Whip. Mix. Blend.

Summary
When Rattles's mom starts dating Archie Vanderloo, Rattles finds himself spending lots of time with Archie's kids. The problem is, Rattles doesn't have anything in common with these twins! Can this blended family learn to get along?

Plot
The Tough Customers want Rattles to join them at a protest against the opening of a second Chickin Lickin' restaurant, but Rattles can't, as he has to spend the day with the Vanderloos. They're family friends and though he likes them, he's worried as he doesn't know how to fit in with the Vanderloo twins. The male twin is extremely active and into all sorts of activities like mountain climbing, while the female twin speaks in weird slang that only she can understand. His friends agree to help him and by the time of the trip, he feels reasonably comfortable that he can keep up, but worn out from everything that he's done to prepare. Thus, when his mother tells him she has something important to tell him before they go on the trip, he tells her to tell him later. When he and his Mom arrive at the Vanderloos, he's eager to get things moving and once again tells his Mom to leave her big news for later. He climbs a mountain with the twins, but things go wrong when the slang dictionary his friends made him gets lost, along with the special trail mix designed to help him keep up. Despite this, he manages to get along, but is once again worn out at the end of the day. It's only then, as he's about to go to bed, that he finds out from the twins that they're going to be family - his mother is planning to marry Archie Vanderloo! He rushes to talk to her, and she explains that she had been trying to tell him, but he kept putting her off. Rattles isn't exactly upset the news, as he likes the Vanderloos, but he's worried that he'll just never fit in. His mother tells him that he doesn't have to, and that it's best if he just stays himself. The next day, the Vanderloo twins join the Tough Customers in protesting the opening of the chicken restaurant.

Characters

 * Rattles
 * Rattles's mother
 * Archie Vanderloo
 * Archie Vanderloo's twins
 * Molly
 * Slink
 * Binky
 * James
 * D.W.
 * Bud

Trivia

 * This is the first appearance of Rattles's mother since "Thanks a Lot, Binky".

Episode connections

 * Buster's mother had started dating again from "Bitzi's Beau" to "Bitzi's Break-up".

Production notes

 * This episode was released on the DVD Arthur's Fountain Abbey before it premiered on TV.

Home video
DVD:
 * Arthur's Fountain Abbey