Erika Shupe *leer smirk* Large Families on Purpose Part 6

[mango_fandango]

2 hours ago, JesusHDuggar said:

First time post btw

Making Fundie sims is a secret obsession of mine. I made them a church and everything, lol. But they live much happier lives than any of the real life fundies we discuss on here. The one I'm playing right now has 8 kids and counting so far. I'm bad, I know. 

Welcome to FreeJinger!

My current family has six kids so far: Adam, Bethany, Chloe, Diana, Ethan and Faith. Some letters don't have any Biblical names or are only weird ones, so I might just come up with a good traditional name for them. 

Back to the Shupes: Erika posted a photo of the twins listening to audio books. Also, she did reply to the original coder question, saying that it sounded cool but she meant more what we were talking about i.e. educational things for kids, as detailed in the post.

[princessmahina]

That seems weird to me. Erika adores the Maxwells. I'm surprised she doesn't have all her children coding so they can be Masters of their Homes and Families or whatever. How is Brandon going to support a family without a computer business? Photography?

[EyeQueue]

Welcome, @JesusHDuggar!

There are a lot of other FJers who make fundie families in their Sims games. You can check out these threads for the details:

[Jingerbread]

19 hours ago, THERetroGamerNY said:

For gawd's sake don't introduce Erika to The Oregon Trail! One of the kids will suddenly die from dysentery or something!

 

[JesusHDuggar]

FJ truly has something for everyone <3

[KylieJenner]

14 minutes ago, JesusHDuggar said:

FJ truly has something for everyone <3

I have to admit, I am jealous of your clever username!

[JesusHDuggar]

Just now, KylieJenner said:

I have to admit, I am jealous of your clever username!

It just came to me! Like a sign from above! (Sarcasm)

[mango_fandango]

So someone asked a while ago whether Erika has her current schedule up. Finally Erika answers saying "No sorry, that is no longer available. I just have examples of what schedules can look like and function like. Blessings.". It was one of the big requests, so that Erika made a special category for them on the blog (current schedules). Wonder why she got rid of them all?? I mean, she could say "we decided to not post our current schedule anymore", fair enough, but why then go back and delete all the ones she had? Karen's apparently graduating this year. Seeing as college is a no-no, I'm kind of intrigued as to what she'll be doing afterwards (as apparently she's been studying cosmetology for the past year/since she got the Milady textbook for her birthday). (That's another Erikaism, the book cover itself says Milady and Erika writes My Lady). 

[iweartanktops]

@mango_fandango, I wonder if some people called her out on how rigid she is. 

[princessmahina]

I have a feeling she was getting some negative feedback about it. Or maybe it was partially us 

I also have a feeling that she's not going to post any future schedules once Karen's graduated. It's going to look weird that she's still scheduling her adult daughter, who is...waiting for Prince Charming and not going out of the house to go to school or work.

[mango_fandango]

Just now, iweartanktops said:

@mango_fandango, I wonder if some people called her out on how rigid she is. 

Hmmm. But schedules are one of her BIG selling points. That and anal-retentive house organisation. I found the summer schedule for last year, which included the comment:

 I have consistently received requests from readers to see my current schedule for our family of 11. *smile* And I'm so happy to oblige! So I now have a topic in our home page "Topics" list where I will post our new schedules as I create them for the beginning of each school year in the fall, and one for the summer of that year. So here is our upcoming Summer 2015 schedule plan if you're interested to see it. Hope it's helpful, and I'm happy to answer any questions you have about it.

So why the sudden change, is what I'm wondering. 

[iweartanktops]

Yes, good point @mango_fandango. Silly of me not to think about that. I guess I think more about her organization, but certainly fundies are interested in her schedules for large, homeschooling families. 

[Criscat]

I think that all the recent changes to the blog, and things being deleted or/and posted again is to try to put herself in the best light. She knows that the schedules, the home schooling, and the lack of a well rounded education as well as her need for control are not helping her cause. Therefore, it must go from the blog. Not sure what is left.

[defraudingjezebel]

Hmm. Astute observation, @mango_fandango! My guess is that she couldn't take the criticism that she saw online or heard from someone offline. Maybe someone told her that its quite a personal thing to reveal on a public blog. I wonder if she'll ever reveal how Karen manages her time  how Erika manages Karen's time after she graduates. I would be absolutely shocked if she allowed Karen to work outside the home in any capacity. But who knows, maybe she'll let her volunteer somewhere with something church related... since, after all, that's how Erika met Bob. 

[Antimony]

I think there are a few possibilities

1) real world backlash
2) she got tighter on personal info after the CPS visits.
3) Maybe Karen is as stubborn as her mother and has told her to stuff the schedules for her at least (we can hope)
4) She isn't making them for the older girls anymore and doesn't want to admit it.
5) Her page has been invaded by snark so many times she's just plain suspicious.

These are no particular order.

I can see why you might want to not tell people where you're going to be in the world at any particular time (annoying ex, crime, etc) but for the Shupe's it's the same so I don't think that sort of privacy is the reason. They're at home, they're always gonna be at home, blah, blah.  

[Criscat]

Wait. CPS visits?! I must've missed that!

[mango_fandango]

21 minutes ago, Criscat said:

Wait. CPS visits?! I must've missed that!

Well, someone casually mentioned a CPS visit somewhere, as if they knew Erika IRL. It's why, we suspect, that Erika changed the bed arrangements in the kids' cells bedrooms. Previously, there were two bunkbeds per room (with a trundle in the girls' room for Anna Marie). In the girls' room particularly, they blocked the windows. Erika claimed there was enough space to escape in case of fire. She knew it wasn't the best solution, but was not about to consider triple bunks due to some reason or other. Then, a while ago, she updated the photos in the house tour post, so now each room has a triple bunk and a single, Anna Marie still on a trundle underneath the single bed. 

She still has all the stuff on homeschooling, but then, that's fairly standard for a Christian mommy blogger. My guess is that the schedules revealed how little school the kids actually did. I know homeschoolers do things differently, but the older kids did two hours a day, split into four blocks of 30 mins each. IIRC, for Karen and Melanie this included math, English, science and history (I think history, going on the schedule from Spring 2014). Even the Maxwells did longer school hours than this. I've seen posts from other mommy bloggers who say their high schoolers do about 4-5 hours a day. The other kids do less but they're still in grade school so I guess they don't have so many classes to do. The only info on the American system is what I've gleaned off Wikipedia, so i wouldn't call myself an expert. From what I remember of the 2014-15 schedule, Riley did not have a scheduled time for math or LA, although he may have done them. There was no evidence of electives for the high schoolers, although Erika did mention they did that sort of stuff over summer, e.g. Spanish if they wanted, plus non-academic stuff like gardening and dog care. They are doing the minimum as mandated by Switched-On Schoolhouse, but no more. I know homeschoolers don't have to fit what public schools say, but my understanding is that most highschoolers would have some years of a language and some years of health. 

TL, DR: I reckon the Shupe kids, well really the HSers, aren't doing much school a day (2 hours). Maybe CPS (if there was such a visit) picked up on this and hence the blog scrubbing. But it could be due to any combination of factors.

[DaffyDill]

On 9 April 2016 at 0:48 PM, Antimony said:

Erika just posted this on Facebook. One of her followers (and myself) is confused about whether or not she means DVD's on how to learn about computers or DVDs to learn on a computer. 

I think it's fine that Erika asks for resource advice (Lord knows we don't want her picking all the curriculum herself but if I recall correctly, usually when she asks, she comes up with a bajillion excuses on why they don't want THAT exact product or don't want to pay for some of these resources (like the chemistry kits for her high school science course.) 

If the kids are going to learn some basic coding though, that'd be wonderful. 

Grammar saves lives Erika! Please refer to the following example:

1)  "Let's eat, Grandma!"

2)  "Let's eat Grandma!"

Now imagine poor Grandma's fate in the second example Erika. Grammar indeed saves lives - get on it.

[Eternalbluepearl]

I've often thought that Erika and Bob put too much of their family out there on the internet, but hey, they have to educate others. NO one else has ever thought to turn an unused coat closet into a food pantry, for example. Thank blog, for the Shupes. 

[mango_fandango]

1 hour ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

I've often thought that Erika and Bob put too much of their family out there on the internet, but hey, they have to educate others. NO one else has ever thought to turn an unused coat closet into a food pantry, for example. Thank blog, for the Shupes. 

One of the things I found most inappropriate was this gem from the potty training post:

 When I toilet trained our first daughter and she pooped in the toilet she freaked out, like she had lost s limb into the toilet!  *laugh*  Poor baby!  Being only 2-years-old she had no idea what that thing was in there.

No. Just no. Why in the name of God would you post about your poor two-year-old daughter being scared of pooping in the toilet?? Any potential courting partner could find that. Or any old stranger, come to that. I mean, it's bad enough that she posted photos of Tyler on the toilet, privates covered, but still... and then she goes and writes that. All kinds of wrong IMO. 

Also, NO-ONE knows how to run a garage sale. No. I had no idea you'd need tables, or signs, or permanent markers to write out prices. Nor did I know that I should group clothes by size, or that I should price items by group and not individually. Erika really must think we're all stupid.

[Antimony]

It occurred to me that other night that we don't know what Erika even likes, besides control. We see other fundies do activities that they enjoy, even at the expense of efficiency or cost.

The Maxwells even sewed those purses for OCC (and then ruined them with glitter glue.)
We've even see Jill Rodrigues sew a rag quilt (albeit to impress fundie celebs, but still!)
We have fundie book bloggers that read books to criticize them but Erika tries to avoid reading even novels.
We know they like the Maxwells, they don't believe in competitive sports, but does Erika like frisbee with the kids? Even the Maxwells play some non-competitive sports. 
She's been through so many dogs we can only assume she doesn't really love them. Her birds are never let out of the cage (which is not good for parrots, which are very smart. Finches could maybe live this way but parrots can and should bond to humans.)

What DOES Erika enjoy? Even her lists of things she likes aren't things she likes! They're just lists of how to have less of stuff she hates -- less mess, less work, more efficiency.

I think, now, that Erika has very little in her life that is truly fulfilling or rewarding (maybe parenting, but then again, she didn't want to have this many kids) and she compensates by writing and recording every little detail of how to feel in control. This is the sorriest I've ever felt for her, but I'm sure it will pass.

*Now I miss my budgie, Ophelia, who sat on my shoulder and groomed my hair with her beak while I studied way back in middle school, who listened to all my practice presentations and ate kale out of my hands. Erika's budgies are wasted on her. 

[mango_fandango]

In her blog bio she mentions liking tennis and Pop Rocks candy. But she doesn't mention them much aside from that. There was some post about when she started playing tennis as a date night thing with Bob, but no mention of that since. It was about a year ago IIRC.

[19 cats and counting]

1 hour ago, Antimony said:

What DOES Erika enjoy? Even her lists of things she likes aren't things she likes! They're just lists of how to have less of stuff she hates -- less mess, less work, more efficiency.

 

Control.  

[princessmahina]

She also likes her slippers and a hot disgusting mug of "coco" made with only the grossest ingredients money can buy. *beam*

[picklepizzas]

17 hours ago, Antimony said:

I think there are a few possibilities

1) real world backlash
2) she got tighter on personal info after the CPS visits.
3) Maybe Karen is as stubborn as her mother and has told her to stuff the schedules for her at least (we can hope)
4) She isn't making them for the older girls anymore and doesn't want to admit it.
5) Her page has been invaded by snark so many times she's just plain suspicious.

These are no particular order.

I can see why you might want to not tell people where you're going to be in the world at any particular time (annoying ex, crime, etc) but for the Shupe's it's the same so I don't think that sort of privacy is the reason. They're at home, they're always gonna be at home, blah, blah.  

more likely, she IS making them for the older girls and doesn't want to admit it. i mean karen is going to be 18 this year right? it's one thing to post detailed schedules for your pre-teens, and another to post them for your (nearly) legal adult child. 

i really hope one of her fans asks her when the girls are allowed to start making their own schedules. although it'll probably be deleted.