A (1:38)

It's Ford Field. It's owned by the Ford family. I draw the Ford. It's all coming up Ford.

B (1:43)

Oh. So, yeah, it sounds like it probably should be Ford. So now we just need the Lions to make it to the Super Bowl.

A (1:49)

Yeah. Which they wiped the floor with. The who did they play? Don't remember. Wasn't it.

B (1:57)

Well, they wiped the floor. They were not memorable.

A (2:01)

Totally. But anyway.

B (2:03)

Totally.

A (2:04)

So that's what I'm doing today.

B (2:06)

What are you doing in fourth four?

A (2:08)

Oh, well, I'm doing what's called an smt, which stands for Satellite Media Tour. And I actually love doing these. I feel like they would give 99 of the population, like a lot of anxiety. But they don't give me any anxiety.

B (2:19)

She gets like, excited. The SMT is your Super Bowl.

A (2:23)

Yes, it is. So basically I will be in a studio and then Ford puts out a spot to news stations all across the country and they'll syndicate and I'll do anywhere from 10 to 20 live spots. Talking about Child Passenger Safety Awareness Month, which is the month of September. So they're like, we're gonna have an expedition there and two car seats. And then they're just gonna ask me the basic questions like how long should you be facing for just car seat safety things? You know, what's a mistake parents make? And I'm taking Sam from mom and O's car seats, who's one of like, who's a huge contributor contributor on the car mom team. And although I. It is going to be weird to not travel with you, I am very excited to replace you with Sam.

B (3:09)

If anyone's going to take my spot, it should be Sam.

A (3:11)

Yeah. And Sam is totally up for the challenge, car seat wise. And she's also like, very. I just think, I think we're going to travel well together.

B (3:19)

She is a better person to take than me for this specifically because there's no content to be created. You guys will of course create content. But like, Sam is a car seat nerd, for lack of a better term. She loves car seats. She loves child's passenger. She's super passionate about it. She's incredibly knowledgeable about it and about cars as well. So she's the person to take. And I'm happy you guys get this.

A (3:41)

Yeah. And then we get to go, you know, so we're doing that. And then Ford's like bringing in some other influencers. I don't know who is all going to be there. So I'm excited to find out. And then we're going to do like, you know, go to the test track, go to the car seat lab. They're going to take us out to a fabulous dinner.

B (3:55)

Love that.

A (3:55)

And then the next day we're going to this like, fair where they're like doing car seat checks. And I was so worried when Ford was telling me. I'm like, wait, do you like, am I doing these checks? I'm like, no, no, no. We're bringing in like 20 different techs to check all these car seats. So it's going to be fun. But I'm also, I mean, you know, me and Sam, like, we're going to want to get our hands Dirty in some car seats.

B (4:12)

So for sure you can't pass up an opportunity.

A (4:16)

Simply cannot. So also say is I am excited between now and then though, so much to do. Each one more anxiety producing than the next. And I'm spending Libby's nap doing this, which is probably not the best use of my time, but it also is because I couldn't leave the carpoolers without an episode.

B (4:32)

Totally. Totally. Because she will be gone at the time of. By the time that this comes out and on a normal recording day. So that's why she's not here, but that's why we're here. So. Oh, this past weekend was lovely. We had Sloan's birth first birthday, slony baloney turned one. And that is exciting and I'm very happy my daughter turned one. But it was also very exciting and huge milestone for me because that means I can stop breastfeeding.

A (5:03)

Yeah.

B (5:04)

I did it for a year.

A (5:06)

Huge.

B (5:07)

I was never intending to do it for a year. Long story short, Sloan has a f pies which is an. A type of allergy to milk and to dairy. So she could never have formula and I never found like a hypoallergenic one that she would be willing to take. So I breastfed her for a year also with the help of two. Two of my friends. They donated hundreds of ounces of milk. So between me was just amazing and humbling and wonderful between me and them. We breastfed. We. We all breastfed.

A (5:39)

Slowly. You collabed.

B (5:40)

We collabed. So y. I am going to celebrate by buying some sports bras because God love bodily bras. I love bodily bras. I wore them throughout my pregnancies, throughout my nursing journeys. If I don't have to put a bodily bra on for the next rest of my life, I will be happy.

A (5:58)

No, they are. They're so good and then they're so bad and you just never totally feel.

B (6:07)

Like no, because there's support. And I've. I've recommended the bodily. Like, I think it's called the everything bra. I've recommended it to my friends who are pregnant or nursing. You can't have boobs. Like, you have to be like a previously flat chested person to wear them. So I don't. I don't give that recommendation willingly. I used to and I realized that was a mistake. But there's no support. I can't wait to have some support. I can't wait to not have a thing that unlatches. Like, I just. I'm. I'm. I'm going and buying Bras. So, yeah.

A (6:39)

Like, are you excited to let people, like, do a light jog up the stairs, like, Kelly literally, like, skip a step to go up the stairs, like.

B (6:46)

Run after my son and not, you know, like, hold my chest? Yes, I'm very excited. So it's. It's. It's a huge, huge day for me.

A (6:57)

It's huge for you. I'm so happy that it's coming to an end. And I'm. In case you haven't heard it, I'm very proud of you.

B (7:04)

Thank you.

A (7:05)

I'm very proud of you.

B (7:06)

Thanks.

A (7:07)

And you did what needed to be done. As we all would. As we all do. But sometimes we just don't realize what that's going to look like. Yeah.

B (7:14)

Yeah. And I think that when we got her diagnosis and finding out that she. That a. It's a minor thing, but it's still something.

A (7:23)

Like, you're under. I disagree. You're underselling it because it's also. It's not an intolerance. It's not like, oh, dairy makes her gassy. Like, is that.

B (7:31)

This is.

A (7:32)

This is a level above that. This is.

B (7:34)

So.

A (7:34)

I just mean serious allergy to it.

B (7:36)

It's a serious allergy. I just mean that it's not like a. She's not gonna die from it and be like, she will grow out of it. And also, there's a million other worse things that could happen to your child.

A (7:45)

No, of course.

B (7:45)

But she. She. If she has it, like, even she had, like, we accidentally gave her, or she accidentally had, like, one and a half of those little dehydrated yogurt bites, and that was enough to trigger an f pies reaction, which means, like, two hours later, she emptied everything in her stomach very violently. And it's just, like, so, so sad to see, but most kids do grow out of f pies, and it's only to dairy, she kind of food she's.

A (8:11)

Had, which is so good, because when you got the diagnosis.

B (8:13)

Yeah, we were.

A (8:14)

We were getting. We were nervous because, like, potatoes can be a trigger. Meat can be a trigger.

B (8:19)

Anything. Mango, like, anything can be a trigger. Rice, like, literally anything can be a trigger. So I just say that when I got the diagnosis, when I found out that I was going to be breastfeeding for a year, it felt really heavy. And I was like, oh, my gosh, how am I going to get through this? And I just knew that you do and you will, and if you are experiencing something that you're looking at an uphill battle, it's like, you just got to take it one day at a time and like, you will get through because you have to, because you don't have a choice, so.

A (8:45)

Totally.

B (8:45)

While that might sound harsh, it's the reality. So you, you can do it and you can. And you can do hard things.

A (8:51)

Totally.

B (8:53)

Yeah.

A (8:53)

Well, we made it. Now both the girls are a year. We are officially like out of. I mean, I wouldn't say. How long can you claim postpartum?

B (9:00)

I think it's two. Well, okay. I think like they say two years is when like everything goes back to normal. Like your hormones, you're in.

A (9:06)

Oh, I've heard it's like six years.

B (9:08)

Oh, is it? Oh, why do I feel like I've heard that too? Where'd I get two years? I don't know. I would say, but like if you're.

A (9:17)

Still claiming to be postpartum. Six years. Yeah.

B (9:19)

I don't know. I think you get like a year.

A (9:22)

I think, I think you get two years. I think you get two years because like I don't think I should be expecting. I mean, I don't think you ever have to have to go back to who you were before. But like things are still not perfect.

B (9:35)

Well. And true. If you are like breastfeeding as well, like that feels postpartum for a really long time because like again, haven't worn a sports bra in two years.

A (9:46)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So okay. But anyway, the girls are getting older. I'm very, very much looking forward to Libby's 18 month birthday because do you know what that will signify?

B (9:58)

That will be what, the longest time that you haven't been pregnant or what?

A (10:02)

So I've Never had a 19 month old and not been pregnant.

B (10:07)

Oh, when did you get pregnant with Fred? How old was hattie?

A (10:10)

Hattie was 18 months old.

B (10:13)

Was she?

A (10:16)

And that's my biggest gap.

B (10:18)

Wow.

A (10:20)

So. Wow. I would have to double check my math, but I think I'm, I'm pretty sure I'm right. So anyway, I've never had a 19 month old with, without being pregnant. So I'm like very. And I was talking to a friend who had kind of had a similar trajectory to me and now her baby's two and she's like, I've never had two year old not pregnant. Like it's so much easier. Like I'm not tired. I can, I can keep up with her.

B (10:39)

Wow, that's amazing.

A (10:41)

Yes, I'm really looking forward to that milestone.

B (10:43)

I mean to see your product productivity level with still having, still being postpartum. If you will. Having a one year old and other three other kids. I mean, I don't even know who you're gonna be when Libby's 18 months.

A (10:59)

Thank you. I did want to address because I've seen this in the carpool Facebook page a couple of times when you gave me the such kind compliment that my house is always hosting ready and how we do it. Oh yeah, I do want to clarify. Like, it's not always. I mean Elizabeth was kind to say that, but like, it's definitely gets messy. Also my husband pulls his weight and I say that because like, I'm not doing it myself. Like, Tyler actually really enjoys to clean. Like he likes to spend his Sundays cleaning. I know I'm blessed. Like, he.

B (11:24)

Kelly's not vacuuming the floor. Tyler's vacuuming the floor.

A (11:26)

Tyler's vacuuming the floor.

B (11:27)

Tyler's pine coning the floor. Like, Tyler's keeping it clean. Like you, I feel like, I feel like you're doing the tidy. Like you're cleaning up the dishes after breakfast, but like doing the nitty gritty, like getting in the crevices and like.

A (11:37)

If we are hosting like Tyler and I, what we can. We call it sweeping. And like the way that we just. The thing is we stay in our own lane when we're tidying. So like things just happen quickly and we have a cleaning lady. So like, I just do want to give that preface. Like, like, I got the. The bench is stacked. So like don't. Yeah.

B (11:53)

And really, really it's. Your basement's not. Is usually kind of trashed. Trashed with toys. The kids rooms are usually pretty trashed from their own doing. But like what you've done is you don't keep a lot of toys on the main floor.

A (12:09)

We don't keep toys on the main floor.

B (12:10)

Except for. That is really helpful. Except for in the sunroom.

A (12:13)

Except for in the sunroom. And I'm good about rotating that. So we only have the paw patrol up. We only have the cows up. And again, I think I attribute that to the atrium ranch, which if you ever build a house, like, I'm sorry, Build an atrium ranch. I think it's the best floor plan ever. Because you have an amazing open air basement. Because like the way that an atrium ranch works is like if I'm in the living room, I can see the basement floor. Like it's open concept in that. In that capacity. And it really has made it a lot easier for the kids to like go downstairs and feel like they're in a different room. But like, they're not in, like, a dark, scary basement. Like, I was so scared of our basement growing up.

B (12:49)

Me too. Yeah. So. And also, the ranch is just, like, the basement's huge in a ranch too. Cause the main floor's so long. So, like, the foundation is board. Ranches are the move, for sure.

A (13:03)

Yeah. I'm just. I'm very happy with it, so I wanted to give that context. But outside of that, though, I have kind of gotten, like, rave reviews over the episode, so I'm very excited about that. And I got a lot of messages saying that people hosted for the first time, which made me very, very happy. And someone said, like, it's not hosting. It's just, like, gathering. Like, getting people to gather. And it was so funny. Like, I got some comments because I posted, like, my hosting must haves on the carpool, like, on my. My Amazon page. And everyone's like, it's so refreshing to see, like, paper plates instead of, like, the best mackenzie Childs platter. And I'm, like, relatable. Like, it's just, you know, it's not. This is not. I'm not doing a tablescape. We're doing. I might pick up grocery store flowers and put them somewhere.

B (13:46)

Yeah.

A (13:47)

But, like, this isn't giving tablescape. And I do think maybe one day I will enter into more my dinner party era. And I. I'm sure I'll make that a micro, if not a macro, hobby, but I'm years off from that. Years. Decades maybe.

B (14:02)

Yeah. I don't know. I don't see a tablescape for you ever in your life.

A (14:07)

Well, I would like to maybe start taking over a holiday every once in a while.

B (14:10)

Yeah.

A (14:11)

But. Yeah, because I feel even the gatherings.

B (14:14)

You are taking over a very important holiday this year, which is Sloan's birthday party.

A (14:20)

Because I'm hosting. I'm the hosting.

B (14:23)

I thought I was gonna be moved into my house. We're having her birthday, like, this upcoming weekend. I thought Kelly, I was gonna be in my house, and I'm not, so. Kelly is so graciously hosting Sloan's birthday.

A (14:33)

Yeah.

B (14:33)

We have the birthday banner come in.

A (14:35)

The birthday banner. I need to. Actually, I got a notification was delivered to the mailbox. I do want to talk over, like, roles and responsibilities of, like, what. But we can do it offline. But, like, I just want to know, like, what you're expecting out of me, and I'm happy to do whatever that is.

B (14:47)

I'm really expecting, like, a location and a birthday banner. If it came in the mail, we could like, throw it up.

A (14:52)

Yeah. Okay.

B (14:54)

So, yeah.

A (14:54)

Anyway, I'm very excited. Okay. Speaking of houses, this is so funny. We got a text from our old neighbor. So we used to live in a classic neighborhood. Like, just classic. Like, classic suburbia. And we really actually loved it. We never got, like, super close to our neighbors just because, like, no one was. They were all older. Just everyone who lived on our street or, like, didn't have kids our age, but they were still all nice people. Like, you know, and we were.

B (15:19)

What we.

A (15:20)

What we are is we're good neighbors. You know, we don't do anything. I mean, except for, like, the fact that I would have, like, a lot of press cars out inside of that house at one point. We were good neighbors. The new neighbors, the people who bought our house, are so holiday. They're so festive.

B (15:41)

So festive.

A (15:43)

They're so festive. You can't see the yard because it's so full of skeletons and Halloween decorations.

B (15:51)

Yeah.

A (15:52)

Now, a couple of things with that one I don't love. I don't like demonic decorations. Sorry. Like, it's a family neighborhood, too. And, you know, I'm. I'm not talking, like, the giant skeleton walking the dog. Like, okay, that's cute. But it's just, like, I don't like to see what looks like bodies hanging. Like, it's just like, that's, like, such a level of, like, there's children in this neighborhood. Like, parents are trying to take a walk.

B (16:16)

Like, you on your garage door. You have it. The clown plastered. Like, so scary.

A (16:23)

And let's give it context. Like, it's September 20th. It's one thing to put that up, like, the weekend of Halloween.

B (16:29)

Put it up the week. If you want to have the haunted house that kids have to be brave to go up and get candy. Sure, sure.

A (16:36)

But I'm sorry.

B (16:37)

You can keep it. Like, you don't have to have it out all September, all October, all September.

A (16:43)

They're gonna have. My neighbors are gonna be looking at this scary it Thing. All these skeletons, these, like, these crazy decorations. Again, we lived on 0.4 of an acre. Like, I cannot express to you how covered this lot is. And I'm just saying, I think it's a little early.

B (17:01)

Yeah. I mean, put a pumpkin out. I mean, like, put a pumpkin out if you're. If you're feeling so inclined.

A (17:09)

And put a pumpkin out. And I just think also, like, I just don't like the horror because, like, then it's. Again, It's Sunday. It's September 21st. It's Sunday afternoon at 4pm you're trying to take a little stroll with your family and, like, that's what you're seeing. Like, I don't know. Yeah, I feel like. I feel like, like, where's the hoa? Like, this is where I would like them to get a little bit more involved.

B (17:28)

Yeah.

A (17:28)

Like, can we have some sort of rules and regulations on? Like, you can't do full beats until October 5th. Yeah.

B (17:35)

I mean, yeah.

A (17:36)

At least October. We haven't done our hay bale pumpkin yet. I'm not rushing.

B (17:40)

No, there's no. I mean, it's also still 90 degrees outside, so it's just, like, so weird to see. Yeah. Not hate it. I think October 1st is an appropriate time to put Halloween decorations out. And also, I'm just like, where are you storing this, all of this stuff?

A (17:59)

Well, I mean, I lived in the house for a long time, so I can imagine. I guess.

B (18:02)

I know. I'm trying to think about, like, they looked at your basement and saw that, like, spare bedroom in your basement. It was like, this is gonna be a perfect spot to store all of our skeletons.

A (18:11)

Mm. Yeah, totally.

B (18:13)

That's all I can imagine.

A (18:15)

So that happened. And then aside from that, the other. But, like, one way that I do celebrate fall internally is I made my first soup of the season.

B (18:25)

Oh, did you? Ham and bean?

A (18:26)

No.

B (18:27)

Oh, well, you were just, like, talking.

A (18:28)

It up a storm, so. I didn't do ham and bean, actually, for. For a very specific reason. So one of my good friends who lives very close to me just had a baby, her third baby. And I. If I was going to make soup, I was just going to double it and, like, take her some. And she has. She got bit by a tick five years ago and developed a red meat allergy.

B (18:47)

No.

A (18:48)

So she can't have ham, beef.

B (18:51)

That is my nightmare.

A (18:53)

It's my nightmare, too. She goes into anaphylactic shock if she does. I know. So I made chicken noodle.

B (19:01)

Oh, gosh.

A (19:03)

I made chicken noodle. And then. But then I was. I need to talk to her because. And I was like, I'm sure she knows how to read the labels because she's had this allergy for a long time, but I sent some, like, clean Simple Eats protein powder. But then I'm like, I wonder if she can have that because it's not vegan. But I'm like, is it just the meat or, like, can you not.

B (19:21)

Yeah, it's good because it's not the meat yet. That would be, like, milk.

A (19:27)

Yeah. So I Just didn't have milk. Yeah, no, but. No, no, no but the. But the protein powder is not made out of the dairy. The protein powder is made out of the cow.

B (19:37)

Oh, is it?

A (19:38)

Yeah.

B (19:39)

Okay. I don't know.

A (19:40)

I think we say grass fed. It's grass fed.

B (19:45)

Grass fed, whey protein. I don't. Turns out I have no idea what whey protein is made out of.

A (19:53)

So anyway, I made chicken noodle. I would say my chicken noodle recipe for is my worst soup. So I am. It was good. It was homemade. I did it upright. I had fresh thyme, I did the butter, I chopped carrots and celery. I didn't even get frozen. Like I did it upright. It just doesn't have to say je ne sais quoi as my other soups.

B (20:12)

Yeah.

A (20:13)

And maybe that's just the nature of chicken noodle.

B (20:17)

Yeah. I'm not a chicken noodle girl.

A (20:18)

But one thing I'm going to perfect, kind of like my new micro hobby. You will if you will, is I want to get on the chicken and dumplings grind.

B (20:26)

Yeah. Okay. Chicken and dumpling.

A (20:27)

What is a dumpling?

B (20:29)

Why is it so much better?

A (20:32)

It's so much better. And we are doing crocktober this year and I am going to participate full fledged. So I hope everyone joins. And the first of crocktober spoiler alert is chicken and dumplings in the crock pot. Very, very, very excited about this. I'm excited about this because chicken and dumplings again, I don't even know what it is but like what is a dumpling? It's like, it's like, it's like, it's just more doughy. It's a more doughy noodle.

B (20:55)

Okay, well, what is a dumpling?

A (20:58)

Chicken noodle just leaves you wanting more. So then I did send some crescent rolls because again, it's like it leaves you wanting more.

B (21:07)

Yes, it does. You kind of like need a side.

A (21:09)

Totally.

B (21:10)

Oh, also, I just like wanted to circle back that whey protein is a byproduct. It's a mixture of proteins found in milk. So.

A (21:18)

Oh, so I'm wrong.

B (21:19)

So you're wrong. So it's like grass fed through the milk.

A (21:25)

Okay. I don't know. You know how they say like jello is made out of hooves? Like I just, I don't know. I'm not, I'm not keeping, I'm not keeping up with the science.

B (21:31)

I don't know.

A (21:32)

In the same capacity that I should.

B (21:36)

I'm not always here to ask questions. I'm here to read ads and consume products, you know.

A (21:42)

So anyway, chicken. My sights are set on chicken and dumplings. The weather is breaking. It's gonna rain, it's gonna get down to 70. And your girl is dusting off the crock pot. I'm actually in the market for a new crock pot.

B (21:55)

Interesting. Why?

A (21:57)

Mine is just very old and it's, it's very old and I, I guess it's more of a vanity thing for me. It's like I don'. Enjoy taking a photo of it when I have something in the crock pot. Cuz it's, I'm telling it's old. It's probably nine years old and I've used it a lot.

B (22:13)

Okay. Are there aesthetically pleasing crock pots on the market?

A (22:16)

I think I'm looking for something just a slightly more aesthetically pleasing. I'm going to take better care of it. I think it's getting, I think it cooks a little inconsistent. Like I think one side gets a little bit hotter than the other side. So I'm not ready to like, I'm not ready to, to do anything yet. But I'm just wanting everyone to know.

B (22:31)

That something that I just have to say about crock pots because I felt like such an idiot and just used my Instagram stories as essentially a Google search because I was making.

A (22:45)

Oh, I know what you're talking about.

B (22:47)

I pulled pork in the crock pot and I instacarted. And you can never instacart it because you never know what they're going to give you. She gave me a huge it was ginormous pork butt. So I cut it in half, put it into two crock pots. And anyway, I was just like asking all these questions on my stories and someone was like, something that I do is I will put it in my Dutch oven and put it in the oven. And I'm like, sometimes you just have to remember that like a Dutch same thing is the same thing as a crock pot. But in my mind I'm like, the only way I can make this is in the crock pot. And that's just not true.

A (23:20)

First of all, it's. The oven is so much classier.

B (23:23)

It's like so much classier.

A (23:25)

I'm telling you, if I'm hosting, it's going to like, that's gonna be, that's if I'm home. Here's the thing. If you're home, because I wouldn't, I don't know why, like I won't leave something in the oven, like and leave that would be crazy. I would lose something in my crock pot. But if you're just home on a Sunday, it's going in the. It's going in the Dutch oven. It's so classy.

B (23:42)

It's so classy.

A (23:43)

You have your oven mitts.

B (23:45)

Dutch ovens are beautiful, you know, so, yeah, I just. Maybe I'll try and do a lot of the crocktobers. Maybe I'll take the spin on doing them in the Dutch oven.

A (23:54)

Oh, I love that idea.

B (23:55)

Just for fun.

A (23:56)

Okay. I love that idea.

B (23:59)

Kyle, do you want to answer an advice question? This one's for you.

A (24:04)

I would love to.

B (24:05)

Okay. Hi, Kelly. I'm looking for some advice on my current car situation. I currently drive a 2022 Hyundai Palisade that I love. I bought this car after doing tons of research and watching your reviews. Unfortunately, when I bought it, when I bought it, I had to buy a new car due to being pregnant and not being able to fit three kids in my Honda Accord. In doing so, given the time I bought it, there were significant markups on vehicles over msrp. Mine was one of them. Fortunately, we don't have negative equity since we had a lot of equity to roll over from the Accord trade in. But I hate making an almost 700 car payment each month, and we still have three years in payments left. On top of this, I just started an event planning balloon business post side hustle Summer, which requires me to use my trunk space frequently. We also use our third row frequently as well, so that's not really negotiable. So having said all that, do you recommend. What do you recommend I do? Is my Palisade worth continuing to pay almost 700amonth for next three years, or should I trade it in and get something cheaper that still shoots suits? My needs. For reference, we will not be having any more kids. And my current ages are 17, eight in a booster seat, three rear facing.

A (25:11)

Oh, this is very interesting. And she said. But she said she has equity. So she's like, she's in an equity position.

B (25:16)

She doesn't have Nate good equity.

A (25:18)

And this is. This is one tale as old as time. Because we talk about this all the time. People love to only focus on the payment they're making for the new car. But then, like, you have to realize that's that same car. If you're financing for seven years, you're going to be making the same payment in six years. And that's where people start to get the willies, because it's like, I could go get A new car, a brand new car for less than this or for the same price. Which is why leasing is an option that exists. And it's so hard to. Like, I hate. Whenever I talk about leasing, people just tend to center themselves a little too much sometimes, I think, in the conversation. And people don't realize the amount of people who are getting a new car who are trading out of their vehicles. Like, people are doing that. And you really need to be super honest with yourself and understand, like, if that's you, that's okay. But make, make a good decision. Okay. Anyway, in terms of this girl, you know, I think it's hard because, yeah, I don't think going. If you have equity, I don't think going out and going to buy like a used minivan is a bad idea. I probably wouldn't. There's not another SUV that I think would really change your life and get you a lot better of a deal and give you a lot more space. I probably wouldn't tell you to go something full size and lower the payment. I think that would be harder to do. And then we would have, like, other questions. Like, the problem is, like, the, the. At the. The full size SUVs, like, just the older you get, the, the less reliable they get. So, like, it's not always my favorite, but I think, like, okay, a 20, 19, 2020, like Honda Odyssey.

B (26:54)

Okay.

A (26:55)

Like, if you want to get out of it and you want to lower your payment drastically. Okay. I don't. I think you'll. You'll.

B (27:00)

What?

A (27:00)

What I think is a good idea is, like, you'll downgrade in some features and, like, some aesthetics. Sure. But you'll upgrade so much in space where I think you'll feel like it's.

B (27:09)

Worth it and upgrade in all the funds that you'll be saving every month.

A (27:14)

Right. I mean, if you're like, gosh, an extra 400 bucks a month, like, what could I go do with that? Something like three years for the next three years. Yeah, but that's what you. I think I. Yeah, so I think if you're in an equity position, like, you'd have to go older, though. Like, don't, don't. Don't get yourself into another $700 payment because that. Then you're going to have for 60 years. Like, that's the same thing.

B (27:38)

Yeah.

A (27:39)

But I do think a minivan would give you the upgrade you're looking for while still lowering the payment. So I would tell you to go get a Honda Odyssey. I just think that's. And I've said this a hundred times about the Odyssey. Like, they couldn't be bothered to change it. It's a little game of spot the difference. Literally a game about the difference on those cars. So whatever year, I would just go find the right deal. You could even get the highest trim. I would just go find the right one. Yeah.

B (28:02)

And as a minivan mom myself, I could not more highly recommend. I just bought some chairs off Facebook Marketplace dining chairs, and we were going to put them in Maddie's truck to bring that back to our house. And I, like, put my third row down and took everything out. I'm like, I can literally fit four dining chairs and other stuff in the back of my truck trunk with the third row down. It's amazing. Love minivans. Cannot speak highly. More highly of them.

A (28:30)

Okay. Speaking of Hyundai Palisade, that's actually a great segue to industry news because. Wowza.

B (28:35)

Hot tea in the auto industry.

A (28:37)

This story's from Edmunds. Hyundai is recalling nearly every Palisade for a seat belt issue. More than 500,000 vehicles are potentially affected. The seatbelt in the outboard seats of the first and second row may not properly latch. If not properly latched, the seatbelt may not restrain you in a crash. So according to nhtsa, the seatbelt buckles in the driver passenger second row window seats may fail to latch. This is a huge recall affecting nearly every Palisade the company has ever sold. Passengers are advised to insert the belt firmly into the buckle with a quick and direct motion pulling on the belt to confirm the seatbelt is fully secured. So the good news with this is, like, if it's buckled, it's buckled. I guess the problem is, like, people are clicking in and thinking it's buckled, and it's not. Again, probably a very, very small percentage. So do not freak out. It's not a stop drive. It's not a stop sail. Like, it's still safe to drive. I just told what to do. Just confirm. So buckle it and then pull it to make sure that it's clicked.

B (29:38)

Okay. That's like kind of a crazy one.

A (29:43)

Yeah.

B (29:44)

You know, we always.

A (29:45)

It's just like everyone has a recall. I know they're exhaust. It's on. They're. Honestly, I used to, like, try to cover them more on the Karma, but, like, they're just exhausting to keep up with. It's exhausting.

B (29:57)

This one, this is a good one. Not a good one. It's a bad one. But this is like a. Okay, if you have a Palisade go test this out. If, yeah, if it doesn't work, there's, you know, go look up what you need to do and if it does work, then you're fine.

A (30:12)

Totally.

B (30:12)

But, like, definitely something to note.

A (30:14)

Okay, next story. Like, I feel like I'm the only person in the world who would care about this, but you might. Nissan cancels the Ariya Electric SUV from 2026 model year onward.

B (30:24)

Yeah, I saw this.

A (30:26)

The automaker shifting resources previously allocated to the Aria to the upcoming Leaf ev. Nissan canceling the Ariya. Even though its sales figures have been growing slightly year over year, production of the Aria of the United States is being paused with no official plans to resume. I'm just so shocked by this because, like, however many years ago at the New York Auto show, like, the Ariya was the names on everybody's lips. Like, there was razzle, there was dazzle, there was displays. Like, I've had several as a press card. They've been first off, like, they've had this super big push for this car and now it's just done. So.

B (30:58)

Yeah.

A (31:00)

And it's looking back, like, Nissan should just work on improving the Leaf because, like, people like the Leaf actually, like, for what it is also. It's like, it's kind of a good name for an electric car. I think it's kind of cute.

B (31:13)

It's a great name for an electric car.

A (31:14)

Like, the Leaf is a cute. Is a cute name. Nissan's just. You know what Nissan's having. They're having an identity crisis.

B (31:21)

They are, they are. And I think that, yeah, like, put all your EV brains and power into the Leaf. Like you need one, I guess. And like, they're talking about bringing the Xterra back. Like, refine the Xterra, refine the Armada. Like, there's so much you can do to make.

A (31:42)

Hire us to market the Pathfinder. Like, we're literally the only. We're. We're never not. We're never not gassing up the Pathfinder.

B (31:49)

We're never not gassing up the Pathfinder. I have no notes. I have no notes on the Pathfinder. And like, I have notes on the Kia Carnival and I just went on a rant about how much I'm loving the minivan.

A (31:58)

Like, what's your note on the Kia Carnival?

B (32:00)

It's an unforgettable. It is an unforgivable note and it is the, the volume button. So in the, in the Carnival, they have.

A (32:11)

It's all new Kias. I don't know if it's on the Telluride. But it's, it's for sure on the Sorento.

B (32:15)

Yeah, they're. So where the climate control is, it has the knobs and you can, you can, you can raise or lower the, the temperature, but the same knob is used to turn the volume up or down, but you have to press an additional button to turn the volume up or down. So what has happened and why is this unforgivable? If I want to quickly turn my volume down, I can't quickly do it. So I plug my phone in. Oh, my gosh, music is blasting, kids are sleeping. I go to, like, quickly turn the volume down. You can't do it.

A (32:47)

You're turning down the air because you're.

B (32:49)

Turning the volume down the air. And people say, well, you can turn it down the steering wheel. Okay, well, I don't naturally do that when I'm in it. When I'm in a rush, like, oh my gosh, like, I go to reach for the volume knob. It's. It's an unforgivable feature. I absolutely hate it.

A (33:04)

Unfortunately, it's a. Is it. Now, is it a deal breaker or is it a disadvantage? We've been talking a lot about that over on my Instagram. Because you can. Yeah, it's a disadvantage.

B (33:12)

It's a disadvantage because. Because of everything else that the carnival has to offer for the Sorrento. I mean, it's a deal breaker.

A (33:20)

Totally.

B (33:20)

Like, no, I wouldn't, I wouldn't buy the Sorrento. There's, there's a lot that the carnival has to offer that not other cars have. So I will live with it.

A (33:29)

Oh, that's so interesting.

B (33:30)

That.

A (33:31)

No, that is a good point because, like, you could. I don't know, the Sorento is pretty unique in, in some ways, but.

B (33:36)

Yeah, but like. No, well, it is, because it's like.

A (33:39)

A really cheap three path rear suv. Okay, well, no, but I hear what you're saying. I hear what you're saying. Yeah, that's very interesting. Yeah, I've been loving the deal breaker disadvantage talk. I feel like actually it's going over really well and people in my personal life have been telling me that they're really enjoying it also. And if you haven't heard me talk about it on my stories, it's just the idea that, like, you know, this can be used to anything. It honestly can be used for house shopping for, like a lot of things in your life, any big decision. But like, I think sometimes we get so hung up in, like, things we don't like about it, but then you need to go the extra step and be like, okay, but is that a deal breaker? And things can exist. Like, you cannot. I'm sorry, you cannot like things about your car. And especially in the family car market, there is not a perfect car. And sometimes people are like, but why?

B (34:23)

Like.

A (34:23)

But then you're selling. Why should you settle? I'm like, well, yeah, you have to settle because you don't have a lot of options. And you've got three kids, sister. Yeah, you've got three kids in a 20k budget. Like, you're not getting everything. You're not getting everything you want.

B (34:33)

You have different. You have to prioritize what's important.

A (34:35)

And not everyone's gonna get everything they want. But the most important thing is that you're getting a safe, reliable car that fits your family. So that's where I just think.

B (34:43)

But to.

A (34:44)

But to that point, I mean, you can still have preferences. And some people's preferences will be deal breakers. Like, I know several people who will not buy a car without a sunroof. And, like, it doesn't matter. They. That. That is a deal breaker for them.

B (34:56)

I prefer to not have a sunroof.

A (34:58)

I'm not a big sunroof person. Tyler loves it. I do like it, but I. I say I like it, but then I never have it open. You know what I mean?

B (35:05)

I don't like it. I. I would prefer to not have one. I would save the money. Well, I don't buy a car, but I would. I would prefer to save the money.

A (35:13)

But anyway, Liberty has since woken up.

B (35:15)

Yeah, no, she has. She's here, too.

A (35:18)

I do kind of have it. I do have to kind of make haste.

B (35:21)

Okay, well, we can make haste. So we can do Dish the drive through, where we give you an easy dinner recipe to mix it up to get you out of your dinner rut.

A (35:30)

Libby's so cute, first of all. Have you ever seen, like, such a cute kid?

B (35:34)

Yeah.

A (35:36)

Can you say hello? Yeah. You know what Libby got for her birthday that has been having rave reviews. You need to buy it for your kids for Christmas.

B (35:44)

What?

A (35:44)

It's the talking cactus that, like, mimics whatever you say back to them.

B (35:48)

Is at your house. That thing is incredibly annoying.

A (35:51)

It's. They love it.

B (35:53)

Yeah. Yeah, they love it. They do it. It's super annoying as an adult, though.

A (35:57)

Okay, so my ditch the drive thru. It's nothing new, but it is something that I just like to bring across everybody's desk every couple of days, months, and.

B (36:05)

Hold on.

A (36:06)

Let me just put her over here and See if she'll just give me a second. I would like to do in the same way we do, like, Crocktober, you know, Thawgus. One pan Jam. I'd like to do a ground beef edition for us girls that have so much ground beef in our freezer. Or anyway, ground beef. Name a more. It's an incredible protein. Couldn't. It's even better than chicken because it cooks so much faster. Like, it is. The king of weeknight meals is ground beef. Like, that's just. That's a fact.

B (36:36)

I agree.

A (36:37)

So I love thinking about what I can do with ground beef. Like, you've got your tacos, your yacht, your spaghetti. You know what I'm gonna say? It's the sloppy Joes. Oh, both, Both.

B (36:49)

I mean, there she goes again.

A (36:51)

We made Iowa Slingers, AKA Sloppy Joes the other day. They're unbelievable.

B (36:57)

I forgot about Iowa slingers. So funny. Kelly and I. Kelly and I rebranded. If you. If you're new to the podcast, Kelly and I rebranded Sloppy Joes because that's, like, the worst name you could possibly come up for anything. Like, how do you sell a sloppy Joe to a kid? Like, oh, you want sloppy Joe's? No. So we looked up where they originated. Iowa. So we named them Iowa Slingers.

A (37:18)

And slingers felt just like a sandwich name. So they're Iowa Slingers. So we had Iowa Slingers. All my kids hammered it. And you know what I did? I put mine over a sweet potato like a lady.

B (37:28)

Yeah, totally.

A (37:29)

And it was delicious.

B (37:31)

Yeah. Okay.

A (37:32)

Yeah. Next I want to do a sloppy Joe ring. You know how I'd like to do the crap? Like, we do the taco rings.

B (37:37)

The taco ring. That sounds delicious. I'm thinking. Write that down. Okay.

A (37:43)

A sloppy Joe ring would be real nice.

B (37:46)

Iowa slinger ring. All right.

A (37:49)

Iowa Ringer.

B (37:51)

Iowa Ringer. The slinger ringer. All right. I'm making an Iowa ringer this week for dinner.

A (38:00)

100%. Yeah. No, I think it'd be good. So anyway, I just.

B (38:03)

Okay. So what's gonna be our month? Like, we have to do, like, beef up November. Like, beef something. We have to do a ground beef edition. And I do think it should be surrounding the holidays or post holidays, because there. It's always an easy dinner recipe with beef.

A (38:18)

And it's like.

B (38:19)

Like, usually, like, pretty healthy.

A (38:21)

I wanna. And you know, I'm such. I'm such a soup girl. I need more ground beef soup recipes. I. I need to do a taco ground beef soup because I do the. The tor. I Do, like, a tortilla soup, but it's chicken. I have a. I have a. Oh, stuffed peppers. I have a stuffed pepper soup recipe that I love that's with ground beef. I. I've never found, like, an Asian ground beef recipe that I'm obsessed with, but I'd like to, like, there's so many possibilities.

B (38:49)

So many possibilities. We need to branch out.

A (38:51)

We need to branch out. And, like, I know not everyone will participate because I know, like, my poor friend who can't have red meat, and some people just don't eat red meat. But for those of us swimming in ground beef or, like, who just want to buy, I mean, it's just, again, it's such a versatile protein and it's cheap. And I also like it because you can fill it like, so you can do a pound of ground beef in a can of black beans. And I could probably feed my. At least my kids and myself.

B (39:13)

Right. Rice. With ground beef, you add rice.

A (39:15)

Like, it just. It's easy to beef up. Beef up.

B (39:18)

Easy. Easy to beef it up. Okay, well, Kelly, Iowa, Ringer is an excellent ditch to the drive through. That one kind of came to you, like, in the middle of it, and I'm so happy I did. I'm gonna go make that night.

A (39:27)

Okay.

B (39:27)

Yeah. And with that, that is going to be our podcast. So, Kelly, safe travels. Can't wait to see everything that you're doing in Detroit. Have so much fun with Sam, and we will talk to you all next time. See ya.

A (39:40)

Thank you for listening to the carpool podcast with Kelly and Liz. Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode. And if you enjoyed riding with thus, tell everybody you know there's room in the car for everyone.