Money Saving Mom confessions

[Guest Anonymous]

moneysavingmom.com/2011/07/free-one-year-subscription-to-aboutone-and-why-i-might-win-worst-mom-of-the-year-award.html

Crystal thinks she might be the worst mom because, get this, she doesn't keep baby books for her kids. On her Facebook page she says "I can't believe I'm publicly confessing this!"

moneysavingmom.com/2011/08/failure-is-an-option.html

She feels like a failure because she can't slalom.

[notsocommon]

Who keeps baby books? I started one for my daughter...but 1) I haven't a clue where it is at the moment and 2) it is still largely unfilled.

I do not think most people even try now a days, or if they do try, they are not finished.

[sableduck]

Really? Because EVERY MOM I KNOW keeps extensive baby books and scrapbooks of their baby's first year...and my son's is half filled and I actually paid someone else to scrapbook the first three month pictures and after that I've just done digital scrapbooks.

I'm serious, everyone I know does baby books. :oops:

[notsocommon]

Oh, I have two scrapbooks from my daughter's first year alone....but the official 'baby book?' no. I started, but never finished it. I don't know anyone who has a finished baby book.

[Rosa]

Scrapbooking hobbyists do. Nobody else. I have a box we throw stuff into (ultrasounds, tiny baby sunglasses from the light machine he was in for jaundice, artworks, photos). I will finish it when I retire, just like my mom did for me a few years ago :P

[silvia]

I don't know, the whole "worst mom ever" thing sounded a little tongue-in-cheek to me. I don't think Crystal REALLY sees herself as the world's worst mom just because she doesn't keep baby books.

[Antigone]

Count me in for "started one, never got around to finishing it". Maybe I will someday but I'm in no rush. I'd rather work on things a bit more important than baby books- not that they are not important, just not a urgent priority on my ever growing "to do" list.... lol :)

[starfish]

I wonder how Jesse's trial went, and what in the world it was for.....

Sometimes DWI cases go to trial, but those aren't usually considered such a big deal like she was describing.

[formergothardite]

I have boxes and boxes of pictures I have never gotten around to putting in albums. Like 10 years worth. One of these days I'll get around to it, but it just isn't a high priority right now. I do have a couple of scrapbooking friends who are horrified about it, though. I returned the baby books I got because I knew I would never do them and they would just be sitting there making me feel guilty.

[Austin]

Really? Because EVERY MOM I KNOW keeps extensive baby books and scrapbooks of their baby's first year...and my son's is half filled and I actually paid someone else to scrapbook the first three month pictures and after that I've just done digital scrapbooks.

I'm serious, everyone I know does baby books. :oops:

I didn't. I had them, I started them, but then the actual task of raising the kids got in the way :D My eldest's is partially filled out. . . the twins' books have the first couple of pages filled out and a whole bunch of loose keepsakes stuffed into them. Not a shock.

Srsly, though, I hate scrapbooking with a passion, even before it became the hot thing. I'd rather have a root canal. Amd it worked out well, because none of our sons care at all about having their baby book. Good thing I didn't spend all that time and money putting them together, in our case.

We did take lots of photos, though. I have those in digital albums by child. That's as good as it's gonna get.

[desertvixen]

On the "started and didn't keep up" list, but I am a scrapbooker with a massive backlog....

Agree with Austin, the actual "raising the kids" thing keeps getting in the way.

[dawbs]

Off-topic-ish moment.

The only reason the little one has a mostly filled out baby book is because I was given this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Inappropriate-Bab ... 0740727230

and it's amusing. (I got 2 copies of it at my shower because that's how we roll)

(the 'real' book I was given was a calendar designed to have baby-write-in-space which is MUCh easier. Something exciting happens I write in "Buffy's first tooth!" and if I get around to a 'real' one when I retire, I'll have that to go by :)

[Not That Kind of Dr]

I suspect that the gap between Crystal Paine the Money Saving Mom and Crystal Paine the actual woman grows wider with each passing day. Money Saving Mom is a successful brand, and Crystal isn't going to do or say much to endanger it: hence the seemingly revelatory yet completely banal glimpses into her daily life. Surely, she intends them to make readers feel like they know the "real" Crystal and thus have a personal connection with her and her online business. I don't begrudge her a bit of her success because she's clearly savvy and hard working, but I also don't doubt that every word on that blog is calculated. My biggest question is how much she's actually pulled away from the lifestyle and worldview she promoted through Biblical Womanhood and how much she's simply toned down the rhetoric because it is bad for business.

[bananacat]

My mom had a sort of premade book for me. It was a calendar and came with stickers for milestones like first smile or first steps, and a place to glue a photo each month. That was about all she could handle because she had a full-time job and a family to take care of. People who scrapbook for pleasure might have extensive baby books, but for everyone else it's just not a priority when life gets in the way.

[silvia]

I suspect that the gap between Crystal Paine the Money Saving Mom and Crystal Paine the actual woman grows wider with each passing day. Money Saving Mom is a successful brand, and Crystal isn't going to do or say much to endanger it: hence the seemingly revelatory yet completely banal glimpses into her daily life. Surely, she intends them to make readers feel like they know the "real" Crystal and thus have a personal connection with her and her online business. I don't begrudge her a bit of her success because she's clearly savvy and hard working, but I also don't doubt that every word on that blog is calculated. My biggest question is how much she's actually pulled away from the lifestyle and worldview she promoted through Biblical Womanhood and how much she's simply toned down the rhetoric because it is bad for business.

I wonder the same. We occasionally find evidence of unsavory ties she has (I think she and Jesse attended Doug Phillips' Baby Conference somewhat recently, for instance), but she doesn't breathe a word about them on moneysavingmom. Reminds me a little of Michele Bachmann and how she's trying hard to keep her religious-extremist connections under wraps so she'll be electable in the general. I am heartened, though, that no Paine Baby #4 seems to be in the works yet. Crystal has her hands full enough already (at least she admits these days that she's a "work-at-home mom," not a "stay-at-home mom") -- adhering to a strict Quiverfull mindset could mean seriously rough sailing for her and her family.

[emmiedahl]

My oldest has a baby book that is partially complete. My second has a baby book with not a single thing written in it. The last 3 have nothing (except lots of pictures! I am a camera whore!). It's one of those areas in which youngerkids really do get the shaft.

[slickcat79]

I suspect that the gap between Crystal Paine the Money Saving Mom and Crystal Paine the actual woman grows wider with each passing day. Money Saving Mom is a successful brand, and Crystal isn't going to do or say much to endanger it: hence the seemingly revelatory yet completely banal glimpses into her daily life. Surely, she intends them to make readers feel like they know the "real" Crystal and thus have a personal connection with her and her online business. I don't begrudge her a bit of her success because she's clearly savvy and hard working, but I also don't doubt that every word on that blog is calculated. My biggest question is how much she's actually pulled away from the lifestyle and worldview she promoted through Biblical Womanhood and how much she's simply toned down the rhetoric because it is bad for business.

This. It's like Pioneer Woman. Their websites are their brand, the same as the Duggars are with their TV show. Make a few entries full of fake self-deprication, and people will fall all over themselves to tell you you're awesome in the comments. It makes for good business, I'm sure.

[hoipolloi]

I suspect that the gap between Crystal Paine the Money Saving Mom and Crystal Paine the actual woman grows wider with each passing day. Money Saving Mom is a successful brand, and Crystal isn't going to do or say much to endanger it: hence the seemingly revelatory yet completely banal glimpses into her daily life. Surely, she intends them to make readers feel like they know the "real" Crystal and thus have a personal connection with her and her online business. I don't begrudge her a bit of her success because she's clearly savvy and hard working, but I also don't doubt that every word on that blog is calculated. My biggest question is how much she's actually pulled away from the lifestyle and worldview she promoted through Biblical Womanhood and how much she's simply toned down the rhetoric because it is bad for business.

Bingo. MSM is totally a business, not a ministry, which is how she used to portray her web activities.

[Nothing2CHere]

Off-topic-ish moment.

The only reason the little one has a mostly filled out baby book is because I was given this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Inappropriate-Bab ... 0740727230

and it's amusing. (I got 2 copies of it at my shower because that's how we roll)

(the 'real' book I was given was a calendar designed to have baby-write-in-space which is MUCh easier. Something exciting happens I write in "Buffy's first tooth!" and if I get around to a 'real' one when I retire, I'll have that to go by :)

Love it! My brother and sister-in-law are expecting, I MUST get this book for them!!!

[emmiedahl]

Get them Go the Fuck to Sleep as well. It is the most accurate representation of my feelings during the first few months.

[duplessis3]

My boys both have filled out baby books. When the second was born, and I said I needed to get a baby book for him my mother and husband said "you never filled out the first one." Shitheads, look at the damn book, not at your own lack of interest in making a babybook

[DamnPrecious]

I love scrapbooking, but do not have the room here to do it. :(

[Guest Anonymous]

I wonder the same. We occasionally find evidence of unsavory ties she has (I think she and Jesse attended Doug Phillips' Baby Conference somewhat recently, for instance), but she doesn't breathe a word about them on moneysavingmom. Reminds me a little of Michele Bachmann and how she's trying hard to keep her religious-extremist connections under wraps so she'll be electable in the general. I am heartened, though, that no Paine Baby #4 seems to be in the works yet. Crystal has her hands full enough already (at least she admits these days that she's a "work-at-home mom," not a "stay-at-home mom") -- adhering to a strict Quiverfull mindset could mean seriously rough sailing for her and her family.

I agree the moneysavingmom.com is a business and a big amount of cashflow into their home. I like that Crystal is being honest about being a work-at-home mom now unlike when she wrote Biblical Womanhood.

I extremely strongly suspect that the lack of pregnancy news thus far has been more to do with lifestyle (eating and exercise) and absolutely nothing to do with using birth control. Strict quiverfull doesn't always mean babies come quickly. I know they were quite surprised when Kathrynne and Silas were only 23 months apart.

[silvia]

I agree the moneysavingmom.com is a business and a big amount of cashflow into their home. I like that Crystal is being honest about being a work-at-home mom now unlike when she wrote Biblical Womanhood.

I extremely strongly suspect that the lack of pregnancy news thus far has been more to do with lifestyle (eating and exercise) and absolutely nothing to do with using birth control. Strict quiverfull doesn't always mean babies come quickly. I know they were quite surprised when Kathrynne and Silas were only 23 months apart.

Do you mean she's dieting and exercising to such an extent that she's not optimally fertile (hypothalamic amenorrhea or somesuch)? I guess it's possible. Still, Crystal tends to get very sick during her pregnancies--I think I remember her saying she gets morning sickness from 3 weeks onward, and she has a history of severe pregnancy anemia. With a book deadline looming on top of her usual MSM workload, it's possible she decided it makes more sense to postpone the next baby until things calm down a little.

[Guest Anonymous]

Do you mean she's dieting and exercising to such an extent that she's not optimally fertile (hypothalamic amenorrhea or somesuch)? I guess it's possible. Still, Crystal tends to get very sick during her pregnancies--I think I remember her saying she gets morning sickness from 3 weeks onward, and she has a history of severe pregnancy anemia. With a book deadline looming on top of her usual MSM workload, it's possible she decided it makes more sense to postpone the next baby until things calm down a little.

In answer to your first question, I don't know. I posted my musings on the topic of Crystal and weight issues on the old board, but as someone pointed out no real conclusions can be drawn from those things. I do know that weighing 112 pounds and working P90X or training for marathons is not necessarily the way to maximize fertility. But I also know that Crystal's mom had children naturally spaced further apart than most people who don't use birth control.

Then using birth control right now is possible, yes. I would be completely shocked if they actually have used birth control though. She could easily hire more help if she got pregnant.