I thought that was a good idea and wanted to give my input!

Here are gifts for kids that we got at least a year ago (no affiliate links, btw!):

1. Little Tikes Waffle Blocks: I just got a FB memory showing Alexander playing with them from 8 years ago!

2. Brain Flakes: All the kids play with these. There are off-brands of this as well. Just search “brain flakes” online. 🙂 

3. Plastic Building Straws: We got these as a gift from an IG follower many years ago, and the kids still use them at least once a week. (Search “plastic building straws” - you can find many brands, many websites!)

4. IQ games: As you probably know, Alexander’s been playing with these since he was 6-7. We’ve got 15 of them, I believe - there are a few new ones each year, and we don’t have those yet! Take note of the ages: some of them are 6+, others are 8+, and there’s one that is geared toward even older kids.

5. Magformers: These are those magnetic shapes! Another toy we’ve had for many years that still gets played with!

Is this sort of list helpful? If you want more kid ideas, grown-up ideas, kitchen ideas, stocking stuffers, anything, do let me know! ❤️ Just reply to this email:)

Hey, one thing you can do for me is forward this to a friend who might also find it helpful! (And if you got this email as a forward from someone else, you can click the link below to subscribe to these emails. Thanks!)

My Cleaning Tips

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but I wanted to share a few things that I do! Some days, it’s a mess in here because Bea’s at the age where she’ll walk around with something, get bored of it, then leave it right there on the floor. We’re working on it 😅

• Catch-all bowl: There’s always a box or bowl on the kitchen counter that contains a lot of random things. Throughout the week, if I find a coin, lego, little toy, or anything small, I toss it into the box. And then once a week, I’ll have the kids help me go through and put things where they belong.

• Laundry: Every morning while my breakfast cools down, I’ll start a load of laundry and fold what’s in the dryer. A few hours later, whoever hears the “done” ding will move the now-clean clothes to the dryer. That’s it! And once a week, everyone puts their own laundry away.

• The Organised Method: There are many methods out there, but I like this one. You can find the daily tasks for free on her website, or you can get the app. I transferred the tasks to our Skylight Calendar. Basically, you set a timer each day, do what you can in that amount of time, and then leave the rest for another day. By doing a little each day, you stay on top of the tasks without getting too overwhelmed.

• Don’t put it down; put it away. This is also known as “touch once.” If you’ve got something in your hand, don’t just put it down because you’ll just have to pick it up and move it later. Put it where it belongs the first time, if you can!

• Notice and do. My big 2 kids learned this earlier in the year. What used to happen: I’d notice the washing machine chime, I’d ask someone to move the clothes to the dryer, and someone would do that. What happens now (usually): I notice the washer chime, but so do the big kids, so one of them moves the clothes without being asked. I taught them to notice! (This isn’t my idea, btw. I came across it from another mom online, Sam Kelly!)

• Mop vacs: This isn’t a tip, but I LOVE having a mop-vac. There are several brands. Our new one is Bissell. I use a broom the most, and we also have a mop-vac, regular vac, and regular mop! 😄 

What’s a cleaning tip you swear by?

Movies

We watched Weapons on HBO, and it was so good. Very creepy and unsettling, but I loved it. I’m big into horror and thriller, but Cameron isn’t. And we both liked it. (Josh Brolin is amazing.) The brief synopsis is that 17 out of 18 children from one classroom all go missing in the same night, at exactly the same time. The camera work is very interesting, and I loved the way the story is told from different perspectives.

Last night I watched Don’t Say a Word with Brittany Murphy, Michael Douglas, and Sean Bean. It was pretty good, a thriller! Douglas is a psychologist who is treating Murphy, and Bean is the bad guy. Murphy has something that Bean wants, but you don’t really figure that part out until close to the end. I love those older thrillers! All the slow-motion camera shots and cheesy close-ups 😅

Fitness chat

Today’s day 69 (as I’m typing) of a 75 Hard. Technically I’m doing more of a 75 Medium… For a true 75 Hard, you have to do 2 workouts each day (45 minutes each, at least 3 hours apart, at least 1 outside), drink 1 gallon of water, take a selfie, read 10 pages of non-fiction, drink no alcohol, and stick to whatever eating plan you choose.

What have I done? I’ve done 2 workouts a day for 60-something days (but not all 69), increased my water intake and reading, and no alcohol (I stopped drinking last year anyway).

So I’ve done pretty dang good, and I’m really pleased with myself! I can see muscle definition in my arms and shoulders, and my endurance has greatly increased. I’m going to get some blood work done in the new year, and I’m expecting better numbers than last time!

Since this particular challenge is coming to an end, I need a new one. At first, I was torn between doing a Tough Mudder or running a half-marathon. But now I’m thinking I’ll run a Spartan Race. It’s an individual race rather than a team-focused one, and it’s a lot less muddy than a TM. There’s one in the Houston area in the Spring, so I’m going to train for that!

5 Random Things

1. Does anyone else go to bed thinking about breakfast? Nearly every night, I go to bed thinking about my morning breakfast and coffee. It’s one of my favorite things, and I always look forward to it.

2. The kids are asking to put up the Christmas tree already. What’s the rule in your house (for those who celebrate Christmas)? It used to be the day after Thanksgiving. Now, the day after Halloween?! Seems so early, but if it brings a little joy to their little lives, then I think we’ll do it.

3. I want some chunky black boots. Industrial. Like Doc Martens but not with the gold stitching. I think they’ll be my new winter boots this year (my only black boots are heeled, and these will be flat)!

4. Alexander’s already been asking if I’m making that Milkbar Pumpkin Pie again this year…

5. I really want to live in NYC again. Cam and I have even talked about getting a sublet, for 1-2 months, and just living there temporarily. It’s honestly not expensive to live there besides rent - otherwise, it’s free or cheap to get around, we’d cook for ourselves, and there are so many free things to do. It would just be rent + food! It’s probably not going to happen, but a girl can dream. ❤️ 

Ok bye bye

As usual, feel free to reply to this email if you have any feedback or ideas or anything. You can also click here to “buy me a coffee,” which is my virtual tip jar!

Other than that, hope you have a good weekend and week. I’ll talk to you real soon.

❤️ Bethany