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

[ILoveJellybeans]

...on a pallet on a moving forklift at full height extension. The saw blades are only going to cut them. A 8+ feet fall from an unstable moving surface only cement could have killed them. And it's not like they were climbing or looking down from that height or anythying, those forks bump and judder around like crazy when the forklift moves. Shit falls off all. the. time. That's why Home Depot has a guy with a flag making sure you keep away from a forklift.

Did you see the time they let 3 1/2 year old Briony climb an unsecured ladder to the roof while both parents were on the roof and 20 feet from the top of the ladder?

LOL, this is from that post

Oh, and the horse truck they drove in New Zealand? It only had seats for three people, up in the cab, so while they drove around the other four children would just lie on beds and stuff in the back. There weren't as clear pictures of their Australian truck, but no evidence of seats outside that front bench seat, either. Can you imagine the poor emergency worker opening up that truck after a bad accident? After CPS made her grift a new van with seats for everyone, and child restraints for the kids, she didn't make the kids buckle them up, just perch there (yes, she posted pics on the web of them with the straps around their waists).

How could anyone have that little parental instincts to not be afraid when your small child is playing with sharp objects while sitting on a moving forklift 8 feet in the air over a hard concrete floor. Anyone else would be horrified at the idea of a kid doing that, let alone a parent actually letting their own child do it and not being concerned.

[Savoring Samsara]

I live in the Midwest and my kids take thier shoes off at playgrounds all the time.

Not sure why it's disgusting. Maybe that's why that mom was giving me the stink eye last week. LOL

I also live in the Midwest and I don't get too bent out of shape if my kid or others take their shoes off at the playground. However, if we lived in Australia where the flora and fauna are more dangerous, I might feel differently.

[antwan]

Well, at the very least, Lauren lacked common sense on the nude kids thing. I mean, any decent human being would be logical enough to comprehend the innocence of a naked child, but also have enough common sense to know that we have to shield that innocence, due to those sicker individuals who would pervert it. In Lauren's world (inside her head), though, nakedness is sweet and sparkly and earthy and...who knows what else. She appears to have no filter beyond her sparkles.

[happy atheist]

People keep bringing up the Gold Star Gay thing, so I thought I should post what was actually said about it.

This is by Ben/Daniel, the non-bio dad. Titus is August, Abigail is Lauren.

Titus has been gone for over two weeks now. I really miss him. Sleeping in a big empty bed is lonely, and doing all the chores we normally split two ways makes me feel like I have to juggle a lot. Luckily I have our dog to keep me company or I’d go insane. I am having lots of dinner parties, going to the gym again, and getting enough social time. I am more missing Titus and jealous of all the adventures he and Abigail are having.

A “gold star gay” is a gay man who has never touched a vagina. Some even count birth, so only those born via C-section are truly gold star gays, or even platinum star, but I only count adult decisions. :-P But I mention this because both Titus and I have our gold stars. The other day, Abigail was driving, with Titus in the passenger’s seat, and Abigail went to change gears when her hand brushed against Titus’ knee. She said he jerked his knee back so fast, that she then purposefully reached out and stroked his thigh until they were both laughing their heads off in the front of the bus. Hearing this story via text from her, I can just picture the sound of both of their laughter, Abigail’s kids asking what is so funny, and see the smile on my husband’s face.

I don't really take this to be bragging about it. I take this as Ben explaining why Lauren touching August's knee was weird for him. He's never been physical with a woman. I find the idea that Lauren then repeatedly stroked his thigh, even though he was uncomfortable, to be the yucky part of this whole post.

And here's what he had to say about the gender reveal:

I wanted a son so much, but I was convinced the week leading up to the cake reveal that the universe would grant me a daughter just to show me how cool girls can be as well.

He's not saying vaginas and everyone with one are icky. Like many soon-to-be-parents he's expressing a gender preference, but he's not repulsed by the idea of a daughter.

I still think these two are idiots for choosing Lauren as their surrogate, but I don't think they're as awful and embarrassing as some of you seem to.

[happy atheist]

A new post is up. Lauren says she likes to find role models for her kids. Today's role model? A vegan artist who equates cows to holocaust victims. :pink-shock:

And I'm sure this picture is totally inspirational to a bunch of little kids who lost their baby brother to murder and are about to lose another to strangers across the world. Well done, Lauren!

[utter solitude]

And I'm sure this picture is totally inspirational to a bunch of little kids who lost their baby brother to murder and are about to lose another to strangers across the world. Well done, Lauren!

The bolded is what gets me the most about all this. *If Lauren was a responsible, critically thinking person, she would be explaining to her daughters from the beginning that yes, she is pregnant, but no, this baby is not their brother. (I mean, yeah, biologically, but ya'll know what I mean) They can share in the joy of the pregnancy this way while having ample time to become accustomed to the fact that this child is not part of their family, and is not coming home with them.

But of course, this is Lauren. I can just imagine her calling this baby "your brother" at every turn. She's setting herself and her daughters up for a huge, huge fall.

*I assume here that Lauren plans to actually give the baby to his intended fathers. Of course, there's a possibility that she's not planning to, but for the sake of my rage, let's say she is.

[Savoring Samsara]

That makes me sick to my stomach and not for the reasons Lauren and the artist might think it should. Do you know what is like the Holocaust? The Holocaust. For crying out loud that is such a blatantly disrespectful metaphor.

[happy atheist]

!	{TEXT1}:
	This thread is attracting people who are new to Lauren in all her Authentic Sparkling[tm][/tm] glory. So that it's easier to read the old threads, which are full of so many interesting/horrifying topics, I've given Lauren her own sub forum. Now all the madness is in one place. The first thread starts right after the death of Elijah. Sparkling Lauren sub forum: viewforum.php?f=259

[ILoveJellybeans]

Why would anyone let a child, especially a child who lost their baby brother, see a drawing of a dead baby packaged like meat?

[AuntCloud]

Why would anyone let a child, especially a child who lost their baby brother, see a drawing of a dead baby packaged like meat?

Because the death of a baby is a neutral event, silly.

[Mama Mia]

The bolded is what gets me the most about all this. *If Lauren was a responsible, critically thinking person, she would be explaining to her daughters from the beginning that yes, she is pregnant, but no, this baby is not their brother. (I mean, yeah, biologically, but ya'll know what I mean) They can share in the joy of the pregnancy this way while having ample time to become accustomed to the fact that this child is not part of their family, and is not coming home with them.

But of course, this is Lauren. I can just imagine her calling this baby "your brother" at every turn. She's setting herself and her daughters up for a huge, huge fall.

*I assume here that Lauren plans to actually give the baby to his intended fathers. Of course, there's a possibility that she's not planning to, but for the sake of my rage, let's say she is.

I think she has said she explained everything and got their buy-in before going ahead with the surrogacy.

She might even be handling it in whatever is the best way possible for children in this situation.

But what absolutely kills me about this whole thing is that she is so sure that all 4 of her daughters will be fine with it. There is just no way on earth that ANY parent could be 100% sure that one ( or more) of those girls won't be completely devestated due to their very unique circumstances regarding their brother and father. It's just mind-blowingly arrogant to think anyone could know another individual that well. Even if you are that individuals mother.

It could turn out this is healing and therapeutic for Lauren ( though I doubt it). It could turn out its a positive experience for every individual involved and their new expanded, extended family.

But why would any parent take the risk of emotionally hurting one of those girls after all they have been through? It's so....unnesseccary. I could see if she found herself with an unplanned pregnancy deciding for some reason this was the best course. Or having some other unexpected life altering event that she handled in a way most reasonable find objectionable. But this was actually sought out and planned. Why do that to your children unless you are just completely and totally unable to understand that other people are different than you, and will react differently and you can't read their minds or predict the future. It's the narcissism in this decision that's so maddening.

[thoughtful]

Why would anyone let a child, especially a child who lost their baby brother, see a drawing of a dead baby packaged like meat?

That one is especially insensitive considering their history.

Why would anyone let a small child see most of that art? I would have had nightmares for years, and I had not had any of the losses and upheaval these children have had.

Lauren shows no sense of developmental stages. There is a time and a way to discuss such ethical concerns with children. Showing them incredibly graphic, violent art, meant to shock adults into thinking about where their meat comes from (the two posted here were, visually, two of the mildest ones) at a very young age is not the way I would go, for sure.

[utter solitude]

I think she has said she explained everything and got their buy-in before going ahead with the surrogacy.

She might even be handling it in whatever is the best way possible for children in this situation.

But what absolutely kills me about this whole thing is that she is so sure that all 4 of her daughters will be fine with it. There is just no way on earth that ANY parent could be 100% sure that one ( or more) of those girls won't be completely devestated due to their very unique circumstances regarding their brother and father. It's just mind-blowingly arrogant to think anyone could know another individual that well. Even if you are that individuals mother.

It could turn out this is healing and therapeutic for Lauren ( though I doubt it). It could turn out its a positive experience for every individual involved and their new expanded, extended family.

But why would any parent take the risk of emotionally hurting one of those girls after all they have been through? It's so....unnesseccary. I could see if she found herself with an unplanned pregnancy deciding for some reason this was the best course. Or having some other unexpected life altering event that she handled in a way most reasonable find objectionable. But this was actually sought out and planned. Why do that to your children unless you are just completely and totally unable to understand that other people are different than you, and will react differently and you can't read their minds or predict the future. It's the narcissism in this decision that's so maddening.

I couldn't agree with you more here. I reread the post on Lauren's blog in which she announced the surrogacy. Found the line that says "They know that the baby isn’t ours and are looking forward to travelling to Europe before the birth." (Thank you for pointing that out to me!) What I gather from her announcement this time reading it is she seems to have a very warped expectation of the aftermath of this. The way she has explained shit sounds like she expects some kind of extended family, even though she claims otherwise.

The intended fathers live on the other side of the planet from her. Yes, they are involved with Lauren now, while she carries their child, but she seems to expect that a relationship like this (with visits and such) will continue on after the birth. She's deluding herself, and her daughters. I doubt they're going to travel to Australia to visit or invite her to Iceland, and that seems to be what she expects.

Hell, maybe I'm wrong here, but I doubt it. This couple wants a child to raise, maybe they even love Lauren, but that's not the same as what Lauren seems to think is going to play out.

Why you would put your daughters into this, given all that's come before, is so beyond me.

[Idolatry]

I would be looking over my shoulder the rest of my life if this woman had the ability to show up and take my kid at any moment. That would be true for any bio-mom in a situation like this, I guess, but especially her. How terrifying.

[utter solitude]

I would be looking over my shoulder the rest of my life if this woman had the ability to show up and take my kid at any moment. That would be true for any bio-mom in a situation like this, I guess, but especially her. How terrifying.

You would think the fathers would feel the same way!

[chaotic life]

I really, really see Daddy issues ALL over this surrogacy, given Lauren's history with her dad, her seeking for this couple to "love" her, and that she offered to surrogate for her dad and his partner first.

[ViolaSebastian]

I just read on GOMI that David was raised by The Family International/Children of God, which suddenly makes all the puzzle pieces regarding his mental break fit into place. There are few cults I hate with the same burning as The Family International.

[lilith]

That art is so not suitable for kids. Especially not for Brioni who already empathises with animals - it would be utterly traumatic for her.

I also strongly object to only showing kids one side's propaganda in any issue. Either teach them raw facts without emotional bias, or, if you must expose them to emotive propaganda, at least show both perspectives. And Lauren is a complete fucking hypocrite - not only could she not stick with veganism, she's been eating meat since pregnant. I don't see anything wrong with that - I was a lifelong vegetarian when I started slowly introducing meat into my diet when planning to conceive my first child, but I didn't harp on about veganism being the only moral choice while I did so. No, in my opinion the moral choice is growing healthy bodies for our children, using the most ethically produced fuels available, which is why I won't allow my child who loves animals to go vegetarian at 5 but will buy free range eggs and meats whenever possible.

[Cheetah]

She clearly thinks it's really cool that she has a vegan kid (and that she gets props for letting her kid be a vegan at age 7 or 8 or whatever she is now) ... so she gets kudos from the vegans without actually having to give up her cheese and yogurt.

I'm not sure how a little kid gets the idea for being vegan without some coaching/ exposure to animal rights issues. I know plenty of kids who have decided to be vegetarian... either temporarily or more permanently... because they got grossed out by the idea of killing animals for meat, but it's another leap from there to give up dairy (and, I don't think it's as intuitive, but maybe I'm wrong...)

[DaffyDill]

I just read on GOMI that David was raised by The Family International/Children of God, which suddenly makes all the puzzle pieces regarding his mental break fit into place. There are few cults I hate with the same burning as The Family International.

I'm not sure it was The Family/Children of God David was raised in - weren't they those awful "flirty fishing" freaky people? Anyways, the link below is to a news article after Elijah's death, and refers to a blog post by Lauren...

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article ... d=10815450

"David's family used to be involved with the religious cult Worldwide Church of God," Ms Fisher wrote on her blog less than two weeks ago.

[Rachel333]

She clearly thinks it's really cool that she has a vegan kid (and that she gets props for letting her kid be a vegan at age 7 or 8 or whatever she is now) ... so she gets kudos from the vegans without actually having to give up her cheese and yogurt.

I'm not sure how a little kid gets the idea for being vegan without some coaching/ exposure to animal rights issues. I know plenty of kids who have decided to be vegetarian... either temporarily or more permanently... because they got grossed out by the idea of killing animals for meat, but it's another leap from there to give up dairy (and, I don't think it's as intuitive, but maybe I'm wrong...)

I really have not followed this story very closely, but I agree. I became a vegetarian very young, before I had even heard the term (I think I first worded it as "not eating anything with eyes," which led to a lot of potato jokes), but I can't really see how it would even occur to a kid to go vegan. Eggs and milk grossed me out because I couldn't stop thinking about where they came from, but I never even considered giving up ice cream, yogurt, cheese, baked goods, etc. Eggs and dairy are in so many products that you wouldn't even guess, and I doubt a kid would be thinking like that.

Anyway, this just really seems to me like she's coaching her kid into that because it will make her look better. That also makes one of her kids require special attention, and that's always good in the blogging world. She's definitely going to have trouble finding food for her in Iceland. I'm vegan but go vegetarian for convenience when I'm traveling, and even as a vegetarian I think I had more trouble finding food in Iceland than anywhere else.

[So Many Lies]

I'm not sure it was The Family/Children of God David was raised in - weren't they those awful "flirty fishing" freaky people? Anyways, the link below is to a news article after Elijah's death, and refers to a blog post by Lauren...

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article ... d=10815450

The Worldwide Church of God is nothing like the Family. Some people say it's a cult but it's no more a cult than seventh day adventists. It goes by the name Grace Communion now though.

[Mama Mia]

I really have not followed this story very closely, but I agree. I became a vegetarian very young, before I had even heard the term (I think I first worded it as "not eating anything with eyes," which led to a lot of potato jokes), but I can't really see how it would even occur to a kid to go vegan. Eggs and milk grossed me out because I couldn't stop thinking about where they came from, but I never even considered giving up ice cream, yogurt, cheese, baked goods, etc. Eggs and dairy are in so many products that you wouldn't even guess, and I doubt a kid would be thinking like that.

Anyway, this just really seems to me like she's coaching her kid into that because it will make her look better. That also makes one of her kids require special attention, and that's always good in the blogging world. She's definitely going to have trouble finding food for her in Iceland. I'm vegan but go vegetarian for convenience when I'm traveling, and even as a vegetarian I think I had more trouble finding food in Iceland than anywhere else.

I think it depends on the kid. One of my kids was a vegetarian from 6-12 ish. She didn't go vegan, but I definitely could see that she would have if the thought occurred to her - and she had the kind of thought process where I was actually surprised at the time that it didn't. If it was now days, when it's much more common, I think she definitely would of - simply because she would of heard the word, asked what it meant and then possibly obssessed on it, and anything she obssed on she would of asked the ingrediants list of every food to be sure there wasn't anything in it ( like she did with meat)She was a kid who loved, loved, loved meat too - but once she had that lightbulb moment- there was no going back. Another kid went on a no dairy kick in elementary school, because the idea of milk being a fluid coming from an animal grossed him out . Good thing, now that I think of it, that the two weren't going through those phases at the same time, or definitely would have had vegans ( not that there's anything wrong with that )

. Only one other person in the family was vegetarian , but it really wasn't hard to find alternatives, would vegan be that hard? Just doing a quick google there's several travel blog entries aimed at vegans in Iceland, and what's available, where to stock up etc...there are health food stores that seem to carry lots of easy to use vegan protein sources. It certainly looks like being a meat eater would be vastly preferable there, but a vegan kid should do ok. If of course anyone bothers to notice that she needs to be fed.

Eta: the main reason I'm looking up all the Icelandic info is because the place fascinates me. If I get to travel one place before I die, Iceland would be it. Love the idea of all that ice with lava

[Rachel333]

I think it depends on the kid. One of my kids was a vegetarian from 6-12 ish. She didn't go vegan, but I definitely could see that she would have if the thought occurred to her - and she had the kind of thought process where I was actually surprised at the time that it didn't. If it was now days, when it's much more common, I think she definitely would of - simply because she would of heard the word, asked what it meant and then possibly obssessed on it, and anything she obssed on she would of asked the ingrediants list of every food to be sure there wasn't anything in it ( like she did with meat)She was a kid who loved, loved, loved meat too - but once she had that lightbulb moment- there was no going back. Another kid went on a no dairy kick in elementary school, because the idea of milk being a fluid coming from an animal grossed him out . Good thing, now that I think of it, that the two weren't going through those phases at the same time, or definitely would have had vegans ( not that there's anything wrong with that )

Only one other person in the family was vegetarian , but it really wasn't hard to find alternatives, would vegan be that hard? Just doing a quick google there's several travel blog entries aimed at vegans in Iceland, and what's available, where to stock up etc...there are health food stores that seem to carry lots of easy to use vegan protein sources. It certainly looks like being a meat eater would be vastly preferable there, but a vegan kid should do ok. If of course anyone bothers to notice that she needs to be fed.

Eta: the main reason I'm looking up all the Icelandic info is because the place fascinates me. If I get to travel one place before I die, Iceland would be it. Love the idea of all that ice with lava

Mostly it was just a very limited selection, which is certainly better than none. Reykjavik wasn't too bad, I don't think, but I spent my time in Iceland mostly doing tours and at every place we stopped at there was rarely more than a cheese sandwich and I got really sick of those. Once I'm old enough to rent a car there I really want to go and drive around the country. I'm sure it would be easier to find food then, or I could at least pack my own.

And I may not be a fan of Icelandic cuisine, but I can say without hesitation that it is absolutely my favorite place I have ever visited. It is so far the only country I have visited twice because the first time was just a one day layover and I had to see more. It's just a really amazing experience to be there. There's ice and lava, but also waterfalls, geysirs, colorful mountains, black sand beaches, and lots of very green scenery. I also really like the Viking history. IcelandAir makes it easy to do a short layover there where you can go on a day tour or even just a few hours and then go right back to the airport, and I've met a number of people who did that without any prior interest in Iceland, and they all ended up loving it.

I could go on for a long time about Iceland, and I promise I'm not being paid! Back to veganism, though, I can see how kids might be interested in it especially if they hear adults talking about it a lot, which I think is much more common these days. I think it's a whole lot easier, too. There are definitely more options in stores and restaurants than there are when I first went vegan eight years ago.

[Annasopinion]

I think she "wears out the welcome mat" quite a lot. People don't like to be exhausted by demanding guests. I don't believe she gives as much as she gets from lobbing in on people that's for sure. There's been a few situations like that now and in the past. I did see that video and I was surprised by the fact you'd broadcast that! They had a lot of marital oneupmanship I think.

I know a few of us were discussing her potential possible plans for surrogacy and 'replacing' her Elijah grief with a living grief so that she could stay martyred way back in ..um december 2013? thereabouts? Unfortunately, those surrogacy predictions are now coming true.

What has always fascinated me about Lauren is that she is a highly functioning mentally unwell woman - her "relationship" with David played out like a game of two mentally unstable people playing brinkmanship (and that YouTube video was genuinely disturbing) as it shows a relationship dynamic where they 'report" on each other to the wider world. I don't know who they think is keeping score of their mentally ill games, but obviously they assume someone is. As for Lauren right now, I didn't think she could up one on David after he killed Elijah but I underestimated her. A surrogacy - a son she chooses to give away, definitely is one upmanship over David and it tells me that she still has one eye on him as he's watching her. Their dynamic is obviously still running. Which begs the question - when she returns home with her four daughters and her global gayby daddies aren't all that interested in her or her kids anymore, and the depression sets in - then what?