Parental Settings

The Season 2 premier features a solo dad episode! The boy is now 6 and in first grade. The girl is now 2 and mimicking big bro. It's a whole new world as parents navigate the pandemic and the craziness of 2020. Ryan takes over the mic with Lauren on the road for work, and talks everything from early voting to his kids' schooling to COVID-19 to his two trips to COVID hotspot South Dakota to his ridiculously bad luck with sports. It's can't-miss!

Lauren and Ryan walk through a typical day at their house in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. With both still working full-time from home, parenting a 5-year-old, 1-year-old, and escape artist beagle dog has become a major challenge. Also, Ryan gives a few of his famous Sesame Street impressions, while Lauren talks sourdough starters.

Stuck at home, Ryan and Lauren run through the TV shows, books, apps, games, podcasts and hobbies they have been enjoying to pass the time. While Ryan finished his first book in years (Dick Bremer's "Game Used"), Lauren has found a new game on her phone to pass some time. The two each give their unfiltered opinions on how the pandemic is being handled and what's to come.

Ryan and Lauren discuss about how coronavirus is providing some major logistical challenges at home. With both parents' full-time jobs transitioning to home, and both kids' schools canceled, and no immediate family nearby to jump in, how will the couple manage to juggle everything?

Ryan and Lauren open with a discussion about their Best Picture project where they watched every winner in order, but the real topic of the show is the big uptick in one or the other parent traveling. Lauren's new role means three work trips per month. How does each parent differ when they are home alone with the kids for several nights?

Season 2 kicks off with Ryan and Lauren returning from a 7-month hiatus. The couple discuss the massive amount of changes at home, from Lauren's new job that requires frequent travel, to Ryan coaching basketball and growing out a long beard. The boy is now 5 and in kindergarten while the girl is 16 months and in a face-slapping phase.

Whether attending or hosting, it seems kids birthday parties are a lot of work. Ryan and Lauren dig in and explore the task of planning and organizing kids parties, and also recall some of their own childhood parties from the 80s and 90s. The episode takes a dramatic turn when the couple relive a painful birthday memory from 2013 involving a destroyed cake and some very raw feelings which have yet to dissipate.

Ryan and Lauren give an update on the latest happenings with their nearly-five-year-old boy and baby girl, including an upcoming father-son road trip and the baby biting mama while nursing. Yowch! The couple discuss challenges they encounter when it comes to riding in cars with the kiddos, from getting situated in the car seats to entertaining them on long trips.

Lauren has been 100% on-board with cloth diapers from Day 1 with both children, despite the extra work that goes into laundering them. Ryan wondered if the environmental benefits cloth diapers are really worth it, once you consider all the extra water and electricity used to wash them. He is quickly put in his place.

Poor, poor Baxter. For the first three years of this beagle's life, he was treated like royalty! Pampered and spoiled rotten, this dog's life was flipped upside-down when kids came along. Sadly, Mom and Dad couldn't give the dog as much attention as before, and the dog never warmed up to the kids. So, are dogs and kids a good mix? Ryan and Lauren break it down.

Ryan and Lauren chose to take the family out of town over the long Memorial Day weekend and went to a family resort in San Antonio, Texas. It didn't wind up being much of a vacation, as Dad had a vicious stomach bug, Mom was coughing up a lung, son was exhausted and cranky, and baby couldn't adjust to unfamiliar surroundings! Would they do things differently next time?

After a recent meltdown over not being allowed to watch Scooby Doo in the car, Ryan and Lauren break down their 4-year-old son's TV/screen habits and determine one parent is far more lenient than the other, possibly due to their own upbringings and what they consider a reasonable amount of TV.

Ryan and Lauren debate whether or not to send their son to kindergarten in the fall. With a late August birthday, he beats the Texas state cutoff date by three days. The couple discuss the pros and cons of their son being likely the youngest kid in the class, while Ryan remembers being in the very same position himself in 1987.

Ryan and Lauren discuss the factors parents must consider when choosing childcare for their children, citing real-life examples from their 4-year-old son and infant daughter in Austin, Texas. Items to weigh include geography, tuition, reviews, staff turnover and more. Ryan cites an obscure rule of thumb: avoid choosing a daycare whose staff members choose to wear Tweety Bird t-shirts during the initial interview.

Lauren and Ryan welcomed family to Austin to help bridge the gap between the end of Lauren's maternity leave and the beginning of baby girl's first day of daycare. The parents get used to paying for two kids in daycare and the daunting morning routine.

Lauren and Ryan talk about the challenges of eating out at restaurants with small children. The couple ponders when eating out is worth the hassle, what types of restaurants to choose, what to order for kids, and how to keep them entertained while waiting. Special shoutout to the couple's favorite Austin restaurant Jardin Corona.

Ryan and Lauren's debut episode dives straight into one of parenting's hottest topics—sleeping. The couple dissect their 4-year-old's deep troubles going to sleep and staying asleep, then flip the script talking about their sound-sleeping baby.