Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
EP 70: What's New With Us
1.7k Plays1 year ago
In this week’s episode of Mom Group Chat, Candace and Whitney are back with a “what’s new with us” chat, diving into all the recent changes and life updates. Whitney has some big news to share—she and her family have officially sold their home and are preparing for a big move at the end of the month. She opens up about what it’s been like to say goodbye to their current space and the whirlwind of emotions around starting fresh.
Meanwhile, Candace gives listeners a heartfelt update on her own life post-hurricane and flood, sharing both the struggles and small moments of relief as her family begins to rebuild. From coping with the loss of belongings to finding resilience in the midst of uncertainty, Candace offers a glimpse into the real impact of this season of life.
As the holidays approach, the girls briefly touch on the chaos (and charm!) of planning family photos during this busy time. From coordinating outfits to juggling schedules, they share some laughs and relate on the universal hustle of capturing those “picture-perfect” family moments.
Join the official Mom Group Chat Facebook group: Mom Group Chat | Facebook
Keep up with the Moms and join the conversation on our socials:
Instagram: @momgroupchat
TikTok: @momgroupchat
Questions/comments/need to vent? Email us at momgroupchat@gmail.com
Recommended
Transcript
Podcast Introduction Mix-up
00:00:07
Speaker
There's no right way to do it.
00:00:12
Speaker
Oh, we're gonna get into it. ola mamaitas this is the mom group
00:00:20
Speaker
I thought, wow, you're trolling me. You're trolling me. OK, so and for context, Candice and I, before we start every podcast, we're like, do you want to do it? Do you want to do it? And, you know, anyway, trolling Candice this morning. This is the mom group chat podcast. I'm with my best friend Candice.
00:00:39
Speaker
And I fucked it up. And we're the mom group chat podcast. That's all you need to say. Yeah. That's okay. It was,
Creating Catchy Intros
00:00:48
Speaker
it's perfect. Um, I love that you threw in the Ola mamasitas. Uh, still don't know what I was doing with that one. I like was cringing at myself when I was editing the Shannon episode and I had to put that part in there. I'm like, why the fuck was I saying that? I don't know. We were trying to be so like.
00:01:05
Speaker
funny and catchy with all these things it's funny because i was thinking the other day i'm like oh maybe we need to bring it back like maybe we need to start to be more original with our intros it's just so hard sometimes like i feel like we've run out of things ah to say like as far as intro goes we're never going to run out of things to say like and yap about But I've run out of things for the intro.
Podcast Inspiration and Dynamics
00:01:30
Speaker
Well, do you listen to the good guys at all? I do sometimes. Not like yeah consistently, but well, they just started doing it or maybe they have the whole time. i I don't know. But how Josh always says something so off the cuff in the beginning to Ben it is so freaking funny. I don't know. I think that podcast is pretty funny. I think Josh is. Yeah. miracle
00:01:52
Speaker
He is funny. i I like them a lot, too. In fact, one of my favorite podcasts just announced they were ending. So I mean, did you see synced is oh why and I went down. They didn't say and I went down a Reddit rabbit hole
Podcast Endings and Conflicts
00:02:10
Speaker
trying to figure out why it ended. And it seems like there was some bad blood between Liz and Monica that And Monica in a previous episode or yeah, in a previous episode of Armchair Expert, like, you know how they do a fact check section? Yes. At the end in one of the fact checks, she was talking about a lawyer situation she's in and how like she was really upset and sad and feels really disrespected and whatever. And then they announced the end of the show and then
00:02:45
Speaker
They deleted that part of the fact check. You did some sleuthing. I did because I really love Monica and Liz and I love that podcast. It's just like they talk about anything and everything.
Choosing Podcasts to Listen
00:02:59
Speaker
And it's just like girly chats, you know, so I don't listen to that one. But I know what you're talking about just because I like armchair anonymous. That's like the only episodes I listen to anymore. I don't I can't get behind some of those celebrity interviews like there's just so many podcasts with celebrity interviews. I'm like, I'm getting overwhelmed.
00:03:20
Speaker
by all of them. I'm very selective. I don't listen to all of armchair. It's only people I'm like curious about or I also find a lot of the expert on experts very interesting. Again, it has to be a topic that I'm like interested in. If it's like someone talking about like mechanical engineering, like I'm not listening to that. But if it's someone that's like, I don't know, that's like interesting, I will listen to like, I loved the episode of that guy who like studied manifestation.
00:03:50
Speaker
just because I'm kind of into that kind of thing anyway, which I need to start manifesting more things in my life because I'm hanging about a thread, but um it's fine. um That one I found really interesting, but I definitely don't listen to all of them. it's I'm very selective about the you one you should listen to is the Sarah Paulson episode that just came out from American, she's from American Horror Story. She is a fucking,
00:04:17
Speaker
Hoot. She's so funny and so cool. I after listening
Challenges in Podcast Ventures
00:04:20
Speaker
to her, I was like, wow, we would be besties. Like I'm obsessed. Yeah, she's funny. And I love how she always like riffs on her girlfriend for being old. It's like, damn. But she dates a lot of older people. It's not just her current. um But wow, that is so shocking about Monica. Now it's like maybe because it wasn't getting the numbers or maybe wasn't worth the time. Well, I think, you know, they just switched to wondering.
00:04:47
Speaker
um And maybe I know there was, and Sinked is Sinked separated technically from Armchair. It's not the same the like feed anymore. It's like on its own show. So I think it had its own like negotiations about the deal with Wondery. And I'm sure there was some That's stressful. It's hard to do business with friends, I think, and it sucks because they're friends. So I really hope behind the scenes, like they're still
Podcast as Creative Outlet
00:05:14
Speaker
friends. Like yeah I was thinking I was grocery shopping yesterday after I heard that news and kind of read into it. And I was thinking like, I just can never see a world where you and I, like if we were in that situation that like we would ever let any sort of business deal get between us. Like I just don't see that happening. Like I could never even imagine that happening.
00:05:35
Speaker
No, I would shut it down. Like, nothing. Yeah. Like, money isn't worth, like, my tenure with you. No. No. And also, we are completely equal partners of this. I think maybe where that might have gone wrong with them is, like, Monica was technically armchair first and brought Liz in. So there was probably, like, an imbalance there. Whereas, like, you and I, we are 50-50, like, perfect soulmates. So.
00:06:04
Speaker
We would never let that happen, but also we have us no look at us yeah we have no money coming in. yeah from like We don't make a single dollar from this podcast. We are just here to for a good time. It is our creative escape
Buying and Selling Homes
00:06:20
Speaker
and our time to catch up as well. So love that for us. It's a win-win really. um For real. Well, give us a give us an update. We're just going to yap on this episode. Whatever comes comes. I love it. so Give us a give. Oh, is that what I said? Well, you're going to say I was. OK.
00:06:47
Speaker
So we did get a house which. Yay, it is part scary, part exciting. We are thrilled and we did sell our home. We haven't moved yet, ah but it is in the works. And honestly, I think we should be on our way out at the end of the month.
00:07:12
Speaker
That is so exciting. Okay, tell everyone, is it like in your neighborhood? Is it, or like still in the same area? I mean, you don't have to go into like major details. I'm moving to Florida, I wish. No, cause I'm trying to come to you. so Don't move here. No, we are moving like seven minutes down the road. We were really toying with the idea of moving back to my hometown, which is still honestly like,
00:07:40
Speaker
it could be a possibility down the line. But with our situation, we really just wanted to get into Williamson County. And so we literally are maybe, like I said, two or three houses um on the line from that county. And so we basically just like inched our way down the road ah because I love my neighborhood. We're still connected to my neighbor's neighborhood.
00:08:06
Speaker
So I will never lose them. I will be stalking them per usual on the weekends, afternoons. um And we will still be simpatico. But we are moving to a place that has a bonus room. OK, that's like.
00:08:21
Speaker
and Something I'm so thrilled about is and it was something like I would have stayed in my house forever if it had a freaking bonus room. And it's not like I have the space to like build out here. So I couldn't have added it here, but that is what was missing. So we're just getting a bonus room.
00:08:40
Speaker
And we pretty much have the same amount of rooms that we did in my house now, but they're just like on a bigger scale. Like the bedrooms are a little bigger. Like Margo's room is
Moving Preparations
00:08:51
Speaker
pretty small here. So it's just going to be like bigger there and um things like that. Exciting. I'm so happy for you guys. I am a little new beginning. Yeah, I'm excited. Great. and Yeah. Oh, my gosh. OK, I know I said I like literally hassle you about this every time, but can you please like start to bring us along on that journey?
00:09:16
Speaker
Yes, I plan to. OK. And honestly, I feel overwhelmed about it a little bit just because I'm that person that likes to be ahead and have things done. And so move um us moving in and not being able to like say paint or if I want to do wallpaper again, like it's going to be weeks. And I'm like, oh, that's tough for me. Like I want it to be done yesterday.
00:09:44
Speaker
So wait, so you you can't even have the house painted before you move in no, I mean that it does you can't because they're still living there technically until you close. So they have to move out like two or three days before, you know. um So it's fine. um Whenever we like moved here and painted our whole house here, we were able to paint it before our furniture got here because it took like two weeks for our furniture to get down here from Rhode Island. That's just like the moving company we picked. So we were able to do that.
00:10:20
Speaker
um But really, like the house doesn't need painting. They painted everything white, so perfect for me. okay but That's the color I like. i was in So it's really just like I want to paint. It's a blank canvas. Graydon's room, though, is brown, which is fine, but I don't want it to be brown. So it's like a few rooms here and there. We have a built-in bookshelf that I want to do, like a glossy blue.
00:10:47
Speaker
in the like beautiful to put my Mary Maguire artwork and I just want that to be like super cute so there's like little nishi things like I only need to paint like three things um well that should be easy um I'm thinking already about the content you're going to create around this, it'll be nice to like just do pockets of like projects like, OK, here's like my bookshelf that we painted and decorated and whatever. And then Graydon's room or Margot's room or the dining room, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, they have a lot of like black accents like that bookshelf is black, which
00:11:28
Speaker
I mean, you know, that can be like classic for some homes, like a black girl. No, it just well it does. You're not a black girl, but but this doesn't look fit for me for what I'm trying to. I feel like you like.
00:11:45
Speaker
Yeah. Um, and then like so the, the kitchen is like that classic, like Tuscan. Oh, know like Teresa lives on the wall. Yes. Type thing, which is, I can't, I'm not going to be able to redo this kitchen. It's just like not going to happen. Like I did mine here. So goodbye, beautiful kitchen. This kitchen is beautiful in its own way, just not my style. And it has also black accents.
00:12:13
Speaker
So just going to paint those white and see how I feel about it from there. Totally work for me forever. I just need to get some new countertops and stuff. But that is going to be like that's like a five year plan. I can't do everything up front. So.
00:12:30
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's, it's funny that we're like, I'm relating to you in this moment of being like, I feel like when I, when we bought our first home, it was kind of like, I was only envisioning like forever. Like I was envisioning like.
00:12:45
Speaker
my kids growing up fully in you know our house and all of that. And I feel like recent events obviously have just reminded me that like it doesn't have to be forever. like Even our decision that we're trying to make right now with our life, like it doesn't have to be forever. like that not it's like It can be great for three to five years or it can be great for 10 years, but it doesn't mean like we don't have to make that full decision right now.
00:13:14
Speaker
You know, 100 percent. And I honestly like I feel like somewhat of a nomad. I've moved literally every three years or less. And so we've been in this home for three years. I never thought it would be my forever home per se, but like I made it what I wanted it to be because that's just how I am. So I think this next house will definitely be a longer tenure because once you get the kids into school, it's kind of hard to start moving around and around so true
00:13:47
Speaker
Um, but I feel like we are moving to the spot we want to be in for a while. Like you said, it could be 10 years. It could be 15. Like time actually flies. Like the fact that we've been here for three years. I'm like, whoa, that went by so fast. I brought grain home here and then I brought Margo home here. They both have like the cutest rooms and I can't wait to like do that next step for their toddler rooms at the new house. So.
Packing and Decluttering
00:14:17
Speaker
Yeah, it's just going to be different. Yeah. How's packing going? yeah um That is, lay hard with the children, I will say. I bet. I love packing. like I'm like one of those weirdos that doesn't mind it. But I was telling, I think I told you this, Candace, that it feels like a five-hour car ride that lasts 12 hours because you have to stop.
00:14:45
Speaker
and You know, play with them for a second or distract them. And like literally our house is just getting if Chris and I are concentrating on packing, our house is getting destroyed in another room because we're just letting them wreak havoc to pass the time. Like, like literally I'm talking like crayons on the couch, like.
00:15:07
Speaker
Oh, tight yeah. And like baskets turned over. Like, I mean, it's just a wreck. But if that's what's going to pass the time, I really just should buck up and ask my parents to take them for the day. or I was going to say, can't you like punt them to Nani?
00:15:26
Speaker
I should be like listen. I need a whole focus day because you guys would be superheroes. You probably pack up the whole house in one day. We did pack up like two rooms, um which were like the most tedious rooms, which is all the frickin dishes and glasses like.
00:15:41
Speaker
all the things you have to like actually wrap. So that took ah like a whole weekend to do. And then I've been kind of doing things like here and there. Like I've packed Margo's room in two bins. I can pack Graydon's room in two bins like. Are you getting rid of stuff as you go? Oh, things are gone. I I was going to say I i donated 12 bags of clothes of mine.
00:16:07
Speaker
So, yeah, I just knew wardrobe. Here we go. Honestly, I need one because my ass don't fit in my old clothes and I donated like all of Margo's and Graydon's stuff because I'm having another baby. um And yeah, we've just thrown away like so much like any books that I had that Graydon's torn the pages out by, you know, just little things like that that we've just kept. um Any baby toys. Bye. Yeah.
00:16:37
Speaker
I would be the same way, honestly. It feels good. I'm not like anyway, though. Yeah. Kind of like I don't save you a ton of stuff anyway. Yeah. I'm not kidding, though. Like I just had Morgan's baby shower and um I was taking a tour through my old like high school friend's house. It was my old at my at Lydia's house, her mom's house. um And they just redid the house. And I she was taking me around and I was like, oh, this is where we played.
00:17:04
Speaker
guitar hero up here, like how funny. And then my mom was like, speaking of, I need to bring that to you. I'm not keeping it at my house anymore. I'm like, mom, throw it away. why She saved guitar hero. Throw it away. but maybe Do you even have a PlayStation or whatever you use to I don't know. I'm like, is she going to give me like the whole setup? Because honestly, actually give it to me. But at the time a minute, I do hier ander earn but like i kind of want it,
00:17:39
Speaker
but also like. Now is not the time for you to be bringing things to me, please. like yeah Can you wait a sec? like Christmas is coming up also. like I don't need you dumping stuff at my house. Just throw it away, please. You need to sign on your door. No dumping. No dumps in this house, please.
00:18:03
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Well, I'm so excited for you. Hopefully the packing happened swiftly and easily and it'll be an easy, I mean, the fact that you're only seven minutes down the road is so nice because you can kind of like umve never like, are you guys hiring a moving company or? I think we will just for the big furniture. Furniture. like um My dad has a trailer and I think he's going to bring it next weekend and we are going to put like all the boxes in it ourselves. yeah so Anything that's not huge heavy lifting, we are going to try and then it'll hopefully bring down the cost a little moving so expensive. like It's probably going to still just be expensive because I do have a lot of furniture, yeah which is great. but Are you going to be in by Thanksgiving?
Moving Timeline and New Beginnings
00:18:53
Speaker
Yeah, we're moving in that weekend before, so. Oh, my gosh. I know so exciting. It feels fast, but I mean, it's been like a three month process. I was going to say you guys have been doing this behind the scenes since. Sorry, I feel like my life is just like like my time stamps are the storms like you guys really this all happened like ah right after Helene hit. So it's been like end of September. So.
00:19:26
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, pretty much exciting. Thanks.
Post-Flood Challenges
00:19:29
Speaker
So tell me about where you guys are with your little. Not little big journey.
00:19:38
Speaker
yeah i mean I wish I had like a more firm update, but unfortunately we are still in the trenches of waiting. like the This whole process has really taught me patience and how hard it is to wait for something and to like live in the unknown. and and like how to deal with that um because we just don't have an answer. we won't We won't be able to make a super informed decision until we understand what insurance looks like. We have gotten some like negative news recently about um like FEMA. We got denied for like
00:20:23
Speaker
all of our personal property coverage which we don't have any personal property coverage through our insurance so i mean that's hundreds of thousands of dollars of stuff that we lost and we got denied by FEMA, which they didn't give a reason. And it's like, yeah, we can appeal, but like that's another hours of like time. And we might I haven't even like decided that yet, but um it's just crazy. like there i Everything is still on the table, like to be honest. I mean, other than I don't think we're going to like just remodel and like put our house back together in its current state. It's just not worth it with the risk of storms happening again. um We've talked to realtors about selling our house. We've talked to realtors about moving.
00:21:14
Speaker
um both buying a new house in Tampa and we've talked to realtors about moving away to different cities. um And. To be honest, like where I stand right now is I am like a little bit on Team Cell and. Start our life somewhere in new, whether that's a new place or a new house or yeah regardless, it's going to be a new house. But you know what I mean? Like.
00:21:45
Speaker
without the waiting period of having to build, the thought of being not in our home for another two years and then having to pay to live somewhere, whether that's rent or whatever. like We cannot live in my mom's house for another two years. like no For my sanity, for my kid's sanity, for my husband's sanity, for my mom's sanity, that's not an option. so Yeah. I mean, it's just crazy. And I've learned so much about dealing with insurance. like Obviously we have a mortgage on our house and we got our first advancement check from insurance, which was 20 grand. and And that's just to like help us start repairs or whatever. But because we have a mortgage, the check doesn't even go directly to us. like it has to it's It's to us and our mortgage company.
00:22:35
Speaker
So we have to ship the check to our mortgage company for them to basically review and endorse back to us, which is eight to 10 days of processing. And then they have to mail it back to us. So it's like, yeah, we got that check, but we probably aren't even going to see it for another two or three weeks. So it's just like, everything's a waiting game and a patient's game. That seems like how crazy. That's, it's having to touch so many hands, like,
00:23:01
Speaker
for Oh my God. That's scary. yeah Really? Yeah. Yeah. So even if we do get our large insurance, like lump sum, like we just don't even know what that looks like as far as us getting it. Like obviously if we do decide to rebuild, it seems like, and I don't know if this, this is probably fricking boring for people. I'm not going to like get to in the weeds here, but I'm pretty sure that insurance money will just pay down our current mortgage loan. And then we we rework the loan into a construction loan.
00:23:33
Speaker
um and yeah So I think that's how that works. um so yeah but It's just craziness. It's so, it's so not like cut and dry. Like people think like that's, I mean, honestly after this all happened, I was like, Oh, it's fine. We'll get a check from insurance. Like we'll be, you know, and that's like, it's not that simple unless you own your home completely outright. Um, so it's, it's really hard. I've had many multiple breakdowns of just like missing normalcy and.
00:24:10
Speaker
missing like our life, just us as a family. And work has been really hard. Like it's hard to focus when there's like so much else going on. And there's like, I had a full breakdown the other day about just like, I just feel like I'm doing bad at everything. Like, I feel like I'm doing bad at being a mom. I'm doing a bad job at my work. I'm doing a bad job as a daughter to my mom because I have a short temper and like we live in this house together. I feel like I'm a bad wife because Vinny's having a hard time and I can't be there for him as much as I would like, but also like who the fuck is there for me when like, you know, so I also feel it's just like
00:24:52
Speaker
No, I totally hard when you have so much going on, things get dropped. And yeah, it's like you have to go back to like what Olivia says with the the glass balls and the rubber balls and totally balance all of that and.
00:25:08
Speaker
But it's hard to think of in the moment. And like when you say you're short tempered being in closed doors with your entire family at all times, like something's going to break, you know? Yeah, 100 percent. Making these life altering decisions about where you're going to live and like hope that you're making the right choice. It's like, yes, sure, you're going to miss your house, but Oh my God, I think I would feel like a some relief just selling it if it was me. Yeah, just like i that's how I feel. like I will miss my home and I will cherish the memories there, but like...
00:25:41
Speaker
Yeah, like at this point, I've already said goodbye to that house in my head. Like, you know, like that house doesn't even serve me anymore. It's it holds no like the sentimental part of it was all mourned the month after the storm. Like so that that house to me right now is just a burden. That's how I feel. It's I'm so glad, though, that it is on a great piece of property where you like. Yeah.
00:26:10
Speaker
money back like oh my gosh thank yeah god so the realtor we talked to about selling like really gave us a positive number and a positive like outlook on selling our property like we live in a sought-after neighborhood where people are dying to build and dying to live so Just our lot is worth so much and that's what I have to focus on and that's what we have to focus on. so And you could sell your house because you're in like honestly a perfect little situation. You're already living with your mom so you could go ahead and sell it and right and you can wait and find your perfect new home. like Yeah.
00:26:55
Speaker
I mean, that's a great scenario. Yeah. Like it's not like we would have to move out. Like we don't have anything in that house. It's an empty shithole and all of our shits already here. And we don't, first of all, we don't have that much shit. Like I joked with, with Whitney, like if we move, it's literally going to be one of those tiny pool behind your car, you halls. Like that's all we have. We lost everything. yeah So it's like, I don't have, we don't have that much.
00:27:22
Speaker
So I've just been trying to really focus on small steps towards normalcy. that's like what i keep I literally keep saying it over and over in my head. like What can I do today that would just make my life feel more normal?
00:27:37
Speaker
And it's as simple as like like replacing our monitors. like our nanet monitors like that is We came here and my mom like has these you know monitors that aren't great. like i'm oh I'm constantly like looking for the freaking screen.
00:27:54
Speaker
and Nanit was so kind.
Shopping for New Beginnings
00:27:58
Speaker
I reached out to them and kind of let them know the situation um about the storms and that we lost both of our Nanit monitors and they were so kind as to replace both of our Nanit Pro monitors. They replaced them. Oh my God, I love Nanit.
00:28:14
Speaker
My god there and I cannot tell you even just having our Nana's back working to where I can like look just check the babies on my phone and like see the stats of like like for example Evie's going through a nine-month regression right now and like I can even see like how long was she awake last night compared, you know what I mean? Like those stats are actually so helpful for me in order to like mitigate the situation, you know? yeah The maps for sure. Yeah. So it's just like even that small step towards normalcy is like that's what I have to focus on as we like put together our life. And like if I focus on all the shit that's going wrong and all of the
00:28:58
Speaker
you know all of the like negative things or the unknowns, like I'm going to stay in the very dark place. so But yeah, I wanted to say a shout out to Nanit for being such an amazing company and like helping out a mom in need because that is truly like given me so much peace of mind in the past you know couple days, like just getting that set up again. And yeah, just love Nanit so much. I love that. Yeah. We're Nanit users as well. That is amazing freaking customer service. We love that. For real. um
00:29:37
Speaker
so that's kind of I mean, the update, like I've been trying to get a little bit more into work because I obviously like worked probably half of what I normally work in the past like month or two months. So I'm really trying to like dive headfirst back into work, make some more money and,
00:29:58
Speaker
um Yeah. Just, you know, chugging along. It's speaking of work. Like I need more work outfits now that I'm having to go in the office. I'm like, I'm like I don't know, maybe cause it's still hot here. I can't, I can't get into my sweaters yet when it's 80 degrees. So I'm like, okay. Well, what's your office attire? Like, is it formal or?
00:30:26
Speaker
Not formal, but I mean, I feel like I have to wear jeans. No, you can't wear jeans. OK. But I have been wearing like dresses with my like white target sneakers and stuff like that. like Yeah, that's fine. But you I usually wear like a dress or some pants with a top.
00:30:49
Speaker
um yeah jeans are not allowed but yeah I only go in on Thursdays so but I'm like I said I'm trying to be like my cute little fashionista self and I've run out of shit already I'm like okay I'm like a month and a half in and um I've gone through all my cute stuff so I need like I need to find like one dress that I can get like six different colors of and You know, make it do one with a sweater one time and then one with a head. Yeah. time And just like do something like that. But any Rex out there for great office clothes. I'm obviously more of a dress girl. Yeah. So send those my way. I wish I had some Rex for you. Although I do have a huge old Navy order back when old Navy was on the whole store was like 50, 60% off like a week or two ago. I placed a.
00:31:40
Speaker
ginormo order because I lost so yeah i lost probably 60% of all of my clothes in the flood. um Yeah. And all the majority of it was all of my like sweaters, all that stuff. Cause obviously it's still super hot here in September. It was basically still summertime. So all that stuff was ah like packed away in bins that were all on the floor, like under beds and this, some clothing you can wash. Flood water is disgusting. It's like sewer and you know,
00:32:15
Speaker
it's really like you have to kind of be picky about what is like something that's cotton is like easy to wash but sweaters that are like wool and stuff like it's not they're not saveable. You have to be quick like if mildew or mold gets on clothes you won't save it. Yeah and it was also like only if I loved something like if I But, yeah, so anyways, I lost like all of my fall and winter clothing, all of my coats, all of my, you know, all of that. And so I did like a giant Old Navy fall order with like sweaters and whatever. I think I ordered a couple of dresses in there. There's girls at the office. I'm like, oh, what is that? And they're like Old Navy. So I'm like, all right, I need to go. Old Navy has stepped up their game. I heard that they hired the same
00:33:06
Speaker
I don't know the exact role they ordered or they hired people that used to work for Abercrombie. Like they so they they stole people from Abercrombie that are now designing for Old Navy. And it shows if you look at Old Navy, you're like, wait, I feel like I'm looking at Abercrombie
Holiday Season Planning
00:33:22
Speaker
close. Well, this like going in that store overwhelms me. Oh, yeah. Yeah. yeah So I I like looking online like I like looking online at Gap and Old Navy.
00:33:34
Speaker
for clothes, but if I go in the store, I'm like, no, thank you. it just I'm instantly like, ugh, I can't. yeah Maybe because ours is like all messy. Some people feel that way about Target, but my Target is so clean. like Actually, it's almost this is so annoying of me, but it's almost annoying how many people are working. Everyone's in my way all the time.
00:33:55
Speaker
I'm like- It's overstaffed. Yeah, it's overstaffed and like everything's so pristine, but I'm like, excuse me, excuse me. like Everyone's just freaking working all the time. I'm like, oh my God, I can't even get down an aisle without someone being down it.
00:34:11
Speaker
But it's nice. I yeah, my ours is not like I actually went the other day and I was looking for something specific. I can't like it clothing wise. And it was a fucking disaster. Like the place looked ransacked. I was like, I can't shop here. Like it was crazy. No. um Are you guys doing any sort of Christmas photos or anything like that?
00:34:37
Speaker
I don't have anything planned. And I typically like have it. And honestly, I need to get an updated photo of me and the family. We've only done it once when Margo was like a newborn. So i I mean, I'm dire to have one done, but I just don't have it in me. Like I don't want to pick out all these outfits, especially like with moving and stuff. Oh, yeah. yeah With my job. I'm like, this is the last thing I care about. And in years past, like I don't have like a professional photo. Typically, I'll use stuff like from the year and be like and do like a compilation and be like, this is our year. We went to Rhode Island. We went to Tampa, like, yeah, yeah Margot turned one, you know, so I usually do that anyway. I would love to get some family photos made, but I don't think it's not going to be on your card coming this Christmas. I'll tell you that. Yeah, yeah.
00:35:30
Speaker
We are, we book the same 10 minute session every year. Like the photographer that does most of our has done most of our photos. She offers these like 10 minute Santa sessions and they're like very reasonably priced. They're in and out, but It is always stressful to get together outfits for that. Yeah. Taking a different route this year. And I wanted to share because in case anyone wants the pressure taken off, we are doing our Santa photos in pajamas this year.
00:36:01
Speaker
I feel like it would be cute. I also had an idea to bring a wrapped present with us to where they can because also Santa can be scary for our toddler. Like every time Alice has cried and it's been scary. But my thought was if I brought a wrapped present, they could sit by Santa and like open up the wrapped present and it would be a cute pajama gift moment.
00:36:25
Speaker
Yeah. um And it just takes the pressure off for all of us to be comfortable and in pajamas. And um I got them at Old Navy for 50% off. And I feel like it's a genius idea, honestly. It's iconic. You know, the Old Navy 4th of July t-shirt is iconic. So an Old Navy pajama? Done. Yeah. So yeah, I'm very excited about that. They're actually this ah Saturday.
00:36:55
Speaker
ah So yeah, so we are the pajamas already here and I'm not even it's so nice to not have to put any like. any thought and like real brain power into it. It was just like easy peasy done. You know, I also kind of thought of like having my mom take a picture of us in front of our new house and putting like our new address. Yeah, that's perfect. But well.
00:37:25
Speaker
I think it actually might still work, but I mean, we're going to be so busy, but I'm usually like that person that wants to send out my card like that first week of December or sometimes I'm like, is it worth spending all this money if they're going to have it on their fridge for like two seconds or whatever? um But if I can like try and maneuver that, that might work. um Yeah. Stay. Because that'll be a good a good notice to everyone of like You know, Hey, we've moved this, our new address. Oh my God. Imagine like everyone having my old ah address and like the people moving here are going to get well you're going to set up mail forwarding. Yes, but and we used to get mail from our, the people before us forever. Like I was reaching out on Facebook to people. I'm like, dude, I'm getting your mail. Like, can you figure this out? Like I was getting tons of Christmas cards still like,
00:38:24
Speaker
Hello, family. I'm still getting your stuff. Yeah.
Home Decoration Significance
00:38:30
Speaker
No Christmas cards. I'm like I'm like 50 50 on them, to be honest. Like I did not send them last year. I sent them the year before I sent them two years in a row like.
00:38:44
Speaker
I think it was the year I was pregnant and then the year that Alice's first Christmas, I didn't send them last year. And this year it's like I'm going to have the photos, but like we don't have a house. And I don't know if I'm going to know that. So like I'm not going to send. I don't know. Maybe I'll send a new year one with and up with like a life update and.
00:39:07
Speaker
Maybe we'll do that. I'll copy your idea of standing in front of our yeah new beautiful home. yeah I am like a big advocate for paper goods. like That has always been something very... Yeah, you it's like a you value that.
00:39:22
Speaker
Very important to me for some reason, I just love a card. Like for my own baby shower, like Cassie was like, Whitney, go ahead and pick it out yourself because I know it matters to you. Yeah. like yeah It's like the only thing that matters to me is like a card or like something artsy fartsy like that. But so that I mean, I will always send one out. Will it always be perfect? No, it never is. But it's still important to me. And I love getting them um so much.
00:39:52
Speaker
And that's also a funny thing moving into your home before a holiday. Am I just going to straight up decorate for Christmas the day I move in? And that's all I'm going to know is my house for Christmas. And then everything's gone in January. I'm like, is my house bare? I'm not going to know what my actual house is. I mean, it kind of takes the pressure off.
00:40:15
Speaker
Right. To like be like, okay, let's not focus on like decorating, like interior decorating. Let's just focus on the holidays. And then from there you can like in the new year, you'll have a little more brain space after the holidays. But you know, it like makes your home so like cozy. We'll take down the trees. and I'll be like, this place is weird. It's like a prison cell. yeah I'm like, um, miss my Christmas tree up.
00:40:43
Speaker
So that's going to be really funny. I'm really excited. I also have like a ah fireplace in our kitchen, which is really fucking cool. Like, hello. That's cozy. Isn't that kind of cool?
00:40:56
Speaker
And so I was like, Ooh, I have two mantles to decorate. This is fun. um And like that is fun. Because the animals are the most fun. You could do one that's like more classic or one that's like a little more fun. Yeah. And I also have like separate I have four stockings for us and then I had two made for well one for Graydon and one for Margot that I got from Over the Moon this artist Tricia like paints these she does like the 12 Days of Christmas stockings and I had them painted for them so I'm like oh that could be really pretty in the kitchen because I plan on hanging like really pretty artwork in there because I'm going to be in there probably the most and I'm like I want to like
00:41:39
Speaker
feel joy while I'm looking at the fireplace. And I want it to be like that's where we're going to hang out a lot. So like all I can focus on is this part that I want to decorate is like that fireplace in the bookshelf. Everything else I don't care about.
00:41:54
Speaker
I'm very weirdly focused on those two things. Well, that's the best way. It's kind of like what we've talked about with birthday parties, like just focusing on like one area. It's the same thing with decorating and like just focus on those two areas and your house is going to look
Adjusting to New Job
00:42:09
Speaker
beautiful. And and when you take a Christmas photo in front of your mantle, like that's all that matters. No one's going to be like, give us a tour of your home.
00:42:16
Speaker
You know something else that i'm like really weirdly like a lot of the artwork In my house means a lot to me and i've found this picture. It's like an art print of this blackbird and i've like had in my head This is so weird that I want to put it in our entryway because one of my favorite songs is blackbird singing in the dead end and I and um I just keep thinking of that being like the meaning of like the entryway, being like all your life you've been waiting for this moment to arrive, this being a forever home. and I want that piece of art like to tell that story type of thing. Yeah. You're so good. at In a past life, you should have been an art curator.
00:42:58
Speaker
so yeah like very But I feel like I realized so much about you doing this podcast with you like you are so you are such a like You have so many layers, you know, you're so very creative. You really are Oh, thanks. Well, you know, like art's supposed to tell a story. And it's if anyone ever asked me, like that would bring me so much joy to tell them that story behind that. So I just keep thinking. I was like, I need to make sure I can buy it. I think it's kind of hard to find. Watch it be expensive. But it's like I. and I'm so bad at picking art. Like I would need help whenever we do figure out where the hell we're going to live. I'm going to need help.
00:43:44
Speaker
i mean I'm so bad. And I love the idea of like mixing things from like home goods and then finding like that one piece that really means a lot to you and like can bring a space to life. Like I think you can find all kinds of stuff. I love going to antique stores. Anyway, not to make this about art, but it just really like makes your home like come to life.
00:44:06
Speaker
um Yeah. No, it does. It really does. Like every time in our old house, I did hang things on the walls and hang art and stuff. I'm like, wow, it totally changes the space. Yeah. Same thing with curtains. Like something about putting curtains up. You're like, damn, my room looks good now. And I'm bad. Yeah, but it's fine. It's fine.
00:44:28
Speaker
Okay. One last update. Cause you have started a new job and it's been like a month or two now. So give us an update. How's it going? You said something to me recently about like, you didn't realize how much you were ready for it. So I don't know. Just give us a little insight into that.
00:44:45
Speaker
It's not like um it's not I was in a rut. I think I was very comfortable in what I was doing and very confident in what I was doing. And I love my team, love my boss. And I'm so glad like she gave me that space to be like a mom first and then job second. And I think once the kids got older, I didn't realize like how much I needed a change, you know, like It gave me, it like reinvigorated that work side of me and I'm getting to be creative in my own way. Like I kind of came in at a good time of the year where we're coming up with strategies for next year's marketing. And I am like taking stuff that the person I feel this position that I was doing like what she was doing this year and like getting to make it my own next year and driving this strategy. And I'm like, wow, this is,
00:45:43
Speaker
like big girl shit. Like this is crazy. I get to be in charge of a whole segment and see how it pans out from like my ideas, from like my bucket of money, like it just feels really good and empowering. um And i've I've been enjoying it so, so much. um I feel like I've been in the weeds for a little bit, trying to figure it out. You're almost, you know, everyone always says you're drinking from the water hose. I feel like it's been like that. Like I feel like I have some things figured out and some things I'm like, Oh my gosh, like I don't know what I'm doing, but it feels good. So well that's kind of how it always is with a job. It's like, you're just like flying by the seat of your pants trying to figure it out. But then like, it feels good to do it, but it's kind of like, Oh wait, and what is happening?
00:46:35
Speaker
Yeah, I'm just trying to you know keep up in the ways, like i since I have been at the company for a long time, I'm a tenured person there. I'm almost like sometimes scared to ask for help because they're like probably like, oh, you should already know how to do this. But from what I've learned, like no question is a dumb question.
00:46:54
Speaker
Everyone's that's good. That means you've got a good team and a good boss and oh my gosh Yes, I've never had like a bad experience at my company everyone honestly too has kind of jumped around everyone's a lot of people have gotten promotions which Shows are like really good respect for the company as well. Yeah, we're having a really good year and We're about to go into our international sales and marketing meeting in December So I'll be out of pocket for like a week at the beginning of December, but um your girl's gonna be presenting. I'm gonna be boss girlin'. That's where I'm gonna need some fancy outfits. like I'm gonna need some blazers and some some hot pants, which I did get those great pants that you told me to get from Amazon. I needed them in different colors because they're amazing. Dude, i i I'm not kidding. I own those pants. and like
00:47:48
Speaker
Five different colors. I only got them in black because usually that's like what I'm most comfortable But when I saw you wear them in white, I was like I changed my mind. Candice looks hot. Yeah Thank you. Yeah, I have them in black white lavender, which is like a fun pair and then I and then I have two pairs of like um Like khaki like a light khaki and like a darker like a camel color, if that makes sense. yeah Actually, you know what, now that I think about it, I think I also have them in a gray.
00:48:20
Speaker
I haven't seen those in a while. They gone. I don't know where they are, but I literally own those. They are so comfortable, but they look really nice and they're not too long. Yeah, they're so flattering and they're not too long to where you have to wear heels. Like yeah I get the short. I mean, I'm five four. I get the short length and I can wear loafers or like flats with them.
00:48:46
Speaker
And I'm 5'5 and I got short and they're perfect. They might still be a tiny bit long. so Yeah, i I always tell people, I'm like, I don't know how tall you are, but I'm 5'4 and they I would recommend the short like length. because That was also something on the trip um when I was meeting people, they thought I was going to be taller than I was. Oh, really?
00:49:12
Speaker
Yeah, and' not funny. I could see that. I feel like you have tall girl energy. Oh, well, I'm not just big feet. I knew you were going to say that might have gotten bigger since pregnancy. I've gone up a whole really
Future Home Projects and Teasers
00:49:29
Speaker
size. Yeah, we're mine. Mine. I actually got my measure. Well, it was with you in tahoe and and I'm a nine and a half for sure.
00:49:41
Speaker
I ah went from being a seven and a half to an eight and a half. So you're just normal now. That's fine. At least you didn't go from a 10 to 11 or something. Well, I'm sorry to everyone. ah you have an eleven days but I'm so sorry. Um, yeah, no, I am still, it's totally fine for me to shop for shoes. I don't have any issues with that, but yeah.
00:50:06
Speaker
But this has been so good to catch up with you and like I feel good like airing out what I'm going to be doing. And now I can start sharing like content when I move in. It might be like a slower process ah because you girls. I'm excited to see do this on a budget. Maybe not some of the wallpaper part, but the rest is a budget. Yeah, yeah just expensive. It's annoying, but I must have it.
00:50:32
Speaker
I know, I know. Well, wallpaper really changes the game for sure. Oh, well, this has been so fun. I um will keep everyone updated as everything evolves. I just keep saying it's funny, like the timeline just keeps getting pushed back. But I keep saying at first we were like, hopefully by middle of November, we will know more. And then it was like, hopefully by December 1st,
00:50:56
Speaker
And now it's like, hopefully by January one, we have a plan. I just didn't realize it was all going to like take this long. So I'll keep you guys updated. Well, yes, keep us updated. And then also for the next episode, everyone get excited because we are going to be doing Christmas shopping lists, things for kids like us, potentially husbands, husbands, parents, whatever whole yeah home. home.
00:51:25
Speaker
So be on the lookout look out for that. We're going to try and keep it smaller so that we're not overwhelming. We know you guys are getting probably bombarded with that stuff, but we're really excited. So be on the lookout for that on next week's episode. Yep. Merry Christmas.
00:51:41
Speaker
merry christmas All right, well, I love you. I love you. Thank you so much for being a part of our mom group chat. New episodes drop every Tuesday. And don't forget, the group chat is blowing up on our Instagram page. So make sure you're following along over there. All right, gotta go. My toddler just put something in her mouth.