19 Kids & Courting - Duggar Snark for Season 8

[SPHASH]

There was something very sad about the chess playing scene. She even said she's been so busy being pregnant and having babies that this is new and different for her. He seemed like a really sweet kid.

I've been banking on Jer and Jed to fly the coop and write the tell-all. As middle kids they probably had it the worst.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

I've been banking on Jer and Jed to fly the coop and write the tell-all. As middle kids they probably had it the worst.

Or the best. They're under the radar so the awful antics of the parents aren't directed at them. I mean they'll be the least likely to suffer through the embarrassment Jessa faced on this weeks episode.

[Toothfairy]

I cannot wait until Jill pops out a baby. J'Chelle will throw as many daggers at her own daughter as she did at Anna. Cue the breakdown.

I hope she waits a while. Maybe enjoy her freedom and use BC. Michelle knows she can't conceive anymore. What better way to have babies is through her daughters

[Toothfairy]

I honestly don't think so, I think it's just the natural order of how things have worked out.

Jill and Dill seem far more ready for marriage- Jill is older and seems to have a clear idea of what direction she wants in life- living abroad and continuing in midwifery. Dill is also older, has a proper education, job etc.

They just seem all round in a better place to be considering marriage than Bessa. I've no doubt that Jill will get married first, probably fairly soon since fundies tend to have short engagements, but again I think that's just how things have worked out without anyone pushing for it to happen that way.

Wasn't Jill dating before Jessa?

[Toothfairy]

Haven't had much time to scroll through the past few pages to see what people are saying about last night's episode, but I found JB and Michelle to be DISGUSTING! My almost 7 year old girls love watching the show and I usually watch with them, because usually it's pretty family friendly but even I was grossed out by JB asking Michelle if she was turned on, especially considering they were in front of their daughter! I would never speak like that in front of my kids. They know my husband and I love each other, but we don't need to be slobbering all over each other and humping while playing mini golf to show it.. :pink-shock:

:disgust: :disgust: :disgust: and is Michelle ever turned on? What's wrong with Jim Bob asking that in front of his daughter.

[Alachantal]

Promise rings aren't uncommon at least among my friends (the non-fundie ones. not popular among the more religious ones, oddly...). Almost every couple I know that is very committed (dating for a few years and doing well) gets a promise ring.

I guess it's just an indicator that while they are still "just dating", they are more committed than your average bf/gf.

Promise rings aren't uncommon at all - my bf gave me one on our 1 year anniversary, and I have a few friends who've received promise rings (mostly during high school, however).

I'll agree with that - all the fundy lite couples I know don't do promise rings. But I guess there isn't much of a chance when you date for 5-10 months and have an engagement lasting 6 months tops. :cray-cray:

[Alachantal]

Wasn't Jill dating before Jessa?

Didn't Jessa start in September and Jill November?

I can't see Jessa & Ben as ready for marriage at all. They (mostly just Ben) are still kids. How will he support her? It might be different if they could both work and if he was more established like Jill's man seems to be. Jessa & Ben just totally remind me of like a couple of 15 year olds having their first relationship. Watching Jessa & Ben together honestly brings me back to that awkward time when I was in my first "real" relationship (high school era) and being all awkward. I just wish they'd hold off on the marriage for a while. I don't think she'd be able o get out of it if she realized it wasn't for her (he wasn't for her), but at least they'd know each other better and would be better prepared to deal with that situation.

[stardust]

Anna is by far my least favorite to watch. At least Boob is acting like an idiot in front of other people, which is moderately entertaining. Anna is just doing normal housewife stuff, and not very well. She is so dull that at least I know Smuggar won't be getting a spinoff. She is just always so flat and vacant and her BABY VOICE DRIVES ME INSANE.

Never could stand Anna. Something about the way her life's dream was to be knocked up by 20. Couldn't stand how she obsessed over getting pregnant early in her and Smuggar's marriage to the point where he had to tell her to cool it and "trust the Lord." Gross the way she stares at Josh all glassy-eyed as if he'd hung the moon. She's about as bland as fundie housewives go.

[SoybeanQueen]

Damn them. That picture of Boob and Michelle going at it Duggar-style on the butt butt golf course will never leave my memory. They should have put the "once you see you can't unsee" BEFORE the pic.

Oh dear. I did not need to see that picture. How on Earth can they talk about how immodest the rest of the world is when we now know what Jim Bob looks like humping his wife from the back? Gah! Nike!

Also, if Jessa dyed her hair platinum blonde, in that mirror pic where she's straightening her hair, she would look a lot like Kendra Wilkinson. I find that very funny.

[Cheetah]

And she'll hate all the attention they get. I think a Duggar Daughter pregnancy will generate much more interest than Anna's. And I think all of the kids will be much more into the pregnancy (since it is the first for one of their sisters), and Michelle will be placed on the back burner (which she will hate).

Which is really too bad, as I'm sure all of the daughters could use a supportive mother during pregnancy. What they'll get is someone who is jealous and bitter.

I don't know, I'm pretty confident that Michelle will figure out a way to make her daughters' pregnancies all about her.

I totally forsee her really getting into grandparenthood with the first Jill or Jessa baby, then some online backlash about how she actually did already have grandkids, and then another episode of her hanging with Josh's kids just to show us all...

[Trynn]

Erm,, the fake ID and the raves I could see, but... I'm 25. And not a single one of my friends (also in their early 20s) has ever done cocaine. Ever. I wouldn't put cocaine on a list of normal teen experiences. Marihuana maybe, but not cocaine.

[SoybeanQueen]

Never could stand Anna. Something about the way her life's dream was to be knocked up by 20. Couldn't stand how she obsessed over getting pregnant early in her and Smuggar's marriage to the point where he had to tell her to cool it and "trust the Lord." Gross the way she stares at Josh all glassy-eyed as if he'd hung the moon. She's about as bland as fundie housewives go.

It doesn't bother me that her dream was to be a wife and mother as long as it's truly what she wants. It's sad when girls are told that's their only decent option, but I know some people who never wanted anything but a family despite having other choices. I have a college degree and I prefer being at home with my kids to working in an office. I'll be plenty happy if I can keep my home for the rest of my life. But, again, it's about whether or not there was a choice, IMO.

As for Anna, yes, the Josh-stare is weird. It seems like she has this image of what she imagines a perfect quiverfull wife should be like and tries to act it out for every episode. One of the last episodes she was going on and on about how she has to rush around and get things done so everything can be all lovey-dovey when Josh gets home. I look forward to my husband coming home, too, but not because that's time to pretend the house is calm and perpetually delightful.

[JenniferJuniper]

I'm a little bit confused about what's going on, but it sounds like Jill's engagement has been announced but not Jessa's?

We can't take anything we see on the show at face value. Boob may very well have his doubts about ol' hard hearted Jessa marrying this awkward teenager, and now that Jill has a more - at least on the surface - stable beau who is willing to cooperate with Jim Bob and the show, maybe Jessa's engagement will be put on hold while Jill is hurried off to wed because Dill has some long mission planned. (that TLC will happily use for episodes).

I'm fairly convinced that this is a move on Jessa's part to get out of the house, and especially away from the kids. She's had enough, and it's hard to blame her if she's using this extraordinarily mushy gushy fanboy as her ticket out. She probably figures she can treat him like Jackson ("Instantly obey!") and finally have her own life. ("Instantly put that condom on!")

In the real world, Ben would be nursing a broken heart by now, but in Duggarsville he has value as a pawn.

Speaking of pawns, I found the scene with Michelle and her cerebral, chess playing son very sad. I know TLC was tossing her under the bus a bit, but she was so awkward with him, you can sense she barely knows him. And why would she know the quietest boy amongst that rabble? Free Jeremiah, and let his twin go too.

[16strong]

^^I also think Jill can tell Dill that she wants to use BC and wait to have kids while they focus on their careers and he won't mind nearly as much as a SOTDRT boy.

[nomoxian]

And I'm sure she can get the 3 month birth control shot at the doctors if she wants. Then there's no evidence or reminder every time they 'engage' that they are trying to stop Gods Will.

[floridiot]

^^I also think Jill can tell Dill that she wants to use BC and wait to have kids while they focus on their careers and he won't mind nearly as much as a SOTDRT boy.

I agree with this. But for different reasons. My feeling of Derek is that he loves and respects Jill and wants to make her happy and treat her the way she deserves to because he is a good-hearted and gentle guy. So...if she said she didn't want kids right away or didn't want a ton he would respect her and support her in whatever she decided. They would be equal partners.

Ben on the other hand...seems like a lovesick puppy who will follow Jessa and do what she says and be controlled by her demands out of pure fear of losing her to someone better. He reminds me of Jim Bob in that respect!

[Rescinded and Mended]

My guess is that Derick will cooperate with Jim Bob just long enough to marry and get Jill out of there. After that, they'll go as far away as possible using the mission trips as an excuse. I think Ben can be cowed - Derick, not so much.

Jill wants out, and it looks like she'll get there. But I am glad that they both seem to be genuinely crazy about each other.

[KSmom]

It doesn't bother me that her dream was to be a wife and mother as long as it's truly what she wants. It's sad when girls are told that's their only decent option, but I know some people who never wanted anything but a family despite having other choices. I have a college degree and I prefer being at home with my kids to working in an office. I'll be plenty happy if I can keep my home for the rest of my life. But, again, it's about whether or not there was a choice, IMO.

As for Anna, yes, the Josh-stare is weird. It seems like she has this image of what she imagines a perfect quiverfull wife should be like and tries to act it out for every episode. One of the last episodes she was going on and on about how she has to rush around and get things done so everything can be all lovey-dovey when Josh gets home. I look forward to my husband coming home, too, but not because that's time to pretend the house is calm and perpetually delightful.

Having gone to women's groups in the church as a young sahm I will say that this was always emphasized. That no matter what your day was like you should stop, pick up the house, and make sure you and your kids we cleaned up to great your hubby cheerfully when he got home from his day. I remember, frustratingly sometimes, trying to do this. Thankfully, my husband quickly told me he could care less what the house looked like, he would rather to come home to a happy family then a perfect house.

[Cleopatra7]

I've been banking on Jer and Jed to fly the coop and write the tell-all. As middle kids they probably had it the worst.

Could Michelle have been any more like the stereotypical cheerleader bimbo she still is during that phony chess sequence? She might as well have capped it off with, "Math is hard! Girls should just stick with makeup and clothes, tee hee!"

[Seren Ann]

I don't think Jessa is engaged, because Jill emphasized how she was the first girl to get engaged and she only got engaged less than a month ago. It would be a little strange for Ben to propose so close to Jill's engagement. He probably realizes he is still quite young and needs to be sure to support his future family and is taking things a little slower than Derrick who is 7 years older than him ! I also think they want to space the weddings out a bit, to be able to maximise the filming opportunities in order to milk this for all it's worth.

Again, I hate to be a Debbie downer because I know where you are coming from but anyone who thinks these people will put off having babies is dreaming. They have been raised to believe birth control is a horrible sin, akin to murder, that caused one of their siblings to be miscarried. For them, children are a status symbol, a sign of how godly they are. There is no way any of them are going to prevent a pregnancy. And I'm pretty sure one of the main things Jim Bob checks for when he screens potential courters is whether they will use birth control or not. Obviously these two guys are ok with having "as many children as God will give them" or he wouldn't have allowed them anywhere near his daughters. As sick as that may be.

[nomoxian]

Could Michelle have been any more like the stereotypical cheerleader bimbo she still is during that phony chess sequence? She might as well have capped it off with, "Math is hard! Girls should just stick with makeup and clothes, tee hee!"

For some reason that totally reminded me of Teen Girl Squad (youtube: watch?v=539zCn8ySbc)

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

I don't think Jessa is engaged, because Jill emphasized how she was the first girl to get engaged and she only got engaged less than a month ago. It would be a little strange for Ben to propose so close to Jill's engagement. He probably realizes he is still quite young and needs to be sure to support his future family and is taking things a little slower than Derrick who is 7 years older than him ! I also think they want to space the weddings out a bit, to be able to maximise the filming opportunities in order to milk this for all it's worth.

Again, I hate to be a Debbie downer because I know where you are coming from but anyone who thinks these people will put off having babies is dreaming. They have been raised to believe birth control is a horrible sin, akin to murder, that caused one of their siblings to be miscarried. For them, children are a status symbol, a sign of how godly they are. There is no way any of them are going to prevent a pregnancy. And I'm pretty sure one of the main things Jim Bob checks for when he screens potential courters is whether they will use birth control or not. Obviously these two guys are ok with having "as many children as God will give them" or he wouldn't have allowed them anywhere near his daughters. As sick as that may be.

Having kids right away and having 19 kids is completely different. I would say about 90% of my friends (none of whom are fundie, and all of whom were married between 18 and 25) had babies before their first anniversary. Having a baby or even two or three in the first few years of marriage isn't at all against the norm. But, the girls have been studying the family cycles long enough to know how to plan babies, even if they've never learned such things from books (and at least Jana and Jill have), so it wouldn't be hard for them to be "loving wives" and still curb the baby train. Plus, if they exclusively breast feed on demand (studies show only works with exclusive breast feeding on demand), they can put off the the coming of their period by 18 months to 4 years. That would significantly slow baby making.

And, you're also assuming that the fathers wouldn't stress an interest to slow the roll. Remember, there are to parts of this equation. If he says "I'm not going to have sex on her most fertile days," he's going to lessen the chance she gets pregnant. If he says "we can't afford babies right now, let's put off trying," he lessens the chance of her getting pregnant.

Just because you think children are a blessing and BC is evil doesn't mean you have to continually ask god for those blessings. You can not have sex all the time. No where in the bible does it say that a couple has to have sex every day the woman isn't bleeding.

[elsabee]

I don't think Jessa is engaged, because Jill emphasized how she was the first girl to get engaged and she only got engaged less than a month ago. It would be a little strange for Ben to propose so close to Jill's engagement. He probably realizes he is still quite young and needs to be sure to support his future family and is taking things a little slower than Derrick who is 7 years older than him ! I also think they want to space the weddings out a bit, to be able to maximise the filming opportunities in order to milk this for all it's worth.

Again, I hate to be a Debbie downer because I know where you are coming from but anyone who thinks these people will put off having babies is dreaming. They have been raised to believe birth control is a horrible sin, akin to murder, that caused one of their siblings to be miscarried. For them, children are a status symbol, a sign of how godly they are. There is no way any of them are going to prevent a pregnancy. And I'm pretty sure one of the main things Jim Bob checks for when he screens potential courters is whether they will use birth control or not. Obviously these two guys are ok with having "as many children as God will give them" or he wouldn't have allowed them anywhere near his daughters. As sick as that may be.

I agree with that, unfortunately. But I'm hopeful that maybe they're only saying that to JB so they can court the girls. Then after the wedding perhaps it'll be time for some secret birth control.

[Toothfairy]

I don't think Jessa is engaged, because Jill emphasized how she was the first girl to get engaged and she only got engaged less than a month ago. It would be a little strange for Ben to propose so close to Jill's engagement. He probably realizes he is still quite young and needs to be sure to support his future family and is taking things a little slower than Derrick who is 7 years older than him ! I also think they want to space the weddings out a bit, to be able to maximise the filming opportunities in order to milk this for all it's worth.

Again, I hate to be a Debbie downer because I know where you are coming from but anyone who thinks these people will put off having babies is dreaming. They have been raised to believe birth control is a horrible sin, akin to murder, that caused one of their siblings to be miscarried. For them, children are a status symbol, a sign of how godly they are. There is no way any of them are going to prevent a pregnancy. And I'm pretty sure one of the main things Jim Bob checks for when he screens potential courters is whether they will use birth control or not. Obviously these two guys are ok with having "as many children as God will give them" or he wouldn't have allowed them anywhere near his daughters. As sick as that may be.

Maybe Derick might insist they use birth control. Maybe Jill can read up more information about BC and realize what her parents told her were lies. How is she going to continue her schooling with a bunch of kids?

[Toothfairy]

Having kids right away and having 19 kids is completely different. I would say about 90% of my friends (none of whom are fundie, and all of whom were married between 18 and 25) had babies before their first anniversary. Having a baby or even two or three in the first few years of marriage isn't at all against the norm. But, the girls have been studying the family cycles long enough to know how to plan babies, even if they've never learned such things from books (and at least Jana and Jill have), so it wouldn't be hard for them to be "loving wives" and still curb the baby train. Plus, if they exclusively breast feed on demand (studies show only works with exclusive breast feeding on demand), they can put off the the coming of their period by 18 months to 4 years. That would significantly slow baby making.

And, you're also assuming that the fathers wouldn't stress an interest to slow the roll. Remember, there are to parts of this equation. If he says "I'm not going to have sex on her most fertile days," he's going to lessen the chance she gets pregnant. If he says "we can't afford babies right now, let's put off trying," he lessens the chance of her getting pregnant.

Just because you think children are a blessing and BC is evil doesn't mean you have to continually ask god for those blessings. You can not have sex all the time. No where in the bible does it say that a couple has to have sex every day the woman isn't bleeding.

But then Michelle and Bob are going to start to question why Jill isn't getting pregnant. I hope when Jill is married she tells her parents to shove it.