Sparkling Adventures Blog

[SouthCarolinaGirl79]

Yes, yes, yes! It's becoming more obvious with every blog post and is getting on my nerves because it's just not appropriate behaviour for such a sparkly, enlightened being. ;)

No, seriously - they arrive somewhere, and they just take over. They climb on museum exhibits with dirty bare feet, they snip away at random plants (to mention just a couple of recent examples), she posts pictures of her sister's bedroom, she posts the names and locations of people (not to mention photos and other details), the kids just swoop in and "explore", as you so nicely put it, they use the bath, the laundry, the computer, the TV, the toys... everything. And what could she possibly have to offer in return?

Not that there's anything wrong with inviting people into your home and sharing if you wish to... but talk about taking advantage! I bet it often is as you say and people are left scratching their heads, wondering what on earth possessed them to invite this woman in the first place.

And I guess it's easier to attract invites when you have a bunch of kids who really do look to be in desperate need of a bath, a set of clean clothes and a hot meal...

She gives to world by sparkling. Really, people, that's all she has to do. Even her farts are sparkly and glittery.

[Guest Anonymous]

Thanks anniec! I had a feeling I had read a lot about the earlier stuff in the other thread but like I said "sparkle damage" lol. I also tend to get her, Hellenna and Currieddong mixed up after too much exposure.

Snarking aside, I do wish she would just stop running away from everything and let her poor kids heal. When I read the Christmas present post it was like David was just another fan of her sparkleness, not her husband or father of her kids. Talk about detachment from reality. I am assuming she will have to stop her wild adventure when the trial happens. That is going to be good at all.

No worries. My disclaimer was because, obviously, I have my own biases and these will play out in any summary I make of other people's responses. Also, I am in the UK. My understanding of Australian legal processes are predominantly informed by Google and _lilith. And as, of those two, _lilith is the only forum member, I would trust what she says about this the most. :)

[SouthCarolinaGirl79]

That's out of a shower drain.

That photo needs to be placed under a spoiler because it makes me want to hurl. Why would she a) take a photo of it and b) think it should be shared?

[lilith]

No worries. My disclaimer was because, obviously, I have my own biases and these will play out in any summary I make of other people's responses. Also, I am in the UK. My understanding of Australian legal processes are predominantly informed by Google and _lilith. And as, of those two, _lilith is the only forum member, I would trust what she says about this the most. :)

I worked as a legal secretary in a criminal law office and studied communications, so I do have some (limited, NSW based and very possibly out of date) knowledge to draw on.

[Freyacat]

Lauren's posts are an infinite cascade of TAKING. She takes, takes, takes, takes, takes. She couches it in phrases such as invited, welcomed, and shared, but really it's just taking.

Lauren says something like "We met a beautiful, authentic family today who shared a delicious, healthy meal with us. Our new friends invited us to use their washer and dryer and now we have lovely clean clothes. The children, who were gone at school for the morning, welcomed the girls into their playroom where they delighted in trying out all the new, interesting toys from the top shelves."

What really happened - a family at the market was approached by Lauren to chat, and she mentions how long it's been since the girls had a hot meal. The strangers do the right thing by having them over for lunch. The girls spread to every corner of the house, opening cabinets and pulling cherished items from shelves. While they explore unsupervised, Lauren then hinted or outright asked to use their laundry facilities, and when they agreed, she put the girls bathtub too, and rushed back to her computer to post about the interaction, leaving a trail of filthy water dripped everywhere and a very confused family in her wake who wonder what just happened.

It's just taking.

QFT. If I were approached by her family, I absolutely would bring them home for a meal and a bath, for those poor kids' sake. That doesn't mean I'd start to consider Lauren my new best bud. I suspect a fair number of the "friends" she makes in her travels are people who are appalled by the conditions those girls are in, and are willing to be friendly to Lauren for the sake of getting those kids cleaned up and fed, even if just for a day.

I hope all four of those girls make it to adulthood unscathed. And then I hope one of them writes a bestselling memoir about what it was like surviving her mentally unbalanced parents.

[Artemis]

WHY does she post photos of naked little girls on the internet?

Does she have NO sense?

Has she heard of paedophiles?

[SouthCarolinaGirl79]

WHY does she post photos of naked little girls on the internet?

Does she have NO sense?

Has she heard of paedophiles?

Why is her child even sleeping naked? She isn't even covered by a blanket.

[August]

Why is her child even sleeping naked? She isn't even covered by a blanket.

It's high summer and light, it's probably hot. I'm jealous that there's no risk of her three year old wetting the bed during a nap.

Scratch that, last 72 hours in Launceston have been cool.

The naked photos combined with her utter lack of caution regarding who walks off with her children, openness about where they are, napping while kids play unsupervised. Scary. But at least she's not in Adelaide. ;)

[pastaswife]

It just occured to me: there doesn't appear to be any curtains around the bed area, there's some in the cupboard where A sleeps but none around the sailbed area. The idea that someone could be outside watching me sleep at night would freak me out big time.

[heidi]

Lauren's posts are an infinite cascade of TAKING. She takes, takes, takes, takes, takes. She couches it in phrases such as invited, welcomed, and shared, but really it's just taking.

Lauren says something like "We met a beautiful, authentic family today who shared a delicious, healthy meal with us. Our new friends invited us to use their washer and dryer and now we have lovely clean clothes. The children, who were gone at school for the morning, welcomed the girls into their playroom where they delighted in trying out all the new, interesting toys from the top shelves."

What really happened - a family at the market was approached by Lauren to chat, and she mentions how long it's been since the girls had a hot meal. The strangers do the right thing by having them over for lunch. The girls spread to every corner of the house, opening cabinets and pulling cherished items from shelves. While they explore unsupervised, Lauren then hinted or outright asked to use their laundry facilities, and when they agreed, she put the girls bathtub too, and rushed back to her computer to post about the interaction, leaving a trail of filthy water dripped everywhere and a very confused family in her wake who wonder what just happened.

It's just taking.

This.

I have to admit, I've thought about what I would do if Lauren and the girls approached me for a meal/place to stay (though I live on a different continent, so that's unlikely to happen). I think that I would offer them food and shelter--but I would watch Lauren like a hawk. I would let the girls have baths and I'd offer to brush/comb their hair and give Calista barrettes and clips for her hair. I would have to give them shoes and clean clothes and cook for them. Something about the plight of these four littler girls brings out my maternal instincts hardcore.

[SouthCarolinaGirl79]

It's high summer and light, it's probably hot. I'm jealous that there's no risk of her three year old wetting the bed during a nap.

Scratch that, last 72 hours in Launceston have been cool.

The naked photos combined with her utter lack of caution regarding who walks off with her children, openness about where they are, napping while kids play unsupervised. Scary. But at least she's not in Adelaide. ;)

I live in SC. Highs in the summer are sometimes over 100 F. My child still doesn't sleep or nap naked. They make light-weight summer pjs.

[KitCatCadillac]

Sometimes I think, gosh, wouldn't it be nice just to spend my life taking - never worrying about obligations or bills or the future? But I realized that I would feel so impotent. No control over where I'm going to sleep, what I'm going to eat, where I'm going to be. Lauren must not have a lot of faith in herself to think that relying on the whims of others to provide for her, with no stability for herself or her girls, rather than making a life for herself.

[ILoveJellybeans]

I would take Laurens family in, for the sake of the kids. They need food, shelter and a nice warm bath. I would keep them there long enough to report Lauren for neglect.

I am suprised none of the random people who let her stay with them have actually done this. Surely everyone can see that these kids are neglected.

[happy atheist]

She does seem obsessed lately with posting naked pictures of Del. Poor thing.

[wild little fox]

That photo needs to be placed under a spoiler because it makes me want to hurl. Why would she a) take a photo of it and b) think it should be shared?

It is like she has this need to show the world "see how bad of a mom I am!"

[ZTwist]

She gives to world by sparkling. Really, people, that's all she has to do. Even her farts are sparkly and glittery.

Hah, now I'll always picture Lauren with a beautiful, sparkly rainbow-colored cloud wafting behind her!

[Artemis]

You know what the sparkling and glittering means, don't you - I've finally worked it out. Come on people, who else sparkles and glitters in the sun? (Hint: he's a haemoglobin-deprived controlling arsehole in need of remedial dentistry.)

[freejoytoo]

Is there a link to the 'nine dark weeks' referred to in the blog? When were they?

[lipstickgoalie]

Did anyone notice in the last post that she will be visiting Indonesia later this year? What the actual fuck? Is whe just going to ignore the fact that her husband is on trial? I certainly hope that she doesn't rely on the kindness of any peophillic sex vacationers to keep an eye on the girls while she gets in touch with her inner sparkles. How is this wing nut able to swing a trip like that financially? I can't imagine trying to get 4 little kids through customs singlehandedly and have no idea how Mrs Sparkle-britches thinks this is a good plan.

[lilith]

Its relatively cheap to travel from

Northern Australia to Indonesia. I don't imagine she's planning on paying for accommodation once she's there.

[1CrazyMama]

Some of the neglect makes you wonder if she is trying to get her children taken away from her. Otherwise, why in the world would she document such horrible treatment and lack of basic safety.

[Guest Anonymous]

Is there a link to the 'nine dark weeks' referred to in the blog? When were they?

Do you mean this, from 2007? /www.sparklingadventures.com/index.php?id=129

Edited to break link

[August]

Break that link!

[pastaswife]

Do you mean this, from 2007?

www.sparklingadventures .com/index. php?id=129

In a way, that explains a LOT. It really seems like Lauren has no social skills what-so-ever. "They said they had things to do other than hang out with us so we brought them gifts and made them food so they'd like us." ...wtf is that??? I'm the most antisocial person ever and I know acting like that would get really annoying fast.

And now she's been rejected once by a friend she's only friends with people who buy into her "kindness economy" and give her things.

By the way, I highly doubt she's paying for any of the Indonesia trip herself.

Edited to break link - _lilith

[Munasa]

Some people who used to leave comments on Lauren's blog no longer do so. In particular, Lauren's mother & sister and an Aunt.

Writers usually write for an audience. Lauren says she writes for her children, but the content such as in post linked to above and the time she and David exchanged 'words' about intimacy, is often inappropriate. Also the tone or voice doesn't indicate that her children really are her intended audience. I'm not buying that she writes solely for her children.

And I can't imagine why she wants to drag her four daughters, barefoot and bedraggled, to Bali.