Original subtitles

Are you guys gonna be okay without me?

No!

I'm about to step into

someone else's life.

I can't believe I get to be a Real Housewife.

I'm having breakfast made for me.

Sounds like a vacation.

Oh, my God.

We don't really have bedtimes.

Am I in the Twilight Zone?

"You must be awake no later than 5:30 AM!"

You're kinda lazy?

I have preserved this carpet for years.

Paint!

- Only for Alethea... - Oh, my gosh!

That one's gonna leave a mark.

...to ruin it.

Everyone revolves around you.

Let's go. Without a schedule, all things fail.

Karter.

If you don't have a schedule, what are you doin' in life?

Kruz, come on. We're gonna be late.

- I'm Wendy Osefo. - And I'm Eddie Osefo.

We have three kids.

Kruz, pass the ball!

Karter, Kruz...

Uh, but you still suck.

And Kamrynn.

In my Nigerian culture,

education is the main focal point.

I want my kids, above all, to be happy.

So, what are you guys gonna learn today at school?

I wanna learn science and math.

Happy with multiple degrees.

I don't like my mom's rules,

but, like, we have to obey them.

Let's do a little healthy snack.

- Okay. - No.

I don't like healthy snack. Boo.

I don't do chips. I don't do sugary drinks.

Is that one of my kids? What are you eatin'?

You see, that's what I'm sayin'.

I wake up first at, like, 5:00.

The kids are dressed by 7:00.

They eat breakfast and are ready by 7:15.

Dinner between 5:30 and 6:00.

Seven o'clock is bathtime.

Eight forty-five is prayer.

- Mm-hmm. - Nine o'clock is bedtime.

Lights out!

Wendy's rules for me are follow Wendy's rules.

I'm pretty much her supporting staff.

My love of structure comes from having no structure.

I was a latchkey kid.

My mom worked all the time.

I wanted to make sure that when I had kids,

I was more present in their life.

- You gonna miss us? - Of course.

I feel like someone is coming to take my place,

and that's never happened.

I think it needs to be a-a balance.

If I were to give you advice,

I would say balance your scheduling.

There was no question that said,

"What advice would you give me?"

Okay.

Worst case scenario, I swap lives with someone

who has no rules, whatsoever.

Yeah, count me out.

Ahh!

Hello.

I'd like for you to meet Breck.

Ferrets are just amazing pets.

The only bad thing is, they're a little stinky.

I'm Alethea. I'm a stay-at-home mom.

My husband, Craig, we are college sweethearts.

We have four children.

My oldest is Hailey.

Then, I have Dylan,

Shane,

and Skyler.

I have created the life of my dreams

where I've surrounded myself by everything I love

and all my hobbies.

We embrace a philosophy of low demand parenting.

Low demand parenting basically means

empowering your children to be independent.

So, that looks like packing your own lunches.

I don't know what you want.

You know what you want.

You-you have two hands. You can do it.

I hate helicopter parenting,

hovering over your kid, like, enh-enh-enh.

I don't like to be a dictator to my children.

Okay, good luck. Cook me a delicious meal.

They go to bed late. They play basketball inside.

We don't really have a bedtime, but we don't,

like, stay up around, like, 1 AM, or 12, or 11.

On a school night.

A few years ago, we lived in New York.

We lived such an overscheduled life.

Everything had to be perfect.

They were booked out playdates eight weeks in advance.

It was so suffocating.

And, ultimately, that lead to burnout.

Bro, stop.

When we moved to Florida, I found another way to parent.

It's way more stress-free.

You don't have to be scheduled,

and I wanna share it with another family.

Like, our mom just, like, does her own thing.

Like, it's usually, like, crocheting,

playing with the animals.

I wish my mom would cook dinner more often.

And also, a mom that's not lazy.

I think a real housewife needs to learn

about the real world, how real Americans live.

Gotcha!

So, we're doing addition stories.

I know. I know. I know. I'm practicing.

Okay.

- Found out? - Yes.

Karter, Kruz, pause the match!

So, you know I'm going to a new family.

I have no idea where they're sending me.

We're gonna find out together.

- Stop, stop glazing. - One, two, three.

Ahh! - Oh!

You're going to Naples, Florida.

Naples, Florida?

You know, Florida has crocodiles.

Crocodile-- oh!

- Florida has crocodiles. - It's the swamp people!

I'm gonna pray for you.

Welcome to Potomac, Maryland!

All right. That one took me by surprise.

Google the cast.

- You know to spell it? - No.

Are you guys gonna be okay without me?

- No! - I don't know.

I'll be back very soon.

No.

Good luck.

- Bye, mommy. - Bye, mom.

Ciao.

Bye! Whoo!

Naples is known for its beaches, but is it, like,

Naples, or is it, like, the Everglades?

I'm very nervous about, like, the fancy factor

because that's what housewives are.

They're fancy, and I'm literally wearing

sweatpants and a sweatshirt.

So, we shall see.

Looks nice. Here we go.

Honey, I'm home!

Where's the furniture?

Okay, there's a game zone.

I feel like I'm in a makeshift Dave and Buster's.

What's going on here?

So pretty!

Oh, I love it, a nice, brick Colonial house.

Dorothy's not in Kansas anymore.

She's in Maryland.

Okay.

Hi. Oh, you look like a Pomeranian.

Hi, baby.

This is Wendy's family.

So, it looks like boy, boy, girl, amazing.

Doesn't look, like, ball friendly in here.

It looks like a lot of things need to stay in position

and not be broken.

Continue on the tour. Lead the way.

Oh, four kids-- so cute.

Can I go in?

Can I open this?

Ahh, sh--! What is that?

Ahh! What is that?

Oh, another one.

Oh, sh--. Oh, sh--. What's in there?

I don't even wanna see. What is it?

What in the Dr. Doolittle is this place?

Ahh!

Are there animals in here?

Oh, this is my room.

Relax.

I don't know if I'm gonna relax,

not with them cats running around.

What's this? "Dear new"--

Chile-- the rules--

Okay, she didn't wanna use a computer. Okay.

"Welcome to Casa de Osefo.

I want to welcome you, but also..."

Uh-oh, the but.

"Dear New Mom, my animals are a big part

of our family, so please treat them

like your fur babies." Jesus, oh.

"In this house, we don't sweat the small--"

Who are you?

I like dogs. Come here. What's your name?

I-I'm the new mom.

"There is a clear schedule in this house,

and the schedule must be adhered to.

That means, you, my dear friend, must be awake

no later than 5:30 a.m."

"In this house, we don't have a lot of rules,

and routines are hard for us to stick to--

bedtimes, chores, and homework."

Oh, they don't have a schedule. Hmm...

"Karter and Kamrynn need to be ready for school by 7:15.

House is vacuumed and organized by 10:00.

Begin dinner prep by 1:00--

dinner served no later than 6:00.

Bathtime begins at 7:00.

Nighttime prayer is by 8:45.

Everyone in bed by 9:00." Yikes.

"We moved to Florida from New York four years ago."

Okay, "To embrace a no stress lifestyle.

Good luck."

There's no schedule, no rules.

There's nothing here. What am I reading?

Her rules, it was almost like down to, like,

five-minute intervals, and that is, like,

the life I left. I did that in New York.

So, that's gonna be interesting.

What is this?

Oh, I love it.

- Hi. - Hi.

- I'm Craig. - Okay.

This is my laundry room office.

- Oh, okay, hi. - So nice to meet you.

I'm Wendy. So good to meet you.

So nice to meet you, as well.

- Are you working? - Yeah,

for a little bit. - What do you do?

I do some trading and some financial consulting.

We decided to put my office in the laundry room.

Um, so, I have the dual purpose of doing

my full-time job and doing the laundry.

He's in the laundry room,

like, in a little-- a little nook, a corner.

Washer and dryer has more space than he does.

Uh, it-it does work. It-it works for me, though.

What does mom do around this time?

She's in her room crocheting

or playing with the animals.

I think you met some of the cats outside.

- How many cats is there? - There's five.

And two ferrets and a chinchilla,

and then-then we have some ducks outside.

Love it.

I wasn't expecting someone kinda dressed to the nines,

high heels.

That's a bit formal for-for our style.

Come inside.

Hello. - Hi.

- Hi. - I'm new mom.

- You're new mom. - I'm Alethea.

Can I give you a hug?

What's your name?

- Karter. - Nice to meet you.

How old are you? - Twelve.

Oh, nice. I have a 12-year-old son, too.

- Oh, okay. - What's your name?

- Kamrynn. - Nice to meet you.

Can I give you a hug?

- What's up? - What's up? - Hi.

Boys are home.

- Hi. - Hey.

How are you guys doin'?

- Good. - Good.

Oh, you guys are so cute.

- Thank you. - I'm Wendy.

What's your name? - Hi-- Shane.

- And what's your name? - Skyler.

Hi, Skyler.

- Hi. - Hi, Dylan.

Nice to meet you.

You drove yourself home?

Yeah, I just came home from school.

Oh, that is so cool.

I didn't really know what I was expecting--

high heels, makeup, hair, everything.

I'm learning how to feed the animals. Eww.

I was just kinda taken aback.

Okay.

5:30 a.m., is that real?

Your mom really wakes at that time?

- Mm-hmm. - Yeah.

Yeah, oh, yeah.

What time do you normally wake up?

Like, I don't set my alarm.

So, is that, like, uh, 6:00-ish?

No.

So, morning routine

is my department. - Uh-huh.

I get to sleep in?

What time does mom usually wake up, you think?

Like, 12:00.

- She sleeps in and-- - Every day?

Yeah.

First thing I got, as a parent, I just--

I filled my yard with kid toys, and ATVs,

and all that fun stuff.

Is that, like, chaos?

- It is. - Ahh.

We do something called low demand parenting.

So, you allow them to do whatever they wanna do.

I kind of do, actually, yeah.

How do you guys feel about that?

Ahh, you-- Of course, you will like it.

She's definitely way less strict

than our mom is.

Her kids have ATVs and a lot of pets.

Yeah, she's cool.

What else can I do to be like your mom today?

She likes to cuddle with the animals.

Hmm, okay.

And-and her clothes are a little more, like,

casual and, like, comfortable.

Mm-hmm.

Here we go.

For the record, maxi dresses are super comfortable.

For the next 24 hours,

I have to live by Alethea's rules.

So, for now, I just crochet and play with animals?

Okay.

I'm comfortable.

I'm ready-- I even changed my shoes for you.

A little fluffy action. - Good-good enough.

I mean, cooking in a suit is definitely a choice,

so I guess suit it is.

I'm nervous, 'cause I don't like to cook.

So, I have to make a good first impression.

Grandmothers are pressure.

- Hi. - Hi.

Hello.

- This is my son, Kruz. - Hi.

- Hi. Nice to meet you. - Hi.

- Can I give you a hug? - This is Alethea.

- Yeah. - Thank you. Aww, hi.

- This is Grandma Sue. - Can I give you a hug?

- Uh, yeah. - Hi. Nice to meet you.

Muah. - Muah.

I would describe Wendy's mom as very loving,

but she's not gonna shy away from telling you her opinion.

Do we pray now or wait?

I'm praying.

I'm supposed to pray. They are my children.

I'm gonna leave you guys to do what you do.

- Okay. - Mm-hmm.

And then, I'll see you later.

I'm gonna make okra soup.

So... - I've never really eaten okra.

So, what's a typical dinner you cook for your family?

Uh, I didn't inherit that trait.

Is there anything that you want me to get started?

Ahh, all right. Am I doing it right?

No, you-you- you're doing it too big.

One, two, three, slice.

Even my five-year-old granddaughter knows

how to cook okra more than Alethea does.

You have to get it together.

You have to treat it with respect.

Do you need help cooking with your kids?

My mom comes over and teaches my daughters

how to cook-- and my sons.

- And you just stay in bed? - Yeah.

What kind of person are you?

Uh...

Maybe she's trying to test me, to break me,

but I will not be broken.

Uh, it makes me very happy... - Oh, my goodness.

...that she's passing on the skills.

I can't get you. And you are the bystander.

- Yes. - God, help me.

We don't have structured bedtimes.

No bedtime?

Jesus... ugh...

Do you need help cooking with your kids?

God, help me.

I don't feel like you need to cook to be a good mother.

The best reflection of my parenting style

is that I always get glowing reviews

about my children.

They all do really well in school,

even without me enforcing homework.

- You're against homework. - I am.

- Oh, my Lord! - Yep.

And you're taking credit for your kids coming out right.

- Yes. - The way you--

You know what?

They have no choice but to work hard.

So, you're kinda lazy?

Come outside! Wendy, come! Hailey's home!

- Hi, how are you? - Nice to meet you.

I'm Hailey. - Nice to meet you.

Hi, Hailey.

Hi, Shaney.

Come here. - Aww.

I like having Hailey home because, like,

she's like a second mom.

She'll take care of us.

She'll tell us what to do and what not to do,

and she'll just overall guide us.

- Welcome home. - Oh, my God. Oh, thank you.

I hope you're enjoying the farm.

Oh, we are loving the farm.

- Hey, boys. How ya doin'? - All good, man.

- How was school? - It was good-- 10-4.

Hi, Simon.

So, when you guys eat dinner, where do you eat?

- Oh, right here. - Here?

I mean, it's not-not always-- sometimes on the couch.

Okay.

But we broke out the fine China.

I see.

Yeah.

And you guys do phones at dinner?

- Yeah. - It-it works for us.

I have a question. So, you walk the dog.

- I walk the dog. - And you do the laundry.

I do laundry, yeah.

You take all the kids to their sports?

I do take the boys to their sports.

But mom comes to your games.

And she doesn't even watch them.

- That's not true. - You said she doesn't watch your games?

It's true. I think she's on her phone.

Aww.

Alethea doesn't really alter her desires for her family.

Does she welcome you at the door with, like,

a hug and say-- - No, she's not--

she's mostly on the couch most of the time.

At the very least, you can give your children a hug.

Hugs are free.

I'm here to fill her shoes.

So, whatever she does, I'll do.

- Perfect. - Go, team, go.

All right, guys. We have to stick to schedule.

We are behind.

So, let's clean up, and we gotta--

Now, I'm gonna pretend I'm, like, really strict.

This is why I don't like to cook-- too much work.

But she didn't do any work.

Okay, well, it's getting dark.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

It's getting very dark.

Yawning...

We-we don't really have structured bedtimes.

- Okay. - We typically, uh,

do go our separate ways. - Okay.

And they figure out when they wanna go to bed.

No bedtime?!

Am I in the Twilight Zone?

All right, good night, team.

- Good night. - Good night. See you tomorrow.

- Good night. - Good night.

Ready for prayers.

Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Sorry.

Okay. Forgive us whichever sins against you today.

Everything's so calculated

down to the, like, the minute.

See ya in the mornin'. - See ya in the mornin'.

8:25, 8:30, 8:35.

Sweet dreams.

All right, bye.

Seven hours until I wake up.

Gotta be up at 5:30, on the dot.

God, I'm gonna die.

Jesus... ugh...

Too early.

I'm to organize the bags and wake up the kids.

Rise and shine.

I'm so used to being up at 5 a.m.

and gettin' on with the day.

There was no breakfast to make,

no one to wake up.

The kids make their own lunches.

Okay.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Just wake up.

All right, guys!

We're runnin' late!

Hi. - Are we ready?

Ready.

- To take 'em to school. - Yeah, let's go.

As Wendy, I think Alethea is doing her best,

but if she's trying to fill a size nine shoe,

she's about a four and a half, right now.

- Okay. - You're coming with, right?

- Yeah, sure. - Okay.

Okay, does, uh, she usually wear pajamas?

No, she doesn't.

You having fun? - Fun, yeah.

It's a lot of work. - Oh, oh, it is.

It is, the morning. - It's crazy.

And we're running late this morning, too.

Yep.

- Hi. - Good morning.

I'm just doing some homework.

- Could I sit? - Come sit, yeah.

Okay, I'm so not used to being idle,

and I don't know what to do.

I mean, we could go downstairs, and we could,

um, go do the animal morning routine.

Ahh!

I'll hold him back, and you're gonna get the poo.

And here, you're gonna be great.

Okay, all right.

And this goes in here? - And, yeah, put it-- yeah.

And you did it. That was it.

The kids said that mom's job was to do that.

It's-it's, like, five minutes worth of work.

Oh, Breck, Bobo, why y'all movin'?

My rules cannot come soon enough.

Somebody call Delta and get my flight.

Get my flight.

Oh, my gosh.

- Dad. - Oh!

Kruz, what are you doing?

Time to vacuum.

Vacuuming with heels,

definitely a first.

Wendy is really particular about vacuuming,

and vacuuming in straight lines,

and leaving lines

in order to know where you vacuumed.

And it-it doesn't look like she's really focused

on what she's vacuuming, either.

It's a lot of different directions

that she's goin' in.

Oh!

Being a Real Housewife is a lot more work

than I expected.

Wendy's rules just have no room for error

and no room to relax.

I cannot wait to change the rules of the house.

Dog break-- hi.

- Welcome home from school. - The boys are home.

Hey, Skyler, how are you?

- Hello. - Hey.

Aww, you got Hailey, too. - Did you have a good day?

Just by her embracing her brothers,

it's clear that Hailey is the mom of this house.

These kids, and now Hailey, needs a hands on mom.

I'm ready for it to be my rules.

All right, guys, we're done with the rules.

So, we're gonna throw them away.

It's time to make the big switch.

This is my rules now.

Welcome to Wendy's world!

Now, it's my rules.

The first order of business,

structure.

Family dinner at 7 p.m., no devices.

No!

Okay, how about, like, should we add

some more, like, fun?

- Yes. - Yeah.

Some more kids stuff into it?

The kids have no rules now,

and it's gonna be okay.

- Woosah. - It's fine.

Just keeping an eye on the kids,

who now have no rules, uh, is gonna require more work.

Bye. See ya soon.

I don't know if I'm necessarily looking forward to that.

I want us to all come together.

And I'm going to spend one-on-one time

with each of you kids, doing what you like to do.

- Sounds great. - Let's do it.

Okay, let's do it.

I hope the kids get out of my new rules that,

with everything I do, the children know

that they are the center.

Let's crochet in the office.

And they matter to me.

We're kinda just, like, creating, like, a baseline

of, like, links. - Oh, sh--.

You're doing really good.

So, do you do this with your mom often or...

Yeah, she taught me.

It was, like, really fun.

You know, baby Skyler was talking about football.

Like, he was talking about how your mom

really doesn't go to his games.

Maybe she's, like, a little, like, aloof

and in her own world. - Mm-hmm.

In the sense that's, like, maybe she's on her phone,

but, like, when I was growing up, like,

she was, like, a PTA mom. - Mm-hmm.

Me and Dylan were in theater...

- Yeah. - ...and she was, like,

making the costumes.

So, the mom you grew up with is not the mom

that Skyler that Shane grew up with.

Like, she was very type A in New York.

And, like, since moving to Florida, kind of, like,

laid back a little bit,

that it's kind of like two different people.

I'm glad that my mom honestly is not as stressed out

as she used to be in New York.

But sometimes, I would wish that my mom could be

a little more present for my brothers,

kind of like how I had it when I--

me and my sister were growing up.

It's so interesting because when you came home,

I saw the way you embraced Shane.

There was a sense of motherness to him with you.

Yeah.

So, do you ever feel like you and your mom switched roles,

like, she's the child, and you're, like, the mom?

I kind of, like, parent the kids

how I wanna parent my kids when I'm older,

like, with more structure and with more regimen.

Like, I don't know if that makes me sound, like, crazy.

No, it doesn't make you sound crazy.

Or like a military person, but, like--

No, I completely get it.

Hailey has to be a mom

because her mom isn't stepping up to the plate.

She's only 19.

At this point, I don't know. - You don't even know.

- I don't know. - I was like--

I was like, does she know what she's doing?

I don't know what this is.

Who is ready?

We're gonna have fun, creativity time,

and get a little messy.

- A little messy? - Yep.

This is crochet.

- Oh, I know what that is. - I know how to knit.

So, have you ever crocheted before?

Uh, in my class, in art, I have.

Really? That's so cool.

Paint. - I knew it.

When I was trying to heal from burnout,

I started to craft.

This is about to be messy.

The Osefo kids lead such a structured life.

I figure crafting was such a great way

to just blow off some steam

and have some unstructured fun time.

- Water soluble? - We'll find out.

- We'll find out. - Yeah.

Try to make each of your loop the same size.

- Oh, my gosh! - Dad.

What? Oh, that wasn't me.

Dad, this is your fault, not my fault.

Oh, my gosh. Kruz.

That one's gonna leave a mark.

Kruz, what are you doing?

I'm not taking the fall for this one.

- Oh, my gosh! - Dad.

Oh, that wasn't me.

Kruz, I--

That one's gonna leave a mark.

Kruz, what are you doing?

It wasn't my fault, dad.

How is it not your fault?

Mom's not gonna like it at all.

No.

I don't know what happened.

I know exactly how it happened.

Kruz spilled the paint under Alethea's watch.

Dad is secretly dying inside.

- Secretly? - Look.

- Ooh, that's amazing. - Amazing.

Alethea taught me how to crochet.

She is fun.

I'm gonna show mama my crochet work.

Wow!

I wanna teach mom how to crochet.

No.

Get it, Shane!

Every child wants to be seen.

So, I wanna do what makes them happy.

Shane likes the beach. We're goin' to the beach.

Yay!

Oh!

Dylan likes the piano. Call me Mozart.

- Yeah, okay. - I got it?

- That's really good, though! - Aah!

Skyler likes football.

I know that's right.

I'm his number one cheerleader.

Let's go, Skyler!

There you go! - Yes!

Touchdown!

That's my baby!

What about, like, this right here?

Yes.

So, you-you guys are about to do that?

Hey. - Look how--

look how happy they are.

- He almost got it. - Oh, my gosh.

Thank you so much.

Dinner is served. - That's a lot.

This is an example of a typical night

for the Shapiros.

Ordering in means no dishes.

And that means more fun time.

All right, family, let's do dinner.

Yes. Come on, guys.

Okay, so, first things first.

Cell phones.

Cell phone, cell phone.

I want all hands on deck in the kitchen.

Gram's got the garlic bread.

Who wants to do the salmon?

Dylan and I could help with that.

Awesome, okay.

Close.

High five. - Wendy!

- Yes? - I'm bored.

Ahh!

Come here, my child.

Come here, Shane.

Talk to me. What's going on?

No.

That's right in the thick of dinner.

My mom would let me.

- Different rules. - Grandma said no.

- No. - Dang. - So, it's no.

Don't worry. You'll enjoy this.

This, right here, is an example

of the lack of the structure in this house.

Bro, get off the table. What are you doing?

It does not take four degrees to understand

that these kids need some rules.

Let's do this. Salmon...

- Let's eat. - Let's eat.

- That's good. - Broccolini.

This is a home cooked meal.

Mmm. Yummy.

- The salmon is good. - The salmon is very good.

Good job.

If Shane likes something, he likes it.

When was the last time everyone sat at a table

like this?

Um, probably not since New York.

Really?

I have really enjoyed you guys.

I have learned from you so much.

Did we meet your expectations?

- You exceeded them. - Aww.

I felt like you're my own.

Like, I feel like you're my own now.

I wanna make sure you guys are okay.

You really listen, and I really appreciate that.

Like, you hear me. We see each other.

- Aww, that's very nice. - That's my girl.

I'm so glad you're here. We're having such a great time.

Aww, thank you.

There's no spaghetti, grandpa. It's gone.

- It's over. - We ate it all?

We ate it all.

That's how good it was.

- Very good. - Very good. We ate it all!

What time is it, guys?

- I don't have my phone. - Is it, like--

is this usually your bedtime? - We'd probably be praying.

I was just gonna say, you'd be doing your prayers.

But guess what. No bedtime.

Right. Isn't this more fun, Eddie?

What do you think? - Uh, I'm tired.

You're excused.

All right, boys, 9:30, bedtime.

Good night. - Good night. You, too.

Be good.

See ya in the a.m. for breakfast.

Rules change went really well.

Okay, here we go.

Okay. Here we go.

Low stress, high energy, high fun.

I need to get my beauty rest.

I need to rest. You see these bags?

Oh, my gosh.

Wendy, please come home.

Hey! So what?

Go to sleep!

- Hi. - Nice to meet you.

How are you? - I'm great. How are you?

- Don't look at the carpet. - Huh?

- Oh. - Kruz did it!

- What? - Kruz did it.

- It wasn't me. - Kruz did it.

Welcome home!

Off we go.

Alethea is taking us to see alpacas.

And I didn't take my allergy medicine.

So, that will be interesting.

- Jeez... - Yeah, that was not smart of me.

Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

Exactly.

I love finding spontaneous, fun,

new adventures for my family.

There's so many other ways to enrich your life

other than school.

Hi, guys.

- Hi. - Hi.

- Welcome to Black Barn. - Thanks for having us.

Little Devonte was born 12 days ago.

The alpaca's name is Devonte?

Yeah.

I wanna feed that one.

Look, it's fine. You're a pro.

I like feeding the alpacas.

Why are you chasing after me?

Am I your favorite lover?

I'm excited for my mom to come here

and feed the alpacas, but she might be scared.

Hey, look at this guy. He has, like, boogers.

Ooh.

Hey, stop. Calm down. Calm down.

Oh, my God, they're bustin' down on my hand.

- Is this part of our bonding? - Yeah.

Okay, Shane.

Why does it just, like-- eww, nah.

He's just chilling. He's tired.

Okay, let's bond. I will hold your friends.

Okay. Ehh, it's slinking.

I will always remember Shane for making me hold a ferret,

and the only reason I held it, was for him.

This is fun. Thanks, Alethea.

- Yeah, do you like it? - Yeah.

When we get back home, are you leaving?

Tomorrow, your mom is coming home,

and then I leave.

Aww, are you guys gonna miss Alethea?

- Mm-hmm. It was a fun time. - Yeah.

You guys never let us have fun.

- We never let you have fun? - No.

- Dude. - Ha-ha.

Once my mom comes home, the rules are gonna change back,

and then it's gonna be boring, again.

Do you think there is any of Alethea's rules

you guys will be instituting moving forward?

I learned a few things from the, uh, Alethea rule book.

You know, coming out and seeing nature and the animals,

and spending time with the kids in outdoors,

and just watching them smile, I think that is something

I definitely would love to implement in our household.

Yes!

- The old alpaca loves me. - Right.

You ready for some breakfast?

- Mm-hmm. - Yum, yum, yum.

All right. What do we have?

- Good morning. - Good morning, Craig.

How are you? - Good.

Today is my last day with the Shapiro family.

Bobo, get the hell off the counter.

It's been a real treat to see the way that

they're all excited when I start cooking.

I could get used to this.

I hope that, from this experience,

Craig and the kids understand that

it's actually an act of love to have a schedule

and to prioritize your family.

- Can I have more egg? - More eggs?

More eggs, good. Are the eggs good?

- Mm-hmm. - Oh, good.

Thank you, guys, for welcoming me into your home.

We do appreciate everything that, uh, you brought to us.

We had a great time with you. - Aww.

And, I'd like to manifest that we change for the better.

- And change for the better. - Yeah.

It's important that we remember that t-the moments are fleeting,

and there's not gonna be that many of them forever.

So, putting some of that together time

back into the routine, I think will go a long way

to just creating even stronger bonds

than the kids already have.

All right, guys, it was so good seeing you.

I definitely appreciate how Wendy took the time to, like,

learn about me and my siblings.

Wendy definitely went the extra mile to, like,

be invested in our lives.

She kind of, like, embodied, like, a second mom.

all: Bye!

Just know, this is the last time

you're gonna be playing in the kitchen.

Oh, my God!

- Hi. - Oh, look who it is!

Mama! Mama!

Wow! Aww. Welcome back.

- Hi, mom. - Oh.

Hi.

- Hi. - Hi. Nice to meet you.

How are you doing?

Wendy, this is Alethea. Alethea, this is Wendy.

- It's so nice to meet you. - Hi, Alethea.

- Hi. - How are you?

I'm great. How are you?

- Don't look at the carpet. - Huh?

- Oh. - Kruz did it!

Kruz did it! - It wasn't me!

Kruz did it! Kruz did it.

- What? - It wasn't me.

- Kruz did it. - Welcome home!

Welcome home! Kamrynn!

Kruz did it! Kruz did it!

I have preserved this carpet for years--

spit up, diaper blowups--

only for Alethea to ruin it.

It wasn't even my fault.

- Zen needs to go for a walk. - Okay.

You gonna take the kids? - 'Cause Zen--

Yeah, I'm gonna take the kids with us.

- Let's have a seat. - Okay.

So, I can have a better view of the spot you left

on my carpet. - Oh, God, I'm nervous.

Would really love to know your honest opinion.

Do you really wake up at 5:30 a.m.?

- Yeah, I wake up at 5:00. - Wow.

I mean, I wish I was a morning person.

Like, it's such an amazing thing to be--

- I'm not, though. - Oh, really?

I made myself a morning person because of my kids.

I know, but I also feel like I did that so many years.

I got that you do your own thing,

you take up space in the house,

and everyone revolves around you.

And then it really struck me because that daughter of yours,

Hailey, who is so amazing-- - Thank you.

She gives to your other children

the type of mothering that she wishes she had.

She said, "You see me."

I felt like that means that she has felt unseen.

Mm-hmm.

From one mom to another,

try to meet your kids where they are.

A part of them still wants to be seen by you.

Yeah, yeah.

I noticed that Craig takes the kids to school every day.

Mm-hmm.

I know he's doing what he does in the house

out of love for you. - Mm-hmm.

I would, like, impart upon you, like,

maybe a day or two during the week,

like, help him out. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Because what I foresee happening,

is you guys are going to just exchange burnout. Like--

He also, like, he's a little bit of a martyr.

Also, wait, I just-- can I say something, real quick?

Yeah, give it to me 'cause I-I gave it right to you.

- I know you did. - Welcome to Housewives 101.

Okay, go ahead.

I think that my biggest takeaway,

is that the kids feel like it's too scheduled,

and there's not enough fun.

I want you to build in some more flexible free time.

Flexible free time, okay.

So that they can find their passions, their hobbies,

and they can find joy. You can find joy.

Flexibility, fun, and free time.

- Yes. - I love that.

Do you think that you're gonna keep

the basketball hoop?

That's the first thing I'm taking down when you leave.

- Really? - It has to go.

- There's nothing breakable. - Take that with you.

Why?

What is the worst case scenario?

I don't know.

Maybe coming home to a red carpet, Alethea.

I don't know.

- It'll be okay. - Girl...

But, also, thank you for opening up your home to me.

Yes.

Thank you for ruining my carpet.

Yes.

My conversation with Wendy, she reminded me that

as much as I want to empower my kids,

and I want them to be independent,

they still need a mom. They still want their mommy.

- Hey, moms. - Hey.

- Hey, guys. - We're back.

Hey, guys.

Alethea's about to go bye-bye.

I think I have a lot of work to do,

being even a better team player with Craig

and maybe doing a little bit more housework,

and I don't like that, but I will do it.

Bye. - Bye.

Aww, I hope you get to keep the basketball, guys.

I-I really, like, I-I really campaigned for ya.

So, we'll see what happens.

All right. - Thank you so much.

- Yes. - You're so great.

Thank you. - Thank you so much.

Send my love to my kids over there.

I will. Love you, guys.

- Bye. - See you soon.

All right. Thank you for everything.

- Safe travels. - Thank you.

I learned from the Shapiro family

there is space to give my kids more latitude for free play.

I think I'll leave the basketball hoop

in the kitchen for a few days.

By the weekend, it's gone.

- The fun time's gonna be gone. - Back to the rules we go.

I don't want your rules. I want Miss Alethea's rules.

Alethea gave me this bracelet,

and it says "It's okay. You're okay. Breathe."

Oh, how transformational.

Almost home.

Hey, oh, Skyler, oh!

!

What'd you think about my eggs that I made?

- They were egg-cellent. - Oh, that was a good one!

- You're 11. - Oh, my God!

Y'all are crocheting?

Let's breathe.