Erin and Chad 3: Welcoming Baby Everly

[Pretzel]

2 hours ago, Flippp said:

Y'all. Forgive my senior moment, but what the heck is BEC?

BEC= Bitch Eating Crackers. Basically a snarky way to say someone is a total bitch for doing something totally normal/something that wouldn't be snarkworthy if the person in question was more popular.

@JillyO I know. I didn't say that the Paines in particular have to lead a public life. But there are people who do not necessarily want to lead a public life and are somehow dragged into the dog&pony show and definitely got snarked on in the past. But I agree, if you're public there are gonna be comments though I think most fundies don't actually care.

[AmericanRose]

I like seeing home / room renovations, so I won't snark on that (I also enjoy re-arranging things, though I don't paint... pretty sure my landlord wouldn't allow that anyway!) 

I will, however, raise an eyebrow over this comment: "So selfless of you to share." Wut. 

[LawsonBatesEgo]

Firstly, to be fair, it looks like the wall paint is the same in the first 2 pictures, and possibly the third (it is hard to see with the lighting), so she is not necessarily repainting every time she changes the room.

But what really bothers me with the criticism is that it feels a little "gendered", like how dare a MOM spend hours and money on redecorating when she has little kids she could spend time on instead. But when Chad makes something, which takes time and money, people swoon over it. There is absolutely no sign that Carson, Brooklyn and Everly are starved for parental time. Parents still need their own interests and ways to unwind. While Erin's choices of interests and hobbies (bible study/journalling, decorating, classical music) are not my cup of tea, there is nothing wrong with them.

[HarleyQuinn]

I guess the first thing that comes to my mind is why waste so much money putting it into redoing a rental property when you could be buying a house and putting it there? I realize new bedding doesn't really fall into that category but it seems strange that they throw so much money at this little rental. I've never rented anything that let me change so much about it. 

[OyToTheVey]

That house is probably owned by church friends. Around here a lot of people do rent- to- buy options. They're probably fixing up and doing maintenance on that house for peanuts in exchange for living there. The house is staged nicely and the owners will have no problems selling it with all the improvements that the Paines have done. No owner will complain about a tenant planting flowers or putting up a new coat of paint.

[Hisey]

8 hours ago, LawsonBatesEgo said:

But what really bothers me with the criticism is that it feels a little "gendered", like how dare a MOM spend hours and money on redecoratin

No, you're reading into that. Very sexist of you. As I said above, I'd feel the exact same way if Chad had renovated the room 3-4 times. Which is . . .why? Why subject your babies to paint fumes? Why live in chaos? Why dedicated so much time to this, at such a busy time of life? Why not wait a few years, when the kids could actually help (or at least occupy themselves). True for Chad or Erin, whoever did the work.

[QuiverFullofBooks]

1 hour ago, Hisey said:

No, you're reading into that. Very sexist of you. As I said above, I'd feel the exact same way if Chad had renovated the room 3-4 times. Which is . . .why? Why subject your babies to paint fumes? Why live in chaos? Why dedicated so much time to this, at such a busy time of life? Why not wait a few years, when the kids could actually help (or at least occupy themselves). True for Chad or Erin, whoever did the work.

How is taking a day or two to paint a room “living in chaos”?! Why would you want the kids to be older, when they can get into the paint, instead of little enough to stay in a bouncy seat or playpen? Erin has tons of sitters and her parents nearby anyway; the kids might not have even been there. Also, it’s probably just decor, not paint.

[Pretzel]

Oh them fundies. And oh them poor fundie babies! Not only exposed to toxic beliefs but now also toxic paint fumes. It's about time we call child protection services on them. 

[melon]

15 hours ago, Flippp said:

Y'all. Forgive my senior moment, but what the heck is BEC?

Bitch Eating Crackers.I did not know what it meant,either, for awhile.

[fluffernutter]

16 hours ago, Flippp said:

Y'all. Forgive my senior moment, but what the heck is BEC?

Bitch eating crackers. If you hover over underlined words, it'll pop up and tell you. About the decorating? There are loads of reasons to take issue with the Bates or Duggars or any of these families. Decorating isn't one of them. She likes it, she does it, and she's pretty good at it! Who cares?  ***Whoops, saw Pretzel answered your question already. Never mind!***

[HerNameIsBuffy]

3 minutes ago, fluffernutter said:

About the decorating? There are loads of reasons to take issue with the Bates or Duggars or any of these families. Decorating isn't one of them.

I love you.  

[SassyPants]

16 hours ago, JillyO said:

I mean, I literally do not care about the topic of Erin redecorating her bedroom one way or the other, but the Paines do NOT have to lead a public life. They choose to do so. When you put your life out for public consumption, you're going to get comments on it. You're not gonna like all of them. That's life. If Erin didn't want people commenting on the fact that she completely redecorated her bedroom four times in five years, she didn't have to make an Instagram post about it. It's as simple as that.

I'll go a step farther...when you sell your life to the public, thus making yourself a commodity, you had better anticipate that the public AKA CONSUMERS will comment on that product/commodity AKA YOUR LIFE!

 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

4 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

I'll go a step farther...when you sell your life to the public, thus making yourself a commodity, you had better anticipate that the public AKA CONSUMERS will comment on that product/commodity AKA YOUR LIFE!

 

Sure.  I don't think anyone would be crying her a river if Erin were complaining about it.  I certainly wouldn't.

I just find it disappointing when people here comment on the trivial nonsense rather than the dangerous commodity they are really selling.

I wouldn't think her true consumers would hang out here, but could be wrong.

[metheglyn]

2 hours ago, Pretzel said:

Oh them fundies. And oh them poor fundie babies! Not only exposed to toxic beliefs but now also toxic paint fumes. It's about time we call child protection services on them. 

Hahaha. Indeed! Such the worst thing ever.

Frankly, I just participated in a painting party at a friend's house and brought masks with me because I usually have issues with paint fumes, even with latex paint. Much to my surprise I found that I couldn't smell any fumes coming off the paint they chose even though I frequently had my nose within 6 inches of the paint cup (I was painting and edging along the ceiling and floorboards).  So depending on the paint in question, such as modern low VOC paints, there may not BE any paint fumes to disturb the babies/toddlers, anyway.

[Pretzel]

37 minutes ago, metheglyn said:

Hahaha. Indeed! Such the worst thing ever.

Frankly, I just participated in a painting party at a friend's house and brought masks with me because I usually have issues with paint fumes, even with latex paint. Much to my surprise I found that I couldn't smell any fumes coming off the paint they chose even though I frequently had my nose within 6 inches of the paint cup (I was painting and edging along the ceiling and floorboards).  So depending on the paint in question, such as modern low VOC paints, there may not BE any paint fumes to disturb the babies/toddlers, anyway.

Oh I really wanna give you all kinds of reputations for that response. 

Painting party! Paint without fumes! Rufus Bless! And while paintin' the room in utter chaos with three small children high on paint fumes, you can keep them entertained with ...a painting song, you know the song that goes ...

Spoiler

 

Edit: Thought it was more fun to hear Lorelai actually sing that song. LOL

 

 

[ladyaudley]

The Way this thread has developed has made my evening ? thanks everyone. 

[QuiverDance]

On 9/18/2018 at 2:56 PM, kmachete14 said:

Sorry, I mean "started" at 25-30, like people in my circle do. But Erin looks really good for 27 regardless! 

Who doesn't look good at 27???????  Asking for a very, very old friend.

[TatertotAsserole]

@QuiverDance

There are people who don't look good at 27: People who have done meth, anyone who works in a super-high stress job, white people who move to the south or west and forget SPF as part of their daily routine. I'm 29 and some of my high school and college classmates look like they've been through hell. These are mostly people who went to med school/did a specialty like surgery or people who work in finance...and my friends who went in to the foreign service but that's for another reason.

[Grace]

On 9/25/2018 at 10:10 AM, Hisey said:

Hey, I stand by my comment.?? Firstly, there's a big difference between one toddler and THREE small children. Secondly, she repainted four times. Three times while having babies or small kids.

This meant she got paint swatches, picked a few she liked, tried out the samples, chose one, ordered the paint, brought it home, dragged out the bed, dresser, rugs, curtains, clocks, lamps, pillows, blankets mirrors, etc, put them somewhere in that tiny cottage, laid tarps, got ladders, put up painters tape, got all the stuff she needed (rollers, brushes, roller pan, rags, etc), painted the room while keeping the babies out of the paint, and set up a new sleeping area for her and Chad. Then she lived in that chaos for a day while it dried. After the paint was dry, she did any necessary touchup, pulled off the painters tape, removed the tarps and ladders, and replaced all the furniture (re-hung mirrors, curtains, dragged in mattresses, etc). 

She did this FOUR TIMES. Three of those times, she was either pregnant or had infants/small children. Not to mention, she also chose new duvet covers, curtains, etc. 

That's a bit different than playing video games while your toddler naps.

That is like twice as many steps as I take when I paint a room.....but I'm not very good at painting, really, so maybe that's why ?

There is a local lady with a popular Insta who has 3 kids and runs a business and she's a painting maniac. She paints her house a lot (it's big and they just bought it recently) and she just jumps in and does it. I don't even think she tapes things off. She's just super good at it and enjoys doing it. I wish she'd come paint a few rooms at my house

[just_ordinary]

I wonder when we will hear about Erin the “skilled interior designer”. As soon as when one of them is able to do something a tiny bit better then the rest they really love to exaggerate it (like her cooking-she is no chef, maybe a very good amateur).

Her interior style, while all looks well matched, is just really not my cup of tea. It is missing the easiness that a real designer might have created.

But whatever, she clearly enjoys to decorate and redecorate her bedroom. Fair enough - at least she seems to find happiness in her Fundie approved activities (cooking, making your home a nice place). I wonder what happened to her music. I haven’t heard about it in a long time. She solely seems to play for weddings now. It is a bit sad that her talent is getting wasted like that. I mean, no one should be forced to do something just because one is good at it, but she (and Chad) seemed so proud. 

[QuiverDance]

4 hours ago, TatertotAsserole said:

@QuiverDance

There are people who don't look good at 27: People who have done meth, anyone who works in a super-high stress job, white people who move to the south or west and forget SPF as part of their daily routine. I'm 29 and some of my high school and college classmates look like they've been through hell. These are mostly people who went to med school/did a specialty like surgery or people who work in finance...and my friends who went in to the foreign service but that's for another reason.

 

Sorry.... no intent to offend... Just can't imagine a first world situation where looking great at 27 is not normal.  

Incidentally.. I've lived in the South my ENTIRE LIFE, driven convertibles, and forgotten my sunscreen numerous times, and .... IDK.  If I do say so myself... I look PFG at 45.  

 

 

 

 

 

[Joyfully Available]

I think I sort of understand what @TatertotAsserole is trying to say and maybe what @kmachete14 was implying, I'm no where near 27...more like 35 but I've run into old high school classmates recently (and in years past when still in my 20's) and I haven't even recognized them. Many have just let themselves go by not taking care of their health, poor life choices and sometimes just the daily struggle of life will wear a person down. I'm certainly not judging anyone's appearance or life but I can't help but notice when an acquaintance or fellow classmate looks drastically different or much older than they should for our age (s).

**I should also mention I live in a state where the drug epidemic is a serious problem and meth is rampant.

***A further note, I wish I still looked 27!

[LawsonBatesEgo]

On 9/26/2018 at 9:56 PM, HarleyQuinn said:

I guess the first thing that comes to my mind is why waste so much money putting it into redoing a rental property when you could be buying a house and putting it there? I realize new bedding doesn't really fall into that category but it seems strange that they throw so much money at this little rental. I've never rented anything that let me change so much about it. 

I wonder if they are doing the renovations in lieu of/exchanged for reduced rent. A good friend of Mr LBE is married to someone who is licensed trade worker and they rent their home from a friend, but instead of paying rent, he is redoing the bathroom/kitchen, building a deck on the home, and doing a few other misc improvements around the place. The owners pay for the supplies, and he does the work for free. Renovation work can be really expensive so it can actually be a good deal for someone who has an older property and would like to raise the value on it. They put the money they would pay for rent into an account and plan to use it in a few years as their down payment on their own home. They have no kids and don't want them for at least a few more years, so this arrangement works well for them. It also works for the friend who owns the place because he inherited it and doesn't desperately need the rental income, so he basically gets to "flip" it and make more money off it it without having to do the work himself or pay for the labour.

[Carm_88]

Erin gets Brooklyn snuggles. 

[Hisey]

On 9/26/2018 at 7:13 PM, Grace said:

That is like twice as many steps as I take when I paint a room.....but I'm not very good at painting, really, so maybe that's why ?

 

Really? I paint a lot--I mean a lot. If anything, I left stuff out of that list, that I'd ordinarily do. Painting is all about preparation. The actual painting part is pretty quick.

I can't think what steps you'd skip. I mean, you have to haul the furniture out. Ypu have to have tarps to protect the floor. You have to use painters tape to protect the ceiling and trim. You have to remove the painters tape and tarps when the paint is dry. You have to bring all the furniture back.

I suppose you don't need to get samples of a couple of paint colors and try them out. You could just use paint chips to pick a color. But that's the only step that you could skip, IMO.