Erika Shupe *glower pout* Large Families on Purpose Part 5

[iweartanktops]

6 hours ago, amandaaries said:

You are awesome, and I think you should do a post about how that move is executed, because all I can picture is a messy scenario. 

@iweartanktops6 Now I'm going to be calling you "Olivia" in my mind.  Hope you're okay with that! 

@mango_fandango Her short school days are so tragic.  Those kids could be doing so much more, and learning so much more.  Have we ever heard of her taking the kids to the library?  

I'm totally okay with that!

[Anonymousguest]

I remember being at a neighbours house when I was young, they had 5 kids I think, total hippies/some weird new age religion (the father frequently walked around the house wearing nothing but a turban-my mother was equally hippy so this apparently wasn't an issue) and they gave us a bag of chips to share, we literally dealt out the chips one by one to ensure everyone got an equal amount. 

[iweartanktops]

22 hours ago, elliha said:

They do contain protein.

Yes, they do, but they're not primary sources, such as meat or some beans. The protein in these are actually part of the starches. I've learned this from college nutrition courses and my dietitian.

[Anonymousguest]

13 minutes ago, iweartanktops6 said:

Yes, they do, but they're not primary sources, such as meat or some beans. The protein in these are actually part of the starches. I've learned this from college nutrition courses and my dietitian.

Cheese is considered a protein source. Most, depending on it's fat and moisture content will have the same amount of fat as protein, and that's usually around 7-8gr/oz. 

[iweartanktops]

30 minutes ago, Anonymousguest said:

Cheese is considered a protein source. Most, depending on it's fat and moisture content will have the same amount of fat as protein, and that's usually around 7-8gr/oz. 

3g (or 4, I can't remember) of that protein is part of the carbohydrates. I don't know if I can explain the science very well, but I can try to find a link to explain it for you. There's math involved to figure out the true nutritional content. 

If you don't believe me, I'm not offended. It's not common knowledge unless you're really into nutrition, or have actually studied it.

[church_of_dog]

2 minutes ago, iweartanktops6 said:

3g (or 4, I can't remember) of that protein is part of the carbohydrates. I don't know if I can explain the science very well, but I can try to find a link to explain it for you. There's math involved to figure out the true nutritional content. 

If you don't believe me, I'm not offended. It's not common knowledge unless you're really into nutrition, or have actually studied it.

I think I eat pretty well but I'm trying to learn more about nutrition so I can make better choices.  This is just the kind of stuff I'd like to understand. So if you find a link or have a book or webite you recommend, I'd love to see it!

[Anonymousguest]

30 minutes ago, iweartanktops6 said:

3g (or 4, I can't remember) of that protein is part of the carbohydrates. I don't know if I can explain the science very well, but I can try to find a link to explain it for you. There's math involved to figure out the true nutritional content. 

If you don't believe me, I'm not offended. It's not common knowledge unless you're really into nutrition, or have actually studied it.

I'm curious too. Do you mean your body is unable to access that as protein? This block of cheese I have here (parmesan) has 10gr protein, 7gr fat and <1gr carbohydrate. I have heard that your body will convert protein to glucose if needed, but that is usually in the context of a very low carb diet. 

[iweartanktops]

15 minutes ago, Anonymousguest said:

I'm curious too. Do you mean your body is unable to access that as protein? This block of cheese I have here (parmesan) has 10gr protein, 7gr fat and <1gr carbohydrate. I have heard that your body will convert protein to glucose if needed, but that is usually in the context of a very low carb diet. 

No, it's about the way that proteins and fats and carbohydrates are made or whatever. Haha. Their chemical structure. But you know, I could be wrong about the cheese. Definitely not wrong about nuts. Ah, Now I want to check! Let me do some searching. If I can't find something that explains it concisely, I'll email my dietitian.

ETA - I'm terrible at explaining things like this. I just don't know how to get it from my brain to paper. But I think I just found something. Be back soon 

[iweartanktops]

Okay @Anonymousguest! I'm wrong about cheese. Cheese is a protein source. Nuts are a fat sources. I'm having trouble finding a link right now but I looked it up in a book I have. I'm going to try to take a couple of photos of the chart, here and attach it. It will show the breakdown of each; carbohydrates, fat and protein. 

If you look at the chart, and look at a nutrition label for maybe a slice of bread. The bread has 90 calories for 2 slices. 

*1g fat

*30g carbohydrates 

*8g protein. 

That looks like a decent amount of protein, right? But starches (carbs) have 3g protein for every 15g of carbohydrates. So that leaves only 2g of protein in the serving, thus not a significant protein source. Dooes that make sense? 

[mango_fandango]

9 hours ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

Of course they won't. Bob and Erika aren't interested in higher learning. Just enough education to get by plus the Bible. I'm not sure if they do Bible time like the Maxwells come to think of it... Hmm...surely that is part of any good fundies schedule.

OF COURSE they do Bible time!! 

http://www.largefamiliesonpurpose.com/2013/12/family-devotions-our-nightly-routine.html

Also... another day, ANOTHER "aholyexperience" link. Good GRIEF. We get it. When you need hope for change, JEEEEESUSSSSSSS. *snore*

[grandmadugger]

I don't know how many of you saw the thread about the family in Kansas that just recently had their adopted kids removed and the parents arrested.  One of the things that the Chief of police had such an issue with was the lack of variety in their meals.  You could just hear his utter shock that those poor kids got the same thing three times a day.  I so want to send him Erica's blog link.

[pnwgypsy]

6 hours ago, Anonymousguest said:

I remember being at a neighbours house when I was young, they had 5 kids I think, total hippies/some weird new age religion (the father frequently walked around the house wearing nothing but a turban-my mother was equally hippy so this apparently wasn't an issue) and they gave us a bag of chips to share, we literally dealt out the chips one by one to ensure everyone got an equal amount. 

I feel like "dealing individual potato chips" or "rationing individual potato chips" should garner Erika another post count title

[apandaaries]

6 minutes ago, pnwgypsy said:

I feel like "dealing individual potato chips" or "rationing individual potato chips" should garner Erika another post count title

With the number of post counts this woman inspires, we could reconsider renaming the site "FreeTheShupeKids." Her insanity and control issues are truly unparalleled, even within the fundie world.  

[THERetroGamerNY]

She has a new post up on how busy QF mommies should do home-based bible study.

Because she needs more reasons to never leave the house.

[iweartanktops]

17 minutes ago, THERetroGamerNY said:

She has a new post up on how busy QF mommies should do home-based bible study.

Because she needs more reasons to never leave the house.

Hahaha! 

It's actually sad. I really feel for the kids, especially the younger ones. It sounds like they get very little activity. I imagine they're scolded often for trying to get their energy out. I grew up in the NW. The weather was often rainy. My parents put mats and cushions in the garage, and let us go nuts. We practiced gymnastics out there and were able to safely run and jump and play. It was awesome. We made great memories out there when the weather was bad. Kids need that. 

[THERetroGamerNY]

Somebody should make a horror movie like the new 10 Cloverfield Lane one, but with Erika and her kids all hunkered in the bunker.

Keep John Goodman on as her husband.

[Jingerbread]

On 2/10/2016 at 8:54 PM, Anonymousguest said:

Some of my kids are really small, I mean really really small, 2 of then were not even on the growth chart until they were in the double digits. My tiniest was 17lbs at a yr, 20 at 2, 35 at 7, 60 at 12, you get the picture. When my oldest was 13 he hit puberty, and he was already my biggest kid. He shot up to 5'8" like, over night. And his 11 old brother didn't catch a growth spurt until he was almost 15, so there were several years in there where they looked like they were 5 or more year apart. Now they are both adults and about the same height. The younger one probably weighs 30lbs less than his brother though. 

So maybe this is just a touchy subject for me. But seriously, you cannot make a medical diagnosis by seeing a few pictures on a blog. 

Also, just because she boasts about all the veggies they eat, doesn't mean they don't eat other stuff too. Obviously the girls are getting enough food, and clearly Bob and Erika are too. I think it's very likely they eat other stuff, she just doesn't want to tarnish her appearance by sharing that. She had posted about them getting ice cream, cliff bars and popcorn, rolls, and homemade granola. Which are all high calorie foods. 

Cliff Bars and popcorn in place of meals, not as snacks.  And no, you can't always tell just by pictures, but she shares tons and tons about what they eat for meals, and there's literally no way that what she says is their diet is enough.  I've dealt with an eating disorder, still do, and reading what they eat makes me feel like a fat fucking cow because I'm up to 800 calories a day.  I read what they eat, and want to mimic it because it would be fewer calories than I eat now.  You can look at me and think I'm a good size, but you might be surprised what cute clothes, hair oil, and makeup cover up.

I'm concerned that those kids aren't getting enough, and that's not because of pictures.  It's because of what Erika herself says in actual words.

[Jingerbread]

On 2/12/2016 at 9:19 AM, Granwych said:

I'm horrified when I hear how people use chiropractors for everything from nutrition to allergies.  No offense to any providers actually trained in those specialties, but there is no shame in seeing a medical doctor. 

 

 

 

A decade back, I had a chiropractor who had an MD.  I asked about it since I hadn't known other chiropractors with medical licenses, and he told me he went to medical school first, even though he wanted to be a chiropractor, because of how many chiropractors have people trying to use them in place of MDs, sometimes very slyly like asking what symptoms X and Y could mean without mentioning it's something their kid is dealing with, and he wanted to know what to watch for.  So my chiro spent whatever it is, a decade?, getting a medical degree and licensing to prepare for the people who are like Erika and take their kids to a chiro instead of to an actual hospital.  

So I don't know if her chiro is on board with her antics, or if her chiro knows that she won't take kids to a licensed doctor anyway and the chiro still wants to help, or if her chico has a medical degree and license.  It's still on her since I don't think she'd take a kid to an ER.  She'd probably go home and talk about how ungodly the chiro has become.

[Rubaiyat]

On February 19, 2016 at 8:33 AM, slickcat79 said:

 

Secondly, there may be perfectly good homeschoolers who only "do school" for a couple hours a day, but they are probably spending more of the day doing other things that are educational. Or maybe they're doing other things that help them grow/develop and foster their interests, like team sports, music lessons or part-time jobs. Erika has mentioned taking the kids to the library, but we know their other outside activities are severely restricted.

 

Ugh.  The time that Big E insists she spends schooling drives me nuts.  To the bolded, yes!  It's completely possible...with one or two kids who never need help learning or understanding new concepts, or if you never do any sort of project-based lessons.  Or, if that's the time your kiddos spend doing their lessons independently, in addition to the time you spend doing other cool stuff (as you also mentioned.)  

I homeschool 4 kids at 4 different grade levels.  We've been doing this for long enough that I do feel like my kids are getting a good education.  However, the idea that we could do even our basic subjects in 2.5 hours a day is laughable to the point of insanity.  Right now, we're working at 4 hours minimum, and that's only if we don't do every subject every day.  Things like History, Science, Art, PE, any other special project I can come up with, etc... are not part of our every day routine.  We do those things several times a week, but rotate them because no one wants to spend 8 hours a day homeschooling.  

We also do a metric crapton of other activities.  Just this week, the kids have soccer, our giant Friday co-op, swim lessons, Tae Kwon Do, a complicated art project (we're learning to bead - hand sewing was last week, we're working up to sewing and beading our own fur moccasins!) a couple medical/health appointments, Daddy day (hubs was off from work,) they read (whatever they want, all reading is reading) for at least 60 mins a day, AND we are attending a language seminar to learn one of the Native Alaskan languages (one of my children has Native Alaskan heritage - hence the cool-ass projects and other cultural learning opportunities.)  Let me stress that I only have 4 kids, and we often don't have two extra seconds to rub together for warmth.  We are BUSY!!  I'd love for the kids to start music lessons, but there's no room this year!!!  

Last snarky comment and I'll shut up.  We live in Alaska, which is All The Awesome.  The average family size here seems to be something in the neighborhood of 4 kids.  We have overflowing double handfuls of families (11 that I can think of off the top of my head,) just in our homeschool co-op, with 8 or 9 kids.  Erika isn't as special as she'd like to think.  None of those families are hyper-scheduled, and yet they manage to have incredible kids.  They also manage to have kids who think critically, speak their minds  (eloquently - I might add,) are well-read, write extremely well, and have a tremendously broad education.  And yet!! most, if not all, of their children are happily still involved with the family's faith!  It can be done, even if you treat your kids like competent human beings with their own minds, desires, interests, tastes, and that can decide things for themselves!  Most of the mega-moms (not my term, one of the moms uses it, it's hilarious) are serene and calm as can be.  They've seen it all, and failed to quake in fear.  Rather, they went "okay" and got on with the business of raising incredible young people.  Imma go ahead and look to THEM for advice first, kay?  Kay.  

And now, I have to load my (small) child army into the van, and return to language camp!  They're doing a play!  

 

 

 

 

[mango_fandango]

Brandon's birthday today. Maybe he'll hit puberty soon and grow a bit more- only time will tell.

I don't get how manipulating your spine can cure everything. It sounds crazy! If my kid gouged his palate we'd be at A and E immediately!!

[slickcat79]

I believe this is the chiro Erika saw for Riley's injury. He claims an interest in overall family health and nutrition, but I see no evidence of an MD, DO, or training in any other form of medicine besides chiro. 

http://countryclinic.com/content/nicholas-martin-dc-ccep

[lawlifelgbt]

About the calorie content of the foods Erika serves: I was looking over her meal planning and shopping post, and I think I know why Karen and Melanie don't mind getting up early, ostensibly to start breakfast for the family, Erika says:

1. Erika is either asleep or occupied with the youngest kids then, so they are alone or with the other in the kitchen and can sneak food (don't tell me the kids don't ever work together to sneak food, or otherwise break rules- my brother and I did sometimes, even though we didn't get along at all). Like, when my parents had to leave to go somewhere for several hours in the summer once, they said, "don't run the window AC below X temperature" when it was in the mid-90s. We, of course, agreed to put aside our hostility and crank it to a comfortable level.

2. They get quiet/alone time!

[Paperplate]

1 hour ago, lawlifelgbt said:

About the calorie content of the foods Erika serves: I was looking over her meal planning and shopping post, and I think I know why Karen and Melanie don't mind getting up early, ostensibly to start breakfast for the family, Erika says:

1. Erika is either asleep or occupied with the youngest kids then, so they are alone or with the other in the kitchen and can sneak food (don't tell me the kids don't ever work together to sneak food, or otherwise break rules- my brother and I did sometimes, even though we didn't get along at all). Like, when my parents had to leave to go somewhere for several hours in the summer once, they said, "don't run the window AC below X temperature" when it was in the mid-90s. We, of course, agreed to put aside our hostility and crank it to a comfortable level.

2. They get quiet/alone time!

This is what I thought too. Karen and Melanie look like they get adequate nutrition. Either it's a weird Shupe genetic thing where thin kids fill out at puberty without getting more food, Karen and Melanie are actually getting more food than the other kids. Since they are the ones working in the kitchen, they can just take stuff and eat there, probably without Erika noticing. Good for them.

[iweartanktops]

@Jingerbread.    

[feministxtian]

When I homeschooled my kids (there were 5, including 2 with learning issues) it could take ALL DAMN DAY! My oldest child was most able to go off on her own with an assignment sheet and get her stuff done. The second oldest had learning issues so she took LOTS of one on one time. #1 son was second grade-ish at the time...I had to stay on top of him, but he would sit at the table while I worked with #2 child, and could take time out to explain concepts or assignments. #4 child was kindergarten/first grade at the time and spent most of her time with things like hooked on phonics and manipulatives (she also had learning issues). #2 son (#5 child) was preschool at the time and would sit under the table playing with legos. He learned how to read without any formal instruction whatsoever. 

#1 child would do her stuff, bring me her assignments and curl up in a corner to read for the rest of the day if I'd let her. 

Besides school, we had cub scouts, wrestling, dance, gymnastics, swim lessons, playing outside, library trips, all that good stuff. So, we were on the go from about 8am until 6-7 pm some days. 

On the food discussion...I actually found a menu from one week with the tribe. Breakfast was oatmeal/grits/maltomeal/cream of wheat, orange juice, milk. (and I always made double servings...so on a daily basis I made enough for 12 servings and no, there were no leftovers). Lunch was always quick and simple, PB&J, fruit, milk. Dinner was a full meal, meat, starch, veggies. Snacks were fruit, homemade fruit roll-ups (I had a dehydrator), cheese, and #1 son had an affinity for raw broccoli dipped directly into a jar of queso dip. For a treat they would have my infamous "been down once dip"...refried beans, salsa and queso, mixed together, with tostitos. This would have been in the early 90's in SW Indiana...and I think even then I spent close to 100.00 per week on groceries. I never really limited what the kids ate, I mean, I might shoo them away from the fridge if they were hunting while I was cooking dinner, but other than that...no. They would go through phases of eating like they were at training camp, and not eating a whole lot...But, the food was always available. 

Erika is a fucking bitch, abusive nut job, and should never have had kids, it's obvious she has less maternal leanings than I do.