The Unplanned Podcast with Matt & Abby - Living in Nashville, Pursuing Acting & the End of 2 Under 2

Episode Date: August 7, 2024

Matt and Abby talk about living in Nashville, Abby's pursuit of an acting career, and the transition from "2 under 2" as Griffin turns 2. This episode is sponsored by Rocket Money, Skylight Calendar & Hiya. Rocket Money: Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to https://RocketMoney.com/unplanned. Skylight Calendar: Get $40 off a Skylight Calendar at https://skylightcal.com/UNPLANNED Hiya: Go to https://hiyahealth.com/UNPLANNED and receive 50% off your first order. Get your kids the full-body nourishment they need to grow into healthy adults. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Uber Reserve. See Uber app for details. Are you thinking about moving to Nashville? To be completely transparent, more than ever I've actually thought of that, but I don't think we'd ever leave Phoenix, right? Never say never. Abby just submitted her first audition

for a role in a movie. I want my boys to look at their mom and say, wow, my mom is a woman that is willing to take a risk. She's willing to put herself out there and she's willing to pursue her talents, which is all things that I want my kids to do. How do you feel about her son being two years old now? I love this age he's at right now.

I just don't want him to grow up. While it hurts me that I'm like experiencing days we're never gonna get back with them, each day keeps getting freaking better. What's up dudes? And welcome back to the unplanned podcast. I feel way more comfortable saying that without guests same But it just feels it just feels so high like I feel like you can wake up in the morning and be like

What's up dudes and just saying that it's gonna make you have a better day It's not that I'm an insecure person. I'm like wondering what our guests are gonna think about us It's more so like when we have an episode with a guest on it I just we just have a conversation and I don't want to feel like we're like forcing them to say anything. I don't know though. I like doing weird stuff like that because you quickly find out who thinks they're too big for their like who's too big for their britches and like you don't want to be friends with those people like if they think if they automatically are like I don't want to be friends with that person because they're saying what's up dudes. Is that how you determine if someone's in their britches or not?

I don't know. I just learned that from you. I've learned from you, like, you got to be yourself and then like you're naturally going to find like the real ones that way. You don't need to like put on some sort of, you know, fake persona. Just be you, you know? And so if that means shouting what's up dudes at the top of your lungs. But if it's just not their persona, like who they are. That's true.

And then but but that's like what makes people interesting. Like when you find somebody, I love people that are weird. That's true. then but but that's like what makes people interesting like when you find somebody I love people that are weird and that just me too it keeps things interesting it makes life entertaining. That's why I married you babe. Thank you. You know I she probably isn't listening to this or maybe she is but my best friend growing up we actually just went to her bachelorette party a couple weeks ago. But anyway, growing up and like all through middle school, like I always thought it was so cool to be weird. And I would always be like, you're so weird, like as a compliment because like I like loved that she was weird and like did funny things.

And she would kind of get insecure by that word, which just shows like how people just interpret that word differently or they have different ideas surrounding that word. So she'd be like, oh, you mean weird in a cool way, right? And so now we keep joking. Like we even today, like I'm like, you're weird in a cool way. How was that, by the way?

How was that batch the right? It was so fun. Matt, if there's one thing about me, I'm a girl's girl through and through. Like I just like love being around girls so much. And so it was so fun being around her. And it's like, we grew up being like basically sisters, like best, best friends. I didn't have a sister.

She was like my sister, her and our other friend, Taylor. We were like the three amigos. And so now that like this thing happens when you become an adult and you get married and you have your own family like and you move I think that's the main thing is that I just moved to a different state and life changed a lot that you just like I hate the phrase grow apart because Like I mean essentially that's what it was

But it doesn't it feels more like dramatic or sad than what it really was It was just like we had built separate lives at that point while still having like a lot in common at our core and like Could still relate on a lot of things But anyway just being back together in the Midwest and like just in a house full of girls like women It was just it was so fun. By the way side note for you guys We are currently in Nashville, which I feel like the Bachelorette trip would have been perfect in Nashville because I feel like Nashville is the perfect place for Bachelorette trips. There's just so many good restaurants. It can be expensive here, especially there's so many people from the California moving to Nashville and I feel like that's made the real estate here go crazy.

Yeah, no, in St. Louis, I'm pretty sure for the weekend, my portion of the Airbnb was like $90. That's amazing. Maybe less. Congratulations to whoever planned that out because that is some serious budgeting. So that's the thing. I will say this, the expectations for bridesmaids nowadays has gotten insane. People going on massive trips like Cabo, that's where we went as a couple on our anniversary.

That's one thing, but to make your entire bridal party pay to go to Cabo or go to Miami, I feel like that's another bachelorette spot. That's crazy. Plus, they have to buy so many things for the wedding. They have to get a gift. They have to get the hotel for the weekend. They have to get like there's so many being a bridesmaid can be so expensive nowadays.

And so the fact that like her sisters that were planning that were so mindful of that, that was that was awesome. That is awesome. It's tough too because I totally see the draw of if your friends can afford to go to Cabo, that sounds freaking amazing to do a Bachelorette trip to Cabo. But then, yeah, you just don't know everyone's financial situation and that can be tricky

because you don't want to leave somebody out because they can't afford it. I don't know. Oh, for sure. And people are going broke trying to be bridesmaids and weddings. I promise you. That's so sad. I feel like that's the case because like especially if you have more than one wedding in a summer, that's a lot of money. Yeah, there's a lot that and it's just hard and I think the older you get like since I got married at 20 we stayed over at my house. Like we didn't have like an Airbnb or a hotel. We just stayed at that.

My college rental house, which was amazing. It was incredible. It wasn't about, you know, the glitz or the glamour. But and they made so many meaningful because we didn't have budget. Like we had to get creative. And I didn't say we because like they planned it for me. My Morgan did. Yeah.

And that same friend and they got creative and I didn't say we because they planned it for me, Morgan did, and that same friend. They got creative and we had so much fun. And also there was no alcohol. I had the most untraditional Fatseret party nowadays. Same. I think the craziest thing that we did at my bachelor party was I think I smoked part of a cigar.

Not even the whole thing. That's actually kind of crazy, man. Your dad was there too, right? You couldn't get too crazy. That's like an old fashioned thing. My dad, I've seen my dad smoke a cigar not even the whole thing. That's actually kind of crazy man. Your dad was there too right? But like that's the thing. You couldn't get too crazy. That's an that's like an old-fashioned thing like my dad. Yeah. I've seen my dad smoke a cigar before.

No for sure. But that like but it's not like he always did that. I would see him do that like once every two years. It's a tradition right? Like especially when you have a baby I think it's a tradition too. But I actually don't like it like smoke I don't think I'll ever smoke a cigar ever again because I hate the way it makes me feel. I feel like I'm inhaling cancer into my body like the whole time time I'm just like, this doesn't feel right, you know?

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend it. But for whatever reason, culturally, that was a cool thing. So I was like, you know what? At my bachelor party, we're going to have some cigars. And so... Yeah, maybe not anymore, especially with my grandpa getting lung cancer. I just... But I think you're right though. You can have so much fun and you try to get creative with it. It doesn't have to cost that much to have fun. Well I think then that shows that you're like actually having fun too. Yeah. And it's not like just like these substances that are tricking you into thinking you're having fun. Yes. Yeah, I think it's all about balance, right? You know what they did for my

bachelorette party? Did you even know that we did this? We went to the Branson Landing. And then you had to go... I had to go on a scavenger hunt. Oh my god. So, I had to find another couple that had, like, a big height difference or find somebody else named Matt. And, like, I just had to go and talk to all these random people and, you know, it being southern Missouri, people don't really like to just be approached, I guess. Yeah. Like, here's the thing, it's such a warm and friendly area, but people don't, like, they don't wanna take part

in any kind of games, you know? And in general, like some people were like, awesome sweet sports, but some people were like, this is so embarrassing. But that's why it was funny, because we just made funny memories doing it, and it was a good time. That's hilarious.

I had to ask like an older couple their best marriage advice, or I had to ask someone to sing a song to me or something like that. That's hilarious. It was fun. Did you ever do those things growing up where you were with a certain youth group and you'd go to the mall and try to get someone to trade socks with you? Yeah. Or you had to sing to everyone in line at a grocery store or ask to sing into the intercom?

It was a game and whoever could get the most points won and you had like teams. Yeah. Oh yeah. I did that just with friends. Like it wasn't even like an organized thing. Like we just- Why is that so fun? In a small town, like you make your own fun. Oh yeah. You know? And so- I was even from a small town. We had to go to, I remember one of them was we had to go to the mall and use it, get a sample of red lipstick and pretend we were Miranda Sings. No way. Nowadays as an adult I'm just curious why people are so grumpy sometimes with stuff like that. Yeah. I can understand if you are like

actually like making a mess or being extremely disruptive or being rude like none of that's acceptable but if kids are just like having fun I don't understand why anyone would be like so upset about that. Like if kids were doing that when I was out in public, I feel like I would, I would think it was funny and sweet. You know, in today's generation, kids are getting into less trouble and doing less, you know, oh really? Well, yeah, I feel like all these kids are just on their phones now.

Like everyone's just on their phone, they're scrolling. They're playing video games. Getting in trouble online. I kind of want our kids. I would prefer it for our kids to get into some trouble and like live a little bit, then be stuck behind an iPad. Watching shows. Oh, 1000 percent. Actually, there's so much benefits from getting in trouble, I feel like.

Yeah. Because like I even just like the thing of like allowing your kids to have risky play. They learn where the boundary is and they learn how to have confidence in themselves to take risks. And then they also know how to learn from mistakes. Whereas if they never make a mistake or never get hurt or never, you know, step outside their comfort zone in a way that wasn't validated in every ounce of what they were expecting, then they don't know how to handle it. And I just don't think that's right. Something that blows my mind is how often, like if you have kids, you know this, but just how often little kids get hurt. And it's not like they're getting seriously hurt. It's just like a little fall here, a little bump here, but it happens constantly throughout

the day. And there's literally nothing you can do about it. Like sure. You could rock, you could wrap your kid in bubble wrap, but I mean, they need to learn how to balance and learn like how to control their bodies that they protect themselves while they're little. Because when they're big, if they fell backwards onto their head, standing up, they, everyone learns. You would crack your head open, but when you're little,

like you're only 12 inches off the ground, right? So I don't know, it just, it blows my mind how you kind of have to fail to learn and to grow. For sure. And it's cool, it's just cool though watching our kids. Now Griffin says kiss it better to me. Yeah. I don't even know how that even happened because I don't really recall saying that, I probably did and I just don't really remember it, but now that he's doing all these things that like you used to see other every little kid does it like every other every little kid thinks that kiss makes it better so like that's so sweet i love that i love that our kids are playing outside so much right now because they can we're staying at a house that has a big yard and there's

a little playhouse in the back and one of my favorite things to do with griffin are are now two-year-old we'll have to talk more about his birthday here in a back and one of my favorite things to do with Griffin are now two-year-old. We'll have to talk more about his birthday here in a second. But one of my favorite things is he will make me ice cream. So there's these like fake ice cream scoops and he's like, he's like, dad, ice cream. And I go back and I'm like, oh yes. And I go, oh my mom, mom, mom, mom, mom. And he laughs so hard every time when I, when I do this stupid, like, oh my mom, my mom, pretending to eat the ice cream.

He thinks it's the funniest thing in the whole entire world. And then I get Augie to eat the ice cream too. And then Griffin will just like smack it to the side and it'll all fall apart. And then he'll go pick it up and do it all over again. But I'm so glad that our kids are just getting to be kids and play outside and we're avoiding screen time as much as possible with them, with them being outside.

And I think it's just, I think it's so good for their development. and we're avoiding screen time as much as possible with them being outside. And I think it's so good for their development. I mean, yeah, we always have avoided screen time pretty much. Like we're not anti-screened, but like definitely want them to like use their imagination and creativity and play and also be okay with being bored. Like I'm okay with our kids being bored.

I was bored a lot as a kid and that's how I like, it developed me as a person. I'm so glad that the weather allows for our children to be outside in July because right now in Phoenix where we came from we're out of Phoenix right now for a whole month. It is so hot in Phoenix you literally cannot take your kids outside in the month of July. It is it doesn't even get below 100 um unless it might like maybe at like 5 a.m. It'll be like maybe 98 but other than that yeah, I mean like you can you know bring your kids in the pool, but It's just kind of a bummer how hot it is because it's just not safe for your kids to play outside when it's sunny No, it's like pretty much anywhere you live most places. You're gonna have a season where you can't go outside and

In Phoenix, it's just like July and August. Whereas like a lot of places, it's January, December. I mean, I guess you're right. Like here in Nashville in the winter time, when it snows or when it gets really cold, I'm sure that's not the best, but your kids can still throw in a coat. But I- We're gonna throw Augie in a coat

and just send him in the snow drift. Maybe, I don't know. That's what you plan on doing? Maybe. But yeah, I'm just thankful that here, the weather has been a lot better. Maybe. That's what you plan on doing. Maybe. But yeah, I'm just thankful that here the weather has been a lot better. People, it's funny though, hearing people complain about the weather in Asheville because I grew up in St. Louis, which is just a few hours away from Nashville. The weather is so similar. I grew up with the same weather and everyone that moved to Nashville from California, which is so many people here are like, oh my gosh, it's so hot here. It's

crazy. And sure it can get like a little hot sometimes at four o'clock if it's really sunny out, but it's nothing compared to Phoenix. I mean, even last night we went to a movie in the park in downtown Nashville. Yeah, we did blankets. We did this beautiful outdoor movie and it was cold. It literally got cold.

You don't get cold in Phoenix in the summertime, ever. No, no, no. Yeah, no. I have a blanket on right now and a hot coffee because it's raining and it's like kind of cozy vibes. I just want to sit and read that book over there and curl up on the couch. Isn't that vibey? Isn't the rain awesome? But I will say I love the sunshine. I'm a sunshine girl. Yeah, I do too. I just love that Arizona is always sunny. Thank you to Rocket Money for sponsoring this portion

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That's rocketmoney.com slash unplanned. Rocketmoney.com slash unplanned. That's rocketmoney.com slash unplanned rocketmoney.com slash unplanned. What I've realized Abby is I love change. And so in my brain growing up in Missouri, I was like, man, I just got to get out of Missouri and see the world. But I've realized like even in Hawaii, when we lived in Hawaii, if we were there for too long and we didn't like get out and do something different, I would get bored of Hawaii and it's called island fever. So I think finding ways to switch it up,

keep your life kind of fun and live on the edge, that's the way to do it. I just wanna constantly keep things fresh in our life and our marriage and with our kids because I think that can kind of be the trap of this stage of life where it's like we got so used to the kids routine that like this is how every day looks.

And I kind of want to push against that even if it's just like in small ways like for us instead of going to dinner on a day night like I was like what if we went to like a murder mystery dinner party like that just sounds fun and crazy or like you know just something different and I don't know I like that I like that a lot things like that there's one here in Nashville that we might try out I love being friends with other couples because they just get

it they understand you know we've always clicked really well with other couples we do and sometimes I'm like man I I don't have a lot of friends outside of couple friends. I know exactly how you feel. The only friends that I have really outside of couple friends now are my gym buddy and then everyone that I write music with. Like, I've met a lot of single people and a lot of people that aren't couples through music now, which is kind of cool.

But yeah, something about being friends with couples is just awesome. Yeah, and then like when you have friends that are also parents too, when your parents have obviously feels like you've got a kindred spirit. Yeah, I love that. They just get it, you know? Other parents understand the struggle. Yeah, and like we're getting dinner tonight

with another couple that doesn't have kids and that's where an instance where I'm like, okay, well, we're gonna have to wait till after the kids go to bed and make sure we have childcare lined up to watch the monitors because it's just not the same when you're with a couple that doesn't have kids and you bring your kids along.

You know what I mean? It's kind of like, if they had kids, I'd bring them along and plan an earlier dinner. But it's just, they kind of change the atmosphere and the conversation ability. It's kind of fun just being me and you, like last night on our date, it was just you and I in the car.

I feel like that never happens. And I don't know, it kind of brought me back to when we were newlyweds and everything felt like an adventure. It reminded me of when we went to Colorado on a spur of the moment trip to just go hiking. And that time was so exciting because, you know, we didn't live together before we were married

and we hadn't really vacationed together, just the two of us. And so, yeah, last night was just like this, you know, mind opening experience of, oh my gosh, like, I feel like I'm young again. I feel like we can, we still got it. You are young. You're 26. I guess that is young. I feel so old though. Do you not feel old?

No, I feel young. I look at these, these kids though, and I'm like an 18 year old. I'm eight years older than an 18 year old now. Isn't that crazy? Who cares? Crazy, right? You have the confidence of a 26 year old. Think about how insecure you were as an 18 year old. True. I don't know. It's weird. I still, I just feel so similar to how I felt when I was younger.

Yeah, me too. And I've seen videos of like older people opening up about their life and things that they would have changed. You know those videos about, yeah, just like pop up on your feed. And there's this lady who was 75 talking about how she felt like she was still 26. And that just got me thinking, dang, when I'm 75, hopefully I may get that long, but when I'm 75 one day,

I think I'll probably still feel the same way. I mean, your mom's told us all the time that she feels like she's still in college, though your mom's in her 50s. But I think that's why you gotta just like enjoy the moment and fully be present in all the good stuff going on. Sorry, I feel like I'm taking this conversation like in a very sentimental,

nostalgic- You always go so deep. And I'm just like, can we talk about the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders documentary? Yeah, let's talk about the Dallas Cowboys. Wait, you've been like so into that show. I am, I'm so into it. Okay, talk to me about it. Okay, well, so many reasons.

Why do you love it so much? Number one, I love the girl camaraderie. That's the word I'm looking for. I love how when girls, like in the beginning of the documentary, okay, so basically it's a documentary, you already know about it, it's on Netflix, it's like number one or something. It's like the Dallas Cowboys, NFL teams,

cheerleaders tryouts process. And whenever girls have gotten cut, the other girls are sobbing with them. And they're all rooting each other on it. It's not like someone gets cut and they're like, oh great, one more down, that makes my chances higher of making it actually on the final team. Like, no, they are rooting each other on,

they're telling them, no, you can change their mind. Like, they're helping each other learn the choreography, they're critiquing them, they're like, it. They're helping each other learn the choreography. They're critiquing them. It's a girl gang. I love that because as a former dancer, I danced in high school basically. Well, all growing up and then in high school. Nothing to that level, but I still had,

and I was on POM in high school. I had that girl team. I love having that constant contact with other girls and like having something you're working for together, you're doing hard things together, you're pushing each other. No matter what, you still have practice, you still have to show up.

If you have to show up for game day, you have to show up for performances. I like, I love that so much. And there's just, I just love watching it because I can relate even in a tiny degree. It's funny you say that because I obviously never did competitive dance or anything like that. But because I did dance growing up,

I saw how strict these dance teachers could be on the girls. They were never strict on me because I was the dude. So it was like, oh, Matt's- Oh really, they were easier on you? Oh, they were so much easier on me. Like it was like, I was like the one dude. Oh, you were the one. And out of that, I was like the one dude. Oh, you were the one. And out of that, I was like the one straight dude.

So it was just like, for whatever reason, I feel like I had this, like they were gonna go easy. Oh, I was just Matt. Like we don't expect him to look pretty while he's dancing. Yeah, maybe if you were gay, they would have a little bit more of a standard for you. But no, with the girls though, they were strict. And so it brought back memories of that as well.

And I remember you telling me that you saw people on social media getting mad at the coaches and the documentary. You're like, why are they being so strict with these girls? I don't think people realize like how tough it is when it comes to dance. That was like, say you're not a former dancer without saying you're not a former dancer.

Cause any dancer that watched a documentary didn't bat an eye. Because you just see a coach that cares about the girls and want to see them reach their fullest potential. There was never a time where I was like, oh, she's out of line, that was just rude. It was always firm, corrections, you know, things that they can work on.

And it was never like evil or mean, I don't think. And here's the other thing too, is that like, if those, if people were watching a documentary of a football coach talking to the football players and They were talking in that same tone. You wouldn't even think twice. You might even be like wow, he's going easy on them You know, it's just for some reason with dancers. It's like all they think that they can't handle it's like well No, they actually can't handle it. They're tough. They're it's their sport for whatever reason, I've always liked the strict coaches. I've always loved that. Like I want them to be hard on me, I wanna improve,

especially if it's something that I care about. Yeah, I agree. Like when I played volleyball in high school, I had a coach who was strict and I respected her and I wanted to push myself to be the best that I could possibly be. Yeah. Do you feel the same way?

Like do you think that the coaches for you in your life were more effective? I think so too, and I think it's because I also, I might have felt differently if it was really strict at home too, because then I might have been like, okay, this is like, I don't feel close with any adult. But, because it is harder to have a relationship

and get close with like a leader figure like that if they are so strict. But like, I would go to a practice or whatever and like say it was a little bit more strict and you know less emotional then I got to come home and I had like loving gentle parents so like I think that's it's coming from my perspective of like what my home life was like but I did like it when people pushed me but I also was kind of sensitive but I would I I would never show it at practice.

I would always just cry when I got in the car. Really? Yeah. What are your thoughts on comments from dance coaches about the look of your body and having that dancer look? When do you think it's appropriate? When do you think it goes too far? I'm curious what your take is on that. Okay, so sorry that's like a very controversial question. Yeah, it is very controversial, but I guess I'll just say hi. Okay, so growing up I always knew I was not going

to be a rockhead. I am 5'2". I think you have to be like what 5'10"? Yeah. 5'9". Yeah, really high. There's a look. There's a look for sure. No matter what I do, I will not be that height. Therefore, I already knew I was not gonna be eligible to be a Rock Head. And I don't really think that, especially if I'm looking at that scenario, I don't think there's anything wrong with them saying, this is what we want it to look like,

and this is what we want the whole group to look like. And if you are five, two, and we have people's want the whole group to look like, and if you are 5'2", and we have people's legs that are, you know, on a 5'10 body, it's just not gonna look the same, it's not gonna mess up the lines. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I don't feel like that was like, like toxic exclusivity, I guess. What about a weight requirement though? Like obviously having a height requirement makes sense.

Should there be a weight requirement for dancers? See, that's where it gets tough because I also knew even just the capacity that I did dance, like, I knew what the expectation was to look like in the costume in your tutu. Those little platter tutus do you no favors, like, you know, I knew what the expectation was. I knew that to do lifts with guys, like there was a certain, I knew all those things. And so it's hard. I don't really know what to say about that. Even from the guys standpoint,

I remember when I was getting older doing theater, they were telling us to work out. They were like, guys, we need you to lift the girls. You need to be strong enough to lift up these women because that's, that's what it is. Like if you want to dance at a high level and you want to be able to do all these different maneuvers and lifts, you can't be some skinny dude who can't lift up a girl. Like you have to, you have to have the strength. So they were literally telling us to go to the gym and we were like a lot of us were luckily I had been doing sports. So I I wasn't, like the gym wasn't a new thing for me.

But there were some guys who really took it seriously because they wanted to be able to do the dance at the best of their abilities. So I think it's tough though, because you don't want to cause somebody an eating disorder. You don't want to give, you don't want to body shame someone. You have to be really, really careful. So I think maybe to avoid that, you be upfront with your expectations.

And so like with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, everyone knew what they look like. Yeah. You know, and so I think I don't know, I might, my knee jerk reaction is to say, like, I really don't think there's anything wrong with it. I think that with anything in life, there's requirements. And like, if you don't fit the requirements, then you're not made for that position. And I think that sounds terrible probably to some people, but I mean, it's really, really tough.

I think it's easy to say that from afar, but if I had a daughter that was like, their main goal was to be on that team and they just did not fit those fit that size or didn't have the right body type that I would be frustrated as a parent or especially as that girl would be like I'm doing everything I can and I still can't get that but that's just how life is sometimes you do everything you can you're just it's still not right and I think yeah I think that's just a reality that we all have to learn to live with. As much as that sounds harsh. Something that really motivated me from just the one episode of the Dallas Cowboys documentary

that I watched with you, it was cool how like, they don't have room for error. Like they have to perform at such a high level. And it was motivating for me because, I don't know, when I'm recording a new song in the studio, if I mess up the lyrics, I can go back and re-record it. It's okay. They have a dedication to excellence that I respect so much. Exactly.

And even like, okay, if you look at actors, there's a difference. We've had a lot of Hollywood actors on our show. We've interviewed people that have been on Disney. If you're doing film versus stage, like when you're on stage, you cannot mess up. You have to do it, right? There's an audience there. You need to give them the best performance you have. But when it comes to film, you can film the scene 10 different times, 20 different times, as many times as you need to nail the moment, you can do that. And so I feel that way as a singer, when I go in the studio,

that's like, oh, I can mess this up. Like, it's not a big deal. But I think there's something special about like, no, I'm going to get this right. I'm going to do my absolute best from the get go. And I feel like it almost raises the standard a bit. So I just thought it was so cool how they were really working out there, like really work, like they're dancing so hard, they're dancing their butts off and it's like 95 degrees outside as they're rehearsing and there's no room for error. I thought that was just really motivating.

So much respect and even not to keep talking about this, but like their coach has, they have so many professional photographers on the field at games. She goes and looks at each picture that they have, zooms in and looks and she's like, oh, you have a little bit too much mascara on your lower lashes. Are you kidding me?

Or she's like, you need to puck your eyebrows. Oh my God. It goes, it's from, like we said, we were talking about like she has, they have an image to uphold. Yeah. And not even that, but like their nails, they're like, they can't bite your nails

because if you're signing autographs, like, and they look down and you have like a chewed on finger, that's gonna like ruin the image. And then when they go out in the public, they're supposed to be, oh, you wanna know something that they also talked about that was really interesting? What?

They're not allowed to be touched. Like they're beautiful women. And so they have a very strict rule that you cannot touch them. And so when they're taking pictures, especially like with men, they hand them a football to hold. So then they're not even thinking about like putting their arm around them.

That is actually really interesting. Which I also respect too, because it's like, it's all about protecting these girls and like, I don't know, I just like, I don't really care about football. And truth to be told, I don't really care about cheerleading, but this documentary, I was like, wow, this is everything. Like I loved it. Thank you to Skylight calendar for sponsoring this portion of today's episode the mental load of parenting is real you guys but this school year there

is help enter skylight calendar skylight calendar is a smart touchscreen calendar and organizer for all your chores groceries meals and to-do's it automatically syncs Google Apple and other digital calendars your family uses and shows them all together on one beautiful touch screen display. We have one of these in our kitchen and we've had it for a few months now. And you guys, life changing. It is so, so nice. First of all, it looks beautiful in your kitchen wherever you end up putting it in your house.

For us, it works really well in the kitchen. It syncs everything like it says from our Google Calendar and it puts it all together, color-codes it, organizes it in one easy to view place. You can even put to-do lists, we put our grocery list on there, we put what we're having for dinner every night on there. It is just a great way to eliminate confusion and clear up communication in the family. As a special limited time offer for our listeners, get $40 off your purchase of a Skylight calendar when you go to skylightcal.com slash unplanned. That's S-K-Y-L-I-G-H-T-C-A-L dot com slash unplanned. I don't understand why they're not paid more though. I feel like they should be paid enough

to where they don't have to work a job to pay their bills outside of cheerleading. They're holding them to such a high standard that it just, it blows my mind that they have to hold a job outside of it. I think there's a lot of value to it that's outside of like monetary for them. And I get that. It's like an honor. But do you know how much money's in the NFL? Do you know how much money these owners have?

That's true. How much do those football players make? They can afford, and they pay the players very, very well. So they can afford to pay their cheerleaders more. Yeah, it's only 36 girls. How many guys are on the team? And I'm not saying anything crazy. I'm just saying.

How many guys are on a football team? A lot. I don't even know. Like 100? I mean, like a full roster, not over. I'm going to definitely say this wrong. But I feel like they probably have 50 people per team. They have a deep bench.

And then you have the guys that are ready to step in. Well, that's the other thing about the cheerleaders, there's no bench. Every single girl, there's 36 spots, there's 36 girls. That's what I'm saying, they need to pay them more. Also, hopefully we can manifest this into existence, but I think we might have some people from the show on the podcast. So stay tuned. I would die. Abby's obsessed with the show right now. So she's really hoping it works out. I love Reese so much and Kelsey. Oh my gosh. Okay.

Well. And justice for Ari as a short girl. Dude, I was pissed. Why did they cut Ari? I don't get it. She was calling. She was making it. I don't know.

I think other people were mad about Ari too. So sometimes you just don't make it Rooting for her. I hope she makes it this year. They're about to have training camp. Oh my gosh See, that's the thing. I just like I never even really cared that much about it. But now I do care As a female, how do you feel about her son being two years old now? It just keeps getting more and more fun. Like a wallet hurts me that I'm like we're experiencing days We're never gonna get back with them, each day keeps getting freaking better.

I'm gonna cry, because it's just so fun. And like we're planning his birthday, which I know he already had his birthday, and his birthday party's gonna be like, literally over a month after his birthday, but sometimes that happens. And now he just keeps getting more and more hype for it. It's just, ugh.

How do you feel about it? I just don't. You've been getting kinda mo-she about it. I know just, oh, how do you feel about it? I just don't. You've been getting kind of mochi about it. I know. I just don't want him to grow up. Like, I love this age he's at right now, and it is so much fun. Just the way like he literally thinks I'm a superhero. He literally thinks I'm the coolest person on this planet and I'm far from it. And yet he just every time he sees me, he just screams, da da,

and just runs up to me and gives me a hug. Like there's nothing better than getting our kids up in the morning, because they're just so happy to see us. We place these like blackout tents on top of our kids' cribs. That way they can sleep well, and there's not a lot of noise, and not a lot of light during, you know,

during their sleep. And we're the very first thing they see in the morning. When we unzip the tent and we're getting them out of bed, we're like literally, our face is the first thing they see. And so they are so excited, they're beaming. Like both of our kids will just start laughing. Start laughing when they see it, because they're so happy.

Just seeing us, they just start cracking up. And oh my gosh, it's just, it's the best way to start off your day. They are incredible. Augie was sitting on that high chair over there during lunch today and me and Griffin kept running over and giving him a kiss on the head and all he was tipping his head. So Griffin could kiss him on the head.

And it was just like so sweet seeing them interact. Like it's been happening more and more. And that is like there's something so rewarding about that. I was like, these are our two children and they love each other and they love us. And like we love them. It's just I like feel so complete. There's something so rewarding about that. I was like, these are our two children and they love each other and they love us and we love them. It's just, I feel so complete. And I don't know if this is,

I wanna be mindful of people that are struggling to build the family that they want and hope for someday. And if that's you, I really, really am rooting for you and I hope you get there and I hope you get what you dream of for your family. But I also can say as someone that's a mother, like it is everything and more that I thought it was gonna be.

Like I remember you telling me, you were like Abby, being a mom is not gonna fix all your problems. And guess what? It has. I mean obviously no, it hasn't fixed all my problems, but like wow, I just feel like, I always say this and it's just the best way

I can describe it, like my whole person was a puzzle. Being a mom was like a centerpiece of it, that like once you put that piece in it's like, oh, I can see everything so much clearer now, I don't know. That's so dramatic. My new favorite activity is putting Griffin on our bike and following the trash truck around in the neighborhood when they come to pick up trash.

You would think that the trash truck guy is like a pop star or something like you. No, he is Superman in our household. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, like in the trash truck guy in Griffin's mind, the coolest people in the world are his parents and the trash truck man. Yes. And the trash truck itself.

The trash truck itself, yeah. Our friends for Griffin's birthday gave him a mini trash truck, and he plays with that trash truck at least an hour a day. Well, you say many, but it's actually huge, and we still packed it in our suitcase. We brought it with us because he loves it that much. We only had two suitcases with personal items,

and that trash truck took up about 20%. Well, I say it mini because it's not a life-size trash truck, but it's like, but it's, it's still big. It's like, I don't know, probably a foot and a half. Oh yeah, it's very big. It's a really cool trash truck. It is, it makes sounds, it says beep beep. And now I understand why people spend so much money on your, on their kids because like,

you love them so much, like you just want to give them everything. Oh, I know. I'm like, oh, he shows any kind of interest. Yeah, I want to get you that. But then I'm like, no, probably shouldn't spoil him. Yeah. But I'm beginning to understand now why certain unhealthy relationships develop between parents and kids where like parents spoil their kids and their kids can't do anything, do anything for themselves because their parents do anything for themselves because their parents do everything for them. You know, I can see that

because like I love our kids so much. I just wanna help them and I just wanna be there for them in everything. And so it kind of, it's click now like, ah, that's why these problems occur because out of love, parents do all this stuff for their kids and it ends up hindering them in the long run.

Right? Like, I just want to buy him all the trash trucks. Can we just, let's just get him every single one. You know? Yeah, you know what he has discovered, Matt? There's a store here in Franklin that we went, we've been to a couple times because it's just like downtown, it's really cute, but they have a big basket of moon pies at the checkout area, and we were there this week getting a gift for a birthday party this weekend for one of his like little girl that's turning two. And so we went to go get the gift. We got her like little tutu and a sticker book and he recognized the basket of Moon Pies and he knew that last time he squished

one and therefore he got to eat it because I had to buy it. So he squished it. So he squished another one. Oh my gosh. I really think the whole thought process went through his head but I was like, oh okay. Okay let's talk about. I couldn't tell if he did it intentionally or if he just squeezed it because he was so excited. Okay did you give it to him though? Yeah I did. Oh okay let's talk let's let's let's talk about this though because I we're entering the stage where Griffin is self-aware. He knows what's going on. Yeah. He's still very young, so we have to be mindful of that. But like, I don't want to just give him everything he wants. For sure. No, no, no.

I don't either. I just like, I try to... Like I do, but I don't because I don't want to turn him into a spoiled brat. I try to look at like, what is his heart behind what he did? Yeah. And in my mind in that situation, I I was like he was excited and he squeezed it Like it could have been as simple as that and it really wasn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things in my mind So I was like, oh, that's fine

But like when he does things like recently with him when he gets really worked up, which doesn't really he's a good kid He doesn't like throw a lot of tantrums But if he's starting to get frustrated or doesn't wanna share, I just ask him, I'm like, do you wanna take a break? And I kinda leave it in his hands. And he doesn't view it as a negative thing. And so he just views it as a time to be away from wherever he's at, be in a new setting

and kinda calm down. And so he'll be saying, yeah, bake. Yeah, bake. You just give him some grapes. Yeah, we took a break yesterday and had some grapes. He ate like a whole entire container of grapes during his break yesterday. And I think he's at an age right now

where this won't always be the appropriate reaction, but right now he's at an age where I think distraction is a good reaction. Yeah. Because it's really not as serious as it feels. It's not like everything needs to be a learning lesson. They're already learning so much in their day. It's more just like, we just need to get our mind off of it and

then we'll move on. Whereas like down the line, that probably won't be my first response. My big thing is I just don't want to reward tantrums. Like if he's throwing a tantrum to get something that he wants, I want to be very careful for him to know that that doesn't work. Yeah. Right. That? Like there are circumstances where, okay, maybe he's throwing a tantrum because he's actually like something's wrong or maybe we could have been more mindful of Griffin and his feelings and stuff.

But I just want to be really careful with the tantrum thing because I don't know, you just, you see kids that again, their parents out of love care about them so much. They just want to do whatever their kid wants. But then you end up creating this little monster that just knows if they freak out and scream and yell, they'll get anything. Well, I think also, yes, I totally agree.

And I have definitely been known just give him what he wants, which I'm working against because it's hard for him to know though. And I think like with things, communication, just like we want communication, they want communication too. And so I'll give him warnings. I'll be like, okay, we're about to be home.

Whenever we're home, this is gonna happen. And telling him, oh, we don't do this at this time. Things like that, I don't know. I can't think of a great example. But just communicating with him so then he's not caught off guard and then frustrated that something's not happening that he wishes was happening, if that makes sense.

I'm not an expert parent or I'm trying to work on it. In my mind, he can do no wrong, so I'm like, no. I think that's your problem. Yeah, that's my problem. Are we getting rid of biggies pretty soon? What do you think about that? Because he's two, right? So once you're two, it's kind of happy.

I mean, he only has them at nap and bedtime. Yeah. So it's not like serious, serious. But I think I was thinking I was going to have a conversation with his pediatrician, his two year appointment. So when we get home, we need to buy him a new toothbrush because his electric one got lost somehow. And I feel like he left it at a hotel. That's what I think. Yeah, I probably did do that.

But I think the the electric one cleans his teeth so much better. And that kid does not- We need to brush Augie's teeth, Matt. Oh, frick. We have not been doing that. Yes, teeth too. Yeah, he definitely needs those teeth brushed for sure. Yeah.

Oh my gosh, I can't believe it. He's almost one too. It's funny, their birthday parties are literally gonna be a week apart. They're almost the same size. What do you think? Yeah, they are. I think Augie's catching up really quick.

But they look like twins, yeah. What do you think about combined birthday parties? I don't have a problem with it. I think that's a cool concept, especially when your kids are little. They have no idea what's going on. Yeah. Okay, yes. Once again, when they have no idea what's going on, I understand that.

But I go back and forth because I'm like, combined birthday parties, you can go more over the top because it's for both of them rather than splitting it between two. But then I'm also like, the whole point of a birthday party is that they have a celebration that's special just for them. Yeah. So then I'm like, I go back and forth like what we'll do because their birthdays are a month apart basically. Yeah, I think right now we should combine the parties

because it just, it's easier for family to be there, for friends to be there. That's true. But as they get older, like maybe by the time Griffin is five, I think he would love to have his own, you know? Well, he's having his own this year. Oh, that one's not combined? I thought it was like a combined thing. No, we're doing a family one for Augie the week after.

Oh, okay. I mean, here's the thing. I think first birthday is like, go over the top. If you want for our family, what works the best is just doing a small one because I mean, they are turning one. Like they they can't party very hardy. And so, but like with Griffin, we had a small first birthday, smallish, and then for a second,

we like had learned his personality by then. I was like, this dude is a social butterfly. He loves a good party. He loves having people over. So that's why I was like, we'll go over the top for the second, but maybe down the line we'll combine them, who knows? I can't wait to see Aug these little personality develop more. He just seems to be so like hammy like laid-back

Yeah, he's has the best laugh ever. It's funny that he is eating more food now than I know Which is like what Griffin did at this age though. He Griffin used to eat whole turkey burgers Remember, he's growing like a weed, so he just needs the fuel. Yes, so chubby. And Griffin is just like refusing, like he'll take one bite of his dinner now and then we'll have to give him a bottle of milk before bed because he's not full. He does not have a bottle, let's get that.

Oh, sorry, a cup of milk, not a bottle. A cup of milk. Yeah, crazy. And Augie is now, by the way, in case you guys didn't know this, is now drinking cow's milk because our Pediatrician said that at 11 months we could give him cow's milk. I know that's probably something that's gonna get people riled up But oh really I don't know literally what our doctor told you people really care about okay milk

I think he's doing fine. I think there's a huge group of people that just don't even think anyone should drink cow's milk Really? There's a lot of people that think that. But I mean, we're Midwest raised. We love our milk. Yeah, I don't think we should mistreat animals, but I don't think there's anything wrong with drinking cow's milk. No, I don't think it's related to that. I think it's related to like health.

Thank you to Haya for sponsoring this portion of today's episode. We've got a two-year-old. We have a big boy in the household now and it's time that he is able to start taking his little kids multivitamins and Haya is honestly all we've tried but we're loving it so far. It's really sweet because kids get excited to take their vitamins with Haya because they send these really cute reusable yellow jars that they can decorate and personalize their own. Griffin has his own

personalized little sticker jar and makes it just like a fun tradition for them in the mornings. Plus they taste delicious. What's nice about Haya is you don't have to be worried about there being all these sugars and added ingredients into the gummies. Most gummies have five grams of sugar. That is so that's so much sugar, especially for a little kid, especially when it's like they'd probably be rather eating a million

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kids and parents love are now available in Barbie Pink with limited edition Barbie unboxing experience including Barbie bottle and Barbie stickers. That is really cool. We've worked out a special deal with HIA for their best-selling children's vitamin. Receive 50% off your first order. To claim the deal you must go to hiehealth.com slash unplanned. This deal is not available on the regular website. Go to h-i-y-a-h-e-a-l-t-h dot com slash unplanned and get your kids the full body nourishment they need to grow into healthy adults. Thanks for staying up late with me last night. Of course. Yes. Okay. Hey guys, Abby potentially could be in a movie at some point. No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Abby just submitted her first audition last night for a role in a movie. How do you feel? I was really impressed. It was impulsive. It was impulsive. Dude, you memorized your lines so fast. I would have needed at least quadruple the time to memorize those lines. I suck at memorizing lines. I'm so bad at it. I'm so impressed with you and how you did that. Well, thank you. I hope you get the part. I'm not going to. I think you have a chance of getting it. You're such a hype man.

I think you're a really good actress. Like I think they would be stupid not to choose you. Matt, you're crazy. I'm sure a million people submitted for this. And honestly for us, it was for me, it was impulsive. Like it was like, okay, I'm so tired of just like, there's just something about me that was like, this is the right timing. Like, boom, just start.

I love that you're doing something for yourself though, which like, look, nothing wrong at all. Like if doing something for yourself though, which like, look, nothing wrong at all. Like if doing something for yourself is just fully embracing motherhood and not trying to do any business things outside of that and just fully being a stay at home mom, that is so cool. And I respect that.

But I love that like little Abby who wanted to be an actress is now as a mom who's 25 years old, submitting auditions for movies, which is so freaking sick. Thank you. You're such an encouragement. Whether or not you get the part, I just think it's cool that you're actually doing it. I'm definitely not going to get the part, but it was the whole premise of I just want to do something that is a passion outside of motherhood. I didn't feel like I had the capacity for it until literally this month. Before, when I was pregnant, and then obviously

with two really young babies I was like there's just no way, it's not important to me right now. I can't even think about something like that but then now I just feel really like in a place where I can have margin to just make it a hobby. It's, that's realistically what it's gonna be as a hobby. There's no way this is gonna be like,

there's no way I'm willing, first of all, I doubt that people would want to hire me in large capacity. I disagree. I think you're a very good actor. Secondly, I'm not trying to knock myself down, but I'm just trying to be realistic. And secondly, I'm not willing to sacrifice what that would take, but I think it'd be really cool to have a hobby. But most importantly, I want my boys to look at their mom and say, wow, my mom is a woman that has passions. Well, first and foremost, she loves me and her main passion and priority in her life

is her family, us and their dad and our dad. But secondly, that she is willing to take a risk, she's willing to put herself out there and she's willing to pursue her talents, which is all things that I want my kids to do Yeah So then I was like if I want them to do these things that I need to model that behavior and obviously There's a time and a place for it and we're finally getting to like a stage where I feel like I am able to

Some moms probably would not feel this way, you know, they would feel this way sooner They'd feel this way later who knows but like this felt like a good time for me. And it just felt impulsive to just send it. I feel like I checked off the box just by submitting the audition. Like it's not about getting the part, it's not about like getting validation from any casting agency or anything like that. It's really just about doing it and I did it.

Yeah, and I think if you have fun. And I don't think it was good. I think you did great. I did a horrible job reading the lines. Oh my gosh, I was like messing up every word It was also midnight I was really I was like holding an iPhone like this at like midnight and recording Abby and I'm like holding the script in My other hand reading the lines for her and I'm just botching every line, but you did great

It was so nice that you were willing to do that. Hopefully like we're so encouraging to thank you Hopefully my horrible performance made you look even better They're like gosh whoever was reading the lines for Abby, like behind the camera sucks. And she's amazing. Like I hope that's what they think. And then you'll just get the job. But okay, what I wanted to tell you though is no matter how successful you are at any industry at all, there's going to be someone better than you and crushing it more than

you. And it's crazy to me how like, especially, right? I've written like 10 songs here in Nashville. I'm not gonna put them all out, but I'm picking out which ones I think are the best to release on Spotify as I build out my music catalog. But what's crazy is like, I've worked with some artists and producers and songwriters who are like,

really, really talented, but then we'll get in these deep combos and they're like, yeah, I don't feel, I feel like I'm like failing. I feel like I'm not, you know, doing, doing the best. And I'm like, oh my gosh, like if someone, if someone else like looked at you and saw how you're crushing it, like you like say someone the other day, by the way, who was telling me this has half a million monthly listeners on Spotify. I was like, dude, you don't realize how many people are looking at you and wishing that they were in your shoes. Right.

And so I think you just have to be thankful no matter what stage you're in, no matter what your life looks like in its current moment, because like there's someone who's looking at you as that person of, oh, I just wish I was them. And I think you got to be thankful for what you have, because there's always to be someone who has it better than you. So just like be thankful with your circumstances. And I think like in your case, that means if you're having fun just doing these auditions, keep doing them.

And then maybe you actually land one of the roles, which I think I truly believe you will. You're so nice. And just like enjoy it, right? No, that's how I feel. I feel like there's nothing about me that is like desperate about this. Like it's really just not because I think that I'm going to just get so much work. It's just not it's not that at all. It's really just that like I am fully content with my life currently. But I just feel like this would just be a fun hobby to pursue.

And I'm proud of myself for for doing it because I think that the older you get, the more like, I don't know, established in life, I guess, which I'm meaning that being like, okay, we have our career now, we have our family, we have, you know, the harder it is to want to step outside that and put yourself out there. And for me, I kind of use our family as a safety umbrella.

Anything that was me as an individual was, and not, I want to say scary, but it was slightly intimidating. Whereas like I was like so comfortable in this role. So anyway, it was just, I, if you're a mom out there that just feels like guilty, I guess about wanting to do something beyond the home or your family, which you shouldn't and you know that, but just know that I'm also saying that you shouldn't I don't know that I'm also doing something for myself. I'm really glad that you are and we submitted it at midnight and it really wasn't good but I just did it. I think it was good. I think

you did great and I think they'd be stupid not to hire you. You are crazy. They should at least give you a call back. You are crazy. That's all I'm saying. I'm literally expecting nothing. Isn't it fun though? I'm expecting crickets from this team. Okay, what's so interesting about you... Okay, yeah, like, luckily, you're not reliant on acting to pay your bills. Also, that comes from a place of privilege, of course. Yeah, you're very lucky. And I think, like, no matter what industry you're in, like, if you're in a creative job, there's a lot of people that do theater

because they love theater, but they also have to do commercials and all these things in film just to pay their bills because theater does not pay that well. There's not that much money in theater. And so, I don't know. I think it's like, it's cool that you can do this more like as a passion project.

And I think like that, that's just like a really neat place to be. Well, and I gave it up for the past like six years. Like we went to college for this at one point. And then like, as soon as I realized that it wasn't going to be in the best interest of the family that we envisioned for ourselves, I was like, no, it wasn't like I was even sad about it. It was an easy thing to be like, okay, yeah, no.

It's a no from me. It's not worth it. And I was fine with that and I was comfortable with that. But then now that it's not a place where it's like, this is, I need this to keep the lights on or to take care of my family, then it's like a lot more comfortable place to be. I shared some demos with you the other day

of music I've been working on recently while we've been in Nashville. I'm curious of the demos I showed you, which song to you is your favorite? You know what I'm trying to say. The one about being our kid's hero. Yes, first of all, I love the concept of it, but then I also love the folky sound

because you've never done one like that. Thank you. Yeah, I'm diving a little bit more into folk these days. Noah Khan is like a really big artist right now. And I feel like because of Noah, everyone is like, wait, folk music is freaking awesome. And so now there's like this explosion of all these new folk songs coming out, Stargazing by Miles Smith is a huge song. It's always been out. I think now people are just letting it get popular.

Yeah, I feel like Johnny Sw just letting it get popular. Yeah. I feel like Johnny Swim has always been folk, right? True. And I have always loved Johnny Swim. You've always loved Johnny Swim. But I've been doing some more folk, which has been fun. But yeah, I guess, yeah, what Abby's saying is, I wrote this song the other day about like coming clean

to our son that I'm actually not a superhero, I'm just a guy. It's so cute. I'm literally just a dude. But when you're a kid, you think your dad is Superman. And so- No, you are their Superman. Which is wild, so wild.

But I think this song could be fun to market though. I kind of envisioned myself in like a cape with maybe a superhero like mask on or something. And I'm just like singing this song. I love it. Which I think is- I'll be your hero while I can. And I whistle in it too.

I didn't realize this, not everybody can whistle. Like I thought- I can, this is me whistling. Oh, what? Good job. I can't do a pitch though. That's really good. Oh, see it's gone now, my whistler's broken again.

Oh, you know. My grandpa used to whistle a lot, so that's who I learned to whistle from. But yeah, I'm like whistling in the songs and stuff. I don't know, my mouth doesn't do that. I think that was pretty impressive. I don't get it. Do you know what's blown my mind recently, Abby? What?

So I wrote some music with somebody the other day and all they had to make music was their computer, a microphone, and a guitar. That is literally it. I love that. It was eye-opening because I think like when you conceptualize, oh man I wish I could make freaking awesome songs like all these big artists and their music is amazing. You don't think about how modern music is made and it's truly like on a computer and they didn't even have treatment in the rooms. There was no noise canceling panels on-

I didn't even know that existed. What do you mean? Treatment on the walls. Like, you know, if you go to a studio, how they have all this stuff on the walls, like paneling to make sure there's no echo. I guess, yeah. To make sure the sound is perfect.

They just had an SM7B, which is the mic that we're talking- SM7B? This is an SM7B, the microphone we're recording for our podcast. This looks like a nice microphone, though. It is a good microphone, but it's nothing crazy fancy, though, because you just think of people having this crazy fancy equipment.

And this person's music is really, really good. And I was hyped to be writing a song with them. And it just kind of opened my eyes to how music is evolving these days. There's so many like big labels who are pushing the biggest artists out there and pushing all these songs to be popularized. But then you have all these like indie artists and all these independent artists who just have their computer and a mic and that's it. And I thought that was just like really inspiring how you don't have to have that much. You don't, you don't have to have some big fancy setup to make good music.

And we wrote a song together and I'm stoked. I think it's a good one. So- I'm proud of you. Thank you. Wait, you're actually proud of me? Yeah. Really?

You didn't know that? Like why though? Like in what way? Because we've come here and you filled your time doing exactly what you said you were gonna do. And I know it's hard for you to sacrifice what you're already working on to pursue something new and it's scary to go into a new area.

And you've really dove in and you've remained strong and it hasn't been easy and you've continued. And I feel like 99% of people would have quit by now. Thanks. And 99% of people have quit. You have resilience. Thank you. And you have real talent and you're creative

and you're freaking smart. I'm really, really excited for the new music that's coming out and I've been really enjoying being here because I think like flying into Nashville just for a day to record has like hindered my growth, I think, with the music and with what I've been able to do. So just being here and having a full month to really just write a ton and record a ton.

And you did it, you seized the opportunity really well. Thanks. I've been like so thankful to have that. And it's cool to like be here while you're doing that too because even though I'm not like in the room with you, I'm like, I appreciate what a creative commitment it is. Can I just say something? I think I just wanna ask everybody listening right now,

it doesn't even have to be me, because I don't even care. I only listen to my music if you actually wanna listen to it, but go, whenever you're listening to music, go try to find an independent artist or try to go find somebody that's like new, that doesn't have over a million monthly listeners

on Spotify and try them out. Like try, just listen to their catalog, listen to their stuff. Because- How do you find them? I feel like discoverability is hard for new artists. It really is. Honestly, TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Like when I find people that come up on. Honestly, TikTok and Instagram reels. Like when I find people that come up on my feed, I go stream their stuff because I'm like, I think it's so cool that they're pursuing their passion. And if they have a good song, I'm like, good for you. You might not be some big artists with a big label behind you, but you're really working hard to pursue your dream. So I've been listening to a lot more independent artists recently and a lot more smaller artists. And sure, sometimes can the quality of the music not be as strong? Sometimes, yeah, that's true.

Cause you know, if you don't have the luxury of all this money from a label backing you to make everything top of the top of the top, sure, sometimes the quality won't be there. But I think you'd be shocked at like how many amazing songs there are coming from people that have, you know, even less than 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

It's really cool how much talent there is out there. And I don't know, I think there's just so much attention and recognition for all the people at the top of the top, but I think it's important to go focus on the little guys. It's kind of like shopping in a small business, you know? Like sure, can you get something cheaper at Walmart? Yeah, but I think it's important to go focus on the little guys. It's kind of like shopping in a small business, you know? Like sure, can you get something cheaper at Walmart? Yeah, but you wanna support local

cause you're actually helping an individual out rather than a corporation. Right. Yeah, so anyway, that was just kind of like a little PSA I wanted to say. You wanna shout out a small artist you've been listening to? You guys should go check out Jake Clark. He's a friend of mine.

His music's actually really good. He has 120,000 monthly listeners, but he deserves a lot more. His music's really good. Oh yeah. Jake Clark. Listen to Give You Away by Jake Clark. Oh, that one's so good.

Song is a freaking banger, okay? That was a good little shout out there. Yeah, support the little guys. Right. Since we've been here in Nashville for a month, almost, a question we get asked a lot, or I don't know if you've been asking this, but like, will you move to Nashville? Are you thinking about moving to Nashville? To be completely transparent, more than ever, I've actually thought of that myself because I do actually like it here a lot. Like I do

love the people here. It's kind of like a, you get a good mix of, you know, small town vibes, but then you have the city, which is so full of life and there's so much to do. And then especially as someone who's pursuing music and releasing music consistently, it's cool to be around a lot of other people that are doing the same thing. But I don't think we'll, at least in the, for the future, I don't think we'd ever have we'd ever like leave Phoenix. Right. I would never say never. I think that pretty soon I would want to be stable for while our kids are in the house. Yeah. Unless something happens. Obviously life circumstances happen that you don't foresee. But like the goal would be to have kids raised in one area.

I think that's just better for them, if possible. As far as that place being Nashville, I don't think so, just because we don't have family here and we have family in Arizona now and that's ultimately the most important thing in our book. So as far as making frequent trips here, oh yeah, We have family in Arizona now and that's ultimately the most important thing in our book. So as far as like making frequent trips here, oh yeah, especially for your music. Something though that I love about the state of Tennessee is there's no state income taxes.

Same thing with Texas, same thing with Nevada. I believe Wyoming has no state income taxes. But don't people always say they make up for other places? I do think the property taxes here are higher than they are in Arizona. But yeah, I mean, we wouldn't have to necessarily own property here, right? We could always rent something. I am a fan of buying. I think if you're going to live somewhere, you should probably lean in the direction

of buying because you can build up equity. What if you just had like a, we can talk about this off camera, nevermind. Yeah, we'll talk about that off camera. But yeah, I think, okay, people have been confused though. A lot of our friends have been like, wait, okay, you're going to Nashville all the time.

You guys are there for a whole month, even talking about moving. Oh, so you're moving to Nashville. The answer is no. We're not actually like moving to Nashville, moving, moving there. But I do see ourselves taking extended trips here like we have been because we do, we do like it here. It's an awesome area. I just don't want to be here at the winter time. Yeah. The thing is like, I hate winter. We do live in Phoenix and we are going to leave the city of Phoenix at some point, probably this year,

but we're not leaving the general area. We're still gonna stay in that general city limit, right? Yeah. Yeah, it's not like we're moving states. The Phoenix area. People, when we said we were moving out of Phoenix, people thought we were literally moving states. No, no, no.

Yeah. Moving to a different city in Arizona. That's close to Phoenix. Exactly. Um, yeah, but not to Franklin or not to Nashville. I think that this is a lovely area and if we had family here and if we had roots here, then it would be a no brainer. We would be here, but, um, I think it's just a great place to visit now.

And we've had an awesome summer here with this house and meeting new friends and revisiting older friends. Like it's been, it's been dreamy to say the least. This town is so sweet. Like the little parade and the shops and the restaurants, it's been incredible. And I feel like people are very warm and friendly here. So maybe someday, who knows. It's been incredible and I feel like people are very warm and friendly here. So

Maybe someday who knows? How do you feel now that we've had your parents have lived with us for over a year now? I know how do you feel about that being a long-term thing? You know, I I feel like it's one of those things where you cannot understand unless You were in our family You had the same house set up and you had the same relationship with your parents Or if you had the same relationship with your in-laws and they had the same Boundaries, you just don't know what you don't know and I wouldn't have even thought this a year ago, but it's wonderful like we like I like love it and

I just have so much respect for my parents. And yeah, I love living with them. And I would live with, I would live with so many people though. That's the thing. Like I have, I was always one that like loved cohabitating. Like it, it's just comes naturally to me. I don't have like, would you say I like have a strict way of like living that really?

Yeah. I feel like we're both flexible people We are very flexible. I legit like wouldn't it be fun to like make a commune? Yeah, let's have a commune. Let's let everyone move in. I just I love having people around It just keeps things so happy and alive and there's always gonna talk to you, right? Like you go you go to do something You're like I want to go grab coffee. Can I, can someone want to hop in with me? Like, I'm going to go to the grocery store. Like, it's just, I love being around people and it's just my personality.

And obviously that's not to say like, sometimes I'm very like, I need to be alone. And that's the thing that's great about my parents and great around everyone that like lives with us, which is just our parents and you. But like, I can say, hey, I need a loan time right now. And it's totally respected. Yeah. I don't think people realize this. We have this, I need a loan time right now and it's totally respected Yeah, I don't think people realize this we have this conversation probably bi-weekly with them where it's like Are you still happy and comfortable with this?

Sorry sir like and they ask us like are only if you're still happy and like it's always revisited and It's just so happy in this house. Our house is full and I love a full house Yeah, and it's sweet and it's precious and I feel like more than anything, I'm so grateful that our kids are raised where they just feel, I think that if they had a word to describe their child, I think they would say it felt safe.

Because there's just so many people that love and care for them surrounding them at all times. Yeah. I love that. And I kinda was raised like that. I was very, very, very, very close to my grandparents. I still am. Obviously, we lost a couple and that was like really hard and it's because we were so close. Like they were like another, I want to say parent, but they were a grandparent, but they were a parent that, a grandparent that was there as much as my parents. And so yeah, it's just so,

it shaped me in so many ways and I'm grateful that my kids can have that same relationship with their grandparents. Your parents too, they're so close with them. Griffin talks about them all the time. They'll be FaceTime, send pictures, talk to them about, we talk about them a lot. And they just love, they love their family. It's been sweet while we've been here

since the drive isn't very far from Nashville to St. Louis. My parents have been popping in, like hanging out with us and being with the kids. Your mom's brought the grandmas. Yeah. The great grandmas. That's happening too. By the time you guys are listening to this, we're gonna have every single grandma over at our house

or over here. I guess your grandma who's in Arizona isn't gonna be here, but a lot of grandmas and great-grandmas here coming to see our kids, which is just So so cool. I love it. Actually, it's funny cuz like growing up I didn't really know my grandparents that well, but I knew my great-grandparents pretty well And I love that our kids have both very that's gonna cry. Yeah, it's cool, right? Well, it's gonna make me cry because people that aren't here, but I don't like that. Yeah That is sad

That's the thing about grief it just pops up Randomly. Yeah, I'm sorry Yeah recently popped up because I was going through old photos and I saw so many old photos and videos of me FaceTiming Popoff. And it was like, they were like frozen in time. It was like, I could almost pretend like I was currently FaceTiming him.

It's so weird in a modern era with our phones and our phone videos. Cause like when you see pictures and videos, like even looking at the videos from our wedding with both your grandpas there, it really felt like they're still here. Yeah. Yeah. It doesn't-

Yeah, I mean, I literally still haven't deleted my text conversation with Pop-O because it just feels like in a way I can pretend that he'll respond, I don't know. Why is this episode going to this? We gotta end it. Sorry that you're sad. I'm okay. I'll be okay.

I don't need another episode of me crying. You haven't been crying very much. I've actually, I've been the one crying more recently. Because we've been watching a lot of Disney movies. And now that I'm a dad, stuff gets to me. Yeah. Like the movie Coco. My dad was watching Coco with me and Griffin

when he was visiting. And my dad was shocked that I bawled my eyes out during that movie. And I was shocked too. I did not expect it. It like, it was the scene where Coco's dad is singing to her and saying, like saying, remember me and he's going back on the road to pursue music.

And you know, cause he's in the movie, Coco's dad is a singer songwriter performer. And he loves his daughter so much. And he- Wait, why did I think Coco was a boy? Coco's actually, it's grandma Coco. So the main character's grandma, that yeah, that's Coco. And then Coco's dad is the one who's like a really pivotal

role in the show. I don't want to spoil the movie Coco because it's one of my favorite Disney movies. But yeah, bawl my eyes out. Cause I just like, I could so relate. But you didn't cry during Inside Out 2. I didn't cry during Inside Out 2. I don't, I didn't cry.

I didn't even feel tempted to cry during that one. That movie was really good. It was amazing though. But it didn't, it didn't cry during Inside Out 2. I don't, I didn't cry. I didn't even feel tempted to cry during that one. That movie was really good. It was amazing though. But it didn't strike the same chord that Coco did. And I think the reason Coco did is because Coco, when you see her dad singing to her, she's like this little girl who's like Griffin's age. And I just like, I could just see me and Griffin

in that moment. And I just like melted right there. So yeah, now two freaking Pixar movies have made me cry up. That was like a year ago. That's a train wreck of a movie. Balled my eyes out. Well, in the sense of emotions. Yeah, didn't even cry the first few times I saw that movie, but now that I'm married, that movie made me cry and now that I'm a father Coco made me cry Disney does differently. Well Thank you guys for Stay in tune with her podcast. We really appreciate that. You're here. If you haven't already left a comment or

Left us a review for the podcast. It really means a lot We're so thankful that you're here with us each and every week. It wouldn't be possible without you. So thank you for being here. And as always, three, two, one. Peace out dudes. Shop with Rakuten and you'll get it. What's it? It's the best deal, the highest cash back, the most savings on your shopping. So join Rakuten and start getting cash back at Sephora, Old Navy, Expedia, and other stores you love. You can even stack sales on top of cash back. Just start your shopping with Rakuten to save money at over 750 stores. Join for free at rakuten.ca or get the Rakuten app. That's R-A-K-U-T-E-N.