Speaker 1: Made a decision a face sunny sun on I had
o vision.
Speaker 2: It's night.
Speaker 1: What's up everybody? It's uh for crying out loud?
Speaker 2: Yes? What? Okay? You know how normally it feels like
it's been two weeks. Yes, for some weird reason, it
feels like it's been three days because it.
Speaker 1: Kind of has been now. But yeah, did we didn't record, No.
Speaker 3: No, we did record, but we recorded two days close
to each other.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, but we did record last Monday. So it
has been one week. But it is still because not
much goes on in our lives.
Speaker 2: Nothing nothing. The only thing that's going on, honestly, is
or that went on is something that I can only
talk about on Patreon. I can't wait. Yeah, okay, and
you'll know why immediately. But literally, that's the thing that's
been like, right, it was kind of clogging up my week.
But so I don't know, although I do have okay,
I have a little bit. Also big news producer Gary's
in the house.
Speaker 1: That's right, Yay, what's up guys? Hi producer Gary? Hi?
Speaker 2: Gary?
Speaker 4: I know I think we should come out of the
gate and say that Kaylen is feeling a lot better.
Speaker 1: Oh good.
Speaker 4: I'm just doing him as solid here because we're all
looking out for bald Bryan, who's got I don't know,
he's sick or something. Yeah, he's's always complaining about shit.
I don't know, his ass hurts or something. But yeah,
Kaylen's feeling a lot better and he's at home, you know,
falling along as.
Speaker 1: We speak, so that's good.
Speaker 3: So yeah, he's just gotten a few more days to
stay home so that he can come back, and he's
out of the woods and not infect everybody here, which
is nice.
Speaker 2: Yeah, although let it be known that he already tested negative. Right,
So we were fine, Yes, we're no snowflakes. We were like,
come on, man, we're ready for you.
Speaker 4: Calen actually was fine too and really wanted to come in.
Chris told him no, and Kaitlyn emailed me for my thoughts,
and I kind of yelled at him that he would
probably be in trouble with the boss man if he
was seen here and then wasn't here for the next
four days. So we're just we're just covering each other.
But he's doing really well.
Speaker 2: Good.
Speaker 4: Good, Good to see you guys.
Speaker 1: Good to see you too.
Speaker 2: Gary.
Speaker 1: We're all gonna talk to you later.
Speaker 2: Cool. Yeah, but how are you, Gary.
Speaker 4: I'm good, I'm I have a two and a half
year old. I'm tired. You know, it's a it was
a and it was a weird, h weird curveball to
have the world shut down when he was, you know,
eight or nine months old.
Speaker 1: So uh yeah, do you have to put a mask
on him?
Speaker 4: If we ever, when we put him on a plane
in a few months, we're gonna have to. He's gonna
be a Paul or a ring bear in a wedding,
and so we're gonna have to figure that out. We're
trying to train him a little bit now. But down
where I live, we don't have to do it to
go places. We just it's only when we get to
airports and stuff.
Speaker 3: M interesting, poor thing. It breaks my heart when I
see young.
Speaker 1: Kids with masks. It really, it just did. It looks
so unnatural when you see like a toddler walking in
with a mask.
Speaker 2: I know, I cannot believe how long this has gone.
I know. Also when you have a baby moving into
toddler years, all of the things that like make your
life sane, Like I mean, I know this is gonna
sound insane, but remember all those indoor playground places.
Speaker 1: That's what I.
Speaker 2: Dependent on that for my sanity. When you bring them
there's a bunch of like absolutely rubber hea stuff for
them to climb on, and a little kitchen. Yes, you
bring their asses there. You pay met an hour on
there to talk to and you let them play for
two hours and they love it. But those places are
all closed for COVID. Yeah, it's hat because you can't
keep them ano. They're open to Gary.
Speaker 4: Down where I live, there are a few that are open.
It's it's tough up in La County, but in Orange
County they've been a little bit more flexible about it.
So they weren't obviously open, you know, twenty twenty, but
as twenty twenty one, as things started to calm, things
those open back up. So I've spent a lot of
time at places like that.
Speaker 2: Oh really, okay, that's good. Okay. And I'm not even
just talking about like Scooter's Jungle or I'm talking about
like some of those real kind of shitty ones, yes,
where it's just not even that much stuff, but the
little little babies love.
Speaker 3: It, they do, especially those ones at the mall. That's
those are the worst. Those are you feel like you
got thrown into a you know, a silkwood shower.
Speaker 2: Afterwards, I told remember this story, this is from a
million years ago, but when Albie was a baby. This
is like a classic for crying out loud parent fail.
This is so. I had brought Alby to the one
at the Sherman Oaks. Yeah, and they used to have
that one used to have a little like it was
like a little look like a canoe, yeah in there,
and she in the canoe and I went to like
pick her up, and there was a puddle underneath her.
She'd peep through her diaper. I think I had I'd
traveled with one extra diaper and I'd already used it.
I didn't know what I mean. Usually you're kind of
aware of how much fluids they've had. I just wasn't
thinking about it. Pudd doh, like like the boat had
taken on water, you know what I mean. At her
feet are in it, like and I was like, oh no,
So I pick her up, and then I have to
pretend like it wasn't me, like nothing or I didn't
see anything, like I just pick her up, carry her
out of there like with purpose, like, oh no, it's
just our time to go nothing happened here, and then
pray that nobody walks over there immediately after and it's like,
what the hell, Hey, lady, go get some paper towels.
I was like that, I'm not getting paper towels. But
then I have to put her in the stroller, right,
you know, Yeah, but then you got only eighteen months
old at this point. Yeah, then I get her. I like,
I'm holding her. I don't want everything to get wet.
I mean, you have to understand the diaper's gone, right,
I mean it's on her, but it's hanging and it's
the boat water. So I have to take the diaper off.
I don't have another diaper, So now I have to
buckle her into her car seat just basically the strap
just right over her little baby bits, totally bottomless, and
then I have to pray that she doesn't pee up
the car seat. I'm right, And you have that nervous
feeling like please, don't please. Let that have been everything
that had to come out, right, that's what you're hoping for.
Speaker 1: Yeah, did I.
Speaker 2: Learn my lesson? No? Because half of our shows at
the beginning were about how I forgot.
Speaker 1: We always had to fucking mood shit off of other moms.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I couldn't mooch anything off of like I mean,
that would have been a whole cashaw like, hey, does
anybody have a size two or through whatever size diapers
and diaper and then they would have known. Then they
would have probably gone to investigate. I don't know.
Speaker 1: No in that area. You need to get out of there.
Speaker 4: Quick.
Speaker 2: Waiting for a call from.
Speaker 4: Man.
Speaker 2: We were looking over the video and her daughter was
the last one to be Hello, who is this?
Speaker 1: So Natalia is back?
Speaker 2: Oh how was it?
Speaker 1: Well? It could have go any other way? So everything
was fine.
Speaker 3: She gets there, fine, it's Florida, the weather's nice.
Speaker 1: She picks her up. You know, they like watch movies,
well movies.
Speaker 3: They watch a lot of real housewives together because Auntie
Wendy's got the what's it called the Peacock Network. There's
the Miami Housewives. There's all these housewives that a lot
of catching up for Natalia.
Speaker 1: They go to the beach for a little bit.
Speaker 2: And how come Natalia will watch it with Anti Wendy. Yeah,
that's good question.
Speaker 1: Won't watch great question? Are you kidding? When she's with
Aunty Wendy?
Speaker 2: Sure, can we watch one Housewives.
Speaker 3: Oh my god, she won't watch anything with me and
nothing like I'll say.
Speaker 1: You want to watch a movie tonight? I'm tired. I
gotta do my homework.
Speaker 2: This is my life.
Speaker 1: Zoom's calling. I don't know, Like I got snapchat ship
to do.
Speaker 2: Sadie could be dying of boredom, like anything to do.
I'm like, let's watch something. I guess I'm gonna do.
Just found something in my room. I gonna stare at
my gym collection.
Speaker 1: Sonny loves watch.
Speaker 2: No, Xander won't watch anything with me. Neither will I'll
be yeah, see Sonny will.
Speaker 3: Sonny loves to like show me these new dumb shows
that he thinks is hilarious.
Speaker 1: Right, Like, there's like some animated superhero show the uh,
I don't know, Incredible, the something right, Yeah, Invincible. Do
you know what I'm talking about? Gary?
Speaker 4: The Eternals?
Speaker 2: Is that it?
Speaker 4: No, I don't know. I don't. I don't think that's animated.
That's just a Marvel thing. No, I don't know what
you're talking about.
Speaker 3: It's an animated and it's kind of funny, and it's
a dad who's teaching his son how to be a superhero.
Speaker 2: Yeah. No, thanks.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's just I watched the first episode and I
fell asleep. He's like, I guess you didn't like it,
And I was like, uh, but he does like to
watch movies and stuff with me, but not I Talia.
Speaker 2: Right, So she's all all yours and eyes for anti
wind right for the housewives.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 1: So day three I get a phone call. Uh huh,
hi mom? Do you Oh?
Speaker 3: By the way, so the first day she was there,
she we have a zoom call with the teachers. I
don't know if you remember, right before Christmas break how
I laid into the teachers, the assistant principle, and the
teacher was that that hughes Natalia of plagiarism. But then
I said, maybe if she wasn't so fucking bored and
checked out at your class, then maybe she would be
and not afraid to approach you and ask questions.
Speaker 1: Maybe she wouldn't have to. That's your fault.
Speaker 3: She played her now, But I talked. I told this
whole story. But I sent the email and I was like,
my son, same exact teacher, across the way, subject, same subject, sorry,
across the way, different teacher, but teaching the same subject
history or uh all right, yeah whatever, huh, who cares anyway?
Speaker 1: Across the way cats out of that.
Speaker 2: You're not You're not mentioning any names. No, I'm not.
Speaker 3: It's a lot of history teachers in the same time tongues, okay,
but teaching the same thing. My son loves that class
and is very engaged, and he's like everybody loves that teacher,
and you know, blah blah. Anyway, online, they said, let's
have a meeting when after the break, let's get on,
let's have a zoom with Natalia and her counselor and
we'll talk about switching up her schedule.
Speaker 1: Blah blah blah.
Speaker 2: Okay, so we have love my Patreon this week.
Speaker 1: Oh boy, go on.
Speaker 3: So we have a zoom call scheduled for the next morning.
So Natalia leaves Monday next morning Tuesdays at seven forty five,
but actually ten forty five her time zoom meeting.
Speaker 1: Yeah ten And I.
Speaker 2: Know I was doing the math too, Yeah, yeah, so
she got to sleep in.
Speaker 1: Yeah, she got to sleep in.
Speaker 3: But also though she's got to do her whole week
there right on zoom. But class didn't start yet for her,
and I I just realized it right then and there
how is she gonna like hang out with Antie Wendy,
you go to the beach and stuff when she's got.
Speaker 1: Class all day, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: By the time she's done, it's gonna be she's three
hours ahead.
Speaker 1: The whole day is gone. What were you thinking, Natalia?
Speaker 4: Right?
Speaker 1: What was I thinking? But oh well, but she figured
it out anyway. She was online every day.
Speaker 3: So we have our zoom meeting and they switched her
into the.
Speaker 1: Teacher.
Speaker 3: Oh, same period, so her and Sunny for the first
time have the same class together.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, Sadie and Xander have a couple of classes
together and they love it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, Sonny, I don't think he's gonna be too happy.
Like he was like, is Natalia really in my class?
And I was like, yep, but I don't know she
has you know what.
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, but he needs to get over it because
they are old enough where they live fairly separate lives. Yes,
they their own friends, They do a lot of their own.
It's not like it's not like when you're a little
kid and you're just like with a twin and you
share a room and together all day long, every day,
and you don't want to see them in your Yeah,
he's fine, he's fine, he's fine with it. I had
conversations with both of them about the two of them
getting along better, which I'll tell you.
Speaker 1: But so yeah, so that worked out.
Speaker 3: But but she's on zoom for like a minute in
this meeting, like two minutes into it, and the thing
freezes up and it gets like she can't get She's like, sorry,
wi fi is bad here, and I'm like, oh great,
that's how it's going to be the rest of the week.
Speaker 1: That's awesome. But she managed to pull it off.
Speaker 2: And uh so does the teacher that you're not fond
of in that zoom?
Speaker 3: No, she's done good. Yeah, Okayan on switching her. So
I didn't have to ever talk to her ever again. Okay, Well,
couldn't they have just emailed you? That would have been
nice that zoom because they wanted to talk to Natalia.
They wanted to put better things in place, better like better,
you know, what more can we do for you to
get you to you know, uh do better?
Speaker 1: In school?
Speaker 3: One of the things that all the teachers complained about
was she's on her phone too much. So the assistant
principal really like talk to her and like on a
nice level, Like when I was in college, this is
what I would do because I was tempted to be
on the phone. So I did this, And maybe if
you put your phone up up at the desk, you know,
that could help at the teacher's desk. Before I doubt
how he's gonna I was gonna say that, right, fat chance.
Speaker 1: But but he asked her so many questions.
Speaker 3: He really like like got down on her level, and
she was like, yeah, that that would help, this would help,
blah blah blah blah blah. So they put more stuff
in place for her, which was nice. So that's why
they wanted to have a meet. Why do I have
to be in on that meeting?
Speaker 4: Though?
Speaker 2: What if you know, you know they're all heyd so right, yeah,
just tell them to tell you. Hey, by the way,
but M moved your class, right she in the other period?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Okay. So now you're a couple days into her trip. Yes,
I say you because somehow you're involved, right, and a
lot of it getting on the zoom call. Yeah, that
gets straightened down. She's happy. A couple days later, mid midweek,
I get the phone call from Natalia.
Speaker 1: Hey, mom, uh.
Speaker 2: Oh, no, I no, I knew what's gonna happen, but
I'm braced back.
Speaker 3: And do you have my health insurance and phone? By
any chance? Do you have my Social Security number? By
any chance? I?
Speaker 1: Uh? Why?
Speaker 3: And she's like, Oh, we're just a care where urgent care?
Why are you at urgent care?
Speaker 2: Mmmm?
Speaker 1: Auntie, Wendy's not feeling good, she's got a fever and
we're getting tested.
Speaker 2: Oh no, of course she does.
Speaker 3: Like she was sick when we got to Chicago. She
was like, at the end of being sick. Tested a
bunch of times.
Speaker 1: Nothing.
Speaker 3: Okay, so far Wendy hasn't had We don't think she's
had COVID, but I think she could have possibly had
it when we went to Chicago, and I think, I
don't know whatever, But now she's got.
Speaker 1: It it probably has it now.
Speaker 3: Then she didn't have it before, she doesn't have She
still doesn't have because she tested negatives. So Natalia and
her went to get tested negative. Oh so then Natalia's
whole thing was, yeah, I might have to hunk her
down here for a few more days.
Speaker 1: I'm not going to be able to fly, right if
you can't fly.
Speaker 2: Here if she's positive, right, so she's already banking on
being because she's like, I mean, right, and then I'm
just trying to look out for the rest of the population. Mom.
Speaker 1: Right, She's like a superhero.
Speaker 3: Even when she was tested negative, she was like, yeah,
but Auntie Winnie really feels like she's got it. So
we're going back in like two or three days to
get tested again. I was like, and then you know,
we might I might have to.
Speaker 1: Like stay here.
Speaker 3: Plus Auntie Wenny's gonna be by herself. Who's gonna help her,
Who's gonna take care of her?
Speaker 1: And I'm like, oh.
Speaker 3: My god, Natalia, She's like, I'm just saying you might
want to look into the flights.
Speaker 2: I love the fact that when you were there over
the holiday, she was like, how can I get home
as fast as possible? And now she's like, how can
I stay here longer?
Speaker 1: Uh huh.
Speaker 3: She must be having a good time. So she she
did have a great time. Everybody tested negative.
Speaker 2: So you brought her home?
Speaker 1: Yes, she came home. Yeah, Then she came home.
Speaker 3: Then she tells me I'm planning a Valentine's party and
I'm like, oh, no, you're not at our house. No,
you're not You're never having a party again. Remember your
last party? Nope, not having a party. Why, oh my god.
Speaker 1: It's like she is like it's it's she is like
a like she just won't let things go. She just is.
It's assaulting, is what it is, because like you think
you're you're you're in the clear. When you tell her no, Carrie.
Speaker 2: Is laughing so loud.
Speaker 4: It just doesn't sound like anyone else. I know.
Speaker 3: Oh right, somebody.
Speaker 4: Won't let something go.
Speaker 2: Are you saying one nuttes like that?
Speaker 4: No, I'm saying someone who zones in on you and
will not let the thing go until they get the
answer they want. It sounds like nothing I've ever heard before.
Speaker 3: Gary's witnessing Adam every single day on again see.
Speaker 2: Four.
Speaker 4: I've grown up with her, I know, I know, I.
Speaker 3: Know it's true she is. I would hope that she's
going to be a lawyer someday.
Speaker 1: I really do.
Speaker 3: She should be, because she just won't let anything go,
and she's got to do like a whole preason.
Speaker 1: She did, like a whole PowerPoint presentation to Adam for
her car. Why should she get Why should she get
a car? Yes? I wasn't there for that, but yeah,
she did a whole presentation.
Speaker 2: I mean, maybe she should have used Google slides. I'm
just saying, I'm not like gonna turn out, not just kidding. Okay, yeah, yes,
but she didn't need to do that because he wants
to buy her car anyway. Right, that's between those two.
My name's Paul.
Speaker 3: That's between that's their issues, not my problem. But I
was like, you're not having a party, so so like, No.
What I was saying is like I think I'm in
the clear. Right, I go to bed and get in bed.
I'm like, it's been a long day. I put on
some Yellowstone and then it's like, mom, no, she does
a video with her and her friend, Candygram. Let me
just show ndra video.
Speaker 1: Look, you don't want to hear that lant shark.
Speaker 2: You're not telling you about lamp shark coming asked me about.
Speaker 3: A party, Candygram party, Graham. She comes in and she
shows me video that she does. You don't want to
disappoint Little Annie and Katie?
Speaker 1: Do you you love my friend.
Speaker 2: Have a party at their house? This is Corolla. Can
we play?
Speaker 3: I'm like, no, I do want to disappoint them. No,
you're not having a party in my house. End of
story period, end of story. So I had to Yeah, she.
Speaker 2: I think you standing strong?
Speaker 1: Betch I'm not doing that again. Hell no, I don't
want to have the ageta of worrying about you know.
Speaker 2: Plus, I feel like a couple of those parents wouldn't
let their kids come back over for a while.
Speaker 1: That's what I That's what I said.
Speaker 2: I'd be like, wait, who's supervising?
Speaker 3: Exactly? Dad in his bathroom? Mom not there? Like no,
uh huh, yeah, so that's that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, interesting, you know, speaking of like putting your foot down. Yeah,
I'm so glad that I put my foot down with
I'll be getting a job. Remembering how I had to
like how she was like, but maybe I don't want
to have a job. I was like, oh, hell, yes
you do. Maybe I want to work at PACSN No
you don't. Maybe I want to think about this more. No,
you're gonna say yes. But guess what. She's worked. She
had two shifts. She worked, So how's it going? That's
aweso loving it. She was high as a kite. She worked.
Speaker 1: She did a zoom not literally was she.
Speaker 2: Yes, it's a very loose environment there. She she did
like a zoom training which she was kind of disappointed
about because she was planning to go in there and
train and they did it over zoom, so she was like,
oh no, yeah, COVID, yeah, you know, ruin my plans.
But then so that was like Wednesday, and then they
said could you come in. Then the guy was like, hey,
do you want to wait till omicrons died down or
do you want to come in? And she was like no, no, no,
I want to come in. So he's like, okay, come
in on Saturday. So she was there Saturday for four hours.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 2: She was super anxious before she went in, like having
full on old school anxiety attack for her. I don't
want to say anxiety attack, but I want to say
that kind of anxiety where there's no reason for it.
And I try to talk to her about it and go, okay, well,
I try to channel like what would her therapists say,
you know, okay, well what do you think what's the
worst case scenario? First of all, she didn't really want
to drive there, and I understand, you know when you're
the first time you do something, and there's a lot
of components to it, like where are you going to park?
Like what if you get into the parking lot and
it's all full? Is there? What's the backup plan? You know,
you've never been at a job before. Am I supposed to?
Is getting there early? Really cringey?
Speaker 1: Right?
Speaker 2: Right? Right? But I don't want to be late, Like
what's the purf? What's the sweet spot?
Speaker 1: You know?
Speaker 2: You don't know?
Speaker 4: Right?
Speaker 2: So, and everything at her age makes her feel stupid,
like what if I don't understand the parking situation? What
if I?
Speaker 1: So?
Speaker 2: I was like, elb, would it help you if I
just drove it's six minutes away. I was like, what
it help if I just drove you there and dropped
so we could we can look at it together. We'll
pull in the parking lot and see the scope out
the stitch. And she was like, oh my god, would
you I go, yeah, no problem. So we pull in
the parking lot and actually, sure enough, the guy's like, okay,
nine dollars, And I was like, she works here.
Speaker 1: And the guys not tell her that, like anything about
the parking and like.
Speaker 2: I think, well, so normally she would get a ticket
and then they would give her a monthly pass. Okay,
but the ticket thing was out of order, so they
were just charging her. I guess you do. I don't
know how it would have worked, but it would have
overwhelmed her. She would have been already upset, like I
don't have night, you know whatever. Okay, anyway, long story short,
I go, can we just I just need like a
ten minute grace period. I just want to pull into
the parking lot and I'm going to come right back out.
And the girl was like, okay, go ahead. So I
pull in. There's tons of parking, so she feels better
about that. But now it's way too early, because of
course she was standing at the door like let's go,
let's go, and I'm like, okay, but you realize it's
like going to be seven minutes from our door there,
and we're leaving thirty minutes early. You're gonna be early.
We left like thirty five minutes. She was like, no,
I want to make sure I'm there on time. Okay, Well,
now we're twenty minute We were literally twenty minut's early.
So I go, okay, Well, why don't you just like
go up there and see if they need you to
fill out paperwork? And she was like oh what, no,
like are you kidding me? Like how do you how?
How well, do you not know me if you're thinking
I'm gonna walk in anywhere twenty minutes early. I was like, okay,
all right, fifteen She's like no, I go ten. And
then I said, I go. You could go in there
and just say hey, I got here a little early
in case you need me to do paperwork. What if
they don't need me to do paperwork? I go, Albie,
it's not on the honor system. They don't go. What's
your name again? Oh, Elbie Taylor. Okay, here's a check, right,
I go. They every job that you have, it's official.
This is a real thing. You have to fill up paperwork. Well,
I don't know if you do it on the first day.
I'm like, and.
Speaker 1: Also makes her look good. You know that she's early, but.
Speaker 2: She is so anxious. She doesn't care. She doesn't she
doesn't she's she just needs to do something one time
and then she's fine.
Speaker 1: Right right. I get it. I totally get it.
Speaker 2: So I was like, okay, So we drove around the
block a few times and then we pulled out. We
pulled over and at like she was had to be
there at four, So at like three point fifty two,
I was like Okay, go you'll be seven minutes early.
It's fine. So she did. I knew she'd be fine
the second she was in there. Of course, she came home.
I you know, she was so happy. She was like,
oh my god, it was so fun. I was so fun.
I have a job.
Speaker 4: Oh I know.
Speaker 2: And then the very next day they had her come
in for a five hour shift. Really yeah, so she
was super excited. That's nice. She went, she spent the
whole day. She was tired, she took a disco nap.
Speaker 1: Nice.
Speaker 2: She went out with their friends and then, you know,
but she was so happy. She feels she's so far
the youngest, but most of the other kids are about
her age. They're like eighteen, she's seventeen. The kids are
like eighteen nineteen, ye and then the manager's roll in
their twenties.
Speaker 1: So she's like, she probably she fits right in.
Speaker 2: But I'm so glad I didn't listen to her. Oh
try to wheezel a lot, right, right, that's great. That's
such a great fun first job.
Speaker 1: I know.
Speaker 2: But you know, I'm just saying the pain of when
she was just kept putting off, like applying or doing
her resume and having to be like, no, you're not
going out to lunch. You're going to stay home and
you're going to apply for a job.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 2: You feel like a bitch doing it, but like they
need it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, I know. I know makes Sonny go
get a job.
Speaker 2: I don't is he's not little.
Speaker 3: Too young, but as soon as he hits you know, sixteen,
he doesn't want to drive as much as Natalia, Which
I'm like, you know, come on, buddy, get in the
car and drive my car around the block.
Speaker 2: Oh isn't Natalia is old enough to have her Uh
she does have it?
Speaker 1: Yeah permit, Yeah, she has her permit.
Speaker 2: She already got it.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, oh my god. Yeah she was on top
of it. I know, I didn't even know she did
it all by herself. Well, all her friends are older
than her, so she they she knew exactly what to do.
A lot of her friends actually have cars now, like
you know, they had drive in there, you know whatever.
But like she that's why she keeps badgering at him
because in June of this year, she's gonna be ready
for her life. She's gonna have her license. So, yeah,
she has her permit. So she's been driving with me
a lot. She's been driving Olga a lot. She by
the way, I was d I was. I was that
night I got home from the airport. Remember I went
to the airport. No that Yeah, that night I came
home with Sunny. My car wasn't charged up.
Speaker 1: I was gone. Yeah, so I'm sitting there waiting for
it to charge up.
Speaker 3: Blah blah blah blah blah blah. So then, uh, then
I'm leaving. It's like eight thirty. Get in the car.
Speaker 1: I pull out.
Speaker 3: Adam's car comes up the driveway, and you know, Adam
and I just kind of pass each other and way,
that's about it. And I pull and I pull up
and I look over and it's Natalia. She looks so
little in his suv, like she's like barely. I'm like,
what is Dad in the car with you? She goes, no,
Dad asked me to take his car to go get gas.
I was like, well, the gas station is literally like
at the end of our street, residential street, there's an
Exxon station. So she just went there and I go, oh, really,
that's interesting. Which you went to the one at the
end of the street. Yes, yes, I'm like, oh, okay.
Speaker 2: Does she know how that's amazing that. I'm more impressed
that she knows how to get gas because Elbie's been
driving now for a long time and was like, Mom,
the car's running out of gas.
Speaker 3: She showed me that she broke her nail because she
was frustrated, and she's like, I didn't know what to do.
Speaker 1: Dad didn't answer the phone. I didn't know how to
get the thing open. I had asked somebody to help
me open the thing. I go, why didn't you ask
Dad how to do it? Didn't you did? She's like,
I knew.
Speaker 3: He asked me what side it's on, and I knew
that because he plugs in his car sometimes it's like
a half it's a hybrid, and so like she knew
what side it was on, but she didn't know how
to open the thing. It's one of those things that
you push and it pops open. Except she was trying
and trying and trying. She broke her acrylic nail, and
then she had to ask somebody.
Speaker 1: And she's like, and he was so rude.
Speaker 3: He went dink and he opened it, no problem, and
he looked at me like I was dumb, Like, I'm sure,
look at you, And she goes yeah.
Speaker 1: She was like all flustered, and I was like, well, okay,
now you know how to do it.
Speaker 2: So hold on. Adam's car also a Tesla.
Speaker 3: No, it's not, no something else I don't it's a
I don't know what it is.
Speaker 4: It's a Lincoln Aviator, but it's one that's a plug
in hybrid. So like the Prius is a hybrid, but
it just doesn't you don't plug it in. It just
gets battery from the brakes. Now they make some that
have like a small batteries, can go like fifty miles
on electric only and then switches over to gas.
Speaker 2: You get that car.
Speaker 1: I didn't know.
Speaker 3: I didn't really realize it until he started taking my
Tesla charger and putting his own chart. You're on top
of it, which was recently, And I never see the
car because I'm.
Speaker 1: Never He's never there when I'm there, got it? But
I don't know.
Speaker 2: Maybe I look, I just think you would do better
with a hybrid. Yeah, I think so options, Yes, Like
you don't need to be sweating running out of battery.
I have the gas as a backup, right, That's all
I'm saying. Yeah, Hey, you know what we This almost
doesn't feel like an ad because sometimes we just like
to talk about Audible. That's right, we're happy Audible. Yeah,
the latest book you're reading. I should have looked this
up on my phone before we started doing this ad.
But are you listening to anything on audible?
Speaker 1: I was? What did I was because I was traveling,
so I downloaded Oh the Power of Now I downloaded,
but I haven't listened to it yet by eckhart Tolly. Yeah,
I wanted to hear I wanted to listen to that
and they but by the way, they got so many
I have so many books in my library.
Speaker 3: And you know what I love about Audible. I always credits,
which is me too, Me too.
Speaker 2: I was listening to now, this is an oldie book, Goodie,
But I was listening to Oh my gosh, here's you Yes,
because I wanted to listen to it again. I wanted
to listen to it instead of read it. I read
it the first time. But have you ever heard of
the book Drinking a Love Story. It's a book about
an alcoholic. But I read it way before I was
an alcoholic, Back when I back when I didn't know
I was an alcoholic at all, and just thought I
liked to I was alcohol enthusiast.
Speaker 1: Yes, I read that book.
Speaker 2: It's really good. It's by Carolyn Knapp kN App. But anyway,
here's what I love about Audible as well. Yes, you
always have credits. You sign up, and you will never
anytime you want to read a book or listen to
a book.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 2: First of all, I'm addicted to my phone, so I
like to be sometimes playing a game on my phone,
and then I can still feel like I'm reading. That's
the best feeling about it. The feeling of accomplishment of
you read a book, but you weren't. Actually you could
walk the dog, right, you could do the dishes, and
you can still be really enjoying a book. Yeah, and
you still can get the feeling of like, can't put
it down.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah.
Speaker 3: Actually it's the best if you're working out and listening
to it, because then it really inspires you to go
back to the gym again the next day because you
want to hear the book.
Speaker 2: Yes, with some uninterrupted time. Nice. Yes, So so Gary
talk to us a little bit more about parenthood challenges.
If you're still according to our schedule, you're still officially
in the mill room.
Speaker 4: Oh, no doubt. I mean, I look in the span
of time, I look back and it feels like I'm not.
But you know, I know, looking from a ten thousand
foot view that I definitely am. Yeah, I mean, COVID
definitely threw things for a very severe loop because you know,
for the longest time, it was a lot of concern.
I mean, and obviously there still is to a certain extent.
But you know, luckily down in Orange County, things are
a little bit looser, or they were certainly when things
were more of a lull. You know, obviously the world
changes every day, but we're we're able to do a
little bit more and we've kind of, you know, we've
been able to get him out kind of for you know,
mini trips and stuff like that. So just kind of
focusing on things that he enjoys.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's awesome. He's not in preschool, right he is? Oh,
he is, and does he like it?
Speaker 4: He loves it. He just he started he started sometime
last year, I think at the end of the beginning
of August. He started with two days a week, half day.
He kind of goes eight eight thirty in the morning
and he's picked up around twelve thirty or one and
then in the new year we expanded that to three days.
Speaker 1: Did he have a hard time the first day at first?
Or was he like by uh no?
Speaker 4: The first week was sort of it was it was
a roller coaster. The first day he was so he
was sort of confused, it's what was going on? And
then day two and three it was by and then
day four and five it was don't you dare to
leave me here? You know? And then now he's back
to He just absolutely loves it. So that's the best
that we have. There's really good teachers, and it's in
our neighborhood so we can like walk to it.
Speaker 1: So it's that's nice. Oh, that's so nice.
Speaker 2: Elbie loved preschool. You'd be it's surprising since she has anxiety,
but she not really separation anxiety. She was like bye bye.
Speaker 4: Huh yeah.
Speaker 2: First day I was the one crying. I was like,
she's just going to be there and I'm going to
be at a meeting, eating you know, muffins with the parents,
and and she was not happy to see me. When
I came back, She's like, wait already, I don't want
to go home. The next day, I was expecting maybe
a change, but no, the entire time she and she
was she started early days, but then I would pick
her up and she'd be like, why don't I get
to stay with the other kids, Why don't I get
to nap here? And I was like, well, if you
want to, sure you can.
Speaker 4: You know, so that's right where we are where it's like,
he's still on early days for three days a week,
but as soon as he asked to stay, we'll.
Speaker 1: Let him, right.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's just and we're it's a it's a cool
little thing that does like the Christmas play and the
costume parade and all, which I'm sure every preschool does,
but it's just super nice that it's so close to
our house. And it's like, so if they do something
in the morning, it's like a nine am costume parade
or something like I can do it on the way
to work and not be late. Yeah, which is really
really fortunate.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's nice.
Speaker 3: I remember a little costume parade at my preschool.
Speaker 1: I have a picture of it.
Speaker 3: Like Natalia was a katy Perry, always ahead of her time,
always ahead of her time, and Sonny was an angry bird.
And it was before angry birds were really anything. I
had to make his costume later, like the next year.
Speaker 2: It was.
Speaker 4: That was back when it was just a game and
it wasn't a movie yet. Right when it became a movie,
the merchandise went everywhere. Right, it was just a game
back then.
Speaker 3: Yes, And he I had to make his little costume,
which I don't know how, I don't know what I did,
but and I like, you know that he was playing
it on my phone every time we picked up, and
we had an iPad at home, and we had it
on the iPad and he just figured it out, like
just sat there and played all day long on that
thing and was like, I don't want to be an
angry bird. But yeah, it was so cute. It was
the best.
Speaker 1: Like when they're like little like that and they're in
a little preschool car.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 2: The only problem though with this age two and a
half is they start to have little tantrums about things
because they're not good with Like I remember that Elbe
was like such a good girl always and became really
good again, but that was the age where she would
start to argue about like she didn't want to leave
the park, you know. And I had a babysitter because
I was writing at that time. Our babysitter Andrea is
a lover to this day, full circle. I think I
told you this. Andrea is married and has kids, and
Elbie babysit for kids. Crazy, But Andrea was the only
time Andrew was ever like, yeah, it was a little
tough today because elb like she's like a where like Penelope.
If she doesn't want to go for a walk anymore,
like she'll just dig her heels in. And that was
like el toddler version of it. I'll be like, oh no, like, no,
I'm staying at the park. Yeah, and she was like no,
because it's actually first he tried to reason with its
actually though, actually though we have to go home because
mommy's waited. Whatever it is, No, I want to stay
at the park, though, I want to stay at the park. No,
we're leaving the park now. No.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Then they did that thing where they just drop their
body to the floor. Yes they yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah, And my son's probably too big for Joy to
move him if he really puts his mind to it.
He doesn't know that yet, but if he really decided
to actively fight against her, like I don't know if
she could get him into this, into the wagon or
the stroller or whatever they have. But yeah, you brought
up the park. Right after my son was born, we
saw a news story that the city we live in
was investing five million dollars to redo all the parks
over the course of the next seven years, and I went, well,
that's really cool. They'll probably finish ours up right when
he turns eight and doesn't want to go to the
park exactly. It turned out first one was the one
in our neighborhood, so it opened about two months ago.
He's got a brand new park that's all space themed.
It's got that new foam stuff with the sand and
the grass and the new jungle. It's so lucky.
Speaker 1: That's nice. Yeah, we are just setting to the.
Speaker 2: Park by himself, you know what I mean, teaching some
independent What if we just became so out of touch
with parenting young kids. That's how long it's been. Just
like he's advice, like, point him, it's close, right, just
point him in the director.
Speaker 1: He'll be good.
Speaker 2: Pack him some pirates booty like and you know, a backpack,
give him a little backpack.
Speaker 4: It wasn't that long ago that that wasn't that insane.
We know the family lives on the corner right by
the park. Their house faces it. His step uncle lives
two houses down for the park, like he'd probably be.
Speaker 1: All right, do right a dog with him?
Speaker 3: Right, Doc comes back, Bye bye Doggie. I just every
time we think of the park, I just remember Gina Kimmel, like,
I am not going to the park with you. After
I said Gina had the kids, she had kids that
were by the time I had kids, her kids were
like in middle school, right, and she would go and
me and Melissa hurt like two best friends are having
you know, got married, now we're having kids. And her
whole thing was I'm not going to the park with
you too. I'll do anything, but I'm not going to
the park. And we were always like, why what's the
big deal with the park?
Speaker 2: Now?
Speaker 1: I know, like fucking park sucks. It sucks.
Speaker 2: Well, if there's no sand I could see it being better.
Plus the fact that modern day we have all sorts
of things on our phones. We could play games on
our phones. We could, you know, play wordle we could
read Facebook. Back in the day that wasn't it wasn't
as widespread. It was like I think I had a BlackBerry,
Like I'm gonna bring my BlackBerry to the park. But
here's the type out right now.
Speaker 1: But I had mot of myself, one kid that would
go off and do his own thing. Then I had
the other kid'd be like, Mommy, come with me, Mommy,
watch me, Mommy put mommy, put the phone down, Mommy,
come play with me. Mommy, this mommy, mommy.
Speaker 2: So you know, right, And also the problem with the
park is that there's too many judgmental moms that are like,
you should be keeping an eye on your kid, not
on your phone. Even if they don't say it right out,
you know, they're just like, why are you not engaging
with your kid the whole time? And you want to go, well,
this is my time, bitch, Like my kids they don't
need me. What am I supposed to climb on the
freaking jungle gym with them? Like, let them learn some skills,
let them climb on the rope. But I had the
same problem where I had all of my kids were
a little bit scared, so like they would climb up
on stuff and then not be able to come down.
The worst is when you're at a place like Chuck
e Cheese though, and they've climbed into one of those
like habit trail things, and then they can't get out.
Then you just got to send another kid up to
go get him because like, my big ass is not
fitting into the habit trail to pull you out.
Speaker 3: That was sunny and Natally was the one that would
go and get him and pull him out.
Speaker 1: Like stuck halfway. Remember the place, the place by.
Speaker 3: Your house that jump around, Uh, there's the place that
closed but it's it's closed now.
Speaker 1: But remember the there was the trampoline place and the
next door was the glow zone.
Speaker 3: Yeah zone, yeah, they had was it the it was
one of those places that had that thing obstacle thing. Yes,
Sonny stood up and then got stuck.
Speaker 1: It wasn't in the habit trail. It was just he
was like on these wire I don't know the things.
Oh yeah the wire right, yes, And some kid goes,
is that your son up there? He's crying for you.
Speaker 3: He's like his like his feet were like cement, like
he couldn't move them.
Speaker 2: He was I'm like, Sonny, just.
Speaker 3: Step step to the left, stepped out back, now, put
your foot.
Speaker 1: No, he would not move at all.
Speaker 3: And I be like, okay, where's an Italian Natalia, go
get your son employee.
Speaker 2: How come they look for my parents to solve all
the problems? How did I get hurt? I just brought
him here.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I just paid a lot of money for my
son to get stuck up there. Go get him? Like,
where is he now?
Speaker 2: Paying like thirty dollars an hour for my kid to
climb a rock wall. You to deal with it, right, Gary,
this is all coming for.
Speaker 1: Us, that's right.
Speaker 4: Oh, it's it's here. I mean, we go to one
of the obstacle places. I've had to crawl all the
way up into the top of it to get my
son before it's it's it's here you mentioned chuck E cheese.
We just went for the first time this past weekend,
and the one we went to doesn't have the big
obstacle course, but there was a new thing that I
certainly don't remember, where you pay for the number of
minutes and you can just play unlimited games in that
amount of time. Oh oh, that's We've had like twenty
bucks for forty five minutes. And it was just like
you get they give you a card. Everything's done on
a card. All your tickets go on to the car
and everything. You just walk up and tap it. And
play as many things as you want. So for my
toddler who just wants to run around and press the buttons,
you just walk up to everything and just hit it.
Speaker 2: And that pretty cool.
Speaker 4: Plays for four seconds, he walks away, and then some
other older kid comes up and plays a turn.
Speaker 1: That's awesome.
Speaker 2: That is such good thinking, yeah, Mark, because those things
take so many tokens. The worst is when you have
a birthday party there and the amount of tokens they
give you for to give each kid is not enough
to keep them busy. And the parents are not like, hey,
you're going to need extra money for tokens for nothing.
They're not, you know, So then you get constant kids
coming up going I'm out of tokens, you know, and
then you have to buy, like you end up spending
another one hundred dollars just on tokens.
Speaker 3: Yes, right now, that's a great idea. God, I don't
miss any of that at all.
Speaker 2: I don't either. I don't either, But I'm thinking just
about how it was just ways to spend time, Like
what can I do to enrich this kid's exhibit enough
to like get him out of the house do something
and then have earned time to earned your chance to
just come back home and ven right.
Speaker 4: Also, I don't know how it was for you and Sunny.
It seems like was always just a calm little My
son is a run and scream kind of kid. So
it's everything you just said, Stephanie combined with and how
can I burn off the most amount of energy. So
hopefully I get a nap or a kid that goes
to sleep before Grey's Anatomy comes on or what I
holy watch, I don't actually.
Speaker 1: Watch that shit, right, That's what I'm saying, Like the.
Speaker 4: Ten PM show, like whatever, nine PM show, Like, you
just want the kid down so that you can have
thirty five seconds of adult time before you pass out.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's exhausting when you have to when you have
a kid that you need to just get that energy out,
burn burn, burn that energy off.
Speaker 4: Yeah yeah, I mean that's that's all we're trying to do.
I mean, we were we play games where I'll go
stand at the front of the front lawn and my
wife will stand at the back because it's sort of
at a slope and the hill will will burn off
some energy as he runs back and forth.
Speaker 1: Anything that's just so boring.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just so mindingly boring to try to tire out.
It's like having a dog all day where you're not
you're not really interacting because you can't have full on
normal conversations yet because I'm too young, right, I and
everybody always said, like, but when they're three, everything changes.
When they're three. I found it to be five. At five,
it was a whole different ballgame. Oh, for sure, Elbie
was so fun at five, but not until then. And
she was a smart little kid. But still at three,
there's not a lot of reasoning and interesting conversations that five.
I'm still arguing about what song to put on the
radio at three, Like I want to hear the band
Aid song again. I don't want to hear that song
ever again. But mom, Mom, they don't say butt mom,
But at that point, it's just like mom, mom, band
Aid sign?
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 2: I think I remember me telling you the story of
when she was like, there's some kids record I had
that had the song that goes, do you want to
see my boo boo? Tell me? Do you want to
see my boo boo? And I was pregnant with the
twins and not in a good mood. It was kind
of early in the pregnancy. So she was like two
and a half sitting in her car seat in the back,
wanting to hear the Boo Boo song. And I did
not want to hear that, and I'd already played it
for her like ten times, and I was like, if
I hear it one more time, I'm going to shoot myself.
So I was like, no, honey, like we're gonna turn
on something else. And she starts crying, Oh, boo boo song.
I want to hear the boo boo song. I want
to hear the boo boo song. And she just kept
saying it and sanging it and saying it, and I
was getting it was irrational, but I was pregnant and
just I was like, study stand And then of course
she started crying because that doesn't work, by the way,
that doesn't work, no words of the wise. And then
I started crying, and then I was like, I'm sorry,
but she was too young to understand that. I was
like apologizing, and then I was like, booboo sock. I
was like, here's the booboo song. And then I came
home and I.
Speaker 1: Was just yeah, I yelled at Albie.
Speaker 2: She wanted to hear.
Speaker 1: Them Boo song.
Speaker 2: I couldn't make it stop. I'll never forget. I was
driving home from the paint store because she was too
young to have to drag her around on errands. But
we were doing construction on our house, so he already
stressed about that, and I have to go to the
paint store for the you know, yeah, I'm dragging around
to two and a half year old. I think she
was past her nap. It was a freaking nightmare. Yeah, yeah,
I see.
Speaker 3: Now this is where the air AirPods come in handy,
because I had to drag an Italian to these tournaments
and she wants to.
Speaker 1: Hear her music, and I'm like, you hear.
Speaker 3: Post alone for the eighteenth time, Like I want to
hear my podcast, you know. So now that comes in handy,
except Natalian's got a blast it.
Speaker 1: I can't even barely like hear It's pretty bad. But
I can't hear my own podcast in my ear.
Speaker 2: You know. It's like trying to listen to something over
a vacuum clean.
Speaker 1: Right, It's.
Speaker 2: Not that I would know what that's like. What time
is it?
Speaker 1: Gary?
Speaker 2: We have no Stopwatch?
Speaker 3: Okay, okay, all right, awesome, all right, thank you Gary
so much having me all right.
Speaker 2: We love you guys.
Speaker 1: You're a parent now, don't f it up.
Speaker 4: Let a go.