Sparkling Adventures Pt 10 - David Pleads Guilty - Merge

[courtlylove]

Words cannot express how much I am not looking forward to that post.   

Is self-cannibalism vegan?

Placenta is the one meat that is produced without killing anything, so I'd say it is vegan.

[browncoatslytherin]

The breastmilk jewelry as a keepsake of your nursing days.  It seems to be something that's cropped up rather recently - I think she's been doing the jewelry for a year or so.  She uses a resin deal to make a "pearl" from breastmilk and has a few different settings and styles and and most of her stuff is between 100-400 dollars.

i have never heard of this before. pretty interesting. i guess it's like jewelry that stores ashes, kind of a niche market, i guess.

[Thechurchlady]

I actually did the placenta capsules after my second child was born. I don't know if it was a placebo effect, but I did feel much better and they did seem to help with my mood and healing. 

But I do wonder if a big part of why Lauren didn't get the "baby blues" this last time is because she was sleeping, resting, healing and focusing on herself and not on a hungry, wailing, colicky,  sleepless newborn... Just a thought... 

[WonderingInWA]

I am SO late to this party, but just spent some time reading the first two pages of this thread and checking out Lauren's website/blog.  Wow.  I will try to catch up, but I'm about rabbit-holed out at the moment.  

[August]

The comments make me want to vomit. I wonder how many she's deleted.

I have to wonder why she even wants to keep her kids around.

Oh who am I kidding? Narcissistic bitch-without them she'd actually lose her reason for blogging/identity.

But once upon a time she had a job she liked; she has artistic talent. She could work. The kids could live with a relative. Most of the blog posts that I remember about relatives have sounded pretty decent. I hope that when they get a bit older they exhibit some of the independence she wants them to have and they bail for Grandma in Perth or the aunt or Grandpa and his boyfriend. I have to believe they'd be welcomed.

Although....I also wonder how screwed up they are. I could see them having some issues (social, emotional, behavioral etc etc etc.) that would be challenging to take on.

I cannot imagine how challenging having radically unschooled kids in the house would be.

The question of why she doesn't send them off to Grandma is interesting. It shows you how utterly focussed on external validation she is (remember when she cooked cupcakes so the other mothers would think she's great?). If she lived a life of total selfishness alone there would be no one telling her how great she is. Likewise if she lived in a normal house and school and the like. This way, with the kids and the unschooling and the surrogacy she gets all the external validation she can take.

[Eternalbluepearl]

ah. i don't know much about lauren before elijah's death, mainly because her older entries are kinda boring before the sparkling insanity set in.

The insanity was there long before Elijah's death. It was a snowball that eventually resulted in David on drugs and throwing himself and his son off of a bridge. If you look into older entries you will see the crazy. The whole family lived in a truck (all while owning a home) and drove around staying in people's driveways and yards, not bathing, the girls weren't given meals, they all trusted complete strangers and David and Lauren didn't always get along. It was pretty intense for those kids. Lauren spent all of her time on the computer documenting their lives while David was the parent. Everyone was particularly afraid for the girls when David went to jail because that only left Lauren and Lauren was always more checked out than the murderer. Tragedy for the Fishers was a long time coming. 

[ViolaSebastian]

The insanity was there long before Elijah's death. It was a snowball that eventually resulted in David on drugs and throwing himself and his son off of a bridge. If you look into older entries you will see the crazy. The whole family lived in a truck (all while owning a home) and drove around staying in people's driveways and yards, not bathing, the girls weren't given meals, they all trusted complete strangers and David and Lauren didn't always get along. It was pretty intense for those kids. Lauren spent all of her time on the computer documenting their lives while David was the parent. Everyone was particularly afraid for the girls when David went to jail because that only left Lauren and Lauren was always more checked out than the murderer. Tragedy for the Fishers was a long time coming. 

Heck, even before they had the girls they were making poor decisions.  There is a story of them sneaking a child across the borders of two African countries on their honeymoon.  The child didn't speak the language and Lauren and David had no plans for this child's eventual return.  

[apandaaries]

Brioni looks so so sad in those photos. She's scowling at the camera and her eyes are filled with anguish

And birthing Daniel was her greatest achievement after forgiving David? What about the births of her daughters? Oh, that's right, nobody tells you what a wonderful altruistic enlightened being you are when you birth babies that you don't give away.

The sadness of the girls really stood out to me, as did their weird front and center placement at the birthing pool.  One of those children kept a balloon barrier between her face and the scene before her, for crying out loud!  They ALL looked disturbed, upset, or sad.  How can someone fail to notice what's doing on with their children to that degree?  But it is Lauren...

And that she would fail to include her daughters at all in her list of major achievements....WTF.  She forgave the man who killed her son, and she was a surrogate, using that experience to help forgive that man, her husband, the father of most of her biological children.  No mention of the daughters who were forced to follow her around and watch as she birthed another brother, immediately giving him away.

I shouldn't be surprised or shocked, but I am...and I'm horrified.  I wish those girls could go live with a grandma out there, or some stable relative. 

[Eternalbluepearl]

Presumably Lauren could hear her baby crying for her while recovering. *shudder* 

[ladyaudley]

(remember when she cooked cupcakes so the other mothers would think she's great?).

and then they didn't pat her on the back for it and she was totally miffed! I'd forgotten that bit. 

I feel her "voice" in writing is different now after this hiatus. I wonder whether she'll explain the reasoning behind her haircut (because we all know there's some convoluted reasoning to come, "it was heavy and I got sick of it" would never be enough in Sparkletown!). 

[sparkles]

and then they didn't pat her on the back for it and she was totally miffed! I'd forgotten that bit. 

I feel her "voice" in writing is different now after this hiatus. I wonder whether she'll explain the reasoning behind her haircut (because we all know there's some convoluted reasoning to come, "it was heavy and I got sick of it" would never be enough in Sparkletown!). 

I kind of felt bad for her after the cupcake incident. She seemed to be trying so hard to be accepted and she worked so hard on the cupcakes that I can understand why she was hurt when they were completely ignored. Of course, we only know her side of it. There may well have been something about her that was off-putting or uncomfortable for the other women but in the end, she still felt like an outcast. That incident was probably one of many perceived slights that pushed her to do a 180 and follow David without hesitation. I would guess that in many ways she still sees herself as an outsider, desperate for acceptance, just from a radically different crowd.

 

[LovelyLuna]

I think that she cut her hair because of lice.

[AliceInFundyland]

It is not nearly as gross as it seams, the pills look exactly like a vitamin. My BFF had hers encapsulated and she thinks it helped her (she has a history of mental Illness). A lady I saw on TV made a smoothie with her raw plecenta  (kept in a Tupperware in the fridge) blended with some frozen raspberries was much much worse. 

I am undecided if I will try this. My research says yes, my mind say no wayyyyyyy. 

I'm sorry, and it may very well be my general anti-pregnancy sentiments speaking, but I think placenta consumption (pill,omelette,smoothie) is exactly as gross as it seems. Just triggers my squick meter.

[Guest]

Wow, I hadn't heard the part about David surfacing in the river, seeing Elijah, and pushing him away.  Didn't Lauren say that he couldn't find him after he surfaced?  I actually think it might be good for the girls to have supervised visits with David, as long as he's stable.  He seemed very close to them before Elijah's death, and as someone said up thread it might be good for someone else to have some control over their lives.  The whole thing is so sad, though.  

The girls look unhappy and uncomfortable in the pics, especially Aisha and Brioni.  And I hate the way Lauren just leaves them with random people and takes off whenever she feels like it.

 

[blessalessi]

I was browsing the SA blog, noticing the updates, this morning.  If ever an Oxford comma were needed, it must be here in the revised "In Brief" section:

In brief:

I'm a redheaded mama with four lovely daughters. We're based in southern Australia and travel in a small, colourful housebus — meeting inspiring people, learning lots and re-thinking everything. I feel passionately about spirituality, good design, alternative education, discussing death and conscious parenting.

[ladyaudley]

She seemed to be trying so hard to be accepted and she worked so hard on the cupcakes that I can understand why she was hurt when they were completely ignored.

 

fair enough, but that happens to the best of us and we don't go off in a bus with our children. Her need for external validation is insane.

Did anyone watch the trailer? As the Gold Star Gays receive Daniel Valur, she turns around, stretches her hand out and coos "I love you guys so much" - and they ignore her. She's so desperate to be part of that moment of the parents first meeting the baby and being enveloped in love (which is normal, she birthed the boy and she can stamp her foot about it as much as she wants, he's her child, too), but is once again completely left out. It would be heartbreaking if she wasn't so crazy.

[So Many Lies]

Agree. It was sad when she reached out. Sickening really.  I found it damn hard to watch. Love affair indeed.

I felt sorry for her about the cupcakes. They did look lovely and to have noone say anything seems a little rude. But then I kept reading the blog and most of my sympathy vanished. And also, I'm sure I haven't recieved recognition for hard work many times, as we all have. But that's life. She took it hard, way too hard.

 

Oh, even the"sane" or "boring" blog entries have a strange bent to them. The whole thing is worth reading. I liked the parts about Julie, and some interesting things came up about Manou and her Dad.

[sparkles]

fair enough, but that happens to the best of us and we don't go off in a bus with our children. Her need for external validation is insane.
Did anyone watch the trailer? As the Gold Star Gays receive Daniel Valur, she turns around, stretches her hand out and coos "I love you guys so much" - and they ignore her. She's so desperate to be part of that moment of the parents first meeting the baby and being enveloped in love (which is normal, she birthed the boy and she can stamp her foot about it as much as she wants, he's her child, too), but is once again completely left out. It would be heartbreaking if she wasn't so crazy.

To the bolded, no, most of us don't go off the rails. But those types of things—and how we perceive them—do shape who we are. In her mind, Lauren was always on the outside looking in. She grew up in a country where she was a minority, separated from her parents, one of the few non-American students at her school. She never seemed to fit in. I don't know what drew her to David but she latched onto him and followed wherever he led. She embraced one extreme after another and she still does. I try to understand her but I'm by no means a Lauren apologist. I think many of the things she's done are horrific and neglectful and I think she's abdicated her role as a parent to her girls in favor of being their friend. Leadership and nurturing don't seem to come naturally to her, as it did to David. I also think she shuts herself off from her emotions out of fear of what would happen if she faced them. She's still that outsider who's desperate to be liked and she'll got to any extremes to make it happen.

And then again, I could be totally talking out my ass, since I don't know her, nor does anyone else here. There was a thread visited by someone who DID know her—Quik-Lives—and she (I think it was a woman; I never saw the photos that were mentioned so I can't be sure) had some insight into Lauren and her girls. It was an interesting read.

http://www.freejinger.org/topic/21687-sparkling-adventures-in-child-neglect-gayby-is-born/?do=findComment&comment=858730

[Peas n carrots]

To the bolded, no, most of us don't go off the rails. But those types of things—and how we perceive them—do shape who we are. In her mind, Lauren was always on the outside looking in. She grew up in a country where she was a minority, separated from her parents, one of the few non-American students at her school. She never seemed to fit in. I don't know what drew her to David but she latched onto him and followed wherever he led. She embraced one extreme after another and she still does. I try to understand her but I'm by no means a Lauren apologist. I think many of the things she's done are horrific and neglectful and I think she's abdicated her role as a parent to her girls in favor of being their friend. Leadership and nurturing don't seem to come naturally to her, as it did to David. I also think she shuts herself off from her emotions out of fear of what would happen if she faced them. She's still that outsider who's desperate to be liked and she'll got to any extremes to make it happen.

And then again, I could be totally talking out my ass, since I don't know her, nor does anyone else here. There was a thread visited by someone who DID know her—Quik-Lives—and she (I think it was a woman; I never saw the photos that were mentioned so I can't be sure) had some insight into Lauren and her girls. It was an interesting read.

http://www.freejinger.org/topic/21687-sparkling-adventures-in-child-neglect-gayby-is-born/?do=findComment&comment=858730

What page does the comments start? I kind of tune in and out of Sparkling Lauren and missed this.

[sparkles]

 

What page does the comments start? I kind of tune in and out of Sparkling Lauren and missed this.

huh, sorry. Don't know why that didn't link up correctly. Trying again. If it doesn't work, search "Astro Boy." The first comment is near the top.

[blessalessi]

I fell down the rabbit hole again, and read the early post where she and David smuggled an orphaned boy into another country for medical treatment, without any plans for his return beyond "praying" for a family for him.  It smacks of the same assumed "do-gooding" of the kinds of people who adopt internationally, re-home the children and then pat themselves on the back for beong a part of the child's journey to"civilisation". 

I wonder all the time though about how David and Lauren came to be how they are today.  Both of them have interesting back stories to say the least. The ICA school Lauren attended seems to have been closed down amid a scandal revealing decades of emotional, physical and sexual abuse.  Whether or not Lauren was a victim of direct abuse, her early years must surely have had some screwy impact on her, for her to be so unconsciously revealing her dark side, in all the "conscious" writing on the blog.

The poor, dear children that are suffering from Lauren and David's behaviour.  I feel so sad for them, and hope so much that they will be able to break the cycle in their own lives.

[ladyaudley]

To the bolded, no, most of us don't go off the rails. But those types of things—and how we perceive them—do shape who we are. In her mind, Lauren was always on the outside looking in. She grew up in a country where she was a minority, separated from her parents, one of the few non-American students at her school. She never seemed to fit in. I don't know what drew her to David but she latched onto him and followed wherever he led. She embraced one extreme after another and she still does. I try to understand her but I'm by no means a Lauren apologist.

I see where you're coming from and in a universe where she wasn't constantly rejecting the validation and help of her family and taking every possible security away from four young girls I might have some sympathy for her. But the reality I just cannot stomach. There is and always has been plenty of help and support available to her, just not by the "right" people, so she continues to reject it.

[So Many Lies]

The help wasn't fringe enough.  She has to feel cutting edge all the time.

[AngelGirl8811]

I feel bad for Lauren in a way, she's so desperate to feel validated and accepted. It's a hard way to live your life, if you spend so much time worrying about how others will perceive what you do, you will be very unhappy. I don't think she truly deals with things as much as pushes them to the back of her mind and goes "Lala, bad things I can't hear you." I hope that she soon finds peace and that she gets her daughters some counselling because they are going to need it. 

[lilith]

She was in my city (Sydney) yesterday, which makes me wonder if she did attend the sentencing and is travelling back South.