IT'S THE SWAG AND THE SLIDERS

Welcome to the Carpool Podcast with Kelly.

And at the end of the day, it's just men throwing a ball.

Like, they all know that, right?

Like, they all touch grass enough to realize

but it actually, it's just a game.

It's for fun.

I'm having fun.

And Liz.

You know what else Gen Z is?

I've seen Gen Z starting to yuck, which is so annoying

and I will never let them have this.

Leggings.

Your mom time off starts now.

Welcome back to the Carpool Podcast with Kelly.

And Liz.

Look at my sweatshirt.

Detroit Lions.

I'm sorry, it's such a good color.

Like, it's car mom blue and lions

is like a mascot that's a real mascot.

You know what I mean?

Yeah, it's a good mascot.

It's a mascot.

What it is, it's a mascot.

Like, what are the Steelers?

What are the 49ers?

Like, what are these things?

You couldn't tell you.

I'm just a lot.

We're lions.

You're just a lion.

We're lions.

This is so my micro hobby right now.

And you're getting me excited.

Like, you are so good at getting people

excited about something.

Mom has always said that about me.

And it's honestly such a compliment.

I want to tell you, though, so the lions

are playing the Packers.

Again, what's a Packer?

What do I mean?

Going on a trip?

What's a brown?

Like, lions versus ravens?

Sure, lions versus bears?

Sure.

Lions versus chiefs?

Like, sure.

Like, whatever.

But like, lions.

I'm going to make the French.

So anyway, games on Sunday.

I'm going to make the French tip sliders.

Yeah.

And I haven't secured a football banner yet.

But I do want to get one.

So are you going to get a football generic?

Or are you going to get lions?

Well, and here's the thing with being fun

and being a decorator.

It's like, you only put it up on game day.

Like, it's not something that like lives.

Like, it's not like a live in my like,

lives for the month of September.

Like, it's, oh, mom has the game day banner up

because it's game day.

I love, here's what I love.

So much recently, you have been saying,

I want to get these things because then my children will

cherish this thing.

Like, your kids are going to fight over the birthday banner.

They're going to fight over your Mackenzie

child's teapot.

They're going to fight over the clip-clop castle.

Like, you are just, and you're so,

your kids are at such a good age

that you're like, let's make memories.

Like, we're in our memory-making era.

Well, that's what I'm saying.

We're in our memory-making era.

And I'll tell you what else really helps not make memories,

but keep memories and still memories.

Two things.

One, I still love my chat books.

Love chat books.

We're getting a little chat book heavy.

You kind of, I really don't know if I need one monthly.

I should look if they have a seasonal option.

Yeah, because I'm sometimes just finding my,

but it's nice because I'm finding myself throwing

like the one I would never have framed

or never have kept just because they are monthly.

And I'm trying to pick 30 from the month,

but I'm kind of drowning in books.

But I'd rather just have bigger books

than have all these little, I have all these little books.

Yeah, I agree.

But the kids love them.

We recently brought them from the downstairs

to the upstairs.

All of our books are in the sunroom

and the kids are just frequently pulling them out.

Yeah.

And now they're gonna fight over those.

No, they're not gonna fight over those.

But anyway, so that's amazing.

And also the skylight calendar.

Do you have a skylight?

I do, but since I've been moved out of my house,

I got it like the month before we moved out.

So I have not actually used it, but I'm so excited too.

It is.

I mean, I like the calendar.

And because I also, I like that

if nothing else, just all my calendars sync together,

like I find that really helpful.

But the frame aspect is so funny.

And you know what else you can do on the skylight

that I really like is you can put videos on there.

So like there's no sound, but like I have

this really precious video of George and Hattie

like running in the rain.

And like every once in a while,

like literally every like 750 pictures,

like that one comes up, like it was just up this morning.

And it's like a darling video if there's no sound.

It's just like in the corner of my kitchen,

it's my kids running into the rain.

It's cute.

Those are really good like preserving the memories.

Yeah.

No, it is.

I don't know how we got here, but.

Football.

Doesn't Hattie like the Lions?

Like does he?

Hattie's not an NFL guy.

He's a college football guy.

Oh, yeah.

I don't know anything about that.

But he's Notre Dame is his team,

but he wants to watch all of the games.

Like.

See, that's crazy.

I would have fatigue on that.

Football Sunday or football Saturday.

I think it's on Saturdays.

He like, let's turn it on all day.

No, and I just think I want more.

Like I almost wish I had a husband

who just wanted to sit down and watch it.

So I could have the ambiance of a husband

sitting down and watching the game.

Like mine won't even be in the house.

Yeah, but until it kind of pisses you off

and you're like, all right.

Well, you can't actually like take a nap

to football in the background.

Like we got two young kids like, come on.

Well, Mattie has a lot of passion

because we watched the game with him at the lake

and I was, I thought you were exaggerating.

I thought he was exaggerating.

Like how passionate he was going to be and he was not.

No, it's, you can't, you don't want to be around.

Like he kind of needs to be in a private spot

to watch football.

Like the thing that he really cares about.

And at the end of the day, it's just men throwing a ball.

Like they all know that, right?

Like they all touch grass enough

to realize what it actually, it's just a game.

It's for fun.

I'm having fun.

I know.

I'm with you.

To me, it's the swag in the sliders.

It's the swag in the sliders.

And yeah, I think I will get,

I think I'll get a lot more into it.

I think when James gets into it

and like wants to watch it with Maddie,

then I'm here, then I'm there.

I'm the fun mom.

Like we're gonna do the,

do the, we're gonna have fun cocktail,

the cocktail drinks for the kids

and the sliders and the wings.

And like, I'm, I'll, I'll get there.

I'm not there yet though.

I'll get a banner one of these days.

But speaking of the things that my children

are gonna fight about, I, you've inspired me.

I'm so, I'm so curious.

You're always inspiring me.

It's odd.

It's such an inspiration.

You're such an inspiration.

I've just been so jealous of like

your Mackenzie Childs growing collection.

Well, I have two things.

And I don't want to overdo it.

No, and you don't,

cause we were talking about this the other day

and mom was like, you can overdo it.

Like you can't overdo it.

She's like, it reminds me so much of the nineties

because I guess it was really popular in the nineties.

And then she's like, people would overdo it.

Like they had too much stuff and it felt circusy.

So I'm not trying to be circusy,

but I want to have, I want to have my own pattern.

Like blue is yours.

I want to have one.

So that way, and I talked about this,

like if you want to get me a nice gift,

you can get me something within my pattern.

So I think I've decided what my pattern is gonna be.

Okay.

And I put a lot of thought into this.

No, I know.

I know you have.

And I'm gonna order, I'm gonna order something.

Just so I can start.

I think I know what it is though.

I feel like you'll know what it is.

It's a check pattern, obviously.

Yeah, yeah, it's the green.

No.

Or is it the light gray?

No.

Really?

I thought about the light gray, but.

What is it?

I have no idea.

It's mocha.

It's like the neutral beige.

It's mocha.

Okay.

So.

Okay.

I haven't ordered anything yet,

but I'm going to order something.

And I'm gonna start my collection.

Well, here's what I,

because Mackenzie Child is so interesting.

Because I've seen some hate on it recently.

I've seen a little bit.

I've seen a little bit of hate.

People are being like, it's just like the raid.

It's like Ray Don.

No.

No, it's not.

First of all, I like Ray Don.

So let me just say that I think that stuff is cute.

I'm so tired of Gen Zs who don't have a home

having an opinion.

First of all, here's what I,

yes, okay, you can continue.

Cause I've got something to say about that.

That's what I'm saying.

And why?

So something that George's preschool teacher taught him

that I did not,

it was one of those things I just forgot to teach to my kids,

but George doesn't like cheese.

And Hattie, that doesn't matter right now.

Hold on, what am I trying to say here?

George learned the phrase, don't yuck someone's yums.

So sometimes when Hattie's like, that looks gross.

He goes, Hattie, don't yuck someone's yums.

And I'm like, amen.

When did we start yucking yums all the time?

We need to stop yucking someone's yums.

If someone likes that, they like that.

So I like my blue and white.

I don't want to overdo it

because I don't want everything to match,

but objectively that's a beautiful teapot I have upstairs.

Yeah.

It's beautiful.

And it stood the test of time, I feel.

It stood the test of time.

And it's just pretty and it's a check

and I'm not gonna have everything all the time,

but like I want to have something nice, God forbid.

You know what else Gen-Z is?

I've seen Gen-Z starting to yuck,

which is so annoying and I will never let them have this.

Leggings.

Well, yeah, they're wrong for that.

Have you been seeing that?

They're like, leggings are out, they're going out.

This is how I imagine they speak.

Gen-Z says leggings are out.

I think they've been saying that.

Gen-Z has steamed a wardrobe staple

worn by busy multi-tasking moms from C to Sining G as cool.

Yes, ladies.

Our teens say our beloved leggings have to go.

The go-to item I wear for working.

Okay, I don't want to read all of this.

What are they saying?

I do think they're wearing jeans more than us.

And I think we can take inspiration from that.

I'm gonna be honest.

I think some of us can take inspiration,

but I'm not, I'm just, I'm, call it maturity,

but I'm not yucking yums anymore.

No, I have seen that they're like sweatpants instead.

Well, that feels so sloppy.

That's what I'm saying.

I want to, sorry.

There I go yucking their yums.

I like to be.

Well, no, no, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

I don't know.

And you know what else?

I just like living in mid-Missouri

because you know what?

Like we're just not,

things just move a little slower around here.

Yeah.

You know?

Yeah.

Like it's not like the fashion capital

of America.

Like we're just kind of,

we're just Midwestern girls

in our Detroit lion sweatshirts,

just like being girls.

Yeah.

You know.

Yeah.

So I mean, you can rip my leggings off my cold dead body.

Like they're not going anywhere.

Speaking of fashion capital of the world.

Okay, you know what influencer I have like

had to kind of a bit of a resurgence with

and like I don't know her very well.

Like I've just,

but you'll know exactly what I'm talking about

when I show her.

Do you know who CM Coving is?

Yeah, I follow her, yeah.

Okay.

So like she's a Christian girl.

She's a Christian girl autumn.

Okay, well she's in on the joke this year.

Yeah.

And it is, it was a good,

from a business perspective,

it's a good play.

So she made this video.

I don't know if it was on TikTok

or just her Instagram,

like crying,

being like I can't keep up with the pressure.

Like I can't,

it was all a joke.

She comes out,

she's doing the best ads.

Like the brands are knowing what's up

because she's the queen of autumn.

Yeah.

Christian girl autumn.

So she had like,

she did one with Starbucks

and the pumpkin spice latte came back.

Yeah, I saw that one.

She just did one with the Philadelphia

pumpkin cream cheese.

I'm buying it.

It sold me on it.

Yeah.

First of all,

I even know they made pumpkin cream cheese

and her ad is so funny.

And she's just doing a good job.

Like she's in on the joke this year

and I'm here for it.

And I appreciate the brands

getting in on the joke too.

Sometimes brands try and be like so serious.

And it's like,

if you can just be funny,

we're going to be talking about it.

If you can just be funny.

And I've even noticed that

with some of the brands that we have worked with,

like it's kind of just,

they're starting to be less about,

you know, you used to like want to like have to do a reel

and like the whole reel was about the product.

Now it's like,

Hey, like I like this product.

I want to promote it.

But like,

let's make an entertaining video with the product

instead of a product about a video about the product.

Yeah.

You know, like you kind of need to be on,

like you want to just make an entertaining video.

Like that's advertising these days.

It's going to do better.

It's going to perform better.

Yeah.

So anyway, I'm happy that she's in on the joke

and she's also just,

and here's the thing.

Like, I think you need to like follow her with,

like I'm saying this because her content is beautiful.

Maybe a little unattainable, definitely unattainable.

But just look at,

she's a beautiful creator.

Like it's a good, she's just,

I like to,

I feel like I'm celebrating fall by just watching her video.

Yeah.

Like everyone feels like they're in on it,

which is,

but like she did a cozy week at old Edwards Inn.

Like, okay, I don't know what this is,

but like I'm enjoying the,

you captured all the right content.

You captured all the right content.

This is the exact kind of just cozy comfort video

I want to watch right now.

Yeah, totally.

Speaking of cozy comfort,

I can't wait for it to drive through.

I have a staple that I'm going to bring you.

Oh, okay.

We can, we can, we can crawl, walk around to that.

Well, speaking of content creation,

I have kind of been for so long trying to figure out

who I am in this space of Instagram.

And I think I have a new approach to the kind of content

that I'm going to be posting in case anyone cares.

So I recently got a minivan and I love it.

I love it so much.

I love having a minivan.

And in case you don't know,

I drive cars from the dealership.

So every, until they sell every 5,000 miles,

I get a new car.

So some of my last cars have been Nissan Pathfinder,

Kia Telluride, a Hyundai Palisade,

a lot of the cars that we talk about on the car, mom.

So what I want to do is just fill my feed

with every little thought video

that I have about my current demo,

currently it being the Kia Carnival.

So that way, if and when you're in the market

for the Kia Carnival or whatever,

you can just go and see all of my thoughts

as someone who's driving it for months at a time

with two kids, real life, what it's working,

what it's not, what I like,

what I don't like,

and that's just kind of what you can expect from me.

I think that's great.

I think we're all very interested to hear your thoughts

and you know you're a bit of a convert right now

because you're new to the minivan world.

I am and I'm loving it, but you know what?

I don't have, I don't have any qualms about minivans.

I don't have qualms.

No, like some moms or families are like never saying,

like never, ever while I get in my van,

I'm not that girl, I don't care.

And the Kia Carnival just happens

to be the best looking minivan for sure.

It's for sure a good looking minivan.

You know, I'm having a lot of contentment

with my car right now.

I've had my car for,

this is the longest I've ever had a car for

and I was gonna look into getting a 25 expedition

or maybe you know, just like 180 and all

and like surprising you with a Honda Odyssey one day.

But I'm just having fun.

I'm just very comfortable in it right now.

And like this sounds crazy.

This sounds crazy and like let's be clear,

like I think the expedition is still

like probably the best car.

But I hate that black panel on the back trunk so bad.

In the 25.

On the 25s.

You're so salty about that.

Well, because I've been seeing them

on the road more and more

and it's such a bad design decision.

And I just wish they'd bring me in

on these meetings a little bit

because they don't think, they think it's cool.

I know, I have seen several Diaz people saying

it's a deal breaker.

Wow, it's not a deal breaker for me.

It's not a deal breaker for me.

But I don't love it.

Like I really think it's ugly.

I think it's really ugly.

And I really think they're gonna take it away for 26.

Like that's my prediction.

I love a prediction.

We'll see if it happens.

That's my prediction.

We also just need to get,

the bench seat thing is really hard.

Like it's really hard to find bench seats of 24s of 25s.

I don't know what the deal is.

I don't know why people still think

captain's chairs are the default.

And I know that people,

there are people that prefer captain's chairs of course.

I would just expect it to be a bit more of a 50-50 split

in the inventory and it's not even close to that.

And yeah, so I don't know.

I may start looking Tyler really wants,

Tyler like only wants us to have white cars.

He just loves white cars.

I'm very fluid in my color.

Like I could take whatever.

Like I'm really, I'm genuinely for being the car mom.

I'm shockingly not that picky on my exterior.

Like I don't wanna, I don't wanna red one,

but black, white, silver, blue.

Like I don't, it wouldn't be my deciding factor, you know.

Yeah. Oh yeah, I agree.

Same thing with interior.

I'm just, I'm not that, I'm not that picky on colors.

I don't know.

Well, I really love what you've been saying a lot recently

just of the, like you don't have to keep a car for 10 years.

Like you can keep a car to get you through this life stage

that you're in that, that you're in this car seat

that you're in. Yeah, and can we talk about that

for a second? Yeah, let's talk about it.

Well, I keep getting a message.

People are not understanding what I'm saying.

People are saying not everyone can afford to get a new car.

And that's literally could not be less of what I'm saying.

Like I know people can't afford

to get a new car all the time.

That's why I'm recommending to shop more pre-owned

for a short, for this shorter period of time.

I think it's very hard to find a car.

Like because basically, so I think what they think

I'm saying is going out and buy a new car

every couple of years.

That's not what I'm saying.

You're saying I'm gonna buy this expedite.

I'm gonna buy a non-next mission.

I'm gonna buy a brand new Hyundai Palisade

because it's gonna be my car.

I'm gonna keep for 10 years.

And I'm telling you, it might not be.

So why don't you go buy a used Ford Edge

if you need a car so bad?

And let's get, let's get through the car seat phase.

Let's see how many kids you're gonna have.

Let's do three and crossing that.

And then once you like know what the family

is gonna look like, then let's buy your 10-year car.

I don't like people trying to buy their 10-year car.

I don't always recommend it

before they really know what their needs

are actually going to be.

And I also think normalize just buying pre-owned

and buying a car more often, a new car more often.

A new pre-owned car more often.

Like the pre-owned market is such a fun market

because well, fun's not probably the right word.

It's such a, it's such an interesting market

because you can go, the older you go,

the slower the car to appreciate.

So like if you're someone who just gets bored often

and you like the idea of getting a new to you car

every couple of years, which I'm sorry,

some people do you guys and you just have to accept that.

And I'm trying to tell people if they want to do that,

it is smarter to do that in the pre-owned market

than in the new car market.

That's what I'm trying to say.

Yeah, and I was talking to my friend

about this the other day,

because she needs a new car, her car's old.

She only has, she has one kid.

Her car is too old.

Like they just need a new one.

They do a lot of road trips.

And her and her husband are very much

drive it till they die kind of people.

And so that's just what they're used to.

And I was like, you can do that,

but it's just, let's just explore

and talk about what it looks like

if you don't go that route,

if you don't buy a new car to drive

for the next 10 years, if you do buy a pre-owned car

to drive for the next three, five years,

and then we can reevaluate.

Yeah, I agree.

Anyway, I love that.

I just, I think it's a little bit freeing

because you can buy a less expensive car,

not as big of a car,

and you don't have to put all of your eggs in one basket

and make this very expensive, impactful decision

about your future.

Like you don't have to put all that pressure

on yourself right now.

Yeah, I just don't know like why.

Yeah, it just, and it takes just some retraining

of the mind because I mean,

I do these consultations and these same ones are like,

you know, my budget's 50k

and I'm looking, you know, I'm pregnant with our second,

I'll probably have one to two more

looking for something for 10 years.

And I'm like, okay, sister, well, like,

do you want to buy a used, because here's the thing,

you want to buy a used expedition right now?

Or like, do you want to like go have fun?

Like let's not spend 50, let's spend 25.

Yeah.

And these new, the used cars,

people need to stop thinking that these used cars

aren't as nice or as safe or as reliable.

They are, first of all, all of those things.

Look at all the new cars that are on stop sales

that have recalls that are having serious issues.

Like a used car with 6,000 miles on it

that hasn't had any problems.

Yeah, let's put my money on that one

versus like the brand new one that just came off the lot.

Yep.

Like they just redid that car.

We have no idea what that relied on.

I mean, like think for a second.

That's exactly also the advice I get my sister-in-law

because her husband needs a new car

because his new car kept having engine issues

and they were dumping money into it.

And I was like, go buy a used car.

Cause she's like, I'm so afraid this is gonna happen again.

I'm like, that one had issues.

Go buy a used car that has proven reliability

and you know the engine is good

because it's been driven for years.

Yeah.

Cause if your new car had that problem,

like you're, you know-

Yeah, like get a warranty and move on with your life.

Like I just, I can't believe the,

like, yeah, people need to retrain their mind.

A car does not, a car can last you 10 years,

but, or buy a way cheaper car, pay it off sooner.

Like you don't have to go buy a 25,000 in the car

and pay it off.

It's just different ways to look at it.

It's different ways to look at it.

People need to be retrained.

And that's, and I think what is dangerous is these,

what's dangerous and what I don't like

is that now these banks are allowing

these super extended terms on these cars

and people are getting themselves in bad situations

because when you can finance a car for 96 months.

Okay, first of all, you're not keeping it for 96 months.

Like I just know you, you're not.

And that's okay.

You have to be able to admit that to yourself.

Most of you aren't.

And the data tells us the average person

is in the car for a market every 36 months.

Okay, like there's nothing wrong with being average girl.

Like if you just want, so I'm saying if you want

to give yourself the freedom of, I like to get a new,

I, you know, I like to get a new to me car

every couple of years.

Okay, go buy every one.

Great reliability.

They're super safe.

Like it has all the same tech.

Taylor Shruck is a 2017, 2018.

I don't know, like a 2018 or 2017

has 170,000 miles on it.

And then in a few years,

you'll be driving the new 2025 Ford Expedition

that's new this year.

But was it, but it's not new in 20, 28, you know?

Mine, what year's mine?

22, 23?

I think 23.

I think it ends at 23.

I don't know.

It's just fine.

It's fine.

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Okay, what else?

Let me see what I have, what else I have to say.

Oh, I have base model luxury.

Oh yeah.

I'm excited to bring this segment back

now that we're back to our segment.

So base model luxury is when we share a recent discovery.

Yeah.

It's something little that makes a big impact in your life.

You know, you could think of it like a,

it's like taking it from micro anxiety

or just like something that makes you feel locks

even though it's like a very little very attainable.

Anyone can do it.

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Mine is cleaning out your fridge.

A clean fridge is a flex.

Uh-huh.

A clean fridge is a flex.

Yeah.

There has been times when we've had people over

and they're like,

hey, can I put this in your fridge?

And I literally like clench my butt

because I'm like,

oh my gosh, my fridge is disgusting.

Wait, I'll put it in there.

Please don't look at my fridge.

But I cleaned out my fridge yesterday in a big way.

I'm talking wipes.

I'm talking just, you know, getting the food out.

You know, you gotta figure out

how to reorganize your fridge a bit.

And every time I open it brings me such joy.

Such, now I'm sorry,

now I have inspiration in the kitchen.

Like now suddenly I know exactly what to cook

cause my fridge is organized.

And it just feels like I love,

you open your fridge several times a day.

Like don't get me wrong.

We can all have our drawers.

We can all have our problem drawers.

We can all have our Monica closet from friends.

But that shouldn't be your fridge.

It is having like a fridge and or a pantry

that like anyone can walk into

and immediately understand the organizational structure

is your right, it's a total flex.

It's like a while you have your life together.

You're like, wow, look at you.

You're just gonna go, you can prioritize that.

Like you can have other things

and it takes the place of things, but

It does, it does.

We've talked about this.

It feels, it has a good,

it has a longer payoff is I think my thing.

Yes, a longer payoff.

I agree.

That's very much one of my goals

for when I move back into my house just on everything.

I'm getting a label maker out, label my pantry,

label my drawers, label everything,

organize my fridge.

And I really want to go that extra step

and really try and keep to it.

Cause I'm, I'm very tight.

I guess this is tight B where it's like,

Oh, I'll just throw it in there.

Like I move quickly.

I don't put things away nicely.

I don't screw peanut butter lids on all the way.

Like I'm just moving so fast.

And I'm just like, oh, I know it's like

Maddie's biggest complaint about me as a wife.

It's something I need to work on.

You just need to slow down.

I need to slow down.

And that, that's, that is one of my big, big goals.

And maybe even there I say in New Year's resolution

is to slow down.

So.

It just feels good.

And it's one of those things like, you know,

go deep, go wide, go deep on,

on things that you open every single day.

And I agree.

It's not even that you need to have all the,

all the great organizational bins.

It's just that it's organized enough that it makes sense.

Yeah.

And that also, I'm also,

I'm trying to be very mindful about like using up things.

Because a part of it is just,

and it sounds like such a personal problem.

Like it's having less food.

So it's just like, it's having like, you know,

it's like, if we opened up the barbecue from the weekend,

okay, everyone's getting barbecue chips in their lunch.

Cause like, that's the open bag of chips.

Like we're not, we're not buying more chips.

We got barbecue chips.

You want to snack?

We have barbecue chips.

There's something so rewarding about finishing a jar.

Like my Israeli couscous that I finally finished.

Praise.

Using all of it.

Yeah.

Finishing a thing of lotion.

It just, it feels good.

Finishing a thing of lotion is top notch.

So here's another thing that I kind of might,

not sure this is based on a logger.

I'm going to file this under like mom hack or something.

But we've talked about this.

I don't really like being much of a snack household

for a couple of reasons.

One, I like my kids eat their meals.

Two, you know, even if you're like thrive marketing stuff,

like it's still a snack.

It's still like not,

I mean, they can't just eat chopsticks for everything.

So it's still not going to be like the most high protein

freshness ingredients all of the time.

Now of course we need snacks in our life.

Like George, George and Heidi have to take a snack

to school.

Like I'm not anti-snack by any mean,

but I don't like my kids having access to snacks

for a couple of reasons.

So I recently removed our snack bin

and I put it in a cabinet like where my plates are.

Like the kids can't get to it.

Now I get them a snack out of there

like I'm in control of it,

but that way like when they ask me for a snack,

you know what it does?

It gets my butt off the couch.

And I'm like, yes, let me make you a snack.

Let me coach up an apple with peanut butter.

Let me get you a cheese stick and some salami.

Let me like get you some carrots and ranch.

I find that like if I don't have like that quick access

like grab, you know, the Scooby Cookies

or like the granola bars, like I will be less lazy

and my kids will eat a better snack.

I don't, I'm not saying no snacks.

I'm saying like we just,

and we didn't grow up in a house

where we had a lot of prepared snack like package snacks.

We just didn't.

And you know, I'm kind of like a hot lunch mom.

So like we're not,

I'm not like packing a lot of lunches every day.

But I like, I started that yesterday.

I took the snacks out of the pantry

because they were just becoming a problem.

They honestly were.

And now when they're not there,

the kids don't even like know they exist

and then they're more likely to just

eat something else that I give them.

Yeah, I, that's another big goal of mine

when I move back into my house.

I gotta cut the snacks.

I am just such a first time mom.

It feels like, because like James goes from a baby

where you, you meet their every need

because when they're crying,

they need to be changed, fed, you know, or whatever.

And then they become a toddler one day.

And when they're crying for something

you want to give them something to make them stop crying.

And I got in such a bad rut of doing that

and trying to just like please him

because that as a baby,

that's what you're supposed to do.

And then he became a toddler

and I was kind of spoiling him.

And I'm trying to like backtrack a little bit on that

because he doesn't, like I'm the adult in this situation.

Like if you don't want to wear that shirt, like, okay.

Like you don't need to choose.

I can choose.

And I was giving him too many choices.

Like doing this shirt to this shirt doesn't matter.

I was just trying to make him happy.

Like I was trying to make him fun.

And I just realized that like he doesn't need them

and that much control in his life.

He can be in control of the Paw Patrol Tower.

So anyway, I'm going to really cut back on

and he doesn't eat his meals.

So I'm really cutting back on the snacks.

I'm going to be a little bit more strict

and just kind of try and retake control.

So when is the ETA of like,

when are we getting in the house?

And it sounds like your whole life's going to change

from that.

No, I know.

I know.

I am so up in the air in my life right now.

We just, we're looking at it probably a month left.

I was, I'm hoping to be in by Sloan's birthday,

which is the 20th, but I don't know.

Can I tell you something?

What?

I think you should move in without countertops.

I can't do my appliances until my countertops are done.

So you want to move in without appliances?

Can't, you just put your fridge in?

I don't know, maybe.

I think if you can get a fridge,

you put your air fryer on your kitchen table

and you just kind of roll with it for a little bit.

That is my advice.

We'll see.

That is one train of thought,

but then the other train of thought is like,

you're in and out, you're,

I'm not, I'm living in a free place.

I'm living on my parents.

I'm not paying for anything.

Would it also just be nice to,

without everyone living in the house,

get it organized, get it set up

so that way I can start all these new life changing systems

that I'm going to put in place, apparently.

We'll see.

I don't know.

Okay.

I'm getting quite desperate though.

So that might be the case.

Yeah.

I'm sorry.

No, it's fine.

And again, like I have a great setup.

Like my parents are awesome.

I shouldn't complain,

but I just love my house so much.

And I love being here.

Yeah.

We're homebodies.

Yeah.

So.

But we're close this month, hopefully.

Well, you're ready for industry news

where I spell the hot tea going on in the auto industry?

Sure I am.

Really just one big story kind of going on.

And I'm just-

Oh, I have a big story.

Oh.

Okay, well, you go first.

Oh, I wasn't expecting this.

Live on YouTube is the CarMom X Meribara CEO

of General Motors, General Motors Interview.

Wow.

It's the talk of the automotive industry.

It's quite the interview.

Please go watch it.

Just for us, just for us and our support.

It was a little out of our comfort zone.

We talked about it.

Like I needed to work on my interviewing skills.

We really weren't totally sure what to expect.

No, I'm proud of what we did.

I just wish I could have-

I just wish we would have had more time.

Yeah, it was very quick from like,

hello, my name is Kelly, to the end, we had 30 minutes.

So that included the interview.

That included any reels.

That included the pleasantries.

Like 30 minutes, that's it.

Like she's a very, very busy woman.

So we didn't have a lot of time.

Yeah.

But anyway, you can go check it out on the CarMoms YouTube.

What's your story?

Can I top that?

You might be able to.

No, I can't top that.

I want to talk about the Jeep Cherokee.

OK.

So the Jeep announced the Cherokee.

Now, I'm a little confused with Jeep right now.

And that's why I have like their build your own pulled up

right now, because now we have.

OK, so the Jeep Cherokee took like two years off.

Like they put it on hiatus.

But like they still have the Grand Cherokee

and they still have the Grand Cherokee L. OK.

The horse have the Wagoneer and the Grand Wagoneer.

They're honestly exhausting me.

Like I can't.

I find them exhausting.

And then we have like the Grand Highlander and the Highlander.

Like what is I don't like I don't I don't love the grand

adjective if I'm being if I'm just if I'm being honest.

So the Cherokee though came out.

It says Jeep's pricing for the 2026 Cherokee

SUV should be popular.

And I think Jeep is getting their life together.

And I no one wants to get their life together more than me.

Like I'm always like just trying to I'm always I'm always

rooting for them.

Yeah.

OK.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee is back for the 2026 model year.

And while the dimensions of the once popular SUV

have grown, the price is not.

The now hybrid only SUV starts at $369

with top trims stretching to $459.

So it's bigger.

It has a hybrid, but it's not more expensive.

OK.

Like that's what I'm saying.

That's a win.

It says despite the three year gap in the Cherokee's

resume, the price actually lowered for the 2026 model

year than it was for 2023.

There are four trim levels.

And there are the four trim levels.

All four trims come equipped with the hybrid powertrain.

It's a four cylinder engine.

177 horsepower.

And they should be in dealerships in late 2025.

They're just going to be prioritizing

the limited overland trims.

But the less expensive trims will come in 2026.

I started the bench.

It's looking three across friendly.

OK.

So it's kind of all coming up Jeep.

All right.

Well, you never hear the price goes down.

Ever.

The price goes down.

It's bigger.

It's a hybrid.

I'm sad.

I'm here for it.

Yeah.

OK.

Well, Kel, you mentioned that you

had a ditch to the drive-through that was going to be so good.

So let's get into ditch the drive-through where

we give you an easy dinner recipe to mix it up to get you

out of your dinner rut.

Sure, sure, sure, sure, sure, sure, sure.

So again, I was cleaning out my recipe

binder the other day.

And my phone keeps blowing.

Is your phone blowing up?

I have like the freaking fraud bank is calling me.

My Etsy transaction didn't go through.

Things are just, my life's falling apart.

My life's falling apart.

And I'm just trying to bring the carpoolers

to the drive-through that they deserve.

So I was cleaning out my recipe binder.

And I used to love to buy the Food Network magazines

just because I didn't have a printer set up at home.

So that was my only way to take a recipe

and put it in my binder.

OK.

First of all, how was it 2025?

I was like, I'm going to buy a nice printer.

I'm going to spend $200 on a printer

because I always buy cheaper printers

and they never work.

So I was going to connect to Wi-Fi.

It's going to work.

I'm going to be able to print anything.

It doesn't work.

Why do printers never work?

They, why do printers never work?

I don't know.

Mine does work now.

I can't figure out the Wi-Fi, so I

do have to plug it in, which is fine.

OK, I need to plug.

I'm fine with plugging in as long as it's going to work.

As long as it's going to work.

I don't have a plug.

I need a plug.

No.

Totally.

And mine is still annoying because it's

like it's downstairs in our storage room

because I don't know, like where do you put it?

Right, where do you put a printer?

Southern Bank.

Can someone come up with free idea

and aesthetically pleasing printer

that is hardwired and actually works?

And it's like double-issed something.

Like just, yeah, yeah.

Free idea.

What is that about?

Anyway, so I found in my recipe binder

a recipe that I used to make all the time

when we were first married.

So like it's really like it was so nostalgic.

And of course, it's a ground beef recipe

because like that's the best.

And it is, have I ever shared this one before,

shepherd's pie baked potatoes?

Oh, I don't think so.

I used to make it all the time when we were first married.

So here's the recipe.

Shepherd's pie baked potatoes.

You get four recipes of potatoes.

And then you make, you like just make them

like a regular baked potato, like jujube however you want.

If you want to do the olive oil,

wrap in foil, salt, sure, make baked potatoes.

And then you make the shepherd's pie filling.

So you do 12 ounces of ground beef,

beef broth, ketchup, Worcestershire,

one cup of frozen peas, salt, pepper, garlic, onion,

like, you know, we can post this.

You make a shepherd's pie filling basically.

And then you, once your potatoes are done,

you take them out of the oven, you slice them,

you open them up, you put the filling on top,

and then you top it with shredded.

It's gotta be like, it's got to be,

yeah, it has to be a block of cheese that you shred.

Like that's just how you-

It melts better.

Some just have to.

And then you do shredded Colby Jack cheese on top

and you put it in the oven until the cheese gets melty

and that's a shepherd's pie baked potato.

That sounds delicious.

We've done a shepherd's pie, shepherd's pie,

it's a great following.

I'm so excited to get into fall recipes.

Well, a soup temper is in full swing for me.

I was going through all my soup recipes.

Soup temper.

And I want to do a formal one,

but I am gonna be doing soup temper

because I've got beef soup bones

that I have to use up from our cow.

I don't even know what those are.

She gonna find out.

I mean, I have a great beef stew recipe,

but I guess I gotta figure out if the soup bones

have enough meat on them.

Or like if I'm just supposed to make a stock out of them.

Like, I have no idea.

Okay, so you've got some stuff to figure out.

First of all, I always do.

But I'm gonna make, first of all, we gotta have a chili.

Maybe I'll do that on a football game.

That feels like a good-

That's a total football day.

A great chili.

I'm gonna do, of course,

I gotta get the cabbage in there.

I have a ham and bean soup,

unbelievable.

Sausage sauerkraut soup, taco soup.

I kind of gotta go back and revisit

that you used to subscribe to food magazines

because that's a really good idea

and I kind of want to do that.

No, I didn't subscribe to them.

I would buy them at the grocery store.

Oh, okay.

I would just buy them.

Because here's what a food magazine does well,

and I'm sure just like the influencers do it well too,

but so there's something about a printed material.

Yeah.

It gets you in a seasonal mood.

So if you want to partake in like,

sometimes when I'm just like, what to make for dinner?

Well, I mean, they're pulling up,

I don't want a peach recipe in January.

They're not in season.

Yeah.

So I am really trying to be more mindful

about cooking with what's in season

for a couple of reasons.

It's just better quality.

It's cheaper and the vibes.

Like I like to be aligned with the vibes.

So I think that magazines,

because they come out monthly or seasonally.

So I think that they do a good job

of making it vibey, if you will.

It's a QVC.

And you know what else?

Quality value and wait, quality value and no,

quality, costs and vibes, QVC.

I never heard that.

I'm just making that up.

Is that what that stands for?

No, you just said it's vibes, it's cost,

and it's quality.

And so then I was trying to think of an acronym.

I thought it was QVC.

What does QVC stand for?

Quality value convenience.

Oh, does it?

There you go.

Something else I'm doing.

Now I don't know.

I'm hesitant to share this because I'm only on day three

and I hate to share things that I don't finish.

Like I do.

But I was like, and since I'm so into all the fall vibes

right now for the meals and stuff,

specifically the dinners,

I'm like, it would be fun if I kept track

of everything I made for the month of September.

And I started doing this and then I kept it

and then like made me a calendar for next year.

Okay, love it.

So what are you doing?

You're taking photos or writing down?

I'm sending to chat GBT every day.

So chat GBT is programmed to ask me what I made for dinner

and it's keeping track of all of them.

Oh, you could program them to ask you questions?

Well, kind of.

Me and Chatsy had to figure out a workaround for us,

but I asked if she could send me a text

or like send me a notification every day

to let you know what I made for dinner.

She said, I can't do that,

but tell me what you make every night.

And if you skip an item or you forget,

I'll prompt you to remind, I'll remind you.

So I have done it for like the first three days

of September so far.

Okay.

And then every time I say it,

she then adds it to the list.

So she's like, she's made up my September 20th.

Oh, you can't see it.

September 2025 dinner log.

Oh, okay.

And then we'll see.

It might just be fun to be like,

we'll post the log.

Then maybe I'll post the log.

And then I'm gonna take notes on it

because I'm just ever looking to improve in my life.

Like what weird trauma do I have

where I take notes on such detailed notes?

Everything in your life.

On my personal life.

Yeah, we might not need to unpack that,

but I do think it's,

I don't think it's hurting anyone.

Well, and I treat, I think it actually,

I treat being a mom and a wife like a job.

Yeah.

But not in like a toxic kind of way.

You know, like in a vibey kind of way.

No, and I think that actually makes it more fun

and easier to swallow

because if you're just like every day

I take change diapers and prepare dinner and clean up,

you will drive yourself crazy.

But if you're trying to figure out ways

that you can make it fun or make it better

or get excited about it,

then you're gonna do a better job

and you're gonna have less burnout.

Yeah.

And like I just really want to,

especially now that Libby's won,

I just wanna be like really present

in more ways and I just wanna be enjoying and relaxing more.

And for me to enjoy and relax things,

I like to have a plan.

I like to talk about things.

I like to figure out what I could do better about things.

And not in like a,

I'm not satisfied with it kind of way.

I just, I like to...

Well, you are taking the mundane of your life

which is preparing dinner

and turning it into a micro hobby

and thinking about it

and just figuring out ways you can hack it.

Like we are not in the phase of our lives

where we can have hobbies.

So you have to take what you are doing every day

which is preparing dinner and turn it into a hobby.

And then you have hobbies

and then you're bettering yourself.

It's everyone wins, no one loses.

It's good.

I'm just micro hobbying these days.

So anyway, I think that's our episode.

Okay.

So that's gonna be our episode.

So thank you so much for listening to the Carpool podcast.

We'll talk to you next time and go lions.

See ya.

Thank you for listening to the Carpool podcast

with Kelly and Liz.

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