IT'S GIVING TANGIBLE TAKEAWAY W/ MOM OF FIVE @homebeginswithlove

Welcome to the Carpool podcast with Kelly. Things should not trend in cars so heavily. Uh-huh. Like, they're cars and you're acting like it's a fashion purse. A fashion purse. You're acting like it's a bag. And Liz. Fashion purse. You sounded like a man. She wants a fashion purse for Christmas. Your mom time off starts now. Welcome back to the Carpool podcast with Kelly. And Liz. And I got a new blue light behind me. Don't I look like one of those gamers now that has like lights behind them? Yeah. I can't stop improving the setup. You have no idea what I'm going to come back with every week. I know. I feel like my lights look so bad compared to yours. Are you buying me lights? Why aren't you just shipping them to my house? Well, the lights I'm buying are coming in packs. Oh, I see. So it's like, I don't need all of them. Oh, I see. I see. Yeah. But anyway, guys, happy Wednesday. Hope everyone's week is off to a bang. I mean, I cannot believe how much money I spent on Black Friday. I'm going to say it again. I don't appreciate. It's like things that aren't just gifts are on sale. And so I'm struggling because I'm like, I would love to stock up on that right now, but I've simply like, I can't just be like, I need a July sale essentials. I don't need gifts in July. Like I need you guys to put my shampoo on sale in July. Yes. Yes. Like is that because I'm kicking myself or like, I've been waiting to buy the kids new socks for Black Friday. And I literally am trying to like give them all in the same pair of socks, at least George and Hattie. Like they can have wide ankle socks. I chose Gap as my brand because I think they're better than the old Navy ones. I don't like the Cat and Jack ones. So I'm just buying them Gap ankle socks. George and Hattie have the same socks. There's no more matching the socks. So I was going to buy like six packs of them and I was waiting. It's just like another extra like, you know, 40 bucks that I spent. Yeah. But it's like, I got a good deal on them. I know. I know. I don't know. We need another sale. I mean, I what was the stat? It was like $11 billion or something was spent on Black Friday. Weekend. Well, good for Black Friday. But like, just imagine if you guys did that again. Like in another in July. How are you feeling about like your consumerism? Have you fallen victim to anything? Consumerism? No, I don't think that I have. I think I have all my Christmas shopping done and that feels incredible. Yeah. But yeah, I haven't bought to your point. I haven't bought anything for myself that I would personally like to suck up on. Um, I'm actually really good. Like I have a lot. Like I'm having kind of having a hard time coming with the Christmas list because I'm really like, I really don't feel like I need much right now. Um, so I feel like I was very smart and very intentional on my Christmas shopping. I've got everyone listed. I'm stacking all my gifts in Maddie's office. Like I'm actually like really on top of it this year. I'm feeling really good. I'm feeling, I'm feeling good too. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling blessed is what I'm feeling. Yeah. Of course. Yeah. Um, and I'm excited to get back kind of into the swing of things. Kind of just have like a killer December. Like I love, I'm trying to get back to the cars, you know, we like took the week off for Thanksgiving on the car front, which was fun. But now I'm ready. I'm ready to install cars. I'm going to raise my butt off. I'm ready to like, you know, critique of vehicles exterior. Like I'm just kind of ready. Okay. Well, good. I'm really, really excited to hear you say that. And we have car of the year to start prepping for. And I have industry news that's going to, it's, it's going to mess with you is what it's going to do. It's going to leave you pondering things. And while we also have an interview today to get to as well. What don't we have today? Like we have so much advice question. We actually have it all. So we wanted to start, I don't know if we've teased it or not, but we are starting kind of like a new mini series and it is not named because that's like, you know, that's something we just kind of struggle with here at the carpal podcast. Um, but essentially it's like, we found like three great accounts who we've been following who have good, just like grocery saving, home cooking, money saving, freezer meal tips is how I would describe it. And so we've already recorded three of the interviews and we're just going to post one, I think like every week for the next three weeks and everyone's just going to give you their own little tangible takeaway on just like how you can save some money at the grocery store, how you can cook from home more. I'm very excited about it. I'm so inspired by cooking from home lately. I've been like really trying to get creative. Like before I go to the store, before I insta cart for like that one thing, I'm like, what do I have? What can I use? When I use something that's been sitting in my pantry or my fridge or my freezer, I feel like such a freaking winner. It's creative. It's, we've been put in such a box to think that like homemaking is, um, it's, it's less than or it's, um, like our skills could be better served somewhere else, perhaps the workforce or whatever. And like in some cases, like I'm not, this is not a dig on anyone who has a job. Like I'm a working mom, like whatever. But like it is really, it really makes, homemaking, you really use your brain, you really use your creativity. And I think when you, you, you look at it more like a job or a profession or a purpose, then you're going to take more joy out of it and you're going to show up a little bit in a better way. At least that's how I feel about it. Um, totally aligned. And I, it's kind of like where I'm enjoying the kitchen and where I'm feeling inspired lately is like it's learning. There's knowing how to follow a recipe and then there's knowing to cook, knowing how to cook. And I do feel like the two are different. And I think one thing I want to get better at is I want to get better at cooking, like not just recipe following, not just like, because that's not a cost effective way to do it. So when I cookbook, find the recipe by every single like one time use ingredient on there, it's going to take up, it's money is going to take up fridge or freezer space, pantry space. I would so much rather be like, okay, here's what I have. How do I learn to cook at this? Or like, Hey, I've ran out of X. Can I make it from scratch? And so that's kind of going to be like a big, I plan to have kind of a big like personal year in that aspect is I just want to get better at not following the recipe, learning how to cook the foods, like learning how to cook this, learning how to cook that. And I want to get a lot better about freezing, batching and freezing and just eating more, I guess I'll call it from scratch. And I'm someone who cooks dinner every night. So but I wouldn't say I'm doing it from scratch. And I wouldn't even say I'm doing it like with heavily processed foods either. But I'm just not, I want to introduce more from scratch foods into my family. Well, and it's the from scratch foods, there's the level of being in control of the ingredients, but it's also can save save you money. Yeah. And it's in a taste better. Like actually the only downside is it takes a little bit of time. But I think the better you get at it, the quicker it'll go. Yeah. Yeah, I did that. I made one of my favorite things to make lately instead of like when I just like to make taco meat instead of tacos or crunch wraps. And so I was making crunch wraps and I had everything made except I forgot the queso. Like I never went out and bought queso. And I'm like, OK, I've got cheese cubes. I've got shredded cheese and I've got a block of cheese in my fridge. Certainly I can make queso out of this. And so then I just like looked up a quick route. Like I asked chat to BT. Here's what I have. Like how can I make queso? And it told me in that now I know like, OK, so all I have to do is just go make it. I don't have to go and buy it. That's so inspiring. I love it. And I also don't don't need to buy the big jug that we're not going to go through. I can control the amount that I'm going to make because it's just me and Maddie, who's having the queso, like my kids don't eat the queso. So I don't need a huge, a huge jug for 499. I can use my leftover. I literally used whatever leftover cheese I had and milk and like some seasonings. And I didn't even have all the seasonings that chat. She told me so. And it felt good. I'm obsessed. So anyway, that's what you have to look forward to at the end of this episode is our first interview and then keep tuning in for more. We I wanted to just quickly recap Thanksgiving. I know you're like, oh, my gosh, that's so last week, but I haven't talked to you guys since then. We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving. I went over my notes with me and mom, compared notes. My my salad was missed, I think, was kind of like my biggest takeaway. So I need to get back to the kitchen. I she needs to figure out the cocktail situation a little bit more. Mom and dad have really gotten into cocktails in the last five years. Yeah, like they used to be like such wine people. And like now there are such cocktail people. But the problem is I don't like dark liquor. Like I'm always just looking for like a white liquor cocktail. But I also don't need like a martini. I'm like, it's two at PM. So they need mom needs to work on some sort of like Turkey Trot punch. Like that's what I'm looking for. I'm looking for something like that. OK, so it was my note to her. My note to her was I love the mimosas because we got there at 1145. I did. I was trying to get me like a white cranberry cocktail. And I'm like, no, I'll take some mimosas heavy on the orange juice. Like I don't need that right now. I did. I had a few mimosas. The problem. Yeah, I was feeling good about the mimosas. I forgot about those probably because I had too many of them. Yeah, they were good. One of my notes for mom was whoever who's ever hosting. Like she she gave me the appetizer. Whoever hosting has to have the appetizer, unfortunately. Because then some people got there before me and like there was no appetizer out and like you can't assume that me with my two kids are going to show up on time. OK, I think that's a good note. But besides that, I mean, she knows she had coffee for after I mean coffee. I love coffee after a meal. Yeah, I love it. It's nice. Yeah, with a little dessert. It is like the best treat I could ever have. I'm obsessed. A note that I had for myself was so we go to two Thanksgiving's and so like we eat at mom's and then we go to Maddie's and then like I'm not hungry by the time I get there and then the kids are ready to leave by like six o'clock. And then I get home and like we have nothing like we didn't take the leftovers. And I'm kind of like a I like Thanksgiving food, but like I like it once. Like I don't need to eat it several times after like I don't take leftovers home. That's just me. So a note for me was like. Have something prepared that you can either quickly throw in the oven or something for for an actual dinner, because the other thing too is James didn't have anything to eat. He didn't even eat mac and cheese at Thanksgiving. So he only had sweets all day. And so I'm like, this kid needs a chicken nugget in his system so badly. So I'm like, I just need to be thinking about when we come home. We need we need to we still need to eat dinner. Yeah. OK, good notes. That's my note. We spent the night at mom and dad's house. It was wonderful. It was fun. Well, my family will continue to do that. It's just like something special, though, for us, though, you know, totally. And I was so like. I'm so excited about my life right now, because I'm almost the most postpartum I've ever been. Yeah, that's crazy. I've never had an 18 month old and not been pregnant before, because I just had all my kids so close together. I don't know what it's like to have an 18 month old baby and not be pregnant, not be nauseous with morning sickness. So I'm very excited. And it was such like a. Not that it was perfect, because like Libby was still kind of crazy and like, you know, Fred was still getting into stuff, but I just kept thinking like next year. Wow. Wow. Wow. Next year's going to be great. She's bringing a salad and a side next year. I I'm bringing a salad and a side next year. Right. Like like you just said, I was just feeling and I'm just really really excited about that. And Libby's just getting Libby, although she doesn't sleep. She's a very easy baby. And it's just feeling good. I feel like I'm getting my pink back a little, you know? Oh, yeah. Yeah. You know, someone DM me that the other day, like just with what I'm like making so much sourdough and like so much homemade stuff. And they're like, I can just really tell that you're getting your pink back. And I do think that there's something to be said about like once a baby is over one that like you kind of start to see the light at the end. And this is also the longest that I have been postpartum because I we got pregnant with Sloane James is five months old. So it's like really exciting to see that like you do become yourself. You actually don't become yourself ever again. You are such a better version of who you are. No, you're like honestly, so much more impressive. Like that's what I've always said, like you'll and you'll be so proud of the person you are once you get through that postpartum area. Like you you are so cool. Like you're so cool. I know. To me. I know, I feel that. Yeah. But any who's it was a great Thanksgiving. It was I mean, a very productive Black Friday weekend. I mean, the thing with that weekend is it's always longer than you than you think it's going to feel because it's it's a next school Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and you're like, it's not Sunday. It's only and so it is a long weekend. But honestly, it flowed and I really enjoyed. I really enjoyed the big kids being home. And I'm honestly looking forward to Christmas break. Wow. And like you had such a bad Christmas break last year. Yeah, I know. I'm telling you, they're getting easier. They're getting easier in front of the Libby are so cute. Whatever. I don't need to like go on a soap box. So how much I love my kids. And that's not very interesting. 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That's hello Alma. A L M A dot com slash carpool. C A R P O O L. What is interesting is my industry news. Okay, but I do have an advice question for you. And this is actually kind of a timely advice question based on what we're talking about. So let me pull it up for you. Okay. I wanted to start this out with a thank you first. I want you both to know that this podcast inspires me to be a better mother, wife and neighbor each time I listen. That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. That's the way you make the little things into such joyful experiences for your children and the way you care for your family truly makes me want to be better and often assist me in being better. Oh my gosh, this is the nicest thing. Is she also a podcast? Also, because of your podcast, I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year. Listening. Good job. You already put it on my heart to host my family, even if everything around me wasn't perfect like it should be. So thank you for being the only podcast I know that inspires. That I know of that is inspiring to wives and moms. Okay, I just read the advice question. I did not read that initial blurb when I found this. That is the most kind message I've ever received. Okay. This advice is for Kelly. Advice questions for Kelly. I'm currently pregnant with baby number four, my fourth boy. And I have heard that having a four, that having the fourth is actually less stressful than having three. For reference, I have a 12, five, two and baby do it March. Have you found this to be true? Because although my third is the easiest baby I've had, it rocked my stress levels. So I'm going to tread lightly here. I'm also going to encourage people not to center themselves on what I'm about to say, but I'm going to tell this, I'm going to tell a fellow mama for what probably she needs to hear and what she wants to hear. Having four is like so fun. It's like such a flex. Do you know what I mean? So there is a level of it where like having four kids, you know, people are always like, you know, once you have four, everything goes out the window. And I actually didn't find that. I don't love like that sentiment. I don't love that the more kids you have, the crazier your life is. So like you just had to learn to get over it. I don't think I don't like that. I actually think that four was very hard in the beginning, like the first couple of weeks, like it was probably my second hardest postpartum experience. But you know, you never know if that's just like the way the hormones hit you that time or if that was actually because it was Libby. Because my two hardest postpartum George rocked me on my butt, thought my life was over, thought I was never going to have any more kids. And Libby, I kind of had a lot of baby blues and like similar feelings, but I don't know if it was for or just, you know, it probably was just the hormones. Because I actually love grouping able to group the kids. I feel like it's even at how young Fred and Libby are, I love having the bigs, having the littles, having the girls, having the boys. And it's just like everyone has a buddy and then you're spending quality time with your kids, but you're spending like two, but you're spending it with two of your kids. And I think it's so good for their relationships. So and I think four really forced me to get organized and take like motherhood a lot more seriously. And that sounds bad because I'm not going to take it seriously with three, but it's like I am a family of six. We need processes. Mm hmm. You know, so I don't think I gave myself more acceptance to like let the crazy be crazy. And of course I have days like that, but I took it as more of a challenge to like kick it into high gear a bit. Mm hmm. Yeah. Stretch yourself like you can do it. Yeah. And you can do it. And you can do it. Four has actually been, especially, and I mean, I've spent on a whole tangent about like four has actually been wonderful. And I love having four kids and it has been to me, it's like the most selfless. I don't like me. That's not the right word, but it's such a, I'm so happy that I could do it for my children to give them four kids. But to those of you who like don't don't think you could do for that's fine too. Because like don't compare. I mean, I have, I have, I have a lot of help. I have, I work full time. So I have full time childcare. We have, we have two grandparents who are in town and willing to help. Like I have someone that comes to clean the house once a week. So I just, I just, I say that to say like, that's, that's how I could have four. I don't know if I could have four if I didn't have the cards I was dealt. So I also want to say that. But and also, you, this is you speaking when your youngest is now 15 months old. You told me many times during the first year of Libby's life, Elizabeth, you need to think long and hard about if you should have four kids. Cause I've always said I wanted four and you have said that to me so many times that it's annoying. So this is also used to be, so I'm just saying like if the baby comes and you're like, this is stressful, like what, what am I doing? Like make it to a year, make it to a year. I mean, you have to, but make it to a year. There's a light. Yeah. You caught me on a good day. I'll be honest with you. You were just feeling, you just had, you were just talking about how much you love your family and your kids. Yeah. Ask me after Christmas break. Okay. Now we can get into the industry news where you share the hot tea going on in the auto industry. Okay. The auto industry, you guys, it's like, it is the most unhinged industry I've just ever, I'm just, I'm obsessed. Like pop culture could never, they have nothing on the chaos that is the auto industry. Okay. Couple of stories we're going to get to today. Oh my gosh, there's ads for days. 10 EVs, automakers are dropping for 2026. I mean, they're dropping them like skinny jeans. Like they, there's, there's 10. Talk about consumerism. The automakers were like, we're all going EV by 2030 and you guys are all doing it with us. And then now they're like, yeah, that might have been a bit of an overcorrection. I mean, it's crazy. It's crazy. They're just dropping them. And these are like some kind of like, they're going to be ones you heard of. Okay. Acura, ZDX, that's not the exciting. The Nissan Aria. I've spoken about this the way that a couple of years ago, she was the bell of the ball at the New York auto show had the biggest display, had the biggest party out by the Aria and it's over. Yeah. Okay. Um, Genesis is dropping their electric car. Mercedes is dropping their EQ and the EQS, which is kind of, oh, EQS sedans. I'm sorry. Um, the Polestar two, the Ram 1500 rev. That's a stupid car. Who bought that? The Dodge Charger, the Porsche K1, the Maserati. That was all. So really it's just, it's, it's, it's really just, I guess the Nissan's and the Acura. And then a lot of like the luxury cars, which is interesting because I feel like if the luxury car brands are dropping EVs, like who has the means to buy EVs more than luxury market people? Mm hmm. It's just very interesting. I think it's very interesting that that was a list of 10 and this is like the first rollout of like 10 that are being dropped. There will be others. Yeah. EVs are, but, but I think this is healthy. Like I think I want the people who want EVs to buy EVs and I want them to have options and now they have options and kind of like, what is it called? The cream rises. No, that can't be the right. That can't be it. The cream rises to the top. Of what? I don't know. Maybe if we knew more about home making. If we knew more about cooking. Cream rises. The cream always rises to the top. I mean, look at that being regards to making yogurt. Like what the heck is this? Maybe, maybe. Anyways, all to say the cream has risen and it's risen in the form of not these 10 cars who just got dropped. So the cream rises to the top as a metaphor for talented and excellent people and ideas will inevitably stand out and succeed. It originates from the literal observation that cream being the richest and lightest part of the milk separates and floats to the service. They suggest that true quality light cream will ultimately become visible and recognized regardless of challenges. Obsessed. We all learn something new today. Or maybe maybe did you and I did. Anyway, I just feel like it's, yeah, so that's what I'll say. Okay, speaking of EVs, this is a story from Motor Trend. This add-on brings physical buttons back to your Tesla. Again, here's the automakers. It's, it's hot one day, it's out the next. Like I'm telling you things are, things should not trend in cars so heavily. Uh-huh. Like they're cars and you're acting like it's a fashion purse, a fashion purse. You're acting like it's a bag. Fashion purse. Why did I say that? You sounded like a man. She wants a fashion purse for Christmas. I know. Sorry guys, I just have to mansplain this to you. Okay. So as electric vehicles continue to push the boundaries of automotive technology, first time owners, especially have faced a steep learning curve when it comes to trying to figure out all the new features their EVs have to offer. So Tesla for an up, for an upcharge will add buttons to your Tesla. Okay. It's a strip of shortcut buttons that attaches to the bottom of the Tesla screen designed to help reduce the time and attention required to navigate Tesla's touch screen based setup. So Tesla knows that the buttons are a better idea and more convenient and going to upcharge people for them. That's what it's sounding like. Hmm. Interesting. And we've seen this Volkswagen's come out and said that they're going to go back to more buttons and it's just like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know who was in the room of some of these design meetings. Like they just need to go plop a random person off the street before any of these manufacturers have another meeting because like what they're, they're getting to, they are too involved. They're too in the weeds. Like you just need someone who just like can take a fresh look and has common sense to say, but don't you think it would be easier just to like turn the volume up with a knob? Like all the innovation, like don't touch the knobs. They just don't touch them. Well, and this is a great segue to our hard hitting story that we're going to cover next, but the last thing I want to say is they're always just like we interviewed over a thousand people and I'm like, show it to me, release it. Go ahead and release it then. Like did you, like let me see what they said. Like show me a thousand people who said they liked that and then I'll believe you. Crazies. And like, and liked it without you like giving them like a pitch first, because like I've totally been to one of those, like they, they'll launch a new car and they'll say, now we chose the leather because it represents the Japanese flower. And like, you're like, they could have sell you onto it. I know. Yeah. And you're like, oh, that's, that's cool. But guess what the salesperson is not going to do. Tell you about the Japanese flower that the leather represents. Like that's only, only the design team is thinking about that. Like the consumer does not care. And had we not had that design brief, we would not know about it. Well, exactly. And then like it's just, it's not always this like poetry and motion. They're trying to make it. You know what I mean? Like let me tell you how that, let me tell you how this experience is going. They're going to look at your $85,000 car and they're getting sold by a sales guy named Derek, who's on his third monster of the day. And you're going to try to tell, and yeah, but sure, it's the Japanese flowers that inspire the interior stitch. Like let's just get, be so for real for like two seconds. Okay. This is our last story. And this is like a story we're going to have to watch closely. And let me just say I'm very happy I'm not in the Senate for this story. Cause I don't know how I would rule on, I don't know how I would rule on this. I guess it does the Senate rule. Yeah, they do. I don't know. Upcoming it's upcoming, upcoming Senate hearing on vehicle affordability will target safety features. So there's a Senate hearing coming up. And the question is, so let me back you up. They're starting to, they're starting to, and they have mandating a lot of this like tech. So like for example, in 2017, they mandated backup cameras. Like you cannot build a new car without a backup camera at saving lives. There's been some other ones like rear seat reminders. You cannot, you cannot build a new car that does not have a seat reminders. 39 kids a year are dying from being left in a hot car. It needs to be in the car. It's required. The latest one is automatic emergency braking, which is set to be a requirement for 2029 and it's as like, you have to do it. Like it's saving lives. And these car manufacturers are like, the cars are getting too expensive and you're making us do it. And then you're complain, complaining about vehicle affordability. So there's some House Republicans, Senate Republicans, who, whoever, I don't, I don't know who it is, that are taking this to Senate to see if they, that some of these should be renegotiated or lifted to make the cars more affordable. And it's just that's, that's, that's the story. Morning glory. Can we, instead of getting rid of the safety features to get rid of the Japanese flower stitch? Senate put me in. It says the hearing will ultimately force a public debate on a fundamental question at what point is the cost of regulatory protection outweigh its benefit? And yeah, Liz, let's bring that up. Let's bring that up for a second. Or, or, or just spitball in here. Could we just like exclude even the features I like, like ambient lighting and like 12 inch touchscreen displays? Like what if we did just strip that more down? I think people, everyone likes Apple CarPlay. So all we need are some buttons for quick buttons and we need a nice little screen and we need our safety features. Yeah. I would say I don't need a wireless, I don't need two wireless chargers. I mean, the freaking Hyundai CNA has a UV cleaner in it. Get out of here. Again, be so for real. Get out of here. Get out, get out of the room. Never forget when I did a Lincoln Aviator and it was, I was like, oh, this aviators, this is kind of nice. And the one we were reviewing was like $90,000. And I did not say navigator. I said aviator. Yeah. I said the four, I said the fancy Ford Explorer. Insane. Yeah. Um, I would say as painful as vehicle affordability is I would tell them to that, to keep the mandated safety features. And if you are struggling with vehicle affordability, we just need to, you have to buy pre-owned. I think I'll say it a hundred times, pre-owned cars are better. And pre-owned cars are, the problem is pre-owned cars are so expensive because new cars are so expensive. Like it's just, it's this, it's this toxic cycle. Um, and there's not a perfect solution, but I do agree. Like because those new cars become pre-owned cars and those pre-owned cars are what we give our teen and what we like, what people drive. So I don't like that. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Let's just, let's not blame it on the safety features and the regulations there to why the vehicle affordability is up, which is fair. It's true. But are there other cuts that you can make and still have all the fun features if you want for the people who want to spend that kind of money, but like, let's get a stripped down safe version for people who aren't going to spend that kind of money or can't spend that kind of money. Let's not take away the safety features for them. It's just so hard. The auto market, again, and they've done this to themselves because again, it's just so trendy. It's like, why is the tell you I gain designed every three designed every three years? Like, what if we just perfected a product and they just need to kind of change like the marketing and I feel like the process and the rollout with some of these things and cars just used to be so much more of a necessity and like a point, eight, a point B thing. And now they're like anything but that. You know, and it's just interesting. You know, when we talk to a lot of people about their family cars, obviously, and the people who are the most excited to tell them to talk about their car are the people who are like, actually, I think I think it might have been at this interview that we're going to post because I think I asked her what car she drove. She goes a 2012 Honda Odyssey and I love it. Yeah. People who are using their cars for the for function and not just for flex or love their car because of the way it functions for their families love their car so much more. I freaking love my minivan and I'm the type because I've just been driving so many different cars and like my my background with cars. Like, I don't like whatever. I don't really care about my car. Like I've never like super duper excited. Like I'll drive whatever and I'm like loving my minivan and why? Because it functions so well and it makes my life easier. Yeah. And we always focus on a car's functionality and I think that's like, I mean, I would hope that's what people feel like sets our tours apart because we're not like we'll mention the fun features and like, you know, this is a business. Like, sure, I'm going to like do some I'm going to show some of the cool features because that performs the best. But like we are just we're stripping a car down. Like I don't even care what trim it is because that's I'm not focusing on the trim. I'm focusing on the functionality and I just think that makes this different. And that's industry news. OK, well, that was some good industry news. And now it's time to get into our interview with home begins with love. Natalie Johnson, a.k.a. home begins with love. Welcome to the Carpool podcast. Thank you for having me. Now, that's a heck of a handle. Home begins with love. Did you just I mean, I would have thought you have you had it forever. Did you like pay a thousand dollars for it? Like how tell us about that. OK, long story short, I've always loved to quote by St. Mother Teresa, where she said when she received her Nobel Peace Prize, like in 1979, I think she said love begins at home. And I just love the idea that like it felt like the perfect reflection on the fact that if you really want to change the world, go home and like love your family, the people that you can impact the most in your life. And since I was doing like homemaking, homeschooling, home cooking, I kind of did a play on the word. So instead of, you know, love because at home, home because of love. Natalie, that is one of my favorite quotes. I am always quoting that if you want to change the world, go home and love your family. I have a mobile in my room. I think it is such a powerful thing. And really like just we really need some people to start taking that advice. Just focus on you. Go home, go home, get off the Internet. Go home and love your family. I'm obsessed. OK. And I have a family and do things for your family because that's what we're here to do. Create create good people. That's what you're killed. That's what we're in charge. That is the task that we have been dealt as mothers in 20, 25, almost 26, like make the good people in the world. Our mom told me a quote the other day, and it's one of those quotes that kind of leaves you like a little inspired, a little depressed, but it's good. And it was something along the lines of like, you know, God gives you these perfect angels when they're born and it's your job to keep them as perfect as possible. Because like they're perfect when they're born. And so it's like what every day and anything you can do to keep them as close to perfect, as close to God as possible. Is really our mission on this earth. So wow, wait, just deep off the bat. I can tell this is going to be good. So Natalie's Natalie's content over on Instagram is like she said, all things homemaking, she homeschools her five kids through high school, which is incredible. And I would love to hear more about that. She posts amazing recipes, very very what sounds intimidating, but the way she produces the content is very approachable. You really inspire me to like actually try and make something in the kitchen before I go and buy it at the store made. Like, are you are you do you have like a background in cooking? Because you look like a professional chef on Instagram. Oh, I love that I come across that way. No, my background is actually in chemical engineering. I was a chemical engineer and I should work for I work at Caterpillar in Peoria, Illinois, when I know you went to college there. And so I lived in Peoria. Four of my kids were born there in Peoria. And then we moved to a suburb of Cincinnati in like 2019. So my last baby was born here. But yeah, so we lived there. I did engineering and then started staying home with my kids and we didn't homeschool till 2020, like during COVID time. And then we've been homeschooling ever since and it's been wonderful. What is it like being at home homeschooling your five kids? I would say it's a lot of together time and a lot of food. So I'm cooking all the time. My kids are eating all the time, which is really the driving force behind like the constant cooking because it's either we're going to eat a bazillion snacks or we're actually going to like eat meals. I mean, my kids, breakfast, lunch and dinner together every single day. So we just have to have a system and a process so that we can actually have food ready to eat. What's the age breakdown of your kids? My youngest is three and my oldest is 15. That's a big breakdown. It is. But what's wonderful is like my 15 year old can literally take my three year old for a walk. Like that is when I only a little, you know, I had to be outside at all times. My 15 year old can literally take my three year old to play in the snow. I mean, that's huge. Yeah, that's huge for you. That's really huge. OK, so your your homeschooling, your staying at home. When I watch your content, it to me, I'm like how I can hardly cook with just two kids. How are you like walk me through what your days, what your days look like? Well, honestly, I really try to not cook from scratch every single day. I think you guys have talked about prepped your protein. I remember Kelly, you mentioned on what episode how you felt like like a superstar because you've prepped all this protein. And honestly, if I can drive home any suggestion to someone who's trying to cook more and eat more at home, having prepped protein is like life changing because you can make a dish so quickly for a lunch or a dinner or a snack. If you have something that's like already ready to go, you're not starting from scratch, you're you're starting from a cooked option. And then you get to be creative with how you're going to use it. It gives you the time and the freedom versus like having to start with like a raw piece of chicken. You know, does that make sense? Right. Right. So give us an example of some of your like, what are your go to prepped proteins to have in the fridge? I always have ground beef seasoned with taco meat and like seasoned in my fridge at all times or in my freezer. Like I can whip together nachos, burrito, taco bowl, any kind of thing. That is always prepped in my fridge. I always have some kind of chicken either grilled in the summertime or like roasted. You'll never find me without some kind of cooked chicken in my fridge or freezer. Yeah. Yeah. At all times. So smart. That is so smart. It's so versatile. And I think like I've just never been like the biggest fan of a super strict meal plan because neither. What if it rains that day? What if the vibes are off? What if I had a burger for lunch? Like, I don't know. Like my life just I don't know which direction it's going to take me. So that's where I found a lot of freedom and creativity in just prepping like portions of it and then being able to make adjustments as needed. So I agree. I think that's such a good investment in your time. I'm always thinking three days out. I don't a lot of people do this like seven week or even two week meal plan. That's just too restricting for me because I don't know how much one of my kids might eat all the chicken at lunch, you know, and then what am I supposed to serve? Because I plan to use that chicken like the next night for dinner. That just doesn't work for me. So I'm always thinking like three days out so that I can pull something out of my freezer if I have to to let it defrost and cook it. It's just giving you more flexibility versus planning out a whole week. And then I have to scrap plans because things change. Life happens. Someone gets sick. We don't want to eat it, you know. Yeah. So what's kind of your theory on like, I mean, you're at home all day, you're cooking in your kitchen constantly. What's your theory or your tips on like keeping a semi clean kitchen in workspace workspace? I mean, are you cleaning up after every single meal you're making or is it kind of like make do deep clean at the end of the night? I do two cleaning times in my mind. I can walk past a dirty kitchen like my mom, she could not do that. I have memories of her as a kid. We'd be ready to leave somewhere or do something and she's like, the kitchen has to be cleaned now at nighttime. I do want to put the kitchen in bed. Like I like to wake up to a clean kitchen, but especially with homeschooling, I can't stop and like clean the dishes every second. Someone makes a dish dirty. So I always clean up after lunch, like during nap time. And then I clean up after dinner at the end of the day. And if things happen, if we can tidy up, of course, you know, in between all those times, that's great. But like if I stopped every time there's a dirty dish, then I would just literally be standing in my single day. Our mom said the same thing, like growing up because you had a lot of kids as well. She said that the middle of the day, like after lunchtime, like that was intermission. That was like a reset time. Like we're starting number two, the second act of the day. So let's reset the whole whole thing. I agree. It's not killing yourself over like the breakfast cleanup, because I'm also like, I don't know, I might like quickly rinse the pan and use it again. You might use the same plate for breakfast that you used for lunch. And I mean, my kids aren't home with me during the week, but on the weekends on a Saturday, I'm not killing myself between the meals. I want to get something else done. Yeah. The dishes will be still be there. No, they're not going anywhere. I find it's a very least putting all the dishes just like in the sink. So at least your counters aren't cluttered. That like helps my mental a little bit. So I don't feel like totally chaotic, but like then, yeah, during my reset time, you know what I do? The dishes, I don't even like to put them in the sink because then I feel like I don't want to use my sink. I just put them next to the sink. Sure. That's just like getting them off the counter. Yeah, off the counter. So what about laundry? I mean, you're home, you're busy, you've got five kids. Well, I'll tell you a trick. Once a kid hits my age six in my house, they can do their own laundry. Love it. So we had to do our own laundry. What's what what age list? It was not as early as six. I think it was like 10. Well, I will say like my six year old, he partners with my like my kids actually go girl boy, girl boy, girl. So the girls do it together and the boys do it together. So they can help each other and I don't make them if they want to fold it. Great. If not, I really don't care. I mean, leggings or leggings, you want to throw them in your drawer? Tell us what that looks like. So, I mean, I mean, tell us like how you set that up with your kids. What are the what are the expectations with them? Are you ever helping them or is it kind of your. I'll remind them. I don't want my kids to like not have clean clothes. So I will remind them if I notice like they're a little laundry hand for seeing full, but to my girl's share to my boy's share and then my teenager has her own room. So my teenager does all her own laundry. I'll iron things for her, you know, if she wants something to look nice. And then the two girls together, they throw it in there. I'll change it sometimes. Sometimes they can't reach the bottom of the washing machine, that kind of thing. And then they have to put it away. We have a cleanup time. Like your mom was saying, you have a reset at lunch. We also have a reset before my husband gets home from work, because back years ago, it would stress him out to no end to come home to like a chaotic house. Like messes everywhere, piles. And it was hard at that time, because I had all little kids. So it's all on me to clean up. So now what I do is at the end of the day, I tell the kids, however much time is left after you're done cleaning, you can like watch TV or play like a Nintendo game until dinner is served. And that is a huge incentive to get the house cleaned up. So during that time, they're putting laundry away. My teenager vacuums, the whole first floor every day, we're collecting toys. And obviously my three year old, she's half the problem. She's the one making all the messes. But we'll have to clean it up, you know, because I don't want to live in a fixed eye. So when all that's done, then my husband gets home and it's like a much more calm house. Now, in the summertime, sometimes that's harder to do because we're like at the pool outside and stuff. But most of the time we do like a firm reset at the end of the day before dinner. I think that's a really good routine and rhythm to get into. Yeah, I love that. And it's calming for everybody because then dad comes home and it does kind of go into like a different, a different dynamic, a different part of the evening. I agree. I like to tell her to come home to a clean house. I don't know why. I don't even know if I'm like, I'm doing it for him as much as I'm doing it for me. But it's like, I just want you to come home and I want the house to be put together. I get. And honestly, there's times when he'll come home a little early and I'm like, oh, my gosh, the house is already and he is not like he's upset about it. But it's just it's nice as a family to like, yeah, I have a trash house. Plus, we can enjoy your evening more. You want to do a puzzle or play a game or you know, running on outside. It's not chaotic as you know, it's not as chaotic. There's stuff everywhere. What other what other systems do you like do you have you put in place for your kids? And like what which ones have like really when you kind of hacked this? Because I can tell you have like a very from your engineering background. It seems like you have a very orderly, like systematic mind and lifestyle. So what systems that have you put in place that like really changed it for you? That's a really good question. I would say a lot of it ebbs and flows for me in seasons. I don't I wouldn't say I'm always like firm. I mean, the laundry, of course, we're always doing the laundry and same with the cleanup. But in terms of systems, you know, like right now my kids were eating snacks constantly and so and because groceries are so expensive, I stopped letting them have any pre-packaged snacks at home. Like I have pre-packaged snacks like the kind bars and the Belvedere crackers, things like that. But you can only eat that if you are off the premises. Well, like this summer, if you're at the pool, absolutely grab it. We're going to a park, grab it. We're going to we go to a weekly homeschool co-op snack. That's perfect. But if you're at home, you need to eat things that are like you have to portion out yourself. And that system for me has that has saved us money because it's like crazy. If you compare the packaging of like even little goldfish crackers in a baggie versus like buying the big container Costco, you know, like it's wild. So that's one system that has saved us money and like my kids just know, like that's the rule. Yeah. OK, this is unrelated and I don't think you post about this very often, but it's a personal question that I just like have to know. What is your skincare routine because you have the most beautiful skin? And I notice it every time you post because it doesn't look like you wear much makeup, but like you just have like glowy, beautiful skin. Like what's the spill? It's probably a mixture of being sweaty and like running around with my kids. Oh, so she's just blessed. Yeah, OK, she's on the bar, mom, who just tells us she rub like olive oil on her face. OK, come on. No, I actually struggled with adult Epi for years and then my I actually stopped using. I used to use like the Estee Lauder, like PM, elixirs, you know, things like that. I stopped using all of that. I did Drunk Elephant, like vitamin C drops, stopped all that. And I just use like Cereve, PM, like lotion. I use their Cereve, like foaming facial wash. And then my like, what's the name of the doctor that does face stuff? The dermatologist dermatologist prescribed like just basically it's like an ointment to put on my face. And so and then I do use like a little makeup every day, but that's it. Your skin is always so glowing. Yeah, your skin is not all. Thank you. It's very, it's very distracting. So what about getting your kids involved? Well, let's let me pivot, actually. What about when we've spoken a little bit about just like the price of groceries being so expensive, prepping the proteins a great way to, you know, makes eating at home easier, which in turn saves you money. What are some of your other like money saving tips for the grocery store? OK, so we don't drink a lot of like random things at our house. It's pretty much water and milk. We'll have soda once in a while, juice once in a while. I got, you know, it's just for me, that's simpler in terms of keeping things easy for my kids. It's probably healthier, honestly, and it doesn't cost me money then to buy these drinks, so we'll make smoothies and things like that. But I don't buy a lot of random drinks. I also, of course, buy in bulk. You know, my love for Costco, if you follow me at all, I talk about Costco all the time. And with seven people a week and I mean, we can go through a package of like massive strawberries in like five hours on my house. So buying in bulk when it makes sense. And then also, I do not buy a lot of random ingredients. I really try to talk about that when I post a recipe that like, if you don't have this one thing, here's two other options because like nothing is worse than having, you know, some random spice or some random like type of pasta or any of those things. And then it just sits there. And so you've spent money on it and then you're not using it. So that's why I started that series where I was like, here's a protein. I'm going to cook it on day one. And then here's how I use it on day two and here's how I use it on day three because I want to have the versatility and to be able to use the things I already have instead of having to go out and source more ingredients and then end up spending more money. Totally. Yeah, you got to be mindful. And I just think more careful of those recipes that make you buy those expensive things that you're not going to use. And I think one, I honestly think Chash EBT has been so helpful for this because you can go to Chash EBT and say like, hey, I'm making this recipe. I don't have this. What else can I use? Oh, I like to always say like, here's what I have. Like if I'm thinking about a recipe and I'm like, I have a feeling she's going to suggest it. No, she, I think in my mind, she's a girl. I'm like suggesting these things to her and she's like, oh, great idea. Here's three ways to use it. Yeah. She's always complimenting me. Oh, she thinks I have the best ideas. So, so what are, what are some things that you, so you do some, like you do a lot of made from scratch homemade cooking stuff. What are some things that you like to make from home instead of buying at the store? I'm trying to think. I don't make pasta from scratch. I do buy pasta. I buy rice. I buy canned tomatoes. Those are things like I just don't have in my life. I'm not going to go on that journey, you know, I buy canned beans. So I don't make those from scratch, but I do make like I make breads. I make pretty much all of our meat. I don't really buy a lot of like pre-made meat. I buy it raw. Recently I've been posting a lot about making like people want to know about deli meats. And so I did a whole series on smoked summer sausage, which oh my gosh, people loved. If you've not made the smoked summer sausage recipe, you absolutely should for the holidays because it is like seven ingredients and is so simple and like turns out every time. It's the craziest video to watch because I, I, I watched it a few weeks ago, but aren't you just like wrapping like ground beef up and then like seasoning it and then it's a little ground meat with like, like a smoked seasoning and then a couple spices. And then you have to use the specific Morton salt. It's not just regular salt, more tender. Apparently you cannot get it in Canada. Everyone's posting about how you can't get it in Canada, but sorry. This is crazy. Yeah, I'm watching it right now. This is the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. But it's so good. It's it and it's exactly how you get, if you were to buy like the Hickory, you know, Hickory farms, this is what that is. So if you like that kind of thing, it's great for like the Super Bowl, the holidays, like an appetizer platter. That is such a flex to be like, oh yeah, I just, I made this. Yeah. Made it in my kitchen. Such a flex. Cause like everyone's making bread now, but like who's making summer sausage? Exactly. Who's making the summer sausage or like a fun dip or that's the thing. I also make a lot of homemade dips. I don't buy a lot of like pre-packaged hummus because it's so easy. You literally, and you don't have to use any bean you want. I mean, you saute some vegetables, dump in a can of drained beans, blend it up with immersion blender and you've got a screaming dip. It feels so intimidating to do stuff like that. Like you really just have to give it a college try like one time. And then you're like, oh, I can actually do this. Half the battle's finding the time and like to. Absolutely. And I get it like the more often you do something, the more routine it gets. So the more often you try something to get you. And I have had pushback before and people have been like, well, when I mess around in the kitchen, if it's not good, then I've just wasted money. And I can, I can see that perspective, but also like we're going to eat. It's like, I'm so like I'm mixing, you know, meat with whipped cream, you know what I mean? I'm not making things that wouldn't go together. I'm, I'm trying to put these together that I think will work or I probably will work. And we're going to eat it even if it's not like the perfect dish and we'll make it better next time. Well, and it's a long-term investment. So it's like, yeah, you might, you might burn a couple of dinners, but if you're learning to cook at home, you're going to save money eventually. And it's, it's a learning curve. I love that. Natalie, what inspired you to start your Instagram and like, when did you start it? What's that journey been like? I started it almost two years ago, actually. I had actually been listening to you ladies talk on your podcast about how a lot of people should be posting more on Instagram. And I was inspired by that. And then I went to a convention for homeschoolers actually, and they were talking about teens specifically. And if they were contributing or consuming social media. And at the time I was really just consuming it, but they were saying that the more people who contribute to social media in a way that we'd want our teens to be on it, the better it will be for them. And it really hit me. I was thinking, you know, I've always, I've never wanted to be the kind of parent that doesn't actively participate in the things my kids want to be on. And my kids aren't on social media yet, but I'm sure at some point they will be. And I would like to think that I would understand it and that it would be a space that I'd want them to be on. So I thought if I start contributing to it, then it would, it'd be, I would get to be a participant instead of just consuming all the content always. Wow. That very much goes along with like your home begins with love thing. Like you're telling me to create this space that for your kids in your home and also on social media. That's your case. And I think social media is, I think it gets a lot of, I have so many friends actually who are not on social media and vary against, especially at the homeschooling community, but I actually get a lot out of social media. And I think you have to like, I think you've talked about this, you have to protect your piece and follow the people who are going to do you the kind of information that is helpful to you in that time. And it's okay to like unfollow and refollow people, but like, I think there's so much to learn in this world. And I hate to put myself in a box thinking that I can't possibly enjoy social media because there's people on here that I wouldn't enjoy watching. Does that make sense? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Makes total sense. I'm so, I'm always so inspired by you. I'm so happy you emailed us. And now I'm just loving following you. I'm like just becoming your biggest fan. I'm so happy. Two more questions for you. Number one, what kind of car do you drive? I drive a 2012 Honda Odyssey and I love it because the center console between the two chairs can come out. So when we go on a road trip, I take that. So you put that out. Yep. I love that. And I can put my cooler there and like have access to all of my supplies while we're driving. Love that. Yeah, that's awesome. And what is your ditch the drive through? Okay, I thought a lot about this and I was trying to think of something that no one has mentioned before. And so I pulled out of my recipe binder. This is a hit recipe. It's the crispy cheesy pan pizza from King Arthur flour. And it was a recipe of the year in 2020. And I know a lot of people are going to think pizza for a ditch the drive through. That's crazy to make homemade pizza. But what's awesome about this recipe is that you only mix ingredients on whatever day you're available. You literally just mix flour. What is it? Flour, salt, yeast, oil. I mean, it's mixed into a bowl. Add some salt. It's going to sit in your fridge for two, three, four days. Doesn't matter how long. I mean, I've gone five days, like however long you want the day you want to make pizza. You pull it out at like two o'clock. You just plop it into a oil cast iron skillet. Let it sit on your counter and rise for like two, three, four hours. And then when you're ready to bake it, you crank the heat in your oven, add your toppings, put in your oven. There's no mess. Wow. There's no like, I mean, I love a good pizza peel moment and like making the pizza and everything. And that's so fun. But like on a weeknight when I'm busy, this is literally zero mess. And I didn't even really have to think about it. And my kids every single time love this pizza. Well, and it's very much like make the crust when the kitchen's already messy. Like after your breakfast dishes, like, well, you know, like if you get flour, I don't know, I always make a mess. But like, you know, make it, put it in your fridge. Yeah. Deal with it. Future, future, you will be so happy you did that. I mean, that's actually, that's a great ditch to drive through. And I've had that dough before pretty much in my fridge at all times. I'll make it just on a whim like you said, because I've already got the flour out. I'm like, oh, we'll make it. We'll have pizza at some point, I'm sure in the next four or five days, you can make breadsticks out of it if you really wanted to. But it is a 2020 recipe of the year from King Arthur flour. I actually baked through all 12 of the recipes earlier this year on Instagram. And they have some, if you're looking for a fun winter challenge, they have some good ones. Natalie, I think that one's so unbrand for you. It's like homemade, but like the quick home. Yeah, like the non intimidating quick. I love efficiency. Yeah, it's efficient. I love it. Well, Natalie, you have been such a joy to talk to. Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast. You can find her at home begins with love on Instagram and are you on TikTok? I just joined, but honestly, I don't really understand TikTok all the way. It's okay. Find me on Instagram. Find her on Instagram. Thank you so much for joining us. You're welcome. Thank you for listening to the carpool podcast with Kelly and Liz. Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode. And if you enjoyed riding with us, tell everybody you know, there's room in the car for everyone.