Traveling With Kids: Road Trip Must Haves And Core Memories + Tornado Warnings

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:11):
OK, ready. Welcome to episode 3 of the Mom
Sense podcast with Molly and Meg.
I'm Molly. And I'm Meg.
We have gotten so much feedback about the podcast in the last
two weeks since we launched the podcast and it's all been
awesome. It's all been wonderful.
I am, I don't know, just so happy that everybody likes it.

(00:36):
That's what I want to tell you. Like, I don't know, it just gave
me such a rush. And like, seeing the clips come
out makes me so excited. Getting texts about the episode
from family and friends makes meso excited.
I check our Spotify for creatorsall the time to like see how
many engagements we've gotten. I'm so excited.
It's been so fun. Yeah, I completely agree.

(00:59):
All the positive feedback's beenso nice.
You said a rush. It's exactly how I describe it.
What a rush. Like it makes me excited to
check social media, which like I've always just scrolled
because I'm bored. I've never had a reason to check
social media. I'm not like massive poster.
I feel like I post more now thatPenny's been born.
But it's been so exciting to, you know, have all of this

(01:23):
experience and have people respond well to it.
Everyone's been very kind. I really appreciate it.
I love I love a compliment and we've been getting a lot of
positive feedback. So it's.
Been so fun. I'm so excited to continue to do
it. I wanted to tell you, Betty's
been doing this new facial expression.

(01:44):
It's not a smile. It's not like I don't know how
to describe it. She does this like pout thing
where her lips are open, but they're very like in disgust
almost. And it is the funniest thing.
Taylor and I laughed so hard. And I also mentioned last time
that we're watching The White Lotus.

(02:05):
And so immediately when she doesit, I'm like Taylor.
She looks like Jennifer Coolidge.
Like, exactly like her after shegot the lip filler and stuff.
And does he agree now? Whenever she does it?
Yeah, whenever she does it, we call her Jennifer.
And I showed my mom a picture ofher and a picture of Jennifer

(02:26):
Coolidge, and she agrees, too. Everyone's like, Oh my God, I
can't believe she does it. It is the funniest.
I freaking love it. Now you have to send it to me.
I'm nervous. I'm going to give you my honest
reaction. Yeah, I wish I wouldn't have
told you. I wish I would just send it to
you and asked you who you think she looks like.
Did you get it? It looks like I told you.

(02:53):
I wish you didn't tell me either, but I think I would
have, said Jennifer. Doesn't it like the pow, the
open mouthed pow thing it's. So.
Funny. Yeah, it's hysterical.
The other thing that I wanted toupdate you guys on, on Episode
2, I mentioned pooptastrophy of 2025 when she pooped, and it got

(03:15):
on me for the very first time. The saga continues.
OK, so the magic car seat, I don't know what it is.
Penny loves to poop in her really pretty beige car seat
that I went over the top and bought like one that has like a
quilted pattern and is very bougie and really nice, and I

(03:36):
love it. Yeah.
No, it's like a poop machine. She had two or three blowouts on
the way to Myrtle Beach and two or three blowouts on the way
home from Myrtle Beach. And so much so that I put like a
burp cloth under her butt so that it would not get on the car
seat every single time because Ican't wash the car seat while

(03:58):
we're on a 2 day road trip. So she so Needless to say, I'm a
prepared mom type A like I said.And in the diaper bag, I always
have a change of clothes in the diaper bag, in my like bum bag
that I take somewhere, I always have a change of clothes for
her. I do not have 6 changes of
clothes for her. So at some point I was like, we

(04:20):
have to take out her suitcase from the trunk, which is like
piled high and Tetris styles packed to get more clothes
because I'm not putting my baby in a diaper in the car seat.
Sorry, not for hours where she'sgoing to get like a rash from
the straps. So yeah, she had mega blowouts.

(04:42):
I was like I didn't even know this kid pooped this much
because she poops like once a day unless she's in the car seat
all day and then she poops like 3 * a day.
At least this time it didn't geton me.
It got all over her clothes and all over the car seat, but not
on me. Progress.
I mean the car seat is still a loss.
OK, so a thought and a suggestion.

(05:03):
One first the suggestion. Puppy pads.
That's what I. Bought for a lot of those.
Yeah, those are very nice. It's just like insurance for
your state of mind, so that way you don't have to RIP that car
seat apart because that's a painin the ass.
Not that I would know. I've never done that.
Colton does it. Thank God.
Go Colton. Yeah.

(05:24):
And then but is her diaper size not like is she growing out of
it? No, her diaper size, like she's
on the she just got into size 3 diapers.
So I know that it's OK. However, it is the type of
diaper that I had. Like I love the brand, love how
clean their products are. But yeah, their diapes are very

(05:51):
blow out friendly and I did buy like a big box of these.
So I was like, you know what, I'm just going to get through
them and then I'll move back to my trusty ones.
But yeah, so I I just shouldn't have even messed with it.
But Millie Moons are my tried and true use them all the time.

(06:13):
However, I would like to put outAPSA, if there's anyone that
listens to this that distantly knows anybody in the product
manufacturing department of the Millie Moon Company, We're going
to need those tabs to have like extenders because she outgrows
Millie Moon so quickly because they don't go all the way over

(06:35):
her belly, right? They like only go on the hips
after a while. So I'm like if it's everywhere
except little tabby things. OK, well, there's good feedback.
Yeah, this will be hysterical one day.
If Millie Moon ever wants to be a sponsor and wants to take your
feedback, then we can we can addthis clip in.
Yeah, and I will be like, I willbe on that ad read.

(06:57):
I'll be like Millie Moon with the new long extended tabs.
Yeah, actually this is a good time to say this.
I want to add in the disclaimer that if you are in what's the
word? I'm trying to look for
advertiser, potential advertiser.
And you watched our trailer and thought, you know, I don't think

(07:18):
these girls are for me. I just want to make a note that
Molly is the one who's going to be doing our ad read.
So yeah, me reading scripts is it's not my Forte.
As you could see you are star like your body language is so
natural. You look very authentic.
Couldn't even tell you're reading from a script.
I am like holding it so close tomy face.

(07:39):
It feels like and like reading it directly because of like no
acting ability or something. I don't know.
It was painful to watch, but. You tell that beautiful All Star
mom because you're just like amping me up.
I mean it. I mean it though.
I mean it. I don't, I don't inflate either
of my children unless I like actually mean.

(07:59):
I mean what you're what I'm saying about you.
I do. I do.
You inflate your friends. Well, if they deserve it, you're
well deserving. All right, OK, tell me your
things so that Colton can get his phone back.
I'm a little nervous about it because I'm going to play the
audio because I recorded like a voice memo or whatever when this

(08:22):
is sorry, when this is happening.
So we went to Cedar Point and then Chicago.
But long story, probably still long.
We were in the car for a very long time over this past week.
And like I said, we are, we've potty trained Brooke and that

(08:43):
can be a real pain in the ass when you're in the car for a
long time, especially when you are driving down Yonder and Ohio
and Illinois and Indiana there's.
Nowhere good to stop. The tolls, I swear to God, Well,
no, they're all like the toll road so you can stop off of the
service stations. Otherwise you're paying.

(09:04):
And Brooke, like, I don't know what it was.
I don't know if she like was bored and she found that if she
said she had to go to the bathroom that she got out of a
car seat. I or she, I don't know.
I have no idea. Anyways, it was tough like when
we were driving from Ohio to Illinois, she was like every 15

(09:24):
minutes until we're like pullingoff on the side of the road
because we like carried one of those portable potties with us.
Rid of toilets. I hate the word potty toilet
with us. And like, I don't know, it was
just a real pain in the ass. And like I've said a few Times
Now, like I do believe that motherhood is mindset related.

(09:48):
And I do believe that if I am thinking I could really, I can
pause and move myself in a better direction.
Not perfect, better. And I was having a hard time
doing that, at least when we were driving over to Illinois.
And I was thinking about this. So this is kind of an old story,
but I was thinking about this and I was thinking like, you

(10:10):
know, car I think in general have always just been a real, a
real pain. Like I'm not a fan of cars with
kids because it's just struggling so much.
Anyways, I was reminded of a phase that Brooke was in.
And I can't see the date on here, but I want to say she was
just over 1 where we would get in the car and it would be

(10:32):
silent because Reese like would pop on her headphones and she'd
listen to a play away, which is like audio books that we get
from the library. And so cars quiet my audio books
playing or my podcast or a song,whatever.
And Brooke would shriek, shriek at the top of her lungs.
You're laughing. Whatever you're picturing.

(10:53):
Dial it up. It's not cute.
No, no, if no, certainly not cute.
That is not what I'm trying to portray.
Horrifying, horrifying and so shriek.
Like random shrieks like. Yes, yes.
Periodic or like crying shrieks.OK, so you can see here.
Oh, you're going. To hair in my ring.
I'm going to play it for you. We can see all my buttons

(11:14):
anyways, you can see that like it's silent and then scream
silent and then a scream. So she's just she's just doing
it to get her eyes out of me, I'm sure.
But anyways, So what I'm thinking about this card, I'm
like, it's not it could be worse, right?
It could be back in the shrieking days.
Listen to this shit. Isn't that awful?

(11:51):
You get the point. Like she just.
I got the point. It's just like random like that
would make me jump if I was driving.
Yeah, you think so? Yeah, it definitely made me
flinch for sure. Horrible, horrible.
So like, gosh, I'll take pullingover on the side of the road to

(12:13):
not have that face because that was awful.
And then you're like raises yourcortisol.
You're looking in the back seat to make sure like everything's
OK. No, she's smiling.
So funny. Brooke is definitely your like
stereotypical second. Born for sure, but today, yeah.
Yeah, she's like the way you talk.

(12:33):
About her and the way that Reeseis like, Reese is the very
stereotypical oldest and she is very stereotypically your second
born. It's hilarious 'cause she's very
like wants attention more. She's got a wider range of being
expressive. I feel like Reese is almost

(12:54):
always the same. She's always like, she's very
predictable with her behavior. Right?
Yeah, Brooke, it's almost like you never know what you're going
to. Get never know what you're going
to get. No, I never know what you're
going to get. Brooke will give dirty looks.
Brooke, like Reese likes bondingwith people and she like she
wants a connection with you. Brooke sometimes does.

(13:16):
Other times she has no problem just saying no.
Like my aunt was here and my aunt's like going out the door
saying bye to her. Can I have a no?
She says. Like I don't.
Makes me feel uncomfortable. Like I had something with Reese
because Reese is just like, I want 1120.
I feel like can't I have a mixedemotion right?

(13:40):
I so badly want to be that mom that's like oh if they say no to
hugs then no. Like we're all good thank you.
I want so badly to be that mom. However, I know that like if she
said no to like her grandparents, whether they're my
parents or Taylor's parents, like I would be mortified.

(14:01):
Yeah, that's situational. Yeah, and I don't want to.
I don't want to say you have to hug people.
Yeah, she doesn't if she doesn'twant to.
But I also don't want other people that take that
offensively. Oh gosh, that's so hard.
Yeah, yeah, you want. To teach them to like make their
own decisions and stuff, but youalso want them to be polite.

(14:22):
You don't want to teach them that.
Like you have to hug someone in order to be polite 'cause that's
not what you want to teach a young girl, right?
But you also, can we come up with something else?
Like I think I'm gonna try to make like, if she's a not a
hugger and be like, OK, then high fives, right?
Like something to give other people attention, but on her

(14:42):
terms, I guess. I don't know.
We'll figure it out at the time.Yeah, you figure out that time
and yeah, you go with what they're comfortable.
If you can do alternatives like I'm going to do a high 5, can
you manage to say goodbye? Well, I don't know.
Whatever. But I don't know.
With Reese, thus far, she's likea Hulk.
Everyone five times she walks upto everyone and says thanks for
having us, thanks for having us and gives everybody a hug.
Freaking cute. Brooke would never.

(15:05):
Never. Well, maybe she will.
Brooke would be out the door before goodbyes were even said.
Yeah, Irish, goodbye. Brooke, like peace out, is the
definition of an Irish goodbye. That is her personality.
Reese's Midwest goodbye 400 goodbyes you walk out the door
together to the car and say goodbye again.
And Brooke is Irish. Goodbye.
Yeah, that's. Fine.

(15:25):
Oh, I love that. That's a circle.
Maybe Brooke will evolve, but that's what she is today.
I also want to take one SEC, I want to take a second and
acknowledge that we are 28 minutes into recording and I
think I heard Penny stop screaming.
She's been screaming this whole time.
I'm so sorry you've kept her cool so well.

(15:46):
I don't. I don't feel that way
internally. Huh.
No, I really wonder what's goingon.
But this all good. Oh yeah, Like is she asleep or
is she being held and it's goingto start back up?
I hear I. Mean, I know Taylor is
downstairs. I can hear him walking around.
OK. She's still screaming.
I hear her. OK, it's fine.
OK. We are going to move on to

(16:09):
mentally strong moms, make mentally strong kids because we
are big believers that the healthier we are, the healthier
our kids are and the more patient we can be.
So something that I did for myself that I'm very proud of,
that recharged me in a way that I haven't been recharged in a
long time is that I read 4 bookswhile we were on vacation.

(16:33):
I had to re evaluate my expectations for this trip that
we were on. We'll come around to it.
I'll tell you all about the triplater, but I had a lot of you
know me time, which was fantastic while Penny was taking
naps. So I got lots of reading done

(16:54):
and I sat out on our balcony andlistened to the ocean and read
books. And it was something that I I've
always brought books on vacations, no matter how old I
was, I've always had a book and reading on a balcony overlooking
the ocean is like the perfect way to describe me.

(17:14):
My favorite thing to do and I didn't know exactly how
realistic that was going to be with, you know, having Penny.
But while she was napping, I gotto do just that.
I got to do that every morning, which was fantastic.
And then we drove to Myrtle Beach, so and Taylor likes to
drive. So I was on Penny duty and I

(17:35):
read a lot in the car and I got to read 4 awesome books and I
felt so recharged by that. Good for you, you can read in
the car. Yeah, yeah, my mom said that
too. She's like, I can't believe you
can just read in the car. I was like, yeah, I don't get
carsick. Thank God, because that wouldn't
really put a damper on it. Can I run and go get something

(17:57):
really quick? Yeah.
It's worth it, yeah. Did you hear Jackson barking?
Yeah. That's because he saw me run.
He's do that very often. OK, so you said that you can
read in the car and you got fourbooks done.
I cannot read in the car. If I do read in the car, I have
to like, shield myself from moving stuff, whatever.

(18:20):
And I found that if it's like ifI haven't eaten recently, then I
get really nauseous. Anyways, Colton got me a gift
last year before we went to Cedar Point.
These work, they're magic. Do you want to see them on?
Yeah. I've had bones on OK looks like
this and it like tunnels revision every time.

(18:40):
I still duck my head down thoughbecause I'm like, I don't know
the person driving next to me, but what if I?
What if I want to one day? You know what I mean?
Is the is the reading? Worth it?
Think so. I don't know, I'm like the the
liquid moves so screwed dude fornot having to wear a show like

(19:00):
that. Can I go get something?
I promise it's worth it. That was so worth it.
That is freaking hilarious. And they bend into like if it's
a whole mechanism. I don't know how great they
work, but. I mean, if they work for you,
it's. Not hysterical, but yeah, you're
so fortunate that you can read in the car.

(19:21):
I would. I know.
I never, I take that for granted.
I never knew how many people couldn't read in the car.
And yeah, I read 2 for full books in the car.
I'm very envious. Yep.
Thank you. Yes.
OK, I'm going to keep this pretty concise, but it's a good
one. So we have been A1 car household

(19:42):
for, I don't know, like 2 weeks now, Colton.
Colton struck he felt more comfortable selling it sooner
rather than later. He did that.
And so whatever, he's been working from home sometimes or
we have to drive him in and he'sbeen looking for another car
for, you know, the duration ahead of that, but, you know,
the last two weeks. Anyways, there's a car that he

(20:04):
wanted to look at or a few cars he wanted to look at in Chicago.
And so he said, hey, when we getback from Cedar Point on
Saturday, I'm going to run down and go look at some cars.
He's like, I'll leave first thing in the morning.
And that way, like I'm not gone too long.
I would guess, though, that I'm going to be back up by dinner.
And he said that. And I was like, I don't know not

(20:25):
to be ungrateful. Like, I get it.
Like he, he works. So there's only so much time
that he has to go do things right.
But then when it's on the weekends, I'm like, one, we get
limited time together as a family. 2 you know, I just want
to like get ready after 5:00 AM for morning.

(20:46):
You know what? I mean, weekends are like our
time off, even though they're not time off.
Like there are time where we canlike spread the work around.
So when they actually have something they have to do, that
is a huge bummer. OK, it's nice to hear you say
that because I like, I feel bratty saying that out loud.
So it's nice to be validated. I appreciate that.

(21:08):
No, I have the exact same feeling.
We have a massive 5 acre lawn right?
And it has to be maintained. We have to take care of it
otherwise it looks terrible. But it takes Taylor 8 hours to
do all of the the yard work, like to mow it, to weed whack,
to do everything he has to do. And that takes up an entire

(21:32):
weekend day every week all summer.
And if I convince him to skip itone week, I know that that just
stresses. Me out because oh jeez.
OK, Podcast in the basement withMegan the.
Window breaks and it gets like really windy and all of a sudden
we'd go viral. We would.

(21:52):
It's right there is the problem and they've set it off for high
winds, the Expressway, which is like forever away.
Yeah, it's pretty. It's really loud.
OK, let's stop it. You text me if like, you know,
you don't die and you want to get on in like an hour, whatever
they. Told me OK.

(22:12):
Yeah. I'm so sorry, I should go to the
basement. I guess I should also go check
my kids are OK. So Megan did not die.
Not yet. TBD on if the tornado comes to

(22:34):
Megan but. See the picture I sent you,
Reese. So Reese?
No. How about Brooke?
No, nothing. And it's across the street.
I don't, I don't know if I'll beso lucky there.
I can't find anything. I keep getting these like next
door alerts and it's like you'reunder a thunderstorm warning.

(22:56):
And then so I'm like, all right,I'm going to go to the best
source I know, Michigan Storm Chasers on Facebook.
So Colton's currently out there on tornado duty to make sure
that I don't need to run to the basement again.
If we have to cut this again, like I won't make you, just stay
tuned. But yeah, for now, I guess we're

(23:17):
fine. I mean, I just went out in the
living or in the kitchen and Taylor told me about the saga to
get petty to sleep and then I came back in here.
I don't care. But the picture that you just
sent me of Reese in the monitor,the OK, I see three books at

(23:39):
least. Anymore.
Five stuffed animals and she's on top of her blankets, but
she's got a blanket over. She's just like dead to the
world. Like I swear to God I wake up
when Taylor breathes too loud. The.
Same. And this girl can sleep through
a tornado siren that's like right next to your house.

(24:01):
Yeah, Let's talk about the booksreally quick, though.
She has a ton of books because she flips through them.
She wants to keep the one that we read to her.
She reads US one book at night when she keeps all those at the
end of her bed. And if you think those stuffed
animals are modest, you should see Brooks Kravitz, the Academy
of Pediatric whatever would not be faced with me.

(24:23):
They. Yeah, they slept there.
Thank God. That's great.
That is so funny. That's showbiz, baby.
We're back at it. OK, we're talking about how on
the weekends we want our husbands around and selfishly,
you know, they have to do stuff at some point too.
Yes, OK. Anyway, so he was like, I like

(24:44):
it's my only need to go do it. We have a packed week.
We had a packed week this week, doctor's appointments, dentist
appointments, physical therapy. We were busy with appointments
this week. So like I could not drop that
Holland to whatever. Anyways, so he's like, I have to
do it on this day and I'm sitting here, I'm like there's
no, you are not going to leave me with two kids and a laundry

(25:07):
coming down from a vacation high.
Sorry Sir, it's not happening. So anyways, I thought about how
you texted me and you I played it in my car system and you had
said you were going to an aquarium with Penny and Reese.
I go to aquarium. I love aquariums.
She's she's just like going off about how much she wants to go

(25:29):
to an aquarium. And I'm like, Chicago has an
aquarium. I'm not going home.
We're extending this trip and we're going to Chicago.
And it ended up working out because we had a bunch of points
at a hotel. So like, we didn't even spend.
We spent 20, which is nice. And yeah, I mean, it's for Reese
too. It's like a mutual benefit.
But like, I cannot go home. So usually I would just come

(25:50):
home and be frustrated and whatever.
Nope. And not this time.
We're coming with you. Yeah, forced family time.
It's the best. I'm going to sidebar real quick
on like, 'cause I never do that.Never sidebar because I said it

(26:11):
before we started the episode, but I have a cold if everyone in
the world didn't already know, so I'm going to call it out.
And now for the rest of the episode, everyone's going to get
really annoyed, but you're goingto hear me sniffle like crazy.
I try to like dip away from the mic to sniffle, but sometimes a

(26:32):
girl's got a sniff. So sorry about that.
I did take some medicine just soeverybody knows.
It just didn't help. How long have you been sick for?
Is Penny sick? No all right so Taylor was sick
over the weekend but we went to my parents house because my
younger brother graduated from college so we went to my parents
house. So we were away from Taylor for

(26:54):
a couple days while he was sick.So if he can't come with us
unfortunately at least it's going to give us a chance to not
be sick. Lo and behold he felt better for
like 2 days and I was all on cloud 9 like Oh yeah me and
Penny didn't get sick is the best.
No, I'm sick now and Penny was alittle snot monster today so I'm

(27:15):
very nervous that she is now getting sick.
She seemed very fine today, likeherself, and everything was
seemed normal. But we'll see how tomorrow goes.
But she was very fussy tonight, which she never is.
And yeah, her nose was runny, soI think we're getting into her
being sick as well. Which sick babies are my least

(27:38):
favorite? You're the worst kind of baby.
Yeah. Did Reese love the Shedd
Aquarium? Yes, yes she did.
She's very, very into marine life right now.
She has these Tonys that teach her all about Wales and she's
giving me facts about them all the time.

(27:59):
She could be lying. Every fact she says could be
complete BS and I would never know.
I just look at her. I'm like you're I'm going to
comment. So you're a genius anyway.
So she's really into it. But she, you know, it was the
trail end of a trip and she's going to bed really late, waking
up early, whatever. Yeah.
Yeah. So like, she wasn't in, she

(28:21):
wasn't in her typical spirits, but she did really enjoy it.
Brooke loved it too. The place is.
Oh, good. It's great, boys.
It's the best part about being astay at home mom is that you can
go do things on weekdays. Yep.
So I was quickly reminded why don't it's just like that on
Saturdays. It's so busy.
But it was great. Very cool, highly recommend.

(28:44):
Good, good. Sometimes out.
There, I just like, I'm not excited because if it's with you
right now, in about two hours it'll be here.
And I don't know why it always happens this way.
Thunderstorms and bad storms always happen in the middle of

(29:05):
the night. I just hope she sleeps through
it and or if we get tornado sirens which to be honest we get
like 3 tornado sirens a year. It does not happen tonight
because I don't want to have to wake her up and then try to get
her back to sleep. You're on the cut off of the map
that I was looking at recently. I was looking for me and then I
looked for you. So hopefully it dissipates when

(29:26):
it gets to you just because it'sprobably intense, because I, I'm
no meteorologist, I'm just goingto say that, but I think it
would probably intensify like right, is that right?
It's right. If it's wrong, we're.
Just going to be very confident with what we say and other
people will think it's right too.
Or or I'm going to be confident I'm going to put it on TikTok

(29:48):
and then everyone can tell me ifI'm wrong.
Engage in my baby. That is.
Hilarious. I told the Pole to e-mail me.
I was like you. Can't text me because your
phones. He'll come in and get me.
If it's a big deal, he'll come. He'll come get you.

(30:09):
OK. Anyway, so let's move.
Move on to cheers and tears. My cheers for this week is that
I had my first Mother's Day. I was very much looking forward
to it. Taylor knocked it out of the
park. It was so fun.
Unfortunately, because we were at my parents house, which is

(30:30):
like 3:00-ish hours away from where we live, the day before
from my younger brother's college graduation, I drove back
to my house on Sunday morning. So I got home at like, I don't
know, 11? And when I got home, we like had
to put Penny right down for a nap.

(30:51):
So Taylor gave me my present so that Penny was awake while they
they gave me my present and thenwe put her down.
Taylor and I had lunch. I didn't do anything any of the
normal homemaker house cleaning,cooking stuff that I usually do.
Then we had a really nice dinnerat home.

(31:13):
It was just really fun. Like, it was nice to be
appreciated. And every once in a while, like,
Taylor is not a very, like, emotional guy, right?
Like, it's just not part of his repertoire.
But every once in a while, he'lljust, like, tell me how much he
appreciates me and how he knew Iwas going to be a good mom, but

(31:35):
that, like, I exceeded his expectations.
I like, melts my heart, right? Like, I love when he says that
it's very important to me that, like, he feels that way.
And so every once in a while, he'll say stuff like that.
And I just felt like that day was full of, you know, the
appreciation that every mom so badly wants.
Nice for you too. What a great first Mother's Day

(31:56):
memory. Go, Taylor.
I'm not surprised to hear that whatsoever, but that's
fantastic. I'm so glad that you feel
appreciated. Yeah, and then Megan got me
Mother's Day flowers, which mademe very excited.
Yeah. Of course I did.
I will never forget. I was having a rough go of it my
first Mother's Day, like a week,and I remember getting flowers.

(32:17):
Golden walked in with a bouquet of flowers and I was like, oh,
it's probably for my aunt or something.
And I read the card notes from you and I will never, ever
forget that. So I was like I'm, I kept a
mental note of it, like I'm returning that paper because it
meant so much to me. So.
Well, he, Reese, wasn't even a month old when you had Mother's
Day, right? So yeah, you probably weren't
even thinking about it. Also, I would just like to say

(32:40):
that you were supposed to get flowers too and for some reason
they're not like they weren't delivered.
I don't even think that they've like shipped them yet.
I got calls about how the order was going to be late and blah
blah blah, but it was supposed to be there on Tuesday.
Did you order them from Temo? Late but they were still coming.

(33:03):
I'm have to check on that 'causeI also sent them to Bri and that
order was cancelled, which is really annoying.
That's so annoying. Thank you so much for thinking
of that. That's so kind.
That's really frustrating. A picture of what the bouquet
was supposed to be like, OK, outof the flowers that I sent,
Jenna was the only one that got him.

(33:24):
Like I sent them to you, Bri andJenna, and she was only really
got him. I was like what the hell?
My chairs is we had a great week.
We went on a trip. I'm very fond of going to Cedar
Point because I grew up going there.
My grandparents took me and my brother every year.
I think I mean a lot. Like, it was a prominent memory

(33:44):
and I, my grandmother was the most important person in my
life, just the most special woman ever.
So anything that like makes me feel connected to where I really
love. And so it's just fun going there
with Colton and the girls. And Reese loves it and she
pushes her. What's that?

(34:04):
That's your phone to tell you there's a tornado?
Yeah. Tornado warning in the area.
OK, I got to go. Yeah, OK.
Talk to you later. Tell me when you're done.
Bye. Bye.

(34:33):
So everybody might notice that we look a little bit different
today because Megan almost died in a tornado last night, so we
had to pause the recording. I honestly I didn't almost die
but like. The sire for the Views main.
Yeah, I was tired. That's what I meant.
The sirens are going off. And like, like I said, I mean

(34:55):
the sirens go off. It's like if Al County decides
the sirens go off, all the Al County sirens go off.
So like the. Winds weird.
Really. Yeah, I think that's right.
Now I'm second guessing myself. I think that's right.
Like the winds could be really high over on the highway, but we
are 10 minutes from the highway so it's like, I don't know.
Anyway, so the sirens are going off and we're like, we're fine,

(35:17):
it's fine. And then when my phone went off,
I was like, maybe we take this seriously.
So we went downstairs and we just sat by the girls room
'cause we're like, OK, if the sirens wake them up, we want to
be able to like grab them because that's kind of, it's got
to be really jarring and scary for them.
And we were sitting there and Michigan storm chasers, it was
like we shouldn't have any more tornadoes tonight from this like

(35:40):
whatever meteorologist vocabulary they used system.
And then sure enough, like 3 drop one in the city next to us
and then one in town. And Colton, I don't know what he
heard from this man, but Colton must have saw something because
he turns to me and he goes, go ahead and get the kids up.
We're going to go underneath thestairs.
And I was like, I don't know what you know, but you sound

(36:03):
confident, so I will follow suit.
So what happened with the kids? Like did they go back to sleep
after? Yeah, I mean, Reese slept
underneath the stairs and Brookewas like in in like her truest
form that we have insulation under our stairs and we've like
cleared all the stuff out of there because we don't have a
lot of storage that we were putting down there.

(36:23):
But we made it into like a little reading duck for them so
they can crawl under. And she's like, I don't know,
anything I say is not going to be really funny unless you,
like, know her. But she was in rare form.
Last time I was there, Reese made me crawl into that little
thing and I was like, I'm too big for this.
So I can't imagine all of you guys.
I can't imagine golden under there.
Colton's like 65 mm. Hmm, yes, tiny crawlspace.

(36:48):
Yeah, yeah, they did. They went right back to sleep.
Like Reese kept asking us, can Igo back into my room now?
I'm like, homie, do you hear thesirens?
Like, she didn't care. She just.
Cared all. That's so funny.
No, I don't know. After all of said and done,
Reese walked right into her roomand said see you guys later.
She did. It was like a very teenager ask.

(37:09):
I didn't like it. And then like I sat in her chair
with her and like talked with her for a bit and then I said,
OK, time to go down. She knocked right out.
So it was easy. But yeah, we survived.
House is still here. Taylor and I were talking about
how you guys had to go under thestairs and like get the kids up
and I was like, they are like, they're doing it right.

(37:31):
The girls rooms are in the basement already.
So unless they woke up or you like really had to get, you know
where you had to get under the stairs, then it was like
wonderful situation. They could just stay sleeping.
You could go downstairs and hangout.
Penny's room is like the highestpoint in our house.

(37:52):
So any little bit of tornado chatter, we would have to wake
her up. And Oh my gosh, that marathon it
would take to put her back to sleep, I don't even want to
think about. So the storm came to us more
like 1231 when it hit us. And I like, couldn't sleep
because it was so loud. And I was also like waiting for
Penny to wake up from the Thunder and waiting for the

(38:14):
sirens go off because our sirensare right outside our house as
well. So like, that's going to be so
nice. And so I was like anxiously
checking the monitor. Yeah, she didn't even budget the
whole time. And eventually when it we got to
like 15 minutes left of the storm, then I kind of went to
sleep and it was fine. But I did check the monitor like
30 times last night. I would just roll over and check

(38:36):
it every 5 seconds. No sleep happened at the Marsh
house last night. Doesn't sound like it happened
at your house either. So let's do your cheers.
OK, so I only wrote positive feedback as well on my notes.
And I do mean that like the kindwords that both you showed me

(38:57):
that you received and the kind words that I received, I'm
really grateful for. But what I appreciate is there's
some people who like, I don't know, provided constructive
criticism to like just thoughtful things.
And I really appreciate that as well.
Last night I had said I always love a compliment.

(39:17):
I do like words of praise go really far from me.
I think that's my love language.Like words of affirmation, words
of affirmation, that's it. I think my love language changes
frequently. Well, I have no idea, but I.
Like feel bad for my husband because I think that I have all
of them. I think I'm every love language.
So he's got a lot of work too. That's what I'm trying to say.

(39:38):
Yes, yes, that's exactly, that'swhat I'm trying to say.
Same and sort of get along so well.
I know we just need all of the all the love.
Like I like a good gift but I also want you to do my chores
for me and I also want you to tell me you love me and hold my
hand, damn it. But only sometimes.

(39:59):
And when you're having dinner with me, don't be on your phone.
It's rude. Don't be on your phone.
Yeah, the positive feedback was really nice.
I really appreciated it. I'm like I told you.
I'll send you the screenshot. It's Raheem.
I just. Love him, he won't care.
No, I love him. Shout out Raheem.
Me too. Me too.
I love him with all my heart. He's like one of the most

(40:20):
genuine, pure people on the entire planet.
And he also has really sweet words to say about my grandma
that goes a long way for me. So yeah, he's awesome.
I'm really grateful for him. A.
Supportive friend. Very supportive, very.
He's just like a very genuine, great person, few and far
between. People like him.
Oh, before we move on, Jenna didtext me after she finished the

(40:42):
episode. It was a couple like days later.
And she was like, OK, because you know how we talked about
mascara gate at the very end? So I kept pestering her, like,
what do you think of the episode?
What do you think? She's like, I'm not done yet.
And after she finished, she was like, OK, I finished it.
And you have to have me on the podcast so that I can give a
rebuttal because I have things to say.

(41:04):
What does she have to say? That's the same thing that she
said to me. Like when we were all sitting
together and you guys were retelling a story.
She said it the same way that you said it, that she was like,
I thought I knew you'd see it eventually.
It's like I didn't ask her what she was going to say because I
need to be. I need it to be like a real
reaction when she does eventually tell us.
But I was like, what could you possibly be defending yourself

(41:27):
about? You let me walk her out with
raccoon eyes for like 30 minutesin public.
I do. I do fear though that she's
going to come on and explain herself and like I like I said,
no. I think she's so like well
spoken and thoughtful. But I'll be like I, I see your
point. You should have let Molly walk

(41:48):
around like that. Good call.
We're going to cut it out. Then I edit.
It's just going to be her sayingI'm Jenna and then it cuts to
the end. It's going to be like that
TikTok trend where I'm like, I'mMolly and my friend, my cousin
let me walk around with mascara and then she'll be like, I'm
Jenna and I'll cut her. Yeah, you do.

(42:08):
The other thing you get you get to call the shots soon.
So that's like, we can ride thisway.
Because I don't know if you didn't laugh at that story, you
don't have any humor. That's hysterical.
I know it's going to come back up episode after episode, so if
anybody doesn't know what we're talking about, go listen Episode
1. It's at the end, so if you don't

(42:30):
want to listen the whole thing, that's fine.
You can scroll the end, we stillget the watch time for it.
Yeah, it's cool. Oh sorry, Rahim told me that he
hears a lot of noises and I justsniffled into the thing.
He's going to hate this episode for your cold.
Yeah. He's like, he said so many nice
things at the end. He's like, and sometimes, like,

(42:50):
there are some noises that I canhear.
He's like just turning. I'm like, I know it's me.
It's got to be me, so. No, it's me, because I like this
all the time. Me too.
I hit it me OK, so it's both of us.
Maybe that's why he would have said he would have said to you
or whatever. Anyways, thanks for your
feedback right. We're.
Probably not going to fix it though.

(43:13):
Probably not. That's funny.
My only other tiers, which I am not going to be able to recreate
it in the way that I said it yesterday.
I meant it so genuinely. I just said that we went to
Cedar Point, which we've been going to pretty regularly as a
family. And I love it because we went

(43:33):
with my grandparents growing up regularly.
I think every year might not have been.
I have no idea. We went on trips with them all
the time. Felt like all the time.
Yeah. And so it's like very nostalgic
for me for that reason. And so it's cool going back with
my girls and where I got cut off, where the sirens started to
go. I said that I really love it
because I can't think of anotherenvironment in which a kid can

(43:57):
test their own boundaries over and over and over again safely.
And theme parks do that, which is really cool to see.
Like she went on, it's called Iron Dragon.
And the entire time she's like, I'm not going on it.
I'm not going on it. And we're like, I'm like, maybe
you will. No, I'm not.
And then at one point she said, I want a treat.

(44:17):
I said, cool, we'll get you one and I'll get you the treat I
know you really want. If you try Iron Dragon, she's
like, say no more, I'll go on it.
Was a little push. Did not even in the line, didn't
try to back out of it. There's one point where I like
the train came to a stop and shewas like, I'm not a fan of how
that sounded, but she got right on and she loved it.

(44:39):
And then she went on again with Colton later.
So, oh, she like tested her boundaries.
It's really cool to see. Yeah, she's brave.
That's so cute. I love that.
Very brave. I tell her that all the time and
she's like, no, I'm not, I'm scared, I said.
That's still bravery. Brave is been doing it anyway
and she is so brave. I love those.
Those were good ones. Yeah.

(45:01):
OK, so my tears for this past week was that while we were in
Myrtle Beach, I had this thoughtin my head, which I am very much
the kind of person that builds stuff up in my head, right?
I am a planner so I envision what things are going to be like

(45:21):
and I had lots of expectations and thoughts about our first
family vacation. However, Penny hated the beach.
Like we were only there for 30 minutes out of the whole week.
She hated how loud it was. It was hot, but like we had
shade and stuff. Ignoring the advice of mom, dad

(45:42):
put her in the sand to like playin the sand.
She really liked it while she was doing it.
And then after when it stuck to her sunscreen and was all
scratchy, she did not like that.So she did not hang very well in
this at the beach. It was pretty loud.
Like, I'm not going to lie, whenyou're you're going to the
beach, you don't even think twice.
And then you have a kid and you're like, Oh my God, that's

(46:03):
probably pretty loud for them. I would imagine she will get
there. I think she will, but like
Reese's, I took her to the Aquatic Center today and she's a
fish. Just just can't get her out of
the water, which is its own problem.
So hopefully that that day comesfor you sooner than later.
Yeah. Does Brooke like the water?

(46:25):
No, Yeah, no. Good question, really.
No, Yeah. It doesn't like, like has to
cling to me. Like she'll go in it.
She likes like, the pools where she can like, walk in and like,
touch the things that are shooting up.
But that's like her extent rightnow.
And I think Reese is that way aswell.
Yeah. Did Reese do swim lessons?

(46:47):
No, I thought about talking about this.
No, she didn't. And now every time that I bring
it up with Colton and she overhears, she'll say, I don't,
I don't need to. I I know how to swim.
And I'm like, oh, do you please do tell somebody taught me.
She says that somebody taught her at her aunt and uncle's
pool. And so she's good now.

(47:09):
And then every time I'm like, should we try without your life
jacket? She says no, So no, I have not.
And the Aquatics Center that we went to today, they do swim
lessons. And so we've been going back and
forth about when we'll sign themup, if it's going to be summer
or fall, so. I feel like she'll like it.
She might be a little less nervous to do it if Brooke does
it with her. Yeah, Brooke's not a good age

(47:32):
work because I'm not. I'm not the mom who wants to
drop your nine month old in the pool and snap at them.
To get No, me neither. Nope, I don't know.
Thank you. I don't have the nervous system
for that. Or they want to like, dunk their
face, like I don't want to do that.
No, I don't want to do that. I don't want to participate in
that. She.
Doesn't even like when I rinse her hair because it might get in

(47:55):
her eyes like God forbid. Yeah, both of my girls are that
way too. But like, certainly I should
have done sooner with her. But yeah, here we are.
So that's my answer. Are you thinking about doing
swim lessons? I mean like, not now.
I haven't even thought about that.
I. Didn't either.
I didn't either, which is why I've gotten to the age of five
and people are like, do you do swim lessons?
And I'm like, well, no, 'cause Ididn't think about it until

(48:17):
somebody mentioned. OK, did you do your tears yet?
No, I didn't and I'm scared thatI'm going to make this longer
than it needs to be, but I thinkthat it'll be nice for seasoned
parents to hear me say this. OK?
I'm calling myself out because Ihave everywhere in my house and

(48:38):
it started prior to being a mom and it ended when Brooke was
like 1. All throughout that time, I said
I will not have toys in my living room.
I will not let my children stuffoverrun my house.
I here's the thing about me, I'mnot, I'm clean, but I'm not like

(49:03):
neurotic about cleanliness. I am organized and I don't have.
You're picked up like your houseis not messy.
There's no stuff everywhere. No.
And I it has to be that way. I don't have stuff everywhere
and I don't have an excessive stuff.
Like, you walk into your house and it's comfortable.

(49:23):
You don't have clutter. Yeah, OK.
So anyways, I'll do that duration.
I was like, I'm not going to do that.
I don't know why other parents allow that to happen, but that
won't be me. Shut up.
What I have found is that I havea whole corner of stuff and it

(49:44):
unfortunately we've, we've giventhe basement to our kids.
We have a play structure down there so that they can climb
because for both of our girls, them staying active, building
muscle, stuff like that. It's very, very, very important
because of the diagnosis that they have.
And so we have that and then we have other things that they can

(50:05):
ride on and we've just collectedstuff all the time, whatever.
And I've been really good about stuff comes in, stuff goes out.
Like we're going to donate. Anyways.
It has since moved up to the kitchen because I need to make
dinner sometimes, OK. And it is so hard with two

(50:25):
children and I, I just thought could never be me.
No, definitely me because otherwise I have to bring you
down or you want to show me something for the 14th time and
I have to turn the stove off or,you know, so like them having
their stuff up here is beneficial to me.
And I hate how it looks. It's, it really stresses me out,

(50:50):
but it's for the greater good ofall.
And so I just think of that story's funny because I think
that before you have kids and before you hit certain phases,
like you have this like, expectation of like, what you
will do in comparison to what you're seeing other people do.
And you're like, I won't, I won't do it that way.
Just stay tuned. Like, let's not be so bold and

(51:11):
make bold statements until you're in that role.
Because, yeah, I have pink bins with, Hey, Gabby's dollhouse
stacked to the nines and a million puzzles in a corner out
there. Never thought it would be me.
And here I am so humbling. We're gonna start a new segment
called Book Club where we talk about what we've been reading,

(51:33):
maybe do some reviews for you guys, and then talk about what's
on our current to be read or TBRlists.
I'm pretty excited. I'm going to tell you about the
books that I read while you're on vacation.
I started with something really light.
I started with the Pumpkin SpiceCafe.

(51:55):
It's like a little ROM com kind of book.
It was very light hearted, very easy to get through.
It did kind of make me annoyed at some points because every 5
seconds they would come togetherand pull back and come together
and I'm just like Oh my God, so annoying.
They didn't even get together until like the last 50 pages of

(52:16):
this book. So Needless to say, I probably
won't read the rest of them. It's a series.
It's just not my style of book. I like to be, like I said,
devastated. Devastated.
I've seen read that one gives itlike a three out of five like
I've never seen it would be likethis is my Holy Grail.

(52:36):
Book. That's fair.
I would give it a three out of five like it was a page Turner.
I read it very quickly. It was cute.
I definitely wasn't like bad. It just wasn't gripping, you
know? OK.
Then the second book I read was Verity by Colleen Hoover.
I've got to hear your thoughts on this.

(52:58):
I'm passionate. Oh my God, it was, I think one
of the best thrillers I've read.I loved it.
You're like, I hated that. No, I loved it.
I know that Colleen Hoover is like AI.
Don't know why she's controversial.

(53:18):
I liked Verity a lot. OK tell me what you didn't like
about it because I'm so curious.It was like a 4 1/2 out of 5 for
me. OK, I like her too.
I don't I don't like maybe extreme.
I don't mind her Verity I wasn'ta fan of and I honestly my
personal opinion, I think the people have like jumped on the
bandwagon. I think it's like because of

(53:40):
social media that she's got. I don't think it would be that
way if everybody had to have their own unique opinion on a
matter because I don't know, it's like groups think I'm
calling her, I think. Yeah, yeah.
I don't think she's not bad either.
No, everybody's like she romanticizes violence, but in
the book that I've read that ends with us and it starts with
us, he was violent and they got divorced.

(54:04):
So I don't see where the romancecomes into play.
Like, yeah, she was so strong. Yeah, I, I don't know, I haven't
read the rest of the book. So they might be kind of
twisted, but also it's twisted. That's what books are supposed
to be. People are so offended by
everything. It's true.
If you disagree, then you're offended by us saying that, and

(54:25):
you prove our point. That's true, yeah.
So what did you not like about Verity?
I read it a while ago but I gaveit a two out of five which is
like unheard of usually like up in the 30s for like books that
are whatever. I did not.

(54:46):
I didn't like the storyline and like how it pertained to the
children. That's what I'm trying to get
at. That was like very hard for me
to read. I don't have to go back and read
my review for to like jog my memory but.
I agree. That was the first time that I
like, like, I mean, I'm going tosay it for the 15th time, but I
like reading hard books, books that are hard to get through and

(55:08):
hard to read, like things that shock you or make your stomach
turn. And this was one of the first
times where, like reading it as a new mom, I was like, Oh my
God, this is. I can't believe someone put this
on paper. Yeah.
But I mean, I don't know. I loved it.
I gave it to my mom. I was like, you would like this
book. You should read it.

(55:28):
My mom and I have kind of similar vibes.
Like, I love a good thriller. So we usually share those.
After I read Verity, I read The Butcher.
To be honest, I'm really bad about like who wrote these
books, so I'm not going to give the author shout out, but I read
The Butcher and the twist at theend had nothing to do with like

(55:51):
who did it. You find out who did it in the
first page, which I kind of likethose books.
Like I like when the stories told from the villains
perspective. I think those are good.
So I really liked that. That was another like 4 1/2 out
of five. If you guys haven't guest, I
don't give books 5 out of five, like ever.

(56:11):
So like a 4.9 is about as good as you're gonna get.
OK, so I read those 3 and I listened to Beautiful Ugly by
Alice Feeney. I think that's her name.
It's just cause I've heard that there's something special about
the audio book that it's better.And I mean, it's good because

(56:34):
it's about Scotland and everybody has an accent, so it
definitely gives it something extra to listen to it.
But that was pretty good. I mean I'd probably give it like
a 3.8 BE. In line with there's 128,000
people, actually almost 129 who agree with you.

(56:56):
They said 3.6, so you're in linewith the app.
It was very good. I think the ending could have
been better. Like the ending was just very
unrealistic. But either way, I thought that
it was it was good. Everybody loved it.
And so I was like, oh, I gotta, you know, read what's popular.

(57:16):
OK, so those are the four that I've read.
And currently I'm reading God ofthe Woods by Liz Moore.
And it's good. It's very long.
So like, I'm listening to it andreading it.
When I don't have time to like, sit down and read, I'll listen
to it, which has helped me get through it faster.
But it's good. I feel like we're about to come

(57:38):
up on something like some kind of plot climax.
I'm like a little over halfway through, OK.
I've never heard of The Butcher and I've seen Beautiful Ugly,
but I hadn't heard much about it.
The other two that you read I'veheard a lot about and then I've
heard God of the Woods ends well.
So I I have high hopes for you. I hope that's what you report

(58:01):
back. Cool.
OK, so I just finished Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez, and
I love her. I don't know.
I thought, why do you remember? Just suppose.
Wait, yes. Shit, that's what I read.
Yeah. Say you'll Remember Me.
Yes, that's the one that I read and I liked it.

(58:25):
I did feel like the ending was alittle a little disjointed, but
I did like it. It's not my favorite book by
her, but what I found with all the books of hers that I have
read, and this does not happen for me ever.
Even the books that I'm like arestill great books.

(58:47):
To me, her books are just like real people.
They're flawed characters. It's just even if it's not
relatable, it's relatable. So I really appreciate that
she's another book coming out I think, I think it's next April.
But anything that she puts out at least for the foreseeable
feature, I will 100% be reading ASAP.
Read prior to that Magnolia Parks, which whatever, I mean

(59:11):
it's Gossip Girl but like the book version and the ending did
have my draw on the floor. Like I didn't expect it which I
really appreciate. But I'm currently reading The
Simple Wild by KA Tucker. I have heard such good things
about this. It's like, well from what I've
understood it's cowboy romancey but in Alaska so far I guess so.

(59:38):
I mean I haven't gotten to the romance part so I can't say for
sure but so far I really really like it.
I like KA Tucker's writing styleand I like all the detail about
main character and like setting same plot and it's like so
entertaining. So yeah, cool.

(01:00:00):
That is what I'm currently reading and I'm like moving
through it. I read slow.
I read like 5th grade level I think, but I'm moving through it
quickly for me. Good and is simple wild a a
series like is that part of a series?
OK, so if you do like it, then you've got more.
OK, so current TBRS or what we're going to read next?

(01:00:23):
I want to read hidden pictures by Jason or Kulik.
It's a thriller, so I'm pretty pumped about reading that.
That is thriller. Super nice of a thriller.
Oh, OK, that's kind of cool. I have a recommendation for you,
but it's not PG so I'll tell you.
Is our podcast PG? I don't know, is it every time I

(01:00:45):
cost them like the tally mark? Definitely does.
Not OK. A Rapid Fire Mind So Wild at
Heart by K Tucker. It's the next in the series and
I'm currently reading the third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop.
Molly and I both, yeah, Molly and I both really love Gilmore
Girls. And I have heard that that book

(01:01:05):
is outstanding, like The Paper Palace by Miranda Heller.
I've heard that one's really good.
And then everyone says the Boys at Homan series is really good.
If anything has a young adult label on it.
I'm like, you don't want to readabout children falling in love.

(01:01:27):
But everyone says that these books are outstanding.
So I do have that one on there as well.
And then, oh shoot, then a BlakeCrouch series.
The Wayward Pyne series I'm interested in as well.
But. I've heard that's really good.
Same. OK.
And our topic for the. Finally, only like 3 hours into
recording, we're going to finally get around to the topic.

(01:01:50):
Gosh. OK, so we're going to talk all
about traveling with kids today.Clearly, because we both just
had very recent experiences. I can talk about our experience
only having done it once and Megan has traveled with her kids
several times. So we can kind of get into that.
We're going to start with like do's and don'ts of traveling

(01:02:12):
with kids and I think my biggestdo advice or comment whatever is
to over pack. Like not one part of me regrets
how much we packed. We packed a ton given we drove
so it was much easier to over pack, but I would have way

(01:02:34):
rather had way more than I needed than not enough.
We did have a washer and dryer like in our condo.
So thank God for that because you know, babies have she's like
eating and it's everywhere. And so anyway, yes, I over
packed like crazy and I don't regret it one bit.

(01:02:55):
I don't think there's ever a time where you will regret
bringing absolutely everything that you could need.
And don't let your husband talk you down.
No they don't. Don't do it or you have any do's
or don'ts. Not really, I'm more have like
suggestions for things to bring because I mean what my thought

(01:03:16):
is that when you go on a trip, whatever you're doing on said
trip is like going to be whatever unique to that
situation. But I have ideas about how to
make the travel to and fro less miserable for all involved, so
no. Not really, don't have any other
do's and don'ts. Then I have one more do if you

(01:03:40):
make a plan, you'd have something that you're going to
be doing. If you have like a timeline, you
have to stick to add 30 minutes to like whatever you want to do.
Given that's like a rule of thumb for at home too, when you
have to get out the door, like give yourself extra time when
you have a kid, but you have to add a ton of time to absolutely
everything. And also, we were driving, it's

(01:04:03):
a 13 hour drive from our house. Of course, for like the four
months leading up to our trip, Taylor and I were like, we'll
just knock it out, right? Like Penny will sleep in the
car, no big deal, we'll figure it out.
No, like 2 days before we left, we're like, we should split it.
And I mean, I don't know why we ever thought we could do it in
one day. We could barely do it in two

(01:04:25):
days. Like it was miserable.
She would take her first nap andthen would never go back down
for her second. It was just like a hot freaking
mess. So yeah, don't think that you
can do things the way you did dothem before you had a kid,
right? Like accommodate for the kid.

(01:04:46):
And it's OK. You don't have to be the person.
That's like, my life won't change when I have kids.
Your life does change and that'sfine.
Like lean into it. Yeah, for sure.
And it's probably helpful to note that you have a 7, almost 8
month old. Yeah.
Right. Yeah.
So, so that is a factor to like if we drove across the country

(01:05:11):
with a 2 month old and that was doable like that was OK.
I think that the age that Penny's at is a it's a tricky
age for extended car rides. I just felt guilty.
Like, it's uncomfortable for us to sit for so long, let alone
her, who's, like, strapped into the nines.

(01:05:34):
And I can read. Taylor, can listen to music.
Like, we have things that can occupy us.
Like, she's just sitting there looking at her thumbs.
Especially when she throws all of her toys out of her car seat
that she has nothing to do. I'm like, this is miserable for
her. Yeah, the mom guilt was real.

(01:05:54):
I got it all right. So we did another category for
must haves and what I wrote is avariety of entertainment for the
car or plane and maybe if you quote UN quote new things, new
activities, some things that they haven't seen before, you
know, OK, and I think these ideas are solid, especially no

(01:06:18):
shit. I almost said a word that I
never used in real life. Thank God I saw myself shade.
I don't think I ever said that word in my life.
I'm not trying to like, nothing against, oh God, nothing against
anyone who uses an iPad. If you use an iPad, bring your

(01:06:40):
damn iPad. I choose not to do iPads.
I've gotten this far and I'm going to keep the train rolling
so I have alternatives from iPads that I can suggest that I
hope other people find helpful. Number one is playaways from the
library. They're like these little, I
wish I grabbed mine. I'll insert a photo, but they're
these little remote sync like old, old, old iPod basically and

(01:07:05):
just has like back buttons, whatever, turn on and off, plug
your headphones into it and it goes through audiobooks.
There's Disney ones at the library that we get and rotate
through. Those entertain her, her being
race who was 5 for hours, She loves those things.
So that's one suggestion. And then Tony box is the other

(01:07:28):
one that I wrote. Now, this one comes with the
caveat that you have to find a flat surface for the Tony box to
go on. Otherwise the Tony falls off.
And if you have a younger kid, then you're reaching back and
adjusting and Tony's and that isan ass you don't want to be
dealing with. But if you find a flat surface
or if you have like one of thosetravel bags for it, the Tony box

(01:07:49):
is awesome because then they cango through all the Tony's or
whatever and has a headphone Jack so they can plug headphones
into it. My sister-in-law, her daughter
has a Yodo Yodo player, Yodo box.
I've heard good things about theYodo player as well.
So that could be an alternative to the Tony Box kid headphones
for the two things that I mentioned before, drawing pads,

(01:08:11):
water wows and things where you just like put water into the pen
and then they can like color pictures.
If that sounds like it might be boring and actually is not.
They have like search and find things in there too.
So there's multiple activities within those books that can
entertain them for a while. Search and find books.
You can get those from the library or Amazon sticker books,
like things where they can peel a sticker off and like make a

(01:08:31):
scene. That's also big entertainment
and then activity. Those like little activity kits
from the dollar store where likeyou open them up and it comes
with like crayons, a coloring book, stickers, whatever, cheap
and they've never seen them before, so they're jazzed about
it. And all of those things plus

(01:08:52):
snacks considered Reese was a breeze.
She was starting to enter the phase at 5 where she's like, are
we there yet? Which is so annoying, but she
like, had a steady stream of things to keep her entertained,
which is great. And then Brooke, she's 2.
Because it works so well for Reece.

(01:09:12):
We were like, hey, here's some headphones, Colton's idea, not
mine, and Playaways. And she listened to Playaways
for a while until she fell asleep.
Adorable. So cute bookworms.
Yeah, Yep. Oh, and oh, that's another
story. Time with Kay is on Spotify and
she reads books. That's all it is, is her reading

(01:09:33):
books and they like play it on the screen or whatever.
She flips the books so the kids can see the pages.
That's another great recommendation.
But yes, both. At least Reese is a book fiend,
which I love. Yeah, I love that she had so
much entertainment out of like, different ways of reading, like
you reading. But then she reads now and she

(01:09:54):
can listen to books like, oh, that's so fun.
It is great, I really do love it.
So yeah, that's my recommendations for must haves.
What do you got? I only put one on here, so
Taylor drove the whole time and I sat passenger.
If Penny needed me, I'd sit in the back and like entertain her
a little bit. And I like offered a 10 times.

(01:10:15):
I'm like, if you get sick of driving, like I'm happy to
drive. But I think after watching me
manage Penny, he's like, I'll drive because I brought, I don't
know, like 4 little like the things that we got her for
Easter, like little animals thatcrinkle and they have a teether

(01:10:35):
and they rattle and all this stuff.
They're little handheld things that she can play with four of
those and then like an actual teether and like a stuffed
animal that when I pull it out, she like goes crazy for she like
smiles and like mouths it and squeals and like it's crazy.

(01:10:57):
And it's like, I didn't know 8 month olds like stuffed animals.
So anyway, I brought an array oftoys and this little girl, I put
one in her lap. She'll look at it 30 seconds
later, she'll throw it over the edge and then I'll give her
another one. She'll throw it over the edge,
right? Like this is like a game that we
play. If she throws it over the edge

(01:11:20):
into the middle of the car, I can easily swipe it back up and,
you know, throw it back in the cycle.
No, no, no, this little girl throws it between her seat and
the door where I cannot reach it.
So I have to speak out the delivery of these toys to make
it like 2 hours before we had another pit stop because we

(01:11:43):
stopped every two hours. And yeah, she lists I was on toy
recovery like the whole time. I hate that.
Like my least favorite job is like toy retrieval.
I don't I don't want to do that and stuff on.
So my must have is to put, if you're in this phase of life

(01:12:06):
where they do this and then theycry as soon as they dump their
toys, but to put a pacifier cliplike on to either your kid or
the car seat. That way when they like throw it
over, it still hangs there. It's not like it's on the floor.
And because my kid was never a pacifier kid, we just have these
pacifier clips and she's never used them.

(01:12:27):
So I told Taylor I was like Oh my God, we are going to start
using the pacifier clips for hertoys for sure.
On level 10, good job. I know, right?
I have something that I can share with new moms.
I can't wait to be that mom. That's like all these little
things I can share with. You, you love me.
Uh, so that's my must have. That's the thing I learned the

(01:12:49):
most. I also was like not going to
bring her baby Bjorn bouncer because I was like, that's just
another thing to to haul. But Taylor's like, no, we need
it. And I'm so glad we brought it.
Thank. God for Taylor.
Yeah, he is an over Packer. He's one that's like why choose
just bring everything. Somebody once told me vacation

(01:13:14):
is just like normal parenting, just in a different location.
So if they nap at certain times,you have to plan for them to nap
at those times. Their naps aren't going to be
different. If they're fussy when they're
tired, they're going to be fussywhen they're tired.
You know, like, plan for the same hiccups you have all the
time, just in a different location.
And how can you accommodate those things?

(01:13:35):
And I think that that's a good expectation when you plan to do
things with your child. It's probably not going to last
nearly as long as you think it was going to.
Like we went to an aquarium and I think we were only there for
like an hour, whereas I would have assumed we would have been
there for like 3 to 4 hours. I agree with this.

(01:13:55):
I don't maybe I don't know, I share the sentiment as well
because regardless, it's for youtoo.
Because if you make the plans, do the thing that you want to
do, make the vacation what you want it to be, but go into that
thinking something could go sideways like this.
We might not be there for four hours, and that's OK because

(01:14:18):
even if you go for a little while and your kids cups full
from that experience, that is OK.
But you have to have as a parent, regulated expectations.
Unlike, yeah, they might not be able to handle this environment
for an extended period of time. And although if I were alone I
would do it for a extended period of time, they might not
be able to handle that. It's just going to help you to

(01:14:40):
have better times. Kids are unpredictable.
Yep. OK, mentally prepare for
potentially overtired and overstimulated kids.
I had mentioned this last night that Reese, who was totally game
and really interested in going to the aquarium, she was
definitely overtired in that environment.

(01:15:00):
And so, you know, I could have like got that rubbed me the
wrong way because I'm like, you know, we're not going to get
this experience all the time. This is, you know, out of the
ordinary for us. Like, I really want you to get
everything out of it, but because of, you know, being out
and about for so long, she did the best she could.
And I could have bought that gotme down, but I get it.

(01:15:24):
Before we move on to your last one, I have to tell you a story
about when we went to the Shedd Aquarium.
We went to the Shed when I was, I don't know, young and my
younger brother was probably like four or five.
So I would have been like 9 or 10.
We were young and they have likea big cafeteria and my younger

(01:15:47):
brother Thomas, four or five years old.
There was a big group of people we went with like family.
So it was a big table. I don't know, maybe somebody
wasn't paying attention to him. He is kind of little attention
home. Like he needs all the attention.
Shout out Thomas. And he ate straight pepper out
of the pepper shaker and barfed all over the table.

(01:16:15):
If you wanted attention, just ask for it.
You don't need to go back. Oh my God, it was so funny.
I mean, it's funny now. Back then, I'm pretty sure my
parents did not think it was funny.
I'm put yourself in their shoes.Would you think it's funny?
No, no, no. But it is funny.

(01:16:36):
Now I do agree. Oh, Thomas.
It is so funny. My last one, I'd have no shame
pulling your phone out because these are memories that they're
going to look back on when they're older and that you're
going to look back on because this is the most fond, fond
memories. I think that most parents are
going to have is taking their kids to experience new things.

(01:16:59):
And so have no shame in documenting that stuff, because
it's something. Before having Penny, I was
completely of the mindset of like, why would you spend so
much money to take your young kid to Disney or to on a
vacation, right? Like why?
That's so dumb. They're not going to remember.

(01:17:21):
And Taylor and I were like, I 100% now know why because it
does everything for you as the parent to watch your kid get
excited. I don't care that they won't
remember. Like I'll remember and watching
my kid go up to a Disney Princess at Disney and be so

(01:17:43):
over the moon about it that I I would do it at 2.
I don't care. My opinion on that has changed
180 since having a kid. Was of the same mindset as you
had just stated and that is whatoriginally led me to do my trip
with just Reese because I was like 1 Brooks second.
I remember it and and I still stand by this Brooke.

(01:18:06):
They just they would have wanted2 very different experiences and
Reese is very into Disney right now is where Brooke like could
name Mickey and Minnie Mouse andthat's essentially it.
But we just went just Reese and I and would not trade it for the
world. It was the absolute best trip
because I got that time with herand like I said she is the best

(01:18:27):
person to do stuff with. She's just so much fun so would
not change it. However, I looked at all these
parents with I think 18 month olds at the time and I was like,
they the pure joy, like from both parties.
They just look so happy. So we're going to probably end

(01:18:48):
up doing it again next year and 100% bringing Brooke.
But yeah, I felt the same way. And I should become Don't tease
me, don't tease me. That would be so fun.
Love that. Next year Penny would be like a
year and a half. That would be so fun.
It it is made for kids of all ages.

(01:19:09):
Like if she's into, well she doesn't even have to be, but
like any it would be great for that age.
Oh, don't talk to the boys. I will make it happen if you say
the word. Then we could go to Harry Potter
world. We've talked about that for
years. They've, I think they extended

(01:19:30):
it too. So there's more to it now and
it's incredible. And you, your, your heart would
explode there. You would love it.
Yes. All right, working around in my
brain now. OK, so All in all, my take away
from this conversation from our vacation, from everything that I

(01:19:52):
now know about traveling with kids is to take the vacation,
right? Like, yes, it's probably going
to be stressful. There are going to be hiccups.
It's going to be uncomfortable to have a kid that throws a fit,
cries in a different setting in public.
Where you feel like you don't have the control you have when
you're at home, but the memoriesthat you make.

(01:20:13):
And just like as a mom, getting out of the house, like doing
something for yourself but also for your family is unmatched.
And I coming from an anxious momthat has struggled quite a bit.
I mean, I would tell you to takethe vacation.
I'm so glad I did. And I was a nervous wreck before

(01:20:35):
we went, so it was worth it. Yeah, definitely take them to
vacation. And I'm a statistic in here for
you that it says studies show a child's most vivid childhood
memories are from vacations and experiences.
And a lot of people say that on TikTok.
Are they travel agents? Probably, but I have heard that
on TikTok quite a bit. So I found a study to back it up

(01:20:58):
and there there was a lot of people in the study.
So it's a valid study, but it's true.
Like if you, I mean, personally just sit back and think about a
lot of your memories if you werefortunate enough to go on trips,
like I guarantee their profound memories, even if it's fuzzy or
like, you know, a little unclear, it's just like blips of
different things. And also put even if the kids

(01:21:20):
can't remember yet, you will. And those are going to be some
of your most fond motherhood memories, which is just as
valuable as your children's memories.
So do it. We used kind of not extreme, but
like larger trip examples like Myrtle Beach from Michigan or to
Disney World. But they can beat small ones

(01:21:41):
too. You can do a we can get away to
a water park. Like it can be anything.
Just because you're not doing something that's like a longer
trip doesn't mean it's any less valuable.
Just things that are intentional.
I mean, I think it all comes down to being intentional and
like stress free, as stress freeas you can be, but that's what

(01:22:02):
the kids will remember. Yeah, I agree.
Somebody told you that somethingabout your yawning, and I'm
yawning so much in this episodes.
They're going to come from me. It's my husband.
Yeah, he told me to. Yeah.
He was like, hey, I'm going to make you some coffee before your
episode because yeah, he's like,because you guys record late and

(01:22:22):
you yawn in your episodes, but. I'm yawning, I don't.
Care we record late guys and we.Record late and.
Bright and early in the morning,so we're yawning.
And there are tornadoes around my house.
Be nice. I just like think to myself like
90% of the people just listen. So if you catch a yawn every

(01:22:45):
once in a while, it's fine. At least only 10% of the people
have to actually watch me on. And we do our best to like edit
that stuff out or and we also. As long as Megan isn't saying
something like awesome and profound while I'm yawning, I'll
try to edit it out. Yeah, but you know, sometimes

(01:23:06):
she says profound things and it just makes me yawn.
OK. All right.
I'm going to quick ask Megan my,my least question for Meg and my
question for you is what is yourleast favorite parenting role?

(01:23:31):
I'll give the disclaimer first that if I had a bunch of time to
think about this, I might have adifferent answer, but one of the
things that just came to mind that I will stand by.
For. All of time is being the parent
who is always responsible for taking the children to the
bathroom because I have two girls and I mean, I can only

(01:23:55):
picture what men's bathrooms look like.
Sometimes the women's bathrooms are foul.
And you know, Coal and I are in agreement on that.
So if if available, I'll be the one to do it, especially with
our five year old. And I hate it.
I hate it so much. And the reason being is because
every meal out is interrupted. Every, every I am.

(01:24:21):
I'm always on the chop. And those kids have small
bladders and they drink way too much water.
So. Yeah, that perhaps it's so it
like get I get an attitude over it.
I've never. Thought about that, but that's
so true. Like, I have thought about the
fact that I don't feel comfortable with Taylor taking

(01:24:47):
Penny into a men's room, right? Pretty much no.
Matter how old she is. Yeah, pretty much no matter how
old she is. What?
I don't think men's rooms have changing tables most of the
times. I do think about that.
Like, Taylor would have a hard time taking her places without

(01:25:07):
me. I mean, like, we just change her
in the car, but whatever. But when they're old enough to
actually go to the bathroom, yeah.
Like, let's say that he took herto the grocery store or
something and she had to pee. Like what do you, what do you
do? All right you make all points
that I completely agree with andthat's the in part part of our

(01:25:29):
decision of why I always do it. But imagine the poor souls that
feel the same way that we feel and have like 4 girls.
Yeah. That sounds terrible.
Terrible. Oh, it's so much worse.
It's so much work. Single dads out there, you got
to tell us what you do. Like, do you just peek your head
and make sure nobody's in the bathroom before?

(01:25:50):
Like. You go, yeah.
What's your tips? Yeah, because not everywhere has
like a family bathroom, Not everywhere has A1 stall, and I'm
sure nobody wants to take their five year old girl into a
bathroom where there's urinals and parts flying about.
And yeah, gross, man. Yeah, right.
Gross. As you and I talked about the

(01:26:11):
other day, you texted me the other day and you said even
women's don't have everything that they need.
Like if you walk and they don't have a changing pad, you should
have a changing pad and you should have a changing pad in
the biggest stall. I come on.
I could not believe it. I went to a car dealership.
I had to get my car serviced. I was there for two hours and

(01:26:32):
the bathroom didn't have a changing table.
I was like, what am I supposed to do?
They have my car. I can't change her in my car
like I normally would. I was so upset.
I was like, are you serious? What am I supposed to do?
What are you supposed to do? Every man that works there who
has ever had a run in with a a mom who had a lesson savory

(01:26:53):
attitude. It's because they went into your
bathroom and they couldn't change their kid properly.
That's why she has an attitude. Add changing tables.
Yeah, come on, I'm a started initiative.
No, you should. I'll support it.
I got to think of a good catchy slogan that'll get attention.

(01:27:15):
OK, let's give ourselves some good feedback for this episode
3. I think that it was.
I mean, I think these just get more and more fun, but I cannot
believe how disjointed this was.I'm surprised we didn't have
three different outfits on. Yeah, yeah.
Oh my gosh. So much, so, so much.
The power going out, the Tornadoes, the siren, and then

(01:27:38):
the phone alert. That's just a lot.
But thankfully, our Molly, somehow, by the grace of God,
her connection has been stunning.
So that's great. What happened?
Like, I don't know, but yeah, oh, this has been so much
better. I think me resetting my Wi-Fi
extender did. It hopefully Ronald figures let

(01:27:59):
us know as we've made it known people are great about giving us
both positive and constructive feedback, which I appreciate
with Raheem again had said, hey,if you're going to like because
I asked for constructive feedback because if I want it
from anyone, this man is one of the people I want it from.
And he said if you are going to note someone, give an intro to

(01:28:23):
who that person is just so everyone else knows because you
2 know and I think you've done anice job of this with Jenna and
you did a great job with Bree. So I did not tell anyone who he
is, which is kind of hysterical.I did my internship at Disney

(01:28:43):
and he worked with me down there.
That's where I met him. And we've maintained a
friendship over this lot, like the last 10 years or so.
We went to Disney. His wife, who I also did the
internship with, was our travel agent and she was great.
And yeah, we've just like maintained a friendship over the
years. He came to my wedding and that's

(01:29:06):
who he is. So I'll, I will be better about
making sure that I introduce people.
Yeah. Thanks for the feedback.
We will do that still. We'll probably click in the
microphone all the time and yawnmicrophone, but I will introduce
people that I can manage. Yes, I will sniffle when I'm
sick and I will yawn because I'mtired.
I'm a human being and the more complaints I get, the more I'll

(01:29:29):
leave in. Test me, people.
He has a good sense of humor, soI'll have something funny to
say. I'll let you guys know.
Start prepping now. Or him.
I need to read it on the next episode.
Oh my gosh, I I don't think I'm talking about my husband as much
as I've talked about humans. So.
We love you, Colton. All right, Ready to end this

(01:29:53):
shindig? Yeah.
You want to take it away. All right, help us build a
culture with moms at the forefront by sharing our
episodes with the moms in your life who could use a little
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(01:30:13):
to keep the conversation going with you on Instagram, Tiktok,
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Please consider rating our show on the podcast platform that you
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(01:30:35):
need as a new podcast listen. Thank you.
Cool. All right guys, have a great day
and don't forget to quarter yourkids grapes.

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