Bless Your 'Hardt - What Did We Sign Up For

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dale Jr. Download – Episode: "Bless Your 'Hardt - What Did We Sign Up For"

Introduction to "Bless Your Heart" In the inaugural episode of "Bless Your Heart," hosted by Amy Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr., the couple delves into their personal lives, relationship dynamics, and parenting experiences. The show, produced by Dirty Mo Media and aired on SiriusXM, aims to offer a candid and humorous look into the lives of one of NASCAR’s most beloved families.

**1. Launch of the Show Amy Earnhardt initiates the conversation by sharing humorous anecdotes about their early days together, setting a lighthearted tone for the episode.

• Notable Quote:
  Amy Earnhardt (00:12): "The very first time I hung out with you and stayed with you, I'm brushing my teeth and this man sits down behind me to take a number two."

**2. Concept and Purpose of "Bless Your Heart" Dale Jr. and Amy discuss the genesis of their podcast spin-off, emphasizing their intent to create a relaxed space to share stories, laugh, and analyze everyday experiences.

• Notable Quotes:
  Dale Earnhardt Jr. (02:47): "So what do you think this show's gonna be?"
  Amy Earnhardt (02:50): "I don't know. I mean, I'm hoping it's just a fun way for you and I to make light of all the crazy things that happen in our lives."

**3. Balancing Work and Relationship The couple explores the challenges and benefits of working together on a podcast, acknowledging potential strains while expressing optimism about their collaboration.

• Notable Quotes:
  Dale Earnhardt Jr. (04:22): "It's wading into some unchartered waters."
  Amy Earnhardt (04:36): "We've done a lot of things together and we've had a lot of fun."

**4. Relationship Dynamics and Communication A significant portion of the episode focuses on how Dale Jr. and Amy handle disagreements. They candidly discuss their tendency to take things personally when working with family and how the podcast might serve as a constructive outlet for resolving conflicts.

• Notable Quotes:
  Amy Earnhardt (06:07): "The disagreements are usually pretty damn stupid."
  Dale Earnhardt Jr. (07:55): "I don't want you riled up at all, ever."

**5. Parenting Stories and Experiences Amy and Dale share heartfelt and humorous stories about their children, Isla and Nicole. They discuss events like the Daddy-Daughter Dance, emphasizing the joys and occasional frustrations of parenting.

• Notable Quotes:
  Amy Earnhardt (10:35): "She looked so pretty. That was one of my favorite things..."
  Dale Earnhardt Jr. (12:52): "It's a typical dance when you get older too. Like all the girls dance and all the guys just stand around."

**6. Household Habits and Humor The couple engages in playful banter about their household habits, particularly focusing on Dale Jr.'s love for video games and the resulting household messes.

• Notable Quotes:
  Amy Earnhardt (32:24): "The world is not your trash can. What the hell?"
  Dale Earnhardt Jr. (35:30): "I can look at the bag of grapes at the store and tell whether they're crispy or soft."

**7. Gaming and Personal Interests Dale Jr. discusses his passion for video games, particularly NCAA College Football simulation games, highlighting how technology has kept his interest alive. Amy contrasts this with her preferences, leading to a funny exchange about household priorities.

• Notable Quotes:
  Dale Earnhardt Jr. (29:13): "If the game I'm playing today was exactly like the game that they made in 2004, I wouldn't be playing it."
  Amy Earnhardt (32:18): "So if it's not Barbies, what we. What would be the equivalent?"

**8. Interactive Segment: "We Listen and We Don't Judge" Introducing their first game segment, Amy and Dale attempt a "We Listen and We Don't Judge" game, sharing personal confessions and reflecting on each other’s behaviors without judgment.

• Notable Quotes:
  Amy Earnhardt (45:50): "Sometimes I say I've got errands to run and I just get in my car and I drive around."
  Dale Earnhardt Jr. (46:42): "If I'm feeling good that day, she might get a damn balloon."

**9. Audience Q&A: Parenting Advice The episode features a Q&A segment where Amy and Dale respond to listener questions about parenting, offering practical advice and sharing their own experiences with newborns and discipline.

• Notable Questions & Responses:

  • Question: Surviving the newborn stage.
    Amy Earnhardt (56:45): "Do everything you can just to be supportive. Bring her snacks, even if she says she doesn't want anything."

  • Question: Parenting rules they've broken.
    Dale Earnhardt Jr. (61:09): "We strolled around with the iPad with Isla when we were a kid. They don't really have their iPads at home anymore."

**10. Humorous Pet Stories Amy shares an entertaining story about their dog June Bug's altercation with Gus, adding a lighthearted touch to the episode.

• Notable Quotes:
  Amy Earnhardt (68:09): "June Bug got too close to his room. Gus attacked him, like, full on."
  Dale Earnhardt Jr. (69:08): "I was afraid when I heard you scream."

**11. Closing Thoughts and Future Plans As the episode wraps up, Amy and Dale reflect on their experiences during the show’s first few minutes, expressing excitement for future episodes and encouraging listeners to engage with their content.

• Notable Quotes:
  Dale Earnhardt Jr. (70:22): "I'm excited for you to, like, have a project and see how you kind of, you know, put your mark on this."
  Amy Earnhardt (70:55): "I like hashing it out. I think this is going to be good for us."

Conclusion The first episode of "Bless Your Heart" sets a promising foundation for the podcast, blending humor, heartfelt moments, and genuine conversations about life, relationships, and parenting. Amy Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. successfully engage listeners with their relatable stories and playful interactions, hinting at many more engaging episodes to come.

Key Takeaways:

• Relatable Content: The podcast offers an authentic glimpse into the Earnhardt family's daily life, making it relatable for a wide audience.
• Humor and Heart: Balancing humor with sincere discussions, the hosts create an inviting atmosphere for listeners.
• Interactive Engagement: By incorporating audience questions and interactive segments, the show encourages listener participation and builds a community feel.

Join Amy and Dale Jr. every Thursday for more episodes of "Bless Your Heart," where they continue to explore the ups and downs of life with laughter and love.

Transcript

[Amy Earnhardt]

Hey, y'all. I am Amy Earnhardt, and we are here at Dirty Mo Media Studios. I'm with my husband Dale for our very first episode of Bless yous Heart.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The following is a production of Dirty Mo Media.

[Amy Earnhardt]

The very first time I hung out with you and stayed with you, I'm brushing my teeth and this man sits down behind me to take a number two. Oh, yeah. This is the way it's going to be, girl. We're gonna hang out. I'm like the. It is. I am out. I'm here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, you look amazing.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I could stare at you today.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Are you kidding me?

[Amy Earnhardt]

I couldn't believe it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The toilet sixth story is my microcosm of a relationship.

[Amy Earnhardt]

What? That goes from why you don't make rules in general. So why would you make rules for yourself? It was just a series of trying to figure out how to tame your wild beast habits. God, you're so awkward. You're making me feel awkward.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you feel awkward.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yes, you do.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, I don't.

[Amy Earnhardt]

All right, well, I'm excited to be here. I had fun. What the. Quit laughing.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm really excited about this.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Can you control yourself? Yes, we are.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Are we supposed to be in that much control? Shouldn't we not, like, let loose a little bit?

[Amy Earnhardt]

I don't know. I'm really nervous. I'm nervous to be here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You said you Woke up at 5 o'clock in the morning.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I did. That's not me. I woke up bright eyed, got up. I worked out this morning.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We're gonna do here. That's got it. Got you so shook up.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I don't know when I. I'm just hanging out on your show and I'm in here for like 20 minutes. It's like a no pressure situation, but I'm feeling some pressure, especially when you just sit there and stare at me, which is always awkward. And you like to do that to make me feel awkward just in life, but doing it in here makes me even more uncomfortable. So quit it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right, well, there's a lot to unpack, so bless your heart is first off. That's the name of the show.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yes.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The team came with a lot of ideas. This was your favorite.

[Amy Earnhardt]

It was. I like the term bless your heart. I think it's a fun. It's a fun response when you don't really have a good response. It's a very Southern thing and I feel like it makes sense for us. There's a lot of moments where we could say that to one another.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And you came on our podcast, the Dale Jenner Download, a couple of times last year, and we had a blast. And people seem to really enjoy it. We had some great moments, funny moments. That's not, like, the genesis of this idea. Like, you've been. We've. I've heard you talk about podcasting for years.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah. I've had a few ideas, none of which really made sense globally, you know, so it kind of took a while to come together on a good idea that made sense, but here we are.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So what do you think this show's gonna be?

[Amy Earnhardt]

I don't know. I mean, I'm hoping it's just a fun way for you and I to make light of all the crazy things that happen in our lives.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Parenting. Just funny stories between the two of us or things that have happened, you know, otherwise.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

And just a fun way for us to poke fun at each other.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We did. You came on the Dale Jr. Download maybe once a month last year. This is going to be every Thursday. I mean, there'll be a couple Thursdays that get missed because of different things. The kids have spring break, but we'll probably do a remote show. But I'm just saying, like, you know, you're. You're ratcheting up the responsibility.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Adding something new to your full plate.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Right.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, as a mom and a wife and all that.

[Amy Earnhardt]

So I'm excited about that element of it, though, because being a wife and a mom is very full. The schedule's full, and it's fulfilling. But this is going to be a fun thing that we get to do just as adults together. So I'm excited about that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Have you. Me. And you've done a couple of things professionally. How. How. How are those things going? Will you. I mean, when you're. You weren't hesitant to get involved in this, knowing that. Look, man, I mean, we're. We. We have a. We have a relationship at risk.

[Amy Earnhardt]

We're not going to do anything to ruin our relationship. I'm not coming into the.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know, but I'm just saying, like, you know, people say, don't work with family. Don't. You know, and this is very. This is wading into some unchartered waters.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah. So here's the thing. I feel like when you say, don't work with family, I think it's your own family. Not your married, not your chosen family. Right. Because things are just different, the dynamics different. But you seem to make use of that without any issues.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I mean, it has its challenges it should be fine.

[Amy Earnhardt]

We've done a lot of things together and we've had a lot of fun.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. There were some concerns. Like working with family. Right. You tend to sometimes take things even more personal. Right. When something was. Like when you're working with people that aren't your family things, your things that miff you or ruffle your feathers, but you don't react to it in a certain way because it got to be professional. But when it's family that guards down or that. That walls down and you can be a little more, hey, this bothered me. I'm. And react to that however you want. And it's harder, I think, to swallow your pride and say you were wrong or compromise or whatever it is to bring everybody back together. Right. Same thing in a relationship. Like we have. We have that. We have those moments. We have them without a podcast. Right. But the pod. I'm, you know, I'm. There's some concern on my end about the podcast. You know, not really exposing something. But if we do have a disagreement, right. And it's Thursday morning, we got to go sit down and do a show.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Well, maybe we'll just hash it out right here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. So maybe someone said this. Maybe the podcast is therapeutic. Is good.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah. So to your point, when you and I have a disagreement, we just ignore each other. We can go a week without freaking talking to each other. Even with kids and the whole thing in the house.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I used to. I'm not gonna put. I'm not gonna speak for you, but I think that's better than what we. I used to do.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I mean, yeah, no, nobody. There's no raised voices.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

There's no drama before kids.

[Amy Earnhardt]

It's the complete antithesis of that. It's like a complete.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Before kids.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah, sure.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Until we.

[Amy Earnhardt]

We have been arguing since we met. Even just in a playful way. We've do that. I feel like you really like to argue.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't like to argue.

[Amy Earnhardt]

You like to clown, debate, argue and poke at everyone around you.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I like to be a smart ass and I like to.

[Amy Earnhardt]

That creates arguments, joke. Sometimes it's not the right time for that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I am not out to win arguments. I'm not like, out.

[Amy Earnhardt]

No, I think you just like the drama.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't. I don't. Are you crazy?

[Amy Earnhardt]

No.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No. I don't want you riled up at all, ever.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Well, how about Mike? Let's take Mike, for example.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Now that's. I mean, I push.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I mean, you do that with most people. It's like part of your personality.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's all right. So I don't know. That's a unique. That might.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I have learned to see that coming and just not respond. That's how we have gotten to the point of we get into an argument. I'm just like, peace out. And I just will wait till one of us breaks.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

And it's usually me because you, you can be silent for a long, long time. It's pretty impressive.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

You pout pretty good.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. I think it's better than arguing continuously back and forth.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yes, it is.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It ain't the perfect resolution in terms, you know, because if we do have a disagreement, we do kind of go quiet, go silent, go quiet for a couple days. And eventually. But I think so I'm.

[Amy Earnhardt]

To be fair, the disagreements are usually pretty damn stupid.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

They are silly.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And I recognize that in a moment. But I think the podcast might actually hold us accountable to. Hey, look, I know we're not getting along today or we disagreed about something yesterday, but we can't not do the show.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Maybe it'll make us both grow up a little bit.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, yeah, I think that's, I'm hopeful. We've talked about this. What do you, I guess the question is what do you think the show is going to be? You know, we've, if you've watched any of the clips that we've done on the Dale Jenner download last year with Amy, all of that stuff, that's all, that's all on the table, that type of conversation about everyday life racing. We're not going to give you the, the, the, the preview of the upcoming race at the Shark, you know, Charlotte or whatever. Every, you know, on a. Any given weekend racing will creep into the conversation because it's everything we do.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. And so what are you excited about?

[Amy Earnhardt]

I guess I'm excited just to kind of analyze some of the things that happen. You know, life is fast. There's a lot going on and we don't really get the chance a lot of the time to sit down and just talk about things or even just laugh at something silly that happened. We kind of have to move on to the next thing because there is always something coming up. So I'm excited for that. I'm excited to get other people's opinions about when I find to be normal or crazy. Same for you.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Also, we had a couple cool ideas. We're gonna play some games.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well might, we might do some. We might comment or partake in some of the trends of the week in terms of what we're Seeing out there. We'll have Ask Amy, which is always fun.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah, I always like that part too.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The best thing that I've been doing on the Dell Junior Download this year is I pull up the live stream and watch the chat.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Oh yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And I never did that before and I don't know why, it's pretty silly that I have it. But you're at. You know, the best part about doing that ask segment is that it's like the audience is here, right. And man, when you got the chat in front of you, you're really, you're, you're, you're really in it. Yeah, it's so cool. It's the best part. So that'll be fun. So let's dive right in. We got, we had, I had the Daddy Daughter Dance this year. Took Isla to, to her school for the Daddy Daughter Dance. Her second one.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah, the theme this year was princesses. Like Disney basically. Disney.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, it was, I mean it was.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Right up her alley.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It was good.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah. She looked so pretty. That was one of my favorite things you said that is about being a girl. Mom is getting to dress them up especially for like real events. They like to dress up all the time. They're always wearing a costume. But it's fun to see her feel so special.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I took her to my favorite place, one of my favorite places to eat in Mooresville. Pie in the sky, pizza. I've been going there since I was about 14, 15 years old. And so, you know, I'm a fool for nostalgia. And so that was really neat to.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Take her full circle moment.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. And so we had a couple dances. The slow dances is when the dads get out there, they'll play a slow song.

[Amy Earnhardt]

So do you hold her? Do you pick her up when you do that?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No. Well, there was. Held her for one and the other.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Stand on your feet.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, she stood on my feet for a couple, you know, verses. I mean they look around and see what the other kids are doing with their dads.

[Amy Earnhardt]

She's not really like paying attention to.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, just looking at her friend. Her friend standing on her dad's feet. She wants to do it. Look over here. Her friends getting held by her dad. Homie. Daddy, you know.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah, I understand.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So you're just kind of doing that and what else happens at a running. So when you walk in, there's junk food like the cotton candies and the lollipops and all the, you know, sugar coated pretzel sticks and all kinds of crazy stuff. Right. Dives right into that, go ahead, have what you want. And then you got it. Like, okay, you got a little, you know, clean her up, get her, get her mouth nice and clean. After she gets done eating, she have a little bit of chocolate or something on the corner of her mouth. You got to make sure that's not there because her friends are starting to come. Everybody start to show up. Everybody's starting to take pictures with the princesses. There's a little photo booth, photo moment. Got to get that photo. And then there's a table over here. There's crayons, drawings, color, a castle, whatever you want to do that's always on the table.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I find that to be a little odd. I mean, I've never seen crafting at a.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, it's actually just, I guess it.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Makes sense with their age group.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, they're going to eat and sometimes they need to sit down with some of the stuff that they're eating. And, and two, they get so tired and their feet hurt. They're wearing these ridiculous, you know, shoes.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I know she wanted to wear her play shoes instead of some sneakers which she should have worn.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And so all the dads stand in a big giant perimeter all the way around. Now some of the dads get in there for some of the high, high end song, high energy songs. But the kids are in a Congo line. They're 20, 30 kids in a Congo line. And then they're in these little packs running through, you know, just running through the room.

[Amy Earnhardt]

So it sounds like a typical dance when you get older too. Like all the girls dance and all the guys just stand around waiting for their turn or waiting to be cast in or called in.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. And I stand there and I talk to random dads and.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Random dads.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, just. Yeah, I mean, I'm a random dad. They're just, we're just, you know, you'll stand in their guy, God be next to you like, hey man, what's up?

[Amy Earnhardt]

Okay, I got what you're saying now.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Which ones are, um. And then, yeah, you're having conversations with them and you know, got to go to the bathroom and then running back out for food and popcorn and in and out and in and out. And it lasts about two hours. And there was a carriage ride. We did that. Which basically just runs the loop of the drop off line. And okay, it's about six or eight, you know, probably about four sets can get on one carriage ride. So you're sharing the carriage ride with other dads and kids. Yep, Regan Smith was on my carriage ride. So we chatted.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I did get pictures of that from Megan. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I wanted to get ice cream on the way home, but I don't know, we were running late or something. I don't know.

[Amy Earnhardt]

She had a sleepover. She missed a birthday party, so.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

She had a sleepover with Tay. Tay.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. I just got an idea. We're gonna play a game in a bit called. Yeah, We Listen and We don't Judge. I just came up with one.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Oh, yeah. I'm scared to play this game.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, I think we should credit.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'm really excited.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I think we should credit where we saw this. Samantha Bush and Braxton did this in December.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

One of our team saw the clip, thought it might be fun for us to try it. So we're giving them. Giving them credit.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah. It's very different dynamic when you're doing it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Theirs was awesome.

[Amy Earnhardt]

With spouses. Theirs was great.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Brexton was awesome.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, I gotta say, since we're just shooting, I think Brexton is such a cool kid.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah, he is. I've heard he's really sweet.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

They've done. They've done a good job.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah. I can't believe she throws his artwork away.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, it's funny because we always. We're standing there holding that, going, damn, I want to throw this away.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I know. So you know what I did? No, we don't throw it away. I keep them all. And then I sent them off. All of the stuff that we've had so far, sent them off to this company that will scan them and put them into a book. So I'm waiting for that to come back.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Artwork, a picture of them.

[Amy Earnhardt]

They scan them and they make a booklet out of them, like a.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Then you can get rid of the original.

[Amy Earnhardt]

They actually will get rid of the artwork for you, or they'll send it back if you want it back.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I mean, so I'm.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'm in the process of just doing that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I will say, amy, I have something. I have this little turkey. It's kind of like. I took this. This happened like in the kindergarten. Kindergarten. I stapled this thing. I stapled some paper together in the shape of a turkey. You put little cotton balls in there, and it's like a little puffy turkey. And I made it for my mom, and she had it. She kept it. And to get that back, I know.

[Amy Earnhardt]

All these years later, this isn't the same thing, but we were home for Christmas and I got my kindergarten lunchbox back that someone ate one of my.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Mom'S garage sales we gotta be particular. I think about keeping something.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I know. So my mom used to sell my sh.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Sell it. Damn. Were you some sort of artist?

[Amy Earnhardt]

No. The lunchbox, Dale. Not my arty. Not my art. Oh, my lunchbox.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Go back to Victorian. See some Amy hanging on somebody's wall in the house.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Some old artwork that I did in school. Hanging up in the garage with all your clutter.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I do. I love it. I don't.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'm not.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't. I don't even look at it and go, oh, that's great.

[Amy Earnhardt]

No, it's not. It's miserable.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I just look at it and go. My wife made that when she was in high school. I'm hanging that sh. T up.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I think I was probably like eight when I made that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know, but not high school. I didn't know you then, so it's awesome for me to have it. Look at it.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Okay.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, I adore you. I think that's. So I'm gonna hang that up.

[Amy Earnhardt]

All of the reasons why we shouldn't throw the kids artwork away.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right.

[Amy Earnhardt]

You know, we just.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't think we should throw. I don't think we should keep it all. I don't think.

[Amy Earnhardt]

No. I'm kind of selective. You know, it's just a scribble page, whatever. But it's got their handprints and things on it especially.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Or, you know, there's a little dry beans that glue. Your glue. They. You would make like a smiley face or something. Typically around Thanksgiving, you glue them on to the paper. A little dry green pinto beans or something.

[Amy Earnhardt]

The Black Eyed Peas.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't know. Yeah. Yeah, but they're like, dry. And you might use them for, like, eyeballs or whatever. That shit's got to go away because that glue is going to turn loose one day and it's going to. The fucking eyeball is going to end up in the bottom of the box. And it's just, you know, we're not keeping something that can't. That's going to deteriorate.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Here's the thing. It will last long enough if you just put it in this little box that I have in the changing room.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right.

[Amy Earnhardt]

It's like a folder made for this. Right. It's got these little filing things in it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

And then we can send it off and have it scanned, and then we'll throw it away.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Well, I was really thankful that you were interested in listening to this. Songs that I was trying to curate for this soundtrack.

[Amy Earnhardt]

You do a good job.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah. I'm excited to see how nervous out. Not so excited to see the game come into our house because I know that. Well, I probably see you again. But yeah, I'm, I'm spend a lot of time.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm probably gonna.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Not video games.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't think I'm going to. And listen, I'm, I'm a sim racer, PC specific. Not that I won't. I'm gonna try this game because I'm, I'm, I'm following along so intently during the development of it, but it's kind of going to be like a, I think maybe like a music band that releases a, an album. They work on the album, then they release it. They don't listen to it every day.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Oh, right. I'm calling major bluff on that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Plus, I really enjoy. I only. I know that I have like a bucket of time that I can put into playing the console game.

[Amy Earnhardt]

How do you decide what the bucket looks like and how big it is.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

By the look on your face?

[Amy Earnhardt]

Well, going back to the bucket and the console game thing Sunday, we have to leave to go to your laugh about this. And we're flying at 3:00. The kids have things to do. We have to pack up the kids, pack up the dogs, clean the house, pack up our things. I forget what else was happening that day. Groceries, whatever, something. So I'm doing all of those things, getting everyone together. I keep peeking in and out of the computer room because you keep going back in there and you're standing there with your freaking console just staring at the TV like, what is he doing? What is he working on?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, it's Madden, NCAA College football.

[Amy Earnhardt]

It's the same thing to me. You're in there standing, staring at the TV with your little control in your hand. Like she's looking at me, but I'm not going to look at her because then I have to stop. But if I don't make eye contact, it's not happening. Yeah, like I can see his body language. I'm like, all right, I'll just stomp off and maybe he'll come back out.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You didn't stomp off. If you had stomped off, I would have heard that cue.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Well, I stomped as loud as I could. I don't really walk that hard like you do, but eventually it is time for us to actually go. And you haven't packed, you haven't done anything. And so he heads upstairs. You head upstairs to get ready and pack. And then we get in the car. I mean, the dogs are taken care of. Everything's taken care of in the car, whatever. And we're backing out of the drive. Of the garage. I'm driving, and you are talking to me as I'm backing out, telling me how nervous or how rushed you feel. I feel rushed. I'm like, what the did you do all day?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I was like, we forgot something. We did. I feel like we have forgot something. You're like, what'd you forget? I'm like, I don't know. But that feeling of feeling like.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Meanwhile, this whole conversation's happening as I'm backing out. The seat's vibrating every time I even. It sees a shadow. But the Suburban's also parked relatively close to where I'm backing out. And he's. You're, like, making me nervous just because you're nervous. I'm like, you're not rushed. You didn't forget anything. If you did, let's figure it out before we leave. But you're like, don't hit the car. Don't hit the car. The whole situation was just a big old show, and it really came down to the fact that you just like Madden all day or ncaa, whatever, and you weren't prepared to leave.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I rushed it at the end.

[Amy Earnhardt]

And now you're trying to project all your anxiety onto me as I'm backing the car out.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yep. Do you believe that that's. I believe that that's real.

[Amy Earnhardt]

What, the projection? Yeah. Yes. You Hundred percent. You project everything.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Like, I was upset the other day. We came in to record Dirty Air and had some things on my mind. And I come in unleashed and get it unleashed on Mike Davis. And I do feel like that you take that mat, that anger, whatever that emotion is, good, bad, or whatever, and especially the bad stuff, and it leaves you and attaches to the other person, and that's their problem. And you're like, I'm good now. I don't have that problem anymore. But that person now is walking around. It's almost like a.

[Amy Earnhardt]

That's just rude. You can do that with joy, too, by the way. You can't just. Yeah, you can. You can pass on joy instead of just anxiety, but some people do. I feel like I don't. You choose to.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I would love to believe that I walk into a room.

[Amy Earnhardt]

You love the drama thing. I think that that's something you're comfortable with.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I would love to believe that I walk into a room, and after I leave, everybody go, oh, man, I'm in a better mood. But I'm not gonna assume.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Does that not usually happen for you?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'M not gonna assume it, but I do know that, like, this real, like, I'll come home and if I'm frustrated about something and it hasn't even. It has nothing to do with you, I'm hesitant to, like, share it because unknowingly or unconsciously, like, I will then share that frustration. You believe this happened today? You believe that person did this.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And then I walk away feeling better. But now you're holding some of that. And now your mood is in that direction. It's like. And then. And you know, you're not even asking for that.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I think it just depends on what it is.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

If it's something that happened that you can't really. There's no progression for it. You know what I mean? Like, it's not going to go anywhere else. Like, it's one of those things you have to figure out how to just let go of. And that is not something I really absorb as much. Like when you just vent about something stupid that happened.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

But if something happened with someone else or in retrospect, to like a job or whatever, and there's. You have to go back to that. That's kind of one of those things that projects and sits. Because there's something. There's something that has to be fixed there. You know, our therapist always said if you have an issue, you have to. You have to preface with I need your help. Or if you just need to vent, you have to say that I need.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You to fix it.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Which is really hard to do.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Because I was. If you. When you tell me a problem, my immediate thought is, what, What? Just. Just tell me how to fix it. Tell me what it is that I can do and it's fixed. Yeah, but most times you don't want me to fix it. No, you just want.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I know. So my brain doesn't work like that, which is why it's so hard for me to preface it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I think that's the male.

[Amy Earnhardt]

If I need, I'm going to ask. But for the most part, I tend to just do things on my own. And I prefer that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I think when, when. When wives or. Or, you know, I think when wives are venting just to vent, guys assume guys are fixers. Like, I, well, let me fix it. How do I fix it?

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right. And it's not. It's just a natural reaction. And. But so, yeah, you're. To your point. Like, that was really great advice we got one day when somebody said, amy, just make sure you say, I don't need you to do Anything before you start talking. Because that was like, you know, then I can go, oh, okay.

[Amy Earnhardt]

But do you even listen if I say that first? Yeah. You're like, okay, I'm just going to glaze over.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You have happy guys are. Would hear that. I don't need you to do anything. I don't care what you're talking about.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I just want you to listen to me. Gab invent you think any man, really, That's. That's something that helps when we hear.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The words, I don't need you to do anything. That's pretty good. Because usually we're assuming that there's something necessary that we need to be doing or that you're gonna want us to do or that you're gonna ask us to do, which is totally fine. We're doers. We're fixers. But if you were to say it's like, at ease, soldier. You're good. You can continue to relax. I just need you to hear what.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'm gonna continue to play your video game. I just need you to listen to what I'm saying.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I gotta get this on my chest. Okay, we like that.

[Amy Earnhardt]

How do I. How do I approach you if you're in the middle of a game.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Can you stop for a second? That's it? Yeah. Can you stop for a second? I need you to listen to me. Can you pause that for a minute?

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'm not going to pause your game to vent.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I. It's not that important.

[Amy Earnhardt]

But if I need you to get ready so that we can leave so there's no stress and I almost hit something. Yeah, because you're gabbing in my ear while I'm backing out. How do I do that? I don't. So most of the time when you're playing those games, you're. You're. You got a headpiece on or you're, like, talking to people. So there's part of that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Not the. Not the. Somewhat.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah, Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I mean, it's so weird. Silly. So in which part? All right, all of it. So the. This is the trouble. So usually if I'm in there and you're like, I need him to do something. I need him to go do this or that other. By all means. Hey, can you. Can you pause that for a minute? I need this. No problem. Yes, I can pause. I'm. I want to be doing whatever it is that you want me to do. The one games that I can't pause are the ones again against other users. Being in that dynasty with TJ, and there's 1216 other real people. Sometimes we have to play each other due to our. The scheduling. And I tend to schedule those at like 10:00 or 9:00.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Are you telling me that TJ is in charge of the schedule in our house now? To.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

TJ's the commissioner.

[Amy Earnhardt]

So TJ is the one I need to speak with.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah, sounds like it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

If I'm going to play another human, I always schedule those for after the kids are in bed. And that's. I won't ever be doing. I won't ever be playing that.

[Amy Earnhardt]

What were you doing on Sunday?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Farting around. Nothing. Nothing. Farting around. Doing.

[Amy Earnhardt]

What does that even mean, farting around? You were doing something. What are you doing?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I mean, I'm messing with my roster mess. I got a custom playbook I fool with and, and add and remove plays and.

[Amy Earnhardt]

That's cute.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Just. Yes, I know. You. You asked me that and I told you the truth. And then you're gonna poo poo on it. Well, I knew better than to tell you exactly what I was doing because I knew you were gonna make it silly.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Maybe you feel silly about it already.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know, but I like it.

[Amy Earnhardt]

One of these days I'm gonna have a bunch of Barbies sitting out and I'm just. I just want you to see how that feels like, oh, she's doing that cute thing that she used to do when she was a kid all by herself.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You equate video games with playing with toys? It's not the same.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Ask. This is a question we need to put out in the atmosphere for other women to answer to. It's not just me men can't answer. You don't get to count. You don't know the women. I want you to understand how women view that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I appreciate that you feel that way, but I promise you, all the men don't look at video games and go, yep, I'm playing with matchbox cars.

[Amy Earnhardt]

At 50, what would be the equivalent for a woman?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, I'm just saying whether I'm playing this console.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I know. So if it's not Barbies, what we. What would be the equivalent?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, whatever. You know, whatever. Crochet. I don't know.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Crochet.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't know. Like what. What do women do?

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'm not 80 for fun.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You don't have to be 80 to crochet. See, you're so you're putting people in this. You're putting activities into an age group. It's unnecessary.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Isn't that what we do, though? Like you. You Start life doing certain activities and then you get to the next phase and then you kind of move on to other activities.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That is absolutely true. Like GI Joe's Matchbox cars have not changed. They are, they are tiny little toys that 12 year olds and 8 year olds play with. Right. But. But video games have advanced and grown from. You know, we tried to play the old original Nintendo's. Right. And we couldn't believe how bad they were. Like, wow, this. I just remember this being so much better. But it's terrible.

[Amy Earnhardt]

It was the transfer to the big TV too. Like it was.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But like now you got V and all this technology and I mean the advance, the game, like the game I play, the NCAA game, like the ability to be able to play in a league with 16 other people, that follows all the statistics and the process of the. It's like being a coach or being running a franchise. Right. It's the running and of the franchise picking the players and scouting and all those things. The advance, you know, the technology is what, like I think how video games have advanced and improved with technology is what's kept it relevant. Relevant to me. Let me just say it like this. So if the game I'm playing today was exactly like the game that they made in 2004, I wouldn't be playing it. I'd be bored to death with it. I would never be anywhere. I wouldn't fool with it because it would be no interest to me.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Okay, so back to the original. About the new NASCAR console game coming out. I have a feeling that you're going to be doing the same thing. They will create leagues to do that too.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. I'm telling you, I'm. I'm on the other. I'm on the wrong side of. Not the wrong side, but I'm on the other side of doing that game. I'm part. I'm helping that game get developed. And so it's.

[Amy Earnhardt]

You did that with iracing and you still do that too.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, but you know, it's sporadic.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'm not going to be surprised. We don't have to. Yeah, we don't have to beat it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We'll see. But I don't think. I mean, iracing to me is like so good.

[Amy Earnhardt]

It's different. I get, I get the difference.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

To run on it, race on a console, I'm like, I just get on my rig.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Okay.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Because it's so real.

[Amy Earnhardt]

That makes sense. I get that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Like that's again, the technology and how advanced that is. I'm. I can't put that Down. I can't stop sim racing. I know. Listen, if I'm sitting in a rig at 80 years old, I'll be surprised.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I won't. But the one thing your sister said when you and I first started dating, I feel like. Or maybe somebody asked her this in an interview. What. What's the one thing that Del Jr needs in a woman? And what she said was, someone that's going to put up with him playing video games. And here we are.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, I mean, what are the. What are the things you're willing to put up with? It's. It's like you, you gotta accept me for. You got to take me for the reasons you love me and the reasons you don't.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah. Like crumbs on the couch.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Video games. The crumbs on the couch.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But the crumbs on the couch, I can, I can get, I can fix. I can't promise you that I could quit video games. And I know you don't want me to quit video games, but I'm just saying I can't, I can't. It's hard to control the excitement about, man, this new thing, this new things in there, and it's right inside that room and they've got this new game or this where my buddies are playing it. Like I.

[Amy Earnhardt]

So I feel like that's the reason to do it. Well, this is another plain and simple. My buddies are in there doing it. If I had something my girlfriends were doing, I could just pick something up and chit chat and Google it. I absolutely would.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All my buddies are playing this.

[Amy Earnhardt]

But there's nothing like that for chicks.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No. Yeah, the crumbs on the couch thing is tough.

[Amy Earnhardt]

It's really not that tough. You know, when you sit at the dinner table, you eat your food and you don't get up and like leave a pile of. I just don't understand what happens after we all go to sleep and you stay up eating snacks by yourself. Do you turn into a werewolf? Like, what happens that you have to create such a damn mess on the couch? If I come downstairs every morning and you've been down there snacking, watching YouTube or whatever, I can tell what you had.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, I know.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Beef jerky, pepper peels from an orange, grape seed, grape stems.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's the two.

[Amy Earnhardt]

There's just stuff everywhere. The other day it was the pretzels, the dot's pretzels, which are for the kids lunchboxes, by the way. And they're. You ate the whole bag and then there was pieces all over the carpet I'm like, what the is going on here? Why can't he just clean it up? And if I'm sitting next to you and you're eating snacks after dinner or something, I'll look over. Because when you finish, you're going to go all over the floor. This is not a trash can. The world is not your trash can. What the hell?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, man.

[Amy Earnhardt]

What's going on?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I lived my life one way for all these years, and then you came into it.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Did you walk through your living room when you woke up anytime before you had me in the house and just have food stuck to the bottom of your feet? No, Somebody was coming in, like, first thing in the morning to clean up your mess every day, I guess. Golly.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, wait, back then, I didn't have dots, pretzels or grapes or oranges.

[Amy Earnhardt]

What were you eating?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I ate one meal. A day before you came into my life, I ate one meal.

[Amy Earnhardt]

So you're saying that the food thing's my fault?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'm gonna stop buying the grapes.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The cupboard wasn't full.

[Amy Earnhardt]

How did you survive?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I ate one. I ate a. Every day I ate one big meal right around, you know, 2:00. Because, I mean, I slept till.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Till 2.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, I slept till 2. And then I would eat. I'd get up, I'd go, I'm hungry. And some. I'd have somebody go run down, you know, I always was ordering out somebody to bring the food. I'd eat it, and then I'd get on a computer and I'd drink energy drinks until, you know, five in the morning, playing video games, eating nothing, smoking cigarettes and drinking amp energy.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Lord have mercy.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, then I would go to bed and do the whole thing the next day. That was. That was what. You know, that. That was what we. What I was doing when I thought.

[Amy Earnhardt]

You at least had snacks and food in the house. Even when I.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, but I mean, what I did eat was like, chicken wings, shredded chicken wings, pizzas, you know, all the worst. And then you came, and now I got. Grapes are good. Damn, these things are nice. I like grapes. I'm gonna lead a lot of grapes. And, like, you'll bring a. You'll bring three. You bought three bags.

[Amy Earnhardt]

If I don't, you're in there tapping your foot at the freaking drawer that's empty. Like, waiting for them to just freaking poof and appear. Or you'll text me. Are you out get some grapes? No, squishy ones.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm like, I love grapes.

[Amy Earnhardt]

This man has never shopped for Grapes before. I'm the weirdo in the store, poking the bags of the grape.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You ain't the only one.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I've never seen anybody else doing it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I can look at the bag of grapes at the store and tell whether they're crispy or soft. No, you can't just look terrible.

[Amy Earnhardt]

They are. They're not good. But.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But we.

[Amy Earnhardt]

So you bring.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You bring grapes home and I can eat one. I can eat a bag in a.

[Amy Earnhardt]

In one sitting. So. Also, if anybody else wants grapes, you better find some else somewhere else to get them.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And I only like green grapes, so maybe y'all should get the purple grapes and y'all can eat those.

[Amy Earnhardt]

They're the kids want to eat what Daddy eats.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm never going to eat those.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I know. I bought those because that was the only type of grape they had in the store the last time I went. And they just sat there and got mildewed, which is so frustrating.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yep. Not eating them, but anyhow.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Well, maybe we'll figure out something else.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And you know what? The other thing, I said this yesterday. I thought, this is so good. This is so smart. Right? You're. Amy and Mike were talking about jerky. I was talking about jerky. And. No, it's you and somebody and you and Kelly and y'all were like, yeah, you know, it's good. I like jerky, but it's. It gets in my teeth. I don't like that. And I was like, you know, I. That's the reason I do like to eat jerky, because it does get in my teeth. And then I floss more regularly, which is what my dentist is always asking me to do.

[Amy Earnhardt]

You can rationalize anything for yourself.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Eat more jerky, floss more happy dentist. Look, we're doing it. It's like a two for one there. I love the jerky. I want to eat it.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Twofer.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And I'm getting the flossing in that I'm needing to do. Dude, I'm flossing like a maniac. I falls last night, 2:00 in the morning. Did you really probably know it was midnight when I came to bed? I don't know what that is. Like, why I can't go to bed when you go to bed.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I don't either, because I know you're tired, you're yawning and sleep on me on the couch if we hang out and watch anything together.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm tired, Amy. But damn it, man.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Like, you get in bed at sometimes 2 in the morning, and then you. You're up at 6.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Like, I know I can't keep this up.

[Amy Earnhardt]

No.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yep. I've been talking to myself about that. Like, I can't keep doing this. I was so glad last night when I went to bed at midnight. It was like 12:12 or something.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'm proud of myself when I go to bed at like 10:30, which feels.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I was so glad. I was like, ah, I'm gonna get some sleep. And then I got upstairs and the air's so dry, I couldn't stop coughing. You get a little tickle in your throat. And I had to get up, go back downstairs and lay on the couch, which I don't sleep good down there. And I just got terrible sleep.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Every single time I roll over and I wake up and you're not in the bed, it makes me go, where is he? What's he doing? I don't cry, but I'm like, if I could stomp my foot in the bed, I would. I'm so annoyed. Like, is he still on his computer at 4 in the morning?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

And so that's what I thought you were doing. And then I realized, well, it's too late for him to still be up, so he's probably just asleep on the couch. But I didn't even know you could. Stairs.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

When I. When I get a little tickle, like I'm getting over a cold or something. And your throat gets in that kind of tickle phase. Our bedroom is so dry. You go up there. You know this. You go up there and I'm like. And I. You're.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I didn't hear.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I can hear you. I can know. I know when you're sleeping because of the way you breathe.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Because I'm snoring.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, I sleep on my bed. I wasn't going to say that.

[Amy Earnhardt]

It's fine. I'm. I'll fully admit it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's not like a hardcore snore.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I have teeth aligners I sleep in and. So that my big old teeth don't get crooked and I can't close my mouth all the way.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So it's.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I did just get these tape things. I've seen people do the mouth tape.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Jesus.

[Amy Earnhardt]

So if you look over and you see this big black thing on my mouth, it's because I've taped my mouth shut.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's going to make it difficult to be intimate. What were we talking about? So in a perfect world, I think in Wally Cleaver's world, we go to bed at 9 o'clock and brush your teeth and climb in bed and go right to sleep.

[Amy Earnhardt]

You don't have to be a cleaver to have an actual normal schedule when.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We'Re putting those kids down. I love putting our kids down.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I do, too.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I do. As soon as they're asleep, it's our time.

[Amy Earnhardt]

When the kids go to sleep, I'm thinking I have like an hour, hour and a half. I've got to wash my face and do all that just to relax before I want to go to sleep because I have to get up early to do it all over again. You're thinking, I'm gonna go play with video games with my buddies. Like that's always top of mind. Even if I'm gonna hang out with Amy on the couch for about an hour, I'm going into the computer room to do whatever I want for as long as I want. So knowing that you're going in there anyway, I don't make plans to hang out with you. I just don't. Yeah, I watch Housewives or something that's short. If you sit next to me and wanna watch something, we're gonna sit there till midnight watching scary stuff that gives me nightmares.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What?

[Amy Earnhardt]

And that's just.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We. We watched some show. American Primeval.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I know, but listen. Not even just that one. Like, you'll. You'll want to watch some documentary or something like that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Every show. It's not true. We watch. We'll. I watch whatever. I'm just saying. And you don't. It don't even have to be with me. Like, I wonder why you. You don't go. Like. Do you. Are you.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'm exhausted.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You're exhausted?

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah, I'm exhausted.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Buying grapes all day and you're not.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Buying grapes every day.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Just about.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What's a week?

[Amy Earnhardt]

Dale, I buy grapes at least two or three times a week. Every time I'm out running errands, I see this place has crunchy grapes.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Is what we're. What we call grocery shopping.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I don't have to go buy anybody else something that regularly. Yeah, you and the grapes is something I have to keep up with.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know what?

[Amy Earnhardt]

You eat one every day. You eat a whole bag every single day.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I want to do the grocery shopping.

[Amy Earnhardt]

When you put that into your schedule, are you going to buy all the things that we all need?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

If you put it in the list. So you would just give. You should just give me your instacart and then I'll just go in the store and get all the things on that instacart that are in that. Look at the picture and everything. And know everything I need to get. But.

[Amy Earnhardt]

So a picture. Oh, you want me to load the instacart?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And then you're going to load the cart anyways. And so I'll just take the instacart and I'll go physically get it. So I was thinking about this. I never changed.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Why do you want to do that? Because the service is there for a reason.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Nope. It's not for me. It's for the kids.

[Amy Earnhardt]

No, it's for adults. That was made for adults.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

My. I remember. I remember going grocery shopping. I remember getting. I remember sitting in that cart. I remember when I got to get out of that cart and get in the front. I remember when I got to push the cart, you know? Do you remember ever being at a grocery store and your mom or your dad going, you can push the cart this time?

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah. We used to run over people's heels and get in trouble. Like, the whole process was chaotic. I'm trying to avoid more of that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, you. You're looking at it everywhere.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I used to take Isla to do the shopping, and then Covid hit. That's when I had Nicole.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yes.

[Amy Earnhardt]

So, no, I'm not taking two kids that want to.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You don't have to take them both.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Supermarket sweep.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

They don't do that. I took them and they don't do. And you can tell them no.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I tell them no, please. I tell them no.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know you do. Like that. That works.

[Amy Earnhardt]

If I'm going to go into grocery shop, I'm going to do it because it's something I want to do and enjoy. So I'm not taking the kids with me to do that. Nope.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So I'm different. I would like to do the grocery shopping, and I would like to take one or both kids because I think it's a good, fun experience for them. And I think that I remember that as a kid, and I want them to have that natural, normal experience.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Okay, go for it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right. And so that they can then go, oh, I remember doing that. Dad used to take us there. Or grocery shopping. You know, I mean, it's a silly, simple, simple, meaningless thing, but it's part of your chemical. It's part of your. Makes you who you are.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Going grocery shopping.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yes.

[Amy Earnhardt]

We have plenty of, like, normal experiences with these kids. If my mom could have shopped Instacart and not drug us through, she would have done it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know she would have. That's your mom.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I know. So eventually we went to the store with that, too.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

She would make the list, not the dad. This is not about the parent, okay?

[Amy Earnhardt]

You can take them. Take them to shop. Yeah, Godspeed.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, like, I need those normal experiences.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Oh, so you need it, that's what you're saying?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yes. You want to have those experiences, to have normal experiences?

[Amy Earnhardt]

They do, honey, they do.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But, I mean, that's another one I want to add to the thing.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Okay, go for it. Yeah, you should do that. You should make it, like a thing you do every whatever day of the week. You could take Nicole on Monday since she's not in school. And gross. Do the grocery. To be determined how that plays out for you.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Are you sure you're going to come.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Back with balloons and suckers from the checkout?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Dude, if I'm feeling good that day, she might get a damn balloon.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Okay?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

If I'm like, yo, we ain't getting balloons today, I didn't like your attitude, you know, whatever.

[Amy Earnhardt]

So you're taking that public. That's the thing that makes me nervous.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's real life, okay? How am I supposed to learn to be a good dad if I can't?

[Amy Earnhardt]

Dad, you can do plenty of other things. And taking her to the grocery store.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yes, I could. But the grocery store is another great place.

[Amy Earnhardt]

You know what I used to do with my dad that I loved because we went to the grocery store, too, was him taking us to get cheeseburgers and then just taking us to the park and we picnicked and she's like, had our afternoon just doing that. Mom didn't go. She, like, needed time by herself. And so dad would take us on his day off to do things like that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I think that's cool. But you're not. I think that's great. And there's nothing wrong with that. But when you're grocery shopping, you're also doing a chore, which I like.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I didn't ever view it as a chore before. Kids. I liked it. It was enjoyable. I like to cook. I like to grocery shop. Picking out my own produce is something that I like. So I understand the grape thing and wanting to go and pick it out.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yourself, that's another reason.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Well, I have such a big note in my Instacart, too. They don't put squishy grapes in my. It's the only product I have, like, a disclaimer on.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Here's what we're going to do again. Samantha and Braxton Bush did this for their Tick Tock and it was really great. So we're going to give it a try. And we talked about this last night. We're Going to try to prep. We're going to try to come up with some things. You've had really good success with that. I have not.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I. I have one that might shock you. I don't know about the others, but we'll see.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right, well, let's just do one.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'm kind of nervous to share it at this point.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know. I am, too. I'm nervous to hear it.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I can't share it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Then is it gonna. Is everybody else need to hear it?

[Amy Earnhardt]

I don't know.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Damn it, dude. See, that's the one thing I'm worried about with this show, with me. You don't know when. When to stop talking, stop sharing. You want to whisper it to me? No. We listen and we don't. Don't judge. So basically, you're going to tell me something, and I have to accept it.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Okay. So sometimes I say I've got errands to run and I just get in my car and I drive around.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Really?

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Where do you go?

[Amy Earnhardt]

Just listen. I just make laps.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Where?

[Amy Earnhardt]

I don't know. All over town. Sometimes I find places to stop and, like, do things. But I like that I don't really have a need.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I just need to get out of the house or need to get, like, my own space, have some alone time.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Damn, I like that.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I wish you had, like a. I wish you had, like, a route or I wish you had. Did have places that you were like, I'm going, I'm going.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I mean, I don't do that very often. Sometimes I just get in the car and I blank on what I actually needed to do because that's just part of being overstimulated.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But we have. We track each other.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So, I mean, I could.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah, but you don't know when I'm doing it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know. I'm just saying, like, I'm not worried about you.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Do you sit and look at your tracker? Like, if I'm gone, if I.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

If it pops in my mind and I'm like, I wonder where Amy's at. I don't know where she's at.

[Amy Earnhardt]

You do.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'll go look. Yeah. And sometimes, like, if I'm gonna go home, I've been doing something here, whatever, I'll go. I wonder if Amy's at home. Is she not there? I'll check.

[Amy Earnhardt]

So I do that too, with you. When you say you're on your way, like, is he really on his way or did he leave yet? Especially if you're at the late model shop or Something. I'm like, no, he's still a JRA.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's the one.

[Amy Earnhardt]

No, that's not the one.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, my God. I was hoping that was one. I'm really scared about this one.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I don't think I'm gonna tell you. I might just take it to the grave.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Are you serious?

[Amy Earnhardt]

It's not that bad. I mean, other people do it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, my God. Do it.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Do you have one?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

When I take Isla to school, we listen to my music.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Well, yeah, I know that. That's why she sings it so easily. I know she's got to memorize because.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I ride in the car with her.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Like, four letter word music or just like.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, I turn. If there's a F word in there or a bad word, I just quickly turn the volume down.

[Amy Earnhardt]

And so you have to be on the chip and ready to do that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know when it's coming because I know the songs. But we play all of my pop punk. She never complains.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Pop punk.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I kind of look back sometimes when a song's playing and they're, like, screaming away.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I look back and she just kind of beboping around, looking around and never, you know, because she. She'll ask you if she. She, like, play some Taylor Swift or whatever. Daddy, can I hear X, Y and Z? But she never goes, dad, I hate this. I'm waiting on that.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Maybe that would be her listening. Don't judge. Confession to you is like, I really don't like your music, dad. Yes, she might.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

She might.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I think she likes it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't think.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Well, she doesn't get out of the car crying when you drop her off.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

She doesn't.

[Amy Earnhardt]

She does with me every single time.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. And I think it's because of the music. And I do not allow things to go south, dude.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I can't predict that that's gonna happen. I mean, every single time, even if she's happy, we get to that part where I have to open up the door and she's just like. Like, she just. It's like she combusts with tears. I don't really understand.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

When we are in the car driving to school, I am. What's the word I'm looking for? Intentional about the energy of the songs that play. And I'm also intentional about my own energy, even if I'm not saying anything. And so I get that. And I make. If I see something or somebody does, if I see anything that I can make a little light of, I will go look at that. Isla. Check that out. It's Crazy over there. That thing. Look at that sign. That's funny.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah. I don't have that in me.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I do that intentionally because I want her energy to be where I want her energy to be. On the positive side, why do you.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Think we have to try so hard with that kid with her energy?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It ain't effort. It doesn't take no effort.

[Amy Earnhardt]

It is for me. Like, why. Why does she have such strong emotions about getting out and going to school? She's happy when she's there. If I drop her off and she cries, I'm texting her teacher immediately.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know.

[Amy Earnhardt]

And her teacher texts me back. She's like, by the time she got class, she was totally fine.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't know.

[Amy Earnhardt]

She. What is she trying to manipulate me like that for?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So what's the heavy? What's the big one?

[Amy Earnhardt]

I can't tell you, but my second one is something that I need your help with.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Okay.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I have been around you for 15 years, Wonger. You have told me so many racing stories, and there's still some terms I don't understand. Oh, like what in the is y'all? Y'all, Y'all. Not y'all, but y'all.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Y'all.

[Amy Earnhardt]

The very first time or few times I heard you say that word, I thought you were saying y'all. I'm like, I don't understand how that makes sense, but.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right, so what is y'all? All right, so when a car goes into a turn, this is the car. These are the back tires. When a car goes into a turn, the force of the car is going this way, like energy. Everything's heading this way. And so the car goes into, like a 2, 3, or 4 or 5 degree, y'all. And that is created by flex in suspension and the deflection in the sidewall of the tire. So this, the tire, the wheel in the tire and the tires. This is the contact patch of the tire on the track. Here's the wheel. My fist. The wheel moves.

[Amy Earnhardt]

And that's the awe and.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And that's deflection in the sidewall. The sidewall lays over because the car goes in the corner, and the. The weight of the car is trying to pull the wheel out of the tire.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And so the tire has deflection, and then the suspension will flex some. And so the car goes into y'all. As you go through the corner, the car goes into y'all. And that creates downforce on the side of the car, because now the car. The side of the car is out in the wind like A wing. And that creates side force. And so. Man, it's in. Y'all too much, y'all. Whoa. I feel like I'm gonna spin out.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Okay.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Not enough, y'all. It's too straight down tight.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Okay.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. You know, when the plane. Our plane lands and it's kind of pitching this way. That's y'all pitching.

[Amy Earnhardt]

So I don't like y'all.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's a y'all moment.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I don't really like that at all.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You don't like. Well, no. You need to tell me the other one.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'll tell you at home.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You will tell me.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'll tell you at home.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Promise?

[Amy Earnhardt]

I promise. I can't tell you in here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Okay. Damn, man.

[Amy Earnhardt]

You didn't bring any. You didn't bring any heaters? I can't bring mine out.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, we were trying to think about this last night. I don't. I have, you know, everything. Like, there ain't something I could go say and you'd be like, yeah, I.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Kind of feel the same. We're very open with each other.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Okay. I got one.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Oh, God. Just looking at me, just in this moment, what is.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't know if these are. I don't know if these count. I love our kids. I love our beach house.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I love everything that we've done and we've kind of repositioned, but I miss. I miss going to Key west with you. You know, just how we used to be.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I mean, I miss. I miss. I don't know that you miss your.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Youth is what you're saying.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't, Like. I don't need that as often as we did it back then. But, man, I wish we. I wish that we had. I wish that me and you. You know what would really make me comfortable, and I would not no longer worry or think about this or be curious about when the next moment is. I wish we had more structure in our schedule. And it was like, Amy and Dale is going to do an annual trip where they gonna. They're gonna go every. Every January. We're gonna take a week. And it.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I mean, we just have to create that moment. But.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, I wish it was more structured in. In. In a calendar. And, like, I know it's there. And then I don't have to worry or wonder when it's going to happen again, because I know next January, that's when it'll happen.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'm sitting here talking about, like, needing to get in my car just to be by myself, drive around. If you're wanting trips.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, I'm just.

[Amy Earnhardt]

We just think so differently.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm not wanting trips. We have trips. We're going to take trips.

[Amy Earnhardt]

That trip you're wanting that you. I don't really.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't need it to be Key West. I don't need it to be a binge drinking party. I'm just. I do miss Key West. I miss our.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I thought that was the thing, is that you missed Key West.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I do. I miss Key West. I love Key West. I think about it a lot.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I miss Key west too. But I can't. I can't Key west like you said.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know you can't.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I mean, I can't live like that anymore.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I don't want you to not go.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't want to go without you.

[Amy Earnhardt]

And here we are stuck at home because Dale won't go without a security blanket.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Let's move on to ask Amy.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I feel like I should just tell you my thing.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Quiet. Do it. Holy. Really? What the.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Why? I have. I have proof that other women do that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Hilarious. Hey Everybody, it's Dale Jr. And, and Amy for the first episode of Bless yous Heart. And we've had a pretty good show. We're about, I don't know, 60, 75% of the way through. And it took us a while to get rolling, but man, it's been a lot of fun. And it's literally, I guess if you're kind of curious about what this show is going to be, we are too. And, and it'll evolve, I think, over time. But what we've really kind of been doing is just hashing out. Yeah, you can.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Whoops.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, hashing out. She's listening to the. We're watching the chat. But anyhow, so the show's been a lot of fun. We've just kind of been talking about life and some things that we think are odd about each other and asking for explanation on some of the things, the weird things we do. But. And it's been fun. You having fun?

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'm having fun, yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So yeah, Tim's is in the back, right in the cage over there and he's gonna answer bring some questions that y'all been uh, curating for Amy. And Amy's actually watching the chat. So if y'all got anything to say to Amy, by all means. So let's get started.

[C]

Jonathan, he's a first time parent and he has a two week old and he wants, and he wants to know if you guys have any advice for surviving the newborn stage.

[Amy Earnhardt]

The Newborn stage is hard, especially with your first, because you just don't know what just happened. I mean, you almost have to mourn your previous life. When you have a baby, it's. It's just a totally new world. Right. The newborn phase is hard because you're just trying to get them to sleep at night. All babies seem to be born nocturnal. I don't know why that is. So it's hard because you're not getting any rest. And I'm sure his wife is stressed and tired and all the things. As the husband, I would say do everything you can just to be supportive. Bring her snacks, even if she says she doesn't want anything. Make sure she's got food, make sure there's water by the bed, clean anything you can. And I don't know, it's kind of one of those things you just have to feel out. But it is, especially with your first, a really hard thing.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I would say don't worry as much. The kid's fine.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yes, the kid is fine.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We lay there at night by the sound machine or the baby monitor, wondering if she's okay. Right. You know, wondering if we're doing what we're supposed to and she's, she's comfortable. If she's healthy and you're, you know, she breathing. Is she breathing?

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah. If the baby is too quiet, especially with the first one, you really don't know what you're doing. You're like, oh, my gosh, is she. Everything okay?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Don't worry. Don't worry as much. Relax, you're doing great.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yes.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

To Amy's point, try to do the things that you can, like the mom. There's a lot of things that only the mother can do and that the dad physically or doesn't have the tools to do. Right. So pick, you know, pick as many nights as you're comfortable with. Willing to be the one that does the bottle or changes the diaper. And, you know, it's. I loved the being. I loved the hands on part of it. I loved changing the diaper. I wanted the child to see me and know that I was part of that process too, instead of. Because I thought if I didn't do some of those things, they would look at mom as the provider and I would just be this other person that would just happen to be there. You know, I needed them to want to depend and count on me too. Right. So, you know, re rocking him to sleep. Gosh. You know, I think one of the tougher parts for us with Isla was getting her rock to Sleep?

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah. She had reflux, so we couldn't lay her flat for, like, seven months. She had to kind of be on an incline, so she laid on her chest. Or getting her to bed was hard.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

To get her to bed. And. Yeah. You know, taking that on every other night or doing that for Amy to where Amy didn't have to worry about that. Amy had been, you know, Amy was exhausted.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I was exhausted.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

You can't sleep.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. And so making her do that final moment before, you know, the. One of the toughest things of the day, taking that off our shoulders, I'm sure. So that. Yeah. Just do the things you can do.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Try to enjoy it instead of stressing because. And then it's really hard to do. It's. It's easier said than done. But second kid is totally different ball game because you just know what to expect so you don't feel so stressed out and nervous.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What was the best physical tool or item that you thought was a game changer? I was gonna say that what popped in my mind was a diaper Genie, but.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Oh, no. I mean, you can. My favorite thing was having her strapped to my chest. Like, I could still get up and do things and feel like a normal person and not have to, like, hover. So, like that baby bijorn thing. And a man can wear that, too. There's one that's really, really soft. You just like. It cuddles the baby. You can just tote him around.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

It gives you some flexibility, then you can do.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, because that's. I think that is the toughest part is when the baby's there, you. You do. You can't do anything. But you're taking care of this child.

[Amy Earnhardt]

All day, and it's almost even hard just to make yourself stop staring at the baby. It really is.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So everything that needs to get done around the house has to hold, and.

[Amy Earnhardt]

It just makes you feel normal to be able to do something. Get a walk around and just be normal. Yeah. Take a walk outside.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. That's a good question.

[C]

I saw this one in the YouTube chat, I think, from Athena. What's one parenting rule you swore you'd follow but totally broke right away? Right away?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

There's a few of those, I'm sure.

[Amy Earnhardt]

We strolled around with the iPad with Isla when we were a kid. She was a baby. We were in Key west still. We kind of took them away. Now they don't really have their iPads.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But I was thinking about that when we would go to dinners and we would bring the iPad. And now we were. We were controlling what was on it. And it's Disney movies and Bluey and stuff like that. And so we would have that available so selfishly.

[Amy Earnhardt]

So we could just have a dinner.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And then it come. You know, then it's car rides and stuff like that, but.

[Amy Earnhardt]

And then they're just used to not being able to sit through a dinner without having that. And so they don't learn table manners or any of those things.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

And they're really not eating very well either, so.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But they don't get them at home. At home, they stay locked away.

[Amy Earnhardt]

And honestly, we don't take them to dinner anymore either.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No.

[Amy Earnhardt]

No rides. Maybe in the plane.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's what I was gonna say. Honestly, they've kind of, like, drifted away from them, and they're not as. It's not as neat and cool, but I. I wish they. And I don't know what this is about, but I. They have, you know, in their playroom, they have dolls and toys and sets, build kits, building, whatever things. Right. And they do not play with physical toys as much as I expected. Like, I remember when I was a kid and I went over to my buddy's house, he had this awesome GI Joe collection. I could sit there for hours.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I think there's just too much stuff.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And, you know, physical toys, like, we played with Maxbox cars or whatever, right? And our kids just don't, you know, play with physical toys that much.

[Amy Earnhardt]

So they play now with those, like, little unicorns and the horses. Like, they've got a stable and they'll play with that a little bit. I think that if you don't. If you put it away. I got these bins, I like to put them all away. It was, like, out of sight, out of mind, Right? So you have to, like, get the bin out and leave it on the table or leave it out for them. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That hadn't worked out like I thought it would. They have a dedicated space where their playroom is, and they don't spend tons of time in there like I expected.

[Amy Earnhardt]

No. They have a yoga mat that's got hopscotch on it in the living room. They hopscotch. Dale was hopscotching the other night.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, I hopscotch with them on a hopscotch.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah. Isla's all, look at me.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's what we're doing.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Watch my cartwheels. Put on the. She'll put on a movie. And every time one of the songs plays in the movie, now she's got to get up and do a performance. So like, you have to watch her. That's who they are. They play outside quite a bit.

[C]

But yeah, they like. Do they like make up games? They're more imaginary games too.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, no. Last night we roller skated in the driveway.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah, the kids play together quite a bit. They like to imaginary play, which I'm not good at. I didn't play with Barbies as a kid. I would cut their hair and like switch their heads. I was like mutilating my Barbies and I played outside and so I don't know. I would rather they just played outside. The other day they were. They came in with like dirt all underneath their fingernails because they were trying to dig for earthworms and snails in the dirt. Like, that's what I want them to do. So, like the toys, they play with them when their friends are over, but the two of them fight over everything. Right now they're 4 and 6 and so they are 50, 50 getting along or just mad fighting over the same thing.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

They do makeup, jewelry.

[Amy Earnhardt]

They like makeup, which I don't love, but you know, thanks.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

They get in the way of their. Like, Isla will, in the morning. They get up. Isla will, they'll get up in the morning. They wake up a little bit before us sometimes we can hear them. They'll come downstairs for breakfast. And Isla has gave Nicole a full makeover.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

She's in a dress.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Blue and purple and glitter.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Everywhere. I'm like, isla, why didn't you do that to yourself? She's like, because she wanted to look pretty. I was like, yeah, you did it to your sister. Now she's got junk all over her face. And I mean, caked on lipstick with glitter all in her lips.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And Nicole loves it.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Oh, yeah. Because she loves the attention shifting from.

[C]

Kids to you guys. If your love story was a rom com, what would the title be?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What's a ROM com?

[Amy Earnhardt]

Romantic comedy.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, why don't they just say that?

[Amy Earnhardt]

It's the thing. You've never heard Rom com? No, it's a term.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I thought it was like a. An expo for technology. You're going to the ROM com this year. They got that new Nvidia card, the 50 90.

[Amy Earnhardt]

It would be called the Princess and the Clown. I don't know. What would our rom com be called, bro?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What is the. What is it where. The expo where all the people get together and they dress up?

[C]

Comic Con.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Comic Con, yeah, It reminds me of that. Just the ROM com, but the Comic Con.

[C]

Yeah, Close, I guess.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

You're better at this kind of stuff than me. So what would our title be?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What would the title be if our.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Love story had a romantic comedy? What the title of movie be?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, that's it. Yeah. Princess and the Clown. Probably something like that. Does the chat have any good ideas? I'm sure they do. They probably have better ideas than we do.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Checkers or wreckers.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's pretty funny.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Amy and her three kids. Oh, Lord.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's it.

[C]

That's good. My last question is from Derek, and he wants to know what's the best surprise Dale has ever given you?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Amy?

[Amy Earnhardt]

Oh, probably my engagement ring. Like, be getting engaged, because that was a shock. Yeah. Otherwise, the best surprise.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We really didn't think I was ever gonna.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I really didn't know how comfortable I guess I was with that either until you asked me, and I'm like, holy. I can't believe his head.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I couldn't remember if we'd even talked about it. No, we'd not talked about getting engaged or married or nothing.

[Amy Earnhardt]

We had talked about not getting married.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Plenty.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. No, we were. We were like, we're okay. No kids, not gonna get married.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Yeah. Like, as long as you don't want to have kids, I'm fine. Not getting married, but I'm not having kids with you unless we're married.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

That's kind of the extent of that. I have an El Camino that was a really big surprise.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

That I love. I can't drive it very often because that's, you know, got one extra seat. I have kids, plural. And that. You can't put a car seat in that. That car anyway. But I don't think it's legal.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

But that was a really big surprise.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Okay.

[Amy Earnhardt]

That I love.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[C]

Everybody's asking about June Bug there on the couch next.

[Amy Earnhardt]

June Bug.

[C]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

June Bug is.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I have a. I have a surprise coming that I think you're gonna.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Oh, God.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You're gonna, like.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Really?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Yeah. Surprise. Coming down the road. Coming down the pipe.

[Amy Earnhardt]

How long I gotta wait?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Probably two weeks.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Two weeks. Is it for Valentine's Day?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, it's not. From. It's not attached to a milestone moment.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Okay. Well, that's exciting.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. That's all I can say. All right, so June Bugs there.

[Amy Earnhardt]

June Bug's here because he got in a scuffle with Gus again last night.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Bar fight last night with Gus.

[Amy Earnhardt]

We can't get Gus to stop beating him up. Every once in a while, Gus will attack him. Usually it's food related. There was no food around. I was just cleaning Gus's water bowls. And Junebug got too close to his. His room.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Gus has his own room where he eats and drinks.

[Amy Earnhardt]

There's a dog door. So if we leave, we can.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Like, Junebug was in the hall. Gus attacked him, like, full on. Like he was. He would kill him.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I think the only reason he didn't.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Is it an overstatement?

[Amy Earnhardt]

It's not an overstatement that he would kill him. No, he would.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Earnhardt]

He's shaken him before.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, he grabbed him one time by the neck and back and forth, back and forth.

[Amy Earnhardt]

And Juneug's eye popping the last time this happened beside. Yes. His eyeball was out of the way. I had to take him down to Charlotte.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Terrifying. So I'm sitting in the living room and I can hear an Amy. Amy screams at this really high pitch. And it's.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I'm thinking there's something weird, holistic that happens inside of me. When I see that, I'm like, I gotta scream as loud as I can to scare her.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Scre scream is like.

[Amy Earnhardt]

And he wasn't letting go. I had to pull Gus off of him. And I think the only reason I was able to do that is because it was tile and he can't literally can't get any traction. So I was able to rip the dog off. I was like, so traumatic.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I come in there, June bugs hobbling out of. Out of the fight. Squealing, chirping, squealing.

[Amy Earnhardt]

It's awful. So, yeah, he's here because he's a little sore today. Yeah, he needs some extra tlc. Yeah, he's fine. He can walk. He's just scared. I wouldn't want to be around Gus today either.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, Gus was in his room all night.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Punished. Yep. Do we have another?

[C]

That's all I got for today.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Okay.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right. Hey, I hope everybody look, we're gonna have a lot of fun with this show this year. And this is the first episode. Finding our sea legs.

[Amy Earnhardt]

If you have suggestions of things you want us to do.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, that's a great idea. We got some segments and some games and stuff we're going to play from time to time. But to Amy's point, if you guys got some things that you'd like us to talk about or if you got some ideas on things you'd like to see us partake in, just let us know. We're gonna have fun every Thursday. Bless your heart. With Amy and Dale. Come, come join us. All right, everybody. That was a lot of fun. I think this is gonna work. Don't you?

[Amy Earnhardt]

I do too. I like hashing it out. I think this is going to be good for us.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know. I'm thankful that we're doing this. I'm excited, love spending time with you. And I think we're going to have a lot of fun things to talk about throughout the year with Daytona coming around. That's going to bring a lot of great conversation for next couple of shows. So there'll just be a lot of good things happening that we'll have to pull from. And I'm excited for you to, like, have a project and see how you kind of, you know, put your mark on this. So it'd be cool.

[Amy Earnhardt]

I am, too. Thanks for joining me.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You bet.

[Amy Earnhardt]

Leave us an Apple review and let us know what you think of the show and also leave comments for us on YouTube.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right, we'll see y'all next week. Check out Dirty Mo Media on Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok and Instagram.