Apogae Production, Welcome back to you another episode of am I of ad Mum podcast. This is a weird one too, because the next school holidays is the big long summer holidays, and that's generally the holiday where parents take some time off work over Christmas.
Yea.
I found that this year in particular, the more people that I spoke to that do have school age kids that were like, I'm just so exhausted, we just needed a couple of weeks home.
And so then that leads you into term four.
Because term four naturally is busy for majority of you know grades, whether it's grade twelve or grade one, it's a busy time. Christmas all the rest comes into play. Speaking of that, you've got birthdays up in that.
Ye yeah, And I just as I'm looking at you, I'm like, I have done absolutely nothing for Christmas. I've done absolutely nothing for Birthday either.
I need to probably bring that up in another podcast because I think I have a feeling I have to address before Christmas Santa issues.
I don't know.
Unless you've got any advice as to how to have that discussion, please send it to us on Instagram. But otherwise I'll give you the wrap. Up of the Santa discussion post having it.
Okay, wish me luck, good luck? Am I a bad mum for in doing the tough time?
Just one one tough time or lots? It like an ongoing saga.
Well, actually, I'm gonna start this with a positive okay. And this is so it's a wild thing to be saying after we've done this podcast for so many years and our kids were so little. I think Elsie was two, she was.
Just three, remember, because I was like, it's not terrible twos, it's those horrible threes. I got through the two's generally okay, yeah, and then the threes hit and it was just like, so.
Our four kids were about three, five, and ten.
Yeah yeah, yeah, And.
So now navigating teenagers is a whole different Kellorfish. But this is a real milestone. Both of my kids now have jobic.
Oh that is so good. That is so good.
We were talking about it, like the last conversation, we were just going too bad, it's so sad, you need to do it.
I'm not paying for a cecent.
I got to a point where I was threatening so much. I was like, when you're sixteen, you have phone bills not being paid you be cut off to start paying rent.
Like I went all in whatever with the threats. They both have jobs now, and I was like, I'm happy to pay their phone bill because what I wanted to see was the effort, you know, the first time that Actually it was a really nice moment when Amelia got paid for the first time and none of us really knew when paid they was for her, but she got an alert that money had gone into a bank and she had I've been paid, and she was so excited.
And what she said was, which is like, we've been saying this, like we've been banging on about this feeling, and just they couldn't have possibly understood it until they actually went through it. But she went, it just feels so nice that I've got money in my bank that I've actually made that I haven't had to ask you for. I haven't had to, you know, say please, please please, can I do this? And you say no, I've just got the money in there. I was like, see, that's
the feeling. It's the nice thing knowing that your hard work is actually paid off and you've got a job. But it's just the interesting part and this is where and enjoying the tough time was because I've spoken very openly kids in general, I feel like need to do a tough job to start with. They get everything handed to them on a plate. These days, kids, they get so spoil and if you look back to when we were kids, we did the hard graft, we did all that shit stuff. And so they're working in a fast
food place, wonderful. And Amelia's first shift was just you know, learn, learn, being shown around all that kind of stuff. Second shift, I went, what did you do today? Like, how was it? And she was like, she comes in like she's been at war. She comes in in a little uniform, which is so funny because it's like I've been banging on about them being old enough to get a job for so long, and then when you see your child in a work uniform, it's like, oh wow, she's actually just a little girl in.
A uniform, so so good when.
She comes in and then what you have to do?
She went, I was on fries, on fries, just one section, just on fries for how long?
Three hours?
Oh my god? Yeah, she's still like fries.
And then and then she came home and she comes in and then she's gone, yeahs on fries like telling me about it, and I went, you stink, you absolutely stink, and she was like, oh know. And it was just like that when I say enjoying the tough time. It was like, this is resilience, right, this is needed, This is necessary for life and work ethic and everything that goes with it. But it's it was almost like the fact that she's stunk. I was like, this is brilliant.
Did she actually smell like fries?
Fries? Yeah?
I wonder if you get to that point, Like I remember my first job was at the cheesecake shop, and I got to the point where I was like, if I have to smell so sweet again, like just that sweet, sweet sweetness, Like I'd go home and I'd literally smell like my hair smell like cheesecake, and because you'd be obviously serving out the front, but not only that, I had to help out with like getting stuff out of the ovens and like moving boxes of like you know,
Pavlovas and things like that. So super sweet. But I was like I got to the point where I was like I am so oversweet. Yeah, whereas like for the girls, it's gonna be like fries or like yeah.
Because I ve half the time. How are they going to go cooking burgers with people?
No? You know what happens? And this is I honestly because I've got a friend.
Are you going to scar me to the point that I'm not going to ever eat it again?
No?
But I've got a friend who used to work at the same place when she was a kid. So whatever, that was twenty whatever. Yeah, thinking I'm trying to do the math in my head, thinking.
Twenty younger than we are.
And she said at the time it was girls out front and the boys were in the back. And we had a chat about it. I was like, oh, there's no way that would happen now, of course that wouldn't be allowed. Yeah, still the same girls out front, so she doesn't have to make the burgers. Thats the boys out the back.
Oh my gosh.
Do you know what else happened? Rachel and I couldn't.
Help, but smart I had to clean the toilet.
No, she had take the bins out, you know, not fun but dressful. Whatever. Was a woman. There was a woman that went through the drive through. So she was on the drive through this particular day because they learned it all the woman that went through the drive through, and she was so mad about her order taking too long that she turned around to Amelia and stuck her fingers up at her. What really is telling me?
I was is wrong with these people? What did you do?
She was like, I just I didn't make eye contacts.
Imagine that she comes in and she's like, got fired today?
What force sticking up my finger? That's driving off? Who was doing it to me?
Oh my gosh, that is so exciting. Now both of them have got obviously a job, right. Yeah, So we're just waiting on Holly's pay day to drop and then it'll be full steam ahead for the car fund that they're going to be looking at.
Yeah, so big plan to save lots of cash. So far, Amelia has been paid twice and she owes us money because she borrowed it before being paid.
Oh my gosh. So the car fund is going well.
Not yeah, okay, I did say, because the rule was spend half, save half.
Yeah, to be.
Able to do so you're still rewarded, like you still feel like it's because not fun saving all your money. But I said spend half, save half, and the first payday, I said, just spend your first payday because like, that's exciting. Yeah, both working, and you know that.
Is a milestone for all of you, everyone in the household.
And it's just so funny. You're seeing them come in the door in the uniform and I'll be like, your dinner's in the microwave.
They're like, oh, what a day. I'm so tired. Yeah. Yeah.
And the other thing that Amelia said the other day, she's like, I feel so sorry for my manager, and I went, why she went? She got there before I started and she's still going to be there two hours after I finished. And I was like, because she did a three hour shift, mate, most people do.
Eights three hours? Is that all they work? Three hours and they're out of there.
I think it's all they're allowed to do.
Oh my gosh. Yeah, twelve hour days on a Sunday.
We're still protecting our kid, Oh gosh.
Anyway, I'm very proud of them, and I look forward to hearing how they keep going with this car fund.
It's a very exciting time that they're coming into.
I can't wait until we start doing podcasts on how the driving lessons are going, because they are gonna be a hoot.
I said to the girls, you will definitely be doing at least one, hopefully more than that, driving lessons before you get in my car. Yeah, why everybody else's I said, I'll tell you the reason why, because i will sit there in the car with you, and I'm just basing this off of everything else in our lives that we talk about. You will turn around to me and you will tell me that I've got no idea.
I was going to say, you're like one or two lessons.
I'd be like a month worth of lessons with somebody else, because they listen better for somebody else than they do for us. So a month worth of like lessons with somebody else, and then you can get in my car and drive with me, because then you've got a month's
worth of backing from somebody else. Like the classic stereotype of a driving instructor in my head is like an older gentleman who's sitting there and hand loves to drive and just knows everything about the road and the rules on the road, and you know, let him do those early stoppy, starty jumpies one and then by the time that they get into your car a month later, I sitting Yeah, it might be a little bit more smooth sailing Geez, they're going to be a good podcast.
Actually, what we might do
Is put a little recorder in your first one so that everyone can listen to