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

[lilith]

5 hours ago, ViolaSebastian said:

The alcohol/weed component scares the bajeesus out of me, too. It's fairly obvious she has some sort of anxiety and/or depression issue and uses substances to medicate it/them. She'll post Instagram stories where it's extremely obvious she's toasted--and this'll be in the mornings or afternoons.

I believe she and her husband are still together, but IIRC, they're in an open relationship now.

TH filed separation papers late last year, just after they got back from their Europe trip. I haven’t looked them up, but apparently they go into detail about financial maintenance for her and custody of the kids.

[ViolaSebastian]

6 minutes ago, lilith said:

TH filed separation papers late last year, just after they got back from their Europe trip. I haven’t looked them up, but apparently they go into detail about financial maintenance for her and custody of the kids.

Oh wow!! I did not know this. Has she talked about it publicly?

ETA: Oh snap. There it is...

Edited April 2, 2019 by ViolaSebastian

[bea]

I haven’t kept up with them - they lived here in Chicago, and I read the blog then, but she was BORING.
Sounds like it got more interesting.

[ViolaSebastian]

Looks like someone is required to take parenting classes...

[lilith]

43 minutes ago, ViolaSebastian said:

Looks like someone is required to take parenting classes...

Commenters on Reddit (GOMI is scrubbing any mention of That Seperation) have said that parenting classes are standard for both parties in Washington before a divorce is finalized.

I actually couldn’t find filings - any chance of you PMing me a link/directions?

And no, not only is Jenna not mentioning the seperation she’s posted happy family pics and talked about “dates” since the filing. And TH spent Christmas with her family.

Maybe it’s all a financial manouver (unlikely, but he did get her to file a quit claim on their California house), or maybe she thinks of she can just create the ultimate power point he will change his mind and stay.

[ViolaSebastian]

JFC, go look at this woman's Instagram. Her daughter, in a giving and beautiful way, made breakfast for everybody. She decided to experiment and use cumin instead of cinnamon on the French toast. And Abby, apparently, was *this close* to telling her selfless, creative, lovely daughter that this was a bad idea and to give her a fucking lecture on wasting food. That was her first reaction. Thank goodness for the Don't-Be-A-Damn-Jerk-To-Your-Kids, Abbie-Challenge.

I'm legitimately disgusted. What a horrible woman. 

Edited April 2, 2019 by ViolaSebastian

[Dreadcrumbs]

12 minutes ago, ViolaSebastian said:

JFC, go look at this woman's Instagram. Her daughter, in a giving and beautiful way, made breakfast for everybody. She decided to experiment and use cumin instead of cinnamon on the French toast. And Abby, apparently, was *this close* to telling her selfless, creative, lovely daughter that this was a bad idea and to give her a fucking lecture on wasting food. That was her first reaction. Thank goodness for the Don't-Be-A-Damn-Jerk-To-Your-Kids, Abbie-Challenge.

I'm legitimately disgusted. What a horrible woman. 

Ugh. I would have gently explained why cumin instead of cinnamon on french toast might not work. And then I'd leave things be.

Edited April 2, 2019 by Dreadcrumbs

[JermajestyDuggar]

I think her daughter was playing an April Fools joke on her siblings. 

[Dreadcrumbs]

8 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I think her daughter was playing an April Fools joke on her siblings. 

I found the Instagram post and is what it sounds like.

I don't think she meant to use cumin, Abbie. ?

[Hashtag Blessed]

"All that organic bread going to waste." ?

"She meant to use CUMIN." Why are you undermining her obviously well thought-out prank? She seems like she knew exactly what she was doing. Clever kid. 

[imokit]

I think that pepper on french toast will be nicer than cumin, especially if it was genuinely used in moderation (unlikely in a child of that age though).

Cayenne pepper done lightly would have given it a little kick.

In fact I may add that to my list of food ideas to try.

[ViolaSebastian]

Ugh, sorry everyone. I had a migraine yesterday and took a bunch of meds that clearly had me more out of it than I realized, because I did not catch it was an April Fool's Day prank at. all. Yeesh.

In any case, if food is so precious in her McMansion that 10 slices of bread is going to break the bank, then maybe she shouldn't let a ten-year-old, who society doesn't trust to do things like be in charge of her own medication, make decisions about her education, or hell, stay home by herself, cook for the family without supervision. 

Edited April 2, 2019 by ViolaSebastian

[luv2laugh]

16 hours ago, PopRox said:

I hear that, and also she's trying to live the youth she "missed" because she was Mormon and omgSO OPPRESSED because she felt the need to marry and have kids early... but FFS Jenna, you're a parent now. Go to a doctor and get some meds, and take care of your kids. Save the booze and weed for weekend nights after your kids are in bed.

I feel bad for her kids (and Braggie's, and Jill's, and Zsus....).

Is anyone surprised that Abbie’s 8 year old daughter had to cook the family breakfast while Abbie was out at Pilates?

[SassyPantswithASideofClass]

12 hours ago, ViolaSebastian said:

JFC, go look at this woman's Instagram. Her daughter, in a giving and beautiful way, made breakfast for everybody. She decided to experiment and use cumin instead of cinnamon on the French toast. And Abby, apparently, was *this close* to telling her selfless, creative, lovely daughter that this was a bad idea and to give her a fucking lecture on wasting food. That was her first reaction. Thank goodness for the Don't-Be-A-Damn-Jerk-To-Your-Kids, Abbie-Challenge.

I'm legitimately disgusted. What a horrible woman. 

That poor girl. I would have smiled and eaten it. Also I would have gently explained that cumin is different from cinnamon but that it was the best breakfast I ever had. NEVER would I humiliate my daughter.  I can recall one time making my dad coffee. I was probably no more than 8 at the time. I not realizing that the sugar shaker had been put somewhere else accidentally put salt into my dad's coffee. Now that I look back I can't help but laugh. He remembers it though. I handed him the coffee, he took a sip and kinda made a face. He did ask me what I put in and I grabbed the shaker showing it to him. He lost it by laughing and hugging me at the same time. Then he explained what had happened but said it was the best cup of coffee he had ever had.. My father NEVER humiliated me. We joke about it 19 years later.

4 hours ago, imokit said:

I think that pepper on french toast will be nicer than cumin, especially if it was genuinely used in moderation (unlikely in a child of that age though).

Cayenne pepper done lightly would have given it a little kick.

In fact I may add that to my list of food ideas to try.

Oooh have you ever had garlic bread with cayenne pepper? Its good!!! Gives it some spice while mellowing out the kick of the garlic. Serve it with spaghetti and salad.. Oh and thin mints or ice cream for dessert. Dang it now I am hungry.

[SassyPants]

2 hours ago, SassyPantswithASideofClass said:

That poor girl. I would have smiled and eaten it. Also I would have gently explained that cumin is different from cinnamon but that it was the best breakfast I ever had. NEVER would I humiliate my daughter.  I can recall one time making my dad coffee. I was probably no more than 8 at the time. I not realizing that the sugar shaker had been put somewhere else accidentally put salt into my dad's coffee. Now that I look back I can't help but laugh. He remembers it though. I handed him the coffee, he took a sip and kinda made a face. He did ask me what I put in and I grabbed the shaker showing it to him. He lost it by laughing and hugging me at the same time. Then he explained what had happened but said it was the best cup of coffee he had ever had.. My father NEVER humiliated me. We joke about it 19 years later.

Oooh have you ever had garlic bread with cayenne pepper? Its good!!! Gives it some spice while mellowing out the kick of the garlic. Serve it with spaghetti and salad.. Oh and thin mints or ice cream for dessert. Dang it now I am hungry.

I put smoked paprika on garlic bread. It is really good.

[picklepizzas]

I’m confused at the backlash on this one? Her daughter wasn’t doing something nice for the family, she was doing something kind of mean to prank her family and wasting food in the process. Even if you’re not on a tight budget, there goes all your bread and now you have to go to the store again (and all that cayenne pepper bread is going to be tossed in the trash after a bite). And I highly doubt she really confused cumin with cayenne pepper. She wasn’t being an inventive cook this was an April fools prank meant to gross people out. 

Edited April 2, 2019 by picklepizzas

[luv2laugh]

17 minutes ago, picklepizzas said:

I’m confused at the backlash on this one? Her daughter wasn’t doing something nice for the family, she was doing something kind of mean to prank her family and wasting food in the process. Even if you’re not on a tight budget, there goes all your bread and now you have to go to the store again (and all that cayenne pepper bread is going to be tossed in the trash after a bite). And I highly doubt she really confused cumin with cayenne pepper. She wasn’t being an inventive cook this was an April fools prank meant to gross people out. 

All over Pinterest and mommy blogs you will find April Fools food prank ideas. I think her daughter was giving her family a funny memory.

It’s sad that it’s considered “the norm” in Abbie’s mind for an 8 year old to cook the family breakfast. 

Braggie does not lift a finger. Her kids do all of the work to pick up her slack.

Edited April 2, 2019 by luv2laugh

[SuperNova]

Everything in Abbie's life is a contest. 

"...one member of this group stepped it up even more and made it a family-wide challenge/contest. 
Who can have the kindest speech? Now that's a contest I can get behind. 
So, this morning, I told my crew that, for each genuinely kind, gentle, encouraging word spoken by anyone in our family, we would add a penny to jar (and take one out for unkind/rude speech). Each penny will equal a dollar. And however many pennies we have in the jar by Easter will be how many dollars we spend on a fun family outing. 
 

The "rules" of the challenge according to Abbie:

The goal: gentle speech for one month
The how: God's grace
The why: bc it's RIGHT and GOOD

It should read: Because it's RIGHT and GOOD and you can WIN PRIZES.

 

[Dreadcrumbs]

38 minutes ago, luv2laugh said:

All over Pinterest and mommy blogs you will find April Fools food prank ideas. I think her daughter was giving her family a funny memory. It’s sad that it’s considered “the norm” in Abbie’s mind for an 8 year old to cook the family breakfast. 

Braggie does not lift a finger. Her kids do all of the work to pick up her slack.

I really do think it was meant to be fun. Granted, not everyone likes pranks, but this doesn't sound "mean".

[luv2laugh]

47 minutes ago, SuperNova said:

Everything in Abbie's life is a contest. 

"...one member of this group stepped it up even more and made it a family-wide challenge/contest. 
Who can have the kindest speech? Now that's a contest I can get behind. 
So, this morning, I told my crew that, for each genuinely kind, gentle, encouraging word spoken by anyone in our family, we would add a penny to jar (and take one out for unkind/rude speech). Each penny will equal a dollar. And however many pennies we have in the jar by Easter will be how many dollars we spend on a fun family outing. 
 

The "rules" of the challenge according to Abbie:

The goal: gentle speech for one month
The how: God's grace
The why: bc it's RIGHT and GOOD

It should read: Because it's RIGHT and GOOD and you can WIN PRIZES.

 

I thought Braggie, a Bible-believing, SAVED Christian, does not believe in doing good works to “earn points” with God?

[picklepizzas]

22 minutes ago, Dreadcrumbs said:

I really do think it was meant to be fun. Granted, not everyone likes pranks, but this doesn't sound "mean".

Probably the daughter didn’t mean for it to be a “mean prank,” but regardless feeding cayenne pepper to unsuspecting people is not exactly the nicest prank and she was wasting food (you can totally do a food prank that doesn’t make the food inedible!) - so I think it is a perfectly reasonable time for a mother to feel exasperated rather than amused. Maybe some mothers would find this wholly hilarious but I think exasperation is understandable here and don’t feel like this is some outrageous example of Abbie being a crazyneglectfulbeotch mom. 

[ViolaSebastian]

I take responsibility for adding to the confusion. I thought the daughter had innocently mixed up the spices or was trying something new, if misguided. I didn’t realize it was a prank because I apparently lack reading comprehension skills. 

[luv2laugh]

1 hour ago, picklepizzas said:

Probably the daughter didn’t mean for it to be a “mean prank,” but regardless feeding cayenne pepper to unsuspecting people is not exactly the nicest prank and she was wasting food (you can totally do a food prank that doesn’t make the food inedible!) - so I think it is a perfectly reasonable time for a mother to feel exasperated rather than amused. Maybe some mothers would find this wholly hilarious but I think exasperation is understandable here and don’t feel like this is some outrageous example of Abbie being a crazyneglectfulbeotch mom. 

Perhaps if Braggie does not want the food to be wasted, she shouldn’t be having an 8 year old child be the family chef?

Her children do the laundry and fold all of the clothes while she blogs. The kids cook all of the family meals. The older kids babysit her kids and her friends’ kids while she hosts weekly work-out parties at her house.  Also, she makes her kids clean her house. The kids wash dishes and unload them, clean the bathrooms, sweep, vacuum, etc.

Where are the parents? What do the parents in the Halberstadt house do?

Edited April 2, 2019 by luv2laugh

[luv2laugh]

When Braggie receives criticism about overwhelming her kids with house-work, her argument is that she’s teaching her kids to be productive and hard-working.

No. It’s her “cop-out” because Abbie is selfish and lazy. 

Do you want to teach your children to be independent? Give them age appropriate chores. Teach your kids how to make scrambled eggs and serve themselves cereal. Teach them how to make PB & J sandwiches and pack their lunches. Teach them to put their dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Teach them to put their toys away. Teach them to clean up after THEMSELVES- not you, Abbie, and Shaun. 

There is a difference between enslaving your children and teaching them independence. 

Edited April 2, 2019 by luv2laugh

[Seahorse Wrangler]

5 hours ago, SassyPants said:

I put smoked paprika on garlic bread. It is really good.

 

7 hours ago, SassyPantswithASideofClass said:

 

Oooh have you ever had garlic bread with cayenne pepper? Its good!!! Gives it some spice while mellowing out the kick of the garlic. Serve it with spaghetti and salad..

Sounds yum. I must try one or the other next time I make garlic bread.