The Weekly Wrap: August 3, 2025

I knew that having a kid would result in messes. It's simply a fact of parenting. Our kiddo is on the neater side, but we still find things all over the place. For the most part, cleaning up doesn't take much and kiddo is an active participant in keeping our home clean. But we also have the assistance of our robot vacuum. We've learned to check his disposal container before we empty it in the trash because there's always fun stuff in there. 

To date, we have encountered (and saved from accidental disposal):

• Hair ties
• Lite-Brite pegs
• Toy coins
• Fuse beads
• Plastic beads
• Doll socks
• Rainbow loom rubber bands
• Legos

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And, of course, random bits of glitter. So. much. glitter.

What has your vacuum eaten?

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• When they come for PBS. [Link in Bio]
• The potato paradox. [The Atlantic - gift link]
• One of the many necessary things your tax dollars do that you don't think about. [The 51st]

• What's happening at The Washington Post. [City Cast DC]
• The truth about seed oils. [Life Kit]
• I now want to watch this cult classic. [Hot and Bothered]
• Why your brain sees things that aren't there. [Short Wave]
• Global warming is coming for chocolate. [Short Wave]

• We zipped through Tour de France: Unchained in about two nights. This third (and final) season was about last year's tour. I love the behind the scenes info. The logistics of the Tour fascinate me. I also like that this show gives me a chance to practice my French. I can get about half of the conversation without looking at the subtitles - but slang and specialized vocabulary always trip me up. [Netflix]
• I was happy to check the first documentary off my new list. Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine looks at the construction and early deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope. Since I followed this news while it was happening, very little was new to me. But it was worth the watch just to see the early JWST images on our big TV screen. They're even more magical when they're bigger. [Netflix]
• We then rolled right into Unknown: The Lost Pyramid. We put this on because it was there, but I love all things ancient Egypt. It was a really cool look at the day-to-day work of archaeology that ends with an amazing find. [Netflix]

• On a normal day, shrimp with summer vegetables is an easy dish to whip up. It's not so easy when you're also trying to keep your kiddo on track during her post-camp shower. I kept having to bounce back and forth between prep work and reminding the kiddo to take care of something. BUT, the results are tasty. We didn't have creole seasoning so I subbed Old Bay. I was a bit heavy handed with the spice, but it was a nice balance to the fresh vegetables. [WaPo - gift link]
• Due to some schedule changes and a full fridge, the husband suggested a night of leftovers. I jumped at the chance to not cook during a heatwave. Plus, it meant everything in Tupperware was eaten. Even better, nothing went to waste.