Tedious, Complicated, and Particular: Erika Shupe, Part 8

[NotALoserLikeYou]

I think Erika has read about older kids flying the coop (Pennington Point, the Jeubs, Heather Saunders, the Coghlans) and it scared her. I was thrilled to see Karen and Melanie in their normal, yet modest, swimwear. I have a feeling they are assertive - and they got that from their not-so-submissive mother!

But I am still concerned every time I see that frail looking son of theirs :/

[JillyO]

Meanwhile, poor Anna Marie is stuck in the ridiculous modesty swimsuit. It's got to be even worse when your mom and all of your sisters are wearing regular swimwear.

 

 

[Anonymousguest]

44 minutes ago, JillyO said:

Meanwhile, poor Anna Marie is stuck in the ridiculous modesty swimsuit. It's got to be even worse when your mom and all of your sisters are wearing regular swimwear.

 

 

I can't believe Erica posted a picture online of herself wearing so little! And yes, goodness,  poor Anna Marie. She looks like she's wearing pajamas to swim. She looks ridiculous. How old is she now?

[wikinggirl]

2 hours ago, Mirla said:

I've actually had movie theatres suggest I take a courtesy cup or two in order to facilitate sharing a large popcorn among four people.

If they got no more than one refill per bag purchased, and they waited until the popcorn was consumed (or nearly so) before they got that refill, I don't have any more issue with them doing this than anyone else getting a refill.  

Truth be told, we often get a refill on the way out, because we don't want to miss the movie to go to the concession stand.

That said, we only have four people to share.  If we eat two bags, and they eat the same amount per person, that would be 5-6 bags.  If she got 4-5 refills, and I managed that theatre,  I'd be very annoyed and might consider changing the policy.

I work at a movie theatre, and the popcorn prices are ridiculous, especially for the smaller ones, so I always recommend families to share a bigger one (and give out an extra cup or two) But we don't do free refills. I wonder if they would do it with other things as well, as drinks? I picture them going to a chain restaurant where they have free refills on drink and they keep on pouring the drinks into other cups. 

[Anonymousguest]

2 hours ago, Mirla said:

I've actually had movie theatres suggest I take a courtesy cup or two in order to facilitate sharing a large popcorn among four people.

If they got no more than one refill per bag purchased, and they waited until the popcorn was consumed (or nearly so) before they got that refill, I don't have any more issue with them doing this than anyone else getting a refill.  

Truth be told, we often get a refill on the way out, because we don't want to miss the movie to go to the concession stand.

That said, we only have four people to share.  If we eat two bags, and they eat the same amount per person, that would be 5-6 bags.  If she got 4-5 refills, and I managed that theatre,  I'd be very annoyed and might consider changing the policy.

The theatres I know that do refills do one refill on the large tub of popcorn. It doesn't matter if 4 people eat 2 tubs or if 15 people eat 2 tubs, the theater is out the same amount of pop corn for the same price. Same for the large drink. 

[princessmahina]

I have a feeling Anna Marie is in a hand me down swimsuit from Karen or Melanie. Those swimsuits are pricy-- I can see Erika not wanting to shell out for them when the girls want more stylish things anyway.

It looks like the twins are also in modest swimsuits. It may be a requirement that they wear those until they reach a certain age.

[imokit]

I think the twins are in T shirts and exercise shorts as opposed to proper modesty wear.  They're in pinker versions of what the boys are wearing.  Anna Marie may have been told she's too young to get a swim suit like her big sisters (either modesty or sunscrean reasons - plenty of kids at that age are made to wear swim shirts/t shirts in the sun) and decided she likes her big sisters old swim suits better than shorts and T shirts.  At her age, I'd have picked the fitted girly thing made out of swimming fabric over boy shorts and a T shirt.

[wikinggirl]

Back to poor Lilly and Lacey for a second (well, kind of)

I found a Norwegian blog called speiltvillingene, which means mirror twins, and the mother color codes her daughters. One is purple and the other one is pink. (they also part their hair on different sides, hence the mirroring) I don't know, it just rubs me the wrong way. The girls are alway dressed in matching outfits, ALWAYS. They claim it makes it easier for everyone around, because they know that A is always pink and B is always purple, but I think it's sad that that's all they are. And of course that the colors are pink and purple...yay patriarchy! 

[mallallory]

Lilly and Lacey are in swim skirts like Erika is wearing and rash guards, they're made of swim material that is often spf rated. The boys are all in rash guards as well.  My nanny-kids have a bunch of swim skirts and rash guards because they cut down on how much sunscreen you have to apply, and also because their mom has some silly ideas about modesty. 

[Tim-Tom Biblethumper]

I can see theaters offering an extra container to share a large or family size popcorn, but brown paper bags?  I've never seen those in a movie theater.  Me thinks Erika (or someone) brought their own supply of bags.  

[princessmahina]

I'm not going to snark on wanting to be modest-- how can I when I special ordered an adorable modest suit myself?-- but I think people like Erika tend to go overboard. The one I got from Jessica Rey is beautiful and covers both my butt and my boobs (a miracle, I'm thinking). Board shirts and a rash guard are also modest. There's no need for a full on dress over leggings. 

And if Erika has finally wised up, then good for her. 

[elliha]

16 hours ago, wotdancer said:

A friend's little girl walked in on her dad in the bathroom and didn't say a word, but later she told her mom "daddy has a tail and he pees out of it!" I love little kids haha

My daughter has said two fun things about this: 

"Mom, vulvae are the best because they are attached properly"

"Vulvae are the best, penises are just ugly"

She used the Swedish word "snippa" which is not technically vulva, it refers to the whole area really.

[Hane]

31 minutes ago, elliha said:

My daughter has said two fun things about this: 

"Mom, vulvae are the best because they are attached properly"

"Vulvae are the best, penises are just ugly"

She used the Swedish word "snippa" which is not technically vulva, it refers to the whole area really.

When I was little, my same-age boy cousin and I lived in the same three-family house. I thought his penis was just an inconvenient wad of skin and didn't want one because it could easily be caught in a zipper.

[mango_fandango]

19 hours ago, wotdancer said:

A friend's little girl walked in on her dad in the bathroom and didn't say a word, but later she told her mom "daddy has a tail and he pees out of it!" I love little kids haha

"Daddy has a tail and he pees out of it"

DYING. 

[Queen Of Hearts]

Erika, the kids, and Bob all look truly happy in the water park pics. Maybe with the kids being older life is getting easier and Erika is loosening the reins a bit.

[Eternalbluepearl]

1 hour ago, Queen Of Hearts said:

Erika, the kids, and Bob all look truly happy in the water park pics. Maybe with the kids being older life is getting easier and Erika is loosening the reins a bit.

I've never seen Bob look so relaxed and happy. I wonder if this is why some articles have gone missing from the blog. Maybe Erika is loosening things a bit.

[Hisey]

15 hours ago, JillyO said:

Meanwhile, poor Anna Marie is stuck in the ridiculous modesty swimsuit. It's got to be even worse when your mom and all of your sisters are wearing regular swimwear.

 

 

It's also ridiculous. The pre-adolescents, with their immature bodies, are all covered up for "modesty." But the grown woman and teenage girls are wearing normal bathing suits. It looks stupid. Does Erika really think Lacy and Lily will be causing men to stumble by exposing their little knees? And that Karen (who I think is gorgeous) won't be causing any stumbling, no matter what she wears?

I think in a couple of years Anna Marie, at least, will be wearing normal swimwear. It is going to be hard for Erika to explain why it's OK for the older girls/women to do one thing, and she must do another. Especially since the kids have lots of girl cousins who seem to dress normally. 

It's also possible that, before these changes, Anna Marie "chose" to spend her birthday money on this swimsuit and Bob and Erika don't want it to go to waste. (Erika has written that, in the past, the older girls "chose" to spend their birthday money on modest swimwear) Maybe next year, she'll be able to make a different choice.

[Ex-Creationist]

I don't really care if Erika explains the less-strict rules or not. The kids in the photos, along with Erika, seem happy to me. This isn't their first trip out in public instead of being stuck inside the house all the time and I hope it's not their last. Yeah, one of the girls is in modest swimwear, but I don't know that she isn't more comfortable in that for now. (I have no way of knowing if Erika offered her an alternative or not. Or if Erika is going to let that daughter make a different choice next summer.)

This, I hope, is a sign of good things continuing for the family, especially the kids.

[mango_fandango]

4th July album up. Usual sort of stuff... except Riley had a run-in with barbed wire and cut himself in six places. Last photo in the album is of his arm. Poor kid. I stabbed myself on some thick fencing/barbed wire about eight years ago and still have a scar on my arm. 

[16strong]

That swimsuit is Melanie's old one. I recognize the fabric. Erika is probably making her wear it for A. cost-saving reasons, B. Because young children have very sensitive skin, C. Young children don't tend to be as capable of reapplying sunscreen, D. They don't tend to enjoy the process, and E. Tracking down the 7 younger kids to get more sunscreen applied every hour or two is... daunting. Especially when they are in the middle of having fun. The swimsuit isn't cute, but there are many reasons Erika would choose to have Anna Marie wear it.

[mango_fandango]

There's been a repost. As usual, it's the exact same material with minimum editing. There's a photo of Bob and Erika with Brandon on his birthday, some years ago, and Erika mentions that Bob is doing a silly face. He isn't. It's more like the sort of face he does usually with Erika around, or like he's not feeling 100% but still attempts to smile, but can't quite hide the fact that he's not quite 100%.

[feministxtian]

Bob looks like he'd rather be anywhere than there...

[elliha]

On 2016-07-04 at 8:38 AM, JillyO said:

Meanwhile, poor Anna Marie is stuck in the ridiculous modesty swimsuit. It's got to be even worse when your mom and all of your sisters are wearing regular swimwear.

 

 

We don't know for sure if she is stuck with it, if Erika is truly allowing more choice it would be fair to also allow the children to wear swimsuits that the family already owns. I don't like feeling naked and would not have any problem wearing a swimsuit like hers. 

Also, my daughter wears 3/4 sleeves and and long shorts when she swims outside for sun protective reasons. I hope to continue this at least until she is 6-7 if I can.

[Eternalbluepearl]

Anna Marie might want to wear the modesty suit. I have an older sister and older cousins and as a kid I thought a hand-me-down from one of them was the coolest. It made me feel special to wear something from a cooler, older girl. 

[Eternalbluepearl]

I'm sorry for the double post:

In the current facebook/blog re-post that discusses birthdays, I think that picture of Anne Marie and her pudding "cake" is so sweet. What a great idea as I've never really liked cake. I do like that the kids get to choose their birthday treat.