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Mom proves the pain of being the ‘default parent’ by counting her 3 kids’ non-stop requests

“This validates my burnout, right?”

mom life, jordan klein, default parents
via Anna Shvets/Pexels and Jordan Klein/TikTok

Jrdan Klen counts the number of requests her 3 kids make in a day.

There never seems to be any downtime when you’re the default parent. You know, the parent that the kids go to first when they want anything, especially food. They're also the go-to person for school forms and bedtime stories, and the parents that the school reaches out to when a student is sick has to go home.

Some parents are the default because there’s an imbalance in the home, which forces them to assume most of the day-to-day child-rearing responsibilities. In other families, one parent is the default because the other is busy with work or other obligations.

Popular TikTokker Jordan Klein wondered why she becomes overwhelmed halfway through the day while watching her children. "I have three boys, ages 5, 3, and 1, and I continuously lose my sh*t. Sometimes it comes out. Sometimes," she said in a recent post. "I lose my sh*t right around 2 or 3 p.m. every day without fail. My husband works from home. But he does not lose his sh*t consistently. So, what's going on?"

To get to the bottom of her situation, she conducted a scientific study where she counted the number of requests she gets from her children on a given day, and the results were unbelievable.

This validates my burn out, right? #momtok #momsoftiktok #sahm #boymom #toddlermom #toddlersoftiktok #3under5

@jothemama

This validates my burn out, right? #momtok #momsoftiktok #sahm #boymom #toddlermom #toddlersoftiktok #3under5

"I downloaded one of those little counter clicker apps on my phone where I could just push the screen, and it ticks up one number, and I was just gonna hit it every time one of my children ...made a request,” Jordan said in her TikTok video.

Just ten minutes after downloading the app, her kids made 86 requests of her. She even didn't count repeats, and kids love to repeat themselves. “I guarantee you that if I were to ask my husband how many requests a day he gets at work... it's in the single digits, for sure," she added.

And they say being a stay-at-home mom isn’t a full-time job! “This validates my burnout, right?” Jordan captioned her post.

"I feel this completely, and point it out often to my husband. Like yall, Dad is RIGHT THERE. Ask him," CrochetFeen wrote in the comments. "I have 3 kids too and ‘Mom’ is now a triggering word," Sandra added.

The quasi-scientific experiment gives Jordan some excellent ammunition when talking to her husband about how they divide parenting duties. Even if it doesn’t mean he takes over the default role after work, it at least makes a great case that Jordan deserves more than a few lengthy breaks throughout the day and a few days off every month.

There is only so much stress and mental anguish that parents can take before they are no longer effective and cannot provide a happy and healthy home for their children. When evaluating domestic responsibilities, we often consider having a professional job more stressful than raising children. However, Jordan’s experiment proves that parenting can mean a lot more emotional labor, and families should take a second look at how default parents are valued.

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'Wicked' author says one line in 'The Wizard of Oz' inspired Elphaba and Glinda's backstory

Gregory Maguire says he "fell down to the ground" laughing when the idea hit him.

Public domain

The two witches in "The Wizard of Oz" clearly had a history together.

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book or listened to a piece of music and wondered, "How did they come up with that idea?" The creative process is so enigmatic even artists themselves don't always know where their ideas come from, so It's a treat when we get to hear the genesis of a brilliant idea straight from the horse's mouth. If you've watched "Wicked" and wondered where the idea for the friendship between Elphaba (the Wicked Witch) and Glinda (the Good Witch) came from, the author of the book has shared the precise moment it came to him.

The hit movie "Wicked" is based on the 20-year-old hit stage musical, which is based on the novel "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" written by Gregory Maguire. While the musical is a simplified version of the 1995 book, the basic storyline—the origin story of the two witches from "The Wizard of Oz"—lies at the heart of both. In an interview with BBC, Maguire explained how Elphaba and Glinda's friendship popped into his head.

 

Maguire was visiting Beatrix Potter's farm in Cumbria, England, and thinking about "The Wizard of Oz," which he had loved as a child and thought could be an interesting basis for a story about evil.

"I thought 'alright, what do we know about 'The Wizard of Oz' from our memories,'" he said. "We have the house falling on the witch. What do we know about that witch? All we know about that witch is that she has feet. So I began to think about Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West…

 glinda, elphaba, wicked,  In "Wicked," the two Oz witches met as students at Shiz University.  Giphy GIF by Wicked 

"There is one scene in the 1939 film where Billie Burke [Glinda the Good Witch] comes down looking all pink and fluffy, and Margaret Hamilton [the Wicked Witch of the West] is all crawed and crabbed and she says something like, 'I might have known you'd be behind this, Glinda!' This was my memory, and I thought, now why is she using Glinda's first name? They have known each other. Maybe they've known each other for a long time. Maybe they went to college together. And I fell down onto the ground in the Lake District laughing at the thought that they had gone to college together."

In "Wicked," Glinda and the Wicked Witch, Elphaba, meet as students at Shiz University, a school of wizardry. They get placed as roommates, loathe each other at first, but eventually become best friends. The story grows a lot more complicated from there (and the novel goes darker than the stage play), but it's the character development of the two witches and their relationship with one another that force us to examine our ideas about good and evil.

  - YouTube  youtu.be  

 

Maguire also shared with the Denver Center for Performing Arts what had inspired him to use the "Wizard of Oz" characters in the first place.

"I was living in London in the early 1990’s during the start of the Gulf War. I was interested to see how my own blood temperature chilled at reading a headline in the usually cautious British newspaper, the Times of London: 'Sadaam Hussein: The New Hitler?' I caught myself ready to have a fully formed political opinion about the Gulf War and the necessity of action against Sadaam Hussein on the basis of how that headline made me feel. The use of the word Hitler – what a word! What it evokes! When a few months later several young schoolboys kidnapped and killed a toddler, the British press paid much attention to the nature of the crime. I became interested in the nature of evil, and whether one really could be born bad. I considered briefly writing a novel about Hitler but discarded the notion due to my general discomfort with the reality of those times. But when I realized that nobody had ever written about the second most evil character in our collective American subconscious, the Wicked Witch of the West, I thought I had experienced a small moment of inspiration. Everybody in America knows who the Wicked Witch of the West is, but nobody really knows anything about her. There is more to her than meets the eye."

 wizard of oz, wicked witch of the west The Wicked Witch of the West has a story of her own.  Giphy  

Authors and artists—and their ideas—help hold a mirror up to humanity for us to see and reflect on who we are, and "Wicked" is one of those stories that makes us take a hard look at what we're seeing in that mirror. Thanks, Gregory Maguire, for launching us on a collective journey that not only entertains but has the potential to change how we see one another.

This story originally appeared last year.

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After lonely 97-year-old man crashed into her car, they developed an unexpected friendship

"That was an accident that needed to happen❤️"

iamdonshay/TikTok

Destiny Smith and Jim, 97, became friends after he crashed into her car.

Fender benders rarely turn into positive things. But for Destiny Smith and 97-year-old Jim, a minor car accident between them began a beautiful friendship.

In a compilation video shared by Seen.TV of TikTok videos shared on Smith's account (@Iamdonshay), she explains that back in September 2024, Jim rear-ended her car while she was leaving church. After talking with him, it was clear to Smith that Jim was struggling.

It was a minor accident, and she learned that he had no insurance or driver's license. She also learned that he was 97 years old. "But honestly I was just really worried because he was swerving everywhere. And then after he hit me I got out and asked him if he was okay," she shared. Jim told her he was, and that he was just trying to go home.

After talking more, the two realized they lived just two minutes away from each other. Smith vowed to Jim that she would "come check up on" him. As the video continues, Smith asks more about Jim's living situation. She learns that he lives alone, and that he doesn't have any kids or relatives nearby.

"Who helps you?" Smith asks him, and he replies, "Nobody." It's an answer that didn't sit well with Smith. "I'm so sorry," she tells him. Smith sought advice on how to help Jim from her social media followers, who she thanks for their insight.

@iamdonshay

Replying to @Nicole I am so thankful to everyone who donated to Jim registry. Now he has a mattress topper that is more comfortable for his back and lots of other essentials ♥️

"He is now going to have aides. I spoke with a social worker. It's all just gonna work out," she says in the video. "It's all gonna work out for Jim, and I'm so excited, because he's not gonna be alone anymore." Specifically, Smith shared in another video that she was able to get Jim assistance from the county, and that nurses will come to his home to help care for him.

Since then, Smith has remained a steady part of Jim's life. She visits him often, checks up on him, takes him out to meals, and also celebrated his birthday together.

In a more in-depth video, Smith told her followers more about Jim's story. "He's 97. He's outlived a lot of his family members. His brother and his wife recently passed away, and they never had children," she says. "He's really sweet."

@iamdonshay

Yall asked to see Jim when he was younger… here he is 😇😇

Smith's followers have praised her for her care and concern for Jim. One viewer commented, "Both of you were definitely meant to cross paths. This is so beautiful of you 🥺," and Smith replied, "Thank you so much! 🥰 thanks to God we did! I was very determined to get him help♥️."

Another added, "you're his new granddaughter." And one more wrote, "you are such a kind person 🥺❤️this has me tearing up." An especially touched viewer added, "You are literally heaven sent 🙏thank you for watching out for him & his wellbeing."

Viewers are also obsessed with their unique friendship: "I just love how y’all formed a relationship he needed you🫶🏾🙏🏽," one viewer wrote, and Smith replied, "I love him 🥰🥰🥰."

Another viewer commented, "Dynamic Duo."


This article originally appeared in May.

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30 cheap and delicious meals frugal people swear they never get sick of

"I could eat one every day of my life if I allowed it to happen."

Image via Canva

Frugal people share cheap meals they love.

Groceries are a major expense these days. And grocery prices are continuing to go up in 2025, according to the USDA. Still, making meals at home versus going out to eat is cheaper, and a big way to save money. But getting creative with low-cost ingredients can be a hang-up.

In an online community of frugal people, member samdaz712 posed the question to fellow savers: "What’s the cheapest meal you actually enjoy eating regularly?"

They continued, "We all have that one budget meal that somehow never gets old. For me, it’s rice, eggs, and frozen mixed veggies with soy sauce and chili flakes. Costs next to nothing, takes 10 minutes, and I actually look forward to it."

The post wrapped up with a call-out for others' favorite and frugal meals. "Curious what everyone else’s go-to cheap meals are not the I’ll suffer through this to save money kind, but the ones you genuinely like and would still eat even if you weren’t budgeting. Always looking for new ideas that don’t break the bank," they added.

Frugal people happily shared their cheap (and yummy) go-to meals. Here are 30 cheap meals that they never get sick of.

"PB&J sandwiches. I could eat one every day of my life if I allowed it to happen. If I'm feeling fancy, I'll make a PB, banana, and honey sandwich. Then I'll pan toast with a generous amount of butter on each side until the bread is golden brown and the PB starts to melt. It's so decadent yet so cheap." - Kom4K

"Fried egg sandwich." - Major9000

"Every week-ish we make pinto beans, smash em up into a refried situation, melt some cheese, spread them on toasted torta bread with avocado. Then use leftovers in your eggs the next day or make burritos for lunch. You can never go wrong with a pot of beans." - BoardNo1459

"A pot of pinto beans with a link of kielbasa sausage and corn bread...Absolute baller." - Bigram03

"'Hobo-potatoes,' diced potatoes, onions, salt and pepper, mixed up in a bag of foil with oil and left to cook in the coals of a camp fire. Goes great with any protein and has more potassium per serving than bananas." - BlaqueNight

"Pasta and butter. Sometimes with grated parmesan." - RuthlessLidia

"Quesadilla." - babe_ruthless3

"Toast." - FrauAmarylis

"Pan fried tofu slabs braised in a pan with chopped kimchi, green onion, kimchi liquid or rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, bit of water to make it saucy, a tsp of sugar seems to help it meld together. Takes 10-12 min. Served over short grain rice. Optional toppings, toasted sesame seeds, chopped cilantro, sliced green onion. Edit: this was from The NY Times food, from Sue Li for exact proportions." - LavaPoppyJax

"Costco’s $1.50 hot dog and drink." - StarWolf478

"Rice and eggs for me too. It can be enjoyed in so many ways! My favorite is a crispy egg that’s still yolky on sushi rice with seaweed, salt and sesame oil." - theyrejusttoys

"For me it's an egg foo young - type dish! Stir raw eggs into leftover cooked vegetables (and optional protein, like leftover chicken or whatever you have). Ladle the mixture into a hot pan with a little oil, and fry up into patties. Serve over rice, and top with a drizzle of some kind of Asian sauce and a little hot pepper. You can look up a recipe for Egg Foo Young sauce, but that's not necessary; it tastes great with almost any kind of Asian sauce, or simply soy sauce. The cooked patties last for days in the refrigerator and can be reheated. Bonus: This is a fantastic way to use up any small bits of leftover veggies or meat. And if I have wilted vegetables that are in danger of spoiling, I just chop them up and quickly sauté them together, and freeze them in small containers. Now I have lots of veggies ready to go to make delicious egg foo young." - TIL_eulenspiegel

"For me, it’s instant noodles with a soft-boiled egg, some greens, and a splash of sesame oil. Dirt cheap but feels like comfort food every time!" - Wajid-H-Wajid

"Baked potatoes. So cheap, so good." - killyergawds

"Over-night oats. Eat it every morning before work." - Non_Binary_Goddess

"Nachos for the win." - HappyBear4Ever

"Rice and lentils cooked together." - RichCoast7186

"Potatoes, baked beans, fried eggs. Potatoes, corned beef, fried eggs. Rice (Mexican, Spanish, or Asian), beans, fried eggs. Cottage cheese, bran, frozen blueberries, milk. Home made salsa or pico de gallo on anything. Ground beef, rice, tomato and whatever else I have around. Rotisserie chicken, use the carcass to make soup with rice. Use the chicken that you can get off with tortillas and verde/enchilada sauce. With rice and beans. My advice, get really good at cooking rice, beans, and potatoes. Make sure you have a good selection of spices. Throw whatever extra money you have at whatever meats you can." - himthatspeaks

"Sweet potato black bean burrito a la moosewood. The most basic version is just a sweet potato and a can of black beans (but much better with an upgrade of caramelized onions and some cumin)." - Upbeat-Poetry7672

"Sardines on toast with a over easy egg." - Gandi1200

"Green bean casserole! Takes 10mins and lasts me all week for dinner and lunch." - Kihakiru

"Pan fried Spam, sunny side up egg, over rice. Furikake seasoning to taste." - Cajunsalmon

"I don't make meals I don't enjoy eating, but these are easy, quick, healthy and yummy. 1/2 rice , 1/2 red lentils + cubed veggies (frozen or fresh) eventually crushed tomatoes or coconut milk. Baked savory oats : shredded veggies +oats and eventually eggs or cheese or tomato sauce. Dhal sooooooo delicious. Split pea soup." - sohereiamacrazyalien


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A simple historical fact explains why boomers are more likely to fall for misinformation

There's more to the generational divide than age.

Photo credit: Canva

There's a simple historical reason boomers are more likely to believe misinformation

It never fails, you're sitting there trying to get through a day in the office without freaking out over the office lunch thief when your phone screen lights up. A message from your mother or grandmother appears. There's no context to the message, it's just a link to an article about grocery stores requiring passports to enter. You don't even bother clicking on the story before quickly typing back, "it's fake, mom" then continuing on with your day.

The short response isn't because you're being flippant but because as a Millennial, you've become used to filtering false stories from your boomer relatives. Of course you know your well meaning relatives are intelligent in so many areas but you can't figure out why they don't recognize sketchy websites or obviously made up stories. There's actually a really simple reason that this may be happening, specifically when it comes to the boomer generation.

 boomers; Millennials; Gen Z; Gen X; boomer misinformation; misinformation; the fairness doctrine; FCC; fake news; propaganda Exploring the world from home with headphones and a map.Photo credit: Canva

They never had to learn to fact check, thanks to the Mayflower and Fairness Doctrine. Not only did they not need to fact check news sources, they didn't have to critically think about the information that was presented to them when it came from places of authority. This isn't because they were blindly trusting. It's because the information provided by news stations or radio broadcasts no matter how controversial were not allowed to contain any bias or misinformation. They could literally trust everything a newscaster said.

That type of fair and unbiased news reporting was the result of an FCC ruling called the Mayflower Decision (also known as the Mayflower Doctrine) that preceded the Fairness Doctrine. In 1938 a former Yankee's employee Lawrence J. Flynn accused two radio stations of airing one-sided political views, editorials and attacks against politicians the owner of the network didn't like.

 boomers; Millennials; Gen Z; Gen X; boomer misinformation; misinformation; the fairness doctrine; FCC; fake news; propaganda Nostalgic tunes: a moment with the radio.Photo credit: Canva

According to the 1948 Columbia Law Review, due to this kerfuffle, the FCC announced a rule in 1941 that "the radio broadcaster and his station should be allowed neither to editorialize nor take a stand on any controversial matter. This policy appeared as a concomitant to the previously announced position of the Commission that whenever controversial issues were presented they were to be treated impartially and objectively."

In 1949, three years after the first boomers were born, The Fairness Doctrine was passed building from the FCC's guidance on the Mayflower Doctrine. This legislation was meant to break up the monopoly of audience control by ABC, NBC, and CBS with concerns that the news stations could promote extreme bias. It required news outlets, which included radio stations, to provide equal airtime to opposing views. The information needed to be factual in nature without editorializing.

 boomers; Millennials; Gen Z; Gen X; boomer misinformation; misinformation; the fairness doctrine; FCC; fake news; propaganda Retro TV broadcast with a vintage vibe.Photo credit: Canva

Doesn't that sound lovely? In a world where every other headline is written to scare the bejesus out of you and news pieces feel more editorialized than factual, having policy in place to tamper it would probably be beneficial. So what happened? Boomers spent all of their childhood, teen years and early adult years never having to question the factuality rating of their news. Then after more than 40 years of television and radio stations having guardrails in place, Ronald Reagan's administration started rolling it back.

According to the Reagan Library FCC Chairman, Mark S. Fowler who was on Reagan's presidential campaign staff, released a report saying, "the doctrine hurt the public interest and violated free speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment." By 1987 the doctrine was completely repealed despite the objections from Congress. In an attempt to maintain the law, Congress attempted to codify it with the Fairness in Broadcasting Act of 1987. The bill passed the House and the Senate but Reagan vetoed it and according to the Reagan Library, there were not enough votes to overturn the veto.

 boomers; Millennials; Gen Z; Gen X; boomer misinformation; misinformation; the fairness doctrine; FCC; fake news; propaganda President Ronald Reagan sitting with Margaret ThatcherHyper-realistic illustration by: Levan Ramishvili/Flickr

Essentially, from 1941 to 1987, boomers could wholeheartedly trust any news outlet no matter where the news was coming from. By 1988, America had it's first sensationalized news radio show with Rush Limbaugh where wild claims began to fly with no one there to stop it. The removal of the Fairness Doctrine with nothing to replace it left an entire generation at risk of easily falling for misinformation, propaganda and scams.

By this point boomers are parents and Gen X and elder Millennials were in school or heading to school soon. We didn't have any sort of legislation or policy to force news sources to be factual. From the time we reached junior high school, fact checking was part of every day life and we often had to have multiple sources to back up one claim. When the internet became commonplace, we were promptly informed that Wikipedia was not a valid source and learned how to spot suspicious websites. Millennials especially were taught to be skeptical of everything we read online or heard on the news if we couldn't verify it with other sources.

 boomers; Millennials; Gen Z; Gen X; boomer misinformation; misinformation; the fairness doctrine; FCC; fake news; propaganda Couple enjoying a cozy TV evening at home.Photo credit: Canva

In addition to learning to identify malicious websites, we were also taught how to spot obvious spin and sensationalism. These are all skills learned during important developmental years. They're even more important skills to have with the meteoric rise in misinformation, propaganda and sensationalism.

These just aren't skills that boomers were taught and by the time they needed them they were deep in the realities of parenthood. Many of them may not have even known there was a shift in policy around factuality in news simply trusting the guy behind the news desk to tell them the truth. While age may be the obvious gap between boomers and Millennials, one generation grew up in a world where news anchors provided facts with no spin. The other grew up with spin everywhere, learning to trust nothing without fact checking.

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Former Miss America's impression of Julie Andrews singing is so spot-on it's spooky

People swear she's lip synching. She's not.

Farragutful (left), Public domain (right)

Betty Maxwell (formerly Cantrell) was Miss America in 2016. Now she's wowing with her singing impressions.

Julie Andrews, the beloved songbird and star of "The Sound of Music" and the original "Mary Poppins," arguably has no equal, but there is someone who could offer a solid attempt at duping people with her voice. Former Miss America Betty Maxwell does an impression of Andrews that is as impressively uncanny as they come. In fact, it's so good, people sometimes accuse her of lip-synching.

How Maxwell figured out that she can do celebrity singing impressions is an excellent question, but a spin through her TikTok channel leaves no doubt that she can. Watch—actually, close your eyes and listen to—her sing "Feed the Birds" as Julie Andrews:

@realbettymaxwell

Replying to @Maria Yargus close your eyes and listen🕊️🥹 #feedthebirds #impression #singimpressions #disney #marypoppins #voiceactor

 

Wow, right? The tone, the quality, the accent, the little nuances of Julie Andrews' voice are all just right there coming out of someone else's mouth. (Although, a lot of people pointed out that Maxwell looks like Julie Andrews in this video as well.)

She has more:

 

People are understandably blown away by how much she sounds like Julie Andrews. So much so, in fact, that some people think she must be singing to a recording. To show that it's all her, she sings a song from "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" that Andrews never sung (though her voice would have been perfect for it, as we can see here):

 

But it's not just Julie Andrews she can do. Maxwell has impressions of Judy Garland, Idina Menzel, just about every Disney princess, and more.

Maxwell does non-singing impressions as well. Check out these 10 voices she just rattles off like it's nothing:

@realbettymaxwell

More highly requested #impressions 😍🤓#voiceover #voiceactor #singer #actress #disney #fyp

 

Maxwell utilized her singing talents when she competed in the 2016 Miss America pageant as Miss Georgia and won. She didn't do singing impressions on the pageant stage, but rather sang opera.

"I’ve been singing since the age of three," she told Inspiration Ministries. "But I started taking classical voice lessons when I was 14. I took classical voice all through high school and college. When it came time to get ready for Miss Georgia first and then Miss America, I was working with a coach in Atlanta who heard me sing my opera and he was like, 'You don’t need to sing anything else. You need to sing opera for these competitions.' I was like, 'Okay, you know best.'"

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

 

Clearly that advice didn't hurt. And Maxwell had another national chance to show off her vocal abilities whens he auditioned for American Idol in 2022 and got a golden ticket.

Her Idol run was cut short when she didn't make the top 24, but it appears Maxwell has stayed plenty busy. Not only has she been sharing videos that showcase her skills on social media, but she and her husband are looking forward to welcoming a baby Maxwell in just a few months.

@realbettymaxwell

I CANNOT WAIT😭😭😭😭🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵 #singing #singingimpressions #impressions #voiceacting #voiceactor #singer #disney #disneyprincess

 

Maxwell said that her biggest dream is to be the voice of a Disney Princess. Thanks to social media, she's gotten to be Elsa, Moana, Ariel, Aurora, Snow White, Pocahontas, Cinderella and more. People keep asking if Disney knows about her because seriously, she would make a fabulous princess voice. Or any voice, for that matter.

@realbettymaxwell

Reply to @brooktanner6 #elsa #cinderella #moana #impressions #singing #singer #disney #disneyprincesses #singingimpressions

 

These videos are really just scratching the surface. There's so much more to marvel at on her social media pages.

You can follow Betty Maxwell on TikTok and Instagram.

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