I’m sitting here while the kids watch Bluey, and Cam’s getting groceries. My shoulders are sore from swimming practice, and I just have a lot on my mind. So I figured I’d write some to you guys! Summer’s just started here, so Louisiana will keep getting warmer until August and then start to cool down just a bit. It’s so neat that there are parts of the world where Winter is just starting. I mean, I get it, from a science perspective, but it’s still a cool thing to think about.

Things for you to check out

The New York Times has two more games (maybe others) that are still in beta. Connections is fun: you are given 16 words, and you have to group them into 4 groups of 4. (It’s basically the BBC’s game called Only Connect.) Here’s the one for today:

As you can see, KIWI is a fruit or animal, and TURKEY is a bird, food, or country. So you can’t automatically group those right away. But you can see that there are exactly 4 fruits. If you mess up, you’ve got 4 mistakes available. Ultimately, here are the answers for this one!

The second game is called Digits. It’s a Math game, duh. You have 5 different number puzzles in a row to get all the stars for the day. For each one, you’ve got 6 numbers to work with, plus the 4 main operations. Here’s the first challenge for today’s puzzle:

You can use each number only once, and you don’t need to use them all. You also have the option to undo as many steps as you’d like. Once you get the answer, you automatically move on to the next puzzle of the day. If you just can’t seem to get the number, that’s okay - get as close as you can and submit that answer (you just won’t get all 3 stars for that puzzle).

There’s an app that I saw on TikTok that I’m really glad to have since I’m training for this triathlon. I’m not sure if it’s everywhere or just in the USA, but it’s called Noonlight. If you feel unsafe for some reason (could be on a walk or just in your own home or at the store, wherever), you open the app and hold down the button. Once you feel feel safe again, you stop holding down the button. At this point, the app will prompt you to enter your code (it’s a 4 digit number you choose when you set it up!). If you do not enter the code within 10 seconds (or maybe it’s 20, I can’t remember), emergency services will automatically be contacted with your information.

Weekend Update

I used to love watching Weekend Update on SNL but only when it was Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey. I’m sure there have been other good hosts, but that was when I enjoyed it the most (or maybe it was some big time in my life, and everything felt important, you know what I mean?). I distinctly remember all the song parodies from Jimmy Fallon, and I think it must have been the first time I’d heard a song parody, and I just loved them.

Anyway, here’s MY weekend update - it will not be very funny😅

I went to my first triathlon club meetup / practice. There were 25-30 people there, a mix of all sorts of people. Immediately upon arriving I realized everyone was wearing a proper tri suit, and I only had on a bathing suit. Luckily one of the women was kind enough to let me HAVE a spare tri suit. Like, she had an extra and had me wear it for the swim and then told me to just keep it. 🥹 Then that same lady let me borrow her sunglasses for the bike ride (I was VERY unprepared!! Next time I’ll know what I actually need to bring!).

It was my first open water swim and it wasn’t as bad as I expected. I was a little nervous about drowning, but a guy on a kayak stayed next to me the entire time since I was the only newbie there. Also, they gave me a buoy attached at the waist so that I could hold onto it as needed. I was only slightly nervous about the critters that were surely swimming under me - because of that, I didn’t actually swim under water at all!! The underwater swimming is going to be the biggest challenge for me in this race.

Because of that challenge, I signed myself up for a short-term YMCA membership in town. That way, I can do my swim practices in a big pool and really get some good practice time in. The only downside is that it’s 40-45 minutes to get to the closest YMCA. It opens early early, so I’ll just get up very early, 2-3 days per week, for the next 6 weeks. Surely, something will “click” when it comes to the swimming, and then I’ll feel a lot more confident!

I’m still needing a proper water bottle (someone suggested getting a water vest instead, which I’m going to look into) and bike shorts (for bike practices). Besides that, I THINK I’m all set for this race!

LOST

Did you watch LOST back in the day? I never did, but in 2016 I watched it all the way through for the first time. I loved it. I know the ending gets some people upset, but I can overlook that because the rest of the show is so good. I’m rewatching it now (just in the middle of season 2), and it’s fantastic. I love how snarky and perturbed Sawyer always is. I love how sarcastic John Locke is. I love how Jin’s character develops. I just love Charlie. Sayid is my favorite!!

I believe it all really happened. I believe the crashed, they survived, and then some of them made it off the island. But I need to see the last episodes again to decide what I believe - it’s been too long!

It makes me think of this TikTok video I saw recently. It said that most men fully believe they could land an airplane in an emergency situation. And then the video is followed up by screenshots: the person making the video had asked a variety of people if they could land an airplane in an emergency. And, you guessed it, the men pretty much all said yes, and the women pretty much all said no.

What do YOU think? Could you land an airplane in an emergency situation? Yes, you’d be guided by the air traffic controllers on the ground! Personally, I’m with the guys😆 I follow directions and work well under pressure, so I THINK I could. But surely that’s delusional?

“Fun time”

I mentioned this on IG stories recently, but I’ll share it here too!

We call it Fun Time in our house. We aren’t consistent with it, but even when we do it inconsistently, it is effective. If I notice the kids are bickering a little more than usual or they’re being a little less cooperative, it reminds me to get back in to doing Fun Time. And literally, within a few days, there’s a massive improvement in them!! ❤️

• 15-20 minutes (pick a time that works for you, set a timer)

• one-on-one time with one of your kids

• child-led play, no screens

That’s it! I’ve got a few rules for myself - I don’t tickle, I don’t rough house. Cam does those things with them, but I don’t enjoy them. I get really stressed out the whole time. So when the kids get Cam one night, they pick tickling, hide and seek, swimming, physical activities. With me, it’s usually board games or make believe play.

If you’re new to it, it’s hard to let the kid lead. You want to jump in with “why don’t we _____?” instead of just hanging out and letting them decide! Another thing that’s tricky is to not check your watch or phone (okay, maybe that’s just me). It’s gotten easier though!

A few questions I got on Instagram:

1. What if both kids want to play with the same parent one night? Unless we’ve got a lot of free time before bedtime, we will just say no. You can play with that person the next night. It’s not really a big deal usually, but it doesn’t hurt them to ask!

2. What do you do when you’ve got more than 2 kids? Honestly, for now, Charlie just tags along with the less-dangerous activity or he does his own thing. When he was real little, I’d hold him the whole time. As he gets older, he’ll be incorporated in a rotation with the big kids. That would mean that I’d play with Alexander one night, Annabelle the next, and Charlie the 3rd night. It also means that every 3rd night, one kid would just not get Fun Time. As long as it’s consistent and predictable, I don’t foresee that being an issue.

3. What if you don’t like doing what they want to do that night? Yea that happens sometimes. If something really doesn’t sound fun to me, I’ll let them know, and they come up with another idea. Usually, I’m cool with their ideas though.

4. What if I’m not good at make believe? I feel like there is a small percentage of adults who ARE good at make believe play, and the rest of us just try our best. I’ve shared this before, but it’s worth repeating. Annabelle loves make believe play. All day, every day. She turns it all into a game. Here’s how she and I do make believe:

• I pick a scenario. For example, I need a hair cut! She’s my new stylist.

• I set the scene in a sentence or two. [Open fake door, walk into the salon] “Hiiii, Bethany King here to see Annabelle for a haircut. I’m nervous since I haven’t met her yet!”

• Annabelle picks up on the scene right away and just jumps in. “Oh suuure Bethany. Hi! I’m Annabelle. Come sit in my chair so we can figure out what hair cut you want!”

And we just go from there. If there’s a bit of a lull, I’ll make something up to shake things up. “Oh no I just remembered my kid gets out of school early today, so I have to leave in 5 MINUTES and my hair is still not finished!!”

You get the idea. 😅

We’ve done so many of these scenarios. Here are some she remembers:

• We were astronauts that went to space together

• She ran a bakery.

• She was my dentist.

• She was my doctor (I came up with a bunch of weird symptoms).

• She was a meteorologist reporting on a big storm, and I helped her get ready to be on air.

• She was a bad guy, and I was the prosecuting attorney😅

• I owned a music studio, and she was my newest artist.

Anyway, let me know if you give it a try!

TikTok recipes I’ve saved!

1. Bang Bang Air Fryer Chicken (I did it in the oven)

2. Chipotle Chicken Burritos (haven’t tried!)

3. Honey Sriracha Chicken Noodles (haven’t tried)

4. Cheesy Potatoes (yum!)

5. Chicken and Veggie Soup (deeelicious - WARNING: lots of food ASMR😆)

5 random things

1. We’ve got a lot of tomatoes from the garden right now, a few different varieties. My dad loves just eating tomatoes with a little salt and pepper. I like them plain, but I also want to try making a few jars of pasta or pizza sauce!

2. I saw an idea recently where you slice a pineapple into big pieces then freeze them. Then you use a cheese grater to grate it (use the smallest grating option!). Then you pour a little sweetened condensed milk and sprinkle some toasted coconut on it. Sounds delicious!

   

3. There’s this little Barbie cake that Annabelle has. I want to try to make it for real but like, a small version.

4. Our baby chicks have moved out to the coop! We did it gradually, and there was just one of the big hens (who must be top of the pecking order) who gave them a hard time. But she’s cool now, and they’re all just doing their thing out there. One of the little ones (a Bantam) is SO SMALL. It’s still the size of a little chick, but it’s nearly full grown. I really can’t wait to see what those eggs look like😆

5. I’m obsessed with Popcorners. They look like tortilla chips, but they’re really popcorn. It’s like thin rice cakes, shaped like triangles. The White Cheddar is my fav, but the others are good too!

Shoutouts

Thank you to Maretva who contributed to my wish list, and to the 2 anonymous folks who bought me a coffee!

Thank you to all you fine folks who’ve given me tips on triathlon training and the gear that could be useful. It’s been really helpful!

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

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