Seewalds 26: Marketing her cute growing (?) family

[VelociRapture]

18 minutes ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

Sorry - I neglected to use the sarcasm font.  lol

(Truly - the world NEEDS a recognizable font for sarcasm)

May I humbly suggest Comic Sans?

[shock928]

It's hard to judge someone for their house cleanliness from just a few photos. BUT I do think the goal of posting photos and cutesy lines about the kids are more important than a clean house was to be relatable and likable. I think she probably does realize that the more people like you the more likely the show will go on and there will be money to be made. 

I mean of course the kids are most important to every mom. But somehow many moms even single moms make it all work relatively clean without TV show money. I really think there is a big strategy through her social media going on here.

[Buzzard]

3 minutes ago, shock928 said:

It's hard to judge someone for their house cleanliness from just a few photos. BUT I do think the goal of posting photos and cutesy lines about the kids are more important than a clean house was to be relatable and likable. I think she probably does realize that the more people like you the more likely the show will go on and there will be money to be made. 

She posted the pics and we talked about HER, not Jinger, JIll, Joy, or Joe.  In google analytic world, thats a Jessa win.  Realistically speaking, if the show continues, they cant follow all of the J'kids and their growing broods, so only one will win out, and thats going to be whomever has the biggest share of the public interest.  Jessa is quite saavy, it seems.

[shock928]

Instagram followers by numbers

 Jessa 2million

Jill 1.6 million

Anna 742 thousand

Jinger 605 thousand

Joy 369 thousand 

Jessa has got strategy

[singsingsing]

If this is her chosen career, she's doing a pretty good job so far. I could see her wanting to make herself and Ben into a sort of fundie power couple. A new and improved, more modern and relatable Jim Bob and Michelle, if you will. She does seem to still embrace the whole quiverfull thing. I could see her looking at how her parents sold their family and thinking, "Hmm, okay, I'm going to take that, tweak a few things, and do it even better."

I would much rather her learn from the disastrous mistakes of her parents, but what choice does she really have? Not much, if she and Ben stick with fundamentalism. She's extremely limited in terms of career options and she already has this massive built-in following. It makes sense that she would choose to exploit that vs. branching out and doing something completely different. I still don't like it, but it makes sense.

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

Jessa, could do the fundy talk show circuit. I'm sure they still have massive gatherings for women like the Promise keepers, I can't remember what it was called but I went a women's weekend conference once. They had "celebrity" speakers and lesser known speakers. They could make a great deal of money off of those types of events. If they were dynamic enough, and Jessa is, I think Joy could be as well. It could fund their families and help pay for others. They could have Jessa and Joy talk about raising siblings and large families with God's grace .  Jana could write books about tending a garden and keeping sweet and godly while slowly dying inside waiting for your turn for God's glory. Shit, If they went off the TeeVee stared writing a few books and just sticking to their own kind, they would make pretty decent money.  They could travel the country, do weekend shows twice a month and make enough to feed the kids with only a few hours of work each week.

[AtlanticTug]

Jessa doesn't even have competition among the Duggars. She's the only one trying to make a go of it as a solo reality tv/Instagram star. The rest can't be bothered or are too dull or too loathsome to make it.

[HarryPotterFan]

4 hours ago, SilverBeach said:

He shares responsibility and looks as bad as she does for posting this shit.

Literally. Literally posting shit 

[SCROW10]

2 hours ago, AtlanticTug said:

Do we know WHAT Ben actually does outside the home? And whether he's doing it full time? Maybe I missed it but they have mentioned him being at work but stayed mum on the deets?

Last time I checked he was still studying at the online bible school and was an intern at Harvard Avenue Baptist Church in Siloam Springs.

[Nikedagain?]

36 minutes ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

 

Jessa, could do the fundy talk show circuit. I'm sure they still have massive gatherings for women like the Promise keepers

 

HEY! Whatever happened to the Promise Keepers? I forgot about them? Did they just morph into the Tea Party? 

[JPickleDuggar]

16 hours ago, Fun Undies said:

Oh my gosh ~ I have no idea what motivated her to share that post (trying to "keep it real", a big "F-you?" <-- to whom?) . . . but wow.  I just don't even know where to begin:

Relatable: pen artwork, and fingerprints/hand prints on shiny surfaces, toys scattered everywhere (I've had worse at my own house!), and I rarely clean my vents either, every couple of months.  Sink full of dishes . . . I got one right now

The parts that made go "Whoaaaa": the sidetable.  I mean, mine were born 17 mo. apart, so I can relate to the struggle of keeping a clean house.  But my sidetables were usually overstuffed, or had streaks from cleaning them down with wet wipes meant for butts   That amount of dust would easily get my asthma flaring.  And the dirty diapers?!  Okay, so who hasn't left one (or heck I'll even say up three) diapers on the changing table, because both kids were screaming, and you walked away forgetting about it.  But sweet Jesus, that amount?!  And why, WHY post that on social media?  Like adult Spurgeon and Henry aren't going to be mortified if they ever see that?  And finally, the stovetop - are they just ignoring the caked on food smells when cooking?  Or are they just literally eating out every single meal at this point?  

Maybe she's pregnant again, and just too nauseous to do anything?  I mean, I've been there, so maybe I could give her a pass (sort of) if that's what it turns out to be?

Otherwise, if you have fifteen minutes to upload pics, and write about how dirty you're house is - you got 15 minutes to wipe down the sidetable, vents, stovetop, remove the bedsheet, and grab a plastic bag to throw those diapers in.  I mean, come on!  If you don't want to do it, then just admit it, don't sit here, and say how it's so you can spend time with the kids . . . . while you're typing said excuse on social media . . . away from your kids.

And alsoplusalso, can Laura and Jana just have Grandma Mary's room already??  Come on Michelle, they'll be closer to the kitchen so they can get to breakfast faster.

I totally agree with how gross the diapers are, but she said they've collected in the past 12 hours so it's not like they've been sitting there for days; but I don't have kids so I can't talking too much into that. But the sleeping on throwup sheets, I'd kinda get it if she throws a towel over it, I know I hate having to take the time to put new sheets on the bed and remaking the bed, but it seems like she's been sleeping on the throw up without covering it 

[JesSky03]

@momofsquid and @LegHumperBibleThumper Fellow golden owner here...just curious if either of you have found a vacuum that picks up the dog hair well. We have a Shark Professional Rotator and it just cannot keep up. Every few vacuums I have to cut off hair from the rollers and its starting to really get on my nerves. 

Picture for cuteness attached:

Spoiler

 

[JDuggs]

42 minutes ago, AtlanticTug said:

Jessa doesn't even have competition among the Duggars. She's the only one trying to make a go of it as a solo reality tv/Instagram star. The rest can't be bothered or are too dull or too loathsome to make it.

So are you offended that the rest of the Duggar kids aren’t working hard enough to cultivate their brands? Is it okay with you if they don’t care to have Instagram stardom? Jessa understands that she’s pretty and has a pretty family. She’s decided to capitalize on this. It seems like she’s doing this for her own personal gain rather than to being more people to Jesus but it’s her call. If the other kids want more privacy than Jessa, good for them.

[LegHumperBibleThumper]

12 minutes ago, JesSky03 said:

@momofsquid and @LegHumperBibleThumper Fellow golden owner here...just curious if either of you have found a vacuum that picks up the dog hair well. We have a Shark Professional Rotator and it just cannot keep up. Every few vacuums I have to cut off hair from the rollers and its starting to really get on my nerves. 

Picture for cuteness attached:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

SO CUTE!! I actually have 2 vacuums since we live in a 3 floor town home. My Dyson is absolute crap so definitely don't get one of those. I've been thinking about getting a Shark bc that what my cleaning woman uses and she loves it. Nice to know you disagree. I have an old (like 6 years) Bissell Pet that I think works really great. If it ever dies I would definitely go straight out an get another. My entire home is carpet and although I have to empty the tank often, it works really great. The brush attachment has short and sturdy bristles that really grab hair from upholstery. Hope that helps  

[KelseyAnn]

Okay, while the diapers are gross, In Jessa's offense she came from a home where her every move and thought was dictated. At TTH she never had to think about cleaning something, she was simply told to do it. So now when she has her own home, without anyone to tell her to throw those diapers out, it might be hard for her to take the initiative to do it right away. When I first left home, I was overwhelmed with all the freedom and I let my apartment get dirty, too. 

Also, Jessa has spent half her lifetime taking care of her siblings. Give the girl a break. 

[SamiKatz]

I try to keep my apartment neat and tidy - I do my dishes every day, vacuum almost daily (cats), sweep my kitchen floor daily, wash my floors weekly.  Wash my sheets and remake my bed weekly.

Don't dust nearly as often as I should but I would absolutely, positively, 100% never sleep on sheets that had spit up on them!  I have gotten up at 3 am and remade my bed if the cats puke on my sheets, or taken the sheets off and went to sleep on the couch until  I could wash the sheets the next day. 

No judgement on Jessa, just my own pecularity.

I

[momofsquid]

@LegHumperBibleThumper and @JesSky03, you both have beautiful dogs! I'm afraid I'm no help on the vacuuming front. Most of our floors are laminate so for the most part we use a Sweepa rubber broom or vacuum with the roller turned off. The stairs are carpeted and we have to scrape up the hair with our fingers before trying to vacuum. We have some random old Sears model and a Dyson and neither is up to the task. I really should look into those pet models.

[Lurky]

My sister really struggled when both her kids were in nappies at the same time.  She rang me feeling like the world's most terrible mum because her husband came home from work and there was a used nappy on the kitchen floor and the house was a disaster, and she hadn't even had time to shower - but her baby son was screaming every time she put him down and her toddler was acting up, and everything was stressful. 

I don't think anyone gets up in the morning and plans to just leave used nappies around the house, I can totally see how it happens, if eg all the bins are full, and the kids are having a crazy day.

And I 100% will never agree that because a man goes out to work in the day, he's absolved of responsibilities when he gets home!  I don't have kids, but my friends on maternity leave with little babies have worked super-hard, generally while sleep deprived, and all have said the first 6 months are harder than their jobs, even the ones with "easy" babies.   Yeah, the fathers have been out at work for 9 hours or so, but that doesn't mean the mothers should work 19 hours a day with no help at all.  (One of my friend's husbands did try the "because you're on maternity leave, I shouldn't have to do any housework" thing on his wife, but got very short shrift)

[nausicaa]

6 hours ago, JesSky03 said:

Do we share the same sister somehow?? I always cringe when I walk through the front door of my sister's house. She has always been a slob but since having two kids its just gotten soooo bad. Garbage overflowing, spit up on the couch, cat box uncleaned, clutter everywhere- and I mean everywhere. Every time I leave I go home and promise myself my house won't look like that and then start cleaning lol. 

I get having two kids is a lot of work, but it doesn't take that much time to at least take out the garbage and wipe down your stove and counter tops. The smell would drive me insane and ramp up my anxiety. 

This is my best friend. Always a slob, has taken it to new heights with two kids. Her sons sleep wrapped up in their dad's shirts a lot of nights because she didn't do laundry (again) and they have no clean pajamas. There was straight up gravel in her baby's crib that the dog had somehow tracked in and was never removed. 

The worst are the smells. And she won't take out the recycling, and so she lines up empty 16 oz. plastic bottles around the kitchen floor, which means 16 oz. plastic bottles are constantly flying everywhere when people are walking through the kitchen. And I always kick a strike...

I don't have any kids and know I'm completely over-the-top about cleaning and neatness, but it takes everything in me not to freak out at her house.

And yeah, I always start maniacally cleaning my place whenever I return from hers. Same thing with watching Hoarders. Can't watch that show without sorting through some gift wrap or taking out the bathroom trash or something.

[LegHumperBibleThumper]

10 minutes ago, momofsquid said:

@LegHumperBibleThumper and @JesSky03, you both have beautiful dogs! I'm afraid I'm no help on the vacuuming front. Most of our floors are laminate so for the most part we use a Sweepa rubber broom or vacuum with the roller turned off. The stairs are carpeted and we have to scrape up the hair with our fingers before trying to vacuum. We have some random old Sears model and a Dyson and neither is up to the task. I really should look into those pet models.

believe it or not, try a squeegee. you wont regret it! I use it on my sofa and my short fiber area rugs. Works like a charm! 

[momofsquid]

4 minutes ago, LegHumperBibleThumper said:

believe it or not, try a squeegee. you wont regret it! I use it on my sofa and my short fiber area rugs. Works like a charm! 

Ooh, interesting! I will try that. Thanks!

[LegHumperBibleThumper]

12 minutes ago, Lurky said:

And I 100% will never agree that because a man goes out to work in the day, he's absolved of responsibilities when he gets home!  I don't have kids, but my friends on maternity leave with little babies have worked super-hard, generally while sleep deprived, and all have said the first 6 months are harder than their jobs, even the ones with "easy" babies.   Yeah, the fathers have been out at work for 9 hours or so, but that doesn't mean the mothers should work 19 hours a day with no help at all.  (One of my friend's husbands did try the "because you're on maternity leave, I shouldn't have to do any housework" thing on his wife, but got very short shrift)

I mostly agree with this sentiment but all family dynamics are different. DH works in the car business and generally works a minimum of 13 hour days, often 6 days a week. I work a normal 40 hour week but most of the time its just me and the pups at home in the evening so any mess that's made, is mine. I can use that time to sit on my bum and watch tv or i can cook and straighten/clean. If he is still at work, I feel like I should also still be "at work". I don't expect him to come home after working 13+ hours and cleaning up after me or walking into an untidy home. On weeks where he works 6 days I try to work extra hard on saturdays so that neither of us have to lift a finger on sunday and we can spend quality time together do something fun or just relaxing. We each have our jobs around the house and he is most definitely not absolved of responsibility.  But it works for us, for now. When little Thumper arrives i'm sure things will have to change a bit. 

[VineHeart137]

I'm kind of curious about how the married Bateses felt about Jessa's post. I feel like Erin clutched her chest and went "Oh!" like she did when Chad said the word "poo" during a talking head. Whitney would probably just keel over and die if anyone saw her house like that. Not saying there's anything wrong with NOT wanting people to see your dirty house! Just that they seem to want to project a different image on their social media (although I do remember Erin's post about Carson throwing a ton of stuff in the toilet while she was busy with Brooklyn!)

[Lurky]

@LegHumperBibleThumper With respect, your current situation is completely different to a couple with a young baby.  I strongly believe that if 2 people choose to have a baby together, it's both of their responsibility to raise it and do the work around it. 

I mean, if my partner and I had had kids, and she was the one to carry them, I can't imagine coming home from work and seeing she'd had a bad day, our child was screaming and the house was a mess, and sitting down in front of the TV to relax, leaving her to get on with it, on the basis that I'd been working - I would assume she had been working all day too, even if it wasn't as visible. 

I get that other posters' mileage may vary, and of course, there are different cultural factors coming into play, but even though I will never have kids, to me, looking after small babies counts as work just as much as going to to a paid job.

[Rachel333]

I don't think that a man working means that it's fair for him to work for eight hours a day and then do absolutely nothing at home if his wife is working all day long.

Surveys have found that even among couples who consider their marriage egalitarian and who both work full-time the women still, on average, end up doing most of the housework. Men often have a skewed idea of how much work they're actually doing, too; it might sound fair to say that the man will take responsibility for one chore while the woman takes another, but it often ends up being things like mowing the lawn vs. doing dishes, which isn't an equal division of labor at all because one is done only occasionally while the other needs to be done every single day.