Sparkling Lauren, a super special sparkling surrogacy and a "gayby"

[Eternalbluepearl]

Is the baby actually biologically Lauren's? And she's going to give it up? After the loss of Elijiah? I wonder of she's connecting with these people because of her own loneliness?

[happy atheist]

Is the baby actually biologically Lauren's? And she's going to give it up? After the loss of Elijiah? I wonder of she's connecting with these people because of her own loneliness?

Yes, the baby is biologically hers.

[littlemommy]

I hadn't followed any Lauren stuff before this thread. I went back and looked through her blog, which was a sparkling mistake.

I have a baby girl that is now the same age Elijah was when he died. I was nursing her while reading Lauren's stuff and came across pictures of her dead son. Wtf. She put pictures of herself holding her dead baby on the internet. I cried and cried over those pictures and the story that came before them. Awful stuff.

If I, an internet stranger, could be that upset by just reading the story/pictures, how the heck is this poor lady going to cope after giving up the baby? I feel sorry for her. I mean, she seems like a horrible person, but I pity her. And her kids. And that baby.

[BeaSnarky]

This was my first go round with the Sparkling Blog. I got sucked into the rabbit hole of her blog and feel much the same way as littlemommy. My WTF radar was going off loudly.

Those poor children of hers. I imagine they could use a little "normal" for a while.

[chaotic life]

The global gay by blog mentioned that while Lauren was in Iceland meeting this couple, those picked and met with the midwife who will deliver the baby. So yes, she intends to give birth in Iceland.

[August]

I wonder if the plan is to have the baby in Iceland? She mentions, "They know that the baby isn’t ours and are looking forward to travelling to Europe before the birth." I know that Iceland is in Europe- but you would think if she meant Iceland she would have said Iceland. I wonder if they are planning on doing the birth/exchange in a country were surrogacy is legal?

I think the plan is to travel around for a while. Hopefully before. Hopefully for after she has some solid plan for where they can stay while she's incapacitated.

[heidi]

Her PPD worries me. Are the dads going to care for her daughters and Lauren when she's depressed? Is she going to go back to Australia and sink into depression there?

[flubber]

I think the plan is to travel around for a while. Hopefully before. Hopefully for after she has some solid plan for where they can stay while she's incapacitatedincarcerated.

Fixed that for you ;)

Why does everything have to be so different/ special for Lauren. What? There was no one needing a surrogate in Australia?

I would be surprised if Iceland even let her into the country - if her return ticket is AFTER her due date.

And OMG - everything doesn't have to be a drama Lauren. You kid wants a different yoghurt than you want to buy, you either buy it or you don't. It's not a life changing event. My kids would be happy if I let them eat lollies 24/7 but that doesn't make it good for them just cause they are happy.

[chaotic life]

Tsk, tsk. I'm quite sure today's story about yogurt is meant to be an FU to the frangers. However, all it demonstrates to me is that Lauren is a bully and she's crazier than even I assumed.

She's limited her children's food choices based upon the artwork of an artist who photographed water crystals, declared only organic dairy when she's never even SEEN an organic dairy, and reduced her child to tears because of the energy she believes is in food.

Why exactly would it require your nine year old to fall apart in the isle of the grocery store before you realize you've bullied your children into limiting their food to meet your demands? Nope, sorry, doesn't prove what a great mother you are looneycakes. Proves I gave you too much credit. You never should have pushed a poor nine year to that meltdown point over YOGURT in the first place.

Shitty parenting at it's finest, Lauren, but keep on with the stories about how terrific your life is. Quite the entertainment if it weren't for the poor nine year old victim of your bullying.

[Antimony]

I can't handle that she thinks it changed the molecules. Just cannot cope with that. Nope. No. Also, no. Christ. I am going to look this guy up (the photographer) and maybe some studies besides. There must be some sort of study on that (because it would be easy to as all get out to disprove.)

Also, how strict is Austrailia on their labeling? In the US I know we have regulations but they don't necessarily have much to do with the conditions of the animals as far as quality of life (roaming area, grazing, etc). Organic = happy cows is way oversimplified.

[happy atheist]

What a load of bullshit. She's so far up her own ass it's ridiculous.

[freejugar]

We understand that all matter really is energy, and I believe that in generations to come, we’ll understand this science much better.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermodynamics

[flubber]

I can't handle that she thinks it changed the molecules. Just cannot cope with that. Nope. No. Also, no. Christ. I am going to look this guy up (the photographer) and maybe some studies besides. There must be some sort of study on that (because it would be easy to as all get out to disprove.)

Also, how strict is Austrailia on their labeling? In the US I know we have regulations but they don't necessarily have much to do with the conditions of the animals as far as quality of life (roaming area, grazing, etc). Organic = happy cows is way oversimplified.

This

The label 'organic' has nothing to do with quality of life (in Australia)! I'd guess that the majority of organic dairy farms are run the same as conventional ones.

Even the term 'free-range' (for eggs) isn't a guarantee of happy hens. The definition is a set number of hens per acre.

[littlehouse]

I also can not look at her blog due to her photo on the sidebar. Just seeing his little hand, and the overwhelming grief in that little photo breaks me for days.

This is just going to end bad.

[thoughtful]

Ágúst looks at pictures of water crystals, Reyjekavik, Iceland, September 2013

Ágúst looks at photographs of water crystals which demonstrate a change brought by a blessing. The top row is before consecration by a priest, the bottom row are pictures taken afterwards.

Critical to my belief in the changeable energy of foods are the artworks of Masaru Emoto who photographed the obvious change in water crystals after exposing them to specific music, prayers, words and photographs. Emoto’s photographs show that blessing water creates a noticeable difference in the water-crystal formation, something that religions have known for millennia!

There are not enough eyeroll smileys in the world.

At first glance, I thought this:

said "GAOL" and was wondering how that was supposed to be a virtuous word that inspired the liquid inside, and why Lauren was holding it so the word was upside-down.

After a second, I realized it said "love." :lol:

[Cheetah]

said "GAOL" and was wondering how that was supposed to be a virtuous word that inspired the liquid inside, and why Lauren was holding it so the word was upside-down.

After a second, I realized it said "love." :lol:

:-)

I've thought Lauren was ... unbalanced? in denial? loopy? .... but I've never thought she was dumb. Until this post. Holy cow. A marketer's dream target...

[Mama Mia]

Tsk, tsk. I'm quite sure today's story about yogurt is meant to be an FU to the frangers. However, all it demonstrates to me is that Lauren is a bully and she's crazier than even I assumed.

She's limited her children's food choices based upon the artwork of an artist who photographed water crystals, declared only organic dairy when she's never even SEEN an organic dairy, and reduced her child to tears because of the energy she believes is in food.

Why exactly would it require your nine year old to fall apart in the isle of the grocery store before you realize you've bullied your children into limiting their food to meet your demands? Nope, sorry, doesn't prove what a great mother you are looneycakes. Proves I gave you too much credit. You never should have pushed a poor nine year to that meltdown point over YOGURT in the first place.

Shitty parenting at it's finest, Lauren, but keep on with the stories about how terrific your life is. Quite the entertainment if it weren't for the poor nine year old victim of your bullying.

I don't have a problem with limiting her kids to foods she thinks are healthier or better for the animals or the environment or whatever. I think though, if your 9 year old is actually in tears in a public place over such a minor thing, one of two things is happening- neither of which have anything to do with yogurt.

Either she's starting to go through puberty and her hormones are kicking in - which I don't think Lauren will cope with well, at all - or- she's really, really upset about something else - gee, wonder what on earth that could be?

[Cheetah]

BTW, GOMI has featured the Gayby story on their front page today... getting lots of comments.

getoffmyinternets.net/sparkling-adventures-will-provide-you-with-a-gayby/

[lilith]

"Since this time, I’ve felt reluctance to buy any dairy except, curiously, cheese — unless it is labelled as organic. My influencing story is that conventional dairy foods are the product of unhappy cows, and I don’t want to support that industry nor partake of food which was produced inhumanely. For food is energy."

The different standard for cheese is so odd - why not cheese from what she considers to be "happy cows"? Maybe because cheese is a food that she enjoys and it is hard to source many varieties organically?

[Antimony]

I don't have a problem with limiting her kids to foods she thinks are healthier or better for the animals or the environment or whatever. I think though, if your 9 year old is actually in tears in a public place over such a minor thing, one of two things is happening- neither of which have anything to do with yogurt.

Either she's starting to go through puberty and her hormones are kicking in - which I don't think Lauren will cope with well, at all - or- she's really, really upset about something else - gee, wonder what on earth that could be?

Meh/eh. I don't think these are really the only two options. I had a lot of anxiety about weird things as a child. Mostly, if my mom picked me up from school and didn't tell me we were going to the grocery store and then just turned into the grocery store, I would burst into tears and cry for a long time. It had nothing to do with what was going on or the grocery store or my day -- I just could not handle not having that information ahead of time. Something about the disconnect between what was happening and what I imagined was going to happen (driving home) made me really anxious. I still feel this way about varying things but since I'm an adult I no longer cry about them. I can imagine other children being this way. Like, Aisha not having an enough options, I can see that being upsetting in the same way I was upset by the surprise grocery store trips as a child. I was also really food sensitive and wouldn't eat cheese if it was warmer than 40 degrees (fahrenheit) or wouldn't eat oatmeal if it was watery. I don't like to think it was that I was picky because I was all about trying new foods and all kinds of foods but I was very textually sensitive to bizarre things for a long time and when presented with something I felt unable to eat, it was frustrating because I felt trapped by it. Can also see this being a yogurt problem. I either grew out of it or had enough agency to not have to deal with it (ie I can put my cheese in the freezer for 2 minutes before I eat it because I live alone and can choose and express my desire to do so now, hoorah!)

If it is hormones, woo boy. I don't know how Lauren will deal but I would bank on a ceremony of the-time-of-womanhood-is-upon-us-and-it-is-sparkling-magical or something along those lines. Would bet money on that.

[thoughtful]

BTW, GOMI has featured the Gayby story on their front page today... getting lots of comments.

I think the person who said they wouldn't trust Lauren to carry their groceries, let alone a child, nailed it.

[thoughtful]

I just learned about this site (who says @midnight is not educational!):

http://mentalfloss.com/article/31004/%C ... -relatives

Living in a small, mostly static population creates some uncomfortable issues. Aside from making it difficult to dodge people you don't like, you also have to worry about whether you're unwittingly dating a relative. Most people can just move out of town to escape this problem. Things aren't so simple when you live in Iceland, where family names don't exist and nearly everyone knows someone who accidentally fell for a not-so-distant cousin.

Maybe the Icelandic couple just couldn't find anyone closer than Australia who wasn't a relative.

Yeah, that's it. ;)

[church_of_dog]

Meh/eh. I don't think these are really the only two options. I had a lot of anxiety about weird things as a child. Mostly, if my mom picked me up from school and didn't tell me we were going to the grocery store and then just turned into the grocery store, I would burst into tears and cry for a long time. It had nothing to do with what was going on or the grocery store or my day -- I just could not handle not having that information ahead of time. Something about the disconnect between what was happening and what I imagined was going to happen (driving home) made me really anxious. I still feel this way about varying things but since I'm an adult I no longer cry about them. I can imagine other children being this way. Like, Aisha not having an enough options, I can see that being upsetting in the same way I was upset by the surprise grocery store trips as a child. I was also really food sensitive and wouldn't eat cheese if it was warmer than 40 degrees (fahrenheit) or wouldn't eat oatmeal if it was watery. I don't like to think it was that I was picky because I was all about trying new foods and all kinds of foods but I was very textually sensitive to bizarre things for a long time and when presented with something I felt unable to eat, it was frustrating because I felt trapped by it. Can also see this being a yogurt problem. I either grew out of it or had enough agency to not have to deal with it (ie I can put my cheese in the freezer for 2 minutes before I eat it because I live alone and can choose and express my desire to do so now, hoorah!)

If it is hormones, woo boy. I don't know how Lauren will deal but I would bank on a ceremony of the-time-of-womanhood-is-upon-us-and-it-is-sparkling-magical or something along those lines. Would bet money on that.

I can relate to this too, both the subconscious anxiety about things like an unannounced change of plans, and also the textural issues with food, which I also had as a kid (and to a lesser extent as an adult).

But I don't think that's what was happening in the store because Lauren made a point of saying that she knew Aisha likes yogurt, and she also implied that this was a very unusual thing -- suggesting it's not one of those explanations or it would certainly have come up now and then in the past.

I think it's either one of the two issues Mama Mia mentioned, or a build-up of feelings on Aisha's part, something along the lines of "how come what I want never matters?"

[lilith]

I can relate to this too, both the subconscious anxiety about things like an unannounced change of plans, and also the textural issues with food, which I also had as a kid (and to a lesser extent as an adult).

But I don't think that's what was happening in the store because Lauren made a point of saying that she knew Aisha likes yogurt, and she also implied that this was a very unusual thing -- suggesting it's not one of those explanations or it would certainly have come up now and then in the past.

I think it's either one of the two issues Mama Mia mentioned, or a build-up of feelings on Aisha's part, something along the lines of "how come what I want never matters?"

It must suck to be constantly told that you can make all your own decisions and that your mother respects your self autonomy, only to have your mother restrict your choices about something as trivial as a flavour of yoghurt (when even we non sparkling mothers usually allow our kids to pick out things like yoghurt flavours) based upon a fucking art exhibit she saw with one of your new Gayby siblings daddies and her crappy ideas about energy exchanges.....

Lauren lets her "self care" while she runs off to Europe, lets her choose to not wear shoes and not practice hygiene (though Aisha seems to try in that area), expects her to manage to educate herself by osmosis through her iPad, lets Brioni choose veganism at 5 (even though Lauren herself can't stick with it), allows her to run off alone at festivals, refuses to discipline her kids or teach them boundaries...... But she won't let her 9 year old buy the yoghurt she wants until she totally breaks down at the dairy cabinet. For fucks sake.....

[Aurora rising]

If her daughters have a little bit of brain they know how to get the food they want "I like this stuff and the energy from it will be much better" My niece is a drama-queen and she could have done something like this. But fortunately my brother is not putting in on the internet (well, he might be very unsparkling)