Now Scheduling for Summer: Erika Shupe (pt. 7)

[mango_fandango]

From 8 hours ago.

Tyler and Spencer were home with Erika playing a game, followed by popcorn and Ice Age. The others were out swimming. Presumably Tyler and Spencer were ill. That must be odd just having the two of them there. Also an opportunity for the girls to wear their modest swimwear. As it seems Melanie has passed on her outfit to Anna Marie, and has in turn received Karen's old suit, can we assume Karen has a new modest outfit? From past photos I'm gonna assume the twins were in shorts and swim shirts. I'm also surprised they went to a public pool. Then again they went to a water park last summer. Erika is a little looser than other fundie moms in some ways.

[Queen Of Hearts]

1 hour ago, mango_fandango said:

From 8 hours ago.

I'm also surprised they went to a public pool. Then again they went to a water park last summer. Erika is a little looser than other fundie moms in some ways.

Erika will never admit it, but I think between the kids getting older (i.e., harder to control) and going to a church where they interact with people with normal lives, she has had to loosen the reigns and allow the kids to have more normal experiences as time has gone on.  But while most people would see nothing wrong with a family evolving in their lifestyle as the years go by, Erika would see this as some kind of fundie-fail and will likely continue to hide as much of it as possible on her online presence.  

[Yogi]

Yeah, I saw that. It is very weird. And of course all the leghumpers are all "OMG so cute!!"

Also, what's that noise in the background? There's the parakeets (surprised they still have those actually) and normal talking, but there's also some kind of repetitive noise. Not clicking. Can't put my finger on it...

I saw it as well and thought it seemed a little off. Especially when one of the boys tries to go over and he turns away somehow as though she ordered him out of the frame. I didn't listen with the sound so I don't know if she said something or not. Also as an introvert I kind of felt smothered on the one twins behalf. She wasn't really responding to the soothing attempts. So just leave someone alone for a few minutes to calm down. Geez.

[defraudingjezebel]

Another day, another Erika repost. This time, her wheat rolls recipe and recipe organization post. In the comments, you can see a lot of pseudo-humility played out right before your very eyes. 

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Oh bless you - I never mean to discourage! [frown emoticon] Only offer ideas that would be encouraging, hope-giving, and vision-inspiring. [smile emoticon] Maybe just take one little part of a topic like this and implement that and see how you like it?

My friends and I stopped by Mount Vernon to get some coffee while on a road trip. I secretly hoped I would see Erika. Alas, I didn't...   But it was weird knowing that I was so close by. 

[OldFadedStar]

12 minutes ago, defraudingjezebel said:

Another day, another Erika repost. This time, her wheat rolls recipe and recipe organization post. In the comments, you can see a lot of pseudo-humility played out right before your very eyes. 

My friends and I stopped by Mount Vernon to get some coffee while on a road trip. I secretly hoped I would see Erika. Alas, I didn't...   But it was weird knowing that I was so close by. 

I understand. My parents live in the same town as the Maxwells and everytime I visit, I always keep an extra eye out for any of them.

[IrishCarrie]

Oh thank God, Praise the Lord and a big double thumbs up to the universe! - I've just realised that my status is no longer 'Children stacked like cordwood', which I'm pretty sure is an Erica reference? It's been freaking me out for weeks, it's such a strong visual image.

Happy and proud to now be In Full-On Beam Mode. Which I have a horrible feeling is another Erica reference, but until I know for sure I shall skip and twirl and let my evil limbs be exposed to the beautiful sunlight!

[AliceInFundyland]

On May 10, 2016 at 3:00 PM, Granwych said:

We have 9 finches, 4 parakeets, and a cockatiel.  I love the birds, but they are noisy and messy, nearly impossible to keep up with feathers, seeds, and poop that isn't necessarily confined to their cages.  Strange that Erika keeps the birds.

Oy. I had one parakeet at a time for a long time. Then graduated to one conure. That's my max capacity for bird mess and noise, ever. To me her having the birds, even though I'm sure they don't come out, is weirder than anything having to do with the dog.

[Desertrose]

I read on her sisters blog that she is suppose to go to Colorado in June. I wonder if it's just Erika or the whole family.

[snowfootwaltz]

From the latest post: 

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The ingredients that will take time to prepare (things that need to be chopped, or browned) have an Astrix; this helps me plan for the amount of time it takes to prepare that dish. 

*Astrix: makes me think of an evil Harry Potter character or a colorful sugar-doused breakfast cereal.

[closetcagebaby]

42 minutes ago, snowfootwaltz said:

From the latest post: 

*Astrix: makes me think of an evil Harry Potter character or a colorful sugar-doused breakfast cereal.

It reminds me of these comics from my high school French class!

 

[refugee]

6 hours ago, AliceInFundyland said:

Oy. I had one parakeet at a time for a long time. Then graduated to one conure. That's my max capacity for bird mess and noise, ever. To me her having the birds, even though I'm sure they don't come out, is weirder than anything having to do with the dog.

I'm sorry if a bird lover reads this, but I cannot stand the thought of birds in the house.

Another "homeschool" family that we met at the library invited us over for a meal. They had these birds that flew free inside their house while we were there. There were feathers and mess everywhere.

This family had other problems (I use the word homeschool very loosely in their case), but the birds, on top of all the other stress of sharing a meal in their home, scarred me for life (and it was incredibly stressful -- imagine, to start, greasy plates -- greasy not because of what was served at that meal, but because they washed their dishes in cold water without dish soap for "reasons").

I am enough of a poor housekeeper that I will seldom comment on someone else's. But... I could not handle friendship with that family. They gave us lice. When I called all my friends to let them know we'd picked up lice somewhere, so they should watch out, the mom said blithely, "Oh, we've been battling lice for weeks..." Never mentioned it before that moment.

Their homeschooling just... wasn't. I have a mental picture of their son struggling with a cast-off math book at the kitchen table. They did take their kids to the library -- that's how we met them. They were "homeschooling" not because they were in pursuit of a better education for their kids, so far as I can tell in retrospect, but because they were reacting *against* something.

[AliceInFundyland]

@refugee That is not offensive at all. They are messy. All animals in multiples create more work (in smell, droppings, fur/feathers, noise) Birds are likely the worst. That is why I find it completely bizarre that they're still with the Shupes.

[19 cats and counting]

I'm not the best housekeeper (and it is not a priority).  But if you are going to have pets, you have to clean up after them.

A former friend's parents always had dogs.  When Dog #1 (cocker spaniel) died, they got a yapper snapper (Yorkie).  Yapper Snapper was not treated the same as Dog #1 (who was a traditional dog in the sense that he did his business outside).  They thought Yapper Snapper was too little to go into the outside world and trained her to do her business on the kitchen floor (no puppy pads or anything).  Whenever I walked into the place, there was a lingering smell of dog waste.

For several Christmases, former friend would make my family a plate of cookies.  They went straight to the trash, since I wouldn't eat anything prepared in the dog waste kitchen.

[Emilycharlotte]

1 hour ago, refugee said:

 

 

Quote

I am enough of a poor housekeeper that I will seldom comment on someone else's. But... I could not handle friendship with that family. They gave us lice. When I called all my friends to let them know we'd picked up lice somewhere, so they should watch out, the mom said blithely, "Oh, we've been battling lice for weeks..." Never mentioned it before that moment.

Getting lice isn't a sign of being dirty (the children of the most neurotically clean people I ever knew brought lice home once--I think they considered just burning down the house, lol),  BUT if you have a chronic infestation, that's another story! Hats off to you for sticking out the visit---I'm afraid I would have suddenly remembered that I had to go to my Grandma's funeral or something. 

(Btw, sorry about my quote posting issue above)

[elliha]

1 hour ago, 19 cats and counting said:

I'm not the best housekeeper (and it is not a priority).  But if you are going to have pets, you have to clean up after them.

A former friend's parents always had dogs.  When Dog #1 (cocker spaniel) died, they got a yapper snapper (Yorkie).  Yapper Snapper was not treated the same as Dog #1 (who was a traditional dog in the sense that he did his business outside).  They thought Yapper Snapper was too little to go into the outside world and trained her to do her business on the kitchen floor (no puppy pads or anything).  Whenever I walked into the place, there was a lingering smell of dog waste.

For several Christmases, former friend would make my family a plate of cookies.  They went straight to the trash, since I wouldn't eat anything prepared in the dog waste kitchen.

So disgusting. Accidents happen but to not even let your dog out into a yard if you are too lazy to walk it is just cruel. Yorkies are very tough and in every sense a "real" dog just tiny. My sister considered getting one and a friend of her who is a dog person told her not to and suggested an easier breed. She ended up getting Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and it seems like a great match. They are fun dogs that you can take for a real walk but still not overly tough and still cute and fluffy. They are from a very good breeder who takes breed problems seriously and have them checked as well as making sure to use parent animals with clean health records. They are still pretty young but so far so good as to breed diseases (eye problems, heart problems and brain disorder that makes them look like they are constantly catching flies). 

[ILoveJellybeans]

Someone actually trained their dog to shit on the kitchen floor? That's so unsanitary! Even animals that do shit inside have a specific place for shitting that is easily cleaned (such as a litter box).

[smittykins]

When I was in high school, we had a Shih Tzu/terrier mix that we trained to a litter box before we trained her outside(she was born in November and Mom couldn't stand the thought of waiting outside in the middle of winter for her to do her business).  The box also eliminated the middle-of-the-night potty trips.

But the kitchen floor?  Disgusting.

[Hane]

Re twins: My daughter (elementary school music teacher) once had identical twins in one of her classes. They were virtually impossible to tell apart, as they had identical hair styles and wore identical outfits EVERY DAY--and had names so similar she could hardly tell the difference between them.

[Antimony]

This is hands down the best interaction I've ever seen with Erika.

[nelliebelle1197]

18 hours ago, IrishCarrie said:

Oh thank God, Praise the Lord and a big double thumbs up to the universe! - I've just realised that my status is no longer 'Children stacked like cordwood', which I'm pretty sure is an Erica reference? It's been freaking me out for weeks, it's such a strong visual image.

Happy and proud to now be In Full-On Beam Mode. Which I have a horrible feeling is another Erica reference, but until I know for sure I shall skip and twirl and let my evil limbs be exposed to the beautiful sunlight!

Cordwood is not an Erika reference. It is something Raising Ruth said in her made up blog about the sleeping arrangements of her made up family. Full on Beam is Erika.

[elliha]

11 hours ago, Hane said:

Re twins: My daughter (elementary school music teacher) once had identical twins in one of her classes. They were virtually impossible to tell apart, as they had identical hair styles and wore identical outfits EVERY DAY--and had names so similar she could hardly tell the difference between them.

I was friends with identical twins in school. They also liked to dress alike or similarly even though we were in high school. We were not in the same class but had at least one teacher in common. He said that for tests he asked to both to raise their upper lip since one of them had a small chip in a tooth that the other one didn't and he took notice which one had the chip so he was sure they would hand in their own test. 

[nastyhobbitses]

16 hours ago, 19 cats and counting said:

I'm not the best housekeeper (and it is not a priority).  But if you are going to have pets, you have to clean up after them.

A former friend's parents always had dogs.  When Dog #1 (cocker spaniel) died, they got a yapper snapper (Yorkie).  Yapper Snapper was not treated the same as Dog #1 (who was a traditional dog in the sense that he did his business outside).  They thought Yapper Snapper was too little to go into the outside world and trained her to do her business on the kitchen floor (no puppy pads or anything).  Whenever I walked into the place, there was a lingering smell of dog waste.

For several Christmases, former friend would make my family a plate of cookies.  They went straight to the trash, since I wouldn't eat anything prepared in the dog waste kitchen.

Small breed leniency is so damaging to dogs. Yorkies, Chihuahuas, and other small breeds are perfectly capable of doing their business outside, walking on a leash (take them out of those ridiculous strollers and bags), and getting socialized and trained just the same as larger breeds. Get a teddy bear if you want a cute fluffy thing to tote around and snuggle; don't psychologically stunt and damage a living creature.

[JillyO]

32 minutes ago, nastyhobbitses said:

Small breed leniency is so damaging to dogs. Yorkies, Chihuahuas, and other small breeds are perfectly capable of doing their business outside, walking on a leash (take them out of those ridiculous strollers and bags), and getting socialized and trained just the same as larger breeds. Get a teddy bear if you want a cute fluffy thing to tote around and snuggle; don't psychologically stunt and damage a living creature.

Exactly. My mom walks my parents' dog with a group of other women (with dogs) every night. One of those other dogs is a teeny tiny Yorkie mix. She's about as big as our Lab mix' head. And yet they do the exact same things (run around, chase rabbits, beg for treats, do their business, etc.) and are best dog buddies. Yorkie puts her entire head into our Lab's mouth all the time. We were worried she was gonna get hurt at first, but our Lab is very gentle and tolerant with the little rat.

[princessmahina]

14 hours ago, Antimony said:

This is hands down the best interaction I've ever seen with Erika.

I'm dying. That is the funniest thing I've seen all day.

[refugee]

2 minutes ago, princessmahina said:

(quoting @Antimony) This is hands down the best interaction I've ever seen with Erika.

Y'know, it belatedly strikes me that Erika may be incredibly concrete. The members of our family who are on the autism spectrum tend to interact in the same way, taking what other people say literally and responding to the literal meaning without seeing any of the layers beneath the surface.

(And yet some of them also excel at sarcasm. Go figure.)