POTATO SALAD TRAUMA

Summary

The Carpool with Kelly and Lizz

Episode: "Potato Salad Trauma"

August 19, 2025

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Overview

In this lively and heartwarming episode, sisters Kelly Stumpe and Lizz St. John—third-generation auto-industry experts and millennial moms—serve up their signature blend of candid conversation, humor, and relatable mom-life insight. The main threads include Kelly’s “potato salad trauma” from her birthday, reflections on shifting family and school routines, the behind-the-scenes excitement of interviewing GM CEO Mary Barra, and their philosophies about gifts, hobbies, and home renovation. Listeners are welcomed into the chaos and joys of busy mom life, enhanced with car-seat safety advocacy, kitchen talk, and plenty of laughter.

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Episode Highlights & Key Discussions

1. Monday Mood, Mom Life Routines & Season Changes

Timestamps: [01:41]–[03:13]

• Kelly and Lizz kick things off noting the “Monday that feels like a Monday,” sharing how back-to-school season provides both relief and new routines.
• Both reminisce about Missouri seasons: “I’m so ready for winter. Not even like fall will be great. I want it to be winter.” (Kelly, 02:19)
• Lizz shares the exhaustion of two weeks “solo parenting” while her husband was away, describing it as “forever changed by that experience.” She addresses criticism of her situation and sets the record straight about the struggles of living with family temporarily.

2. Kelly’s Birthday Bash & ‘Potato Salad Trauma’

Timestamps: [03:13]–[14:36]

• Kelly describes her birthday party: ribs, three lettuce-less salads, and watermelon courtesy of her mom.
• The story of the potato salad takes center stage, with Kelly explaining her stress:
  “You would have thought it’s all I had going on. Every time we called, I'd be like, well, here's what I'm thinking with my potato salad.” ([05:44])
  • Lizz pokes fun at Kelly’s hyper-focus: “She was so stressed out about this freaking potato salad. It’s like, combine ingredients. Sister!” ([05:44])
  • Kelly’s reflection: “When I get stressed, I like to take all of the stress I have about actual real, like, work problems and put them onto things in my life, like a potato salad.” ([06:00])
• The potato salad journey includes MSG debates, Trader Joe’s disappointments, and eventual research into proper chilling techniques.
• Top Salads Recap:
  • 1st Place: Broccoli salad (co-created with ChatGPT!) — “It was the only salad that was...none left in the bowl.” ([10:32])
  • 2nd Place: The unfortunate “cold mashed potatoes” potato salad, missing MSG.
  • 3rd Place: Tomato/cucumber/mozzarella, but “had my proportions all out of whack.”
• Memorable quote: “Dad goes, I don’t know, Kel, it’s kind of missing something. I said, well, it’s missing MSG, so sorry.” (09:36)
• Broccoli salad highlight:
  • “Me and ChatGBT whipped up the most amazing broccoli salad...she’s a sous chef.” (10:45–11:10)

3. Gifting Philosophy & The Joy of Collections

Timestamps: [11:36]–[14:36]

• Discussion about birthday gifting approaches.
• Mom gave Kelly a hosting set: utensil caddy, wine chiller, tray—"because you’re trying to master hosting."
• Sibling gift: Mackenzie Childs teapot, contributing to a slow-building collection idea.
  • “I want to find a collection of kitchenware…for every Christmas, birthday, anniversary, just get me a piece from that collection. And it’s a splurge…something that’s going to bring me joy.” (Lizz, 13:06)
• The importance of having something special or signature: “I hope my kids fight over my Mackenzie Child’s pieces, because…‘that was so mom.’” (Kelly, 14:36)
• Hilarious mom moment: Marshalls clearance shoes and the phrase, “You are too successful to continue to wear this coat.” ([16:27])

4. Trip to Detroit: Interviewing GM’s Mary Barra

Timestamps: [18:41]–[27:00]

• Recap of whirlwind Detroit trip to interview Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors—described as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
• Discussion of nerves, prepping approved questions, and dealing with the gravity of meeting a major industry leader.
  • “We had 30 minutes with her. We had multiple Zoom calls…to go over this 30-minute meeting. Like, she is the biggest wig I’ve ever met.” (Lizz, 19:11)
  • Mary’s warmth: “She was so much warmer and delightful than I was expecting, don’t you think?” (Kelly, 20:09)
  • “I’m way more comfortable answering the questions than I am asking the questions, because that’s a whole other art.” (Kelly, 21:16)
• Notable moment: Mary personally acknowledging Elizabeth: “Wait, and you’re Elizabeth, right?” (21:37)
• Reflecting on careers coming full circle—Lizz’s first job involved going to GM in Detroit years before.
• Car seat safety advocacy: Kelly’s in-depth Q&A in the GM proving grounds and car seat safety lab.
  • Discusses detailed points about third-row head restraints and lower anchors for booster seats.
  • "I think she was really receptive to it. And that was really exciting...” (Lizz, 23:21)
• Unique insight: Decisions behind labeling tether anchors clearly in GM vehicles—a customer-focused fight against design minimalism.

5. School Transitions, Grade School Years & Trunk-or-Treat Plans

Timestamps: [31:50]–[36:44]

• Return from Detroit syncs with “boom, first day of school”—Kelly’s son George starts kindergarten.
• Kelly shares her logic and lack of regret in “redshirting” George (holding him back a year):
  • “It’s your only opportunity to kind of, like, slow things down a little bit... I get him at home for one more year, like, okay, I’m the winner.” (33:15)
• Optimism for grade-school parenting: “I’ve been waiting for the grade school years. I’m not the biggest, like, baby person... I just think kids are so fun.” (34:23)
• Pool party, trunk space (shout out, Expedition Max), and excitement for upcoming Trunk or Treat events and making content.
• Hilariously high standards for Trunk or Treat: “We need to be decorating our trunk. We need to be going all out.” (35:03)
• Plans to theme the trunk with Gabby’s Dollhouse decorations (for daughter Hattie), echoing the hosts’ brand of mixing family life with creative expression.

6. Nostalgia & Family Movie Night

Timestamps: [37:09]–[38:45]

• Kelly and Tyler to introduce their kids to “Shark Boy and Lava Girl,” sparking a side discussion on ‘90s/2000s kids’ cultural touchstones.
• Aspirations for Halloween costumes and possible Spy Kids marathon.

7. Home Renovation Updates & DIY Chat

Timestamps: [38:58]–[41:20]

• Lizz shares that her cabinet delivery means her renovation is on track.
  • “I will be trick or treating in my neighborhood, so that’s exciting.” (Lizz, 39:25)
• Discussion of the highs and lows of home renovation content on social media; preference for satisfying before-and-after reveals.

8. Hobbies, Identity, & Finding Joy

Timestamps: [41:48]–[44:00]

• Conversation about making interests “your thing,” from Mackenzie Child’s collections to Detroit Lions fandom.
  • “I’m just a girl with hobbies. I’m so interested. It’s not even hobbies. It’s just like interests...” (Kelly, 43:27)
• Lizz admires Kelly’s ability to turn new interests into joyful parts of life: “I’m really inspired by you for that.” (Lizz, 43:41)
• Emphasis on letting yourself adopt new hobbies/interests as a way to brighten life.

9. Dinner Ideas: Pulled Pork Nachos (Ditch the Drive Thru)

Timestamps: [44:28]–[47:44]

• Kelly shares plans for a weekday pulled pork nachos ‘ditch the drive thru’ dinner, maximizing leftovers from her birthday.
  • Sheet-pan method, shredded cheese, Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, and “borderline date night” goals.
  • Lizz underscores: “Sweet Baby Ray’s. Gotta be Baby Ray’s. If you screw it up, it’s gotta be Baby Ray’s.” (46:55)
  • Toppings brainstorm: sour cream, salsa, avocado, jalapenos—optional onions and cilantro.

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Memorable Quotes

• On Mom’s “Tough Love” Gifting:
  • “You are too successful to continue to wear this coat.” (Kelly, quoting Mom, 16:27)
• Birthday Food Stress:
  • “When I get stressed, I like to take all of the stress I have about actual real, like, work problems and put them onto things in my life, like a potato salad.” (Kelly, 06:00)
• On Growing Collections:
  • “For every Christmas, birthday, anniversary, just get me a piece from that collection. And it's a splurge…something that’s going to bring me joy.” (Lizz, 13:08)
• On Mary Barra:
  • “She was so much warmer and delightful than I was expecting, don’t you think?” (Kelly, 20:09)
• On Motherhood Phases:
  • “I just think the grade school years are so, so fun. I’m so looking forward to them... I’m already so lathered up for Trunk or Treat.” (Kelly, 35:03 and 34:23)

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Notable Segments & Timestamps

• Potato Salad Drama and Broccoli Salad Triumph: [04:35]–[11:32]
• Birthday Gift Advice, Mackenzie Child’s Teapot: [11:36]–[14:36]
• Detroit, Mary Barra Interview, & Car Seat Lab: [18:41]–[27:00]
• School Milestones & Trunk or Treat Talk: [31:54]–[36:20]
• Ditch the Drive Thru: Pulled Pork Nachos: [44:28]–[47:44]

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Tone & Style

Conversational, candid, and comedy-tinged, full of sisterly ribbing and encouragement. Kelly and Lizz maintain a warm and relatable atmosphere, inviting listeners to embrace the chaos, discover new interests, and find simple joy in everyday moments.

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For New Listeners

This episode exemplifies why The Carpool resonates with millennial moms: it's about camaraderie, resilience, and finding joy in life's little (and sometimes chaotic) details. Whether it’s kitchen mishaps or industry interviews, Kelly and Lizz’s real-talk is both comforting and entertaining.

Transcript

[Kelly]

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[Liz]

You've seen me raving about the organic.

[Kelly]

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[Liz]

And I'm really excited to get my fall wardrobe together.

[Kelly]

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[Elizabeth]

Welcome to the carpool podcast with Kelly. I had a coat that I had since I was selling cars and like, it was just. It was an old coat, but, like, it's a coat. And she goes, you are too successful to continue to wear this coat.

[Liz]

And Liz. So he was gone for two weeks. I'm forever changed by that experience. I'm not even. I'm not even sure I can get into that right now. I think I need to internalize some of that trauma. Your mom time off starts now.

[Elizabeth]

Welcome back to the carpool podcast with Kelly and Liz. What's the most it's like a Monday. Well, sorry, we're recording on a Monday, but. But it's a Monday. That feels like a Monday, but in a good way. You know what I mean? Like on a fresh start, the week.

[Liz]

Week is ahead of you. You can get so much done.

[Elizabeth]

Yeah, like, I'm still optimistic. Like, I'm. It is just my older two are in school, the younger two are in childcare this week. And it's just, we have been flying by the seat of our pants. I think we all, no matter what your childcare situation is in the summer, summer's just gotta rock us all.

[Liz]

And you're hot. You're hot.

[Elizabeth]

It gets dark late, and I'm so The person. I don't know if you're like this. First of all, I love that we live in Missouri because we get all of the seasons. We really do. Like, we are very blessed for that. And I get so tired of the season. Like I swear it off every single. Like, oh, I, yeah, but, but then like I love them but like, I'm not a summer forever person. Like, I'm so ready for winter. I'm ready for winter. Not even like fall will be great. I want it to be winter. But then in winter I'm like, I'm so ready for summer.

[Liz]

I can't wait for summer. Can't wait.

[Elizabeth]

Never complain again. It's like no matter what.

[Liz]

I know, it's so true. The only season that I actually never wish away is fall though.

[Elizabeth]

Yeah, falls a good one.

[Liz]

It's nice fall, the good one. But I don't like winter. But yeah, it is. We're in a heat wave. It's. It's a lot to handle. But kids are back to school. Kelly, happy birthday.

[Elizabeth]

Thank you. I have so much I want to recap about my birthday on.

[Liz]

I know we, we haven't even talked about it. So Maddie was gone in the field is what they call it, I think in the Marines. So he was gone for two weeks. I'm forever changed by that experience.

[Elizabeth]

I only have that to talk about. Liz is.

[Liz]

I'm not even, I'm not even sure I can get into that right now. I think I need to internalize some of that trauma before I. Well, and you know what, I gotta mention it on my stories, I was like, yeah, I'm solo parenting. And someone was like, well, aren't you living at your parents house? So are you really solo parenting? And first of all, actually makes it so much harder. Also our parents travel a lot, so they're not really here. And also not being in my house with my setup and my child proofing, it's actually so much harder. So thank you. Anyway, Matty was gone for two weeks. He came back on your birthday. So I did not attend your birthday party because he was coming home and you know all that. But I do want to hear all about your birthday.

[Elizabeth]

So first of all, Elizabeth's a changed woman and she went through a lot. So don't for send my sister that kind of. You have no idea. Okay, first of all, you have no. They have no idea. And that's fine because it's such the balance of like there's. I mean, you just, you want to be whatever. I don't even really want to. I don't really want to tackle this topic today. I'm going to move on.

[Liz]

We don't need to.

[Elizabeth]

To my birthday party because it was such a wonderful night. So I. We ordered ribs. So this is kind of my hack. I like to cater the meat and when I can. And we have, like, a really great place in the town that I live in, and I just ordered ribs, and they were. I mean, they're cut like. Ribs are so good. Ribs are one of my favorite food. I haven't had them all summer. No, that's not true. I had them one other time in the summer, and I'm like, I want to get ribs for my birthday. And there's so many. Everything goes with ribs. Like, every summer dish you'd ever want goes well with ribs.

[Liz]

You know what I mean?

[Elizabeth]

So we had ribs, and then mom cut up a watermelon, because I hate cutting up a watermelon. So mom served me in that way. Dad made margaritas, which I. He served me in that way. And then I went to town on salads. I had three different types of salads that you could choose from at this event, and none of them had lettuce. So let me break that down for you. I started with a potato. I've never made a potato salad. You can ask Elizabeth. You would. You would have thought it's all I had going on. Like, every time was called, I'd be like, well, here's what I'm thinking with my potato salad. And I.

[Liz]

She was so stressed out about this freaking potato salad. It's like, combine ingredients. Sister, you are such a good cook. You make such complicated things that I would never even attempt. And she talk to me, cumulatively, probably two hours about a potato thing.

[Elizabeth]

I've noticed something about myself when I get stressed about things, which, you know, we had the Mary Barry interview, which we can talk about that. Like, I was kind of recovering from the stress of all that. When I get stressed, I like to take all of the stress I have about actual real, like, work problems and put them onto things in my life, like a potato salad.

[Liz]

That is how you cope. It's interesting. And I would kind of like. I would kind of like to explore that a little bit deeper on just, like, what that is actually all about. But you do this often where you want to make one new thing, and it's. It's never anything complicated, ever.

[Elizabeth]

It's like with my cabbage soup, like.

[Liz]

When I just couldn't like cabbage soup. It's potato salad. It's not there's been other ones.

[Elizabeth]

What is that?

[Liz]

What is that? Country or chicken fried steak that I'm still never going to attempt. You were just like, yeah, I made chicken fried steak for the first time. It was pretty good. It was kind of complicated, like, but combining ingredients in a potato salad.

[Elizabeth]

Just freaking out. I wanted to make a potato salad. Our grandma had a great potato salad recipe, and I got the recipe from our aunt. Now grandma adds msg, which you can just apparently buy, like, a seasoning. I don't even know what MSG is. I just know I'm not supposed to have it. Mom says it makes the food more addicting. And I was open.

[Liz]

Oh, so is that what it was? Is that why I was, like, so obsessed with growing up?

[Elizabeth]

Like, it's a flavor enhancer that, like, makes food. Let's just get to a quick. What is msg?

[Liz]

But Logan always puts it in his cucumbers. But he is eating cucumbers all the time.

[Elizabeth]

It's the ability to intensify flavor. But it's a subject of controversy. I don't know.

[Liz]

Hmm. I don't know.

[Elizabeth]

So anyway, I was like, well, I don't have msg. And like, I was. I went to Trader Joe's to, like, for, you know, I. I did. But it doesn't matter. There's a lot of drawing with. With.

[Liz]

Let's not get. We both have a little draw potato.

[Elizabeth]

Salad, but Trader Joe's didn't have msg. So I'm like, I'm not gonna do the msg. Like, I'll just, you know, I'm gonna do fresh herbs instead. Like, maybe just Grandmy didn't have access to dill and chives as I do, so I'm gonna do these fresh herbs instead. Because I said I looked up an Ina Garten potato salad recipe because I was just gonna do that one. But the thing with Ina is it's a little too, like, I don't want a stone ground mustard. I'm looking for a mayo base. You know, I'm looking for, like, Ina kind of sometimes. And this is no shade to Aina. I'm going to say something. This is no shade to Aina. But you have to remember about her recipes is she doesn't have any kids, which is totally fine. Like, she. I actually, Aunt Lizzie read her book, and she has, like, a really interesting reason for not having kids. I don't want to spoil. And I also don't know enough about it. Why am I talking so much about this potato salad?

[Liz]

It's the Guys, for the record, this has been my past week and a.

[Elizabeth]

Half anyway, so you just have to remember that sometimes we're all behind his recipes. Like, they're just a little bit. Sometimes I think unnecessarily complicated. I'm just gonna say that.

[Liz]

Okay.

[Elizabeth]

Anyway, I made a potato salad. Now here's the thing with a potato salad, that's freaking hard. Let me just break this down for you. They've got to be soft enough to like, cut without turning into mashed potatoes. And that's an art. And that's an art that I didn't have. Now since I've done research, I. I learned that I should have done an ice bath with them. I should have pulled them out and put them in an ice bath. I just let them cool naturally, like an idiot. So, yeah, the flavor I thought was there, I thought was delicious. Dad goes, I don't know, Kel, it's kind of missing something. I said, well, it's missing msg, so sorry.

[Liz]

Okay.

[Elizabeth]

But they were also like. It was, they were a little bit. It kind of was like cold mashed potatoes with.

[Liz]

Because, like, it wasn't quite.

[Elizabeth]

They were very mashy. So that's the second place salad. The third place salad I did a tomato, cucumber, mozzarella. I didn't have fresh basil and it showed and I was disappointed in myself. I also had my proportions all out of whack. I had too much cheese, too much cucumber, not enough tomato. Probably could have used more salt. Probably should have, like, let that one sit and marinate, but I didn't. That was the last place salad. The first place salad was a last minute addition because one thing about me is I love a broccoli salad. People don't know this about me. Did you know this about me?

[Liz]

I don't know. I feel like broccoli's been a lot of your personality.

[Elizabeth]

So a broccoli salad, like if I'm at a barbecue restaurant and that's an option, like, I'm ordering it. Like, I love a broccoli salad and my sister in law has a really good one, but she was like traveling when she was coming in, so she couldn't make it. So I was like, I can make a broccoli salad. Like, I just did a potato. Like, I was kind of, you know, I was kind of on top of the world a little bit. So me and Chat GBT whipped up the most amazing broccoli salad. It was, it was the only salad that was. There was none left in the bowl.

[Liz]

Wow. What was it?

[Elizabeth]

Okay, so you chop some broccoli. It's all about the chopping. You chop some broccoli. You chop a red onion, and then you do mayo and honey to, like, kind of make the dressing, because you want it to kind of be like that.

[Liz]

Like.

[Elizabeth]

Like that kind of a little sweet. And then, of course, apple cider vinegar, because it needs a little zing. And then I don't remember what else. I told Chachi PT to save the recipe, though, but me and her were just, like, working. She's.

[Liz]

She's a sous chef.

[Elizabeth]

We were working side by side because she said, can you add sunflower seeds? I said, I don't have sunflower seeds. Should I use pistachios or almonds? And then she's like, let me think. And she recommended pistachios.

[Liz]

That was the move.

[Elizabeth]

And they were delicious. And then I had golden raisins, which I love, a broccoli salad with golden raisins. And I randomly had those in my pantry.

[Liz]

So it all.

[Elizabeth]

It all came together, and that was the highlight of my birthday, my broccoli salad.

[Liz]

Truthfully, I want to talk about what you got for your birthday, because actually, I think I have a new approach to when you need to come up with, like, what do you want for a gift? And you're like, I don't know.

[Elizabeth]

Like, I don't.

[Liz]

I don't need anything. Whatever. I think I have a new approach, so I want to talk about that.

[Elizabeth]

From. From you guys or from Mom?

[Liz]

Well, actually, from both. So, first of all, what I like about maybe just having a podcast is that you just talk about everything going on in your life, and you're very much in your hosting era, and you just got your pool, and you just want to be the house that everyone comes to. So I told Mom. I was like, you should get her hosting stuff. And she really, really needs a utensil caddy. So, like, kind of take that and run with it. So mom took that and ran with it, and she got you a whole, like, hosting set. Like, a nice tray, utensil caddy, a wine chiller that all goes together. It was so nice. It was so pretty. And it's because you've got something going on.

[Elizabeth]

What do you mean, I've got something going on?

[Liz]

In the sense of you're. You're trying to master something in your life, and that thing in your life is hosting. So that it's an interest. You could call it a hobby. I think women sometimes have a harder time having hobbies because, you know, where do we find the time to fit in a hobby? But you want to host, and so, like, you really want to master that craft. So that was, like, a really nice jumping off point for a gift. Now, the thing that I got you or your siblings got you is we got you a Mackenzie Childs teapot.

[Elizabeth]

It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It's art. It's.

[Liz]

Kelly has wanted one for a while, and for Christmas, she got a Mackenzie Child's. What's it? Serving platter. But you use it for your fruit, so I thought she loves her serving platter. She's been talking about this kettle. It was a splurge gift, but, like, when you split it with four people, it really wasn't bad at all. So that's. That's what we got you. And so what I kind of want to do in my new home is I want to find my. My mackenzie Childs. Like, I don't know if Mackenzie child is my vibe, but, like, what is it from Crate and Barrel or William Sonoma? Like, I want to find a. A collection of kitchen ware. And then, like, for every Christmas, birthday, anniversary, it's like, just get me a piece from that collection. And it's a splurge, and it's something I wouldn't buy myself, but it's something that's going to bring me joy and make me happy. And over the years, I will eventually, like, collect this collection because, like, Williams Sonoma, they keep the same collections for years and years and years. Like, it's not going anywhere. So that's sort of my. Maybe my new approach. I'm not sure what it's going to be for me yet, but I do feel like you've kind of got the.

[Elizabeth]

Well, I just like blue and white.

[Liz]

You like. You like the Mackenzie child, and you like the. You have your blue Lake Cresset. And so I also had looked into, like, getting you, like, Le Creuset mugs or Mackenzie Child's mugs. And it's just to continue to build your collection and continue to build these little luxuries that make you really happy.

[Elizabeth]

So. Well, yeah. And it's like, I hope my kids fight over my Mackenzie child's pieces, because it's like, that's so mom. Like, that's what I want them to say. Like, oh, that was so mom. So a couple of things. Chris's gift knocked out of the park, and she was the perfect person to buy me that. Now we've kind of decided, like, it's gonna be like, my Bar tray. So, like, okay, first of all, I can't wait to get rid of the baby brezza. Like, I'm looking down, like, three weeks left on that, and then we're done with formula. I'm very excited. And then, like, they're where the baby brezza and the coffee pot are. Like, those have to go when I'm hosting a big party. And, like, that's where we set up the bar. So, like, I feel good about that. The utensil holder is gorgeous. And I'm already like, was there a matching chips and salsa bowl? Because that is the missing link.

[Liz]

Well, we have to go look up the collection.

[Elizabeth]

Collection. Because they were. Yeah, it was stunning and gorgeous. Mom also bought me.

[Liz]

Did you. Do you know.

[Elizabeth]

Do you know what else she got?

[Liz]

Yes. Yes.

[Elizabeth]

Our mother. You might not think this about her. The woman is such a bargain hunter. Like, she likes nice things, but not as much as she likes a deal. And it was kind of like one of those gifts where it was like, okay, like, I didn't know you thought I needed that so badly. She bought me three pairs of shoes from Clearance from Marshalls. Like, they were all, like, 70 off.

[Liz]

And she's like, yeah, they were like. She bought, like, 3 19.

[Elizabeth]

And she's like, you know, because you just, like, never have the right shoe. And I'm like, oh, I. I don't. I don't.

[Liz]

No, I know. It's, like, kind of a dick, but.

[Elizabeth]

The shoes are cute. And at the end of the day, it was kind of headspace because. And she's right. Because you know what? She's right. I don't. I don't have a summer heel.

[Liz]

Well, for someone to see. Be able to see that into your life, because maybe you're just, like, a little blind from all of the sneakers that you have. She. She sent me photos when she was there, and she also had sneaker sneakers pulled out. And I was like, for the love of God, don't give this girl any sneakers. Kind of hurtful. Also kind of. Okay, so you think I need better shoes. I'm happy someone's looking out for me.

[Elizabeth]

Well, once my mom came into my closet, and I had, like, a coat. You know what coat I'm talking about? She was like, I had a coat that I had since I was selling cars. And, like, it was just. It was an old coat, but, like, it's a coat. And she goes, you are too successful to continue to wear this coat. She took it out of my closet.

[Liz]

And I was like, no. Our mom Our mom is so. But she's right.

[Elizabeth]

I think she's right.

[Liz]

Well. And you know what? We have been five different sizes in the past two years. I mean, you even more just like up and down, having babies, postpartum, whatever you go. You fluctuate so much. Like, buying new clothes is not really the most fun thing to do. But when we get dressed or we're going to an event, I'm like, I don't. I don't really know what to wear to this event. I have jeans. What should I wear with it? And she's like, well, don't you. You know what? Just throw on like a silk, a purple silk button up with a bow on it. And it's like. You think I just had that line around?

[Elizabeth]

It's my favorite thing she does. She's like, just grab a denim vest, like a silk pant, and like a leopard pump and like walk out. And I'm like, okay, so here's what I'm working with. I've got a jean. Like, I've got a jean.

[Liz]

They make silk pants in my, in my, in my height. Your dream.

[Elizabeth]

She's also, She's. She's always trying to help us grow.

[Liz]

No, she's trying to help us grow. And I do. I knew. You know, you do need people like that in your life. You know how they say, like, if your husband brings something to you, like, hey, I see this in your life, you should. Maybe you can improve on. If my husband ever said that to me, oh, my God, I'd probably, like, kill him. But you should really take seriously what people who are so close to you in your life say because they know you so truly. And so when she's like, you need a summer heel. Chances are.

[Elizabeth]

Chances are you need to somewhere heel. And like, when she looks at my crusty old coat that I had since 2016 and goes, you need a new coat. Like, she was. Spot the lie. Like, it was just. She's right. I need a new coat.

[Liz]

So anyway, I love her.

[Elizabeth]

Couldn't say enough things. Couldn't say enough good things about her. Okay. Then we. Then we went to Detroit. This is a whole other thing.

[Liz]

Oh, now we went to Detroit.

[Elizabeth]

Well, actually, before my birthday, we went to Detroit for a whirlwind 22 hours, we went to Detroit to interview Mary Barra.

[Liz]

Barra.

[Elizabeth]

Oh, my gosh, I knew that.

[Liz]

Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors. We had 30 minutes with her. We had multiple zoom.

[Elizabeth]

Multiple zoom calls. Six people on it.

[Liz]

Yeah. To go over this 30 minute meeting. Like, she is the biggest wig I've ever met.

[Elizabeth]

Well, General Motors is one of the biggest car companies, and she's the CEO and she's a woman. Like, it's just all coming up opportunity of a life. Mom. And she's a mom. She was. Now, you guys got to understand, like, there things. I mean, we had to get our questions approved. Like, it was. What is that noise?

[Liz]

Sorry, I accidentally hit a button.

[Elizabeth]

Chirping.

[Liz]

Yeah, I know.

[Elizabeth]

I'm sorry. So we. We were nervous. We had our questions prepared. Like, it was more just like I was looking at this as just like a really good opportunity to. To meet her and to, like, just try to share, like, what we're trying to do, you know?

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth]

She was so much warmer and delightful than I was expecting, don't you think? Yeah.

[Liz]

So she's worked at GM for.

[Elizabeth]

She started when she was 18, she was an intern when she was 18. And her dad worked at GM and.

[Liz]

Her dad worked at GM and now she's the CEO, which is like such, like, that's crazy. Engineer by degree. She's worked a ton of jobs at General Motors. And we did a lot of. We listened to a lot of her other interviews before this to kind of get a vibe check, but all the other interviews were very, like, serious and like stockholders. And it's like, what about the terror?

[Elizabeth]

It was like, so serious.

[Liz]

And so we were like, kind of nervous. Like, is she gonna be down to like, make an Instagram reel with us? Because that's kind of what we're after. Anyway, she was. And I think it's probably refreshing for her.

[Elizabeth]

Yes.

[Liz]

To not have to talk like this. Such the heavy.

[Elizabeth]

No. And like, I. Here's the thing. I did as good as I could have done, but I am not. I don't. Like, I'm not an expert interviewer. And I actually think I get interviewed a lot. And to me, that's. I'm way more comfortable answering the questions than I am asking the questions, because that's. That is a whole other art to.

[Liz]

It is hard.

[Elizabeth]

It's very hard. And we had 30 minutes, and that included pleasantries. So, like, this was not like, sit down and get to know you. But like, one of my favorite things that she did, Liz, was. I forgot to introduce Elizabeth because. Sorry, like, who? Like, I was just so stressed and focused on my questions. And as we started talking, she's like, wait, and you're Elizabeth, right? Remember when she did that? Liz. She knows her name.

[Liz]

Yeah. She said, oh, and you're Kelly's sister. You're Liz. I'm like, yeah, it was. It was awesome.

[Elizabeth]

It was awesome. And it was. Yeah, it was super. It was just super cool. So interview should be out soon.

[Liz]

It's funny, I didn't even tell you this, Cal, but when I. My first job out of college, I worked. I did marketing for dealerships, worked for a company that did it. And I would have to go to Detroit because I had, like, a client there and we. My client worked with gm. So anyway, I had to go to gm. I actually was in that waiting room that we were in. Cal, you didn't tell me that, like, many, many, many years ago. Well, I know. I didn't want to. You were really stressed out. I didn't want to. I didn't really think you would care. It was just so crazy because I went there so many years ago for my first job, and then we were there again, like, meeting the CEO, and it was just like a very cool moment of like, wow, wow, look at how far we've come.

[Elizabeth]

Yeah. So it was great.

[Liz]

I mean, I would love to have.

[Elizabeth]

The opportunity to do something like that again or like, talk to her again or just, you know. Oh. Then I went to the car seat safety lab, and I made more enemies than friends there, I think. No, not anymore. But I just. That's where I felt like I could be. That's where I felt like I could advocate for, like, change a lot more, you know, like, I wasn't gonna, like, waste my 30 minutes with Mary to, like, dive into. I mean, that's just. That's not that. That. That's not what I wanted to ask her. And like, that. That's not what I thought she would find interesting. But then we got to go to the proving grounds and meet in the car seat safety lab. And then I asked the hard.

[Liz]

We went with, like, the car seat technician engineer, the girl who tests them all out. And Kelly gave her. I mean, she just word vomited every problem.

[Elizabeth]

It was worse than the potato salad conversation of earlier.

[Liz]

Yeah, for sure. No, but it was good. I think she was really receptive to it. And that was really exciting to. Because sometimes Kelly will try and talk about this stuff at PR events with.

[Elizabeth]

Oh, yeah, you're right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Liz]

With. And they're like, yeah, I don't know. Like. And nor do they care, which. Sure. Like, you're in it for PR and fun events. You're not in it. Like, this girl is installing car seats in these cars every day. She cares. The other people, respectfully, they don't Care. And that's okay, I guess. Kelly brought everything up. She did bring up. Everyone's going to ask because the interview is going to come out. Kelly did not ask Mary Bear about the, the third row middle head restraints. She did talk to the car seat engineer about it, and we did get.

[Elizabeth]

An answer of their coming in all the vehicles, which they're in all but two vehicles right now. So that's already a major improvement. And, but besides that, I mean, I did ask about the lower anchors, and this is like, really granular. So if you don't care about this, maybe like, skip forward 30 seconds. But the lower anchor discussion, I think is interesting because I don't expect people. People to use lower anchors in the third row for car seats because a lot of the chil. A lot of the times children who are in the third row have outgrown the weight limit for lower anchors. And you could always just do a seatbelt installation. Like, you're just so. I get that. But where I kind of wanted to. Just where I was trying to kind of advocate for why I do think they should add lower anchors into the third row is for the booster seats that have latch attachments, because boosters with latch, I'm seeing more and more of them hit the market because they have benefits. The benefit, meaning it stays in the seat. So it makes it easier for your child to always be in the same seat and they're safer because then when your child's not in it, it doesn't become a projectile.

[Liz]

So.

[Elizabeth]

And again, that's one of those things where it's like, yeah, you don't have to add it. And like, yeah, it's fine, but it doesn't hurt anything to add it, you know.

[Liz]

Yeah, that could be. That could all end up being like a supply and demand thing, though. Like, if more people are going that route, then, you know, maybe they'll add it.

[Elizabeth]

But yeah, besides that, I mean, it was, it was very interesting. I, We. I think we have the reel of it. Liz, we should post that real. But what I thought was interesting is. And again, this is just like, you know, these are these very granular things when you don't realize how much goes into making a car. And I didn't say granular one time in the interview with Mary Bara, and I don't think anyone's talking about that.

[Liz]

She did not say granular, but she did say razzle dazzle to Mary Barra. Barra. You keep saying Barra.

[Elizabeth]

I did.

[Liz]

And at the, at the end of the interview, Kelly comes out to me and she goes, you know, I had to sneak. That's your new hyper fixation word.

[Elizabeth]

Raz Daz. Yeah. Whenever we're on these, like, really different story. What was I saying? I'm all over the place today.

[Liz]

I have no idea. Oh.

[Elizabeth]

So we were talking to her and tether anchors. So on the back of the seats there's like the little emblem that has the tether anchors. So legally they only have to put the icon so that. But GM has decided to write the word tether anchor. They've also decided to make it in white ink because again, legally all they have to do is is make the symbol and like, what's the word? Emboss it onto the black plastic. So like it could look a lot less noticeable. But GM decided because they want it to be because that. Because that is a frequent misuse with families. Like, they just don't know what it's for sometimes. So the fact that it says tether anchor, it's black and white contrast. It's way more visible than it than found in a lot of other cars. I'll. I want to take a picture of my Ford. Just like to compare.

[Liz]

No, I want to take a picture of my carnival because I looked at the owner's manual just to confirm that it was the tether anchor and not a cargo thing. Like I was, you know, 99% positive. But, you know, it just, it wasn't clearly marked cpst And I'm see. Well, that's why I looked at my manual.

[Elizabeth]

So I thought that was very interesting. And the other interesting part was she's like, you know, the design team doesn't like that because they don't want. They don't want me to it to be visible. But like we fought for that. And I'm like, okay, all right, thank you.

[Liz]

And you know what? I noticed the other. Since she pointed that out, whose car was it? Maybe mom's car or something. It was a BMW. They have the exact. Oh, no. I was at the dealership. I was at the BMW dealership and James wanted to get in the trunk of the car. BMW has the same thing as it says tether anchor. It's contrast. It's very clear.

[Elizabeth]

Loved it.

[Liz]

So I see it. Shout out. You got the same Stanley that I got.

[Elizabeth]

I did.

[Liz]

I'm looking at Kelly. You Did I influence you?

[Elizabeth]

Yeah, you did.

[Liz]

You didn't tell me what you think about the 40 ounce.

[Elizabeth]

Okay, so you guys know we've been a 30. 30 ounce ice flow stands for years now. Here's the problem I don't work with, I'm like, I still use Stanley's every day. I'm just like not working with them in a professional capacity anymore. So they start sending me product and I've lost all but one of my ice floats.

[Liz]

Are you serious?

[Elizabeth]

I would get a lot and I would just give them away to people, you know? So like, I was giving a lot away and I was like, I don't need 10 ice flows. I was like, I've got the three. I had a pink one with my name and a green one and a blue one. Where are my ice floes? I've left them places. No, I've just left them at places. Like, it's not that they're in my house. They're gone. So I have all but one. So I was like, I'm gonna get another one because sometimes that one's dirty and I like this one. I need to, I need to drink more water. As we all do.

[Liz]

As we all do.

[Elizabeth]

As we all do. But yeah, I got the same one as you and it's just day one of using it. So I'm like not really ready to talk about it yet. I haven't even put it in a car yet. I can't even confirm what that looks like.

[Liz]

Okay, well, I can confirm. I'll be like so curious to hear your thoughts. I have not touched my 30 ounce ISO since I got this 40 ounce flip straw.

[Elizabeth]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

So anyway, today's episode is brought to you by Skylight. Are you managing your family school schedule across multiple calendars, crumpled school handouts and scattered post it notes? I have a game changing idea for you. Put it all in a Skylight calendar. Back to school prep isn't just about new backpacks and fresh pencils. Is about setting up your entire family game plan. If you don't already have a dialed in system with a visual guide for your family's busy days, Skylight Calendar could be just the solution you need. Skylight Calendar was designed to help you manage the chaos of family life. Ditch the mental load of juggling everyone's schedules and put it all into one clear place. This is an all in one smart touchscreen calendar that brings visual structure and color coding across your schedules, tasks, lists and other family needs. It syncs seamlessly with Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook and even right from your email with customizable views for daily, weekly or monthly planning. And right now, Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch calendars by going to skylightcal.com Carpool Go to skylightcow.com Carpool for $30 off your 15 inch calendar. That is S-K-Y-L-I G-H-T C A L.com Carpool Today's episode is brought to you by Caraway. I have a ton of caraway products.

[Liz]

In my kitchen, but probably my favorite.

[Kelly]

Is the minis set. It's a mini pan and a mini.

[Liz]

Pot and I find myself reaching for.

[Kelly]

It all the time to make, you.

[Liz]

Know, some quick Mac and cheese to.

[Kelly]

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[Elizabeth]

So anyway, that was our quick trip to Detroit.

[Liz]

We get back from Detroit and boom, first day of school.

[Elizabeth]

Boom, first day of school in kindergarten.

[Liz]

Crazy Kelly, you know.

[Elizabeth]

Yeah, I wasn't that emotional. I was fine. We also did like, we, we did decide to hold George back a year because he has like a late birthday. And that was just a personal decision we made for our family at the time. And I have no regrets doing that. So I say that though, where I felt like, like he was definitely ready for kindergarten, you know, like he's so ready for kindergarten and he was so.

[Liz]

Excited, which that feels, that makes it so much easier on you though to like not question if he is ready and for him to be excited, like that just makes it easier because last year when he, when he, when you held him back, he didn't have a very good transition. So I don't think he was ready.

[Elizabeth]

I don't think you. I think it also just worked out with like us moving and then going to a different school and meeting friends. You know, I've talked to people at length about this and like, it's just totally a decision that you have to make with Your kid. Yeah, but I would also. I just like the perspective of I'm not just holding him back, like, from kindergarten because, like, George had been fine in kindergarten, but it's just like. It's just everything. It's like the middle school, it's the high school, it's the going to college. And I just think, like, having him and I. And I get him at home for one more year, like, okay, I'm the winner. Like, so he's gonna live at home for one more extra year.

[Liz]

Yeah. It's your only opportunity to kind of, like, slow things down a little bit.

[Elizabeth]

Yeah, I'll take it. So the way all of our other kids birthdays fall, we won't do that. But George just being like, end of May, we just decided that it was the better call for him, so. And he's the oldest, too, so I kind of feel like when you're the oldest, like, you aren't. No, I don't want to see her.

[Liz]

He's doing everything for the first time. Like, yeah, it's not a sibling to walk him through or to experience it. Like, he is navigating it for the first time in your family.

[Elizabeth]

So it worked out really well for us. And. And Tyler's mom did it with him too, because Tyler has a similar birthday to George, and Tyler had, like, liked it. And I was always. I'm an August birthday, so I was always the oldest in my class.

[Liz]

So I'm not sure you need to justify this. Is this like a hot button issue? Yeah, it is.

[Elizabeth]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, Sometimes. But that's okay. But anyway, we had the first day of kindergarten. So exciting.

[Liz]

I think you're. I think this is really going to be your time to shine. I mean, you've been such a good mom, obviously, but I really think that grade school is going to be where you.

[Elizabeth]

Oh, no, I agree. I've been waiting for the grade school years. I don't. I've said this before. I'm not the biggest, like, baby person. Like, I love my babies. Don't.

[Liz]

Don't love.

[Elizabeth]

Anyone else's don't love. That's not true. I love other people's babies. But, like, I just. I think kids are so fun. Like, I think kids are so fun. And we had a little back to school bash on the first day of school. It was a half day. And then I said. And our pool was finally ready. So I was like, what if I invited a bunch of people over and we had like, how many kids do we have? Like, 14. Like, young kids. Like, Kindergartners. And below at our house. And, you know, some of the moms had to work, so I just took their kids home shout out to the expedition. Max could fit two extra kids.

[Liz]

Love it with.

[Elizabeth]

With my four kids love to see it. And it was just like, I just think the grade school years are so, so fun. I'm so looking forward to them. Like, I'm already so lathered up for Trunk or Treat. Yeah. And I told. I told holla this morning because it's. It's a layup for content for me. But, like, we need to be decorating our trunk. We need to be going all out. And, like, I need to be making content around the trunk because we always do the, like, the March Madness style. Who trunk. And I don't even have. I don't even have a dog in the fight. I should have a dog in the fight.

[Liz]

Well, and after we've seen what Tyler can do with a hay bale and with some plywood. I mean, I'm sorry. I'm expecting a lot. We know he can paint. We know he's creative. Like, bring it on.

[Elizabeth]

So here's my initial plan that I'm thinking about right now. So Hattie's birthday is October 14th. I do think I'm just going to repurpose Hattie's birthday decorations and then give my car a little bit more raz daz and make that theme. So I do think my Trunk or Treat theme will be Gabby's Dollhouse.

[Liz]

Okay.

[Elizabeth]

Because I think that's fine, though. Like, I don't think what the theme is matters. I just think it's like, no, sometimes those are the best themes. Like, it's just like a random. Like, it's Gabby's Dollhouse. So we're going all out for Gabby's Dollhouse.

[Liz]

It's never the spooky ones that win. It's the target one.

[Elizabeth]

It's the target one.

[Liz]

It's the Minions. It's the Candy Land. It's always something so random.

[Elizabeth]

So I know. So Patty wants to have a Gabby Dolla's birthday. I'm like, we'll repurpose. And I love sometimes. I love this. I love to do things sometimes for one of my kids and, like, not the other ones, you know, Like, I don't want to do something that we'll all enjoy. It's like, no, we're doing Gabby's Dollhouse. Sorry, George, we're not doing Minecraft or Pokemon or Reptile or whatever you think you're into. Yeah, we're doing Gabby's Dollhouse. I think that's good for him. Give him grit.

[Liz]

I just want to put this reminder out there for everyone that four saddies turning five. Four is the time for the princesses. Because I asked Hattie the other day her favorite princess, and I was like, oh, it's Elsa, isn't it? She's like, no, I don't even like Elsa.

[Elizabeth]

Yeah, I know. And I think maybe he's kind of a little bit mature in that way, too. Oh, my gosh. And then guess what? We're. Hold on. Guess what? We're gonna do this this week.

[Liz]

What?

[Elizabeth]

Guess what movie we're gonna watch. You're gonna die when I tell you.

[Liz]

Hold on. Because I said the movie the other day, and you said, oh, my God, we need to watch that. Oh, Shark Boy and Lava Girl.

[Elizabeth]

Shark Boy, Lava Girl. Tyler didn't have cable growing up.

[Liz]

And first of all, it shows.

[Elizabeth]

Don't know if it shows, but, like, I'm joking. We just, like, didn't. And Tyler was, like, the youngest with two older sisters, and I was the oldest with, like, four younger siblings. So, like, you know, he was, like, watching Friends and, like, rom coms. Like, that's what he watched.

[Liz]

Okay, it does show.

[Elizabeth]

No, it does show. No, it shows for sure. And I'm like, oh, no. Like, we were watching. We've talked about this Disney Channel until we were 15. I didn't watch Friends. I was an adult, and I felt guilty about it. But we're gonna watch Shark Boy and Lava Girl tonight. What a flex.

[Liz]

Where can you watch?

[Elizabeth]

You have to rent it.

[Liz]

Okay. Worth the rent.

[Elizabeth]

Worth the 3.99. Done. And I think George and Hattie.

[Liz]

And I'm really hoping. You might want to buy it, Kel. You might. You might have to buy.

[Elizabeth]

And I want George and had to be Shark Boy and Lava Girl for Halloween.

[Liz]

George would be such. They would be. That would be so cute. Bring back Shark Boy and Lava Girl. We need everyone to. If their kids are old enough to watch it, because I need to see some Shark Boy and Lava Girl costumes. Like, bring it back.

[Elizabeth]

Yeah. So I'm trying to think about how I can, like, convince them to be Shark Boy and Lava Girl.

[Liz]

Well, they get to dye their hair, so that's exciting.

[Elizabeth]

That's true. And then you know what else we need to watch?

[Liz]

Huh?

[Elizabeth]

Spy Kids. Yes, I know.

[Liz]

I mean, there's what, four of them?

[Elizabeth]

I am so excited for Spy Kids.

[Liz]

Oh, my gosh. Wow. Now those are going to be exciting to watch those.

[Elizabeth]

I'm sat. I'm SAT for Spy Kids.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth]

That's fun.

[Liz]

Oh, my gosh. You're living such a fun life. Well, speaking of kind of living fun lives, my renovation is under way. Cal. My cabinets were delivered this week. I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. My timeline is hitting its mark. We're close.

[Elizabeth]

I'm. I am. It's HGTV over there. I'm so impressed. I really am.

[Liz]

Thank you.

[Elizabeth]

You've done a good job. I'm very proud of you.

[Liz]

Thank you. It's been. It's been very hard, and I really. 100 would never recommend this to anyone, but it's. It's coming right along. Like, I will be trick or treating in my neighborhood, so that's exciting.

[Elizabeth]

We'd love to see him. Can't wait. Can't wait. I can't wait for the reel of the before and after, because, no offense, with these transformation things, it's like people really only care about the before and after.

[Liz]

No people. And that's why. That's why I haven't, like, posted any reels, because I know, like, if someone's doing a home renovation. Oh, my God. Does anyone else see this girl who's trying to take her bedroom into an 80s? An 80s.

[Elizabeth]

Like, oh, is that the girl with the columns?

[Liz]

Yes. Yeah. I do not follow her, but come across my desk every now and then. She'll come across my desk. I'm like, girl, I haven't not checked in with you in months, and you have no updates. So to do it live is. Is hard because I want to see the before and after.

[Elizabeth]

It's hard to keep it interesting.

[Liz]

Nothing is worse than when you see a renovation video that you're really excited to see how it turns out, and you go to click on their profile and it says, just posted that video that you just watched.

[Elizabeth]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Nothing worse.

[Elizabeth]

Yeah, no. And I'm not saying they can't be making content, but it's hard to make that content interesting and satisfying because so much of renovation content. I'm sorry, I need the. I need the before now.

[Liz]

You know who does a really good job is Kylie Katic. She does a lot of DIYs. Very, very cute. She will post, like, I think she has the project done, and then she starts posting it like it's not a full re renovation. Like, she'll do a room at a time, and every day she'll release a new video, and she does it quick and she's diying. So all of that kind of stuff helps. But it's very satisfying to see.

[Elizabeth]

Okay.

[Liz]

I wish I could be a DIY girl, but I just can't. I try. I try. I just.

[Elizabeth]

They work too hard. They work too.

[Liz]

They were. They work so hard and it looks so easy when they post it in a 30 second reel and it's just.

[Elizabeth]

Yeah. Well, Liz, I think that's our episode. Okay. What do you think?

[Liz]

Yeah, No, I feel good. So when are we going back, Kel? It's like we're, I think September. We're going back to two episodes.

[Elizabeth]

We're going back to two episodes a week. So get excited, everyone.

[Liz]

So get excited.

[Elizabeth]

I'm super excited. And we're gonna. Yeah. Have a good. Good. I can just can't wait for fall September. Like, my. You want to know my. You want to know my favorite ASMR right now?

[Liz]

What?

[Elizabeth]

When? It's like 45 days to this and it's the Sunday Night Football and it's like images of, like, it being cold outside and then like images of chili on the stove, like, get me there. And I'm gonna be. I'm gonna watch every Lions game. I told. I've told her this multiple times. We're gonna watch the Lions games. We're Lions fans.

[Liz]

Okay. I like it. It's. It feel. It's good to be a fan of something.

[Elizabeth]

It's good to be part of something.

[Liz]

It's good to be part of something. Next time you're in Detroit, like, we've got to catch a game.

[Elizabeth]

I don't have to catch a game. What if we just, like, went to the Lions games? I'm actually liking Detroit. I'm going back there in September, so it's nice.

[Liz]

Is football going on in September? Could you catch a game?

[Elizabeth]

Well, preseason right now. Let's see. September 4th.

[Liz]

Will they be in town when you're there?

[Elizabeth]

Let's see. Detroit Lions schedule, 20, 25. Here we go.

[Liz]

Hold on.

[Elizabeth]

Let's just invest in this. We're all here. Everyone just take a beat. No, because I have a game. I have a game. They have a game.

[Liz]

We have a game. We have a game.

[Elizabeth]

September. I'll be there the 21st through, like the 23rd, and they're playing the 28th, and I'm not going to stick around.

[Liz]

No, no, but Seekel, this is also back to the birthday and, like, Christmas gift things, too. It's like you just decided to become a Detroit Lions fan, so now it's like someone can get you, like, a Detroit Lions hat.

[Elizabeth]

You know, I'm just a girl with hobbies. I'm so interested. It's not even hobbies.

[Liz]

It's just, like, interest. It's just like, let me just make this my interest. Like, I'm really inspired by you for that.

[Elizabeth]

Thank you, Elizabeth. Because it's just, like, all coming up, like, potato salad. Detroit's Lions, Mackenzie Childs. Like, hosting's the mosting. Wait till I get into gardening or something. I know that's gonna be crazy.

[Liz]

It's gonna be really crazy. I'm like, so I'm really inspired by you, Elizabeth.

[Elizabeth]

That's so kind. Everyone find your thing to talk about.

[Liz]

And it can be quite literally anything. Just. Just make it your personality.

[Elizabeth]

And I do think people, like. I like hearing those kinds of things.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth]

I think that's why sometimes people like to listen to our podcast because we're just talking about things.

[Liz]

Things and stuff.

[Elizabeth]

It's just things and stuff. And it's just like, those conversations. Like, one of my favorite memes ever is, like, how, you know, you had a good girl's night, and it's like, hey, here's that recipe that the salmon I was talking about.

[Liz]

Totally.

[Elizabeth]

Like, that's. That's my. Those are my friends. That's what I'm up to.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth]

And I think that's fun.

[Liz]

I think it's fun. I like listening about it, so. Oh, we've been to Drive through. Is it just potato salad?

[Elizabeth]

Oh, no. Let's come up with one. Go ahead.

[Liz]

Have I talked about my Crunchwrap Supremes? I feel like I have.

[Elizabeth]

See, that sounds like a lot a big thing for me to tackle this. Let me. But I don't know if I could.

[Liz]

Kel, it's so easy. Liz, you say that. No, it is. If I can do it. First of all, if I can do something. And I know people say that. Oh, if I can do it, anyone can do it. If I can do it, anyone can do it. Anyone. You could do it with your eyes closed and one hand tied behind your back. No, the folding, the folding, you would need two hands for, but it's very easy. Okay. Charlotte posted a reel. I feel like I already made this as a ditch to the drive through.

[Elizabeth]

I think you did, too.

[Liz]

I'm making them for dinner tonight.

[Elizabeth]

I'll try that. Well, you know what I'm making for dinner tonight, which is just, like, kind of adjacent. And this is one we shared before, too, but. So we had ribs, and Tyler's mom made some pulled pork, but we had a lot of leftover pork because I got way too many ribs. And, like, why did I ask her to bring pulled pork when I was bringing ribs? Because then it was double pork. But mom said that was good to eat. Just, like, a lot of pork instead of, like. I don't know the verdicts. I don't know how that went.

[Kelly]

Well, if you're gonna ask someone to bring meat, the meat to ask them.

[Liz]

To bring is pork.

[Elizabeth]

It's the easiest thing to make. And Barb, I don't know, I gotta get the recipe to what this woman did to do it. She brings in two crock pots and she pulls oranges out of them. They have a little, like, teriyaki zing to them, but not in a way where you also can't make them barbecuey. They were good. So what am I gonna make with my leftover pulled pork tonight?

[Liz]

You're. You're gonna make nachos?

[Elizabeth]

I'm gonna make pulled pork nachos.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth]

So the best they are. They're just incredible. Incredible. And, like, I'm running through your toppings.

[Liz]

Your ideal topping scenario.

[Elizabeth]

Totally. So first of all, you get a sheet pan. I the kids, I'm just gonna, like, a la carte theirs, like, just give them some chips, some cheese and some. I don't know. Well, they're gonna just kind of scavenge.

[Liz]

Now, are you doing shredded cheese? Are you eating queso?

[Elizabeth]

I don't have queso, so I'm just gonna do shredded cheese.

[Liz]

But in a perfect world, I'm.

[Elizabeth]

I. I would do queso. Maybe I'm not the biggest queso person, but for Tyler and I, I'm do it upright. Like, I'm going to treat this like. Like a borderline date night. Like, we're gonna have fun with it, turn on Shark Boy and Lava Girl, and we're gonna sit down and eat this. Except not, because I'm gonna probably bring these to watch Shark Boy and Lava Girl. Sheet pan chips, pork cheese, shredded cheese. In the oven it go. Or barbecue sauce. In the oven it goes.

[Liz]

Sweet baby rays. Gotta be baby Screw it up. It's gotta be baby rice. It's gotta be baby screwed this up. I thought I was getting, like, a nicer.

[Elizabeth]

Like, I'm gonna do, like, an artisanal one. No, no, that's not the recipe.

[Liz]

That's not.

[Elizabeth]

That's.

[Liz]

Everything else about this recipe is, do you honey boo this wee baby races mandatory.

[Elizabeth]

And then you're gonna pull it out, and then you're gonna do the sour cream, the salsa, cut an avocado. I like jalapenos. So I'm gonna put jalapenos on mine, and that's probably all.

[Liz]

Do you say onions?

[Elizabeth]

I don't think. I don't think I'm gonna chop an onion for this.

[Liz]

I sometimes like to chop an onion. I sometimes like to do cilantro. You know?

[Elizabeth]

Yeah. Yeah. I don't think it's worth me chopping an onion for. I just. I try to avoid that in any recipe that I can, but maybe. Okay.

[Liz]

Well, guys, that's gonna be our episode, so thank you so much.

[Elizabeth]

Hope you could keep up with it.

[Liz]

Because we had a lot to say, a lot to dump. It was just a dump. Happy back to school. And thank you so much for listening.

[Kelly]

To the carpool podcast.

[Liz]

We will talk to you next time. See ya.

[Elizabeth]

Thank you for listening to the carpool.

[Liz]

Podcast with Kelly and Liz. Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode.

[Elizabeth]

And if you enjoyed riding with us.

[Liz]

Tell everybody you know there's room in.

[Elizabeth]

The car for everyone.

[Liz]

Ra.