Makin' it with the Mackins

We’re back, and three of our four kids now have braces. Maria is also melting down copper, not for the kids’ braces, but to bust the chemtrail clouds above her house.Life has been as busy as ever with Viv’s birthday party and the twins’ birthday party, plus multiple performances by Chris Brown, Usher and Danielle.We also discuss Mackin’s claim that four times more sex equals four times more money. Danielle gives an update on a fibroid flare-up that disguised itself as a pregnancy scare for a hot minute.And the Child of the Week rankings are back. One kid got straightened out by an expander and shared his sweepstakes winnings when nobody else would have. One showed up to pickup basketball with a broken wrist just to support the team. One got all A’s and one B, but still no Instagram. And one is just slow. He takes forever to do anything.Thank you for listening. We love you all, and we’ll see you next episode.

This version is much closer to the voice of the podcast. I’d only make a few small grammar and pacing edits:This is Part 1 of our Long Hot Summer. We recorded it at the beginning of summer and then did the responsible thing by not releasing it until summer was over.We made it to summer, which means the kids wake up every morning with one simple question: “What are we doing today?” Apparently, keeping four children alive, fed and housed is no longer considered an activity.We catch up on the IAC show, new cars courtesy of Findlay Toyota, The Family You Choose, Mackin Media growing, and how we somehow almost ended up in Scottsboro, Alabama.We talk about protecting our peace and learning that not every request from our children requires an immediate response. Sometimes they can wait. Sometimes they can solve it themselves. And sometimes Leo just really wants popcorn.And finally, the Child of the Week rankings are back. We’ve got skincare routines, Jesus YouTube avatars, Michael Jackson harmonies, and one child quietly building a case for the number one spot.We love you all! Thank you for your prayers, patience, understanding, and for listening during this difficult time…we call summer.

Welcome to the end of summer and part 2 of this episodic mini-series. We catch up on our beautiful week in San Diego, surviving the final stretch of summer, and a much harder trip to Buffalo after losing Danielle’s Ninny. Danielle talks about how difficult that loss was, saying goodbye, and everything that came with going home for her services.Somewhere along the way, our parenting standards also started slipping. Gentle parenting has officially entered its “fine, whatever” era.Meanwhile, Mackin hit the end of summer completely burned out while restructuring and rebranding Mackin Media, and trying to grow a business. We also establish that Mackin bringing Danielle coffee every morning is basically his version of sex. The only problem is Danielle gets coffee every day.And, of course, we close out summer with the Child of the Week rankings. We’ve got an active Needoh addiction, video game meltdowns, multiple firings and rehirings from dish duty, and one child quietly accumulating the highest net worth in the family.Part 1 was the beginning of summer. Part 2 is what summer actually did to us.We love you all! Thank you for your prayers, patience, understanding, and for listening during this difficult time…we call summer.

Look at us, back again without any extended hiatus or excuses for not doing an episode. We certainly could have made some if we wanted because we are busier than ever, but we didn’t. Praise the Lord!We are not just busy with work and school meetings, but with family meetings that get us absolutely nowhere. The next family meeting may require a full blown intervention.But we are back at the G-Media studios airing out our dirty laundry about our dirty laundry piling up so high that it has created new home furniture. Our kids (and yours I’m sure) are completely obsessed with Needohs, which has created plenty of things we don’t need, but it is not all bad.We also dive into the kids' social etiquette at parties, or the lack of it. Danielle and I even try to decode the mystery behind Leo's tummy aches right before bed.Speaking of parties, Danielle and her mom Jackie are in peak spring party season. Throwing four kids’ birthday parties in the fall felt off balance, so they decided to help everyone else throw their parties in the spring.We’re trying guys, and we hope you know we love you. Thank you for listening!

We might be the kind of parents who dread a school holiday, but at least we're finally upgrading our video game and filming this episode at the G-Media studios.This episode is a full catch-up on our recent chaos, starting with Danielle performing two sold-out shows with her dad at the South Point and wrapping up her birthday month.We’re just coming down from our exhausting Spring Break staycation. In hindsight, we should have just dropped them all off at Kids Quest, and we all would have been happy.We’re not the only ones who are tired; Mackin ran the boys all week long as his new form of punishment. It doesn’t seem to be working, though, because Leo called a kid at the Red Rock pool a b-word, not a b*tch, a b-word.We’re trying guys, and we hope you know we love you. Thank you for listening!

We might be the kind of parents who forget the Tooth Fairy two nights in a row, but at least we eventually remembered to record a podcast.Just a 1-month hiatus this time, but the chaos is still in full swing. This episode is us catching you up on the recent madness, starting with the 27-minute hostage negotiation that is the twins' nighttime routine. Danielle is preparing to grace the stage at the Italian American Club with her dad. Mackin is deeply offended that the boys were horrified at the idea of him "babysitting" them while Danielle performs. For the record, it’s not babysitting when you’re their literal father.We also managed to attend a Super Bowl party with the kids. After threatening to abandon them, they miraculously behaved, and we actually got to sit on a couch as adults and watch the game for the first time in Super Bowl history. Say a prayer that we get invited back next year.We try to solve the mystery of how our kids are total angels in public, but turn into absolute messes the second they get home. In domestic household news, Mackin complains that Danielle is actually too on top of the laundry, wasting an hour flawlessly folding sweatshirts that belong on hangers just so she can watch her shows.We’re trying and we hope you know we love you. Thank you for listening!

Season 6 Episode 10: We KnowWe know. It’s been a minute. We haven’t recorded since October because life was lifing hard as ever. This episode is us catching you up on why we disappeared and what the last few months actually looked like behind the scenes. My dad got hit with a serious bacterial infection that landed him in the hospital for two weeks. We did manage one big night out at the Findlay Christmas party. Danielle lived her best Kardashian adjacent-life.Mackin is officially in full grind mode with his business. Danielle has promoted herself to Head of Business Development, in addition to becoming a part-time adult ballerina.We do not do official rankings this episode because Mackin did not keep notes and refuses to fake it, unlike Danielle. But we do cover the kids. We also unpack Maria’s visit, including her hatred of Teflon, her refusal to microwave nuggets, and ironic refusal to say the word "no" to her kids.That’s where we’ve been. Thanks for sticking with us. We know and we hope you know we love you. Thank you for listening.

Look at us, we’re back! More prepared, but with slightly less clothing. This was another quick and fun episode covering yet another crazy couple of weeks.Mom and Dad had a great night out at Crusader Knight, the big fundraising gala for our kids’ school. Danielle was the belle of the ball and was excited to show off the look she’s been working so hard on. It was such a great night with even better company, the Galindos.Like everything we do, it didn’t come without its fair share of stress. Leo had a bunch of dental work the same day, but thank God for Dr. Lindsay Row at Summerlin Pediatric Dentistry, because everything went great (only a few meltdowns).Danielle wants to work with Mackin, but she still has no idea what he actually does, so he’s still interviewing other candidates and rebranding the marketing agency.We also attended Danielle’s 20-year high school reunion and got to see so many old friends, most of whom Mackin had to remind Danielle of by name. Shoutout to the Mormons who gave us their drink tickets!Mackin also ranked the kids a little more accurately this episode. Leo is working on subtraction, Dean has a newfound appreciation for cologne, Viv is locking into middle school, and Dom’s broken wrist has healed. And yes, it all counts toward their ranking on Mackin’s list.Thank you all for listening, and remember, if you don’t rank your kids, you’re just lying to yourself because you do.

We’re back (yes, we’re alive) after a little summer chaos. It’s been a hectic season of life, but with the weather cooling down, things are finally settling too.We have a lot to catch up on! From a family holiday in San Diego to Mackin being super busy growing his agency business. Dom dedicated his entire summer to football. Viv is still living her best life, but now adjusting to middle school. Leo is still Leo; he got a little sick, which gave Danielle PTSD flashbacks that somehow made her sicker than he was. And Dean? He’s been pretty chill, probably because he’s always turning the thermostat down to 64 like he’s paying the power bill.We also discuss an important universal truth: no one loves you more than a boomer mom when you’re skinny. And yes, Mackin ranks the kids… sort of. We’ll give him a break since it’s been a while.Thanks for waiting on us, and thank you for listening. Proof of life delivered.

Oh, look, another family deciding to drop everything and travel the world because, why not, right? Meanwhile, we’re just trying to plan a road trip San Diego. But these two? They put the "trip" in "road trip."In this episode, we sit down with our old friends Jimi and Sandi Falin, the power couple behind Try N Something New! These two started their film business 14 years ago with our wedding and have now made capturing their travel lifestyle a full-time gig. Three kids in tow, dozens of countries, and millions of subscribers later, they're still the same amazing people crying behind a camera at our wedding.We dive into what inspired them to sell everything, pack up the RV, and hit the road. Did we say they did this with THREE KIDS? We also talk about the beauty of worldschooling and unschooling their kids while traveling. Their goal is simple: inspire others to get out there and "Try Something New." So, if you’ve ever wanted to leave your comfortable little corner of the world, this episode is for you. Or, if you're a Type-A Grinch like Mackin and need a little spontaneity in your life, we hope they can inspire you too.Grab your passport (or your couch cushion) and get ready for laughs, travel fails, and tips from two people who’ve somehow survived 9 years of full-time travel with their kids. Spoiler: They don’t always have it all together, but they definitely have a story to tell.