We became the over-the-top birthday party parents… (+ big news & the iced coffee debate)

Two Parents & A Podcast

Alex and Harrison announce that Two Parents & A Podcast is officially a Dear Media production, introducing their new jingle. They reflect on

Key takeaways

• The podcast officially became a Dear Media production around April.
• For toddler birthday parties, the hosts recommend a 5 PM to 7 PM time slot to avoid nap conflicts.

Main topics

• Dear Media partnership announcement
• Toddler birthday party planning

Notable quotes

The curse of discipline is every day looks the same, but the curse of no discipline is every year looks the same.

Conclusion

A heartwarming and informative episode that blends personal parenting

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) The following podcast is a Dear Media production. Speaker 4 (0:03) Okay. Welcome back to another episode of Two Parents in a Podcast. So did you guys hear the jingle? I heard it. Before this? The following, is that how she says it? The following is a Dear Media production. That's us, ladies and gentlemen, officially a Dear Media production. Two Parents in a Podcast. Speaker 2 (0:26) You have a good voice mimic. Speaker 4 (0:27) Thank you. Thank you. You have a very good Speaker 2 (0:29) voice, my man. Congratulations. Congratulations to you. I was... Speaker 2 (0:35) I can't replicate other people's voices. The Speaker 4 (0:38) following is a Dear Media. Yeah, that was pretty good, huh? The following is a Dear Media production. Everything Speaker 2 (0:43) I do, sorry, everything I do, I think just sounds British. Okay. Like I've won. Well, let's hear the Speaker 4 (0:51) British. Speaker 2 (0:52) No, I will not embarrass myself this early on. The following Speaker 4 (0:56) is a Dear Media production. Speaker 2 (0:57) Especially if there's some new listeners here. No, no, no. Speaker 4 (1:00) So, okay, well, let's... Speaker 2 (1:01) As Bubba would say, no, no, no. Speaker 4 (1:03) No, no, Dada. Bubba is our daughter. Because we might have some new listeners here. So if you're here, let me just start this. Hold on. Let me gather my thoughts. Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, yes, we are now a Dear Media production. We're so excited about that. This has been in the works behind the scenes for a couple weeks, a couple months. We have no concept of time, so we don't really know. But, you know, give or take anywhere between two weeks and two years. I'm just kidding. Since like April. Since around April. What we did was... Well, I Speaker 2 (1:39) guess to jump in and to be very, very clear off the top, the front end of the podcast doesn't change. Speaker 4 (1:46) No, everything's the same for you guys besides the jingle. Speaker 2 (1:48) Besides the jingle, there'll be no change to the listener. No, Speaker 4 (1:54) we're still going to produce the same. P is still our producer. Well, I think Jules is our producer. P is our editor. Anyways, Jules and P, me and Harrison, we're all still here doing our job. The Speaker 2 (2:10) back end of things don't change. Speaker 4 (2:12) The back end changes. And it feels like a really good home. Speaker 2 (2:16) We're really excited about it. We're Speaker 4 (2:17) really, really excited about it. Yeah, this is now a Dear Media production. If you're here from Dear Media. Hi, my name's Alex. This is my husband, Harrison. We have two children, Tate and Rocky. We call Tate Bubber. We call Rocky Rocket Man. Oh, Tate. I was not Speaker 2 (2:35) your husband when this started. Speaker 4 (2:37) No. So Harrison and I did things a bit untraditional, if you will. We had Tate first. Then we got married three days before Rocky came. And then we had Rocky. And we're going to get married eventually. So you're actually going to be here with us through our wedding planning. We're probably going to get married next year. But you are currently married. Oh, yeah, we are married. We Speaker 2 (2:55) are Speaker 4 (2:55) currently Speaker 2 (2:55) married. We're currently married. Speaker 4 (2:57) We haven't had the wedding yet. Speaker 2 (2:58) And then, do you also clarify, happily together. From that moment to from the moment of meeting until today. Yeah, Speaker 4 (3:08) we fell in love the day that we met. Speaker 2 (3:10) Should we do another recap episode or we can link the one that we did? We Speaker 3 (3:13) can Speaker 4 (3:13) link the OG Speaker 3 (3:14) one. Okay. Speaker 2 (3:15) Love it. Speaker 3 (3:16) Also, someone in the comments called me the other day. Your guys is third wheel. And I forgot to bring it up to you. That is like people are so good. People are the best. Speaker 4 (3:28) That's the best thing ever. Speaker 3 (3:29) That's me. That's why I'm here. Speaker 4 (3:31) Oh, Speaker 3 (3:31) yeah. Speaker 4 (3:32) We got to introduce Jules. Hi. Oh, my gosh. Okay. So that voice, if you're listening or if you're on. Speaker 4 (3:42) Where do we do video? Spotify, YouTube? Spotify and Speaker 3 (3:45) YouTube. Maybe we can do, oh my gosh, I got to talk to Dear Media because maybe they have access to Apple video. Speaker 4 (3:52) Yes. That would be cool. Yeah. I would love to get Apple video. Huh. Okay. This is Jules over here. Hello. She's our producer. Her mom's name is Nori. We talk about her a lot. Jules has a dog named Jenny. Okay. Just some added color of the Speaker 1 (4:07) characters. Speaker 2 (4:07) That's apparently reducing Jules' brain age by 15 years. according to the study that we're going to talk about today. So we're Speaker 4 (4:13) going to get into that. So on that note, what are some things we discuss on this podcast? Family life. We do a lot of like IRL off the top. IRL means in real life. Things that are happening. We had our daughter's second birthday. So we're going to discuss all that. We also love to talk about business, what's happening in the world, what's happening online. So we'll do some pop culture. We'll do some AI. We'll do some banks. By that, I mean investing. Like Warren Buffett retiring. That's on the docket. Speaker 3 (4:40) Yeah. Speaker 4 (4:41) All right. Let's get into a regular episode now, beginning with the Totski's second birthday. We had our daughter's second birthday this weekend. And how would you grade it? Speaker 2 (4:52) Actually a 10. Speaker 4 (4:53) I would too. Jules? I thought it was a 10 out of 10 as well. P had a bachelorette party. That's why we're not asking her. She wasn't not. But P did give Tate her first pair of ballet slippers and a little tutu. Like, what do you call that? Speaker 1 (5:10) A leotard. A Speaker 4 (5:11) leotard with a little tutu on it. So this morning, Maria put her in the leotard. Speaker 1 (5:15) And Speaker 4 (5:16) I came downstairs and she was eating. And she was like, mama, look, mama, look. And I was like, look at what? And I looked over and I was like, your outfit. And she did a little twirl for me. It's really cute. Speaker 3 (5:25) Really, really cute. Speaker 4 (5:27) And she started singing. She started singing. She goes like this. Let go. Let go. Hold more. Can't hold me back anymore. She can't get all the words. You're seeing Speaker 2 (5:43) every week more words get added to it. Speaker 4 (5:47) Wait, so now she's got twinkle. Twinkle little star. How I want. Wait. How are. That's what she's got. It's so cute. We laid in bed this morning for 30 minutes and we sang. Alex does a good Tate impression. Speaking of impressions. Thank you. Speaker 2 (6:03) You do a very, very good Tate impression. Speaker 4 (6:06) Happy birthday. Happy birthday. She hugged everyone. Jules, Tate likes you. Twice. Twice at the party reached for me. Tate was like very interested in Jules at the party. Big developments on our front. Huge development. Did you see it? I saw one. I was holding her and she was like. Speaker 2 (6:25) I didn't see any of them, but I did see that she hugged most of the people as they came in, which I thought was. No, no. She only Speaker 3 (6:32) hugged me as I came in. Exactly. Only Jules. Speaker 4 (6:35) She was like, Jules is here. Speaker 2 (6:37) But back to the party. I, you know, I've taken comfort and now we are the parents to throw the over the top children's birthday parties. Those parents that I judged on in such a. grand way when i did not have a kid i was definitely a judger like when i would look online and see like parents selling like a big bash for the kids first second or third birthday like what what are you doing no i get it they're just really fun they're fun for the parents they're fun for the kids most importantly like the child who's having the birthday has a blast yeah and you're my favorite part of Speaker 2 (7:16) throwing events with you. Cause I feel like we kind of do three to three events a year. Two, Speaker 4 (7:21) I would say. Well, Speaker 2 (7:22) we did the labor. I'm just thinking about this year. This year we'll do the labor day barbecue. Sorry, the Memorial day barbecue. Yep. The, uh, Bubba's birthday. And then we'll do some of Christmas. Yep. Speaker 4 (7:33) So Speaker 2 (7:33) we'll do three this year. Yeah. Is I feel like normally if someone's like hosting, you know, 50 to a hundred people, stress levels just get super high and stress levels in our household are unfazed. like leading up to the party and day of the party. So it allows you to just like enjoy it Speaker 4 (7:48) and Speaker 2 (7:48) have fun. Speaker 4 (7:48) Because I don't care. Like if the, like last, okay, so last year, for example, Harrison, you were like, okay, what if we're not set up in time? And I was like, then we're not set up in time. Then we're blowing up the bounce house when people arrive. Like whatever, because I don't want it. I don't want to set the vibe. I don't want it to be so tense around her birthday. I want it to be only fun. And we get to set the tone of that. Speaker 2 (8:12) Yeah, but I think that this is like easier said than done. But Speaker 4 (8:17) then I think if I'm really stressed about her birthday, then you and I next year are going to opt out of it. Like we're not going to want to do it. Speaker 2 (8:22) Yeah, you said a great energy. So I think a couple of big ones. One, so we did it at the County Line on Lake. Speaker 4 (8:32) Love them. Speaker 2 (8:33) Which is Speaker 4 (8:34) where Speaker 2 (8:35) we did her first birthday. And I'm so glad we ran it back there. Now we Speaker 4 (8:39) know them. Speaker 2 (8:40) Now we know them and I feel like that's just going to be where her birthday is. Speaker 4 (8:43) Yeah. Speaker 2 (8:45) Great food, unbelievable venue set up. People Speaker 4 (8:48) were like, what on earth? This is amazing. It's on Speaker 1 (8:50) the Speaker 4 (8:50) lake, Speaker 2 (8:50) indoor, outdoor. And I think the best part of the outdoor component is it's completely covered by the trees. Speaker 4 (9:00) Oh, yeah. Speaker 2 (9:01) So like even though it's a hot day, it wasn't hot. And Speaker 4 (9:04) it is on the lake, but we did get a lifeguard, Emma, who I adored. She might do our swim lessons. She was precious. I was just hoping she'd show up. Speaker 2 (9:13) Because she Speaker 4 (9:13) didn't take a deposit. So I was like, please, please come. Because, you know, people, if you pay somebody half a deposit, then they come. But if you don't pay them, then they're a little less incentivized to get there. She didn't take a deposit. So I was hoping she came. She came right on time. Speaker 2 (9:26) What do you think the biggest hit of the party was? The Speaker 4 (9:29) ponies. The Speaker 2 (9:29) ponies. Speaker 4 (9:31) These, it's called the pub pony, okay? Kudos to these girls. So I just get an influx of TikTok comments. And then I started getting an influx of Instagram and then DMs. It was this girl being like, I've got like, can I bring my ponies to the birthday? You need the ponies at the birthday. If you're new and Harrison just got up to get coffee, this is a regular occurrence. Sometimes he does get up. So I go and I click on this Instagram page. And it is, they're the most beautiful ponies ever. They really truly painted their hooves with glitter. They had braided their hair. They had put little bandanas and rhinestones in their tails. And they Speaker 3 (10:11) tinseled their hair. Speaker 4 (10:12) That's what it is. They tinseled their hair. And this girl, like she is so obsessed. Not obsessed, but like she takes such pride in her ponies. Speaker 3 (10:22) And Speaker 4 (10:22) they're so well kept. They live such happy lives. They were so sweet. They were so well trained. It was precious. And I was a little worried. that Tate and the kids might not love ponies because we had seen a horse in Georgia. And Tate, like, she loves the idea of horses, but she's a little afraid of horses because they're so big. Speaker 2 (10:43) Well, she loves horses in books and in movies. Speaker 4 (10:46) In person, Speaker 2 (10:47) they can be scary. Speaker 4 (10:48) And at her farm. That we play with. Oh, Speaker 2 (10:51) toys, yeah. Speaker 4 (10:51) Yeah, she loves horsey toys. She loves horsey balloons. But when we see a real horsey, they're really big. But these ponies, the kids loved because they were their height. Yeah. These ponies got swarmed. Speaker 2 (11:05) Yeah. So you did a phenomenal job on the birthday. I just want everyone to have fun. I want the Speaker 4 (11:12) vibe to be that anybody can come, anybody can have fun. You're fed, you can have your drinks, you can play, you can do some, yeah, I just Speaker 3 (11:20) want it to be a fun vibe and that's what it was. This Speaker 4 (11:22) episode is brought to you by Merit Beauty. Everyone says January is the fresh start, but ask any mom and she'll tell you the real new year starts in September. Summer's over, like officially over, actually effective today. extracurriculars, dance, and gymnastics are back in session and suddenly your whole week has a schedule again, which means my time to get ready? Five minutes tops. 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So make it your back to me season with Merit. Right now, Merit Beauty is offering our listeners their signature makeup bag. Which means, if you've seen it, it's not just a makeup bag. It's really an accessory. Free with your first order at MeritBeauty.com. That's M-E-R-I-T Beauty.com. MeritBeauty.com. Speaker 3 (12:57) Have you seen what people are saying Rocky's first birthday theme needs to be? Speaker 4 (13:00) What? Speaker 3 (13:01) Rocky's first rodeo. Speaker 4 (13:03) Not Rocky Man? Speaker 2 (13:06) I mean, that's just a very, very good debate. I don't have a view on it yet. Love Rocky's first rodeo. Does Speaker 3 (13:14) Rocky get a Southern theme or does he, we go space for Rocky? I Speaker 4 (13:18) wanted to go Eldon John or Eldon John for Rocky. I think Speaker 2 (13:23) that Rocky's personality is very rodeo. Speaker 4 (13:27) You have a blonde hair. Speaker 2 (13:30) I think it's very rodeo. As you can tell, this isn't a podcast that really doesn't get any edits. So for the listener. So my big question on it, though, is are we going to do it at the county line? Can we do the same venue for both? In theory, I'd love to because I love the venue. I don't think we can do the same venue for both. I think they need to be a little more different. Speaker 4 (13:53) Oh, wait, hold on. So they want me to do Rocky's first rodeo. Yeah. Speaker 4 (13:58) Isn't, why? Speaker 3 (14:00) Because his name's Rocky? I think the double R's. Double R's. And they like the Western, Southern theme that you got going on. Speaker 4 (14:08) One thing I could get behind. Do you know how ranches, they make like emblems and they, you know, you go to a ranch and they have their logo. Rocky's ranch, I can get behind and do the two R's. It could be like the double R ranch. I could do that. That I'm into. Okay. And then we could have some double R ranch cups. But Speaker 2 (14:26) what about venue? Speaker 3 (14:27) I Speaker 4 (14:28) think Speaker 3 (14:28) you could do it Speaker 4 (14:29) like this is just Speaker 3 (14:30) this is your guys' venue. This Speaker 2 (14:31) is our birthday venue. Speaker 3 (14:32) It's so easy. The food's really good. Speaker 2 (14:34) The staff Speaker 3 (14:35) is incredible. The staff is so nice. Speaker 4 (14:37) Tons of space. There's no reason not to. I'm with you. And every time the surprise is the decor and then now I'm very obsessed with like one thing coming. Like I love the ponies coming. We could do the ponies for Rocky. They could just be different. Speaker 3 (14:53) Yeah. Speaker 4 (14:53) Like the same. No. Be the same. Still be the pub pony. But they could do different tinsel or something. Speaker 3 (14:59) Yeah. Speaker 4 (15:01) Yeah. We could do some roping. Oh. Do some roping practice for Rocky. Or we could go space. We could just completely do something different and do space. A space theme. He Speaker 2 (15:17) doesn't give me space vibes. Speaker 2 (15:20) I know he's high on soul, but he gives me rodeo vibes. Speaker 4 (15:25) Yeah. All right. Well, we'll see. Because he's Speaker 2 (15:28) tough. But I guess astronauts are really tough, too. Totally. Speaker 3 (15:31) The one thing that, so I had told my mom that I was going to Tate's birthday party. And she kept asking me all day, why aren't you there yet? Why aren't you there yet? I said, it's not until 4 p.m. And she's like, Speaker 4 (15:42) 4 p.m. for a two-year-old's birthday party? The best time to have a two-year-old's birthday party, in my opinion. is the five to seven. And we went to four. We bumped it up to four because we wanted to have longer. But I do understand. Okay, so when you're... Yeah, Speaker 2 (15:55) five to seven is long enough. Four to seven. Speaker 4 (15:58) Four to seven. Speaker 2 (15:59) Four to seven. But Speaker 4 (15:59) when you're dealing with nap times, like Tate's two. She's got friends that are younger than her and older than her. And so you're dealing with all these different nap schedules. So you have two time slots, basically. You've got the morning and then you've got the afternoon or the evening. And I like the evening slot a little bit better because in the morning, it's like you're kind of rolling in on one wheel. Like it took everything in you to get out the door. You got a whole bunch of stuff the rest of the day. You have to go home for nap time. I love an afternoon slot because I think the adults have fun and the kids have fun. Speaker 2 (16:28) Yeah. I also think there's a lot more to do with the kids in the morning. I feel like activities in the morning come a lot more natural. I'll like wake up and go and walk for breakfast. The Speaker 4 (16:38) park, it's not as hot. Speaker 2 (16:39) Yeah. Versus in the afternoon. Speaker 2 (16:43) And that's where, like, I don't find we have a dead zone in the morning. And I find that we often have a dead zone in the afternoon to kind of say what you just said. Speaker 4 (16:50) The most common thing we talk to parents about, like, is what are you doing from five to seven? And it's like, have the birthday party. Speaker 2 (16:56) Yeah. So Speaker 4 (16:57) then