M is for Mama 6: M is for Mama 6: Temper Tantrum over Twins Twice

[Hane]

I’m a big fan of public education, most likely because my family and I have been lucky enough to have gone to schools with good curricula and dedicated teachers. (I live in a non-fancy blue collar town.) In college, my daughter used to proofread the papers of classmates who had attended top-notch private schools but couldn’t put together a grammatically correct sentence.

However, I refuse to paint all home schooling with the same brush. I know several well-educated parents who homeschool their kids with great success: a few have kids in the performing arts, and some who are just, well, kind of hippies. And then, at the other end of the spectrum, are the Jills and Braggies.

 

[Snarkasarus Rex]

Braggie’s pic reminds me of the ‘homeschooling brought to you by day drinking’ memes that have been going around.  

It’s not a good look, sis.

[TuringMachine]

I have a hard time believing a public school out in boonies in Texas is gonna be anti Christian.

[SuperNova]

42 minutes ago, justmy2cents said:

You give me hope ?

There's hope! Baby Nova has a huge amount of very thick, naturally pitch black hair. No matter what I did to help, it was a snarly mess until Junior High when she hacked it all off. We had to make bi-weekly visits to a stylist for a cut and thinning. When she made her first trip home from college, I was a surprised to find she shaved her head. I hated it but didn't say a word about it. She kept it shaved for several years. FINALLY, she's gone back to having long hair and caring for it and it is absolutely gorgeous. Baby Nova's hair is similar in texture to Abbie's but far better cared for. 

On another note, I've noticed that Abbie has much more Jesus talk in her Insta posts than she used to. In the past I sometimes wondered how she made it onto FJ because she didn't seem to spout fundy nonsense as much as others that we follow here. Sure, she's a homeschooling mom with a passel of children and has "Christ follower" as a motto but it wasn't until Shiloh that she really started ramping up. I'm sure that she would say that she's strengthened her walk with the lord or some shit. But when I read her lastest blog post and saw that she has a Christian publisher, it all made sense.

[Hane]

@TuringMachine, yes. In 1997, the company I worked for was acquired by a much larger one (SBC, now called AT&T), out of Texas. When I went on line to check out its various professional groups, I was astounded to find one called “Christian Businessmen,” or something like that. Something like that would never fly up here in the northeast!

[pupper]

1 hour ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

Oh gee look .... Braggie is Just.Like. Us. 

She doesn't wash her hair for weeks on end and lets it get disgustingly nasty, filthy, and matted.

And do my eyes deceive me or does she have about 3 inches of graying roots in the Pebbles hair don't?

Sort of looks like she is going for dreads...

[JermajestyDuggar]

1 hour ago, pupper said:

Sort of looks like she is going for dreads...

Oh god I hope she doesn’t go Nicnog on ya! I think she’s more likely to just hack it all off at once so she can brag about how she can donate her hair to cancer kids. 

[luv2laugh]

Braggie is putting a lot more effort into Instagram and blogging. I wonder why?

1 hour ago, SuperNova said:

There's hope! Baby Nova has a huge amount of very thick, naturally pitch black hair. No matter what I did to help, it was a snarly mess until Junior High when she hacked it all off. We had to make bi-weekly visits to a stylist for a cut and thinning. When she made her first trip home from college, I was a surprised to find she shaved her head. I hated it but didn't say a word about it. She kept it shaved for several years. FINALLY, she's gone back to having long hair and caring for it and it is absolutely gorgeous. Baby Nova's hair is similar in texture to Abbie's but far better cared for. 

On another note, I've noticed that Abbie has much more Jesus talk in her Insta posts than she used to. In the past I sometimes wondered how she made it onto FJ because she didn't seem to spout fundy nonsense as much as others that we follow here. Sure, she's a homeschooling mom with a passel of children and has "Christ follower" as a motto but it wasn't until Shiloh that she really started ramping up. I'm sure that she would say that she's strengthened her walk with the lord or some shit. But when I read her lastest blog post and saw that she has a Christian publisher, it all made sense.

She has admitted, multiple times, that the only reason she created a blog was to have an audience to sell books to.

At first, she probably desired to market herself to as many other women as possible, like Joanna Gaines. Over time, she's learned that she's followed by mainly other Christian women and for being an oddity among them. She's trying to be bold about her odd choice of lifestyle as a Christian mother and tell everyone her way is the best way. Abbie gets very ticked off at mainstream wine o'clock mom culture and has to act holier than thou. 

Abbie reminds me of how Lori Alexander tried to market her views on marriage and became an oddity among other Christian women. The push-back from other Christian women only made Lori become more of a die-hard fundamentalist.

Many of these women are disappointed with their lives so they dig their heels in and end up more fundamentalist. Some of them end up less fundie but I think most get more extreme over time as a way to cope with the bed they made, so to speak (except for Erika Shupe)...

Edited May 4, 2020 by luv2laugh

[luv2laugh]

She's really not happy with us:


It's hard not to snark on Braggie because she's not humble. She knows her name around here is "Braggie". Despite being criticized for being prideful, she continues to boast anyway. She doesn't want to be "relatable" to other women. She wants to show off for attention while telling women they struggle because they don't do it her way, and get ass-pats for it.

People have asked her why she doesn't "get real" and she says it's her mission to only present motherhood in a positive light, but that's NOT authentic.  She always comes across as an insincere phony. Any time she mentions how hard parenting is, she dresses it up as "sanctification" because she needs the attention for being a martyr.

Speaking of her hair, I'm quite surprised she hasn't lost any of its volume from all of her pregnancies.

Finally, I will be nice and say that her light make up looks very pretty but on the inside, she's judgmental and reeks of pride.

Edited May 4, 2020 by luv2laugh

[SuperNova]

54 minutes ago, luv2laugh said:

Abbie gets very ticked off at mainstream wine o'clock mom culture and has to act holier than thou.

Which is funny because she's exactly the same way except replace wine o'clock with Jesus and exercise. It's what made her comment about their lifestyle being "counterculture" so stupid. As an outsider to any kind of mommy culture at all, it's hard to see any surface difference between her and lots of other trendy Instagram moms/mommy bloggers. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

22 minutes ago, SuperNova said:

Which is funny because she's exactly the same way except replace wine o'clock with Jesus and exercise. 

I 100% agree. She’s exactly the same as the rest. I would much rather follow a woman who copes with wine and Ben & Jerry’s than Jesus and Gym time.

[SassyPants]

Simon finished off dinner prep while the queen was at her OB appointment. Wonder if the sperm donor was at home supervising the already born or accompanying his brood mare? 

[Ozlsn]

8 hours ago, TuringMachine said:

I have a hard time believing a public school out in boonies in Texas is gonna be anti Christian.

We watched "Cheer" in week 1 of the shutdown and given that the introductory seminar to the college they were at in their smallish Texan city featured the presenter talking about how Christian the area was, and how most believed that marriage was between a man and a woman... yeah, not thinking the public schools are going to be that much different.

8 hours ago, pupper said:

Sort of looks like she is going for dreads...

Now there's a crossover I was not expecting. Heh. Braggie vs Nic Nog. My money's on Nic.  

[danvillebelle]

Is she too stupid to realize that the implied ending to the saying on her mug is FUCKER, or does she know and think it makes her look cool?  

There is never any warmth or softness to her eyes or her face, even when she smiles.  She always looks hard and cold.

[luv2laugh]

Why does Abbie spend so much time on Instagram when she limits her older kids to only 1.5 hrs/week of the internet for entertainment?

Edited May 6, 2020 by luv2laugh

[danvillebelle]

7 hours ago, luv2laugh said:

Why does Abbie spend so much time on Instagram when she limits her older kids to only 1.5 hrs/week of the internet for entertainment?

Oh but Braggie's instagram is a MINISTRY, doncha know.  That makes it completely different.  

ETA:  I think 1.5 hours a WEEK on the internet for a teenager in 2020 is ridiculous.  He should be allowed an hour a DAY, IMO...if for no other reason than to have a break from parenting his siblings.

Edited May 6, 2020 by danvillebelle
more

[SassyPants]

In terms of the Internet, weren’t the younger kids allowed more time? I guess the older one ones have chores that require their time? God her parenting is awful.

[klein_roeschen]

On 5/4/2020 at 7:00 PM, JermajestyDuggar said:

Braggie’s hair is naturally very pretty. It’s thick and has some good curl and wave. However she lets it become a total rat’s nest sometimes. I can’t imagine having such pretty hair and treating it the way she does. 

I have very similiar hair, thick and curly, just shorter. To look a mess like her you had to stop washing and combing your hair for 2 weeks and don't use any hair care products. I only wash my hair 2 times a week, use a conditioner and only comb it when it's wet. Then use a little bit of styling mouse (not half a can JillRod) to bring out my curls. That's 10 minutes and I have a shiny nice mob of curls and not that distangled rats nest. And how classy to have your expensive engagment and wedding rings in front of the camera to show of.

[JermajestyDuggar]

4 minutes ago, klein_roeschen said:

I have very similiar hair, thick and curly, just shorter. To look a mess like her you had to stop washing and combing your hair for 2 weeks and don't use any hair care products. I only wash my hair 2 times a week, use a conditioner and only comb it when it's wet. Then use a little bit of styling mouse (not half a can JillRod) to bring out my curls. That's 10 minutes and I have a shiny nice mob of curls and not that distangled rats nest. And how classy to have your expensive engagment and wedding rings in front of the camera to show of.

She has to show she’s married! All of these women are defined by their marital status. TAM has a little punching hand logo all over her social media. It’s obviously the left hand so she can show off the wedding ring. But now she’s getting divorced. So I find her logo beyond hilarious. 

Edited May 6, 2020 by JermajestyDuggar

[klein_roeschen]

5 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

She has to show she’s married! All of these women are defined by their marital status. TAM has a little punching hand logo all over her social media. It’s obviously the left hand so she can show off the wedding ring. But now she’s getting divorced. So I find her logo beyond hilarious. 

Fully aggree an the showing of their marital status, but with Abbie it's also showing of her rocks. She is never shy to bragg about her family's good financial status.

[TuringMachine]

Spoiler

So if they just wanted to talk to their friends that wouldn't be ok? I can't imagine how lonely it must be as a 13 year old not allowed to hang out with peers your own age.

[SuperNova]

Abbie's latest post makes her sound like a single mother. It's in the realm of possibility that she's just playing the mommy martyr to make herself look good. But then again, how much does Shaun actually do? Abbie has said he doesn't like his picture taken. Ok, fine. That doesn't mean he shouldn't be included in the written part of the post. Wouldn't it be, "...it's our *job*"? Or, "...we face the prospect"? 

"But I think it would do mamas with younger kids a disservice if I pretend like I had *nothing* to do with it. Because it’s my *job* to have as much to do with it as humanly possible."

"Ezra and Simon are encouraging me in #preachingtomyself as I face the prospect of raising up FIVE more young men (and, of course, my 3 precious girls) to love and follow the Lord."

I have a feeling that Shaun doesn't do much parenting outside of whatever projects are interesting to him like the boys robotics or cleaning out the barn to get away from Abbie. All we know about their life is what Abbie chooses to show us and so far what I see of Shaun isn't impressive. She makes him seem like mentally checked out absentee parent.

[luv2laugh]

Hilarious. Yesterday I posted about how Abbie doesn't allow the kids to use the internet and she posts this today:

 

Quote

Yesterday, my big boys (13 and 12) asked if I would get the email addresses of a few of their friends from their moms. When I asked why, they said, “Because we’re starting an online Bible study where we’re going to read through the whole Bible together and discuss it each week on Google hangouts.” I stopped short and grinned at them and told them what a fantastic idea I thought that was. “Yes ma’am!” They both said enthusiastically. “We’re inviting all our friends!” You guys. There is so much of this I can’t take credit for. The Lord is just good. But I think it would do mamas with younger kids a disservice if I pretend like I had *nothing* to do with it. Because it’s my *job* to have as much to do with it as humanly possible.
Their interest in God’s Word comes as a result of years of reading it together as a family, day in and day out, even when it wasn’t convenient or easy. Even when they wiggled to beat all, and the baby was crying, and I felt sick and unmotivated.
It wasn’t every day, but it was consistent more than not, and while the fruit hardly blossomed over night, I began to see it, and I couldn’t help but think of Isaiah 28:10: “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” Building character (in you, in your kids) is not an easy or instant process, and pushing through the distractions and noise to return again to the needful things, the basics, the life principles that hold us fast regardless of age or season will always be 90% conviction and 10% emotion (on a good day). But the joy (which is not an emotion) it brings? Oh, that is 100% worth it.
Ezra and Simon are encouraging me in #preachingtomyself as I face the prospect of raising up FIVE more young men (and, of course, my 3 precious girls) to love and follow the Lord.
It. Is. Worth. The. Work.

P.S. Starting a new round of @thegentlenesschallenge today if you want to join!
P.P.S. Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday is live in my stories if you have a question for me, AND I’m almost done with organizing all of the past WWKW into categories in my highlights, so be sure to check those out!

 

[Snarkasarus Rex]

Braggie:  "Enough about me, let's talk about ME!"

[luv2laugh]

In one of her stories, she said Simon loves cooking and listed all of her recipes that he cooks. 
 

I’m starting to get a sense that Abbie sort of takes a “Wild West” approach to parenting. They need to follow her rules and schedule but aside from that, they are on their own. They need to finish math at the crack of dawn before she wakes up, they don’t have a playroom, they need to entertain themselves, learn to soothe themselves, and good luck. 

I feel like she’s not an emotionally available parent. She’s admitted she is not a natural nurturer compared to Ezra and that’s fine, not all women should be that way, but why have so many kids then?

I don't think she talks enough about discipline but the way she must be getting them to comply is with fear and that cannot be healthy.

Edited May 6, 2020 by luv2laugh