Erika Shupe *grim rictus* Large Families on Purpose Part 3

[DaffyDill]

My sons were, and presumably still are, 20 months apart, and although they were your average active, inquisitive, jet propelled little boys, I have to say, they NEVER played in the toilet or the bathroom. When I saw she wrote that, I thought "Huh?".

Then again, my boys were allowed to play, to tip all their blocks out, to spread out their legos, sprawl all over the floor, to make a mess (within reason obviously), hell, even make...*drumroll* a noise!

And that made me think...maybe her kids do that because they aren't allowed to get their toys out, because that would make a mess. Maybe they don't have many things to play with, so they go looking for things to occupy them. 

Poor little guys. Stifled from birth.

[Hisey]

35 minutes ago, DaffyDill said:

My sons were, and presumably still are, 20 months apart, and although they were your average active, inquisitive, jet propelled little boys, I have to say, they NEVER played in the toilet or the bathroom. When I saw she wrote that, I thought "Huh?".

Then again, my boys were allowed to play, to tip all their blocks out, to spread out their legos, sprawl all over the floor, to make a mess (within reason obviously), hell, even make...*drumroll* a noise!

And that made me think...maybe her kids do that because they aren't allowed to get their toys out, because that would make a mess. Maybe they don't have many things to play with, so they go looking for things to occupy them. 

Poor little guys. Stifled from birth.

Yes, I thought that was  strange comment, too. I mean, young toddlers play in the toilet sometimes, but usually even 2-year olds know it is "yucky" and will keep out. After all, most two-year olds have either used the toilet or seen their parents do so. It is generally one year olds that will splash around in there. Erika was writing about her kids at age 2 and 3. 

I don't think they were playing in the toilet. I think they were messing with the stuff on the counter, the soap and toothpaste and such, and Erika didn't like that.

[feministxtian]

My boys were just over 3 years apart in age so they weren't really playmates for each other when they were little (figure one was 5 when the other was 2) but as they got a bit older they became closer...and they'd do things like jump off the garage roof, dug out a "sewer hideout" for their ninja turtles, build insane lego figures, although I do remember some serious bathtime shenanigans....water EVERYWHERE...soap crayons, and asking the older one to clean the kitty litter was a dismal failure...

All in all, I figure they were normal boy things...The girls were a bit better...but I DO seem to remember something about a playhouse, lotion and baby powder...

[Anonymousguest]

Oh my gosh,  one of my boys had a full blown obsession with the toilet.  He figured out he could put toilet paper in the bowl,  flush ,  and it would pull the toilet paperdown the hole.  Funny now,  but drove me crazy at the time.  I tried to keep him contained with a gate in the family room,  but he'd climb it when he knew I was busy. He wad definitely allowed to play with his toys any way he liked, not stifled in the least, but he was a messer!

[IrishCarrie]

I like the idea a previous poster had about locking the toilet door if you must, but placing the key right there beside it and out of reach for the little ones.

It strikes me as quite humiliating to have to ask to use the bathroom in your own home. The older Shupe kids ain't got much, but please Erika, let them have an occasional bowel movement without having to run it by you!!!!!

[usmcmom]

17 hours ago, usmcmom said:

Yes! Much happier. *rye smile*

(suddenly craving a Rueben...)

*sigh* Quoting myself because I just realized I misspelled REUBEN and I won't get a thing done today if I don't address it.   I hate when I wait too long to edit. Or did I miss the edit option in my panic to avoid looking like a SOTDRT graduate?!?  *sad face* *ironic smirk* *rye smile*

Still craving that sandwich.....whatever it's called. Must. Find. Deli. 

[Taters]

On 11 December 2015 at 8:31 AM, Pseudoname said:

My son calls them "the crazy jellybean family"

I think that is what @StepMonsterInLA meant.

[Pseudoname]

Yeah, I jumped on my soapbox too quickly.    Apologies to anyone upset at/by my post.  I realise that crazy in this context wasn't intended to mean stereotypical Hollywood movie/tv bedlamic versions of crazy mental illness.  I tend to be oversensitive on the subject due to prejudice that I have experienced first hand.

 My intentions were to make people aware of the stigma that surrounds mental illness, not blame the poster, but I realise that it seems as though that is exactly what I did.

Although I would still caution anyone from making an armchair diagnosis of mental illness.  People are all different, there is no 'normal', as my psychologist tells me.

[church_of_dog]

9 hours ago, IrishCarrie said:

I like the idea a previous poster had about locking the toilet door if you must, but placing the key right there beside it and out of reach for the little ones.

It strikes me as quite humiliating to have to ask to use the bathroom in your own home. The older Shupe kids ain't got much, but please Erika, let them have an occasional bowel movement without having to run it by you!!!!!

When I was growing up I remember we had these plastic doorknob covers where you had to squeeze with more-than-toddler strength to get the knob to turn.  Kinda like this: 

[desertvixen]

I have gotten on my daughter a few times for playing in the bathroom - her Monster High girls were all having a spa day in the sink!  Creative but yes, a bit messy.

[feministxtian]

1 hour ago, desertvixen said:

I have gotten on my daughter a few times for playing in the bathroom - her Monster High girls were all having a spa day in the sink!  Creative but yes, a bit messy.

We had that with the My LIttle Pony hoard...

[anjulibai]

I have found my 3 year old son in the toilet a few times. He's really interested in the pipes and how flushing causes the water to go down the pipes. I don't think it's that unusual for kids to get into the bathroom to play. It's annoying when they make a mess (especially with icky toilet water), but in terms of the things kids can get into it's not that bad. 

[apandaaries]

When my daughter was younger, we did a lot of water-based play.  She had a kind of water table set up outside with various plastic toys. Every preschool we went to had something similar, with play structures and usually some area with water and toys (we're in CA so the weather often allows for this -- not quite every day, but very frequently).   Those were always popular places for the kids. She had those young kids locked up and on their tight schedule, without any time for wild and energetic play.  It almost makes sense for them to be playing in the toilet, and it definitely makes sense that they'd be climbing the walls and the baby gates.  Where else were they going to burn off their energy?  Poor kids.  

8 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

I have found my 3 year old son in the toilet a few times. He's really interested in the pipes and how flushing causes the water to go down the pipes. I don't think it's that unusual for kids to get into the bathroom to play. It's annoying when they make a mess (especially with icky toilet water), but in terms of the things kids can get into it's not that bad. 

My daughter's preschool had a toilet & sewer project they worked on, as they were all fascinated with plumbing and where poop goes.   Kids can be pretty funny.

[Hisey]

I could keep my very active preschooler busy for HOURS by filling the bathroom sink with water and giving her some kitchen implements (not knives, obviously, I'm talking about funnels and measuring cups). Boy, that would keep her busy doing "experiments." She'd help herself to the softsoap and go nuts.

[Antimony]

4 hours ago, church_of_dog said:

When I was growing up I remember we had these plastic doorknob covers where you had to squeeze with more-than-toddler strength to get the knob to turn.  Kinda like this: 

Erika has photos of those on her blog but she zip ties them together because the children can apparently break them apart. They go on like all the hallway doors, I think. It's in the same post as Productively Occupying 3 Year Old Boys. In the comments, she also says they go on the inside of the bedroom (which I guess means the children are quite literally locked in that room during play alone time?). 

Erika's new post on cookies isn't her weirdest but does have some tell-tale signs of the need to control everything. 

[StepMonsterInLA]

4 hours ago, Pseudoname said:

Yeah, I jumped on my soapbox too quickly.    Apologies to anyone upset at/by my post.  I realise that crazy in this context wasn't intended to mean stereotypical Hollywood movie/tv bedlamic versions of crazy mental illness.  I tend to be oversensitive on the subject due to prejudice that I have experienced first hand.

 My intentions were to make people aware of the stigma that surrounds mental illness, not blame the poster, but I realise that it seems as though that is exactly what I did.

Although I would still caution anyone from making an armchair diagnosis of mental illness.  People are all different, there is no 'normal', as my psychologist tells me.

Yes that's what I meant. I have generalized anxiety disorder and clinical depression and have been on meds mostly (except for first trimester of pregnancy) for 20 years (and of course loads of cognitive behavior therapy sessions). I wasn't clear about crazy. When I have pms, I act "crazy"--extreme, irrational, and abnormal for me-- (which I lovingly admit to my husband when I get my period). Erica's behavior is like me with PMS all the time!  Ugh! She has elevated extremist  fundie to a whole new level I think.  When I see Erica's behaviors discussed (one jelly bean, scheduling, food and eating restrictions which seem to be very caloric restrictive and boring) it doesn't, to me, seem "functional".  It seems compulsive and obsessive and based upon anxiety (not diagnosing here!!!). I didn't want to clarify because I felt dumb about posting something inflamitory or controversial because that was so not my intention.  I am a newer poster and I was too comfortable too soon. My apologies, friends, I will think and slow down before I post next time. I was afraid to come over here and read what was written about what I said. Sorry for the off the cuff remarks. They were not meant to be demeaning or derogatory at all. 

[notfundy]

Here's a good "play in the bathroom story".  My daughter was about 6-7 years old and had a friend over to play.  They were big into My Little Ponies and were playing with them in the bathroom.  Which I knew about.  They were old enough not to flush stuff down the toilet, etc.  

They decided to float the ponies in a "boat" - problem was, the boat they were using was my diaphragm.

I must have left it out after rinsing it... omg.. they walked into the kitchen to show me their "boat" and I about died.  

Took it back, and there were all kinds of questions about what it was.  "Something for mommies", I said.   My daughter was persistant and somewhat precocious and I ended up telling her later (not while her friend was there) that it was "something mommies use when they don't want to have a baby".   I can only imagine what she thought I did with it, or what THAT had to do with having or not having a baby.  

[grandmadugger]

The newest blog post is something else.  Decorating Christmas cookies has always been a favorite of mine, I can't imagine having it so regimented.  

[Guest]

I missed the discussion about the kids being trapped in the house all the time.  She mentions in one of her posts that their house sits at the lowest point in their neighborhood, so when it rains the water drains into their backyard.  But even if the yard is muddy and flooded, I don't understand why she can't schedule in some time each day to go to the playground, or take a walk around the neighborhood, at least when the weather is nice.  I'm sure getting out of that house for a bit would be good for everyone.

The gingerbread cookies post was originally posted back in 2012.  The re-posts are so boring. The kids are getting older, you would think there would be some new things to write about.  Well, I guess not when every day is the same, basically.  I would lose my mind with that kind of boredom.

[livinginthelight]

2 hours ago, notfundy said:

 

They decided to float the ponies in a "boat" - problem was, the boat they were using was my diaphragm.

I must have left it out after rinsing it... omg.. they walked into the kitchen to show me their "boat" and I about died.  

 

So funny!! Reminds me of this funny gun safety commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-xc6_GhkZg

[Granwych]

7 hours ago, desertvixen said:

I have gotten on my daughter a few times for playing in the bathroom - her Monster High girls were all having a spa day in the sink!  Creative but yes, a bit messy.

For sure.  DD had about fifty Barbies, with a few whose hair changed color when they went from hot to cold water.  Once our poodle jumped in the tub with dd, too.   Fun times in the wych bathroom--

[JillyO]

I just saw this comment from Erika under the "Gifts in a Jar" blog post. OMG people, did you know you can search for PICTURES on the Google? Thank you for the helpful tip Erika. I don't think anybody knew about this until you came along to teach us!!!

Quote

TRICIA - Wonderful! I'm so pleased! And just as a tip, I just learned that if you go to Google and click on the top left side on "images" and then type in what you desire images of, you'll get dozens or hundreds of images on that thing! So you can look at LOTS of pictures gathered from cyberspace of other people's jar gifts! (That's where I got these pictures) Maybe that will help you find "your" style.

 

[imokit]

5 hours ago, livinginthelight said:

So funny!! Reminds me of this funny gun safety commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-xc6_GhkZg

I watched the video - 

[mango_fandango]

Spencer is now six. Nothing snarky in the album. They had root beer floats "upon" Spencer's request. That choice of word seems a little odd to me. Is it grammatically correct? It sounds a bit weird to me. 

OK, so she did an album for Karen, the twins and Spencer. She never did one for Melanie, who's 13 months younger than Karen, so her birthday would've been September. That's odd.

[elliha]

Uhh... I saw the recipes for the "jar presents". The cookie mixes are great and probably produce nice cookies but the teas and flavored drinks sound so disgusting I got back my all day  morning sickness just from reading them... Please never gift me one of those Erika.