M is for Mama 3: B is for Baby Boy Born

[ladyaudley]

She’s only done downstairs so far in the tour because then her kids got home. We see Honor running up to her, clearly wanting to be picked up and getting (as we’d say here in Scotland) heavy dinghied by Abby. Next Theo wants some attention and just gets “in a minute”. Then Nola actively inserts herself into the videos, trying to help out with presenting and getting nothing but some chuckles. Poor kids. 

[nastyhobbitses]

8 hours ago, luv2laugh said:

Where was lazy Shaun? Braggie is a jerk to make Ezra be the daddy.

Why wallpaper a closet? Can’t she spend her time actually being productive?

Good luck re-doing it in two years when it’s out of style, Abbie (and almost every fad in your house).

Read her comments. I love how she takes credit for vacuuming, dusting, and cleaning the house (we ALL know your kids did it while you sat on your butt planning your next DIY project).

Did your children also “volunteer” to host the women’s retreat? They performed all of the work in preparation for the church party.

I don't know what's going on in their marriage, but it is extremely disturbing and worrying how Abbie is parentifying Ezra. He's TWELVE. 

[Hane]

3 hours ago, nastyhobbitses said:

I don't know what's going on in their marriage, but it is extremely disturbing and worrying how Abbie is parentifying Ezra. He's TWELVE. 

Ohhhhh, God. I never realized this till joining FJ, but I’m a textbook parentified child. There are only three of us, and my sisters are 5 and 12 years younger than I am. I started babysitting my middle sister when I was 10. When my baby sister came along (granted, my mom had endometritis/hyperplasia after she was born and had to have a hysterectomy several months later), I regularly got the baby washed up and changed every morning before I went to school. I would put her in her stroller and take her with me when I ran errands, fed her, and so on. I grew up in a family where the worst possible crime was inconveniencing Mom. Still, I entered motherhood with the distinct advantage of knowing a lot about infant development and what to expect. (I remember reading Parents magazine and following articles about infant and child development when I was as young as 12. My college developmental psych class was invaluable, too, and I wrote a paper about the typical development of a six-year-old, using my sister as a model.)

It never occurred to me till many years later that my three friends who had twelve-months-younger siblings weren’t doing a fraction of the child care I did.

[SassyPants]

In the past, in addition to the wallpapered microwave, she wallpapered the washer and dryer. Who does that, especially if they have a houseful of kids?

[Hashtag Blessed]

5 hours ago, nastyhobbitses said:

I don't know what's going on in their marriage, but it is extremely disturbing and worrying how Abbie is parentifying Ezra. He's TWELVE. 

Where’s her husband? Why is he not helping with these home improvement projects? And why did they not wrap it up a few hours early so the kid could go to bed at a reasonable hour? Even if you leave it unfinished for one more day, surely your kid’s sleep is more important than the aesthetic of your closet.

It is so weird how these homeschool families have no regard for regular sleep cycles. I guess there’s no “school” to drive to in the morning so it doesn’t matter to them. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

1 hour ago, SassyPants said:

In the past, in addition to the wallpapered microwave, she wallpapered the washer and dryer. Who does that, especially if they have a houseful of kids?

I think it’s a cute and fun idea if you can get the wallpaper to stick. But if it starts peeling after a year or two, it seems like a waste. 

[CharlieInCharge]

Ok, I’m usually strictly a lurker in this thread, but this is driving me nuts. Is it really wallpaper on her microwave, washer and dryer? Or are they like giant stickers? It can’t be actual wallpaper because it would peal off? I looked online and found vinyl stickers, but they don’t look like that. I know she’s crazy, but wallpaper on a washer? Please help me understand the insanity! 

[JermajestyDuggar]

19 minutes ago, Hashtag Blessed said:

Where’s her husband? Why is he not helping with these home improvement projects? And why did they not wrap it up a few hours early so the kid could go to bed at a reasonable hour? Even if you leave it unfinished for one more day, surely your kid’s sleep is more important than the aesthetic of your closet.

It is so weird how these homeschool families have no regard for regular sleep cycles. I guess there’s no “school” to drive to in the morning so it doesn’t matter to them. 

That’s exactly it. Braggie and the kids don’t have to get up for work and school on a regular schedule. So they can stay up late and sleep in. But really that’s still not good. A regular sleep schedule is important for kids. The Duggars, the Rods, the Bateses, and Braggie all have weird sleep schedules.

1 minute ago, CharlieInCharge said:

Ok, I’m usually strictly a lurker in this thread, but this is driving me nuts. Is it really wallpaper on her microwave, washer and dryer? Or are they like giant stickers? It can’t be actual wallpaper because it would peal off? I looked online and found vinyl stickers, but they don’t look like that. I know she’s crazy, but wallpaper on a washer? Please help me understand the insanity! 

I’m guessing it has to be the peel and stick vinyl stuff. I agree that wallpaper must peel off after 6 months. 

Edited March 3, 2019 by JermajestyDuggar

[Hashtag Blessed]

4 minutes ago, CharlieInCharge said:

Ok, I’m usually strictly a lurker in this thread, but this is driving me nuts. Is it really wallpaper on her microwave, washer and dryer? Or are they like giant stickers? It can’t be actual wallpaper because it would peal off? I looked online and found vinyl stickers, but they don’t look like that. I know she’s crazy, but wallpaper on a washer? Please help me understand the insanity! 

It’s probably peel & stick vinyl. We have some wallpaper like that because we’re renters. It’s not cheap but if you’re only doing a small area of wall, or an appliance I guess, it’s not too bad and peels of clean.

5 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

That’s exactly it. Braggie and the kids don’t have to get up for work and school on a regular schedule. So they can stay up late and sleep in. But really that’s still not good. A regular sleep schedule is important for kids. The Duggars, the Rods, the Bateses, and Braggie all have weird sleep schedules.

At the very least I bet it makes for a hard adjustment to the real world when they’re adults. If you’ve never been trained to adhere to a strict sleep schedule it probably makes it incredibly hard to get up for morning college classes or a commute to a regular 9-5. Maybe that’s why so many of the kidults are not “job-type people.”

[SuperNova]

1 hour ago, Hashtag Blessed said:

Where’s her husband? Why is he not helping with these home improvement projects? 

To be fair, if I asked Mr Nova to help wallpaper the washer and dryer he would probably think I lost my mind. There is no way I could get him to help with such nonsense. Same for wallpapering the closet. If it's important to Abbie to do stupid shit that literally no one will see because "aesthetics", that's great. But don't rope your kids in to a useless vanity project. 

More importantly, how does a homeschooling mom of 8 children find so much time to waste? Regardless of what Abbie says, something or someone will suffer. The needs of her children don't stop just because Abbie is playing in her closet, hosting a retreat, or giving yet another tour of her home. This all sounds suspiciously like escapism. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

Well her closet is the size of my bedroom so I guess it’s worthy of wallpaper...

[SassyPants]

OMG the latest IG tour. How many different rooms, tables and especially chairs does she own?  Room after over decorated room filled with mismatched couches, tables and especially chairs. Her house is like a flea market. And her concrete kitchen countertops are no bueno.

[bea]

I couldn’t remember where I bought my flowerpots if you put a gun to my head, let alone how much I paid for them.
I only have two kids and my house is louder and messier than that.

[ViolaSebastian]

BEC, but that cow painting is absolutely hideous.

[TuringMachine]

I only counted two family photos. Who doesn't have photos of their kids in their house?

[Snarkasarus Rex]

4 minutes ago, TuringMachine said:

I only counted two family photos. Who doesn't have photos of their kids in their house?

People who have to keep telling themselves #motherhoodissanctifying 

[ladyaudley]

11 hours ago, TuringMachine said:

I only counted two family photos. Who doesn't have photos of their kids in their house?

Me. Just not a picture kinda person. I have an illustration of us as a family up, that's it. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

5 minutes ago, ladyaudley said:

Me. Just not a picture kinda person. I have an illustration of us as a family up, that's it. 

But we know for a fact that Braggie is most definitely a picture person. She takes pictures constantly. The proof is on instagram. Yet barely any on the walls? Odd.

[ladyaudley]

1 minute ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

But we know for a fact that Braggie is most definitely a picture person. She takes pictures constantly. The proof is on instagram. Yet barely any on the walls? Odd.

Very true! I was just replying to the "who doesn't do that?" question :) 

[JermajestyDuggar]

1 minute ago, ladyaudley said:

Very true! I was just replying to the "who doesn't do that?" question

I avoid the camera like the plague. Most of the pictures on my walls are of my kids because of this. I’m trying to get better about this. I need to put my insecurities aside. My mom always avoided the camera due to insecurities and I don’t have that many pictures of us together from childhood. She was always behind the camera (like me). 

[danvillebelle]

I have some family pictures up on the wall, but they're all people who are no longer here...grandparents, great-grandparents, a great-aunt I never got to meet, etc.  

I fully cop to not being a picture-taker.  I don't know what it is...I just don't.  Almost all the pics I have of my kids when they were little were taken by my mom (and I am grateful).

[katilac]

3 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

 I need to put my insecurities aside. 

Yes, it's a wonderful gift to your children! 

[PlentyOfJesusFishInTheSea]

To be fair to Abbie, she didn't say Ezra stayed up to midnight with the wallpaper. Perhaps he helped out earlier in the evening (I hope so). Why she thought finishing this project was the best use of time before hosting an event is a typical Abbie mystery. I wish this lady would slow down and enjoy the kids she has (and her husband would too) but yeah, I'm not expecting any changes.

[SuperNova]

4 hours ago, ladyaudley said:

Me. Just not a picture kinda person. I have an illustration of us as a family up, that's it. 

Me too. It makes me uncomfortable to have casual visitors looking at family photos. I keep pictures on top of the dresser in my bedroom. That's it. 

16 hours ago, bea said:

I couldn’t remember where I bought my flowerpots if you put a gun to my head, let alone how much I paid for them.

I can't watch to video because I don't have an Insta account but I'm so curious! Did she really run down the cost and purchase place of her flower pots?! 

[bea]

I didn’t watch much, but there was a lot of “oh people are always asking about X or Y or Z” and where she got it. Like, people are always asking you about your chairs? Really?
The flowerpots were notable because she was saying she got this one here and that one there .... and one grey one in a corner from Amazon and used a $40 gift card. As opposed to the blue lamp she got from Amazon warehouse? For however much INCLUDING THE SHADE. That stuck with me.

I don’t have family photos on the walls because we both come from long lines of terrible photographers. Photos exist, just not wall size.
You know what I do have in my house? Furniture. Only nobody ever asks me where I got it or how much I paid for it. I have flowerpots AND lamps and nobody gives a damn where it came from.
Is this a thing on IG? Do people message one another and say “OMG I LOOOOOOVE your pretentious trying-too-hard aesthetic, I must duplicate your living room, tell me the secrets of BUYING LAMPS FROM AMAZON!”
I suspect this is not a thing.