Hey Reader!

Whew, these last few weeks at the Richie household have been a whole saga. Like, if Netflix filmed us, we’d at least get 3 seasons and a bonus Christmas special. I'm sure you can relate.

I'm nearly finished with Attack on Titan (an anime), and even Daniel and Zoey (my 14 yo son and 13 yo daughter, respectivel) haven't seen it yet. My daughter thinks it's so cool that I'm the only adult / parent she knows who likes anime. Honestly? I'm just reclaiming my youth in 20-minute episodes while pretending it's parent-child bonding. Sans child.

Also, please tell me you’ve heard there’s a new Freakier Friday movie coming out with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis?! Because if body-swapping chaos with emotional growth and a killer soundtrack doesn’t scream "quality family film," I don’t know what does. I can watch Freaky Friday on repeat, so this is right up my alley.

But here’s the real headline: we got a kitten.

Daniel and I went across the street for a week straight trying to catch this 7-week-old kitten. By the time we did, it was 8-weeks-old. It's a tuxedo kitten, and I guess I'm racist because I only wanted a tuxedo kitten since we already have two tuxedo cats. Wanted to add it to my collection. Gotta catch them all, right?

So Daniel (my 14-year-old) and I stalked this poor thing across the street for a solid week like tiny fluffy bounty hunters. And let me tell you...this kitten? Was feral. Like, borderline gremlin energy. There were traps. Maps. Strategy meetings.

It started as a simple mission: catch the kitten. But somewhere between setting traps and analyzing movement patterns, it turned into a full-blown stakeout. We had charts. We had theories. We were one corkboard and a red string away from a true crime podcast.

We finally caught the tiny gremlin and named him Coty. Not Cody. Coty—like “coat,” because we’re sticking with our fashion-forward naming theme. We’ve got our OG male cat named Socks, and then our BIG girl named Beanie, and now Coty. It’s basically a Forever 21 lineup, but fuzzier.

The little feller fell asleep right next me. ⤵️

Oh, and speaking of fuzz...

Daniel finally got a haircut! 🙌

You might’ve seen the photo and thought, “Wow, that kid could pass for a backup guitarist in an early 2000s emo band,” and you wouldn’t be wrong.

His last haircut was March 3rd. Of last year. He made me pinky promise no shaved sides, so we compromised on the short but slight length to it kind of look.

(Btw, doesn't he look just like Nicolas Cage? ⤵️ My brother-in-law seems to think so. Especially in that movie, "Raising Arizona.")

What else...what else....

Oh! We also went to my niece’s baby’s 1st birthday party, which, as one would expect, mostly involved adults awkwardly juggling paper plates, dodging rogue sippy cups, and pretending the baby was aware of any of it. I’m convinced first birthdays are just an excuse for adults to day drink near a bounce house.

Then last weekend, we took Scout to WOW. This allegedly stands for World of Wonders, but really should mean Why Oh Why did I wear real pants for this?

Imagine a museum where every button makes noise, every wall lights up, and your child sprints like he’s being chased by invisible dinosaurs. It was part science, part chaos, and 100% a reminder that I am no longer built for speed.

I walked in with confidence and walked out with shin splints, three lost snacks, and an existential crisis, needing a nap, a neck brace, and possibly a chiropractor named Dave. Or Zach.

And now I’m gearing up for the 4th annual Homeschool Mom Summer Summit: YouTube Edition, happening June 24! 🎉 It’s basically three days of real talk, brilliant speakers, and homeschool wisdom dropped in bite-sized video form – so you can binge-watch while pretending you're folding laundry.

Registration opens next week (woohoo!), but if you’re feeling lucky or just allergic to paying full price like I am, no need to scour the Google looking for "HMSS coupon codes" (surely I'm not the only one who does this when I'm face to face with a purchase?). You can enter this homeschool summer giveaway we have going on for free tickets and VIP Passes and $1,600 worth of prizes. I’m giving away a bunch, so your odds are better than finding a matching sock. 👉 You could be 1 of 41 winners! 🎉 Enter it here if you want to try your luck.

(Funny story, my ex (Daniel & Zoey's dad) won $250,000 on a scratch-off ticket in 2015. He had $8,000 in back child support, but in order to avoid paying it (or ANY child support, for that matter), he instead put the winnings in his dad's name and account. Guess what? His dad had $60,000 in back-taxes to pay that caught up to him when he did that. I love retelling that story.) (Don't ask me where this fits in today's email.)

Anyway, that’s the current update from our chaos corner. New cat. New hair. Same amount of coffee being reheated three times before I drink it. And now there's more cats to add glitter too... Yip....peee.....

See you tomorrow!

xo,
Richie