Sisters-in-Law Spill: Postpartum Body Struggles, Worst Dates EVER & V-Day Gift Ideas

I've just been really struggling with body image. Saying it out loud, I'm like, I feel so dumb. I just had a baby four months ago. I remember feeling, like, scared to put on my clothes. Oh, yeah, totally. And they don't fit still. Let's go shopping. Sunday. Really sexy, too. A car wash subscription. Honestly, I want that. When they have their unlimited free vacuums and their unlimited air tire pressure pump wrappers. Yes, sign him up. I took Matt to a comedy show. The one that Matt got called up for was, like, being stuck in Blockbuster with diarrhea. Oh, my gosh. And the whole thing has like fart sounds going on. And like, honestly, I feel like my brain is protecting me. Welcome back to Always Here. We're your hosts, Abby Howard. Abby Howard. We got it. Yeah, we got it. Welcome back, sister. Thanks. Glad to be here. Glad to be here. If I keep coughing, it's because I did a cardio workout, and every time I do cardio, I can't stop coughing the rest of the day. Why? I have bad lungs. Bad lungs. I didn't know that. Yeah. No, if I run, I'll cough the rest of the day. Really? I thought it was just like a heart rate thing. You've got a heart of a rabbit. Yeah, I do. What's your heart rate at right now? Over 100. You're kidding. You're kidding. Not kidding. That's insane. 105. What's your resting? My average is 66. That's your average resting heart rate? Yeah. Oh, my gosh. I think that's pretty good. I think that's good. I think mine's like 48. Okay. Runner girl. I mean. Quit bragging. Gosh. No, I'm not bragging. That's just. No, I'm just kidding. I Googled it one time and I was like, why is my heart rate so high? And then they're like, it's usually related to obesity. Okay, perfect. No problem. Okay, wait. A normal resting heart rate is between 60 to 100. So I'm. Though highly trained athletes may have close to 40 to 60. Okay, let's not like fluff my. Abby's an athlete. I'm going to wear that on my name tag for the rest of my life. I do have a theory that short girls do have higher heart rates, and it's literally just because my other friends that are short or shorter than me also have high heart rates. Because the blood's just flying through your body. My doctor was like, maybe you're just like a little bunny. And I was like, that doesn't sound medical. I think she's just trying to make me feel better. Oh, I kind of like that. They did say they could refer me to a cardiologist. Oh. You're like, well. The concerning point is if you feel faint when your heart rate gets up or it can't recover quickly, which that's never been a problem. Sure. I feel fine. Yeah, you're good. Just hacking a lot. Just scoffing constantly. Well, I wanted to give you your Christmas gift. Woo! Yeah. Thank you. Not me last time being like, you never gave me that gift. I just pulled her out. I did put it in the first bag that was on top, so it says baby love. Beautiful. I'm just impressed that you wrapped it, Abby. Yeah, I honestly thought about it twice. so the backstory on this is that it's custom made it's just like a little cute thing but it's from kilb and matt's family friend carly she started a quilting business you can open it okay sorry i'm giving the gift away you haven't even looked at it this is so cute she made that and i thought it'd be cute to put your books in and your journals your kindle your studies and then inside is the original gift that i wanted to get you they are covers for your sourdough bowls i almost put this on my head i thought it was a shower cap you're kidding no so you don't have to use shower caps anymore this is so cute and i thought it looked small remember when i said i think i got the wrong size it does fit over a kitchen aid bowl does it yes wow i tested it on mine so when you're rising your bread you don't have these are adorable this is such a good gift abby you're Like, it's nothing much. I, like, love this so much. She did a really good job. I love that. So if you guys can't see it, she quilted it, and it has a little star, and it's in the always here colors, and then she hand-embritered always here. I love this. And then in fact, she did blue, which was really thoughtful. Yeah. That is so sweet. I actually have, like, just a cheap one from Amazon of these. This is, like, it's very useful. Yeah. So this is perfect, and now this will fit a lot more, too. Yeah. It's a good size. I didn't tell her specifically what size. I said just. no it's the perfect size a pouch a large pouch i like this so much both these very useful very thoughtful good very personalized if anyone is in the um well i should tell carly this but like on etsy i was trying to find cute customized bowl covers for bread rising and i couldn't find anything that was customized or even remotely attractive looking so that's i reached out to carly when i saw she was making stuff so that there's a gap in the market ladies if you're looking for a little side hustle yeah and honestly i love using like something that sticks rather than a towel it just fits so nicely and i also think it keeps it more contained yeah this is perfect thank you so much i love this i like really really love this oh good merry christmas hey really quick it would mean so much to us hey how about a little valentine's day gift to us right now and give us five stars write a review if you feel so inclined we really really appreciate it subscribe to our show share it like it do all the things and we'll just give you a couple seconds to do that oh thank you you're the best i knew you were i knew you were gonna do it that time love i'm feeling it share the love and now we can go back to the episode my hope is i'm getting to give that to you i'm just kidding also we're hosting a super bowl party this weekend oh yeah we planned it last night so today's wednesday the party's on sunday and i think it's gonna be fun and low-key that's plenty of time there's plenty of time yeah that'll be fun yeah we have we actually we hosted last year because caleb's two favorite teams are the chiefs and the eagles and you're i don't even know who's in the super bowl i i know the first team it's the patriots but who's the other team addy the seahawks seahawks i didn't have to look that up just so everyone knows i'm I'm going to root for the Seahawks. I hear about the lifts. I am excited for the Seahawks as well. I have no other reason. I don't even know where they come from. Yeah. Seattle. Seattle. Patriots, where do they come from? New England. I knew that. I'm honestly impressed you do that. I don't. Honestly, New England's always eluded me. It's in America. Okay, next episode I'm going to quiz you guys. It's a region. NFL teams and where they're from. I actually would be really good at that. Caleb quizzes me sometimes. And I could even tell you some of the announcer's names. Oh, yeah. I'm not good at that. Joe Buck? Joe Buck? Well, I know Joe Buck because I'm from St. Louis. Oh, yeah. Trying to think of the other guy's names. Scott Van Pelt. Yeah. SVP. People don't like, what's his name? Another one of them. There's a lot of controversial ones. It might be Joe Buck. Yeah. We should. I feel like that's one fun thing as a girl. It's like getting a football. Or like a sport. Yes. You know what I mean? Maybe it's for girls who their spouses like sports. Matt would be like, why are you getting into sports? You like live sports. Have you gone into the X Games, Abby? Matt is thrilled. He's not even really into it, though. He's into participating in these things. He's not a fan of the sports necessarily. Maybe that would make him want to be into the X Games. And you guys could take X Games trips. What is X Games? Is it skateboarding? Yeah. And biking. He would like that. He would like that. Or like the Winter Olympics are coming up. Just start studying of all these snowboarders. You should do a video of that where you'd like look up all the big snowboarders. And then you're like, oh, Matt, look at this guy's trick. And then. He would be very, very thrown off. Like, what? I wish I was like that kind of cool wife who like knew this stuff. But, you know. No. Maybe. Maybe in another life. That's anyway. That's my hope. i'm excited to host a party that'll be fun yeah i'll report back yeah last year you're supposed to come but you got sick really well the boys were sick yeah that honestly kills me when that happens i know i was bummed too i was there last year you guys came yeah and i already told her i'm not going to be there this year i'm not flaking i have told her i'm not coming i respect you guys have a busy schedule this week we do i get it yeah i'm maxed out on blake's activities yeah and He loves football, so he wants to be focused. I was telling my mom, I said, basically, I'll be hosting the party and Caleb will be on the couch just watching the game. I'm like, unless there's like a label spot that says Blake, this is where he can sit. Yeah. No one interrupt him. Exactly. Anti-social. Yeah. What about you? What's your hope this week? Honestly, my hope is I just love my life. Wow. I don't know. I've just been thinking about this a lot of reasons. And I'm like, wow, I just enjoy the things that are happening. Like, I just, I have, I feel like, okay, so we intentionally made February, like, jam-packed. I feel like I always love having plans. I feel like we know that. I talk about that all the time. But, like, February is, like, absolutely jam-packed. And that, like, I, like, love. That makes me feel so happy. And some could say I'm distracting myself. I love that tactic. Thank you. Personally. Thank you. and so I have like I have so much to look forward to I think that's part of it and also just like the weather is beautiful like I truly like enjoy my kids actually this is something I've been thinking about a lot I think it's really important this is such a side tangent I think about it a lot I tell like our kids my kids a lot because I first of all I totally mean this but I think it's really important that my kids know that I like enjoy being their mom so much totally and I like enjoy being a mom in general so much I want them to know that I think growing up I always knew my mom like loved being a mom and that does something I think for kids like you just feel like just your presence around your parents is just like it's so pleasing to them yeah and I feel like that's really important so all the time I'm like I love being your mom and then now they mirror back they're like I love being your kid and so I just like I don't know when I was driving the other day I was like gosh things are so good and so yes I say this because when I hear other people like say that they like love their life that's obviously so dramatic like a weird way of saying it but like they're happy with their life circumstances or like they're having a good time like that makes me look at my own life like in a posture of gratitude and thankfulness and it doesn't make me like oh i wish i had their life sure so sometimes i'm like oh i don't want to say that i'm just like so happy with how things are going but um but that's not how it works because it feels boastful but it's like i feel like like most people then reflect on their own life in a positive way more so also i think like you guys are going through a hard season you've been going through a hard season and so it's like to see the positive side of it too where it's like you can go through hard things and still feel happy yeah and like grateful is i think important for people to see yeah i think that's great thank you i agree i love that yeah i don't know i started telling cj like two weeks ago or a couple weeks ago i've always been very like affectionate towards cj and tell him all the time like i love you with all my heart i love you know but i started telling him recently i just love hanging out with you i love hanging out with you so much cj and the immediate like the you can see in his posture he just like feels so comforted by that oh so now i've been saying it more often but you saying that i'm like oh my gosh i just started telling cj how much i love just spending time with him i think it's really important uh-huh because they also don't necessarily understand like okay why is mom like emptying out the dishwasher why is she you know doing all these things and it's like i want them to know that like the times that i am like i have to do these things but the times i enjoy the most are like with you yeah yeah a hundred percent fun for hearts what was is yours lighter heavy i actually didn't have one that's great i was gonna play that card because i was like i've had a lot of heavy so we're just gonna lighten it up i actually really don't have one okay good well we're just running on the i love your life okay Should I skip my heart? No. I love my life too. No. I mean, it's not really. I think it's relatable. Okay. Addie and I were talking about this today. Just like, I feel like I'm at the four or five, four and a half months postpartum. I've just been really struggling with body image. And I hate to say that because even saying it out loud, I'm like, I feel so dumb saying that because I just had a baby four months ago. But I think in my head too, and I feel like I kind of talked about this with my schedule and feeling overwhelmed. you get to a point where you start to feel good and like feel normal again and then it's like oh then i should then i feel like i've arrived or i'm back to my normal or whatever but then i put my clothes on and they don't fit still and then it's just every time i remember feeling this a little bit after cj like scared to put on my clothes totally because i'm like i don't want to put them on in fear of feeling like remind the reminder that they don't fit still um which i have like a small section of my closet that is for like this postpartum season and my pregnancy season and to be honest i'm so sick of those clothes yeah i like hate them right now i'm trying to get my pants again let's go shopping but then i don't want to buy new stuff because at the same time your body changes so much i know just buy the stuff let's go shopping sunday okay put on the calendar let's go shopping no seriously i do think that helps i think you sharing that is honestly probably speaking to so many women listening to this because there's this not to over talk on your no talk about it but like there's like this narrative that is very it's not even a narrative this is just true like it is amazing what our bodies do and the changes that come with it it's like we still you can hold both like I'm so grateful that like my body grew and stretched and all these different things and there's evidence of that reflected in my postpartum body but then you can also be like okay i kind of miss my closet i gotta miss my clothes i kind of miss like you know looking this certain way in this swimsuit or things like how they were you can have both you can have gratitude for your kid and what your body did and also be like well here we are here we are like you're allowed to have both and i remember i think everyone feels that way yeah and like i also will say i feel like each kid that like you can't hold yourself to the same standard as your first kid totally because you're entering into a different your body's doing a whole different thing kind of i mean it's the same thing but if you know now having two pregnancies like it's different yeah things happen differently and so i think this the sentiment i hear is usually like with each kid gets a little bit harder and like that's just part of it and so it's like being honest with that also gives you freedom like it's like yeah like this is a struggle and it gives other women freedom so yeah i'm i'm glad you shared that yeah thanks and i feel like i see online all the time it's just like people are like don't complain about or don't be hard on yourself but sometimes you just are hard on yourself sometimes you are then i feel bad that i'm being hard on myself and i'm like dang but then i'm like okay don't be hard Yeah, I told Abby before because I saw it on her sheet that she was going to talk about it. I'm like, oh, finally, someone else who also is insecure about their postpartum body. I mean, everyone is, but everyone's like, don't. You worked so hard. I'm like, but I want it back. Like, I want to get back in shape. And it's hard sometimes. And I was telling her when we were just on vacation, I put my swimsuit on. I was like, I wanted to post something and be like, okay, postpartum ladies, if you're putting your swimsuit on for the first time, I see you. It's hard. But I'm like, also, I don't see you. I don't notice. I don't look at other women and be like, oh, she's postpartum or she looks, I see her stretch marks. Like, I don't see you in that way. And so I was like trying to like, okay, no one sees me. No one sees me. It's just me. You're okay. Well, it's even crazy hearing you guys both share that because I think you guys look amazing. Like, I really do. And I know I can say that a million times and it's not going to necessarily metabolize into like your own identity. But I think you guys look amazing. so I'm surprised to hear that but I'm also like it makes sense I've been there too and like you know I know I always want to share it too because then it's like am I being am I just being vain am I just being self you know are these thoughts like not good thoughts to have which they aren't to be like to be picky about those things and that's why I also want to talk about it like voice it out loud because sometimes when I say them out loud then I'm like this is silly and not something that i should be it's not of important like it's not a big important it's just a body so let's go shopping abby do you ever wake up sweaty sure do because i definitely i know you you know i'm sweating up in that bed the temperature in your bedroom can make or break your sleep absolutely and honestly your sleep makes or breaks your health we need to be investing in our sleep and that is where miracle made comes into play miracle made sheets are crafted with nasa inspired silver infused fabric that helps regulate your body temperature thanks to their antibacterial silver technology miracle made sheets stay cleaner and fresher up to three times longer than regular sheets i love that i know they feel just as good if not better than a sheet you'd find at a five-star hotel but without the cheap price tag you have the sand colored i did get the i'm partial to white sheets i know but i love the sand they're very warm they look really luxurious it's a rich feel it's a rich color it's stunning they have so many color options and they really are such good quality. So it's time to upgrade your sleep or give the gift of better rest. Go to TryMiracle.com slash Abby to try Miracle Made sheets today. You'll save over 40% when you use promo code Abby and you'll get an extra 20% off plus a free three-piece towel set. They really make an amazing gift and with a 30-day money-back guarantee, there's no risk at all. That's TryMiracle.com slash Abby, code Abby at checkout. Thanks to Miracle Made for sponsoring this episode. Okay. Good job, Pete. problem solved or we can just go to the kitchen and make tongulu and yeah more it's healthy um people are commenting about that that i think it's funny so i guess i don't know how to segue we're trying to like segue we go shopping or we can go eat some desserts okay so my latest obsession has been making tongulu which is a traditional chinese snack i think it's actually traditionally eaten also more around this time of year because it's like the new year the chinese new year lunar new year oh it's one of their desserts um i think it's one of their i don't know if it's specifically tied to the new year but i think it is because at disneyland it's like a stand like around their chinese new year oh that's fun um it's candied fruit and traditionally they use strawberries clementines and oranges we got a little crazy with it the other night and i think they do other things too but uh we got a little we took some liberties we did we were like what can we tongue glue in this house it's so fun okay so you literally just melt sugar and water and then dip your fruit in it i'm sorry i called you up for that the other night and you just melt do you hear it too i didn't hear it did you hear it melt i say melt and i know that it's wrong you actually say that when i'm talking fast yes okay but you know it's melt sorry melt melt i almost feel like i would have to stay it slower in a deeper tone to say it right melt i'm melted i'm not it is deeply connected to chinese new year as a symbol of joy family reunion and good fuck i could say i felt all those things eating it it was very it was amazing and so i i actually was like going back and forth at disneyland i was like this is ridiculous because it's ten dollars for three strawberries but i was like oh no kind of fun vacation and um plus i don't love like overly sweet desserts uh the funny thing is it's very sweet it's extreme i was almost like wow you need water and i love overly sweet it's not rich but it's very sweet and so it's just you just dip uh your fruit in sugar and water dip it in ice and it makes this like perfect thin crunchy shell and then you bite into it and it's like juicy fruit on the inside it's so good really good and i was like abby you're gonna love this we gotta try this and it was like 10 p.m our kids are like running amok still awake we're just in the kitchen dipping things don't get tired Like literally don't get tired, especially when they're playing with their cousins. They're just kind of like, they just keep revving up. Yeah, totally. And so we were revving up as well. We were. We stuck broccoli in there. We stuck nerds clusters in there. Nerds clusters are probably good. It was so good. The broccoli, so gross. Gross. I was about to say, if you were about to say it was good. I yacked it up. Yeah, we both baked it out. You should cook the broccoli if you're going to do it, but even then, don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Oh, we did blackberries. They were good. They originally were from hawthorn berries is where they originated from. And now it's mostly with strawberries, tangerines, kiwis, and apricots. Kiwis would be so good. Oh, that would be good. I've never had a fresh apricot. I've never heard of a hawthorn berry. What about a pineapple? It too wet That would have been good Oh you can do it I don think it would work Anything that is wet it doesn stick to it We should have Tangulu a bread Tangulu that bread No, I thought Vicky Giovanni Tangulu'd a croissant. A cinnamon roll. It's logistically difficult, but we can make it happen. We should do a whole YouTube video of us trying Tangulu'd. We keep talking about it. Literally, no, they exist, because I was going down that rabbit hole. Let's enter the rabbit hole. I always say phrases wrong, and I just say them with so much confidence. Oh, I've been saying that Tongulu wrong ever since you mentioned it. No, I'm talking about phrases. Like, I don't know. I still to this day don't know if it's whole bowl of wax or ball of wax. Can you use the saying in a sentence? You've never heard of it? I don't think so. Ball of wax? Hannah, have you heard of this? What? Ball of yarn? you're like the whole ball of wax or bowl of wax i've never heard okay i spent a lot of time with my grandparents growing up okay i know a lot of phrases that i shouldn't oh i say who shot john that one is unique i've never heard that yeah i mean i feel like my grandpa even when you're saying it fast i'm like slow it slow down who shot john that's some who shot john when someone is saying something that they're just like that's a lie it's a lie or they're like very over exaggerating it or they're making up a story i always use it for blake because i feel like Blake is always saying some who shot John my brother but he's a little brother you know so you're not really it's nice I'm like you don't know that's a who shot John is it kind of similar to like hoopla like that's a hoopla yeah it's similar well hoopla it makes me feel like excitement okay yeah the whole ball of wax yeah and it's mean is the entire amount everything the whole thing Yeah. Hmm. It's like, put it all in there, the whole bowl. You got pots, pans, food, and cooking utensils. I forgot to get it. It's never going to stick. It's never going to stick. No. Or people were saying, you said Jiminy Cricket. Oh, yeah, Jiminy Cricket. They're saying that comes from people saying, like, to not say the Lord's name in vain is where that, the J and the C. Well, that's what G's comes from, right? Probably. But they're also saying it's Jiminy Christmas is what some people are saying. I say that, too. So, just mix them in. Just a little C word. Love that. Yeah, I just say weird things. Caleb's always like, I don't like when Christians replace cuss words with fake cuss words. Like, I'll say frick. Oh, frick feels like a separate word. I know. He's like, that just sounds so cheesy. Just don't say anything at all. I sometimes say F. Sometimes, yeah. Like E-F-F. What's the cuss word that you say in your head? It won't say out loud. I say the S word a lot. S word in my head a lot. That's the one that comes out when you stub your toe. Yeah. Something's about to happen. it's the impulse one it is and when something impulsive happens and i don't say it out loud and i'm like oh good job abby that's the one that it thinks is okay to say and i'm like it's not still okay like when he's driving that's when he like thinks it's okay and i'm like yeah no still not my dad gave me permission when i turned 14 that i could say the d word and now i'm like that's a bad one we shouldn't be saying that such an adult one yeah i'm like i'm not gonna say it on your birthday when you said 14 or maybe it was 15 i don't know but when i turned my mom still hates when i say pissed i say that all the time she hates it and she's like i cannot believe that your friends say this too yeah was that it does that used to be a bad word i think people think it's a bad word i don't see it i mean when you're a kid you're not allowed to say it so i feel like it just like when you get older they're like still because i would say it all the time and then our mother-in-law i asked her one time i was like is that a bad word and she goes i think it is oh i don't think it's a password i i think a lot of people think that and i never thought that until i need to work on it i'll change it to peeved peeved i feel like he owed what are the other options i feel like saying i'm ticked pissed off sounds worse than saying i took a piss oh like saying it that sounds worse i think i took that sounds worse yeah yeah yeah that's what i'm saying like a male obviously saying that i prefer wag i say whiz okay next segment is what are the cuss words that we say that aren't cuss words that's crazy wow you guys wow we have a great episode you guys we've spent a lot of time with children we wanted to do because last week was the galentine's episode this one we wanted to make for the the love bugs the lovers for the lovers the lovers of the of the we're talking about your hubbies your boyfriends fiancees yes that's pretty much it pretty much it do you know when we tell the kids that we're going to go on a date griffin will be like i'm taking augie on a date oh like they get like competitive with us about and i'm like do it good show treat each other treat yourself i thought it be funny if we started with our worst date stories that's funny uh-huh i like this i guess we thought it'd be funny not me we thought it'd be funny if we started with our worst your stories are with caleb right yes okay yeah i don't have any recollection of dates really other than with matt so yeah i feel like my other boyfriends were in high school so it wasn't anything like i didn't really go on dates until i started dating caleb because i also couldn't drive so my mom's not gonna drop me off on a date wait oh yeah we would just hang out at each other's homes yeah yeah so yeah they're all with caleb wait when was your first boyfriend well like the first one that counts i had a lot of boyfriends in middle school oh okay yeah that were like two weeks or whatever but my first i would say sophomore year of high school okay was when i first started dating i only had maybe three or four they like called my boyfriend i'm just already anticipating this as a parent now uh-huh like going into this and i'm like i don't need to worry about that yet yeah we need to cross that bridge when we get there we're gonna think about that later um yeah okay worst dates you'd share one first okay this one's just kind of silly we were in college killed and i were in college it was valentine's day so very fitting for valentine's episode and we were you know we're broke college kids we didn't have a lot of money and we were planning about what we wanted to do for our date and i saw a flyer that our restaurant in town was doing it said 50 for a three-quarters meal i was like that's a great price like we can spend 50 and go get three of course dinner so we make the reservation we get dressed like nice wait a flyer yeah it was like some pamphlet remember this was the dark ages this was 2015 wait at school you saw a pamphlet or just yeah i saw like a fly like an advertisement cute okay the internet wasn't what it is now and um so yeah we show up to the restaurant and you've never heard of the restaurant i had heard of it but i've never eaten before but it was like in the town so we could walk there from our yeah from our apartments which was really fun so we got all dressed up went the waiters wait just were you married no this was in college oh yeah you said college yeah i wasn't i'm not like you lady i didn't get married till after so we sit down and we look at the menu and it's 50 per person and kill when i look at each other oh yeah i would have assumed that as well we didn't assume that we assumed 50 total oh wow you're right that's just tell you like what we spent on meals was usually like 12 a person we were like wow 50 bucks is a nice thing um so we kind of look at each other we start panicking and realize that we can't afford this dinner we're seated at the table we've gotten waters brought to us and caleb is like we can't stay we can't pay for this and it was the only it was the only menu like you couldn't order other things okay yeah um so kail was just looking down at his shoes and i look at the waitress and i go excuse me um we can't afford this i go like it's our special yeah i go we're gonna have to leave so we had to get up and leave that's very honest of you i probably would have just fled the scene i think kail wanted to for some reason i felt like we had to tell the waitress because she had already come over and i was like the kids just disappear and we were both very embarrassed about that oh yeah it kind of scarred us for a little bit that was a bad date and then what did you end up doing do you remember i think we just went to chipotle or something really inexpensive and it kind of just put a bummer on the rest of the night because we were so we were a little embarrassed you're like all dressed up yeah we read this wrong we read that wrong yeah dang it that was a bad date no good for you though for being honest i mean okay saying like you're like we can't afford this i probably would have stayed and paid for it even though we couldn't afford it i just well i mean caleb's gonna pay for it and he didn't have the money so what are we gonna do put it on my dad's credit card sorry dad we wanted to do something fun yeah we just went on a nice night oh that's sweet though yeah um my story is kind of similar but it happened a little bit more recently we happened upon due to unusual circumstances a restaurant had been picked for us and we had never been to this restaurant but we knew it was like a little bit like fancier elevated but what we didn't know is that it was like actually like fine dining like michelin star food right um so i'm like I like food. Right. I like, I like food. That'll be great. This'll be fun. I like good food. Yeah. This'll be fun. Award winning food. They're like, well, do you want to sit at this table outside next to this fireplace? And we're like, beautiful, gorgeous. Like, yeah, we'll sit there. And then the waiter comes or the server comes to our table. And, um, he was like, okay, so at this table, we only offer our five course option. And then he just like, looks at us. And we're like, we'll take that one. We'll do that one, please. That one we will do. I don't know why that table or, like, maybe it was the night and I misremember it, but I'm pretty sure he was like, here, outside, we do this. Oh, wow. And I was like, all right. Okay. Sign us up. And then we start getting these plates out. First of all, there's, like, an hour between every course. Wait. Why? I don't know. An hour? I will tell you, it was really spaced out. And I'm telling you the food. I realized, I was like, I don't like fine dining. i like big portions of relative like flavorful but like relatively normal food in the grand scheme of things i don't like we were eating duck bone marrow other stuff that was scary eggs of some sort no the bone marrow you literally scrape it out there's something i do not like a fancy egg oh like a duck egg freaky oh there was so many weird things and we are we had a one-year-old at this point and we were like we gotta it has been we're on course three and had been three hours oh my god and so we're like surely it's about to wrap up and the reason we thought it was gonna wrap first of all we're like eating things and i i pride myself on like i'm not very picky yeah i felt the need to like spit it out and i felt washed we were the only people out here I felt like literally it was spooky. I felt like we were being watched. I started spinning things in the fireplace. I have to get rid of the evidence. And so there was like a lot of pressure. They kept coming and they were like, they wanted to talk about the food. They wanted to be like, Oh, kind of educate. They want, yeah, they want to educate a lot. They want to see us try it. They wanted to like, it was just so much pressure. And then Matt and I were like, we have to leave. Like it's so, and so eventually we're like about to like, and then he's like, now it's time for your tour of the kitchen and we're like what and so they take us to the back and we like do this tour of the kitchen it's like ratatouille i mean everyone's like got their own thing going on wow and i was like lift up your hat and i was like it was like very like impressive kitchen yeah and then we sit back down they bring out sorbets which is apparently like a very like fine dining experience you do sorbets and between as a palate cleanser sometimes between other courses i thought this was the dessert right of course in my head i'm like we're done wrapping it up with dessert with sorbet they bring out another savory dish and i was like so i was like we have to tell them that's the last thing i want to do that is the last thing i want to do but i was like we have to get our kid it is night time now their babysitter was not planning on being there that long i was like hey i'm so sorry like we have a little one we did not plan accordingly can we wrap this up they were like very offended i was like whatever last course like we just maybe box it up they were very offended because it's like a whole experience you know thing and i was like i'm sorry you can't hold people hostage if they have to leave i know i was like but we really need to leave yeah then the best part is we got the bill uh 600 no alcohol oh no alcohol what we didn't realize was that every time we got water which we were drinking a lot of water because i was like it's clear this every bottle of every water they were filling from a glass like fancy water we paid like 10 bucks per what thing of water what they never told you never told us anything we didn't ever see a menu you guys this is like this is our this is our option and we didn't get any alcohol and it's 600 dollars oh and i remember like matt like opening he's like oh and we were mortified because we were also starving yeah we were so hungry so we went in and out and then picked up brifant and we were just like oh my god neither one of us planned it and so neither one of we both felt free to be like wow was that and so i learned i am not as classy as i would have thought before i'm not classy no i i like i was like i like chilies sure i like chilies take me to chilies any day over that wow like cheesecake factory gosh if we want to be fancy if we want to be fancy let's do cheesecake factory let's not do michelin star anyway so i just i just know now where i rank that's a bad dining experience i was literally spitting into the fire i was like that's insane six hundred dollars can you i'm i didn't know that existed i did not know that existed oh i i literally can't imagine i'm like what would i eat for six hundred dollars nothing not one thing yeah i can't think of anything i'm like that's worth it there's plenty of delicious things for for 20 15 15 even 10 probably probably no i just know now that i'm not i'm not that classy well you know what you you tried it we tried it and it was so funny because we actually knew other people that had eaten there and we're like what did you think about right and they were like it was so bad and i was like oh i'm glad they agreed yeah okay funny so funny um i love that for people that love that and i also do think very highly of them if they enjoy that yeah well also it's impressive the chefs can do that but yes yeah if that's not what you're planning on and you're not planning to spend that i need to be prepped more you need to be mentally prepared for an experience maybe the people that do this often like they know what they're doing like people people there like i was like everyone's a regular in a part of this club that we are not a part of it is i think it is a different world it was kind of like the wine world is very like you can't you can't just like dip your toes in oh that's how i feel about exactly how i feel about wine yeah you enjoy that that's awesome and classy i'm gonna pretend to like people are in like clubs and know all about it you know and it's like wow you're on another hats off to you yes good on you sir good on yeah okay speaking of cheesecake factory that's where my second bad date's at stop don't say this no it wasn't because of the food okay so when we lived in kansas city we lived on an area called an area called the plaza which is a really nice like shopping district they have some nice restaurants great cheesecake factory great cheesecake factory and Caleb and I one night we lived there we could walk to it and so like let's just go on a date night let's just go have fun go on a little get a good dinner and some cake so we walk in it's winter time to set the scene so football season is over or you know what I set the scene and I don't remember now I think we might have been in football season anyway we walk to our table and immediately Caleb just becomes a statue I'm like what is wrong with you do they both do this like Caleb gets so stiff in his body and immediately I can tell on his face like his mind is just running a mile a minute I'm like what is wrong Caleb like why did you just get so weird he is sitting back to back with Tyree Kill oh if you know who that is he's like he was at the time the best player on the Chiefs and Caleb immediately started just going on his phone like is this really Tyree Kill is that really him he was on a date with a lady so I was like can you just chill because you're not going to talk to him at dinner i love that he went to cheesecake factory yeah i know he took her on a date he's so rich and he's like yeah took a lady to cheesecake factory hey it's fine dining fine dining and the whole dinner we sat there we must have just been sat right after them because we were there the exact amount of time and the entire time that we were sitting there killed did they get cheesecake um i couldn't tell because we're in booths so back to back could tell me he probably remembers everything Caleb didn't speak a word to me that entire dinner I literally was it was a silent dinner he was just listening he was he was listening and he was just like I knew in his head he was thinking what can I say to Tyra Kill oh how is this gonna play out I don't want to be weird I don't be a fan what can I say what can I do but I want to like say something so I'm looking at him and I'm just frustrated and like Caleb this is the worst date of all time yeah literally one's like connect and now you're literally a brick wall as we pay the bill they're also paying the bill they get up we also get up to leave we start walking out at the same time we're all on upstairs level we start going down the stairs at the same pace i'm like kilb just say something this is your opportunity i'm kind of like hitting i'm like just say hey like good luck in your game or great season just say anything tyreek opens the door for us as we leave okay we start walking out together Caleb's like he keeps stuttering over his words and he's saying nothing and then Tyra starts to walk the other way we are we need to walk the opposite direction Caleb starts to follow him okay we're not gonna follow him to his car I grabbed Caleb said you missed your shot buddy you missed your shot and Caleb did not speak the rest of the night it was the worst day ever i was like you're so starstruck and you did nothing about it and i'm mad at you for that you did nothing about it he opened the door for us like you could have said thank you so much like by the way big fan oh my gosh goofy that's funny that is just classic so tyree kill ruined your date tyree kill ruined our date that is so funny and i learned that kill gets really shy i happened to blake once we were in the airport line in greece and we he saw like a golfer that he likes oh my god like that did youtube and stuff and they're right next to us and he wouldn't say anything so i went up and i said my husband's a really big fan can you get a picture with oh yeah thank you addy i stood up yes i was like you're just gonna go back home and tell all your friends that you met him and saw that you saw him and you didn't say anything my dad did the same thing matt would always say something i feel like yeah um my dad saw like a famous like wrestler in the airport one time and he was like that's so that's so-and-so i was like go say hi love it he's like no he's like an old school wrestler like okay maybe just let him i remember that he might like yeah he might dad just couldn't stop thinking about it though yes that's funny yeah um okay My second bad date story was also somewhat recently. Still feels fresh at times. I planned this one. This one's on me. And I took Matt to a comedy show because I was like, oh, this is like so different from normal. Walk in. I love this story. Really small venue. From the get go, I was like, this is an intimate experience. Right. Cool. um not cool is that they hand everyone a name as we're walking in like a card a card with a name on it and i'm and mine is something about like oh was it something goblin it was something goblin it was ass goblin no it wasn't no gosh no wait oh it's off my wait that was a tattoo someone had in high school no way no way from high school had that on his butt sorry it was something something goblin now i can think of it right now it gonna really bother me i have to ask matt mine was something goblin and matt said shy fry b word i was like what is this what are we doing well my word not then i'm like these are references that i don't get right therefore comedy is probably not gonna land and i'm gonna feel awkward okay so everyone's sitting down and they're like okay so look closely at your name because people in the audience you get to participate tonight no in the show and right in my head i'm like gosh i really hope i because at this point i'm i'm very pregnant with augie i'm wearing a dress that looks like a first grade teacher like i don't look like someone that is like down for crude jokes right right and i could already kind of get the atmosphere like kind of get the vibe that i was like maybe not gonna be clean it wasn't your craft wasn't my crowd how many people were there uh i'm gonna say less than less than 50 for sure oh my gosh okay intimate wow and but there were a lot more scenes right but we're all like close to the front and i had like had everyone move down and so i off the top of my head i'm like matt's gonna get called on stage because that is just literally how he is like he is going that's just going to happen sure enough he's called on stage i'm like sorry i love you i'm so sorry so he goes on stage and this whole thing is like a comedy show but there's also like a video game aspect and if there's anything i don't know anything about is probably video games and the the one that matt got called up for was something about having like being stuck in blockbuster with diarrhea oh my gosh and you had to get out and the whole thing has like fart sounds going on and acted out i don't like honestly i feel like my brain is protecting me from this because i was like what's going on and yeah it just like lasted a while and i was like please do not because at this point my ratio my odds of getting called on stage are so high really high i did not get called that's good matt was on stage for a decent amount during doing something humiliating and i was like well you know we tried something new you went to be entertained the whole venue smelled like cigarettes and like people were drinking a lot and which is all fine but it was just not what i had pictured right and it was very i didn't understand like i was so like i'm so sorry that i am not your crowd and i am here like i i'm here and i shouldn't be basically yeah the whole time i was like it's just i'm not the right audience for this and respect what you do because i'm sure there's like a lot of like technical aspects to these like they were literally coding video games for this show wow but um just went over my head totally and it was so just it was so funny how out of our element we were and it was all my fault and mad such a good sport but afterwards we're like what do you think did you have a lot of fun and it was just really really oh my god because also people knew that we were going to this and they're like how was it was like oh you know a little silly it was a little different it was different yes it was new that's funny that's great i love that i love hearing bad date stories i know they're we all got them we all got them i thought well i'm gonna stop saying i thought because we thought we thought our podcast um we thought we could share our worst dates and then also give some good maybe last minute date ideas yes considering tomorrow is valentine's day how do you do valentine's day like in your marriage we've always celebrated on the 15th because i don't know we just always it's cheaper to do that yeah so we always call it howard's day and we would go on a date to a restaurant and kill but give you flowers that are like a little dead and candy that's on sale and it's just been special that's sweet it's just been really special we do valentine's day not necessarily always on the day but we take turns every year planning the date oh that's fun yeah i like that idea yeah it's fun because i don't know i think it's good to both do it like but so we've had some like really funny ones especially like early on like low budget like fun date nights at home that are like really special like we still talk about to this day like all the time so yeah that's just how we do we take turns i like that i i should pitch that to caleb and see if he'd be down for that because it is it's you know i like treating caleb and planning things for him so it's kind of fun to switch off And then also when you feel like a little personal responsibility for doing it, I feel like you do a little bit more. Rather than it's like we're both going on a date. Like, I don't know. It makes it like a little bit more intentional. Totally. Yeah, I like that. I thought we – I'm sorry. We thought. It's fine. It's just a tick, I think, at this point. We could do last-minute date ideas and then last-minute gift ideas. I love it. Do you want to go with your first date? Yes. So this one's actually inspired by Matt because he already planned it. And we're doing it this weekend. And I was going to invite ladies. um so he planned he texted the day he's like oh um and the email don't look at this top email and then later on that day he was like okay i just have to tell you because we do need to find child care but um we are i plan a ballroom dance class lesson with you oh and then now it has since evolved to like he has now booked a private one and so all of our friends and like their spouses can come and so i was like that would be really fun we've never shockingly enough we've never done a partner dance class together yeah that's really it'd be really fun and i think for certain husbands would be totally outside their comfort zone blake i think blake would never come yeah we have something else going on but that's fine because he would never come um but i kind of think that's like the point of it i think it's fun to like do things that are first of all memorable because you it's memorable because you don't do it often and then it's also like obviously connecting and it's not serious so it's like fun and touch and yeah so it'll be fun yeah romantic out of your comfort zone it's an activity i feel like guys really like activities yeah face to face uh-huh yeah there's no that's the opposite of what they like don't they like don't they say guys like side to side i think you're right oh i love the line dancing you can do that like literally any dance class and also it's good because you're probably going to be supporting a local business too yeah doing that and it's really like it's a good way to just actually talk look each other in the eye and touch what does arthur brooks say you have to look in the eye make eye contact and physical touch it bonds you i always send caleb any arthur brooks clips so he talks about eye contact because i'm like i think we both just run through the day and sometimes i'm like what do you look like today i haven't looked in your eyes once no what's easy to do i did a ballroom dance class with my dad once not once we took classes because he was going to surprise my mom at prom like our prom because they were chaperoning and dance with her like so i did him with him so he could learn the steps that is so sweet that's so sweet right oh my gosh that's a great idea but it wouldn't have to be ballroom you could do tango you could do cha-cha a little spicy you could do anything i think that'd be fun that'd be really fun that's a really good idea yeah my first all of those are our ballroom okay yeah maybe your class will just be a mix of all of it or do you know what shimmies in there what is it a waltz what kind of class is it do you know What do you mean? Those are all types of ballroom dances. I get you now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What do you mean? Do you know what the type is? Yeah, what type of dance is it? A waltz is a type of... I don't think it's going to be a waltz. A waltz. Is that the three, three? One, two, three. I think so. Yeah. No, I don't know. I feel like that would be a difficult one to start with. Probably a little salsa. I really think you guys are just doing this so you could try to get on Dancing with the Stars. I think I said that last time you mentioned dancing. I mentioned this already? I think so, because she did say that. I don't know when, but... Did I ever talk about this on the podcast? You just kind of mentioned that you guys were going to do it. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. But these are the details. She. Well, this is the date idea. It's okay. It's a date idea. That sounds fun. Abby, you can't beg your. Sorry to all the audio listeners. Abby is smacking her head on the mic. You will, for sure. Okay. Okay. My first date is ice skating. Okay. I was just thinking, what's something easy, breezy, last minute? like in st louis there's a really beautiful outdoor ice ring called steinberg's and it's so romantic it's you know chilly cold you can get hot chocolate you hold hands if you're a bad skater like me your husband basically holds you up the whole time so lots of touch and it's just you know you can talk while you skate it's just like i think it's something it's good to be outside a little bit you get fresh air just a little something different than going to a restaurant you know that's fun so yeah if your town has something cute like that ice skating some bass pro shops have it i don't know if the ones out here do but they have ice skating not oh yes yeah yeah oh and it's like and they have like little fires it's like really cute cute do you think that's still a thing right now in february actually now that i think about it ice skating i feel like a lot of america is actually frozen right now yeah you know what you're right about that this category was art and you gotta know your husband for these because i have dragged matt to a couple art ones surprisingly enough he doesn't love them really he's happy that i'm having fun but he does not love them but i have one i think most men would like more for when we did like a sip and paint i think there's a lot this there's probably one in your area there's a lot this is like kind of a popular thing now i like it because it's like it's creative but it's structured like they have they walk you through how to do it you're gonna get a decent painting like not that you're necessarily going to save it and put it up on your wall but it's fun to just like it's casual you get to talk and like do something fun those are really fun yeah it's a really fun thing and then if you're sipping on wine it's like a little bit more elevated too um not that was that didn't land great with that oh he didn't like that he didn't like it no i think i think he also doesn't like being told like what to paint oh and also i don't think he cares to paint at all actually so i don't want to put words in his mouth i think he's just he really doesn't like to paint he doesn't like crafts okay never liked crafts but one that is really fun and is a little bit more niche is blown glass we did this for a date and that i feel like guys caleb would be that is caleb's dream date caleb would be a dream date there's places out here that do it he was really jealous that you guys did that it's really it's a really fun thing to do and i feel like it does it's a little bit more masculine sure um and it's not easy like to do and it's really kind of fun and cool and then you get to take like a art piece home like we use the glasses that we made there and we also made like a paperweight and a vase so it's like things that you're gonna use and you just kind of have like a little thing to remember it by and i also just have so much appreciation now for people that do this i was like that was not it seems easy i don't think it seems easy personally takes a lot of air pressure yeah i'm like dang you have glass with everything everything's glass and then you watch how they make it and you're like they do this for every single cup in my kitchen no they don't think they blow all of them are not blown glass oh what are they i don't know i think they just maybe form it oh but i'm confused is that the only way that you can make glass no i don't think so oh but it's just a technique you know glass is sand right i feel like i did know that a long time ago and i forgot until you just told me isn't that crazy that is crazy that's crazy no i there's got to be an easier way there's no way that this is all blown glass i just gotta say it'll be a million dollars yeah i'm telling you it's a lot of work yeah but if you can't blow up a balloon you're not gonna be able to blow up some glass but maybe your husband your husband probably could and it's really funny And it's cool. And you kind of, you get close because you have to spin it. And I'm like, I can't do it by myself. And it's like, you're spinning it together. It's fun. And it's something that's a little different. You get a little memento to take back with you. That's cute. They're either made from pressing a mold into the hot glass or blowing air into the glass. Wow. Those Amazon glasses I have are molds. I was going to say about the painting. I did that once with Blake for our one year anniversary. So when he was still into doing different things that aren't necessarily. But we did it. It was also during COVID. So we did it at home. I don't know if they still do them, but you get sent home. You go pick up all the things you need. You can do it at home. And there's a video that you follow to make the painting. So if you don't want to go out. That's a good idea. Yeah. Something you can do at home. I like that. This is another at home idea. So I actually did this for Caleb. I've done it a couple of times throughout our dating and marriage. I've done a themed movie night. and I'm not just saying like light on the theme heavy on the theme I did a Harry Potter we did a Harry Potter marathon in college and I made Slytherin soup I like I made all these different foods and dips and huge spread and I gave everything place cards that were designed and that I wrote in Harry Potter handwriting with different like Harry Potter names we watched the movie I decorated the apartment kind of Harry Potter theme I made us butterbeer like this went all out it was really fun it was so memorable like we still talk about it another one that we did was when we watched the last dance it was the nba documentary about michael jordan do you know that my dad has a hyper fixation on that and he has watched it a thousand it's an amazing time maybe a thousand times really well maybe it just has to be playing i love that i love that it's just always on the background hyper fixation is the last dance He's like, does anyone watch The Last Dance? We're like, no. Fun fact about my father. It's not an exaggeration at all. It's not an exaggeration. I didn't know that. That's funny. He's sick. I mean, it's a great docuseries. But we did it where we went to the store and we each picked out like concession stand appetizers, like mozzarella sticks and pizza and all kinds of things. And we went home and we just played the Space Jam theme music. Why didn't we do the same thing? We watched it. We watched a son's game at home, and I got Wetzel's pretzels, and we made, like, a basketball fruit pizza and played. He's so funny at Baskin. You have to. You have to. So that's something really fun. If you didn't want to go out to spend money, you want, like, an at-home date night, just go all out and pick a theme. I think I said it last time, but the other one I did was a high tee, and that one didn't quite land the same. Did Caleb put his pinky up? Yeah, he was such a good sport. but I was like, this is maybe for the ladies. Did you make like cucumber sandwiches? Well, I was like, we were watching Great British Baking Show at the time. So we were really into British culture. So, you know, just doing, stick it to a theme. That's cute. Yeah, it's so memorable. That's fun. You're a good wife. Thank you. It's a lot of work. Yeah, but it's so fun. That is fun. It's fun. My last one, we haven't done, but I have wanted to do, and I have actually partially planned this multiple times, so I really need to make it happen. I want to go to, just do a classic arcade date. Oh, cute. That would be really fun, I feel like. And, like, I just think about Dave & Buster's because it's more of, like, a semi-adult one. But you could go to any random arcade and mall. Do they still have those, though? What are the ones that are really big, the new chain that's going in everywhere? Oh, Fat Cats? No, no, no. It's main event. Oh, my gosh, it's going to drive me nuts. Fat Cats would be fun. It has a bowling alley in it and an arcade and laser tag. Fat Cats. Main event? Main event. Yeah, thank you. Oh, there's a main event. Main event is huge. Those are going in everywhere. Yeah, and that's a great one. there's like a race car track in there yeah they're so fun especially if you've been married for like six seven years like just do something fun that you wouldn't necessarily like something silly and like light it would be really fun that would be really that's a good idea and a little competition like laser tag that would be really fun and just silly one time we also did like in a similar like buildings like fat cast main event some of them have these like vr um like experiences and we did this zombie one one time okay i did almost throw up it made me very motion sick you're literally it's so funny if you take your goggles off because you are just an empty room but i was like tiptoeing because i thought i was gonna like fall off this edge and there's like zombies i was terrified but it was like cute and fun that we like it wasn't cute but it was fun to do together yeah yeah that would be a good double date option too because like you have teams yeah that is fun but i'm like i just want to do something like cheesy like that you see like in a romantic comedy yeah there's a reason to try to it's fun it's so fun i want to do it i want to win like a little prize yeah you go like this cash in your tickets i think it'd be fun i think we'll probably go to fat cats gosh okay happy valentine's day you took the kids to fat cats for halloween this year i've never heard of this place yeah you surely have um some maybe better than others okay we talk about it a lot because thank goodness my kids are two and three we went and there's a chase from paw patrol no as marshall uh-huh not that it really matters of course as the most budget costume i've ever seen in my life his head's falling off he's not even wearing shoes he has socks on as hands this is a guy dressed up like this some high school kid and Griffin and all you're like Marshall Marshall? I was cracking up because I was like yes get a picture have you seen those videos you probably have it of girls dressing up as Spider-Man for their nephew's birthday party comments they're like whoa I don't know if Spider-Man had all of that that's funny I've seen dads dress up as stuff for their kids' birthday party yeah it's like curvy Oh, Lady Curves, you know, on Spider-Man. That's funny. That's hilarious. I love them. That's a good idea. Be an arcade. Cute and fun classic. I need to do that. That'd be fun. That's a great one. My last one, I actually, a girl that we were friends with did this for her husband in Kansas City. She went on Turo and rented a sports car for the day. This is such a good idea. Okay, he had like a dream car. So if your man has got a dream car, go on Turo, see if you can rent it for the day and just take it for a joyride. I rented a Kia Carnival for the day. It was amazing. That's a different vibe. you're testing out mom cars we're testing out sports cars either one either one can be fun i even i think she actually got a photographer to go like wow pictures with the car i think that's i know it's just like a little different creative happy's a car guy yeah they're a car guy go out on town go like one time kiel did that for me in college he borrowed his friend's mustang it's like a really cool car and i was like whoa baby you know it's just kind of different that's fun and we went out to dinner and had a good meal and then drove around the car and it was so fun that's cool yeah so that's my last idea that's a good idea thank you for the car guys out there for the car guys okay let's do let's do some gift ideas matt and i both are terrible gift givers i have to say that but we do give tiny about really a bad gift giver i'm specifically talking about with each other oh we really don't do much sure um but we do give valentine's day gifts okay so a free one okay oh oh well never mind children no no no it's not bad we do this every valentine maybe we can cut this i know what i'm reading it but no that's not even the one oh you changed it no this is a free one that i didn't put on here okay but we do do this every year and i actually thought this year might be a pass but then matt brought it up what we do a lingerie photo shoot oh or not photo shoot oh my gosh like a runway like a runway shoot like we don't even know not a photo shoot but like i like will like he'll yeah oh my gosh you can try on yes a little outfit and you know what they don't need anything honestly they just want to see you and fun just a little uh not photo shoot what's the word i'm looking for like a runway like yeah yeah walk a show yeah the last time i did that was at my bachelorette party oh i think yeah yeah we do it every valentine's day that's sweet i'm sorry a photo shoot i would have passed away i'd be like you have to cut that i can't say but we have to keep i can't say photos are never taken okay matt navvy's camera roll is not safe we okay which is why i'm not gonna say mine's awesome i am not kidding we're gonna talk about this i need to know later okay mine first one this is the one dollar sign really sexy to a car wash subscription honestly i want that isn't that a Isn't that a great gift idea? Men are so practical And it the gift that keeps on giving Every month you gonna pay your 20 to Quack quack car wash Yes exactly And they going to go get a nice shiny car They going to vacuum the inside They going to be like my wife is the best They're going to vacuum it and think they're loving it. Every month when they have their unlimited car washes and their unlimited free vacuums and their unlimited air tire pressure pump wrappers, yes. Yes. Sign him up. Sign him up. Sign him up. Then you get a clean car out of it. And maybe he'll take your car, too. And it's the gift that literally keeps on giving. that's a good idea thanks okay my actual one dollar sign one conversation decks oh you can get them on amazon so it's last minute look it up they have an intimacy deck and like a deck for couples but um we love these like they and i'm not saying intimacy and like okay well that's my other second one of course you could get a sexy deck if you want the adventure challenge book sexy edition that too yeah i'm talking about like a 52 card oh just pull one out randomly you could do that one or i'm talking about the conversation ones really because this is pg 13 um they're great they're really great for date nights for the rest of the year like when you're not doing like big planned unique dates like it's fun to like have one to like i don't know spark conversation a rule we have for date nights is that we try to follow is not to talk about the kids or work and so sometimes gosh we're like i know we have a lot to talk about we need to kind of spark something else because this is all i'm thinking about right now is kids and work and so this is a good thing to like kind of spark and you're not going to just like sit there and read those cards the whole night but it will like spark more fun conversation or you can do a sexy deck two just do both do both that okay my next gift this is the two dollar sign is a leather good i got caleb a journal it's like a refillable journal so you can reuse it and um obviously it's leather and i had his initials stamped in it and then his favorite bible verse on it and he's used that since i think he's used that for maybe eight years oh wow and it just gets better looking over time it's like kind of rugged masculine they're not that expensive and it's something that he's going to use forever and every time he looks at it i hope he thinks of me a little bit that was top phil yeah and i thought that or a wallet a wallet is a good one do you have that on your list yeah okay the last time i thought this was a funny story um i bought killable wallet like 10 years ago when we were in college and i remember i went into macy's i never shopped at macy's and i went in there i was like okay i'm getting this wallet the lady asks me do you want to sign up to get a discount i said sure so i'm going to the you got a credit card she goes what's your social security number it's always that one i go wait why do you need that for my email address to give me an email like sign me up for your email list she goes no you're honey you're opening up a credit card i go oh i do not want to do that so i call it myself but i almost opened up a macy's credit card but a wallet he still uses it to this day oh that's awesome time for probably to get him a new one that was actually my three dollar sign one uh like a leather wallet i was thinking of like sorry and ours no you didn't steal it that was a good idea thanks men are hard to shop for they really are my two dollar sign one was fancy boxers like tommy johns yeah like they're not gonna buy themselves nice underwear but let's be real they need some new ones you know my scale of all of his underwear my mom my mom abby that's crazy no she's just like i went to the women and i got these on sale and she'll just pick up packs of boxers for everybody whoa for everybody she has no sons right exactly there's a loss in my dad well that's funny yeah yeah so get your bins and mondays yeah like tommy johns are actually they're very expensive but they're really nice and every time matt is like i like i really like his favorite these are so much better than other ones they're really nice yeah good quality stuff it's the stuff you only it's all that you reach for when you yeah and it feels like an appropriate valentine's day gift yeah maybe my head's in the gutter always gosh my last one and maybe we can we can check on this one together an nba or nhl ticket and then get them a jersey or a hat or something fun to wear to the game and if their favorite team is out of state plan a trip oh fun oh that's three dollar signs baby well i was gonna say you could go to the sun's game for uh eight dollars are they bad this year just depending on who they play they traded away all they're like yeah guys oh they're stars so it could be a one sign. But depending on where you're going. Give him a jersey then, too. Yeah, that would be way more than the ticket. Totally. And your nachos would be more than the ticket, gosh dang. Surely. I mean, yeah, he almost took the boys. I think they were playing the Kings. Oh my gosh, fun. Is that a baseball team? Yeah. Okay, that's what you're talking about. Not that popular, apparently. The Kings as a team? LA Kings? Wait, that's hockey. Wait. Wait. I pride myself on knowing sports and I don't know. The Sacramento Kings. Okay. basketball is really fun to watch and i don't even like sports live basketball even if it's not like nba oh it's a circus fun to watch but nba especially is like whoa whoa whoa uh-huh so fun that's a good idea pump music they have every second that the clock stops they have people out there doing a performance oh yeah it's a full show show there's no downtime no it's really fun the mascots are also hilarious a lot of the times the sun's one is hilarious the ape oh yeah i guess i was about that he's funny they do a good job yeah you can be in the nose and it's so fun he gets paid well really yes we looked it up i actually knew someone that was a professional mascot this is the sun's gorilla the sun's gorilla is that all it is okay well let's talk to their marketing team about a more creative name the name the gorilla or go the gorilla oh his name go okay maybe that yeah interesting interesting great well that's a really good idea yeah i hope this gave you guys some inspo yeah that's fun last minute left your last minute grillies like the abby's these are some of your ideas i forgot to talk about well there are two things we forgot to mention at the beginning one we're not wearing our sweatsets so we're mixing it up people we're mixing it up mixing it up i really gotta get some more pink and red in my word actually i was thinking about that i was going let's go shopping okay and then also people i was reading the comments from last episode they like the always homies i did see that there were some other good suggestions oh also my book club book is delayed so i haven't started it yet you need a kindle yeah people were saying that too like they're it's on back order and things like that so i'm like they were saying maybe mix in a new release and then like a non like next month it's also supposed to be free on audible yeah if you have an audible subscription you can just call the listeners abby too oh hello abby's blabbers or the abblers that's what it was the always honeys that's cute that's really cute that's cute too okay well between always put on the instagram always homies are always honeys because those are real i feel like one is masculine and one's feminine that's true everyone who commented always homies did the peace sign with it it has to have that we asked uh on friday night i asked caleb and matt which one of which abby was girlier so i did not know what they were going to say right but they said me yeah i think so too which it does we were talking about this on our call but it i have a theory that all girl households can be the grossest right like because maybe they feel like that someone has to be like a little bit more i shouldn't say grossest but like we were we were gross they are maybe more masculine than you think right then we're like in a household with boy and girl like you like fall more into the feminine yeah like uh-huh you can't have three really really girly girls in a house it probably happened at some point you need to have a balance of no that was all the all girl families i knew they kind of sway this way totally ask ask ask abby hey guys i love watching your show and listening um i was just curious how you and your husband like decide who's gonna like do this special thing for valentine's day each year do you have like a process of you do it one year your husband does another year just wondering love you guys cute that's a good question yeah we kind of touched on that like we take turns on years um because it is fun to like plan a date but it's also fun to like be surprised yeah and i think being clear is also good because then you don't like go into it like i thought you were gonna do something i don't think it has to always be the husband planning it right for the wife for valentine's day yeah i agree caleb knows that i definitely want flowers um and i'll be sad if he doesn't give me flowers that's like the one thing that i'm like you'll have to do but a lot of times we end up planning the date together okay like that restaurant sounds good let's do that it's more of a conversation but i like the switch off switch on idea hi abby and abby i love your show um my cute valentine's day story is that when i first started dating my now fiance over seven years ago we had dinner in like his college apartment and he made me spaghetti and meatballs and like bought a dessert and then later we were talking about something and I looked up something on his phone and his top google search was how to make spaghetti and meatballs fancy which was the cutest sweetest moment ever so now we always have spaghetti meatballs for Valentine's Day. Oh, that's cute. Oh my gosh, that's so sweet. He's like, what do I need? The effort is amazing. That's sweet. Yeah, it's just the effort. It could have been the nastiest spickety meatballs of all time, but then seeing that Google search, you're like, this is the best meal I've ever had. He's like, I'm going to learn for you, babe. Yes, that's cute. That's amazing. And I love that you carry that tradition out to future Valentine's Day. Yeah, that's amazing. Hey, y'all. I really enjoy listening to you all's podcast, so thank you so much. one question i have for you is where is some of the best places you have ever traveled to tropical mountains abroad in the u.s what are your best travel recommendations thank you i feel like my answer is so different like pre-kids and post-kids like yeah after kids it's very different like you're experiencing locations in a very different way oh that's true i mean we had a really fun trip to nashville uh last year was that last year when you stay there over the summer yeah yeah and i was like nashville would be a really great place for either pre or post kids sure like it has both there that was really really fun and i feel like you could do it fairly inexpensively yeah or you could do like go all out like you could go to broadway and like see all the lights in the shows and all the people or you could also have like go outside to like franklin and have like a really sweet like brunch experience and it's also just beautiful and nice weather and everyone's very friendly oh so i feel like that was a really fun place to travel that i didn't necessarily i know nashville's like booming but i didn't necessarily think of it as like a travel destination for some reason yeah i guess i feel like when we grew up in st louis it was so close that people would go like on the weekends a lot but i never really went i've only been once like people here fly to nashville yeah yeah i think he'll be i would really enjoy it and have a fun trip i think for i'm gonna do one domestic and then do i do one international sure okay i loved when we went to oregon oh that was so the oregon coast is really beautiful and i wish we had more time there um because they have got national parks and the beaches are so beautiful and i feel like it feels just so unique within america yes it's just i agree unique landscape so specifically the coast the coast yeah oh i want to go back because we flew into portland and i was like i don't know much about portland i don't either we drove to the night we didn't even see anything yeah don't do that that was actually horrifying that we were gonna die we like we landed really late and the driver was just i kept watching him i was trying like this i could not the fog you couldn't see feet in front of the car it was going so fast barreling down this road and he was just drinking coffee it was like three in the morning i'm like this dude's falling asleep i was so scared um that's a really good one yeah and good food and oh the chowder it's unexpected I feel like for me like that was a really unexpected one. Me too. That was really good. That was really great. Okay. International. You do your international one first. I was just going to say Italy. Caleb and I on our honeymoon we went to – we did a couple different spots in Europe. And obviously the Amalfi Coast was the most gorgeous place ever. And it's so walkable. It was not that expensive. It was just amazing. We stayed in a little town called Atrani, which is connected to Amalfi by a tunnel. so you could walk to the big cities and you could take the little water boats to all the little coastal cities along the Amalfi Coast it was so amazing we did a cooking class I mean there were just so many we hiked one day it was a little bit of everything beach mountain city all in one it was insane I want to go back we haven't done like a ton of international travel together but um I was gonna say Croatia because I was surprised by like how much fun we had in Croatia and obviously anywhere in Europe there is a ton of history and so um and I'm not I wouldn't consider myself a history buff but that is there's something you're in it it's good when you travel to like learn about the history of like where you're going and it's just also so outside of the normal what you're used to seeing in America that it is like very interesting and beautiful but I'm actually gonna say Mexico we love going to Mexico and I feel like you can get a lot of different things there also a lot of history but then also like you can hike you can go in the ocean you can have amazing cuisine and honestly it's fairly inexpensive and um yeah i think it's close it's close i mean that's the other thing too is i think like it's a two-hour flight oh wow to yeah to come what part of mexico do you go to we've gone to puerto vallarta which is further a lot further yeah like a lot further which is a mexican was huge i was gonna say we went to the east side it was really no from Cabo it's two hours to Cabo okay yeah wow okay so that's really nice if it's like you don't want to get go too far from the kids but you want to do a little I mean you're literally international travel yeah hi Abbies my name is Ellen and this is my first time calling into a podcast I'm so excited but I have a just kind of for funsies question I know y'all have been talking about books that you love starting the book club soon so my question is if you could act in one of your favorite books adapted into a movie what book would it be and which character would you want to play in the movie love you guys and love the podcast i thought of one ellen what a fun question that is so fun immediately i thought of one too okay which one what what is this spicy the clip books no i'm just kidding i'm not kidding but as an adult probably my favorite book was the nightingale i don't necessarily want to act out that movie um but to be the girl that was the nightingale and acted out would be insane yeah what a fun and hard role i think they're making a movie of that one right so i didn't get picked for the part dang it um you just made me think when you said click i was like oh my gosh my dream as a kid would have been nancy drew and i loved that movie but i was also terrified of that movie when she looked up into or when the guy driving the car looked up into the rearview mirror and had the two different eyes i remember just like gripping my seat like we're both terrified that was such a good movie i actually did audition for the click movie you're kidding no they had like mail in mail in tapes no no no no i don't even think i like mailed in my tape but i spent all day filming my like self-tape like movie and i don't think my mom ever sent it dang it that was your chance that was your chance but i tried you did um i immediately thought of the bodyguard by katherine center because i remember reading that character and i was like i feel like i'm her like she's very like clumsy and like she doesn't take herself very seriously and but she is also kind of awkward like i don't know and so basically it's like she gets hired to be this bodyguard of this like celebrity and she's not like she's like we're not like the big buff bodyguard men she's like our job is to go like think of everything in advance so it doesn't come to that and so she's like smart and like but anyway her character is just so funny i love that that book it's actually getting made into it i just looked it up it's made into a movie and they have already casted it do you know who leighton meester is oh my gosh fun yeah she's gonna be the main character she was in gossip girl do i look like her no no and then jared i feel like she has to be a short and then jared maybe padelik i don't know who leighton is you wouldn't recognize her if you saw her she's been in a ton of stuff okay she's not who i pictured i pictured like a short you picture yourself she also he doesn't look like he's gonna be that big of a bodyguard well he's a celebrity oh you're right she's the bodyguard i saw what i pictured in my head um addy what would you say gosh what was the first nothing came to mind because i'm like i'm more so if i just think about like books that i want to be adapted into movies is more every single book that i read i'm like ah i want to see this as a movie um the patience getting made into a movie i would not want to act in that no no i don't even i fell for an ai um trailer i hate that i fell for an ai disney like movie like poster keep it for the men ai please seriously don't please keep it for the men keep it for the men okay what have i i'm trying to think through i'm like i said the nightingale because i just feel like i haven't read that have you ever finished daisy jones in the six i'm gonna be honest you don't like it i like it but i'm not like flying through it okay the first one that came to my head was the perfect marriage okay no we wouldn't be good at that she's a lawyer huh she's a lawyer and she would be good at that i could see that why is that the first one that came what movie could you see me being in i was gonna say maybe daisy jones in the six that would be really fun it would make sense okay i actually have my answers it'd be yours truly by abby menace that's my favorite book i read it it was so good she was a doctor they like love story but they write each other letter cute yeah that's a fun question it's a really fun question and thanks for calling in calling again you got creative questions awesome well thanks guys so much for sending in your questions and like we said a couple times we have a book club now yeah um we already have members so That's very, very exciting. Our book this month is My Husband's Wife. And we're just going to read it in the month of February. By Alice Feeney. By Alice Feeney. It's surprising that there's more than one of those. I know. Have you guys started yet? No, my hasn't even arrived yet. I need to finish the book I'm on. It's taking me a hot minute. Don't worry. I'll buckle down. I will finish it by the 28th. Yeah, for sure. Hey, and also, if there's something in there that you're like, oh, well, I can't believe. We haven't read it. That's kind of the whole point. Yeah. I want to have fun, too. So yeah, thank you to everyone who wrote in, who's joined the book club. And also thank you to those of you who have engaged with our podcast in really any capacity, but especially those of you that have actually rated us five stars and written reviews. I want to read a review right now. This one says proud to be an always homie. I think we got to use that one. Is that going to stick? I think it might stick. Thank you, Caleb. She gave us five stars and she said, I'm loving always here. It literally feels like I'm on the couch with you guys. I appreciate the transparency and vulnerability you guys bring to the podcast, making it feel relatable and authentic. Proud to be an always homie. Thank you. So cute. So thank you so, so much. Yeah. If you also feel so inclined to write a review, it would make us very, very happy. Yeah. That username is AGW7000. I wish I knew this person's name. Her name, yeah. But thank you guys so much. Yes. Okay. If you guys want to leave a voicemail, a question, it could be a cute story, a funny story, a question for us, advice. whatever it may be you guys can call 602-456-9690 and leave your questions there thank you guys so much for doing that down below any other date night ideas you better hurry because it's tomorrow tomorrow so um prime your gift it's on prime your gift a lot of these are on prime so just hurry up on that i think that's it remember we're always here Thank you.