Counting On Season 5/6/7 Who Knows? It's on Tonight!

[socalrules]

One of the things I find so sad about the Duggar “kids”, now adults, is that not one of them has sought any education or employment not on line with their parents’ way of life. The boys sell cars and work on houses. The girls marry men with fundy leanings and have babies. If they are lucky, their headship allows them to wear pants.

Josiah likely looks unhappy because he is following the Duggar path, not the Josiah path. I can no longer give the Duggars a pass that they don’t know what’s out there. They know, I think they just don’t care. Jill and Jinger married men who graduated from college and it doesn’t seem their husbands have encouraged them to seek a real higher education or they would have done as their headship wished. Then again, you don’t marry a Duggar if you want a college-educated spouse. 

[IReallyAmHopewell]

1 hour ago, Meggo said:

  5 hours ago, singsingsing said:

 If I were ever dating a guy who told me he was going to cook me a meal and it turned out to be old leftovers reheated in a frying pan, I would assume he was either a total jackass or trying to sabotage the relationship. Either way, there probably wouldn't be another date.

Yeah. Definitely out the door. I'm sure this was staged to show how the roles are properly divided by gin-der in the Duggar household, BUT the manly Duggar men can concoct something to keep themselves alive if necessary.  Kind of like how Jill "could" change the oil or flush a transmission.  But it isn't really what they SHOULD be doing.

 

53 minutes ago, socalrules said:

 

Josiah likely looks unhappy because he is following the Duggar path, not the Josiah path

Absolutely.

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

4 hours ago, IReallyAmHopewell said:

Absolutely. The life has been beaten out of him. He's now a "real man" who flips houses, sells used cars etc and makes babies. When he briefly was [Duggar dating] Marjorie he was exploring a graphic design career with her Dad. Now he replaces wax toilet rings. I, too, hate how much he is now like Josh. But thinking back to Josh in the early specials [even though we know what he did at that time] he, too, had LIFE in him. In a way, moving to DC gave that back too him but it was too much temptation for him to handle with no experience outside cult life.

'Siah is going thru the motions of being "in love" enjoying "Sweet Fellowship" etc. And, I think he loathes his father to the core.

On the meaning of "CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN": Normal Christians who vote their own conscience [YES, many DID vote for Hilary] women have careers or jobs, kids may go to daycare, some may homeschool but most go to public school or Christian [think like Catholic School] School,  they wear what everyone else wears. Church is about social life as well as faith. Kids sports leagues, Date Nights etc. These are your neighbors who go to church most weeks.

I do think Josh would be happier out of the cult, I also think he might realize what an asshole he was and try to be a better person and atone (for lack of a better word) for his sins in a non-cult like, God made me way, if that makes sense. 

I also think Josiah & Joy would be happier without the restrictive nature of their cult. Joy wants to work and do things, that in her cult, only men can do, and Si wants to do things that no one in their cult can do.  

I really think a lot of the younger ones especially the lost girls and Justin are just over all their families nonsense, I also think J&M will start beating the sass out of Hannie real soon, like they did with Joy, she's getting to "old" to be acting like a sassy little girl.

[mollysmom]

11 hours ago, TatiFish9 said:

I am not a fan of team Joystin, but I love this about Joy. Just say what is really going on and keep it straight. I struggle with this because of my own upbringing. So, I admire it when I see it from others.

This. I agree 100%. I, too, was raised to "keep sweet" no matter what & don't you dare ever give your opinion! At 40 years old I have just very recently started expressing my opinions (popular or not). Not in the annoying way like "that color does not look good on you!" but more like....yesterday at work I was talking to my boss about a work related issue & a coworker just came up & interrupted (with a non urgent question) like I wasn't even standing there. I was raised to just stand there & take it but yesterday I looked right at her & said "Umm....I was talking!!!" (then I went in the bathroom & cried cuz I felt so bad haha but I'm trying!!!! ) It's hard to bring yourself out of that though when it was beat (literally) into you from the time you were very little! So I do appreciate & enjoy Joy's "snark"! 

 

Oh. And TatiFish9, I know you're avatar is Ashley but I ALWAYS think it's FIona from "Shameless" every time I see it!!

[SamiKatz]

I found it interesting when I watched the TV show that Lauren's family wasn't used to the courtship model.  Josiah seems to have picked two women who were every so slightly outside of the usual belief system of his family.  Usual caveat about their terrible beliefs/they will never change aside, I do wonder if that means something.

[mollysmom]

6 hours ago, singsingsing said:

Hopefully she didn't wind up with food poisoning. Blech.

That's exactly what I was thinking while she ate it. That was so disgusting & not a good way to impress a girl you are interested in!!! That was so gross!!! I still can't believe they ate that! 

[QuiverFullofBooks]

I wonder if Josiah was being passive-aggressive about TLC’s suggested “OMG a Duggar boy can COOK?!” plot line, and he has actually cooked her a decent meal at some point. 

[nellautumngirl]

2 hours ago, PrivatelySnarking said:

 

Maybe just because they were all just singing the melody? No harmonies or anything. Which is fine because what can you expect from little girls?

Maybe! As I said, I'm not blaming the girls, but my ears hurt after listening to the entire album.. They were singing the melody but I didn't hear any joy or passion, just sort of rehearsed lines. But hey, I wouldn't be excited either if Michelle was hovering over me saying "The BOMBS" :D

[Mama Mia]

14 minutes ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

I wonder if Josiah was being passive-aggressive about TLC’s suggested “OMG a Duggar boy can COOK?!” plot line, and he has actually cooked her a decent meal at some point. 

I would suspect that - but they really didn’t frame it as “ omg, can’t believe he can cook !”. And even made a point of saying he wants to show off his skills, likes to cook AND that he  takes time to make sure his presentation is done right. They even had two TH emphasizing it ( Joe and Jessa ) . Just total WTF. 

[NakedKnees]

I feel a little defensive of take-out leftovers... haha, because I love them. My boyfriend (who is a great cook) would use them to make lots of things that charmed me early in our relationship: spanish tortillas, omelettes, risottos, stuffed veggies, soups. There are a lot of nice things that can be done with leftovers and basics. "Making fajitas with leftovers" isn't a thing that would send me running for the hills early in a relationship. 

That said, I haven't watched the episode, but Josiah's concoction sounds gross. My guess is that they may have had other filming plans that were scrapped and this was a Plan B. Or C.

I'm a tiny bit glad to know the Duggars even keep and use leftovers, with all the wastefulness we've seen from them.

[SassyPants]

13 hours ago, TatiFish9 said:

Maybe this was a financial call. Maybe they'll help out at the camp as their ministry aka job. Unless Jim Bob is holding the bulk of the family money in trust for later use, these kidults are gonna have to find a sustainable way to maintain their lifestyles once the tv days have ended.

 

Look the little kids already got a new gig going. Big kids the married adults better get on board. lol

 

[metheglyn]

1 hour ago, SamiKatz said:

I found it interesting when I watched the TV show that Lauren's family wasn't used to the courtship model.  Josiah seems to have picked two women who were every so slightly outside of the usual belief system of his family.  Usual caveat about their terrible beliefs/they will never change aside, I do wonder if that means something.

I agree, but do keep in mind, though, that both Lauren and Marjorie are the oldest children in their families, were both teenagers when they started courting Josiah, and I believe their parents were both first generation fundies. So they wouldn't have had an opportunity prior to this to directly experience the courtship model. There's a difference between not being used to something and not having a prior interest in that same something. Do we know that they weren't *planning* to use the model before and that becoming involved with Josiah changed that? Or is it just a lack of experience?

After all, I'm pretty sure Kendra's family didn't have an actual direct experience with it either, as she too is the oldest daughter in her family and her father is the Duggar family's pastor. So they had second-hand experience from being part of the Duggar family circle and seeing other members participate, but hadn't yet done so themselves due to the age of their children.

In fact, Anna's the only Duggar daughter-in-law thus far not to be the eldest child in her family, and at least Esther married before she did, and Esther's marriage provided a GREAT example of how to pick a spouse.  Her family is DEEP in the Kool-Aid, given all the weirdness of their pairings and the likelihood that most of them did use the courtship model, but she's frankly an outlier in the Duggar mating circle at this point.

13 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

Look the little kids already got a new gig going. Big kids the married adults better get on board. lol

Kind of a reversal of what just happened with the Willis Family too. After everything that they went through they just restructured their family band to only include children numbers 2-7 (aged 16+) and let the Jessica (the eldest) do her own thing for now and the younger kids have time to heal away from the spotlight and likely the attention of the media. 

And here the Duggars are shoving their younger kids (and eldest grandchild) back out INTO the spotlight, quite possibly because Counting On really only focuses on the older Duggar offspring. The younger ones generally only appear on screen in the context of things happening with the older ones who are branching off on their own away from JB&M's direct control as they set up their own families. (No comment on indirect control by JB&M.) 

Gotta keep the younger unmarrieds who are still fully under your thumbs in the public eye and making money, don't you JB&M?

[SayWhat]

I was impressed with Jeremy wanting to buy Jinger a proper piano. I like that his Mom & Dad gave real embracing hugs when they found out Jinger was expecting. Seemed very authentic.  

I do like Kendra, even though she has that annoying giggle, I do wish she had more time to enjoy being married before she has to be a Mom.  

Interesting factoid that Jana shared is that Aunt Deanna always wanted to do a little kid recording.  OK, so why now ?  Well Mechelle needs a way to get more airtime.  So the  little kid singalong is finally coming together because it is a way to put the spot light back on Meshelle.  Mechelle didn't need Aunt Deanna and her songs several years ago, but she needs them now.   

 

[erunerune]

I would happily watch Kendra Giggling On pretty much indefinitely. I need all of the positivity and cheerfulness I can get nowadays.

[AliceInFundyland]

5 minutes ago, erunerune said:

I would happily watch Kendra Giggling On pretty much indefinitely. I need all of the positivity and cheerfulness I can get nowadays.

I’m liking her on the personality meter. 

What went on with furnishing that house? Project storehouse...filled with bags of Ross linens. Jana and Jessa are fairly competent at thrifting and cosignment but the nursery and the  “fancy hotel” bedroom were very clearly not on the same track. It’s ok to get a new mattress. I would not want the mattress that any my siblings or parents had slept, fornicated, or birthed on. There are some privileges we should all have in life.

I wouldn’t have guessed that’s Kendra’s taste. Maybe she doesn’t yet know her tastes, or particularly care. She seemed very happy for the help.

I hope someone helps Joy. She works hard and that’s great. And for the moment Austin seems like an equally hard worker and decent chap. But quite “male” and while he’s ok with Joy helping him. Will he help her? I think she likes the teamwork. If she has more and more babies, she won’t get to do that. That could stifle her. I would go insane if I got a house made up all nice and had a new baby. Then had to do both (probably) all over again. Fuck me gently with a chainsaw. At least bless them with an upgraded rv with plumbing and ac.

It’s funny to see them enter puberty (Hannie) It’s a reminder that they had these personalities and moods and facial expressions.

Jessa will stand at the end. All she really needs to do is stay one pregnancy in front of everyone else. Jill’s disaster was good for her. Ben has proven himself to be relatively agreeable. (We can just x over his initial social media gaffes). The other kids toe the line but don’t push. Jessa plays the game. 

Jana kicks some serious butt. I did not care for the tone of that speech or that she was like, I can’t play sports. I did like that they showed her on the power equipment. That was cool, TLC. They never show that stupid bedroom anymore. I hope she and Laura get to dwell elsewhere on the estate. JB and M can maintain these myths easily enough.

[BlessingsVonFundiePants]

I should never have listened to “happy heart” 

 

[MadameOvary]

15 minutes ago, BlessingsVonFundiePants said:

I should never have listened to “happy heart” 

Furthering sinister fundie agenda by insidious means! I agree, should never have listened to it. So let this be a warning to you all, DON'T GO THERE.

The whole thing is autotuned to death, but the usual Duggar half-assing is still gratingly present in timekeeping i.e. they all seem to start and finish phrases at different times. Unbearable. Also, the girls are by no means too young to manage proper harmonies with a bit of coaching and rehearsing.

I deeply regret listening to the clips.

 

[freethemall]

13 hours ago, NakedKnees said:

I feel a little defensive of take-out leftovers... haha, because I love them. My boyfriend (who is a great cook) would use them to make lots of things that charmed me early in our relationship: spanish tortillas, omelettes, risottos, stuffed veggies, soups. There are a lot of nice things that can be done with leftovers and basics. "Making fajitas with leftovers" isn't a thing that would send me running for the hills early in a relationship. 

That said, I haven't watched the episode, but Josiah's concoction sounds gross. My guess is that they may have had other filming plans that were scrapped and this was a Plan B. Or C.

I'm a tiny bit glad to know the Duggars even keep and use leftovers, with all the wastefulness we've seen from them.

Leftovers can definitely be done right, and some things are even better reheated - pasta, casseroles, cooked chicken, etc. But Tex Mex pretty much never keeps well, since often you end up reheating ingredients that were meant to be served fresh and cold like guac, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, salsa, lime, etc. I never take Mexican leftovers home because once it stops being fresh it's just not as good.

I give Lauren credit for bluntly stating how awful that guac was instead of keeping sweet and withholding any criticism. Steve Maxwell would have decried Lauren as being an evil and failed helpmeet for offering anything other than compliments for Si's cooking. 

[scoutsadie]

16 hours ago, mollysmom said:

....yesterday at work I was talking to my boss about a work related issue & a coworker just came up & interrupted (with a non urgent question) like I wasn't even standing there. I was raised to just stand there & take it but yesterday I looked right at her & said "Umm....I was talking!!!" (then I went in the bathroom & cried cuz I felt so bad haha but I'm trying!!!! ) 

@mollysmom, good for you for speaking up!! And I wish I could have been there to give you a hug afterwards when you were crying about it...I get how hard ditching the programming can be - and I think I can safely promise you that it will get easier the more you do it.

@erunerune, a virtual hug for you, too, if you want it... I am also in a place of trying to enjoy all the little things I can during a difficult time.

[LegHumperBibleThumper]

On 8/7/2018 at 8:20 PM, SilverBeach said:

I watch a bunch of house flipping shows. Exactly none of the flippers have lived in the house being flipped, they have a home of their own and are flipping as an investment.  Living in a flip house slows down the renovation, and time is money with those things. No way would I want to move from house to house, even without an infant. Get your home base established and then work on your flipping business.

I know in the state of NJ you can avoid paying investment property taxes if you establish the flip house as your primary residence for one full year. I know a few couples that moved from house to house every year while they were still childless. I feel bad that it appears he sprung this news on her. 

[JMO]

16 hours ago, NakedKnees said:

I feel a little defensive of take-out leftovers... haha, because I love them. My boyfriend (who is a great cook) would use them to make lots of things that charmed me early in our relationship: spanish tortillas, omelettes, risottos, stuffed veggies, soups. There are a lot of nice things that can be done with leftovers and basics. "Making fajitas with leftovers" isn't a thing that would send me running for the hills early in a relationship. 

That said, I haven't watched the episode, but Josiah's concoction sounds gross. My guess is that they may have had other filming plans that were scrapped and this was a Plan B. Or C.

I'm a tiny bit glad to know the Duggars even keep and use leftovers, with all the wastefulness we've seen from them.

I eat leftovers all the time and if Josiah had made anything that sounded nearly as tasty as what your boyfriend made you I would have less disgust/snark.  Besides the fact that their courtship model promotes the boy showing overly romantic/Disney-esque displays of courting and the previous courtships that his sisters were in showed them making from scratch 3 course meals as a model for what he should do, he did a half assed job.  He literally went scrounging through their industrial fridge, opened various styrofoam containers, declared that he didn't know how old they were, where they we from or who's they are and dumped them in a pan.  The guac was old and spoiled and he said, "eh, it looks fine" and dumped it in a bowl.  Lauren took one look at it and refused to eat it.  And she laughs at his lame corny jokes and has the stepford wife look down so she's clearly deep into the love koolaid with him.  He's like all the worst parts of Boob.  Next time maybe he will make BBQ tuna for her.  

On another note, I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the giant mansion that the Swanson's live in.  What does he do?  Their house is gorgeous.  

[anjulibai]

I suspect Josiah didn't really want to be courting and was thus half-assing everything. He's coming across weird because he's trying to seem happy. 

[SassyPants]

16 hours ago, metheglyn said:

I agree, but do keep in mind, though, that both Lauren and Marjorie are the oldest children in their families, were both teenagers when they started courting Josiah, and I believe their parents were both first generation fundies. So they wouldn't have had an opportunity prior to this to directly experience the courtship model. There's a difference between not being used to something and not having a prior interest in that same something. Do we know that they weren't *planning* to use the model before and that becoming involved with Josiah changed that? Or is it just a lack of experience?

After all, I'm pretty sure Kendra's family didn't have an actual direct experience with it either, as she too is the oldest daughter in her family and her father is the Duggar family's pastor. So they had second-hand experience from being part of the Duggar family circle and seeing other members participate, but hadn't yet done so themselves due to the age of their children.

In fact, Anna's the only Duggar daughter-in-law thus far not to be the eldest child in her family, and at least Esther married before she did, and Esther's marriage provided a GREAT example of how to pick a spouse.  Her family is DEEP in the Kool-Aid, given all the weirdness of their pairings and the likelihood that most of them did use the courtship model, but she's frankly an outlier in the Duggar mating circle at this point.

Kind of a reversal of what just happened with the Willis Family too. After everything that they went through they just restructured their family band to only include children numbers 2-7 (aged 16+) and let the Jessica (the eldest) do her own thing for now and the younger kids have time to heal away from the spotlight and likely the attention of the media. 

And here the Duggars are shoving their younger kids (and eldest grandchild) back out INTO the spotlight, quite possibly because Counting On really only focuses on the older Duggar offspring. The younger ones generally only appear on screen in the context of things happening with the older ones who are branching off on their own away from JB&M's direct control as they set up their own families. (No comment on indirect control by JB&M.) 

Gotta keep the younger unmarrieds who are still fully under your thumbs in the public eye and making money, don't you JB&M?

The Duggars parenting strategies are beyond strange.

They forced 6 and 7 YOs to manage babies and the household, yet as these girls matured into young adults and women, JB and M refused to allow them the proper freedoms and chances to make decisions and mistakes that would make adapting to the real world possible. Jill Dillard is flailing in the real world partly because her parents never gave her the proper skills to live in, survive and thrive in the real world. 

What kind of parents coddle and protect a 20 YO more than a 6 or 7 YO? Effed up ones. People who put "purity" before intellect, curiosity, basic safety, education, independence, nutrition....so effed up!

[Thorns]

On 8/6/2018 at 10:55 PM, Buzzard said:

*snip*

We see a warehouse where they keep their “stuff” and its easy to just go and grab something they need.  That looks a lot more like a house than a “shop” to collect stuff…

*sniped*

...the room were all things brown and beige comes to rest. 

[Dandruff]

4 hours ago, freethemall said:

Steve Maxwell would have decried Lauren as being an evil and failed helpmeet for offering anything other than compliments for Si's cooking. 

Points to Lauren.  IIRC, Steve Maxwell's own mother went hungry because he forgot to pick up pizza and Teri was too Terified to remind him.