Alyssa & John 9: It’s All About Dressing Up and Looking Perfect on Instagram

[JordynDarby5]

My mom, brother and I baked Christmas cookies together every year growing up. My grandmother joined us every year until she passed. My sister-in-law joined the cooking baking when she married my brother and my nephew joined us every year when after he was born. The last couple year of my mother's life we hadn't been able and I'm still not able for health reasons. But they were such fun memories! Pictures of my brother in his high chair and then me covering cookies with sprinkles. Sneaking cookie samples. My nephew helping out. One year he decided out of the blue he wanted to bake a pie with my mom and they did. They had so much fun. We have pictures from it. 

[adidas]

On 7/13/2021 at 9:14 PM, MaryOrMartha said:

Alf Stewart, is that you?

Stone the flamin’ crows. How did you guess? 

[AussieKrissy]

6 hours ago, adidas said:

Stone the flamin’ crows. How did you guess? 

Ya galah...

[SassyPants]

I was wrong. She was not making cookies. It was granola. 

[freethemall]

I feel like several of Alyssas posts lately have been trying to prove she is a perfect housewife, cooks food for her kids now and then, and engages them outside of dressing up and staring at homeschool computers - the cleaning shots, granola, nacho/fajitas dinner, ideas for places to take them, etc.. Meaning she is reading the criticism here and/or on reddit. She recently took them to a playground and admitted she doesnt often take them places (yeah we know). Good for trying and if you're reading this, hi Alyssa!

[Dominionatrix]

Alyssa was the sixth of 19 homeschooled kids, all born in rapid succession. I doubt she experienced much in the way of structured enrichment and non-church outings growing up. They were probably just constantly in survival mode. Hopefully Alyssa can learn from others and do better for her kids. 

[Nothing if not critical]

So... I don't want to beat a dead horse (or parrot), but if you look at Alyssa's recent insta stories, the pool fence is definitely gone. Which means she has three kids out there playing by and in the pool, plus a baby in a walker on the terrace right next to it. Swimming lessons or no, I wouldn't trust myself to safely supervise that situation... I just hope those kids are super lucky.

[Jackie3]

2 hours ago, Nothing if not critical said:

So... I don't want to beat a dead horse (or parrot), but if you look at Alyssa's recent insta stories, the pool fence is definitely gone. Which means she has three kids out there playing by and in the pool, plus a baby in a walker on the terrace right next to it. Swimming lessons or no, I wouldn't trust myself to safely supervise that situation... I just hope those kids are super lucky.

Honestly, I wouldn't have even bought that house if I had four small children. Pools are nice and all, but it's too much stress. And the pool is attached to the house! It's really hard to watch four kids all the time.  I don't think Zoey is swimming yet (she is usually pictured wearing floaties), and of course the baby will soon be crawling.

[Knight of Ni]

On 7/6/2021 at 6:26 PM, JermajestyDuggar said:

I have an irrational fear of grape choking. My kids are 6 and 8 and I still cut them sometimes ?

I'm an adult and I almost choked on a grape the other day. Ended up swallowing it whole. I was in my office alone so if I had choked it wouldn't have ended well.

[Expectopatronus]

2 hours ago, Nothing if not critical said:

So... I don't want to beat a dead horse (or parrot), but if you look at Alyssa's recent insta stories, the pool fence is definitely gone. Which means she has three kids out there playing by and in the pool, plus a baby in a walker on the terrace right next to it. Swimming lessons or no, I wouldn't trust myself to safely supervise that situation... I just hope those kids are super lucky.

Are walkers legal in Florida? They have been illegal were I live for at least 25 years. Too many babies (including me) fell down the stairs in them. 

[CanadianMamam]

1 minute ago, Expectopatronus said:

Are walkers legal in Florida? They have been illegal were I live for at least 25 years. Too many babies (including me) fell down the stairs in them. 

Walkers are legal in the US. They are one of the most confiscated items at the Us/Canada border because Canadians try to buy them there since they are illegal here. 

[treehugger]

We have been looking on and off at houses for the past bit.  I immediately nix every house that has a pool or pond.  I just couldn’t deal with the stress of it and three young kids.  

[rebeccawriter01]

5 hours ago, treehugger said:

We have been looking on and off at houses for the past bit.  I immediately nix every house that has a pool or pond.  I just couldn’t deal with the stress of it and three young kids.  

Same here. I don't want the expense of maintaining a pool or the hassle of water on the property at all. But I am admittedly an inside person. I want bigger bedrooms and no extravagant patio, etc.  

[nelliebelle1197]

On 7/23/2021 at 12:11 PM, Nothing if not critical said:

So... I don't want to beat a dead horse (or parrot), but if you look at Alyssa's recent insta stories, the pool fence is definitely gone. Which means she has three kids out there playing by and in the pool, plus a baby in a walker on the terrace right next to it. Swimming lessons or no, I wouldn't trust myself to safely supervise that situation... I just hope those kids are super lucky.

Of course it is. It would have never occurred to her to keep a safety fence. I mean, I remember the way Kelly and Gil used to let their kids play with knives and power tools (well, not knives and power tools but pretty darn close)!

[OldFadedStar]

On 7/23/2021 at 1:54 PM, Jackie3 said:

Honestly, I wouldn't have even bought that house if I had four small children. Pools are nice and all, but it's too much stress. And the pool is attached to the house! It's really hard to watch four kids all the time.  I don't think Zoey is swimming yet (she is usually pictured wearing floaties), and of course the baby will soon be crawling.

About half the houses that were for sale in the town we moved to back in 2019 had a pool. We actually had to spend more money to get a house without a pool... but we were moving in with a 4 month old baby and I had zero desire to deal with the stress of having a pool and toddlers. 

[Born Skeptic]

14 hours ago, OldFadedStar said:

About half the houses that were for sale in the town we moved to back in 2019 had a pool. We actually had to spend more money to get a house without a pool... but we were moving in with a 4 month old baby and I had zero desire to deal with the stress of having a pool and toddlers. 

This would be very accurate where the Websters live.  More houses in the area have pools than not.  I live south of the Websters and when we were looking at houses, only 5% of the homes for sale did not have pools.  

The pool safety gate that they have is designed to be removed when the pool is in use.  Seeing a picture posted without the gate does not mean that it is permanently gone.  It is also very common in Florida to see pools with screen enclosures attached to the house.  Florida state law (and most homeowners insurance policies) requires pool safety measures like alarms on doors leading to the pool and knobs, locks, etc raised above where small children could reasonably reach.  They may, or may not, also use a pool alarm (emits an ear piercing alarm when the surface of the water is disturbed) when they are not actively using the pool.

I raised my children in and around the water in FL.  The pictures that are posted in Instagram are not in the slightest bit unusual in most homes in FL.  

Edited July 25, 2021 by Born Skeptic

[CanadianMamam]

21 minutes ago, Born Skeptic said:

This would be very accurate where the Websters live.  More houses in the area have pools than not.  I live south of the Websters and when we were looking at houses, only 5% of the homes for sale did not have pools.  

The pool safety gate that they have is designed to be removed when the pool is in use.  Seeing a picture posted without the gate does not mean that it is permanently gone.  It is also very common in Florida to see pools with screen enclosures attached to the house.  Florida state law (and most homeowners insurance policies) requires pool safety measures like alarms on doors leading to the pool and knobs, locks, etc raised above where small children could reasonably reach.  They may, or may not, also use a pool alarm (emits an ear piercing alarm when the surface of the water is disturbed) when they are not actively using the pool.

I raised my children in and around the water in FL.  The pictures that are posted in Instagram are not in the slightest bit unusual in most homes in FL.  

This make me feel better. It is very different than what I am used to here but it makes sense given thst pools here get 4-5 months of use, not year-round, daily use like they do in Florida.

[Nothing if not critical]

27 minutes ago, Born Skeptic said:

This would be very accurate where the Websters live.  More houses in the area have pools than not.  I live south of the Websters and when we were looking at houses, only 5% of the homes for sale did not have pools.  

The pool safety gate that they have is designed to be removed when the pool is in use.  Seeing a picture posted without the gate does not mean that it is permanently gone.  It is also very common in Florida to see pools with screen enclosures attached to the house.  Florida state law (and most homeowners insurance policies) requires pool safety measures like alarms on doors leading to the pool and knobs, locks, etc raised above where small children could reasonably reach.  They may, or may not, also use a pool alarm (emits an ear piercing alarm when the surface of the water is disturbed) when they are not actively using the pool.

I raised my children in and around the water in FL.  The pictures that are posted in Instagram are not in the slightest bit unusual in most homes in FL.  

The thing is… even if the pool is safe for the rest of the day, I wouldn’t trust myself to safely watch four littles at the same time while they’re in the water. I wouldn’t take them to a public pool either, unless I had someone to help me.  I’ve read far too many accounts of accidental drowning to be chill about this.
But of course ymmv, and I’ve always tended to err on the side of caution where my kids are concerned.

[Born Skeptic]

5 minutes ago, CanadianMamam said:

This make me feel better. It is very different than what I am used to here but it makes sense given thst pools here get 4-5 months of use, not year-round, daily use like they do in Florida.

Our pool does get used daily.  I am betting that the Websters pool does also - at least for now while it is new to the girls.  In addition to state and county laws relating to pool safety, our HOA is pretty strict about approving any changes to pools and pool enclosures.  In order to receive HOA approval to remove our attached screen enclosure and fence the backyard instead we had to prove that we had adequate security and alarms to detect intrusion and proof of liability insurance.

[Born Skeptic]

10 minutes ago, Nothing if not critical said:

The thing is… even if the pool is safe for the rest of the day, I wouldn’t trust myself to safely watch four littles at the same time while they’re in the water. I wouldn’t take them to a public pool either, unless I had someone to help me.  I’ve read far too many accounts of accidental drowning to be chill about this.
But of course ymmv, and I’ve always tended to err on the side of caution where my kids are concerned.

As a parent, you have to do what you are comfortable with.  Caution, within reason, should be top priority with children.  Obviously I don't know where you live, but you probably would not feel very comfortable living in Florida.  (And that is perfectly reasonable.)  If you don't have a pool, it is likely that many of your neighbors do - making it even more attractive to curious children.  If you don't live on the water, it is likely that there is water somewhere nearby - again very attractive to curious children.  My kids grew up living waterfront and later in a golf club community with abundant water hazards and easy access to the Everglades.  In Florida it is better to teach kids early about water safety rather than just ignore it or overly protect them from it.   In my experience overly protected curious children are the kids that experience water related issues and tragedies.

[CanadianMamam]

53 minutes ago, Born Skeptic said:

As a parent, you have to do what you are comfortable with.  Caution, within reason, should be top priority with children.  Obviously I don't know where you live, but you probably would not feel very comfortable living in Florida.  (And that is perfectly reasonable.)  If you don't have a pool, it is likely that many of your neighbors do - making it even more attractive to curious children.  If you don't live on the water, it is likely that there is water somewhere nearby - again very attractive to curious children.  My kids grew up living waterfront and later in a golf club community with abundant water hazards and easy access to the Everglades.  In Florida it is better to teach kids early about water safety rather than just ignore it or overly protect them from it.   In my experience overly protected curious children are the kids that experience water related issues and tragedies.

I agree. We don't live in Florida, but we do live on the water. You can walk from my property to a path that will take you straight into the water. My kids have all been taught water safety and yard safety because it is a necessity. Pools here do tend to be heavily gated but there is plenty of natural water sources from creeks and rivers to lakes.

 

[Jackie3]

2 hours ago, Nothing if not critical said:

The thing is… even if the pool is safe for the rest of the day, I wouldn’t trust myself to safely watch four littles at the same time while they’re in the water. I wouldn’t take them to a public pool either, unless I had someone to help me.  I’ve read far too many accounts of accidental drowning to be chill about this.
But of course ymmv, and I’ve always tended to err on the side of caution where my kids are concerned.

I agree, while the kids are uncertain swimmers or nonswimmers. However, the three oldest will soon be strong swimmers, given that they swim all the time. Then it is easier to keep an eye on them. I've had a bunch of kids over to swim, but they were all 7-10 years old and had been swimming since they were little. That's a lot easier than watching four small children who are still learning.

[llucie]

6 hours ago, Born Skeptic said:

This would be very accurate where the Websters live.  More houses in the area have pools than not.  I live south of the Websters and when we were looking at houses, only 5% of the homes for sale did not have pools.  

The pool safety gate that they have is designed to be removed when the pool is in use.  Seeing a picture posted without the gate does not mean that it is permanently gone.  It is also very common in Florida to see pools with screen enclosures attached to the house.  Florida state law (and most homeowners insurance policies) requires pool safety measures like alarms on doors leading to the pool and knobs, locks, etc raised above where small children could reasonably reach.  They may, or may not, also use a pool alarm (emits an ear piercing alarm when the surface of the water is disturbed) when they are not actively using the pool.

I raised my children in and around the water in FL.  The pictures that are posted in Instagram are not in the slightest bit unusual in most homes in FL.  

I am not sure about this. When they moved they had a pool wall around it, that was some kind of mesh fabric. They took it out and never put anything else in its place. I dont think they have any safety gate currently.

[MomJeans]

@Born Skeptic is entirely correct that it's pretty common for Florida homeowners not to install mesh pool fencing.

I believe I caught slack for this previously on here, but I was raised in Florida, most of my family still lives in Florida, and I currently live there.  If you use your pool cage (large screen enclosure) as your "pool fencing", you are supposed to have either an alarm on all doors leading to the pool, or a pool alarm, which wouldn't be easy to see in pictures.  And enforcement on these provision, in my experience, is, at most, dependent on your local Homeowner's Association, which will fine for broken pool cages/missing fences for aesthetic reasons.  Floridians definitely have a laissez-faire attitude about code and rule compliance in general.  I'm willing to bet not a single neighbor of mine has a pool alarm as I write this, and I know they don't have any pool fencing.

We have removable pool fencing, and a retractable pool cover, in addition to our pool cage.  My house is by far the exception in Florida. The pool fence is almost always made fun of by visitors and neighbors.  When I lived in Texas and California, everyone had pool fences, and we bought one because it was our preference to have one, without any reference to Florida law.  I actually believe that our door locks are probably our best defense against an accident (all doors to our pool area have locks at the very top, so only an adult can unlock the door.  I'm short enough that I have to stand on my toes to do it).  

Do I worry about water safety? All. The. Time.  But in Florida, you are surrounded by water hazards no matter what.  I'm sure Alyssa lives near a few easily accessible drainage ponds.  My kids live walking distance to the intercoastal.  And no matter how responsible I am as a homeowner, if I let my kids go to their friends' houses (after they are vaccinated), I know they will be near unsecured pools. 

[AussieKrissy]

all of you guys worrying about drowning in random water ways in florida and all I can think of, is when I was there, and what I see on the internet, there is gators everywhere. Kids getting eaten is what I would worry about. I live in a nice croc free state of Australia, I know that gators are slightly less dangerous than crocs but I aint messing with either.