ANOTHER GIRL FOR THE GANG!
Annotations will appear as you listen
0:00
51:15
Car
Hummer
Hummer is a brand of big, tough vehicles that are designed for off-road driving. They are known for their bold looks and strong performance.
Car
Ford Expedition
The Ford Expedition is a large SUV that can carry many passengers and their belongings. It's great for families or anyone who needs a lot of space.
Car
Mazda CX-5
The Mazda CX-5 is a smaller SUV that's good for families. It has a nice interior and drives well, making it a popular choice for people who want a mix of space and fun driving.
Car
Chevrolet Suburban
The Chevrolet Suburban is a big family car that can carry a lot of people and their stuff. It's great for road trips and has lots of space, which is why some people choose it over a minivan.
Car
Volkswagen Atlas
The Volkswagen Atlas is a large family SUV that can fit up to seven people. It's great for families because it has a lot of space inside for kids and their stuff.
Term
bench seat
A bench seat is a long seat that can fit more than one person, usually found in the back of larger cars or trucks. It’s useful for families because it allows more kids to sit together.
Term
car seat tilt
Car seat tilt means you can change how the car seat leans back or sits up. This is important for making sure kids are safe and comfortable when riding in the car.
Car
Honda Pilot
The Honda Pilot is a type of SUV that is great for families because it has a lot of space inside. Many people like it because it's reliable and can fit several passengers comfortably.
Car
Honda Odyssey
The Honda Odyssey is a minivan that has a lot of space for families and their stuff. It's designed to be safe and comfortable for kids and parents alike.
Car
Kia Carnival
The Kia Carnival is a family-friendly vehicle with lots of room inside. It's great for carrying kids and their gear, making it a popular choice for parents.
Car
Subaru 360S
The Subaru 360 is a tiny car that was made a long time ago and is very small compared to regular cars. It's easy to park and drive around town, which is why some people still like using it.
Car
Volvo XC90
The Volvo XC90 is a family-friendly SUV that is known for being safe and comfortable. It's a good choice for people with kids because it has a lot of space and features that help keep everyone safe.
LIVE
Welcome to the Carpool podcast with Kelly.
So currently I am cheering for the Seahawks.
Thank you for having me Seahawks fans.
Go Birts, go Hawks.
And Liz.
Sydney one day went into my closet, took my Uggs,
cut the tag label off of my Uggs
and glued them onto her fake Uggs.
Your mom time off starts now.
Welcome back to the Carpool podcast with Kelly.
And Liz.
Hey Liz.
Hey Cal, how are you?
I'm freezing my butt sea off.
It is so cold.
We've been so spoiled in the Midwest in Missouri this year
because like winter's been like 45 degrees.
Like it's been like, oh I need this coat,
but it hasn't been chill to the bone.
And this week it's back with vengeance.
It's chill to the bone.
And it's had the worst morning
because I had two press cars this week,
the Ford Expedition and the Hummer.
In total we had like six car seats installed
between those two cars.
And I understand that like I'm the car, I'm the CPST,
but like uninstalling car seats in the cold is a blue job.
Like that is a job for the truck dad.
I don't need to be.
And I forgot to tell him before he left today
that there was car seats in there.
And then I had to, you know, I couldn't,
there's no way until it warms up
because like they come in the morning, right?
And so then I had to, I was like dressed for my workout
like with my cute like little leggings
and like my little like little lemon top.
And I was about to go downstairs and work out
and then I remembered about the car seats.
Had to go back upstairs, had to like literally bundle up.
Like I was on a ski trip.
And I had to uninstall all these car seats.
And it was so hard because like I didn't have the mobility
with the gloves on, but then I would literally freeze
if I took the gloves off.
It was the worst experience of my life.
I had to eventually just sit in the car
and like wait for it to warm up
and then like close all the doors to uninstall them.
Yeah.
I was gonna say that's what I would do.
If we said it once, we said it a million times,
like being a car reviewer in the winter is so awful.
Like we have some really hot days in Missouri
and we're like screw this, like hate this, blah, blah, blah.
I would take that, I would take the hottest day in Missouri
to film a car tour over the coldest day,
any day of the week.
No, 100%.
Like and I need to like film myself,
like talking to myself in the future.
Like don't you dare complain when it's hot outside
because this is not it.
Yeah, I know.
So that was my morning.
That was my freaking morning.
And I was gonna like put on makeup to record this
and like look cute, but one, I ran out of time
because of the car seats and two,
I'm doing something really exciting this afternoon.
I'm going to get a facial.
Good for you.
Wait up, prioritize your self care.
Well, ever since I got the hydro facial
and it was like not a fun experience at all
because it was like, I talked about this.
It was too mad.
No, it was like, it felt like a medical procedure.
And that's just not what I was after.
Like I'm trying to relax.
I'm trying to like, you know, lower my cortisol,
reduce my anxiety and the hydro facial did not do that.
So I'm just getting like a regular, regular facial today.
Okay.
I'll be curious to know how you feel about it
because what I recently got recently was like a year ago,
the last time I got a facial.
And it was like a total spa experience.
Like you sit in the quiet room, like you, whatever.
Oh, no, I don't want to do that.
That gives me anxiety.
I don't want to do that.
But that's what I'm saying.
It was like the full spa experience.
And then I laid on the thing and whatever,
the late on the table and they did it and she did it.
I was like, get me out of here.
Like there are a million things I could be doing right now.
Like I remember you talking about this time on a facial.
So I'll be curious to know if you, if you are able to relax.
Well, and like it's so cold.
Like I can't imagine them like telling me to take my clothes off
and like get under a heated blanket.
Like, you know, I'll just keep my clothes on
and get under this heated blanket.
Literally.
Well, since I didn't know you were doing that
and it only feels right.
If you're going to go do a spa experience today,
I should go do something for myself today.
So I'm going to go get my toes done because a rule that I have
is just set in place for my life is that when I am pregnant,
I do not do my own toes.
I get pedicures when I'm pregnant and granted,
I could do my own toes because I can still reach my toes.
It's more of a rule for the like, you know,
second or third trimester, but I'm like, let's just extend it.
Like I'm going through so much right now.
Let's just not even give me the choice.
So I'm going to go get my toes done while you're doing that.
Can I just ask a question?
Yeah.
Why?
Like literally no one's going to see your toe.
Okay.
So you know what?
And I'm happy.
I'm happy you're asking this.
Since I got my hardwood floors redone,
I could not like mom in socks in my house.
So I have to just be barefoot all the time because I can't move around.
I'm not dexterous enough.
Like I'm slipping.
I'm sliding like Sloan's climbing on the table.
I got to run there as quick as possible.
I can't be slipping and sliding in socks.
So I always have bare feet around my house
and I don't really leave my house.
Okay.
You're wrong for that.
You need to get a house slipper.
I have a house slipper and I need to get a new house slipper.
I just like I'm in between house slippers right now.
And I need to, I need to just like order some on Amazon.
It's like literally on my to do list.
Look at the ones.
Are you seeing my screen?
I can see your screen.
I don't like how much of a platform I find platforms.
I'm going to twist my ankle.
You've got like platformy looking hugs on.
These are fugs from Amazon.
I literally don't.
And I'm not one to like love an Amazon clothing.
I've talked about this at length.
These are the ug ones.
Like I don't know why you would ever spend more than $39 on these.
Like if you have like that, like you let money on fire.
If you bought the real hugs and not these ones.
And I'm sorry to tell you that.
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
No, I know.
I'm just, I'm just in between.
In between high school.
Was it Sydney?
Who one of our siblings?
It was Sydney.
Sydney.
I'll tell the story.
My mom bought, I had real, me and Kelly had real hugs cause we were older.
My, my, our younger sisters had fake hugs cause they were growing.
Like your feet are growing.
Your feet are growing.
Like we were, we were what our size was.
They were like that bear paw brand.
Yeah.
So they didn't have a label on them.
Like whatever.
Sydney one day went into my closet, took my hugs, cut the tag label off of my face.
Got my hugs and glued them onto her fake hugs.
And I know what you're thinking.
Like, okay.
Like whatever.
That is the, that was the biggest freaking deal.
When we were in what were we probably eighth grade freshman year or something like that.
Yeah.
No.
Right.
Like that was such a crazy thing to do.
I was, she, I mean she didn't ruin my ugly.
I could still wear them, but it was like, what the heck.
You took the best part off of the UGGs, which was the UGG label.
That girl.
That sisters.
And if you don't have a sister, you don't understand how like,
If, if you don't have a sister, you don't understand.
Speaking of sisters, I'm going to have sisters.
Oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh.
I found out that I am having a baby girl and I am so shocked.
I'm floored.
And I'm still like wrapping my brain around it.
I don't know if anyone else has had this experience, but I do feel like.
So when I found out I was having a boy with James, I was thrilled.
I didn't care.
I was just so happy to be pregnant.
Like it didn't matter what I was going to have, but like I was so excited.
Then when I found out that I was having a girl with Sloan, I was maybe even more excited
because I always wanted a girl and then I was like, I'll have one of each.
This is the dream.
Like this is wonderful.
And then when I found out I was having a girl, I was like, Oh my gosh.
This is like now the dynamics of my family.
Like the third one kind of seals in the dynamics of your family.
Like, Oh, we're a girl.
We're a girl.
We don't know how many kids we're going to have.
We're a girl.
Heavy family.
I didn't know we were going to be a girl.
Heavy family.
I didn't know.
I didn't know what we were going to be.
I didn't care what we were going to be, but it's just like, Oh wow.
Now I'm picturing like Sloan and what that looks like for her.
And I'm picturing James and what potentially not having a brother looks like for him.
And there's just like so many mixed emotions surrounding this one gender.
And I don't think it's gender disappointment.
And I also don't think I would have, I feel like I'd be feeling either way if it was a
boy or a girl, but it's just this very weird thing that I'm trying to like wrap my head
around.
Well, transparently, again, I have two boys, two girls like couldn't be better.
Totally.
But I have a, I always felt a little, again, it's not gender disappointment, but I wish
that I would have, this doesn't sound so bad, but I'm, let me just say my, let me just say
my piece and then you guys don't have to like come for me when I'm going to say, but me
and you were so close in age that I was like, Oh, I think, I don't want to say it's better
or I worship, but like George and Hattie and Fred and Libby are so close, but they're different
in gender.
So like the boys are further apart in age and my girls are further apart in age.
So the fact that like you didn't skip one and that you're going to have close in age.
Yeah.
Like I just don't know if my kids are going to be, my girls and my boys are going to be
tillers built in best friends like you and I were.
Like I have to look at my relationship with Sydney because, because this is our age gap.
And I mean, I think it's already like, you know, as you get older, age gap gets less
and less and less noticeable.
But growing up, like I wouldn't say Sydney and I were super close because like you and
I were super close.
No.
I mean, I would say Sydney and I were actively not close because she was cutting the labels
off of my eggs.
Remember what also Sydney did to me in the back of mom's van, what she wrote.
Oh my gosh, Sydney was such a little devilish child and that's sounds harsh.
That's the only way to describe her.
Also, Sydney had a sleepwalking problem and she always wore these freaking nightgowns.
Little nightgowns and you had this crazy bed head and like we were downstairs and like
lightning would strike and you would look next to your bed and Sydney would be there.
It was so scary.
Anyway, so then one time this had to be, she was old enough to spell.
To spell.
Bill went to write well in the in the back of mom's conversion van.
She took a marker and she wrote kill Kelly.
What?
What?
Did she write like kill Bill, kill Kelly?
Like she wrote killed.
It was like me and Bill.
Who's Bill?
I don't know.
And so then picture that.
So then she's writing that and then the next thunderstorm, I have a little like nightgown
nightmare child looking over my bed and she's like, can I sleep with you?
I don't know.
So yeah, so like that's what Hattie and that's what Hattie and Libby have to look forward to.
Wait, totally.
Another unhinged thing Sydney did was there was like a show and tell.
Like second grade and the Sydney got like sent home or called mom or whatever because
Sydney brought Ninja throwing stars.
I guess Craig, Craig had Ninja throwing stars like as like they were like a collector's item
like he didn't use them, but they were like Craig was older or whatever.
That's what he had.
He had these ninjas throwing stars and Sydney stole them and brought them to school and my
mom gets a call like your daughter brought a weapon in second grade.
I know, which a bit dramatic.
A bit dramatic.
I mean, come on.
But with Sydney, who knows between the kill Kelly.
We don't know if there was a bill in her class.
Like, I don't know.
She was, I mean, crazy.
Sydney's not here to defend herself because yeah, she has.
It's all indefensible.
She has some explaining to do.
So anyway, that's I'm, but I'm so excited.
I'm so like, I love girls.
Like I always wanted girls.
I love sisters.
I'm just like, I'm so excited to have my little besties.
So baby girl coming in August.
Today's episode is brought to you by K12.
The start of a new year makes many of us think about what we can do to set ourselves and our
families up for success.
For a lot of parents, that includes school.
Maybe your kid needs more flexibility.
Maybe they thrive with something more personalized.
That's why I want to tell you about K12 powered schools.
These are tuition free online accredited public schools for kindergarten through 12th grade.
With K12, your child will get the support they need to learn at their own pace with tailored curriculum.
But this is different from homeschooling.
K12 has state certified teachers that are trained to teach online.
They utilize hands-on innovative technology to make learning interactive.
And K12 knows education isn't a one size fits all.
Whether your family has a busy on the go schedule or your student is an advanced or diverse learner,
K12 will set them up for success.
Join more than 3 million families who have been served by K12 and empower your student to reach their full potential now.
You can make the switch at any time.
Go to k12.com slash carpool today to learn more.
That's the letter K, the number 12.com slash carpool.
K12.com slash carpool.
Today's episode is brought to you by Quince.
Starting the year with a wardrobe refresh, Quince has you covered with lux essentials that feel effortless and look polished.
They're perfect for layering, mixing and building a wardrobe that lasts.
Their versatile styles makes it easy to reach for them day after day.
Quince has all the staples covered from soft Mongolian cashmere sweaters that feel like designer pieces without the markup
to 100% silk tops and skirts for easy dressing up to perfectly cut denim for everyday wear.
Their wardrobe essentials are crafted to last season after season.
Each piece from Quince is made with premium materials and ethical trusted factories then priced far below what other luxury brands charge.
One of my favorite pieces that Kelly actually included in my Christmas gift this year is the Quince women's cropped organic cotton cardigan.
So cute, true to size. I wear a medium in it where all the time I have three of them. I can't get enough of it.
Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Don't wait.
Go to quince.com slash carpool for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns.
Now available in Canada too.
That's qince.com slash carpool to get free shipping and 365 day returns.
Quince.com slash carpool.
So anyway, now we have to decide what you're going to name them.
And I have no, I have some ideas, but like nothing that I'm obsessed with.
Um, so I need to talk to naming baby. She told me she has a name in mind for me.
I'm obsessed with naming baby. She's like such a fun Instagram follow and like I'm never, I'm not naming anymore babies and I still love following her.
And she has a podcast and they had the funniest take the other day because they were talking about the name Olivia.
And like Olivia is like such a beautiful name.
It was also like one of the most popular names out there.
And this other girl in the podcast was like, yeah, everyone wants the Olivia alternative and then they're mad when they don't like it because they just want, they just like the name Olivia.
Totally.
And I think something that naming baby does a good job of like kind of hitting home is like you have to hear a name and then sit with it.
Like we're so quick to be like, hey, no, don't like it.
And sometimes you just have to like chill for a second.
Like you don't, it's just as long as it's not an immediate no, just like sit with it.
That's what I've been doing.
Like any name that I don't have an immediate like horrible gut reaction to, I put it on a list and um, that's, that's my approach.
Some suggestions that I do have for naming baby, I talked about on my stories about how Maddie like had this girl name and I was like, where did you get this name from?
And he was like, it's one of my top five favorite Roman emperors.
And then my DMs were like, oh, our all husbands the same because apparently many ladies have had this conversation with their husband about them wanting to be named after Roman emperors.
Well, Roman emperors or Roman emperors wives?
No, it's a Roman emperor.
It's like a derived from.
Okay. Yeah.
I don't want to say the name because I don't think well, I mean, I don't think we're going to use it, but I also like whatever.
I'm not going to say it yet.
What do you know?
Anyway, I think naming baby needs to look at a list of Roman emperors and give us like cute modernized takes on it.
So when our husbands are like, can we name our child Maximus or Titan or whatever?
There's like, well, okay, like let's play with this.
Like how can this be cute?
And then we can, you know, have a happy meeting.
So that's my free content idea.
I also think naming a third child really kind of sets the tone for your naming style.
Like, for example, George and Hattie could have gone a lot of different directions.
Once we added Fred to the mix.
Yeah.
It totally changed the vibe of George and Hattie.
Yeah.
Which is why I felt like Libby.
I don't know.
That was like so hard naming Libby.
And I'm so happy and like that was a list.
That was a listener submission because I loved Elizabeth, but I was going to do Betty as her name like Elizabeth color Betty.
But then I would have Freddie and Betty Fred and Betty Rubble.
Like it just would have been bad.
Would have been bad.
So Libby's like a little cuter too.
She says, you know what?
I don't think our names all go together.
Like mom and dad did not do a sibling set like Kelly, Elizabeth, Craig, Sydney and Grayson.
Like what even is that?
Sydney and Grayson are such wild cards.
They, yeah, they got creative.
100%.
Well, they had five kids.
Okay.
So I'm trying something today called the Olsen talk.
Have you heard of this?
Okay.
So all these like fashion and fluency girly pops and following.
They're always like, this sweater is amazing for the Olsen talk.
And I'm like, what is an Olsen talk?
Like I'm thinking it's like a way you tuck it into your pants.
No, it's when you just keep your hair in your clothes.
So I see that you are going for the Olsen tuck.
I don't think it's in regards to just like a sweatshirt with no makeup on.
I think you're supposed to do it when you're like kind of look fabulous and you have like a sweater and then you look like effortless.
Yeah. Cause is it, but like it's, it feels like such a tuck that like would only exist within like Instagram posts.
Like if I saw someone at a coffee shop in a sweater with their hair tucked into their sweater,
what is this girl doing?
Like, does she know her hair is tucked into her sweater?
Yeah.
But I agree.
Like in the curated posts, I'm like, oh, she does look like she just threw it on and ran out the door.
It's so chic in a paparazzi photo.
I would say you look unfinished right now.
Okay.
I'll pull it out then.
But honestly, it was kind of giving me, actually it was kind of giving me warm.
Like I'll be totally for real.
I thought I was going to be overstimulating, but like there's something so cozy about it.
Okay.
That reminds me of something so crazy.
I saw on Instagram, you know, when you see like a post on Instagram and you're like, this is going to change.
Like I learned something new.
It's going to change my life.
You know, like the puffer jackets that have the fur around the hood and we all wear the fur outside.
Did you know we're supposed to be tucking the fur inside?
It's supposed to flip in.
And I did this the other day.
It works.
You flip it in so it's around your face and around your ears.
And then your head is warm and wind is not like penetrating your ears.
Because the fur is not, the fur on the outside doesn't do anything.
I thought it was always just like, oh, fashion.
I guess it has a purpose.
You're supposed to flip it in.
Do it.
Do it.
It keeps you so warm.
I'm learning so much.
Okay.
Something new I learned.
Um, okay.
I know we have like some advice questions and like other stuff to get to, but I just have like a couple of more things in my dump.
Yeah.
And I was taught thinking about this the other day.
I was at the grocery store with Libby.
And isn't it just so interesting like the brands and the companies that just like don't have to advertise anymore or just have like completely stopped advertising.
When I was a kid, every other commercial was for tic-tacs.
Hmm.
Every other commercial was for a Kit Kat.
Yeah.
Where are those commercials?
Have they just like reached enough market share where they can just stop?
Like, where is the give me a break?
Like, why have they just stopped advertising?
Give me a break for that Kit Kat part.
I do wonder, was it because maybe they were trying to advertise to like children and we were watching children's stuff?
Like, does Kit Kat still advertise with Nickelodeon?
I just like haven't seen a Kit Kat come across my desk.
No, I get that.
I get it.
Yeah.
And forever.
And I was inundated with it at one point in my life.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
No, tic-tacs, I haven't seen any advertisements.
And then I'm thinking like, think about like brands that just like literally don't have to advertise because like they're just the only one people think of.
Such a niche example.
Jiffy cornbread mix.
I would literally, I would never buy another thing of cornbread mix as long as I'd live.
Like I would just never buy that.
I would only buy Jiffy.
Yeah.
But like Jiffy hasn't done a dang thing.
They haven't upgraded their packaging since the 70s.
So true.
Like do they even have marketing departments?
Well, I mean they do because they've just been bought out by like Kraft or like some bigger company.
Sure.
But like there are people like working on a team for Jiffy.
For nothing.
No, I don't know.
I don't know.
It's like so interesting.
I don't know.
And I actually have been consuming more commercials lately because I am absolutely obsessed with the show Traders.
So much.
I haven't stopped talking about it.
So much so that like I'm all caught up on the current season.
So now I'm watching Dylan Efron season.
First of all, Dylan's amazing.
You slandered him so hard.
I slandered.
I'm disgusting.
I'm disgusting.
I slandered him so hard.
He is a great, he's great on this show.
But this season is freaking wild of Traders.
I'm, it is such a good show.
If you are postpartum, like it is the perfect postpartum show because I find it a little hard to like get in and out of like, you can't like watch an episode a night.
Like you need to kind of just rot.
Like you need to bed rot.
And if I was postpartum bed rotting, this is what I would be watching.
Now you have not stopped talking about it.
So last night I went ahead and logged into my peacock account and then I was like, Oh, because I have a free one through into my Instacart and then I had to upgrade.
So, but then I watched the trailer and I'm like, Oh God, this looks kind of dumb.
And so I didn't watch it.
So you didn't watch it?
No.
So I need you to sell me that it doesn't look dumb.
Well, it's a little theatrical.
I will say that theatrical.
I'm like, okay, I can't buy into all this.
But I kind of love the guy who hosts it.
Like he always just has these like amazing outfits on and like it's a little like, I don't know why there was talking about murder and like, I don't know why it's a little theatrical.
Uh-huh.
But the premise is really good.
And it's just like, I can't really explain it.
It's just a good show.
Okay.
I'm so tired of like, I just, I feel like there hasn't been like good TV put out in a really long time.
And I'm just like really, I don't like very scary.
I don't like scary or like gory shows.
I don't like overly like smutty show.
Like I just don't watch any of that.
I'm trying to protect my peace, protect my content.
Totally.
And there's just like nothing.
Like there's just not a show I want to watch.
So that's why I got into dancing with the stars because I'm just like, it's just like, I hate to say like good, clean, fun.
It's just good, clean, fun is all that it is.
Well, when I was like, I don't feel like paying for a subscription right now.
This looks theatrical.
I went to Netflix.
Again, I also finished Desperate Housewives and have not watched something else other than dancing with the stars or the summer.
I turned pretty at all.
So I'm like, there has to be so much stuff on Netflix that I haven't even touched.
Like let me dive into that and I'll let more episodes of traders come out before I get into it.
I watched an excellent movie.
It's new.
Oh, okay.
See, I'm interested in the movie.
I'm interested in the movie.
Let me tell you about the people we meet on vacation.
I read that book.
It's a movie and it's excellent.
And I clicked on it because I had saw someone post on Instagram like a clip of the movie and they said, romcoms are back.
And it got me so excited and I have to say I agree.
It was adult.
So like they're adults.
They're not teenagers because I find it sometimes hard to get into the teenage stories.
100% agree.
They're adults.
It's like one of those books like you said you've read and that's like all these romance books that we're all into.
Just make those movies.
It was excellent.
It was good, clean, fun.
It was so good.
Such a good movie.
I'm going to watch it with Tyler tonight because last night he's like, let's watch a movie.
And I was like, please, I'm watching Traders.
Like scroll your phone.
I have to finish this.
But I could tell he wanted to watch a movie with me and I kind of showed him down.
So I'm going to tell him.
Yeah.
It was really good.
Love it.
That's what I'm saying.
Like get me in and out.
Get me in and out.
Like I can't to these shows.
Yes.
Like the summer is pretty.
I liked it.
Like, God, they drag it out.
And what I want is like, I want to be bought into two characters that should be together.
I want to have the will that they won't they.
And then I want the, they will.
And then I want to move on with my life.
100%.
100%.
So it just, I'm very encouraged that.
Um, that potentially romcoms could be coming back.
And I just hope and pray.
Okay.
Kel, are you ready for some advice questions?
I really am.
Elizabeth, it's been a message and advice.
All right.
Well, where it's going to really jump into a big one, which is car seats for five kids.
Oh my gosh.
Okay.
It's not so much about the car seats, but kind of is.
Hi.
Truly could not live without your podcast.
I'm looking for some advice on car seat setups in a three row SUV.
My husband and I have six year old twins, a three year old and twins on the way.
Yep.
You got it.
That's five kids under six.
When all is said and done.
We currently have a Chevy suburban and a Mazda CX five.
We need to try the Mazda CX five and for something else ASAP.
All right.
It would be lovely for you to tell me exactly what I need to do.
Okay.
So they want something that can fit all five kids that's smaller than the suburban.
I don't know if that's really what they're, that's really what they're asking for.
I mean, maybe, maybe to fit a couple kids, but.
Okay.
Hands down.
Like the choice here is so obvious to me.
Yeah.
Do you want to try?
No, you can go.
Let's say it on three.
One, two, three.
Minivan.
Volkswagen Alice.
Oh.
Oh, I assumed.
Okay.
I don't think they want a minivan because I think if they were going to buy a minivan,
they wouldn't have bought a suburban.
Cause yes.
I think when you have five kids in car seats, you don't really get a lot of.
Okay.
Well, we'll give them two then.
If you want to like have something cute, fun, like zip around town and that can fit all
five kids if needed, but like really maybe just for like the older kids to like go to
and from like a secondary car.
The Volkswagen Alice bench seat.
Chef's kiss.
I have no notes for you in that car.
It has five seats because it's got two in the third row, three across the bench.
It's a three across machine.
It has a car seat tilt.
So it's enough trunk space.
There is nothing.
There's nothing not to like about it for you.
Like that is the only option in the full size, mid size market.
I guess you could give it.
You could maybe convince me to do a Honda pilot with the bench, but actually you can't.
Cause it doesn't have a car seat tilt.
So like so obviously I'm, it's the Volkswagen Alice.
Okay.
For you.
Yeah, I get that.
I was thinking more as well.
Obviously they have a Chevy suburban.
They're, they're running a training to Mazda CS5.
I don't think they want another full size SUV, but something that'll be cheaper, but can
still fit all the kids easily.
Well then sure.
Then either do a carnival or an odyssey.
Yeah.
But the problem with the minivans is the good bench seats, aka the odyssey and the carnival
don't have car seat tilt and doing three across in a third row is significantly harder and
more cumbersome, especially as the kids get older.
Then it is in the second row.
So it's all coming up Alice or if you just like one of another full size, it's obviously
expedition.
Yeah.
I'm locking in.
Okay.
Cal, this next one advice, third child, new car.
I feel like it's when you add that third child into your life that you actually need to start
thinking about.
Totally agree.
Totally agree.
So.
Well, that's when some cars completely stop working.
Like almost every car can handle the two car seats.
Like are you squished?
Are you out of room?
Like X, Y and Z?
Sure.
But like when you go to three, there are cars that just no longer work.
There's no cars that no longer work.
There's car seats that just no longer work.
It's like you just have to get new car seats.
So let's read this one.
I have two kids who both use the Duna as newborns.
The Duna has since expired and we're pregnant with baby number three.
So we're officially back in the market for a new infant car seat.
Adding another layer to this.
We recently got a new car, a 2024 Ford Expedition Platinum with a bench seat.
Okay.
So this one's about car seats.
Perfect.
My current kids are two and four, both in Chico 360s, one rear facing, one forward facing.
I plan to put the forward facing child in the middle like George and my rear facing on
the passenger side.
I'm planning to buy a harness to booster seat for my oldest.
T is four and we don't need the spinning feature in the middle seat, which would also free
up some space since the 360 is pretty wide.
I've been looking at the Kiko Myfit and the Greco Transitions, but I'm trying to think
ahead.
If we were to have a fourth child, this seat would likely need to move to the third row,
which is not a rival headrest.
Any advice there?
For the infant seat, I was considering a baseless option like a Greco Gogo Max or the Joy Mint.
I like the idea of having the open seat when the baby isn't riding with us.
That said, I'm not married to the baseless idea that there's a better option overall.
We really don't have any major restraints or filters helping us narrow things down, which
is making it hard to choose.
So I guess my main question is, in your dream world, what are the two best car seats to
buy?
One infant seat and one forward facing slash harness to booster seat.
My other child will stay in his Kiko 360.
Oh, this is a tough one.
So I think the Joy Mint latch is chef's kiss.
I would tell you to do that.
I will be purchasing a Joy Mint latch for my third.
It is such a great seat.
I'm so excited.
Notes?
I have none.
Your second question is a lot more complicated.
A harness to booster seat that is slim enough to go in the middle seat now.
Will transition good enough to the third row when needed?
I don't love any of the.
I don't really have a great option.
And I would personally just tell you to keep them in the Kiko 360 in the middle.
And then when they're ready for a booster, I would get the Diorna Cambria or the Nuna
Ace because those work with honorable heterosuits in the third row.
And then by the time maybe the baby's out of the mint latch, they can go to the other
routine one and then your kid go to the booster seat in the third row.
Yeah.
And I'm going to lock in with that answer.
Yeah.
You know, car seats are expensive.
So I don't like say this like super like willy-nilly, but like sometimes it's like you have to
think about, okay, well, if this kid is in this seat right now, then this kid can move
to the seat.
And maybe the seat no longer works in my car, but then we have an extra seat in my husband's
car for when he has to take one or two of the kids or we have a seat for a grandparent's
car.
Like you might just have to, I mean, I think it's, I think it's smart that she's thinking,
thinking ahead, like always forecast your family's growth.
But, you know, also sometimes it's just like what gets me through the right now.
100%.
Can I go back to my dump for like two seconds?
Yeah.
Okay.
So I was scrolling Instagram the other day and there is something called a world clap day.
Have you heard of this?
I feel like I heard of it like last world clap day.
Right.
Okay.
So it's only of note because the world clap day is when everyone across the world does
a single clap at one time, but it's on my birthday.
It's August 16th, 2026, 10 a.m. New York time.
And we're all supposed to do one clap across the entire world.
Like as soon as it hits 10 a.m.
See, I feel like we should just like clap for a minute.
100% agree.
Like just the single clap, it's going to be all off.
Yeah.
But I want to try to get somewhere public so I can like see if anyone else is like in
on the world clap day.
You just clap.
I mean, like, I don't want to be like stuck in my house and like rural Missouri.
Like let's like go to the mall.
Okay.
On a world clap day at 10 a.m.
Okay.
What time would that be our time?
That'd be 9 a.m. our time.
Okay.
I also want to hear if anyone clapping around us.
Maybe we can like go do something.
Maybe we'll like go to breakfast for your birthday and then like we'll do world clap
day while we're there.
So fun.
Kind of fun.
So fun.
Something to think about.
It's kind of like the eclipse.
Why is it giving?
Why is it giving eclipse?
I just love being a part of something and like I just hope that's something that like
I pass on to my kids.
Like just the importance of being a part of things.
Like that's why I'm watching traders and like that's why I'm so into football right now
because it's just so fun to feel connected to people.
You know?
Yeah.
Speaking of football, I don't know much, but I do think the game is a tick rigged.
Like the refs have so much power.
Like sometimes I just think it should go to a vote.
Yeah.
No.
Yeah.
The refs can just like totally obviously change the outcome of a game.
Yeah.
And like the bills people are feeling like if I had any more skin in the game other than
like I became a bills fan five days ago, like I don't know how I could wake up and go to
work today.
Do you know what I mean?
Yeah.
And then I'm like cheering for the bears.
They lose.
So now.
I thought the bears won.
No, the bears lost.
Oh.
To the Rams who I hate.
Yeah, we hate the Rams.
Because they left St. Louis.
Disgusting.
I refuse.
So now the four teams left are the Broncos who I can't cheer for because my ex-boyfriend
was a Broncos fan.
I've never heard Kelly say my ex-boyfriend because you've had like two.
And he was a Broncos fan.
Even dating Tyler since you were 16.
And he was a Broncos fan.
Okay.
So pass.
The Patriots, which like, sorry, boring, boring.
The Rams, which I can't cheer for.
So now all my eggs are in the Seahawks' nest.
I need the Seahawks to win.
Here's something interesting about the Seahawks.
Here's your little, anytime I can also squeeze in some Catholic knowledge, I'm going to tell
you.
The last two times a pope has been elected, the Seahawks have won the Super Bowl.
Now that's interesting.
So when Pope Benedict was elected, the Seahawks won.
When Pope Francis was elected, the Seahawks won.
Now we have Pope Leo and the Seahawks are.
That would be crazy.
Yeah.
God's team.
Well, I know, but Pope Leo liked the Bears and the Bears lost.
Well, you know, Pope Leo's not God.
So true.
When you think about it, he's also not a ref.
So like, I don't know.
So currently I am cheering for the Seahawks.
Thank you for having me Seahawks fans.
Go Birds.
Go Hawks.
Okay, Cal.
Well, are you ready?
Wait, do you have any industry news?
No, I gave you all of it.
There's nothing going on.
No one's doing anything.
Let's just get to ditch the drive through because I have some good ones.
Oh, okay.
I had some too, but I'll let you do it.
Well, let's just both do it.
Well, I was going to read some that people have written it.
Okay, read one and then I'll say mine.
Okay.
Sorry, I'm looking at the Seahawks uniform.
It's so good.
I love this one.
I love it when people take a actual drive through meal and just make it at home.
100%.
So this is KFC bowls.
I was just thinking about, you know why?
Because I saw an ad on TV.
KFC still advertising.
You need mashed potatoes, crispy chicken, frozen popcorn strips, chopped what I use,
make your own, like whatever.
This is a make your own mashed potatoes, use bag mashed potatoes, gravy, jarred from a
packet or homemade corn, frozen canned works well, seasoned with butter, salt and pepper
if you like shredded cheddar.
Simply in order listed, layer the prepared ingredients in a bowl and serve.
I love what this is what I call combination cooking when you're just combining things.
Yes.
I'm using the Bob Evans ready mashed potatoes.
I'm using the just bear chicken nuggets.
I'm using canned corn.
I'm using a premade gravy.
I need to make this.
Okay.
I'm going to make this this week.
That sounds first of all, delectable.
Comfort meal.
You know what it'd be great with a side of caramel and broccoli or canned green beans.
Choose your own adventure there.
Yeah.
Oh my gosh.
I'm so happy you read that one.
I know that one was excellent.
That's what it's and that's what it's that is what ditch the dark throughs about for
me.
Yeah, that's such a good one.
And like everyone in your family will eat that.
Elizabeth and I were talking about this today.
I'm forever chasing the high of my whole family sitting around the table eating a dinner that
I made like it is.
It's emotional.
100%.
I've cried watching my family all eat like a steak that I prepared.
Yeah.
Like a single tear has left my eye.
There is nothing more satisfying and like tellers always like why are you cooking every
night?
I'm like because I'm addicted.
I'm addicted to the high of you guys eating my food and telling me how good it is.
Yeah.
And I don't think he knows the power that he holds because like when he comes in and
he looks at the stove and he goes, babe, like he likes what I made.
Like there's no there's nothing else in the world that can top that.
I know I'm like, I'm like so sad for me because I James no one in my family likes to eat.
I could literally I'm not kidding not make dinner and no one would notice.
In fact, they would probably enjoy that I didn't force everyone to sit down and eat
something like Maddie needs a one meal a day.
My kids really need two meals a day, which is the craziest thing because I have such a
three square meals a day plus snacks in between person.
That's how our whole family is like we all sit down for meals.
We're eaters.
And my kids, I will prepare them food for dinner.
They won't eat it.
They will go to bed and they're fine.
And I'm kind of like trying to understand that like maybe I saw this thing on Instagram
and I was like, you know what?
If your kid gets like a one really good meal in a day, sometimes that's fine.
And sometimes parents think like, oh, well, I just want them to eat.
So like let me give them give more animal crackers, more snacks, more whatever, whatever,
just so they have calories in their belly.
And this Instagram was saying that like that's relating to like childhood obesity and everything.
It's like they actually don't need as much as you think, which is which is weird.
And so it's like, don't just like try and fill them up with calories that aren't good for them.
Like if they're not going to eat, they're not going to eat.
And so all to say, I never get that.
And my husband like only likes meat.
So I'm not like preparing like a fabulous vegetable that like maybe you would say, wow, this is incredible.
He's a very plain eater and my kids don't eat.
So if you'd like to have me over for dinner, I will happily come when you're ready to cook again.
If you want me to bring my family over my family, they're eaters.
And I don't know how I got so blessed, but they all they all eat.
They all house it even Libby.
I mean, like Sloan was a good eater for a little bit.
And now she's like just choosing not to eat, just throwing everything on the floor.
I'm sad for you.
It will change.
It will change.
Eventually you will have like you will have like a gaggle of hungry kids who are going.
You're going to make a meal and they're going to love it.
We'll see.
I mean, Maddie's parents both only one meal a day.
Like the St. John's just don't eat.
They just don't eat.
Well, it's not too late for it.
I don't know.
We'll figure it out.
We'll just get really good at making one fabulous meal a day.
Okay.
I don't want to like make you feel bad, but like I would like to tell you the experience
I had last night.
Go ahead.
Well, fine.
I'll just rub it in your face and tell you both my kids slept till seven 30 this morning
and slept through the night.
So take, take that.
No, tell me about how everyone ate your meal that you made.
Couldn't be me.
You could check my aura ring.
You would have thought I had a newborn last night.
How do you and George pissing me off coming into my bed all trying to come into my bed.
And I don't want our kids sleep with us.
I'm not doing that game.
I'm not doing that game.
George has gotten smart though and he will just sneak into the end of my bed like my
feet are and I'll just wake up and I'll accidentally kick him driving me crazy.
Anyway, last night I made a meatloaf.
Now meatloaf is one of my favorite foods on this earth.
Like the Costco meatloaf chef's kiss.
It's amazing.
So good.
My meatloaf from home pretty good too.
I do half pork sausage or ground pork, half ground beef.
I don't really have a recipe.
I just like add seasonings, breadcrumbs and eggs and squish it until I like the consistency.
A little bit of milk if I have to.
For the glaze, I do ketchup, a little balsamic vinegar, a ton of brown sugar.
Put it on there.
Pop it in the oven for an hour.
It's honestly so easy.
It's honestly so easy.
They hoovered it.
The kids ate like three fourths of it and like I had a couple of bites and then tolerate
the rest.
Like I barely even got to eat any of my own loaf.
And I brought up the point, which like this is, if you take nothing from me, my advice,
my platform, I wanted it to be this.
And I did talk about this on my story.
So I apologize if you're hearing it twice.
If you are ever at a fancy restaurant, I'm talking like if there's a tablecloth, if there's
specials, if you know, if it's a diner, I'm not saying this.
If it's like a nice restaurant and they have meatloaf on the menu, 1000% order it.
I got this advice because Brick Tops in St. Louis has incredible meatloaf.
And one time I was out there with friends who's like, the meatloaf was so good, you
have to get the meatloaf.
And I'm like, this is like a night out.
Like I'm obviously not getting the meatloaf.
Like come on, like I'm obviously going to get like the steak or like the pasta.
This is the night out.
Trust me, get the meatloaf.
Didn't get it.
Try the meatloaf.
Insane.
If someone is willing to put the words meatloaf, which is a horrible name on their menu, it's
going to be good.
Similar to like when we had to rebrand Sloppy Joe's to Iowa Slingers.
What can we read in the meatloaf?
I mean, meatloaf really like accurately describes what it is though.
But it needs to be like a, like a beef.
It needs to be like a baked.
Like the word baked.
A beef.
A beef.
A baked.
Even a baked loaf is better, but that sounds like bread.
Baked meat.
It's a meatloaf.
It's a meatloaf.
It's so good.
And when my whole family ate it, they loved it.
And I am like staring down the barrel of my deep freezer right now, which has so much
cube steak.
Like I'm swimming in cube steak.
Yeah.
I probably have like eight packs of cube steak.
What are you going to do?
Well, I asked Instagram and all people who had some good ideas.
Okay.
Good.
It's just, I like learning how to cook with different, more challenging cuts of meat.
Like a roast is a roast.
Like you throw it in the crock pot.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
A cube steak, it's like tenderized round steak, I believe.
So I might try to do, I mean, you could do chicken fried steak, but like, I just don't
want to dredge in flour.
Like I just don't want to do that.
So I'm going to try to do like a beef stroganoff with my cube steak.
It's kind of my vibe proof.
Oh, okay.
I love a beef stroganoff.
My vibe.
Yeah.
I like beef stroganoff too.
So just looking forward to my whole family eating it, loving it, telling me how good
it is.
And I'm really sorry for you.
And I have no advice on how to get this because I don't know what I did really.
No, you're just, you are just like, I'm telling you, like the stumpies are eaters.
The sun trips are eaters.
I married an eater.
You married an eater.
I married like, like Tyler is the one who like, when we're out at dinner and like you
didn't eat the rest of your steak, like you hand Tyler your plate.
Tyler will eat everyone's leftovers.
Anyone's leftovers.
So like that's the man you married.
Maddie eats the same amount as me slash less.
How is he so much bigger than I don't know.
It's it's ridiculous.
It's honestly ridiculous.
So I just don't have, I don't, I don't have eaters and honestly, I would love other people
to have, I would love, if anyone else feels the same way, I would love for you to sound
off because I actually feel like something's wrong, but I'm trying to convince myself that
everything's fine.
But I don't know what to do.
No one eats in my house.
Maybe.
So I am, I'm on my fourth child as all of you know, and I am looking into hiring two consultants.
One for getting Fred to go poop on the potty and two to get Libby to stop waking up at 445.
Kelly, Molly.
Molly's blowing up at DMs.
Because she knows you're being ridiculous for no reason.
I'm being like everyone who like, I'm like being a mom of three.
Mom of three, like trying to buy a Volvo XC90.
Like I'm just like, I'm not listening to reason right now.
You are.
And she, and she can tell Molly Tartell, Marley Tartelligia.
She's, she's my sleep trainer.
So familiar.
Maybe I've just seen you post her because I tag her all the time because people are always
asking.
She has helped me with James and Sloan when they were babies.
And now she's helped me with James as a toddler and James was sleeping in my bed every single
night.
And the past three nights, he is not only putting himself to sleep, but he's sleeping
in his bed all night until 730 the next day.
Yeah.
And Molly, I don't want to like give away what she told me to do because like that's her
whole thing.
But like she basically told me to give me like two big tips of how to do things differently.
And it has changed my life.
So you just, you never know like what she's going to tell you.
Like she just understands sleep.
Yeah.
And she just gets it.
So you should talk to her.
So I'm going to talk to her and I'm going to do both.
My pride is swallow.
Cause one thing I mean is I'm tired.
Yeah.
I'm tired.
And that's why they exist.
That simply has to be our episode.
We've rambled on for far too long.
Yeah.
Far too long.
Far too long.
So that's our so thank you so much for listening to the carpal podcast and we'll talk to you
next time.
Did you just say that's our so that's our so I would have gone with epi.
That's our no.
That's our app.
That's our so thanks for listening to the carpal podcast.
We'll talk to you next time.
Love you.
Bye.
Thank you for listening to the carpal podcast with Kelly and Liz.
Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode.
And if you enjoyed riding with us, tell everybody you know there's room in the car for everyone.
About this episode
Kelly and Liz dive into their daily lives, sharing humorous anecdotes about parenting challenges, including car seat installations in the cold and the joys of family dynamics. Kelly reveals she's expecting a baby girl, prompting discussions about sibling relationships and naming conventions. They also touch on self-care, the struggles of being a car reviewer in winter, and the importance of family meals. The episode is filled with relatable stories, laughter, and insights into balancing motherhood with personal time.
Original notes
Last week was a big one for the St John family as they found out the sex of their latest little one and it was NOT what they were expecting! This is going to set the family dynamic for sure. This leads Kelly and Lizz into a conversation about their siblings growing up and we finally find out which one was the troublemaker of the family.
There are some clothing trends going on the ladies need to discuss and that includes the "Olsen tuck" and folding in the fur on your jacket hood. Kelly has questions on things that aren't trending anymore, commercials. Specifically, what happened to the products that never seem to advertise anymore? When was the last time you saw a commercial for Tic Tacs or Kit Kats? Other random thoughts on Kelly and Lizz's minds include "Traitors", "The People You Meet on Vacation", NFL and World Clap Day.
The ladies are back to answering your advice questions and this week is all about the car seats. Families of 3 or 5, this is the episode you'll want to make sure to pay close attention to.
Finally, a listener submitted Ditch the Drive-Thru is the perfect replacement for families that love the KFC Bowl. Plus, the best advice you can get when eating out: always get the meatloaf!
The Carpool with Kelly and Lizz
The Car Mom LLC / tentwentytwo Projects
0:00
51:15