Kelly (2:45)

Until it sounded good.

Liz (2:47)

Yeah. Yeah. So that's kind of. So that's actually kind of been freeing for me because then it's like, okay, this is what I have. So the next day I had the leftover pizza and I did the same thing to make it sound good again. And it works. It works for me.

Kelly (3:01)

Liz, I would like to see you for someone who loves to consume food content. Why don't you. Why don't you dibble and dabble in some food content?

Liz (3:09)

I don't know if I could.

Kelly (3:11)

Yeah, it's a certain person.

Liz (3:13)

It's a certain.

Kelly (3:14)

And you're actually such an aggressive fast eater, I don't think you'd have the patience.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (3:21)

Yeah.

Liz (3:22)

To like, set my camera up and, like, do multiple takes. No, no. I'll just. Anyway, someone has to be a consumer of the content and I will gladly take that position. But yeah. I'm pregnant. I am. Let's see how far along I'm. 10 weeks. So we just had our first ultrasound. One baby. I should find out the gender this week. I did the blood test. Did you know they can do the blood test at eight weeks now?

Kelly (3:50)

I love to see technology advancing.

Liz (3:52)

Technology's advancing for the better, so I should know the gender soon. I thought I was not going to find out the gender and that lasted all of about 10 seconds until I found out I was pregnant. I'm like, nine months is a long time.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (4:06)

You.

Kelly (4:06)

You fall in one camp or you don't. The people who have done it twice, the people who have found out and not found out, those are the only people I'm interested in hearing from on, like, which one they actually thought was better. Um. I always live in a world.

Liz (4:20)

Go ahead. Sorry I interrupted you.

Kelly (4:23)

I always live in a world where, like, the day I found out what I'm having is an exciting day.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (4:27)

The.

Kelly (4:27)

The day the baby's born is an exciting day. So I have two exciting days to year one. So sorry.

Liz (4:32)

I will say, though, when my one friend. And now, granted, she's one of my best friends, but when she gave birth and we didn't, she didn't know the gender and she was like, I'm in the hospital. I have never been so on the edge of my seat to receive another text message. So it's like, if I knew she was having a girl, it'. Oh, great, she's in the hospital. I'm so excited. Like, that's amazing. Can't wait to See a picture of the baby. But like, all right, just a baby. But when you. When that's other people with a gender reveal.

Kelly (4:59)

Yeah.

Liz (4:59)

It's exciting.

Kelly (5:00)

Well, teach their own.

Liz (5:02)

Teach their own.

Kelly (5:02)

And you know what?

Liz (5:03)

I was pretty gung ho about not finding out. And then one of our fam or one of our friends, they gave birth, they have two girls. They didn't find out the birth of their third. It ended up being a boy. So it's like a best case scenario situation. And I asked them, I said, was it worth it? And the father said yes, and the mother said no. And I'm always going with the mother. She was like, now I have nothing. Like, I wish I had boys clothes. Like, I'm not prepared. And I'm like, that's so me. I mean, I'll be prepared because I have one of each, but.

Kelly (5:36)

Well, in a way you have one of each, but in another way. Not that it ever matters, but like, it literally doesn't matter what you're having. Like, if you had two girls, I. It just doesn't matter. Like, you're okay. You're getting a brother or sister. Yeah.

Liz (5:49)

So anyway, I am finding out and I should have the results this week at as this moment, I am so disgustingly confident it's a boy that if I find out it's a girl, I will be gooped and gagged. And if I found out it's a boy, I'll be like, yeah, we all.

Kelly (6:06)

Think it's a boy. I. I don't think anyone in our family is. It thinks it's a girl.

Liz (6:10)

Like, with their relationship, I'm referring. You and I have both referred to the baby by the name that we plan to name our next Bo. Like, that's crazy.

Kelly (6:19)

I know. And I don't see that stopping. So very exciting. I'm so excited to get another niece or nephew. Probably nephew. And, you know, I just, like, wouldn't be a year at the car mom without a baby, so.

Liz (6:33)

Totally. And you know what? It's so funny because leading up to this, there were like a couple of. Is she pregnant? I'll tell you when you'll know that I'm pregnant. You will know that I'm pregnant when I go so dark on Instagram and I don't post stories, like, for days at a time or I post, like, one story. I've had nothing to say on my Instagram because the only thing that is consuming me is what my next meal is going to be. What? Instagram. Mukbang. I'm going to Watch. And like, just how horrible I'm feeling. And I just, like, can't get any of these, like, totally funny, relatable thoughts out because I, like, couldn't tell anyone. So anyway, I'm back.

Kelly (7:09)

Feels good to clear the air and I feel nothing in terms of, like, I don't wish I was pregnant. So I think that's a good sign that, like, I am very good and confident being done with my four. Like, I'm not feeling like, oh, now you're also miserable. So we'll see. Like, I do think I'll have a little envy of your bump, but maybe not. Yeah, we'll see what happens. Yeah. And the most exciting thing is you get to make three across your personality. Like three in car seasons. Like the content alone. Thank you for your service to the community.

Liz (7:42)

Yeah, definitely going to be getting back in the minivan as soon as possible. Not that the Pathfinder couldn't do three across, but I'm just like, really, as everyone knows, I'm really missing the minivan van. So definitely going to use this child as an excuse to like, just drive a minivan full time.

Kelly (8:00)

Well, Liz, congrats. We're so excited for you. I think I speak on half of all of the carpoolers. And without further ado, we do still have an episode to get to and we have, like, a lot of things to cover at the time of this recording. That's Monday. This is coming out on Wednesday and we had just completed a photo shoot. That's right, we're models. Well, let me be clear. When we pay someone to take pictures of us, we're models.

Liz (8:23)

Yeah.

Kelly (8:24)

But the website renovation is still underway. We're getting closer, but we needed a few more photos of the for the website so we had to book a photo shoot. We also wanted to do it before Liz got too pregnant. Just so the photos continue to age well, because we won't be doing this every year. So that's what we have this week and Friday we are announcing the car mom car of the year. So if you have not voted, get to the link in my bio and get after it.

Liz (8:49)

Get to the polls.

Kelly (8:52)

Get to the polls. I wish we had. I voted stickers because it's really important for your voices to be heard. And I'm telling you, the manufacturers are starting to listen. Like, we need them to know when they're doing a good job and when they're not. So the finalists are the Honda Passport, the Nissan Armada, the Ford Expedition, and the Hyundai Palisade.

Liz (9:13)

So get to gettin kind of intense year.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (9:18)

Today's episode is brought to you by Quince. Starting the year with a wardrobe refresh, Quince has you covered with luxe essentials that feel effortless and look polished. They're perfect for layering, mixing and building a wardrobe that lasts. Their versatile styles makes it easy to reach for them day after day. Quince has all the staples covered from soft Mongolian cashmere sweaters that feel like designer pieces with out the markup to 100% silk tops and skirts for easy dressing up to perfectly cut denim for everyday wear. Their wardrobe essentials are crafted to last season after season. Each piece from Quint is made with premium materials and ethical trusted factories, then priced far below what other luxury brands charge. One of my favorite pieces that Kelly actually included in my Christmas gift this year is the Quint women's cropped organic cotton cardigan. So cute. True to size. I wear a medium in it, wear it all the time. I have three of them. I can't get enough of it. Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Don't wait. Go to quince.com carpool for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q U I n c e.com carpool to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com/carpool.

Kelly (10:34)

Okay, so anyway, we are just going to get into our driveway dumps because I think like that's just kind of the most pressing things that we have to chat about. I mean industry news today is juice. Juice. You're gonna love this story. It's hysterical. So stay tuned for industry news. We also had a ton of good ditch the drive thru submissions come through via email. So thank you guys for your service. We're gonna be reading some of your ditch the drive thrus but first and foremost I had a really productive weekend. Actually I had a horrible weekend. It's too expensive out there to simply go outside. I had to stay in. We I had to go to not one but two like kids play places this weekend which the it's like why did I just pay to potentially catch influenza? I have no idea. So anyway, we like had a super busy Saturday running all around. So then Sunday I was like, we're not leaving the house. We're going to church. We're staying at home. That's what we did. And I had a really productive Sunday, kind of like cleaning some things out. And you know what I started doing which was like just such a fun little thing to do. What I started listing Items on Marketplace, but for free, because they're not good items. Like, of course, like, I'm gonna list a good item. I shouldn't say they're not good items. I just, like, wanted them gone and I wanted them to go to, like, people who need them. And like, I could of course, take it to Goodwill, but I could also just like, list it and then like, the people who like, need it and it's just easier for people to find.

Liz (12:00)

It's easier for them to find and then it's free instead of paying.

Kelly (12:04)

And I know, like, sometimes like, Goodwill won't even take items. So like, I have a lot of kite baby pajamas that are stained. Like, they're fine. They just like, they've made it through two to three kids. Libby's grown out of them. And I'm like, what I, what am I going to do with these? Like, they, they are good. They have a lot of life left in them. I don't want to, like, write a description though, like, explaining it and listening for $5. So I'm like, free, gone in seconds.

Liz (12:28)

Yeah.

Kelly (12:29)

Like, to the point now when I list something, I just take it down to the mailbox and I just, like, look at my messages.

Liz (12:34)

Huh? Yeah.

Kelly (12:35)

And then you can also, like, search for things for free on Facebook Marketplace too, because I tried to find like, those buy nothing groups because that's what that girl Nicole always talks about on her tick tock, which I just like, I'm still loving following her, but there's like no buy nothing groups around where I live. So that's why I was like, going to post it for you on Marketplace. And the Marketplace model would probably be mad at me and probably told me like, list it for like $3 or $2. But I just had fun doing it this way.

Liz (13:01)

Yeah. Okay, perfect.

Kelly (13:04)

I do, I will say maybe I should have put like a low price because I do think it, like, gives people a bit more of a commitment to it, you know?

Liz (13:10)

Yeah, for sure.

Kelly (13:13)

But that's what I did. And I kind of just realized, like, some of my favorite content to consume. They're two very random, specific things that I actually can't necessarily relate to because they're, they're not experiences that I'm going through. But I am so inspired by people who, who are on like a serious weight loss journey and are a serious paying off debt journey. Like those two people I find to be, and they, and they document it and I applaud their vulnerability and I just think it's, it's truthless of my Favorite content. And I don't know why because I'm not on a major weight loss journey and I'm not actively paying off debt. But I'm so inspired by them that.

Liz (13:52)

Actually, that is actually on my dump as well. I wanted to talk about a creator who I noticed you follow as well. We've never talked about her, but I've started following her too because she was just peering all over my. My discovery. And that's Sammy Wedemeyer.

Kelly (14:07)

She just came across my desk one day and. Yeah.

Liz (14:09)

So here, here's her story. Her and her husband have felt we.

Kelly (14:14)

Need to get her on the podcast.

Liz (14:15)

They have felt called to be paying off their debt. Their debt is through student loans, car payments. They had a little bit of credit card debt, but like, that's like, that's like the big ones. And starting on January 1st, she was like, day one of 365 of paying off our debt. They currently have like $180,000 in debt. And I don't know what it is about this girl, but I am like checking her page every day to see her update and I am loving her. I'm inspired by her and she's like blowing up. Like, she like just started growing up. She has112,000 Instagram followers. She started on January 1st. Like, it's crazy, but no, so funny because I feel like I know her now. Like, I'm just a really big supporter of hers. And she posted. So her husband's a. Her. Her husband is a police officer and she's a stay at home mom. And she's also homeschooling her kids. I don' Kids she has or what their ages are.

Kelly (15:15)

I think she has two. I think they're like six and eight or something.

Liz (15:18)

I have. I have no idea. Anyway, she went on this rant on one of her posts saying, this is why I'm a stay at home mom. I'm homeschooling our kids. This is the decision we've made. Like, everyone's saying, oh, why are you just making your husband work? Why don't you go get a job? Like, you're paying off student loans for a job. You're not even working. And she was a teacher, which I think is important to note. Anyway, she went on this rant on this. On the. It was like this rant on this post and I was just like sick to my stomach. I'm like, I. So I commented and I said, I'm so sorry that you like you. I hate that you had to even justify being as homeschooled and a stay at home mom. Like, what you were doing is so honorable and humbling. Like, you're doing great. Like, truly just an encouraging message. Anyway, I opened my Instagram app. Someone wrote back to that comment. Like a hate message.

Kelly (16:12)

Can you read your exact comment?

Liz (16:13)

Let me read it verbatim. Because I was like, I'm not, I'm not. I'm not used to this. Okay. Oh, and I wrote back, I said, I hate how much you had to justify your decision to homeschool your kids. The most honorable and humbling calling that someone could have. I'm sorry you've gotten nasty DMs. You're doing amazing. Now. Looking back, I could have said, also stay at home mom. I wasn't thinking that much about this. I'm just like, I know how bad it feels to get a hate message. Like, it really makes you question your self worth, makes you question a lot of the decision you've been making. So I just wanted to be like a positive person. Being like, you're doing a great thing. Because she's. She gets a lot of hate messages. Sage comments back. While she doesn't need to justify anything, your comment is worded in a way that feels very much like you're saying. Parents who utilize public or private school are not doing an honorable thing. Homeschooling is not some amazing or honorable or humbling thing. It's a neutral option to educate your children. Signed. A mom who has homeschooled private schooled and public schooled their kids so far, currently doing two of those simultaneously. For older, twice exceptional kid, Public school during the day, homeschooled at night for the grade level for them to start college next year at 13. And I'm like, you just said that. It is not an honorable or humbling thing to stay at home with your children and teach them, which is a crazy thing to say. So I clapped and then I. And I love the signed. And then insert all of her credentials.

Kelly (17:48)

Oh, you know, that's my pet peeve. When people are like, remember when we always used to get those messages? Like, yes, as a former teen.

Liz (17:56)

As a former teen. Yeah.

Kelly (17:58)

As a mom who wears pink on Wednesdays and has two kids under the age of 5 whose husband is a firefighter, My opinion on this is.

Liz (18:06)

I know. And so she said, signed and then gave me her credentials. And I said, really wasn't including any other person or parent in my comment was just lifting up Sam. I want her to know she's doing a great job and a wonderful thing When I comment directly on someone's video, it's a message for them not to call out every single parent out there. And I do think humble and I do think homeschooling your children is humbling and honorable. I stand by that. Being a stay at home mom and taking on schooling has to be incredibly difficult. I have so much respect for her. Genuinely cannot believe that comment was taken negatively. I believe in every parent's choice to educate their children how they see fit and what's best for their family. And sounds like you're doing a great job as well.

Kelly (18:48)

Did she respond?

Liz (18:50)

No, of course she didn't.

Kelly (18:52)

Yeah.

Liz (18:52)

Sage.

Kelly (18:55)

Like, that's the definition of needs to touch grass. And it's like, I don't think people, people need to wake up because if you're, if everything you see online is offending you, you have to go touch grass.

Liz (19:07)

Yeah.

Kelly (19:07)

Immediately.

Liz (19:08)

Yeah.

Kelly (19:09)

You have to go get in tune with, with reality. And that's like, what I think one of the scariest things about AI is our reality is already so distorted. Like, just as it has been over the last 10 years of social media has blown up and AI is just going to continue to distort our reality. And I just think you have to make sure you're connecting with real people. And like, you just, you're, you're, you're in line with reality and what's not reality.

Liz (19:33)

And it's so crazy because, like, that is one example of, like, I comment on someone else's video. Like, this woman doesn't. And then this woman read through her comments. Also watch the video, read through her comments, and then like, had to go comment on a comment. Like, it's so, like, you are so deep. And like, when I commented that, it's like, I might as well have sent her a direct message. Like, I do not think that anyone else is going to see that or interact with that, you know? So anyway, I don't know why that one, like, really triggered me, but it kind of did. Maybe I need to touch grass.

Kelly (20:04)

Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones. Could be. But anyway, she is a good follow and she's so inspiring.

Liz (20:12)

Yeah, I really love her.

Kelly (20:14)

Sassed.

Liz (20:15)

Obsessed. Anyway, something else on my dump. I am one more targeted Instagram ad away from buying the Halara sweatpants jeans.

Kelly (20:27)

Liz, I see those for you.

Liz (20:28)

I'm gonna be honest, I. I kind of think now is the time.

Kelly (20:34)

The Halara sweatpant jeans.

Liz (20:35)

I don't know why. The Halara ones are the ones that are specifically, like, all over my Instagram.

Kelly (20:41)

Because they're tall girl friendly, I think. I think they're, like, always bragging about that.

Liz (20:44)

Okay, I need to find someone who's tall girl friendly, and I'm gonna order some sweatpants jeans. Because if that works, that would be insane.

Kelly (20:54)

Yeah, they look really cute.

Liz (20:56)

They do, right? Oh, I might just have to do it for research.

Kelly (21:01)

The only targeted Instagram ad that I've been getting, and I don't know why I'm targeted on this, but I keep getting ads for this thing called. What is it called, Eliola or something. It's like a white powder that goes on your food for, like, kids who, like, are really picky eaters.

Liz (21:21)

I've never seen this. You would have thought this would have come across my desk.

Kelly (21:24)

No, that's what I'm saying. Hold on. What is it called? What would I look up?

Liz (21:32)

I don't know.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (21:33)

Picky Eater dust.

Kelly (21:38)

Okay. It's called Ella Ola E L L A O L A. It's an unflavored Kid's essential multivitamin. It is. I'm telling you.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (21:46)

I'm seeing it.

Kelly (21:47)

I'm seeing it three to four times a day, and I do not have picky eaters.

Liz (21:51)

I don't know why.

Kelly (21:51)

It just keeps coming across my desk. But similar to. I'm like, well, should I just start buying it? I mean, they are. I am. It is propaganda at this point. How many times I've seen this ad.

Liz (22:02)

It's. It's powerful. It's powerful. I'm literally about to place an order.

Kelly (22:06)

What's the last time you bought something off a straight up targeted ad?

Liz (22:09)

And honestly, I do not really fall for the ads because they start to make me feel questionable. Like, I probably won't buy the whole ARA ones. I'll probably find a different brand because I'm like. Because you're targeting me so much, I don't trust you. And I feel like you're a scaly.

Kelly (22:23)

I don't feel that way. No, I use. I think. I think that's an outdated mindset. I think that that used to be true. Like, it was only crap you'd see on, like, TikTok shop or, like, Instagram ads. Now I think, like, every reputable brand is doing those kind of ads.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (22:37)

Sure.

Kelly (22:38)

I fell for, I don't know, two. Very recently, I. One, I'm looking at. And it was a bad buy. It was a bad buy. I found these paint by numbers, but they were like religious paint by numbers. So it was like Catholic art, but paint by number. And I ordered One for you, for your birthday. Oh, but it's huge. Like, hold on, I have to get it.

Liz (23:05)

I was wondering because you told me you ordered me something off an Instagram ad for my birthday and it. I like never came in. I never heard about it. I'm so nervous. What is the, what are the dimensions?

Kelly (23:19)

I guess I wasn't paying attention to it. Like, it won't even fit in my frame. It's huge.

Liz (23:32)

Oh, it's pretty though.

Kelly (23:34)

I know it's pretty, but. Yeah.

Liz (23:36)

Where do I hang that?

Kelly (23:38)

Well, what size is it? See, it doesn't even say. And it took forever to come. It arrived so sketchy.

Liz (23:45)

Well, and then it's like, how's the paint quality? You know, it's like, that's why I really don't order paint by numbers outside of paint, like Frida, because I know that quality is good. And the other ones, you never know what you're getting.

Kelly (23:57)

No, Elizabeth, it's huge. I have no idea what you're going to do. Well, I'm actually not going to give it to you. I'm going to donate it to. Luckily it's dinner auction season. And one thing about me, I love a dinner auction. So I'm gonna donate it to our school's dinner auction. And I actually think it'll be a big hit. Like I actually think it will do well. I have been though, so. March, February. March is dinner auction season where I live. Okay. That's like where all like the grade schools do their dinner auction. Now we go to three to four a year. We go to our schools and two of my sister in law's schools. I. You don't understand. I love a dinner auction. It's like just such a fun night for me. I love to buy things and I love that I'm buying things that are a tax write off. Like that's fun for me. Goodbye. Through the business. Like, I'm getting something and I'm making a donation. I love, I, I love, like it's, it's like going to a wedding for me. Like, I love seeing like, oh, what does this school do? Oh, how much did they raise? How much did they raise last year? Are we going to be at this? You're like, I just, I drink the Kool Aid. I'm obsessed. I love dinner auctions. Can't wait for your kids to get in school and I can start going to your dinner auctions too.

Liz (25:01)

Yeah.

Kelly (25:02)

Anyway, and a really fun perk of my job is I get sent a lot of stuff that I save all year. I save it all year to make these amazing dinner auction baskets. And I'm kind of like in competition with myself because, like, what did the car on basket do last year and can I top it this year? Like, how much money can I bring this year? So I just put together my first one. Huge, huge. I had a shark styler. I had a Tommy John robe. I had so much skincare and pr. I had jewelry in there. It's. I'm think, I think, I think it'll bring 6, 700 bucks.

Liz (25:38)

No Kelly. And there I went to her office the other day and I was so cold. So I took a blanket out of her closet and it was like a Chevy blanket that was folded up really nicely. And she goes, you did not just unfold that Chevy blanket. That was going in my. One of my dinner auction baskets.

Kelly (25:53)

Yeah. I was so mad at her. She was so mad because I thought that would do well too. I had a whole Chevy sent me all this PR and I'm like, this basket's gonna kill. It's a Chevy basket. People like, that's a kitschy thing people want to buy at a dinner auction.

Liz (26:07)

Now are you assembling the basket?

Kelly (26:10)

Absolutely not. So that's not my strong suit.

Liz (26:13)

No.

Kelly (26:14)

So depending on the auction. So my mother in law, Barb, she loves a cellophane wrap. Like she loves to get the little, you know, the paper grass and set it up. And she goes through, she's so amazing. She goes through every item and prices it out. Because, like, I wouldn't do that. I'd be like, oh, I don't know, all this stuff was free. Like it's probably around, you know, X amount of dollars. No, she goes through every little thing, itemizes it, and she'll be like, dipstick, $36.

Liz (26:40)

Okay.

Kelly (26:40)

And she, she'll do that.

Liz (26:41)

Now you got to know the basket's value, which is fair.

Kelly (26:44)

You have to know the basket value. I would just kind of, I would guesstimate. But I just like love going to dinner auctions. So all to say, I'm putting it out there. St. Louis people who has a dinner auction coming up, I can probably scoundrel together. Two more baskets, slash. I have some more Virgin Mary paint by numbers because I actually, actually bought three of them.

Liz (27:04)

You bought three?

Kelly (27:05)

Well, I bought one for you, one for mom, one for me. I thought they were little huge. I genuinely need to go look back at my order. I really think they sent me the wrong size because I would not have done that. And I. They weren't that expensive. So anyway, also say I didn't just come across my desk. If you have a dinner auction.

Liz (27:24)

Were you thinking, like, inches? And it said it was actually, like, feet. Are you thinking like three by five?

Sponsor/Guest Voice (27:35)

Yeah.

Kelly (27:35)

I don't know, dude.

Liz (27:36)

It's huge.

Kelly (27:38)

I don't know.

Liz (27:40)

Okay.

Kelly (27:41)

Yeah. It's almost dinner auction season. I'm so excited.

Liz (27:44)

I'm so excited for you.

Kelly (27:45)

Are you gonna come? Do you want to come to my dinner auction this year?

Liz (27:47)

Oh, I don't know. You kind of live far.

Kelly (27:51)

Yeah, I get it. I actually don't think it'd be your vibe.

Liz (27:56)

Let's. Yeah, it's a small talk.

Kelly (27:59)

Yeah. Ours is really fun, though.

Liz (28:02)

I'm sure it is.

Kelly (28:02)

Ours. Ours is kind of rowdy. We have this thing called, like, a duck pond there. And you know how, like, you have a carnival game where you would, like, pick up a duck? Okay, well, instead of a duck, they're little bottles of alcohol.

Liz (28:14)

Huh.

Kelly (28:16)

And you pick one up. So you have to pay $10 to do a draw for the duck pond. You for sure get a shot, which is exciting, but some of them have something underneath it which becomes a prize for you to get.

Liz (28:26)

Okay. That's fun.

Kelly (28:27)

Yeah.

Liz (28:28)

I do. I do love stuff like that.

Kelly (28:30)

And I do always do. I love the raffle, like the lottery ticket basket. I'm always buying the lottery ticket raffle. Like, that's so fun.

Liz (28:37)

Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay. Love it here for it.

Kelly (28:42)

This year I'm hoping to get. And it's competitive. But there's two things I have on my eyes on for my kids school. One, front row tickets to the kindergarten concert.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (28:54)

Need.

Kelly (28:55)

Simply need, need. And they have. I love this one. So I feel like every school does it a little differently, but the way we do pickup is everyone parks and, like, then the kids come out and for auction is the front spot.

Liz (29:08)

Yeah.

Kelly (29:09)

So it's like last in, first to leave.

Liz (29:12)

Yeah. Considering that one has to go for a lot.

Kelly (29:16)

Well, yeah. The only thing is, it's like, it's not the easiest spot to park in. And, like, if you're getting there last, like, then everyone eyes on you for to back in my giant expedition Max to this spot. I'm not saying I can't do it, but I'm just something to think about.

Liz (29:32)

We always. When mom and dad would go to the dinner auctions for our high school, we said, you guys have to get the front row parking. So when we show up to school running late, we don't have to walk in the giant parking lot. That was always the Best. The always the hottest thing to get.

Kelly (29:49)

Yeah. That's so fun.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (29:51)

So great.

Kelly (29:52)

That's fun. Love an auction. Love an auction.

Liz (29:56)

So real quick, I want to share a base model luxury that was actually written into us. And she's like, I think this is a base model luxury. It's more of just like, I think a life hack, but I think it's kind of genius. So this comes from Victoria. She says I have found an easy way to speed up the dreaded process that is post dinner cleanup. The Chuck it bucket. I simply keep a small bin under my table. Think the bin they use at the hospital wash pump parts or one of those bins you'd put in a toy organizer for size reference. When dinner is done, the chuck it bucket gets put in the center of the table and each of us put our plates, cups, silverware, bibs, etc, straight into the bucket. Instead of making five or six trips back and forth to the table and sink, I make one trip and simply grab everything out of the bucket load in the dishwasher. If there's food in the plates, I scrape it into the bottom of the bucket, dump that in the trash before rinsing. This comes especially in handy when we in the spring, summer and fall when we eat outside.

Kelly (30:49)

I love the Chuck it bucket.

Liz (30:51)

She says eventually she'll buy a collapsible bin so she can store it even better. But like, right now kind of just sounds like throwing it under your table is like getting the job done for her.

Kelly (31:01)

No, that's. I'm inspired.

Liz (31:04)

I mean, that's what they do at those restaurants when you have to like clean up the food yourself. You just like go and put everything in a bucket or in a bin.

Kelly (31:12)

I. I do something not, not the Chucky bucket, but semi similar. Like when I am making dinner, sometimes I will just put like a Walmart bag, like on my, like just like a plastic bag or like a box. Like if I get like an Amazon box or something, I'll just put it on my island and like, it's a trash thing. So like if I open something, I'm just like it throw. Throwing it in there. Like keep my island clean. But yes, I really like that one. Huh.

Liz (31:36)

It also like cleans. Like you can like then put your. I put everything in the chucket bucket, clean the rest of the house and then do the dishes. I've been doing that lately. When I clean up, I like to get all the dishes in one spot and then like clean the rest of the kitchen or opposite. So that way when I'M just standing in front of my sink. I can, like, open my laptop up and, like, watch a show because I'm not moving. You can't do that when you're moving around and you're, like, taking multiple trips. But, like, I put everything over to the sink and then I do it all at one time, and that's been really nice. And I will say I have one episode left of Desperate Housewives, so I am, like one dinner. One or two dinner cleanups away from finishing. And then I'm a free agent, so.

Kelly (32:22)

I'm currently a free agent. I tried to watch the Masked Singer. I'm sorry. I think it's a horrible show. Yeah, here's the. Here's the big plot hole with the masked singer is like, Dancing with the Stars is successful because the stars are making content around the show. The masked singer people are anonymous.

Liz (32:41)

Yeah.

Kelly (32:42)

So it's like they can't promote it to all of their followers, which is silly.

Liz (32:48)

Yeah. It's also like, I've never seen a masked singer reveal and been, like, gooped and gagged. I'm like, who is that?

Kelly (32:56)

Well, that's the problem. And then I'm feeling so bad because, like, they're. I've only watched one episode, but I accidentally. Doesn't matter. I accidentally watched one episode of the first season thinking I was watching this season. Whoops. So waste. That's literally 40 minutes of my life I'll never get back because I thought it was this season, but it was last season. And they're being like, that's gotta be Sabrina Carpenter. And I'm like, sabrina Carpenter is the biggest star in the world. Like, she's simply not going on this low brow show. I'm sorry. And now the person under the mask, like, is gonna feel like you're disappointed because it's not Sabrina Carpenter.

Liz (33:26)

But, like, what a compliment, though, to be.

Kelly (33:27)

No, it is a compliment, but it is a compliment. But, like, be so for real. Masked Singer.

Liz (33:32)

No, they're throwing, like, crazy things out there. And, like, you're. You're telling me that all of these judges, like, know who the heck these, like, random people are? Like, they don't.

Kelly (33:43)

Exactly. So I don't like that show. So I'm not watching it again. Sorry, I can't do it. Also, it's like, anything I need to see, I will see on Instagram the next day. Like Dancing with the Stars. It's like, no, I liked. I liked the packages. I liked being part of something. I liked voting. You're not voting on the Masked singer. Like, there is simply no reason to watch that show because anything worth seeing, I will see the next day on my phone.

Liz (34:07)

It's interesting, too, because they might get the same level of stars that Dancing with the Stars does. Like, they could have gotten Dylan Efron, and I would have been like, okay, who the heck? And who knows who Dylan efron is? Like, 100. But because of the way that Dancing with the Stars is filmed now, like, Dylan Efron is, like, a huge deal in my book, but, like, he probably could have been the same level of star, right?

Kelly (34:28)

Okay. So last night I started traitors, okay? And I literally was like, what is this show about? I'm literally watching the first episode. They're not explaining what it's about. I'm like, 50% of the way in. I still don't know what the show's about. But the stars, they have. I. I thought the stars were actually pretty impressive. So on season, they have Mark Ballas from Dancing with the Stars. Obsessed. They've got a couple of housewives like Lisa Rinna, which. Did you ever watch that show?

Liz (34:59)

Huh?

Kelly (35:00)

Lovely. Serena Dorinda is another big housewife. And then they've got some other housewives. I never watched Atlanta, but I'm loving the Atlanta housewife who's on it. Obsessed. They have some people from Love island, some people from Survivor. Big Brother. They've got, like, a couple of figure skaters. It's a lot of stars. It's 23 people. And they're kind of. They're. They're kind of stars. They're kind of. They're referring themselves as gamers because, like, I wouldn't consider, like, Survivor people or Big Brother people stars, but, like, they're in that they know how to play these games. So basically, the premise of Traitors is there's. In this season so far, there's four traders. As in traders, as in, like, betraying. See, I thought it was about stocks. I thought it was kind of like an apprentice. Apprentice thing, to be honest with you.

Liz (35:53)

Okay.

Kelly (35:54)

Like, I thought they were. It doesn't matter. And then everyone else is a. What do they call themselves? You're a traitor or you're like, a follower? I don't remember the word. And the traitors kill someone and, like, basically, like, vote them off. But there's, like, different challenges. They. That they do. And, like, you can get, like, a shield so that you're protected. I'm one episode in now.

Liz (36:21)

Are people trying to determine who the traitors are to vote them off?

Kelly (36:25)

See, I'm not. I'm not all the way there yet.

Liz (36:27)

Okay. You don't have a lot of information. Okay.

Kelly (36:29)

But I do think eventually it will get that way because, like, so, like, let me explain this to you. So in the first episode, there's nine people who are up for elimination. The traders get a pick who's up for elimination. So, like, whoever doesn't die obviously isn't a traitor because the traders pick the people.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (36:52)

Okay.

Kelly (36:53)

I don't know. Here's the thing. I don't know yet. I'm enjoying it, though.

Liz (36:56)

Okay.

Kelly (36:57)

I think it's worth watching. It's okay.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (36:59)

It.

Kelly (37:02)

It's fun.

Liz (37:03)

Okay. Okay.

Kelly (37:06)

I wish I had more to say. This is not a very good recap, but I'm only one episode in.

Liz (37:10)

Okay, you know what? After watching Dancing with the Stars, I really like getting to know, like, stars influencers or whatever you want to call them. Like, I like. I like getting to know them on, like, a more personal level. So I'm actually, I'm. I'm into it, so maybe.

Kelly (37:23)

Well, and I think this game, there is a level of strategy to it, and I can already tell. Well, and I might watch Survivor this year, too. We've talked about this. Yeah.

Liz (37:31)

I would like.

Kelly (37:32)

So the. The Survivor, their Survivor people who are on this show, they have, like, such strategy to it where, like, the housewives and, like, some other people are just kind of like, in la la land. The Survivor people are there for the strategy. So, like, in the first challenge, one of the Survivor was like, let's. Let's team up with them so they don't go against us. And I was like, that was such a smart move. So something to think about. But I'm gonna shut up because I don't know what I'm talking about. And besides that, I watched a lot of football this weekend. Obsessed. Go Bills. They won.

Liz (38:01)

Okay, cool. I'm, like, really into the whole Indiana of it all. And Fernando, we love.

Kelly (38:07)

So Grayson went to Indiana. That's college football. And they are killing it. Killing it. Back to the NFL for one second. So Lions are out. So I'm cheering for the Buffalo Bills, but I'm also cheering for the Chicago Bears because that's Pope Leo's favorite team.

Liz (38:29)

Okay.

Kelly (38:31)

And, like, they have the holiest man in the world on their side, so it just does feel like the Bears might stand a chance. And I. The Bears vs. Packers game. The Bears score. They were losing the whole game. The Bears scored 25 points in the fourth quarter. It was insane.

Liz (38:46)

Wow.

Kelly (38:47)

It was insane.

Liz (38:48)

Interesting. That is crazy.

Kelly (38:50)

So. Okay, that was like the most random, like, TV recap, football recap segment in the world. I'm so sorry.

Liz (38:57)

You are just kind of all over the place. But that's okay.

Kelly (39:00)

I chugged this coffee. I'm. And I haven't eaten today, so I've kind of got the shakes.

Liz (39:04)

Okay, well, let's get into industry news where we saw the hot tea going on in the auto industry.

Kelly (39:10)

Okay.

Liz (39:10)

Stick with what you know, Cal. Let. Maybe you can flush out like a full thought this on this segment.

Kelly (39:16)

That was so true. Okay. Remember how last episode we talked about where we were when Victoria's Secret decided to stop selling swimsuits?

Liz (39:25)

Yeah.

Kelly (39:26)

This is the auto equivalent.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (39:28)

Oh.

Kelly (39:29)

Because Stellantis scraps the Jeep Chrysler plug in hybrid vehicles amid the EV slowdown, which is the worst idea I've ever heard.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (39:42)

Yeah.

Kelly (39:43)

Now the Jeep Chrysler has like, they have not made a good decision in forever. I'll just say that out loud. The Jeep plug in hybrids I could take or leave, like, I don't know, whatever. The Chrysler plug in hybrid, though, is one of my favorite cars. The Chrysler Pacifica plug in hybrid. Like, it was so niche and there, there isn't other plug in family cars like that that can fit a lot of people. Like, they're so rare. And I recommended this plug in hybrid all the time. Yeah. And they're scrapping it.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (40:20)

Yeah.

Liz (40:22)

I mean, I wonder how sales are doing. I mean, there has to be a reason.

Kelly (40:27)

So the reason that. And this is like just really interesting there. I'm reading the article. I'm reading an article from cnbc and of course, like, they're blaming sales. I would say taking away something is not going to fix the sales. Like, maybe we need to adjust the marketing, the product, the reliability. But just like scrapping it, I don't think. I don't think is the answer.

Liz (40:53)

Maybe they haven't hit people with enough Instagram ads.

Kelly (40:57)

Exactly.

Liz (40:58)

Maybe that's. Maybe they should try that first.

Kelly (41:01)

So they do cite that the sales are down. And a lot of it is because EVs are so much EV sales have kind of declined. Tax credits have gone away. And it really just does depend on like, basically who the president is and like what the administration is doing. Like what they're deciding to push. Like, really affects what the manufacturer. It affects how advantageous EVs are for the manufacturers. And it says, aside from sales, Stellantis has been using phabs as a way to offset its production of gas guzzling trucks and SUVs to attempt to Meet the federal fuel economy standards and avoid penalties.

Liz (41:36)

Penalties.

Kelly (41:37)

And something people don't maybe realize about the way that the federal penalties work is basically there are regulations that are saying, and I don't have the exacts, but like, there are regulate relations where it's like, hey, you guys have to average 25 miles per gallon across your fleet. So what manufacturers would do is they would come out with these, like, rinky dink hybrids that would get 50 to offset the cost. The fact that The Wrangler gets 14.

Liz (42:04)

Right.

Kelly (42:05)

So that's one of the reasons they were using the PHEVs. But also PHEVs have ticked up so much. And when we look at, like, what Toyota's doing, Toyota is crushing the hybrid game. And they're not putting their emphasis on the EVs. And I feel like Stellantis, like, tried to do all of it. And they were bringing us the Wagoneer S, which was an electric Jeep Wagoneer, which literally no one asked for.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (42:27)

Yeah.

Kelly (42:28)

And like, we like the Chrysler Pacifica. They need to. Here's what Stellantis needs to do. Here's my playbook for them. Okay. You need more Chrysler cars. Like, give us a freaking. Like I said last episode, Give us your Buick enclave equivalent. Keep the Pacifica. Fix your atrocious headrests. Start with that. Jeep needs to be Wrangler. You can keep the Wagoneer Grand Cherokee. That's it. Get rid of everything else. Ram needs to just be trucks. Dodge you can let go of. Yeah, you don't need like a whole brand in Dodge. If you want to keep your, like, charger, make it a Ram Charger. Like, just, like, take it. Someone needs to just absorb that.

Liz (43:11)

I don't know. I mean, Dodge is a. I don't know. Dodgers. It's got. It's got name recognition. But.

Kelly (43:17)

But remember Dodge used to be what they called their trucks. And then they're like, no, now our trucks are called rams. Like, they're just.

Liz (43:21)

I would. I would actually say get rid of Ram before you get rid of Dodge. Ram is only the truck.

Kelly (43:27)

No, you're right. Get rid of Ram. And Ram can be Dodge.

Liz (43:31)

Yeah. You can just drive a Dodge truck.

Kelly (43:33)

You can drive a Dodge truck.

Liz (43:35)

You could drive. Drive a Dodge Ram 1500, not a Ram 15.

Kelly (43:40)

You're 100% right.

Liz (43:42)

Yeah.

Kelly (43:43)

Glad we got there.

Liz (43:44)

Signed a owner of a RAM 1500.

Kelly (43:50)

Signed to average podcasters who don't know how to recap a show for the life of us. Okay, let's get into dishes that I have through Reacher and Easy dinner Recipe to mix it up to get you.

Liz (43:59)

Out of y' all dinner. Rhett.

Kelly (44:02)

Exactly.

Liz (44:03)

Wait, can I just tell you what I made last night? That when like my in laws came over last night and I was like able to quickly throw this together and like kind of hit it out of the park despite me feeling like not great. Like a chicken cutlet obsessed like Elizabeth.

Kelly (44:22)

That I think is going to be the new it food. A chicken cutlet.

Liz (44:26)

It should be because like the way you get the chicken, you smell, you hand it with a mallet and then like you. I always have eggs, I always have breadcrumbs, I always have flour. And like, it is such an approachable way for me to eat chicken. Like will eat an entire chicken breast in that way. Put a little cheese on top, put some marinara, whatever. Lemon, like world's your oyster. At that point, like, everyone was like, this is great.

Kelly (44:53)

No, I saw a real nasty to make though. I saw a real. And it was like eating the original protein bar. A chicken cutlet 100%.

Liz (45:05)

Where like next day baked chicken breast will make me feel like, want to throw up a chicken cutlet the next day always hits like, what's up with just like a little bit of breading that like, I'm still getting the same amount of protein. I just got a little bit of breading on it. Then saw it's good to dip in a bunch of sauces.

Kelly (45:25)

Like, no, it's so different. It's.

Liz (45:27)

It's so different.

Kelly (45:29)

So I went to whole foods the other day and I was like so hungry, trying. I'm trying to eat more protein. And I was like, they were just selling chicken cutlets. Cold chicken cutlets. Grabbed one, grabbed a lemon. Just put lemon on my chicken cutlet. Hoovered it.

Liz (45:42)

Yeah.

Kelly (45:42)

I was like, that was.

Liz (45:43)

You could even, you could even do that. Or you could even just do seasoning like a lemon pepper or like a salt and vinegar like seasoning on top of a chicken cutlet. Like, my mouth is watering.

Kelly (45:53)

I want a chicken cutlet so bad right now.

Liz (45:55)

Yeah.

Kelly (45:57)

So good.

Liz (45:58)

But that's not the dish the drive thru. But it is a good one to remind you that they exist 100%.

Kelly (46:05)

Okay, are you ready for today's dish? The drive thru?

Liz (46:10)

Yeah. I have not been ditching the drive thru. I told my husband, look and my. For. There's no need for you, for our marriage for any. There's no reason for you to go through my doordash statements for the next couple of. Couple of weeks. It's something. It's Something you don't need to worry about. I don't have it under control. It's actually wildly out of control, but it's okay. This too shall pass.

Kelly (46:40)

Okay, this comes from Elise, AKA Jen. Hi, Kelly and Liz. I don't know if you guys are still taking DTDs via email, but I figured I'd send anyway. Of course we are. We have an. We have. We had an elevated Mac and cheese for dinner tonight, and it was so good. I included everything. I included specific measurements below, but ultimately measured with my heart. This serves two adults and a toddler, so double up if need be. Boil water and prep 8 ounces of whatever noodles you have. And then in a separate pan, put 1 cup of milk, 2 tablespoons of butter, a half a teaspoon of salt, pepper. Everything but the bagel. Oh, everything but the elote spice from TJ's. I love that.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (47:19)

So good.

Kelly (47:20)

And a small amount of yellow mustard. Trust me. On medium heat and stir frequently until the butter is melted. Drain pasta and return to pot. Pour the milk mixture over your noodles on a low heat. Slowly add small amounts of shredded cheese. I use the Mexican blood because what I have on hand until melted. Serve with whatever veggies you'd like. Obsessed. So basically, it's just like in a saucepan, she put milk, butter, seasonings, but her seasoning she did was the everything but the elote, which. That's like, a must pick up from Trader Joe's. Everyone talks about their everything but the bagel seasoning. Sorry, I think we're all burnt out on that. We're all burnt out on that. Do not make corn on the cob this summer without the celote seasoning. Yeah, it is unbelievable. Adding it to a Mac and cheese sounds amazing, and I'm so excited about this because I think George is starting to get over his cheese issue.

Liz (48:12)

Oh, good.

Kelly (48:13)

Because the other day, one of my favorite ditch the drive thrus that I just made because we had it on hand, I had to use it up, is chicken broccoli. Like a cheesy chicken broccoli casserole. Huh? And like, that always hits. And we. I wasn't making it because I'm like, oh, George isn't gonna like the cheese. But, like, my favorite, which I get that it's not the most healthy, but, like, respectfully, I just. It is to me. I. I never don't have two to three rice a Roni boxes on hand. I love rice. I love rice a Roni.

Liz (48:47)

I'm not in my rice a Roni era.

Kelly (48:49)

Elizabeth, get in your rice a Roni era. Because it's the perfect. It's so versatile. It's a great just, like, carby side to go with, like, whatever you're having. Yeah, it's so cheap.

Liz (49:00)

It would go great with a chicken cutlet, actually.

Kelly (49:02)

100%. But it's also like, oh, you want to whip up a casserole? In a minute. It's what I make my poppy seed chicken casserole with, and it's what I make my broccoli, so they have different flavors. So, like, for the broccoli, chicken cheese casserole, I get the four cheese rice, a Roni broccoli, a can of cream of chicken, a little sour cream, and chicken. Mix it all together, and I pop it in the oven. George didn't even know it was cheese, so that was good for me.

Liz (49:25)

Okay. Interesting.

Kelly (49:27)

Yeah. Okay, so we just gave you three to the drive through, so I don't. I don't think anyone needs to be drive thruing this week. We're all ditching it.

Liz (49:34)

Yeah, totally.

Kelly (49:36)

Okay. And that has to be our episode before I, like, go on another tangent and I need to eat a chicken cutlet because this caffeine is kind of making me feel wacky.

Liz (49:43)

Okay, well, thank you so much for listening to the carpool podcast, and we'll talk to you next time, guys. Love you.

Sponsor/Guest Voice (49:49)

Bye.

Kelly (49:50)

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 us, tell everybody you know there's room in the car for everyone.