Pennington Point: Snark Goldmine

[Burris]

I read organization blogs for fun and tips. It was through one of these that I discovered the joys of Pennington Point - the self-serving, absolutely splendidly perfect blog of a mother of nine who "never has doctor's appointments" and makes her minor children pay for their own movie nights.

She is perfect. No, seriously - perfect. Her kids are so well-behaved that she's frustrated with their neatness sometimes (htthepenningtonpoint.com/2011/09/a-well-trained-child-can-be-a-pain)

She thinks boys are climbers and girls are consumables - some healthy, some rotten - and fallen ones are "easy" (thepenningtonpoint.com/2011/09/pinterest-friday-numero-uno). Soooo charming.

But my favorite, by far, is the interview she did with the author of another blog:

PART 1: organizingmadefun.blogspot.com/2011/09/back-to-home-school-interview-with-lisa.html

PART 2: organizingmadefun.blogspot.com/2011/09/going-back-to-home-school-part-2.html

I would pick some gems out, but almost every word of the interview is seriously snark-worthy.

Here's a sneak peek: Her children are expected to be dressed and shoed before they begin homeschooling. No problem. Of course they should be, but wait...

"I guess most people would think we are dressed up because my girls and I always wear dresses and we like to look nice every day. Also, I do require the girls to fix their hair and not just in a quick pony tail at the base of the neck. The boys are usually dressed as something from a superhero to a movie character (not Jacob, of course, at 19 he rarely dresses like Batman anymore). I don’t care if the boys do that as long as it isn’t distracting from the school work."

Okay, so her boys can approach the schoolroom in costumes, but the girls have to get all dolled up for mommy dearest?

I guess Lisa wants her apples to be nice and polished so no one mistakes them for being rotten and easy.

[Lillian]

I'm just reading through part 1 of the interview and OMG that is a creepy photo of her children watching her sleep! Wtf!

[DamnPrecious]

I'll comment more later, but I really like her decor.

[Lillian]

Love the reason why they never go to the doctor:

On the subject of why we don't go to the doctor, we just have never had a need. Besides one broken arm, none of my kids have ever been to the doctor. We don't do antibiotics, vaccinations or regular check-ups and no one has gotten so sick that we ever felt it was necessary to see a doctor. We aren't anti-doctor at all, we just don't see the need to go regularly. I am incredibly grateful that we have good health! Thanks for the question!

They really are perfect!

Have to admit, though, her house does look wonderful.

Edit: Ok, now I am going through old posts on her blog and for her 25th anniversary party, an outdoor backyard dinner type of thing, she even decorated the insect repellent bottle to match the colour scheme! Who does that?! :shock:

[oscar]

I bet if you nudged one of those mason jars half an inch out of position, the first thing she'd do upon walking into the room would be to move it back.

[Burris]

Love the reason why they never go to the doctor:

They really are perfect!

Oh heavens yes! They don't vaccinate and their kids are ever-so-healthy - thanks to the majority of us who do vaccinate so that her perfect family can benefit from herd immunity.

You're welcome, Lisa!

And yeah, I do like her decor, but I actually like the interviewer's better: organizingmadefun.blogspot.com/p/my-homea-little-tour.html

[LilMissMetaphor]

On the "kids' blog" her daughter Grace wrote this:

When I need to email a young man, I always forward all the emails to my dad. That way I don’t have to worry about things getting inappropriate or foolish.

Yeah okay Sarah Maxwell sweetcheeks.

[oscar]

On the "kids' blog" her daughter Grace wrote this:

Yeah okay Sarah Maxwell sweetcheeks.

From reading Grace's entries on the kids' blog, I expected she'd be a precocious 12 or 13. Nope, she's 21.

[DamnPrecious]

I bet if you nudged one of those mason jars half an inch out of position, the first thing she'd do upon walking into the room would be to move it back.

Yes, control freak. The story about her wedding band bothered me a lot. That so many kids felt the need to keep moving it because it wasn't in the right place is scary. She come across as kinda unstable, like she would fly into a rage if the didn't do exactly everything she wanted.

Also, the girls have to look perfect but the boys can roll up in whatever they damn well please. FUCK THAT.

[clibbyjo]

Her school room has an old set of encyclopedias and whiteboard but no computers? Did I just not see them? WTF? I have 3 homeschooled kids and we have 2 laptops, a desktop, and a netbook and some is usually on all of them throughout the day. How can you homeschool kids in 2011 and not have computers in the schoolroom? I don't have a "school room" set up,but I would think with her organization she would have then all nice and set up somewhere.

I need to check out this blog further....

[Kaylee]

Love the reason why they never go to the doctor:

Sorry, but that's dumb. I have an 18 month old that has never had medication or vaccinations and has never been sick. Still, he goes for checkups every 3 months just to make sure he's growing and developing on track & will be getting most vaccinations starting at 2 years. Sometimes, a person can be sick without really showing symptoms that their parents or they may recognize, but that routine bloodwork or a physical might catch.

I think it's pretty irresponsible for even adults to skip at least a yearly physical checkup (assuming they can afford it), but it's really wrong to skip them for kids who don't have a choice of going on their own.

[clibbyjo]

OH no,oh no.... I think this is treading into the "vaccinate vs.non vaccinate" area we all know and love. They are going to come out of the woodwork . Don't do it people! DON'T DO IT! (I am backing away....stop reading Clibby, do not click on this thread again if you know what is good for you...)

[BlackHawk]

Her school room has an old set of encyclopedias and whiteboard but no computers? Did I just not see them? WTF? I have 3 homeschooled kids and we have 2 laptops, a desktop, and a netbook and some is usually on all of them throughout the day. How can you homeschool kids in 2011 and not have computers in the schoolroom? I don't have a "school room" set up,but I would think with her organization she would have then all nice and set up somewhere.

I need to check out this blog further....

thepenningtonpoint.com/2010/07/part-3-or-dont-try-this-at-home/

Looks like she keeps the computers under the long desk table thingy. Seems they all have a laptop.

[Kaylee]

OH no,oh no.... I think this is treading into the "vaccinate vs.non vaccinate" area we all know and love. They are going to come out of the woodwork . Don't do it people! DON'T DO IT! (I am backing away....stop reading Clibby, do not click on this thread again if you know what is good for you...)

Didn't mean to go there, just thinking the whole "never visit the doctor for a checkup ever, because we don't feel sick" thing is problematic. I think the vax thing has already been done to death here fairly recently.

eh, One good thing about the blog is I'm now clicking through links and adding stuff to pintrest like a madwoman

[jenny_islander]

OK, backing off of the vax thing: It is possible to not feel sick and have cancer. It is possible to not feel sick and be showing early signs of diabetes or artherosclerosis. It is possible to not feel sick and in fact be extremely sick. This is why we have checkups!

I recently skipped my dental exams for a year and a half. My cleanings had always been quick, easy, invigorating almost--but this one left me bloody and my gums were sore for days. My mouth had felt okay, but I had enormous plaque deposits--the dental technician showed them to me. And I had lost some bone in my jaw. Back on a regular cleaning schedule for me!

[Sola]

This whole 'WE DONT VACCINATE OR USE ANTIBIOTICS AND LOOK HOW HEALTHY WE ARE !!!!ELEVENTY!!' pissed me off.

You know why your kids don't get sick very often? Two reasons;

1. Thanks to us, the great unwashed, satan worshipping, vaccinating public. Herd immunity. Google it.

2. Your kids have limited exposure to other people. Other people are a petri dish of bacteria and viri. Don't believe me? Ask any school teacher. However by the time our school attending kids are in their teens, they have had more colds and coughs, bouts of runny bums and spotty rashes than you can shake a stick at. They are now immune to them. Their immune systems are well developed, robust and can now fight off most things. The same cannot be said for your kids. Your kids still have to come into contact with the petri dish of real life. So when your kids do get out in the big wide world (presuming you don't enforce Maxwell style isolation) your kids wont just meet ordinary people, they are going to meet a shite load of bugs which they aren't immune to. Oh and kids fight them off easier than adults - just so you know.

So yeah, enjoy your health. Enjoy the fact that your kids don't pick up all the things school attending kids get. It wont last.

[Bella99]

This whole 'WE DONT VACCINATE OR USE ANTIBIOTICS AND LOOK HOW HEALTHY WE ARE !!!!ELEVENTY!!' pissed me off.

You know why your kids don't get sick very often? Two reasons;

1. Thanks to us, the great unwashed, satan worshipping, vaccinating public. Herd immunity. Google it.

2. Your kids have limited exposure to other people. Other people are a petri dish of bacteria and viri. Don't believe me? Ask any school teacher. However by the time our school attending kids are in their teens, they have had more colds and coughs, bouts of runny bums and spotty rashes than you can shake a stick at. They are now immune to them. Their immune systems are well developed, robust and can now fight off most things. The same cannot be said for your kids. Your kids still have to come into contact with the petri dish of real life. So when your kids do get out in the big wide world (presuming you don't enforce Maxwell style isolation) your kids wont just meet ordinary people, they are going to meet a shite load of bugs which they aren't immune to. Oh and kids fight them off easier than adults - just so you know.

So yeah, enjoy your health. Enjoy the fact that your kids don't pick up all the things school attending kids get. It wont last.

More than once I've seen parents take their kids out of preschool because "they were sick all the time". All they accomplish when they take them out of preschool is delay that phase until kindergarten.

edited because insomnia is harmful to my posting skills

[Lillian]

From reading Grace's entries on the kids' blog, I expected she'd be a precocious 12 or 13. Nope, she's 21.

I read out an except of her blog to my mum and my grandma and told them to guess how old she is. They guessed 12.

Mum's reaction upon finding out she's 21: ROFLMAO!!

Grandma's: 'Everyone is.........different.... "

:lol:

[browngrl]

she is like a plus size, fundie, Gwyneth Paltro and her blog seems like the Christian version of GOOP

*gag*

[MonkeyMomma]

From reading Grace's entries on the kids' blog, I expected she'd be a precocious 12 or 13. Nope, she's 21.

Wait, what?! 21?! :shock: Wow, I had the exact same thought - maybe a smartypants 12 or 13 year old ...

[dairyfreelife]

I'm 22 and could not believe she was 21 at all. They way she speaks makes me think she has been stunted in her maturity. Her post about "boys" (not young men ironically, but boys) was very odd. What 21 year old talks that way about the opposite sex. She says she used to run and hide when a boy came within ten yards of her and hates to call a "boy" a friend at all. She calls all "boys" sir or Mr, even those her age (why not use their name???) :roll: Then, of course, she learned boys had feelings too (well, :doh: ) and she apparently didn't learn that until she was sixteen???

It's typical courtship, but I will never, ever understand the not spending one-on-one time and not sharing your heart with any "boy." Don't you share your heart in some ways with friends? How can you determine who the "boy" is and make a judgment about your compatibility unless you share your hearts with one another? That would be vital for me in a relationship. I know that "daddy" makes the decisions on these things, not the daughter (heaven forbid she make her own choices about a man). I'll just never understand the guarding your heart aspect of relationships and potential marriage partners. I'd want to be open and honest with any young man I was with and I want him to be the same. I'd want to know some of the deep, dark secrets and lay all the cards on the table before marriage. Guarding your heart seems like a potential disaster in waiting for these "girls." Imo, hearts were meant to be broken sometimes. It's not like it can't be mended with time. No one can avoid complete heartache unless you refuse to love or care about anyone or anything.

Here's a favorite quote of mine about love:

"Love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you." ~Unknown author~

[docmom]

On raising boys...

I taught the girls that their role in their brothers’ lives is to be admiring and respectful. They began to ask even the little boys to help with things that required muscles and man power. Then they would say things like, “Thank you so much. It is wonderful to have such a strong brother.â€

and

...his future includes being a husband and father and he knows that you don’t have the tools to teach him that. You do, however, have the tools to teach him how a godly husband and father should be treated.

Respect is earned. You do not deserve respect because of the accident of your birth. A whole generation of fundie men is growing up with the expectation of unearned respect and blind obedience. This cannot be a good thing.

[Bella99]

On raising boys...

and

Respect is earned. You do not deserve respect because of the accident of your birth. A whole generation of fundie men is growing up with the expectation of unearned respect and blind obedience. This cannot be a good thing.

THIS! How are these men going to get along in the workplace without the constant ego stroking?

[slickcat79]

THIS! How are these men going to get along in the workplace without the constant ego stroking?

Easy:

1. Quit your job

2. Start a "home business"

3. ???

4. PROFIT!

Along the way, you may have to convince yourself that your family is just too godly to need insurance of any sort, regular doctor visits, or anything else that you can't actually afford to give them. It's one more example of god's provision, hard at work!

[MamaJunebug]

I only had to look at enough photos to see that three of the oldest five are girls to know the rest of the story:

Yes, Mrs. Pennington is organized and ruthlessly clutter-free, but she also has had three daughters who compliantly became their mother's lieutenants, freeing Mother to nap, blog, redecorate and pontificate.

Same story, different day.