Erika Shupe *grim rictus* Large Families on Purpose Part 4

[THERetroGamerNY]

"What an amazing woman!" -- Bob Shupe

Which one is amazing, Bob? Your wife, or the lady who did the interview?

[pnwgypsy]

They could put pallets on the floor of the play room, which would be rolled up and stored out of sight during the day. Melanie and Karen could sleep on them. What fun! It's like a sleepover every night!

Just like her BFF Zsu Anderson's house: sleeper camp every night!!

Honestly, I don't understand why there are so few trundle and murphy beds in space-scarce large families.  Those save tons of room and are a great way to keep a room looking neat with littles.  I live in a historic urban area, so small houses are common.  I know plenty of people who do double-duty by having murphy beds in office/sitting room, which really makes the house seem much bigger.  You really could get a lot more mileage out of most bedrooms if you used some of those space-saving options!

I've priced Murphy beds & they are pricey. Costco carries them now. $1700 for the cheapest one. Double mattress not included.

[defraudingjezebel]

2 hours ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

I listened to it. It wasn't anything different from the blog really. *wink*

Boo. You're right. I guess Erika just isn't the same without her coco, stirophome, strait, etc. Though I was taken aback by how effusive the host was towards Erika. "Oh I wish you could be my mentor... you're an extraordinary mother..." etc. I guess its normal for podcasters to be friendly and appreciative of their guests but it was a little over the top. 

[mango_fandango]

The kids eat veggies for a morning snack. That's healthy so not snarking. Looks like Lacey and Lilly do both have Karen-style fringes now as does Anna Marie. Are fringes like a rite of passage in that family? Melanie has a side fringe. 

It's weird though how Erika writes that she's "grateful for great veggie eaters". Like she's boasting about how her kids like veggies rather than say the stereotype of kids not liking vegetables. 

[defraudingjezebel]

9 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

The kids eat veggies for a morning snack. That's healthy so not snarking. Looks like Lacey and Lilly do both have Karen-style fringes now as does Anna Marie. Are fringes like a rite of passage in that family? Melanie has a side fringe. 

It's weird though how Erika writes that she's "grateful for great veggie eaters". Like she's boasting about how her kids like veggies rather than say the stereotype of kids not liking vegetables. 

Excuse me, they're not fringes... they're whisps! *giggle* 

And she's totally boasting about her kids eating veggies, at least that's what I thought about it. 

[mango_fandango]

14 minutes ago, defraudingjezebel said:

Excuse me, they're not fringes... they're whisps! *giggle* 

And she's totally boasting about her kids eating veggies, at least that's what I thought about it. 

I think Erika refers to her own hair as "whispy" because of the whole short-hair thing, i.e. it may be short but it's soft and whispy and feminine so it's all A-OK. I wonder if Erika ever has had long hair? Why does she keep it short? I used to have fairly long hair but about five years ago got it cut shorter (to around shoulder length) because I had really tangly hair and hairdresser visits were becoming painful. Sometimes I think about growing my hair long again but then I remember what it used to be like so nope.

ETA: At the bottom of the blog post... "Blessings on your roll as a mom". I have no words.

[withaj]

16 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

I think Erika refers to her own hair as "whispy" because of the whole short-hair thing, i.e. it may be short but it's soft and whispy and feminine so it's all A-OK. I wonder if Erika ever has had long hair? Why does she keep it short? I used to have fairly long hair but about five years ago got it cut shorter (to around shoulder length) because I had really tangly hair and hairdresser visits were becoming painful. Sometimes I think about growing my hair long again but then I remember what it used to be like so nope.

ETA: At the bottom of the blog post... "Blessings on your roll as a mom". I have no words.

We certainly haven't seen any pictures of Erika with longer hair -- though I imagine it was longer when she was a child/teen. Other than the highlights, nothing has really changed from the wedding photo to today. I do wonder what she would look like with longer hair.

I'm a fan of short hair -- I have had quite short hair a few times myself -- but I don't think hers does her any particular favors. Just a little bit longer (still above chin length) would give her more to work with.

[Antimony]

I can think of like....so many mothers more marvelous than Erika. I didn't expect her voice to sound so....nice (??) but also sort of like....a cartoon groundhog. Is this rude? I'm just flashing back to the animated Anne of Green Gables.
 

[defraudingjezebel]

@mango_fandango Haha oh I know Erika uses the "whispy" adjective to argue that her short hair is more feminine. Its just such a random word that I can't think of Erika and anything hair-related without thinking about her "whispy" hair. I can just see her trimming the girls' bangs and shaking her head, saying, "Nope, not wispy enough." 

@withaj Yeah, Erika admits that she's been doing the same makeup since her wedding. As we can tell, her hair has largely stayed the same too. Has anyone ever come across a picture of Erika from her childhood? I'd like to see what her hair (and clothes) looked like. 

[THERetroGamerNY]

Yeah... Ericka was just Plain Jane in that...

I don't think the other lady was just being happy-happy for just appearance sakes... I think she is, deep-down, a Schupe leg-humper.

I also secretly hoped that maybe, just maybe, halfway through it all she'd abruptly just ask, "Let's talk about pallets... And hammocks... And why you're such a whispy-terrible mother."

[Eternalbluepearl]

Aside from Erika's controlling nature, When I just hear her talk about organization and de-cluttering, I like her. But when I remember that her and Bob represent the kind of people who didn't want gay people to have the right to marry, I don't. 

[elliha]

Ugh... Read the facebook comments to her recycled article about "blessed efficiency". So it is OK to complain about having periods return late but not about getting them back early? I thought it was in god's hands and not because you like tiny babies. 

[defraudingjezebel]

I had to laugh Erika's picture of Lilly and Lacey "play-folding" the clothes. Oh yeah, I'm sure they had a great time pretending to do a chore while mommy stood behind their shoulder and micromanaged them. 

Another interesting photo from the ever-humble Erika. 

[THERetroGamerNY]

...folding laundry is a "skill"?

[Mango]

Folding laundry is totally a skill, it's just not necessarily one that is terribly difficult for the average human to master or terribly critical for future career success..

[mango_fandango]

What I found interesting (and kind of typical) about that was the comment asking "Do you find only your girls like to do that?" meaning, do you get your boys to fold laundry etc, and Erika totally missed the mark. She replied as if the question was "do your kids like to do that", only picking up on the "like" and not the "girls" and "only". 

 

[Antimony]

12 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

What I found interesting (and kind of typical) about that was the comment asking "Do you find only your girls like to do that?" meaning, do you get your boys to fold laundry etc, and Erika totally missed the mark. She replied as if the question was "do your kids like to do that", only picking up on the "like" and not the "girls" and "only". 

 

She has a history of really poor reading comprehension. 

Play time sure is a hoot over there at the Shupe home. 

[elliha]

8 hours ago, THERetroGamerNY said:

...folding laundry is a "skill"?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well after seeing husband's version of folding I would said yes. It looked like an elephant had stompted on them. They were flat, but that is about the only thing in common with how I fold them.

[usmcmom]

Which poor girl has to sleep in that bottom "bed"?  It's really not much different than the baby cage in the Rodrigues camper, is it?

I wonder if any family members have expressed their disgust at those sleeping arrangements. Bob really needs to man up and find a way to save those children from their crazy mother  

 

[16strong]

41 minutes ago, usmcmom said:

Which poor girl has to sleep in that bottom "bed"?  It's really not much different than the baby cage in the Rodrigues camper, is it?

I wonder if any family members have expressed their disgust at those sleeping arrangements. Bob really needs to man up and find a way to save those children from their crazy mother  

 

Sadly, the sleeping arrangements are better than they were. The window is no longer obstructed, so in the event of a fire, it will be way easier for them to get out.

[princessmahina]

I think I would have liked sleeping in the bottom bed as a child. It looks cozy and more private than the others. As an introvert, I would need all semblances of privacy possible in that house. *weep*

[Queen Of Hearts]

26 minutes ago, princessmahina said:

I think I would have liked sleeping in the bottom bed as a child. It looks cozy and more private than the others. As an introvert, I would need all semblances of privacy possible in that house. *weep*

It looks fun and cozy until you consider another trundle comes out from the single bed... then that little private cave just seems cage-like to me.

[princessmahina]

9 minutes ago, Queen Of Hearts said:

It looks fun and cozy until you consider another trundle comes out from the single bed... then that little private cave just seems cage-like to me.

It still seems cozy to me. I guess it's all about perspective. 

[iweartanktops]

I just came to say that tonight it took me an embarrassing amount of time to remember how to spell "wry," and I blame ERIKA FUCKING SHUPE!

*CHUCKLEFUCK* *RYE SMILE* 

[Coy Koi]

I would feel super claustrophobic to sleep in a bed that I didn't even have enough headroom to sit up on. How on earth do they change the sheets on that bottom bunk? Even just making that bed would be hard, but I'm sure whichever poor kid has to sleep in it is required to do it perfectly every morning.

Has Erika ever explained why they have a triple bunk and a single bed rather than two regular bunk beds?