100: OUR 100th EPISODE! All About Summer!

Transcript

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Woo-hoo, you did it. I did it. I pushed the button. Woo-hoo. I never push the button. Sarah is the primary button pusher. I know. Hannah did it earlier today, and now I am pushing the button. You all get a fair share of button pushing. So I've done a good job. If you're hearing this, I did a great job. Yay. All right. This is Hannah. And Calusa. And Sarah. All right. So we're just kinda rolling into, we got done talking about the pop culture and everything, so then we started talking more about our family life. So how's your summer going, Calusa? Good, actually. I should probably say more than that. Yeah. Good. Expound. Um, well, we talked about Olivia Rodrigo's new album in the last episode, but that has been the highlight of my week, is that being released. We haven't even started. It's Monday. It's Monday. It's the highlight of the week. Uh, regardless, um, we have baseball right now in full swing. Mm-hmm. Literally. Huh? And Carver got his first home run. No way. That was so exciting. Oh, that's so awesome. Yes, he did a good job. Do they actually take out kids, like, you know, if they get the baseball on the pitcher mount or like, um, the kid's kicked out? What? What do you mean? Like, um, so T-ball. Yeah. 'Cause like the kids will catch the ball. Yeah. And then they'll go run on the base and like- Mm-hmm you know, they got cutter out. Yeah. But like cutter still stays in the game. Oh, no. No, they're out. Wait, why? I, I think just like- They just for- you're outta here. Oh, really? Okay. Like they're not gonna do that. Oh, okay. Yeah, they do. They kick it, you know, they- Mm-hmm if you get the ball or if you make the home run, like it, you get points and everything. Yep. Your, your score. We don't keep track of score. Oh. But that's the only thing. But yeah, if you get to, if they throw the ball to first base and you get there, and they get- They tag you or whatever. Yeah. Then you're out. They can tag you and you're out. Yeah, they, if the ball- Tag base gets there first, they, yep, are out. Okay. So- So, and these are little kids. I was gonna say- So you have to be- 'cause Carver- you have to be done with preschool, four-year-old preschool, to play. Wait, who's doing this? Uh, it's just- Carver and Gannon. Didn't you say Gannon signed up? Carver and Gannon. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Gannon signed up midyear or mid-season. Uh, and he's doing great. He's so funny. He's, they're so fun to watch. It's just, and then I know all of the other kids and all of the other parents. Mm-hmm. And it's just a very Party hometown- Well, that's good community. That's sweet. That's funny. Because I'm seeing on TikTok a lot of fights are happening- Oh gosh between the parents. No, nothing like that. It's bad. Yeah. Like cops get called and everything. Wow. You got two dads just yelling at each other and then a mom. Right. I don't know. This is children's sports. I'm like- It's not that serious. I- This is like when we did soccer not that long ago, and like this was at a practice only. Oh, boy. But there was like a dad yelling from the sidelines 'cause the bleachers are like back to back for the two fields, and he was like yelling. I was like, "Dude, shut up." Who was he yelling at? His kid. Oh my gosh. That was practicing. Oh my gosh. It was practice. And I'm like, "Leave it to the coach," Like- brother." Like- I get- you shut up." him like, "Hey, pay attention. Pay attention." Right. Yes. I get that. Yeah. 'Cause we do that to Cutter all the time- Yes when he's in practice. Yes. This was not like that. Oh my gosh. Mm-mm. Mm-mm. Yeah. And I don't wanna be that parent. I know, same. And we do-- You said you do T-ball. Mm-hmm. Uh, we do coach pitch. Oh, sure. What's that? So- The coach pitches the coaches pitches, pitch the ball to them. Yep. Yeah. Yes. They do that, and if the kids can't get that, then they get the- Then they get the T the T out. Yeah. Okay, gotcha. And how many-- How, what grades are, is Cutter against? Um, so Cutter's five, so he's mostly with five-year-olds, but there's this one tall kid. He's like this tall, and I'm like, "I think he's eight." Yeah. I'm like- Really? How'd he get put in that group? I don't know. 'Cause our parks and rec is all by age. Yes. Oh, really? Unless he's- Yes a really tall five. No, he can't be five. He's like so mature. That's how I felt about Bronnie's soccer team. He was like with a bunch of five and, uh, let's see, six and seven... No. Seven and eight-year-olds, I think. It was like first and second grade. And then he faced a team, and this kid was like Gus' size. And like Gus is a big boy. I'm like, "That kid's like in third grade for sure." Yeah. He's like 12, dude. Yeah, this, this kid sticks out like a sore thumb because- Yeah he's all like- Yeah these kids, they're trying their best to like- Yeah pay attention. But this kid's just like focused in, and I'm like, "Yeah." Mm, sometimes. Yeah. So we were, we were talking about this 'cause my, my nephews are big in football. And we've already talked about this. My nephew who's, um, six is in flag football, okay? Mm. Flag football. Mm. And we've already talked about how parents will play their kids down. That way they- Are the best exceed. Yes. That they're the top of the team. They like y- they get to play every game. Mm-hmm. That kind of stuff. And like these kids are six. Mm. And so it's very common- Mm with parents who are like very sport oriented. Okay, but yeah. So I wouldn't be surprised if something like that was happening, or maybe it was a late registration. They just put him where he fit. But since our team is, our parks and rec is so heavily like focused on age groups- Yeah I would really be surprised if it was just like a random placement. But even if the parents, like, I don't feel like your kid's gonna have a benefit if like- In T-ball. No, in T-ball. Right. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. But he is, um I was really proud. Me and Nick were really proud of Cutter because all the kids started making fart noises- Oh, geez during practice, you know, doing this in line and everything. And I like, I'm such an immature adult, I'm like Calvin would be laughing too. But that kid was doing it the most, and- Oh, sure every time the coach talked, like he'd do Oh, gosh. And I'm like, "I could never be a coach." Like- No. But Cutter, he like didn't pa- he didn't, he didn't try to do any of that stuff. Oh. And Nick and I were like, "Very good." Yeah. Like, you gotta listen to the coach because the coach doesn't wanna listen to that. The coach was getting fed up with all that. Yeah. I'm sure, yeah. Oh my gosh. Nick was like, "I could never-" Was it a parent? Was it like a parent volunteer? Yeah. Oh, shoot. Shoot. Yeah. I love watching... Does Cutter play in the outfield then? Uh, they all, they- They rotate. Every position They rotate. Okay. Yeah. Gotcha. So- He'll do first base and outfield and- Yeah. Gannon plays a lot in outfield, and- Oh, gosh. What does he do? Out there picking his nose. He, like, takes grass in his glove and, like, throws it up in the air- and then it rains on him. And then, um, he- But I used to do that too all the time when I was in right field because that's exactly where I needed to be. No one's paying attention to me, so why not? He was doing cartwheels. He'll do, like, the, Carver will do, like, the, you'll see kids, like- The floss? on base waiting. The floss? And he'll just, like, do the floss and, like, you know, it's funny. Oh, my. Or, like, there'll be no, like, someone will slide into home, and there's, like, no reason to slide whatsoever, and they just, like, drop to the ground and, like, slide. Oh, my. It's like no one was even throwing the ball that direction. But that's for the fun. That's the fun of it. It's so cute. I just love it. Um, I love watching baseball, watching the kids play, so. Um, yeah, but Gannon is, is learning. He's, I think, most improved from last year. That's good. That's good. Um, but he can't have the T anymore, so if he strikes out, then you're out. Oh, man. Yeah. I mean, this is a Parks and Rec thing? Yeah. Uh, we don't have Parks and Rec. We just have- It's like a city league. This is, like, a, a league. No. It's just, like, a city- It's just, like, a city thing. Okay. Yeah. But they- Yeah to be out, like, "You're outta here!" I mean, you gotta learn. Yeah. You gotta learn. Yep. I guess. But everybody claps for him. Okay. You know. Um, it's really wholesome and sweet, so. Like, I always get, like, if I'm, like, sitting by a parent, I'm always ready to hear the, like, "That kid sucks." Like, "Do we have to, like, watch?" Oh. Like, I'm just, like, waiting for that day to ever happen. Yeah, and then- Just trying that sort of happened a little bit. What? Well, 'cause m- my kids are not the most athletic kids, okay? Oh, God. And Ronnie has never played a sport in his life, okay? Oh, no. He's never watched a sport in his life except jujitsu. And, like, him playing soccer, he's scared of the ball. Hmm. Like, half the time he's running in the wrong direction, and- Oh, no there was, like, a couple times where a parent said something that was, like, not quite- Bad? Just like on the cusp. And I was just like- Oh. Take it just a little farther, I swear. Yeah, and I was like- Ready "I will say something if you continue." Yeah. And it luckily, like it never did, but I was like, "Dude." See, why would- Like these are, again, these are six and seven-year-olds, seven and eight-year-olds. Like- Yeah can we just- That relax? And you're also with other parents, like- Yeah, like wouldn't you assume that their parent is probably right next to you somewhere? Their kid is out there. Yes. Yeah. Like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Ugh. Ugh. So Bronnie wants to do baseball next year or T-ball or whatever. Mm-hmm. Like give me your highs and your lows, your best and your worst. It's good Tell me about it. It's great. Um... I like it. Yeah. Because, um, it's individual, which I think your kids like. Mm-hmm. Like y- you know, you focus on yourself. 'Cause I think when you get caught up in the team- Mm-hmm like soccer, I don't know what the hell is going on. And then there's swearing. Yeah. Swearing? Oh, yeah. Our kid, Brownie's team got like, got in trouble from the parent coach because apparently a couple of the kids were swearing at each other and at the other team. Oh, that would not happen. Oh, God, no. So individual's probably good. Like individual team, team individual. Yes. It's like, yeah. Yeah, the first baseman yesterday was giving everyone high fives if they got on base- Good job from the other team. Oh, that's sweet. And I was like, "That's so sweet." Mm-hmm. Like, there's no swearing. Mm-mm. Good. That'd be awful. Hunter gets, uh, he'll get on the base and then he'll just start talking to like the person. Yeah. And then the ball will get hit, and they're still talking. And I'm like, "Run!" Go, go, go, go. Yeah. My sister has a six-year-old, and he's in T-ball, and you go to one of their games, and everyone is just dead silent. There is no cheering. Why? No clapping, nothing. It is just quiet. And I'm like, "What?" Are they all on their phone? I don't know. That's weird. But it's, it's, it is weird, so. That's odd. Yeah, because, uh- I've never experienced that before because- You see- I cheer for every single kid on that team. Right. You know what I mean? And so does everyone else. Yeah. Everyone cheers. Mm-hmm. Yes. That's like a, a nice positive. Yes. You're cheering and- It's just a really positive environment. Okay, good. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, we'll think about that next year then. Do the- Yeah. Yeah over soccer. Because, um, T-ball, it's on a weekday. Mm-hmm. So it's always like a Monday or a Wednesday. I'm tired of games on Saturdays- Exactly I'll tell you that. And I would- Mm you know, a lot of people, a lot of parents that I talk to, they're like, "You know, Saturdays we're always soccer." Yeah, I hate that. Yeah. Like, I wanna travel on the weekends. Yeah. Well, sometimes. Sometimes. Yeah. Oh, can we talk about that? Yeah, what? Travel sports? I wanna travel on the weekends. Oh, yeah. I wanna go do shit on the weekends and my- Do it my husband's working. Ugh. I mean, you could take the kids and go do stuff. I know. That's not- I know, but I'm sorry, that was my life for the first- I know however long. Just sucks. Like Calvin was never around. Yeah. It was, it was just what we had to do. Like it was always just me and the kids. I'm frustrated. Craig's frustrated 'cause it's like he's got a, it's called side dressing where you put- Yes anhydrous in. Yeah. And you have to put it in this very specific time- Mm-hmm into the ground, into the corn, whatever. And you have to get, he has over 1,000 acres that he's had to do, and it's just like- when it's, and it's been raining so much. Yes. Yeah. When it is good, you have to go. So of course he did that all weekend, and I'm just sitting at home with the kids like, "Blah." Is he looking for something else? Like is he ready? No. Is he interested? No. Oh. I was just thinking about that the other day, about farmers and like their work schedule. Yeah. And there are a lot of girls that I know of, they would get with a farmer, and they didn't realize how crazy, like- Mm-hmm the, there is no... It's 24/7. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And there's been a lot of divorces because of it. Mm-hmm. Yeah. 'Cause I'm pretty sure the wife was just like, "You're always in the field. You're never at home." And he's like, "I literally have to be in the field." And you get a day off if it rains. And how do you expect me to make money? Well, who wants to do something when it rain- it's raining? You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. But we have a couple vacations coming up in August, and he still hasn't taken them off yet. And I'm like- Uh-oh "I have to put them on the calendar." And he's like, "I don't know what the, I don't know what we're gonna be doing." It's like, "It doesn't matter. We're leaving." Mm-hmm. So. Yep. And that was a, something for me, um, because we would try to have Sundays off. Mm-hmm. So that's when we would go do something, like a little day trip. Yeah. That's hard though, 'cause that was like your dad's- Mm-hmm like that was your dad's. Craig's like, I don't wanna say just, but he's- Mm-hmm like a hired- Yes worker. Yes. So we'll- Yeah there's less flexibility with the schedule. But I'm, I'm still kinda used to that. Like when it's Sunday and we got nothing to do, I'm always like expecting Nick like, "Let's do something. It's Sunday." And he's like- It's Sunday he's like, "It's Sunday. I wanna stay in the house and not do anything." And I'm like- Yeah. No. This is when we go. Yeah. This is when we do stuff. Yes. So that was my mindset for a long time in our marriage. Yeah. Like we had to do something on Sunday. Mm-hmm. I don't care what. Mm-hmm. And he's like, "Why?" And I'm like, "That's just what I'm used to." Well, and then when I work weekends, I only get, I work every third weekend, so I only get two weekends free- Mm-hmm in between. Mm-hmm. So it's like this weekend is, whoops. Just kick us off. Anyway, um, uh, and then next weekend it's like, well, if it's raining, maybe we can do something indoors. Go to a science center or something. Oh, that'd be fun. You don't wanna do that? No, I just wanna- Take a trip down to Des Moines well, that's kinda why we didn't get a camper though. And go to the science center. Yeah. Des Moines' so far, though. I know, but it's, the science center's so fun. Like, your kids- Heard that go, get a day pass and go literally all day. Yeah. Um, but yeah, that's kinda why we didn't get a camper- Mm is because we're like- When when, when are we going to- Mm-hmm do that? And, like, even mountain biking has really fallen off and I don't wanna just sound like I'm such a whiner about my husband, but- Well, I mean, it's really, that's a difficult- It's just, that's what I'm whining through right now period. It's a difficult... Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And you don't realize the farm life. Mm-hmm. I did, though. That's true. That's true. You knew. I did. It's, my husband has my dad's exact same job. But I think it's different- For the exact same farmer when you're a s- when you're a single married couple versus when you're a, a married couple- Yeah versus when you have kids. Yeah. Like, your kids are getting older and they wanna do stuff. Yeah. They wanna, like, go out. It's not like staying at home is the norm. I think we just, I think I just gotta, like, suck it up, and if I wanna go fishing or if I wanna go swimming in a pond or if I w- we went to Airport Lake in New Hampton. Oh, nice. That was so lovely. We caught so many fish. Hmm. The kids were swimming all afternoon. It was so much fun. Mm-hmm. Um, but that was on my weekend that I had to work. Craig woke me up at 2:00. He's like, "We gotta go, we gotta go." And I'm like, "What? I just wanna sleep." Oh, on 2:00 PM. Yeah. Oh. Yeah. 2:00 AM and I'm like, "Nay." No. "It's dark." 2:00 PM, 2:00 PM in the afternoon. I'm supposed to be sleeping 'cause I worked the night before- Mm and I have to work the night after, and he's like, "We have four hours before you have to go to work. Let's go do something." I'm like- Oh, geez "Oh, I'm so tired." I know. So, yeah. Um, that's, that's kinda where I'm at right now. Yeah. So. You're like single momming it. Yeah. That's how I feel sometimes too when Nick leaves. Yes. Mm-hmm. So I'm like- I'm sure okay, so I got T-ball to do by myself, T-ball practice. Yep. I'm like, you know. Yeah. And then I have to really work on letters with my older son- Mm-hmm 'cause he's struggling right now with letters and recognition and everything. So now I'm like, my, I feel like my house is turning into a classroom because I'm getting- Mm-hmm letters out. I've got paper- Mm-hmm so we can practice writing. You're such a good mom. Mm. When it comes to teaching, I just... It's like that Adam Sandler when he's yelling at the kids in the classroom. "Come on, Junior." I'm just not a patient soul. No patience, really. I'm really trying, but it's hard. Yeah. But I, um, the app that we use for school, it's Dojo- Mm-hmm Tutors or something like that. They offer, like, online, like, tutoring. Hmm. So I signed up once a week, every Tuesday at 12 for 55 minutes. This teacher will get to work with Cutter one-on-one. Oh, nice. And she has, like, this fun interactive game, so, like, he can use the iPad, and she can see how he traces the letters and everything, and they can play, like, a game. Oh, fun. So, um, the first time we did it, it w- it went well. The second time, halfway through, he started getting like, "I don't wanna do this. I'm tired. My hip hurts." And I'm like, "Cutter, Cutter, pay attention." Like- Yeah I'm doing, like, the Michael Scott thing, like, "If I could look at you." So she doesn't see me through the iPad, like- Yeah Yeah. "Like how much do I yell at you?" You know when you're just yelling at your- Yeah kids through your lips? Yes. That's what I'm doing. Yeah. And then after, and we're like, "Thank you. Bye." Beep. Car. I'm just yelling at him, and I'm like, "This costs money. You need to pay attention." Like, "She is trying her best to get you to know your letters." Like- Mm-hmm you just needed to learn the letter H. Oh my gosh. So we'll see how tomorrow goes with that. Yeah. But that's where we're at. So when does h- speaking of homeschooling, when does homeschooling start? Whenever we want, technically, but- Okay we haven't bought our pack- our, um, curriculum yet. Okay. We're behind, but I'm also, like, kinda chill about it. Yeah. So. Yeah. It'll be fine. Yeah. It'll be cheaper than what we, what we paid in tuition. Yeah. So I'm like, "We'll be fine." Yeah. It'll be great. How did you, um, tell the school that? Um- Were they like, "Oh, can we do anything we can do better?" Well, it's different because I also work there. Mm. And so, like, when they were talking about contracts and stuff for this coming year, I was like, "Hey, just FYI, like, we're gonna homeschool next year, and so, like, I'm not coming back." And they were like, "Oh." And I was like, "Yeah, dog." Um- Yeah, dog. 'Cause like, well, like in their, in their- She's our teacher, everybody in their h- yeah. In their handbook it says, like, if you, um, have kids who go there and then you pull your kids, like, you're not gonna be invited to return. And so I was just like, "Okay. Well, I'm gonna get the jump on it then," and be like, "Hey, I just wanna let you know," like, this was, like, in February or something, or March. I was like, "Hey, I just wanna let you know, like, if you're gonna send out, like, a posting for this, like, I'm telling you right now, like, we're gonna homeschool the kids next year for sure. Like, just letting you know." And, um, then they invited me to come back next year and teach anyways, and I was like, "What? How does this, like, fit in with the thing?" And they're just like, "Well, that's only for, like, full-time, if you're a full-time teacher," 'cause, like, I work part-time. Oh. Like part, part-time. Okay. So it's different, I guess. Yeah. And I was like, "Okay. Whatever." So it's one day a week right now. I already have my schedule, basically. One day a week, full day, so it's doable. So they didn't say, like, "Oh, we're sorry to hear that," or anything? No, which is interesting. That was like, I don't wanna, like, spill stuff, but there's, like, I'm s- there are some parents and stuff who wanna have, like, exit interviews and things from, um, families, teachers who leave for whatever reasons they have. Um, but yeah, I don't know. We've sort of talked about it a little bit with some of the other families and stuff, but tuition's expensive, man. It is. So, and right now, like- Calvin is home during the day and he's gone every evening. And so, at least for the most part, home during the day. So like, this is our only time that we spend together. Like, that's, that will be our time to spend together. So, yeah. So yeah. Can't wait to see where that goes, the homeschooling. I know, I'm interested. Yeah. We've talked to the kids a lot about like, "Hey, just so you know, like if you can't fulfill your expectations when you're home homeschooling, you will be going back next year whether you want to or not." Yeah. Like, whether we want to or not, you will be. Like, when you're here, when it's teaching time, when it's school time, it's school. Like the expectations are the same, like if you were in your school building as they will be at home. So, we've talked a lot about like job responsibilities in that aspect, so. Did you find some co-ops? There is one. So we're gonna continue with classical conversations. That's all our kids have ever known in their schooling life, and um, now that's like what I teach off of when I teach. So it just makes sense. And there's a co-op. I don't know if there's one in Mason City, but there's one in Clear Lake, so we'll join that co-op and I don't know. So yeah, we'll see how it goes. The co-op's kind of expensive. Oh, I didn't- So- realize that there would be. I thought it's kinda like you give some, I give some. There are some- Right that's free. Mm-hmm. Like, there's, um, it's called Arrows, and that's like a milder version of Classical Conversations. Um, and that is free. But when you sign up as a family, one of the parents is required to, like, volunteer their time in some way with the co-op. And in this case, when you're a tutor with Classical Conversations at this specific, um, like, you get paid. So that's where some of that tuition money come, like, goes into play, and materials and things like that, so. You know, trade-offs, you know? Yeah. But we'll see. Yeah. What would you co-op out? So a lot of the times when we went and visited, um, like a lot of times music is co-oped. Mm-hmm. And, um, art and things like that, some of those specials. Yeah. Um, and then, like when you meet week to week, there are different levels. So, like with classical conversations, it's like grammar, rhetoric, and, um, I forget what the last one is, but, um, we're not at that stage, at the last stage. Um, but so, like, when you're in the grammar stage, that's like the lower school. That's like your beginning grades. Mm-hmm. And so then you go and meet with your tutor, and you talk about all the memorization work that you need to do that week, and you talk like an overview of all the subjects that you do. So like if they're talking about math, like you, there's like one principle of math that you're working on for that week, and then you go over it. And like a lot of times those tutors are, like give the parent the, um, like foundational knowledge that they kind of need to be able to teach those subjects- Mm-hmm if they're not fully comfortable with doing that. Um, so... And it's a good meeting time. Like, they work on their, um, group projects. They work on where, what it looks like to work together as a team, and they look at, um, practicing their speaking skills in front of... So like every week they have a presentation that they need to do- Mm-hmm at their co-op. Um, and it can be about anything, I think, in most cases. But, um, yeah, so there are a lot of those like more group skills that they work on during those times. Mm-hmm. So yeah, and that's the introductory to- How do you know all this? We went and visited. Okay. I'm like- Yeah I wouldn't- Mm-hmm know how to do any of this. It's just, it's super not common in our area. Mm-hmm. But it's cool. Yeah, but again, like this is all our kids know. Yeah. Like this style of learning. Yeah. So might as well- This is all they know just bring it home. Right. Exactly. And I'm like, "This is what they're comfortable with. This is what we'll be comfortable with." Mm-hmm. Like, it's really good. I like to have something exactly laid out. You tell me exactly what to do. Mm-hmm. And this is exactly what CC does, so- I just- And I love that. Yeah, and it's very, I like that it's very family oriented of like- Mm-hmm "Okay, team, this is what, this is our layout, and now we're gonna go home and do it in our house." Mm-hmm. "And come back and..." Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Interesting. Homeschooling has, uh, really become on the rise here. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Um, the, even the, the gyms here, they have like homeschooling gym day. Oh. Mm-hmm. So like all the kids who are homeschooled, they all get together and- Yeah, the Y has a program. Oh, nice. Yeah. Um, yeah. Yeah, we got very homeschool friendly here. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Which is kinda crazy because we've got how many schools in- Yeah. There are a handful of co-ops though just here, in here and Clear Lake, so. Yeah. Yeah. Are you guys thinking about it? No. Okay. Nick is all, like, he really wants to, but I'm like, "Nicholas-" He doesn't have the time for that. No. And like- No. And I'm like, "I-" Then are you gonna pay someone to be, like, their home tutor? That's what he said. He's like, "I'll just pay Lydia." And I'm like And I'm like, well, I feel like that defeats the purpose of homeschooling- Right I think. Like, it should be taught by me or you. Mm-hmm. I don't know. We'll see. But he's always-- Because he talks to so many teachers. Like my uncle, he's a teacher, and my uncle's always like, "Yep, you're, you can teach your kid, like, half hour of stuff versus, like, a full day of stuff." That was another thing. Mm-hmm. Day. So, um, you know, he hears all these positive, great things, and- Yeah everybody in the unsub, I think they've all been homeschooled. Yeah. So he's just, like, hearing from their perspective, and he just really... And I'm like, "Nope, it's a great thing. It's-" It's not for everyone, though. I'm not there yet. Yeah. It's not for everyone. I'm not there yet, and- Yeah. Yeah we will see. Because I went to a MomCo meeting, and she was talking about homeschooling. She's like, "Oh yeah, I would get two cars, put a letter on it, and then I would connect it." And I'm like, "See? That's fun. I never would've thought of that." Yeah. Like, some people just have that teaching, like, they can do it. And I just... It would be like my dad teaching me math at 10:00 AM at- Mm-hmm or 10:00 PM at night. Yeah. Me and my mom trying to do homework together, it was never good. Ugh. Never good. So many fights. So many fights. I got yelled at way too much. Sorry, Mom. Yeah. Either I got yelled at or I yelled back. Yeah. It's just, yeah. I don't know. Yeah. Like, I don't know. We will see. Yeah. But so far- You gotta talk to me about it he's liking school, and he really likes his teachers, and he likes his classmates, so I'm like, "Okay, good, good, good, good, good." Yes. Yep. All good. And I'm always like, "Nope, Cutter, I was really good at school. I always listened to my teacher. I never went to the office. But Uncle Nathan, he always went to the office." So I'm always like, "Eh." Yeah. Knowing that there's two, can be two different kind of students in school. Yes. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I, yep, never-- My mom has, is obviously very much educator, stuff like that. Mm-hmm. Uh, she had, uh, before she had her blog, she had makinglearningfun.com. Oh my gosh. Whoa. Which is, um, a printable website. I love that. Yes. And so it's still up. It's still running. It just kinda got put on the back burner. So you can, like, go to it and still print stuff off. But, like- Okay. I'm gonna look at that she'd take a book, and then she'd make, like, a bunch of activities for the book that are free and printable, and she got paid off of the ads. Oh my gosh. Like, yeah. So that was her career for several years. Um- What kind of, uh, stuff? Um, so you'd take the book, like, "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom," and she would make, like, 10 activities that go for it that teachers could print off. Oh my gosh. Or, like, name tracing cards or bingo cards or stuff like that. And it was all Chicka Chicka Boom Boom themed. That's genius. Wow. I love that. Yes. So she did that. It, the website's huge. It has so many... It's, it's a little slow because just of, uh, it was built in, like, 2008. Oh. We haven't really upgraded it or done much with it because it's kind of- Does she still get paid? Yeah. Nice. Yep. So she still gets, um, like residual income from the ads and stuff like that. That's awesome. It's just not in its prime like it was. I guess that's what I'm trying to say. Yeah. Um- See, I like that. I just, um- people are using ChatGPT- Mm-hmm for everything. Mm-hmm. And I'm just like, "See, you guys are getting rid of, like, creators-" Those websites already exist like that. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Or Teachers Pay Teachers. Have you heard of that before? Yes. That might be a good resource for you. I'm sure you've heard of it before, but it's like teachers c- mom, that's what mom really should do, is she should upload her content to Teachers Pay Teachers and then- Mm um, you've, like, upload your curriculum, your individual curriculum that you created, and then the teachers can be like, "Oh, I would like to purchase this curriculum." Mm-hmm. And then you, like, buy it, and teachers pay the teachers. So- Hmm yeah. I-- Mom could have homeschooled all of us, but she didn't. I think she just wanted us out of the house because she- How many kids? Yeah. Well, and then she ran a daycare. A daycare. Yeah. An in-home daycare on top of that. Oh my gosh. She was s- she's crazy. She's... I don't know how she did all of that. She- My mom says the same too still, she's busy. She, she's like, "I don't know how she does it." I know. At one point, one summer, she had 19 mouths to feed every day at lunch- That's bonkers between us kids, dad, and the daycare kids. So yeah. What were the lunches? What were the lunches? Yeah, like was it like- Did she follow a state program? Yeah. Yes. Okay. Yes. So it's very particular. So it had to be, like- Oh. Yes, very particular. Mm-hmm. Because you get reimbursement- Yes Yeah for the meals then. Yeah. Yep. So yeah. My favorite was chicken, fried. She'd make baked chicken, like hindquarters, chicken hindquarters. Okay. Mm-hmm. And they were so good. It's still one of my favorite meals she makes. And the kids wouldn't eat it because we had chickens, and they're like, "I don't wanna eat the chickens." Oh. And they knew that we, like, butcher chickens. Oh. Oh. And then like Oh, shoot. And so we had to call it hot meat. That's funny. So we'd be like, "Oh, what are we having for lunch?" "Oh, it's hot meat day." "Oh, okay." And then they'd all eat their chicken. That's funny. Yeah. No, uh, my cousin, her family, they always butchered their animals, and it tasted so good. Mm-hmm. Fresh meat? Oh my gosh, yeah. Oh my gosh. Have you ever had fresh liver and onions? No. I've never had liver. Same. I do have some in my freezer. So good. I know. I told my mom that I wanna, I wanted to have it so I could try it, and I just have been too scared. I'm too scared. Yeah. But, um- But if it's fresh, never frozen. Oh, see, I don't, I ha- Mm-hmm. It's been frozen for a while. It's probably- 'Cause we made, um, sausages. The stuff, yeah. Yes. And, you know, he cleaned out the pig intestine and everything. Mm. Oh. And then, you know, I had to grind up the meat and, like- Yep shove it in the casing. And you had to mush the meat- Yeah with your hands. Oh, ick. It was so cold. We'd do it in, like, the dead of winter. Ew. And we'd have to- No. Yes. So we had ground pork. Mm. And then, um, you've, we did the clean the pig intestines, put it through the grinder. Yeah. Yes. 'Cause I was like, "What is this thing?" And he's like, "That's the pig intestine." And I'm like, "What?" And that's what the casing is that holds- Yes the sausage that you eat. Yes. Yeah, no. And then when we cooked it- Yeah, thank you you know, we made it, cooked it that day, and I was like Holy shit It was so- Oh my gosh good This is delicious Fresh, never frozen pork is just- I know. And my cousin Marie, she just loves to cook. And she just, she is so used to fresh stuff. Mm-hmm. She's, she makes, she had a garden. She would butcher her own animals still- Yeah if she could, but she is just so used to that, just fresh food. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Fresh, clean food. I cannot imagine doing this with my kids these days. I was in like second grade, like mushing sausage with my hands so that it would, we could mix the seasonings in with it. And I was like- I- I, it sounds like we're from the 1800s. I have a hard time even cleaning with my kids because they don't do it exactly the way I want it done. Yeah. And then I get frustrated and tell them to get out. Yeah. See, my mom is like asking for the boys to rock pick. And I'm like, "Mom, they're just so young." And she's like, "Hannah, you were out in the field at that age." And I'm like I was. Yes. I think there's such a difference in like parenting these days- City kid and- because, well, just in general parenting 'cause like- I know I feel like t- actually taking the time to teach them to do these things is so important, and yet I get so frustrated. It's like a me thing that I kick them out. Mm-hmm. Mm. But then I'm like doing them a disservice by not teaching them how to do this stuff. Yeah, like it's so much easier for me to unload the dishwasher- Mm-hmm than to listen to those two fight- Mm-hmm about who's gonna unload the dishwasher. Yep. And then they only put them on the counter. They don't actually put them in the cupboard 'cause they can't reach the cupboard. Yeah. So it's like I still have to do the work anyway, so I might as well just do it myself. Ugh. Yeah. Yeah, but like when we were younger, we just got our hands dirty. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Just did it. Mm-hmm. Yeah. It was expected. Yep. I need to be better about that. It's part of being part of a big family. You like you just, and a farm family- Farm you just had to- Everybody has to do something do something. Yeah. Yeah. But like I always admired those moms who the kids still, they were like, "Nope, we never sat around and just watched TV." Like if we were watching TV, we had to keep our hands busy. Oh. So their mom would print out like sewing or like just she'd make them do whatever, crafts. She'd go on Pinterest and like- Mm "You're doing this." There was no, and they were like awesome 4H kids. Yeah, I bet. Mm-hmm. Like they won medals and ribbons all the time. Yeah. Always go to state. And I was like, "You are just so creative." And they're like, "We had to be." Yeah. Like there was no such thing as boredom in our house. Mm-hmm. Yep. So I'm like, I kinda admire that a little bit, but I also like, you also need to be bored too. Mm-hmm. I mean, being bored is good for like in their brain, like creativity. Mm-hmm. Making their own fun and stuff, but- Yeah. I don't know. I don't know. You need that balance. You do. Yeah. It's also good to be pushed to do hard things. Yep. So. Mm-hmm. So I'm just like, well, shoot, how much do I push them? Yeah, it's just trying to find that balance. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I really want him to ride a bike with no training wheels. Us too. My kids will not. They're so scared. Oh. I know. Gus is finally-- Oh, Gus passed his level two swimming lessons. Yay. Yay. So he's finally, like, moving on. Yay. You know? But I need to contact this, this, uh, kid and see if he'll do private lessons for Bronnie still. Yeah. So, on my list. Um, we p- took one training wheel off, and this is-- I've never heard of anybody doing this before, but we took one training wheel off for Gannon. Mm-hmm. And he just rode around with one training wheel for a while, and it teaches them to how to, like, swerve and, like, how to get your balance back if you lean off, but it still gives a little bit of support. Interesting. Ooh. So maybe give that a try. I'd, I've never heard of it before, but we did it, and it worked, so. Calvin refuses to buy training wheels because we bought him a bike that doesn't have training wheels on it. Yep. So Calvin refuses to buy them. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And I'm like, "Well, he can't even try 'cause it doesn't have training wheels on it now." Yeah. So- Yeah. I tried the towel thing w- like, you either have to take-- Oh, did you? Yeah. He wanted to try that too. Yeah. It, it was fine, but then Cutter, you know, "Ah." Yes. Yeah. He's like, "I'm tilting too much." Yes. And I'm like, "Balance. Gotta balance." Well, and like, who's- Yes running around with their kid? Like, I don't have the stamina to run around with Gus or Bronson, like, holding them up with a sheet or whatever- Mm-hmm to, like- Oh, but when they can do it, the- That's gotta be a Calvin job the accomplishment- I bet that they have for themselves, like, the- So you're saying I need to, like, get Calvin in the game here- Yeah and, like, get him committed. Yes. I bet you can find it on Amazon. One training wheel. One training wheel. That's true. It's probably cheap. It's probably not expensive and we need to get, um, the training wheels back on, uh, Anders' bike. Mm. So that for Gannon. Gannon needs to go up to one with the handbrakes, which are tricky for him. Mm-hmm. So gotta scoot everybody up a bike, so. Yeah. How is, uh, little Anders doing? Good. He's so funny. He's-- oh my gosh. He's big into Army guy right now. Mm. Oh. So he'll sing songs about Army guy, and he'll like, like we were playing darts in my mom's garage last night, and he had like a little bar stool that he was drumming on. He's just singing, "Army guy, Army guy, Army guy." And he like will sing songs about the Army guy. He has a gun book, a gun bible, that he sits and reads religiously. Wow. And it- we play pick a gun, so then you have to pick which gun you want out of the book and do And so, and, and he wants, "I want this at our house. I want this at our house. I want this at our house. I want this at our house." And, um, then the other day he told me he had a Tommy gun. Um, the other day he told me he had a Glock. Oh. Oh. He's three years old. Wow. Wow. Yes. Uh- He needs to be in hunting soon. Yeah. I think so. And he is obs- he's just obsessed with guns and Army. I've never encouraged it. I've never- Isn't Gannon also obsessed with Army? Yes. Yes. So I think he got it kind of from Gannon. Yeah. For sure. But, like, Gannon will draw tanks all day long. Yeah. And, um, my mom's boyfriend was in the Army and he drove an M1 Abrams tank. And so now he told him about an M1 Abrams tank, and now everything is an M1 Abrams tank. And we draw it over and over and over again, and it's like, I'm not a gun person. I don't- like guns. I don't own a gun. I was in trap shooting in high school and sucked. I had to borrow somebody else's gun 'cause I didn't have one. Like I'm-- and they just, all three of them speak so fluently in- Gun gun language. Mm. Mm-hmm. Is Craig a hunter? No. Interesting. Mm. Yeah. Craig owns one gun, and it's in two pieces so that the kids don't find it. Like we have the half of it in this closet and half of it in another closet- so that they can't put it together. 'Cause I'm sure they would figure it out somehow. But yeah, so our house is all about guns and Army guys. And kitties. And kitties. We sent our first kitty to an adoptive home yesterday. Aw. Aw. Little Nanco- Cute will be named Bear now. Oh, I love that. Yes. Cute. Super fun. Um- Who knew that you'd be cat people like that? I know. They're so fun, and I'm looking forward to getting some more- Oh my once we get these out. Oh boy. So I will foster some more. Um, we need to get Duchess a new home. She's the mama. Mama. Anders calls her Mama. Mi jo mama. Mi jo mama. He loves her, so. Has he, um, quit saying that one phrase to you? Oh, I hate you? Yeah. Yeah. Yep. He, for the most part, that was a phase. Okay, good. 'Cause he would s- for context, um, he would just literally be like, "I hate you, Mom. I hate you, Mom. I hate you, Mom. I hate you, Mom." And, um, he has stopped that for the most part. Good. Unless he's really mad, or like last night, he'll, he'll do this a lot and be like, "I shoot you." Oh. "I shoot you, Mom." Aw. Um, 'cause again, obsession with guns, and we're hoping that's a phase too, that he doesn't take to preschool because- I mean, yeah he will get kicked out. He just doesn't understand yet what that means. He doesn't. Yeah. No, he doesn't. Um, but it makes me scared for preschool. It'll be fine. You get an email every day. So Anders today- Anders threatened to shoot classroom. I just, ugh. Anyway, so yeah. That is, that's our life. And then we got a pool. An above ground pool? Yep. Cool. It's, uh, 14 by 48, so it's a pretty deep- Ooh. Is that really big? Yeah. Okay. It's pretty deep too, so Anders can't go in there. Yeah. Um, but the older two just love it 'cause it's like up to their- Yes chest. So they play all the time in it. And I got Anders a little floating tank that's like an inflatable tank that has a water gun on it that you can sit in. Cute. Oh boy. And it, so hopefully he'll be able to play with the boys now, so. That's so fun. Yeah. That's so fun. Awesome. What are your boys obsessed with right now? Drawing too. Drawing. Um, drawing mostly ocean animals. Oh. Mostly sharks. See that's a nice, safe, appropriate age developmental thing. Not guns. But yeah. So my kitchen table is just stacked full of his artwork and I'm just like, "What do I do with all of this?" One teach- one lady told me, she's like, "Well, I would take my favorite ones and I would make a magnet out of it. You know, take a picture of it, you know, and then upload it as a magnet." Oh, that's such a good idea. And I was like, "That's a good idea," because he's got some pretty good stuff. Yeah. Um, that's gonna be a lot. Or people put it in like their electronic picture frames. They'll like take a picture of it and then put it in, upload it in those. Yes. Like if he has one in his room or something. I know. And he wants to frame all of them. Mm-hmm. I'm like, "Okay." Mm. So yeah, he is just a drawing machine, and Cash, he just follows in whatever brother does, you know? Mm-hmm. If he's into video games, he'll wanna play on his little Game Boy or he'll, they just watch Mario, like video Whatever Like playthroughs? Yes. They just love wa-- They'll just sit there quietly and just watch it. And I'm like, "All right, let's go outside." Yeah. Did they fight? Um Not really Wrestle your boys? Wrestle- Oh, yeah to the, like- Oh, yeah It'll be like tickling. No. But I had like- This is full on choke holds. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Like- We'll, we'll probably get there punching people. You'll probably get there. Punching them as hard as they can. Okay. We're not there yet. It's just- Yeah you know, if there is an argument, it's like, "Cash is breathing on me." "Okay?" That's the extent of it. Yeah. But no, we're not to the hitting part. Like actually, like physically- Punching I'm mad at you, I'm gonna- That's Bronson and Gus. Yes. Oh, yeah. Punching each other as hard as they can. Yes. Ugh. Tackling. Mm. Choke holds. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay. Even Anders. Soon. I mean... Yeah, but that, like, they're two older- They're that older brothers so then it's, you know, yeah. You just... I can just see him trying to get in there too. Yes. It's ridiculous. I just- They don't hit you though. No. That's good. Yeah. Um, my kids have never hit me. You're the same? Oh, yeah. Of course they have. For funsies, though? Uh, both. Really? Yeah. I mean, they were little, obviously. They were, like, Cash's age. They were- Yeah. Oh little. At Andrew's age, they were little. You gotta nip that in the bud, though. Yeah. But now they just do it as, like, being goofy. Yeah. And I'm like, "I don't like that." Yeah. "Like, that's not how mommy plays. That's not how you play with mommy." Yeah. "Like, do not do that to me." Mm-hmm. And they get it, but sometimes, especially if they've been, like, messing around with Calvin, then they kinda- Oh, yeah yeah, like, remember- Get all riled up. Yeah. I just ask because, like, um, in church we used to sit behind a family, and, like, the little girl was just not sitting. She's the same age as Cutter, too. But her mom was trying to correct her, like, "Sit forward," and the little girl looked at her mom, open smacked her right in the face, like And all of our eyes just went like, Oh my gosh. And me and the, even the boys looked at me don't you ever hit your mother. Like- God will smite you. Yeah. Yeah. I would immediately have taken my boys out in the other room. Yes. Be like- Very firm talking to, and they would've sat in time out for the rest- Mm of the time. Right. But I'm just, um... I don't see a whole lot of kids hitting, really hitting their parents. I don't really either, but we don't- I don't hear a lot of it- Yeah either. We're not connected to, like, young kids anymore. If anyone was gonna do it, it would be Anders. The younger one. He's just a spitfire. I don't know. Yes. 'Cause he, he, he knocked down a chair last night. Oh, no. At my mom's house. And I said, "Anders, you come over and pick up the chair." "No." Mm. I was like, "No. This is not how this is going down." So I went in there and I said, "Anders, you pick up this chair right now." He goes, "I shoot you. I shoot you, Mom." And then I said, "Anders, no, that's not appropriate. You can't do that." I'm just like- Mm-hmm stone face at this point, 'cause it's like, I, that doesn't rile me up, and I... He's trying to get a, a rile. Oh, yeah. He's trying to get me riled up. Yeah. And I'm like, "No, you have to hold it together because you are the mother." Yeah. Anyway. My favorite thing to say is always, "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you." Yeah. Mm. Yeah. This is not, like, a question. Mm-hmm. Not, "Do you want to?" "Do you think?" No. This is your job. You've done this. Take care of it. Mm. Uh, 'cause I hate that. Love that. I do not like And, uh, and everyone's al- remember when we were kids and parents would always be like, "Don't back talk me." I cannot stand back talk. Yeah. And Gus is like really big into- Yeah like, "Oh, I'm just joking around. I'm just being silly." And I'm like- And I'm like, you- "Does this look like I'm being silly?" I'm like, you hang around your dad- Does it look like I'm joking? too much, because that's exactly- Exactly Calvin. Exactly. And I'm just like, "Gus." And I'm like, "I get it, but also, like, when I'm telling you I'm, when I'm being serious-" Mm-hmm like, I'm being serious." Yeah. "Don't mess around with me." Yeah. "'Cause you will be grounded." Mm-hmm. "I don't care." So. Yep. Mine is just like, "Oh, go pick up the sock and put it in the hamper." "No." "Excuse me?" Then I hear the feet run. Yeah. Yeah. Um, it's hilarious. Yep. Discipline is just so You have to tailor it to each kid. Yeah, you do. You really do. It's so interesting. Mm-hmm. And, um, uh, Gannon is starting to be sarcastic. Ooh. You know? Yep. Like- Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep and it's kind of funny, but it's but in certain scenarios it's not appropriate. He's just so s- I'll tell him something, to do something, and he'll come back with like, "Are you sure you don't want Carver to do that?" Or, "Did you tell Carver to do that?" Or like, uh, he's just so ugh, he thinks he's funny, and he's not. That's Gus too. Oh, these teachers. Yeah, I know. Gus is very good in school. That's good. He's never had a problem in school. That's good. But when he's home. Like I said, um, at the pool I've noticed that lifeguards are now putting kids in time out. Oh, wow. Oh my gosh. That should not be their responsibility. Yeah, but you- Parents don't watch their kids at the pool. They don't. We were just talking about this the other day actually. They literally just drop them off and then just- Or they don't even come at all. No, the kids will just ride their e-bikes. Which is not a bad thing necessarily if your kid knows the rules, can understand the rules- Really knows the rules and, like, follows the rules. Yes. But some of those kids do not. Mm-hmm. But, um- My jaw is on the floor right now. Yeah. I cannot believe, I cannot imagine dropping my kids off at the pool and being like, "Bye." Literally all day. They spend the whole day- All day at the pool, and then they come. Like, I see, when we, we've been, we went in the evening a few times, and when we were coming out, like 15, 20 minutes before close, parents were driving in to, like, come pick up their kids from the day. I know they used to do that at the local pool in New Hampton. Yeah. That I know that there were kids- That's Calvin's childhood. Yeah. I, yeah, I mean, a lot of kids would just go on their bikes and just- Mm-hmm to the pool. Wow. But, um, yep, I've noticed a couple times I've seen lifeguards, um, like a, a, a grown middle school kid- Mm-hmm thinks he's funny, thinks he's breaking the rules, and thinks it's hilarious. And they'll whistle at him. They'll be like, "Come sit with me for five minutes." And they'll be like, "What?" They're like, "You're gonna sit with me for five minutes or you're gonna be kicked out." And he'll just sit right next to the lifeguard. Oh my gosh. Good. They should be watching the pool. They should not be having to worry about- Mm-hmm discipline. When I was a lifeguard, I've had a lot of, um, "Oh, this boy is being mean to my son. Can you talk to them?" And I'm like, "Okay." And I'll look at the kid and I'll be like, "Hey, are you being mean to this little boy?" You know. You would? Yes. Oh my gosh. It's not so much like, "Walk," or like, "Sit down." It's a lot of you've gotta do a lot of the counseling, too. Oh my gosh. I had no idea. Which is crazy to me. I think, what's, how do you guys feel about, um... Well, this comes from an interaction that I saw on Facebook the other day. Oh, boy. I bet you saw it, too, at the McDonald's one. Did you see that? Okay. So how do you feel about, like, if you guys are in public- I, yeah, I know what you're talking about. Mm and maybe your kids, maybe you're, like, step away, maybe you're with one of your other kids and you don't catch a behavior that your kid does. How do you feel about another parent correcting your child? Mm. It could be, like, maybe they were mean about it. Maybe they were really kind. How do you feel about that? So I'm trying to raise my boys to respect other adults, but also not let other people boss them around. Mm-hmm. So it's like- There's a fine line there is a fine line there of like- Yeah. Uh, every time we go somewhere, I'm like, "You are gonna be nice to other kids, and you're gonna listen and keep your hands to yourself," 'cause I really don't want like- There's a lot of pre-teaching, I think, that goes along with like interacting with other- Yeah kids, like in public spaces. Yeah. Carver can be kind of a poop sometimes. Gus too. As far as like I don't want... Like, okay, so we were at the airport lake, and someone else brought this big lily pad. Do you know what lily pads are? Yes. Yes. It's like a tarp that floats on the water, and you can jump off of it. It's like a floating dock. Mm-hmm. And so there was the girl. The dad brought it with his little girl, and the little girl wasn't very interested in playing with it. And something happened. Crazy. Some interaction happened, but my boys were all over it, and they said, "Oh, feel free to use the lily pad or whatever." You know, "Feel free to play with it." And we're like, "Okay, awesome." Um, and the little girl ended up crying. I don't know how it happened. I don't know what was involved. There was other boys that there were there that were playing with it, too. But Gannon goes, "She's just a crybaby." And I was like- Oh. "Oh, hell no." And I, nobody else heard it but me, as far as, like, the adults were far enough away that I don't think they heard it. But I was very upset, and if another adult had corrected him and said, "That is not okay for you to call someone a crybaby," I would've been totally fine with it because that is just not- I, I think this is why I just watch my kids. Yeah. Like, I know some parents like to just sit on their phones while the kids are playing. I'm like, "No, I need to watch everything because-" Mm-hmm. I wanna make sure," like, if my kid was in the wrong, I wanna be able to correct it. Yes. And, like, if another kids was wrong, I'd just be like, "Okay, watch out for that one." Yes. So that's why I'm always just watching. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Um, but yeah, that McDonald's thing. Uh, so did you... You said what happened? No, I didn't. Okay. You can say if you want. This parent, right? The whole interaction to me was, like, a little outrageous, but- I think kids were just being loud and crazy and another- They were being, apparently they were, like, screaming. Oh. Two little girls were screaming, like high-pitched girls screaming. Mm. Hate that. And a dad was like, went and talked to the girls, I think, and was like, "Hey, you guys are, like, hurting our ears." 'Cause it was in a McDonald's PlayPlace. Yeah. So it's soundproof, it's enclosed, it's echoey. Yeah. Like, "Hey, you're hurting our ears. Can you guys stop?" And they said it, I guess, maybe a couple of times. Yeah. And then I guess maybe the moms saw, the mom and the friend saw and were like, "Why wouldn't you just come tell us?" And then he, like, told them. He was like, "Hey, your kids are hurting our ears. Can you tell them to stop?" And they're like, "Well, we already have." And so then they were, it became this huge thing where they were, like, swearing at each other and this and that, whatever. Oh my gosh. And well, they were, and then there was a rant and rave on Facebook about it. Of course. So that's how I found out about this. Yes. But- It just makes me not wanna go to places like that. Well, and I just, I, I guess, like- I, I am curious what other people's expectations are for their kids in these kind of situations. Mm-hmm. 'Cause like when we go to the mall play place, do you remember how there used to be people who would yell, "Shut up," to the kids in the mall play place? I was there one time with a friend, Ben, with our friend Ben, his two kids. Mm-hmm. It was literally his two kids just playing- Mm-hmm by themselves and they were just like being regular kids, you know, a scream once in a while or run around. And someone in like the, you know, they'd sell stuff. Mm-hmm. Someone was like, "Shut up!" Yep. And then Nick and I got there with our kids, and our friend Ben looked at us and he's like, "I'm pretty sure someone told my kids to shut up." Mm-hmm. And I'm like, "Really?" He's like, "Yes." And then all four of our kids, you know, they're all playing with each other, they're climbing and wrestling. They weren't being too loud, but then again, I heard it again, "Shut up!" And I'm like, "Who the hell said that?" Like, you're being just as r- Yeah like, you're being just as loud. Disturbing, yeah. Yeah. I haven't heard it for a long time, but it was very common for a while. Yeah. Like, every time that we were there, I heard it multiple times. When there was a- Mm-hmm like, table sales going on? Not, mm-mm, nope, just regular mall hours, and there would be someone screaming. I thought it was someone from the nail salon for a while. That's where the- But I... Was it over there? That's what I, it, it... I really thought it was one of the- I don't know though table booth people. I don't think so, 'cause I heard it multiple times when we were just there. So it had to be in that restaurant. Somewhere. I don't know. It would- But I was kinda like, I g- I, this is where I'm confused, where, like, cer- certain people's expectations are different than others for play places. Like, I feel like if we're indoors, you use your indoor voice. Right. If you're outside, scream as much as you want, unless we're, like, in odd hours of the day, night, evening, whatever. I have a problem- I don't know with screaming, though. I do, too. Because I was raised- It hurts my ears told never scream, that high-pitched scream- Yeah. Mm-hmm unless you're in trouble. Right. I know. Like, you're being stolen or, you know what I mean? Right. Like, it's very, it was reserved for a very specific time. Right. But then, uh, so I saw that, too, you know, screaming. You know, it's, so, like, but then autistic kids, they do it for stimming. Mm-hmm. And that's why parents are like, "No, they're stimming. Like, let them release." And I'm like- Mm "Uh, yes." So it's like, uh. Yeah. Like, where's that fine balance of everything? But yeah, I don't like it when the boys scream- Mm-hmm especially in the pool. Yep. Mm-hmm. Like, they're acting like they're, like, in hell. But I'm like, "Don't scream like that- Right because they're gonna think you're in trouble." Right. So there's different kinda screams. Stimming or- Yeah. But this is, like, active parenting versus, like, passive parenting. I know. Mm-hmm. So it's very... Um, and there's a lot of parents at the parks. They'll just- I know they'll park their cars, sit in their cars the entire time while their kids are playing. See, I do do that, but I usually keep my window open so I can watch and listen and, I don't know. And only at one certain park where the equipment's, like, right up at the edge of the parking lot, Monroe Park. The equipment's right at the edge of the parking lot, and so I park my car right in front of the parking, or the thing, and I keep my air conditioner running 'cause it's hot as a butt. Oh. And then I roll my windows down a little bit- Oh so I can watch and listen and- Okay. So that, that one's a little different because, yeah, it is close together. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I would not do that at East Park. A lot of parents do. I would not do- It's crazy or the train park or anything. Uh-uh. Like, I usually sit off to the side at the train park, but we do not- Yeah, I get wigged. Yeah. So. Yeah. I don't know, but I feel like- This is why I always watch I would be appreciative also if someone, if my, if Gus said something to another kid and, like, the parent said something. It's like, "See, you should be embarrassed when you're rude to people." You should be. Yeah. You should be embarrassed. So- Like, it should make you feel like trash when you're rude to people. Would you rather have a parent come up to talk to you and like, "Hey, your kid," or would you rather have the parent correct your kid? I think either. Depends on what happens, I guess. Yeah. I think either. As long- As long as it's brought to my attention. I don't necessarily feel, like, personally affronted when someone says something to my kid about it. Like, if they're being rude, the social expectation is that you're not rude. Mm-hmm. So, I don't know. Anders was like maybe one and a half, and he got pushed off the slide at, um, the mini slide at the New Hampton pool. Mm. And he fell straight and hit his head on cement. In the water. You know, it's, the slide is in the water. Mm-hmm. And he fell off the steps, hit his head on the cement, and, like, was underwater. And I stared down that three-year-old like there was nothing, like I was just like- Did you yell at them? No, I didn't. But it was, he was only, like, three maybe. Do you do the thing where you, as you're comforting your kid, you say, "Oh, that was so mean of someone to do. That was really rude of that person." Oh, that's a good idea. Yeah. That way, like, especially if they're still standing there- Yeah they hear that it's- Yeah but you're not, like, personally speaking to them. Yes. That would've been a good choice. I just stared him down. And he probably got the message. He started thinking like, "That lady looked at me like..." Kids don't understand the social, like- No the socialness of sometimes that stuff. No. But- No. And I told my boys, like, when I see a lot of big kids playing, I'm like: Hey, these kids do not care about you, and if they accidentally push you, they don't care. Yeah. So, I really don't want you to play around here. Mm-hmm. Like, let's go somewhere else. Mm-hmm. 'Cause the, the, there's been a couple times where, like, a big kid got a little too crazy and, like, my boys almost fell, and we're like, "Okay, let's go." Like- Yeah. Yeah. I'm not putting up with this. Yeah. Dang. That sucks. Yeah. That was scary. It was. That, that, that would be really scary. That sounds scary. He could've had, like, a concussion or something. Yeah. Or drowned right there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I know that's kind of, like, out there, but- Yeah that's scary. I've saved Anders twice from drowning now. Oh my goodness. 'Cause one was in the, yeah, New Hampton in the pool. He was playing on the railing, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, and it was, like, up to his neck, and I was right next to him, so I was fine. Mm-hmm. But you know the railing that I'm talking about that goes into the water- Maybe on the Like the beach side? Yes. Yes. Yes. Um, anyway, he was playing on that and he just lost his grip and just fell into the water, and he came up and his full body rotated by, before I could get to him, and he came up and was Oh my God. And went back under. And I'm like, "Okay, got him." So I was close enough to him that that's all that was. But then we were at Airport Lake the other day and, um, he was on that lily pad or whatever, and he fell backwards off of it and like rolled in the water. And I'm like, "Anders!" Ugh. I screamed, and like everybody at the beach was like, "What is going on?" And I ran into the water and I'm running, I'm running- Oh no and then I trip and fall. Because the water is like, you know, as you get deeper it's like, "Run, run, run, run, run." Yes. And then the water gets thicker and higher and deeper and then it's like, face plant. Yeah. But it, Carter got him. So I say Carter- Did he have like a life vest on or anything? Yes. Okay. Well, no. Oh. No, he didn't because it- Oh, shoot. Ooh the water was like up to like his chest. He was doing okay, I thought. He probably should've had a life vest on. Shoot. But- Sometimes it's hard to know, especially if you're standing right there. Yeah. You're standing right there next to him. Yeah. There's, there- And he was doing so good. We were there for like an hour already and he hadn't- Mm had any incidents and then he fell backwards off the lily pad, so. It just takes one little- Yeah. And it's quiet. It is. If you're not watching them directly, it's, it's quiet. That's why I was a mean lifeguard, like, 'cause all the other lifeguards, they were just kinda chill, relaxed, just getting their tan on. Mm-hmm. And I'm just scanning the waters. I'm like making sure everyone's good. Yeah. If I see someone running in my peripheral I'd be like, "Ah." Then I'd go back to scanning the water. Back to scanning. Yeah. I don't feel like our lifeguards blow their whistle enough. Although at the baby place that, that one guy from the other day- That kid was blowing it off like every- Boop boop boop, boop boop boop, boop boop boop, boop boop boop. And I'm like, "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh." Well, and it's startling. Like, what am I doing wrong? I swear to God I didn't mean to do it. I know, I always look and see if it's me. Yeah. Like even though I'm just standing there in the water. I feel like they shouldn't whistle at the kiddie pool. I, since they're already in the water they should just like walk to them like, "Hey, you can't go face down on the slide." Yes. Yeah. Like a whistle is not intended for that 'cause kids can't hear it. Yeah. They're just having fun. Yeah. So this is where you have to like, "Hey, don't. Go on your back next time. Don't go face down." Mm-hmm. "Face first," or something like that. But I'm not gonna tell them how to do their job- Yeah because apparently they're not getting paid overtime. Well, and they probably have their own like training rules that they have to follow for that anyways, so. Yeah. But. Me and my mother-in-law saw a kid giving himself an edema in the kiddie pool. I'm sorry, what? I'm sorry. What, there was like a blow spout or something and he was... Oh. Yeah, and that like l- Was his shorts on? His butt was out. His whole ass butt. Cracked the crack. He was giving himself an edema. And like- Oh my me and Brandy were laughing. We're like, "Ha ha ha," that kid's like shorts just went down. Like, "Ha ha ha." And then like he went up the stairs and his pants were still off, and then he like found a spot and then like just sat. And me and Brandy were like- I can't imagine that would be good. No, we got a lifeguard. We're like, "Hey, that kid's giving himself an edema. Get him." Did that kid even, did the lifeguard even know what that meant? Probably not. Oh, okay. No, because she's, the other lifeguard saw that he was trying to go face down- Oh in the slide, so this kid got yelled at for going face down instead of- See, and again, at the kiddie pool, where the heck is that parent? Yeah. Um, this is why we have a lot of- Most of those parents sit in those chairs right there. We have a lot of day cares here. Oh. Mm. And it'll be like 60 plus kids. And like four adults So like the afternoon gets insane. Yeah. It's full of kids and they're just doing whatever the hell they want because the... I see the caretakers, they're just sitting and getting their tan on, and I'm like, "Oh, so you guys aren't even actively watching all these kids." Like- And they're there most of the day usually from like lunch on. They pack a lunchbox for the kids or whatever, and then they lunch on. Lunch or from like noon to 3:00. Mm-hmm. Wow. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And so I'm just kinda like, "Okay, this is a little chaotic," like. Yeah. And there was this one little daycare girl, and she kept coming up to me, and she kept, like, trying to, like, sit on my lap or, like, touch my feet. And I'm like, "Uh, that's enough." Like, "I don't know who you are." Like- Yeah 'cause I would hate for a parent to be like, "What's my kid-- What are you doing with my kid?" Yeah, exactly. And I'm like, "No, that's not..." That's not it. And then she started putting water in her mouth and, like, spitting it at me. Oh my gosh. And I was like, "No, no, no, that's not nice." And then she just would run away and laugh. And then this guy that I play pickleball with, he was just sitting in the water with his nieces, and she goes up to him and then, like, spits water in his face. And he's like, "Where's your parent?" Oh my gosh. Of course Richie would say that. That's so Richie. And so fi- You know, me and Brandy are laughing at him. We're like But I'm like, "Richie, she's with the daycare. I'm gonna go talk to the, you know, daycare people." And I'm like, I went up to them and I was like, "Hey, you got a student that's spitting water at adults. Like, can you come get her?" And they're like, "Oh, okay." Oh my gosh. And I'm like, just, "Okay. Wrap it up." Yeah. "Get going." Yeah. So yeah. Lots of drama at the pool. Yeah. Pool drama. Yeah. We had-- How do you, how do you guys feel about, like, when kids come and play with you when you're, like, out like that? I don't like it. Um. I don't like it. I recently experienced with this- Me too and the kid just would not stop talking to me. I know. Yeah. And, like, about everything. Mm-hmm. And, like- Mm-hmm I was like, "Dude, I'm just trying to relax." Yeah. I'm trying to watch my kids. Yep. Trying to interact with my kids, and he's just sitting here just do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. Aw. See, and I feel bad then- I know 'cause I'm like, "Do your parents not pay attention to you?" Obviously not. It's like he clearly- They don't wanna play with you somebody he wanted to talk to. Absolutely. Yeah. So I felt kinda bad, but- Nope, and that's how we felt with that little girl because she kept, like, wanting to sit on me. Yeah. Yeah. And she kept calling Brandy "Grandma" because the boys kept calling her Grandma. She's like, "Grandma?" And I'm like, "No." How old was that girl? Like Cutter's age. Mm. Mm. Interesting. Yeah. And I'm like, "This is just so weird." I don't- You're too friendly with strangers. Yeah. Yeah. I'm, like, very comfortable with strangers. Yeah. Like, you don't know stranger danger or anything. Mm-hmm. Yeah. But so, like, I do feel bad because obviously they've got someone at home not giving them the attention. Yeah. And yeah. I'm like, "Ugh." There's a time and a place, but not here- Yeah. Yeah when I'm trying to watch my kids. Mm-hmm. We were at the pool last week, and, you know, we have those, like, um, those bullet things that you, like, throw into the water and they sink. Torpedoes. Yeah, the torpedoes. Yep. And, um, there was actually two girls that- Like, came up and didn't ask or anything. Just took them? They just, like, started playing with us, and I was like, "Okay." Yeah. "That's fine." They were, they were sweet girls. They were very nice. Like, they weren't disrespectful or rude or anything like that, but, like, even after my kids were done playing with them, they wanted to continue. Mm. And so they'd, like, bring them back to me and I'd throw it for them, and I'm kinda like- Mm like, okay, now I'm, now you're kind of taking time away. Like, I can't, like, hang out with my kids because I have to keep, like- Watching. Yeah taking these from you and doing this, and then, like, making sure that I get all four back, and you don't just, like, run away with them and- So if you were their parent, wouldn't you see that was happening and go and intervene and be like, "Oh, here, you know, let's go find something else to do"? Yes. You know what I mean? I would, yeah. Yeah. But like- Or I would've said, "Hey, like, if you're, if you wanna play with them, that's totally fine, but you need to make sure that you're asking." Yeah. Like, and then you need to make sure that you're responsible with those things. Yes. 'Cause you just can't trust other kids to understand that. Yeah. So I don't know. I-- The interaction was fine, and when I said like, "Hey, I only have one more and then we're gonna go," like, she was totally fine. Yeah. But it just sort of was like- It wasn't a bad interaction. There was nothing wrong with it. I just was kinda like, "Eh." Not good. "This isn't, like, how I really wanted to spend the last, like, 45 minutes of my pool time- Yes with my kids." Right. Yeah. So. Yeah, I don't know. I think I'd just be blunt, like, "Okay, I'm done. Go play." Yeah. Well, I didn't wanna be-- I didn't want them to, like, feel bad 'cause they didn't do anything wrong. No, I know. They really didn't. It just was like- Uh, kids are- okay, I'm kinda over this now really comfortable with other- They are. I've noticed that. Yeah. They're really comfortable with other adults, and I'm like- Yeah "Ah, okay." I know. Like, I would be weary of other adults personally. Like- I know I don't know. Yeah. The boys were playing with some girls at the pool, and for the most part it was fine, but then she kept trying to pick up Cash and, like- Mm trying to throw him in the water. And I was like, "Uh-uh." Like, "Don't pick him up anymore." And she's like, "Okay." And then, like, she kinda got the hint and then just kinda swam off, and I was like, "Fine. That's fine by me." Yeah. But- Yeah no, he doesn't even put his face in the water, so, like- Brownie either. Oh, yeah. Mm-mm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I'm always hesitant when other kids wanna, like, play with Brownie at the pool 'cause he's very- Water shy shy. He's water shy. Like, he cries in the shower. Oh. Not anymore, but- Like- I mean, I cry in the shower. He-- Well, he's like, "I don't wanna get my hair wet. I don't want it to get in my face." Oh. "Oh, it's gonna touch me on my eyes." I'm like, "Honey, it's fine. It's not that big of a deal." But I'm always hesitant when other kids wanna play. Craig will not wash his face in the shower. Why? What? He will not get his face wet in the shower. Why? He's terrif- I don't know if, I don't, I don't wanna say he's terrified. He just doesn't like getting his face wet. How do you avoid that? So he'll come out and, like, wash his face with a washcloth. How do you avoid getting it wet in the shower when you wash your hair? He does. Was he waterboarded- How odd as a kid? I don't know. Well, okay. What, what'd you say? Was he waterboarded? Waterboarded as a kid. He almost drowned. Oh, shoot. Oh. So there was that. He really doesn't like getting his face wet. He- there was a dog that was chasing him off of a dock. It li- like a d- a mean dog was chasing him. Oh. He was standing on the end of the dock. His only option was to jump in the water, and he really couldn't swim well, and there was seaweed in there. Oh, shoot. So he kinda got tangled in the seaweed. Kinda was like suffer- trying to... Yeah, I know. Yeah. That's scary. That's really scary. Very scary. So he, ever since then, he doesn't like dogs, and he doesn't like getting his face wet. Damn it. Okay. So. Well, that's understandable then. Yeah, it is. I thought he was just weird, but that's understandable. No. No. That's crazy how PTSD- Yeah does that to some people. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Have you ever been in a pond with seaweed, though? Mm-mm. Uh-uh. I don't do- Yes I don't do any kind of pools. I also almost got tangled in the seaweed. Ooh. Yeah, I only do pools for that reason. Yeah. No, I- it would just touch my leg, and I'd be like, "Ugh." Ugh, yeah. Disgusting. Yes. Oof. Even thinking about it, thinking about fish in there gives me the heebs. Yeah. Yeah. It's just a no for me. Yeah. Mm-mm. I wore a yellow bathing suit in pond water, and all the fish must have just been attracted to me because they all were just like- Ew. They were touching me, and I'm like- Ew "Oh my God." And Kelly, she was in all black. She wasn't getting bothered at all. Yeah. And I'm like, "This is bullshit." That's nasty. Yeah. Ooh. No, I really, I really don't like rivers. I really don't like ponds. Especially because rivers and lakes and stuff at some point, like meet up with the ocean, and you just never know who'll be swimming up in those, up those rivers. Like bull sharks, they go from saltwater to freshwater. They'll eat you. When we went to South Carolina, I thought it was, like a really pretty river. Mm-mm. There was a freaking dolphin in there. Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. Oh my gosh. And I'm like, "How is there a dolphin? This isn't an ocean." And Nick's like, "Oh, because blah, blah, blah, whatever." Yeah, they meet up. Of course you had an explanation for it. They meet up. Yeah. Yeah, like the Great Lakes. I forget where it is, which Great Lake it is, but there was just like, not that long ago I think, like a bull shark attack because it meets up with the ocean, people. Yeah. And there is sea life that goes from s- Ooh like saltwater to freshwater. Yes. And that's a no for me. Yeah. I just couldn't believe it. I'm like, "Freaking dolphin." Yep. Nuh-uh, uh, uh, uh. Mm-mm. I don't do that. I don't do ponds, I don't do rivers, I don't do lakes. I do ponds, I do rivers, I do lakes. That's no, no, no, no. That's a no from me. Murky water. Yes. They've seen sharks- I do all kinds of water like all the way up here in the Mississippi River. Yeah. All the way up here. So you best believe I won't be dipping my toesies in anything but clear pool water. That sounds like something you would do. Clear pee water. I know, I was like, yeah. Yeah. That's, that's it. You gotta pee. How do you feel about, like, water parks- Eh and stuff like that? I mean, there's no sharks in there. Yes. Right. So. I got that. But like, do you get... Like, you're fine with pool water? I mean, it's not my favorite. Okay. I don't prefer... I like to be in the shower or the bathtub. Yeah. But I do enjoy a good swim. Okay. So. Okay. You do what you can do. She be diving and everything. Yeah. I'm mermaid. I, I get my gogs out and we- She does we run around, you know? It's fun. Like, full on goggles, like nose and- Yeah, covers my nose 'cause I don't know how to turn my nose off in the water. So. I don't know how to turn my nose off. Calvin says that you can, like- So cute turn your nose off so that nothing gets up there. Yeah. And I'm like, I can't do that. I don't understand how you do that. I just always continuously blow. See, I think you're supposed to do that. I don't like that. It still gets up there It does. Mm-mm. It does. I don't think you ever learned how to put your face in the water correctly. I did not. That's correct. Okay. I don't recall ever taking swimming lessons, if I'm honest with you. Oh. I don't recall. But you know how to swim? Yeah. Nice. I think up- probably, so we moved into- So you just kinda get the general idea of- We, when we moved into the neighborhood that my mom lives in now when I was, like, five, I think, or something, and there's a pool in that neighborhood. Mm-hmm. So probably my dad taught us to swim. Mm. Probably. I really have no recollection at all. I just remember, like, one day we were swimming. Yeah. So yeah. I don't know. Well, cool. But gotta have the gogs. Gotta have the gogs. Got the gogs. They're a must. I'm sorry, I just can't. I was a mermaid growing up. Yep. Same. Always at the pool. Yep. At the- Did your mom stay with you? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Nope, she never- No did that. Yeah. But she loves the pool too. Yeah. She just- Mm. It just relaxes her. Or sh- but she also likes lakes and ponds. Yeah. Mm. She just, she just loves water. Yeah. Same. Mm. Samesies. Well, on that note. Yeah. That was a long episode, I feel like. I know. It is. Yeah. It was quite the- One hour and 13 minutes. Kinda went on a lot about, uh, pools. Yeah. I know, but I feel like this is the season. Swimming and water. It really is. 'Tis the season- And I've been curious about your guys' opinion about that stuff for a while, so. Yeah. Angel. It was good that came up. Yes. Yeah. Okay. Well, this has been Hannah. And Calissa. And Sarah. Bye. Bye.