M Is for Mama 13: Taking Selfies to Glorify the Lord

[Mrs Ms]

Is Abby making HER stuff minimalistic? Or just throwing out the kids stuff so it doesn’t mess with her “aesthetic” and time? Parenting goals everyone! /s 

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 minutes ago, Mrs Ms said:

Is Abby making HER stuff minimalistic? Or just throwing out the kids stuff so it doesn’t mess with her “aesthetic” and time? Parenting goals everyone! /s 

That’s what Zoo did when she gave minimalism a try! She got rid of a bunch of the children's stuff but kept all her pots pans and sewing crap. 

[danvillebelle]

8 minutes ago, theotherelise said:

Even the magnatiles box on her story is nearly empty! I can’t imagine being an active toddler or preschooler needing play stimulation in their house. No wonder she’s always on shilohs case. 

She's also mentioned twice recently that the twin boys are constantly into everything, pulling things off shelves, etc.  Gee, I wonder why?  GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO PLAY WITH, YOU TWATWAFFLE.

[Mrs Ms]

1 minute ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

That’s what Zoo did when she gave minimalism a try! She got rid of a bunch of the children's stuff but kept all her pots pans and sewing crap. 

Exactly! When I whittle down the kids possessions, you better believe I am doing it with my own stuff too! But then again, my house and identity aren’t an aesthetic and I only have 3 kids, so I am CLEARLY not an expert.

[JermajestyDuggar]

Just now, Mrs Ms said:

Exactly! When I whittle down the kids possessions, you better believe I am doing it with my own stuff too! But then again, my house and identity aren’t an aesthetic and I only have 3 kids, so I am CLEARLY not an expert.

I have gotten rid of so much of my own stuff over the years. I can live minimally, but my kids can’t. So I don’t force them to get rid of most of their toys. We have different personalities and that’s ok. 

[Cults-r-us]

2 hours ago, SassyPants said:

Toys have probably gone the way of the dog and cats. Have we seen them recently?

Because the only person who should have (lots of) what she wants is Princess Braggie.

[danvillebelle]

Will Braggie also be minimizing her massive clothing and shoe collection in her bedroom-sized closet, or her huge hutch full of dishes that probably rarely get used?  Don't hold your breath.

[anachronistic]

I know numerous people who are very clean and organized for themselves, and keep their bedroom/kitchen/living room looking gorgeous because they like it for themselves. Then their kids rooms/playroom/living room/other space is a total wreck because kids are messy and so long as there isn’t actual vermin, bodily fluids or spilled juice nobody cares. So many of these women we talk about seem to think that it is either/or. It’s not! It’s both!
 

And I’ve never known anyone with kids who didn’t have one bottom drawer/cabinet filled with Tupperware or baking pans or dish cloths - anything safe - for their toddlers to take out and play with as they cook. In my mind, if you need to think about where your plastic measuring cups are before you cook, that’s a good thing! Your kids are exploring and having fun! (Just don’t let them heat up pretend food in the actual microwave, as I did as a kid.)

[TuringMachine]

21 hours ago, SassyPants said:

Toys have probably gone the way of the dog and cats. Have we seen them recently?

I don't think she's posted the birds since shortly after she got them. I'm guessing they didn't last long after regrowing their flight feathers.

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

There are people who shouldn't have pets, There are people who shouldn't have children. 

I think Braggie is in the Venn diagram of the groups.

[SuperNova]

22 hours ago, Hane said:

Her “going minimalist” on the kids’ toys reminds me of a defunct blog called “The Lazy Organizer.” She pared her kids’ clothes, toys, and personal effects down to a frighteningly bare minimum. Worse, she fed her kids mostly veggie, low-fat meals—but not in a healthy way. She had her kids fill up on plain boiled potatoes and actually said they could get plenty of nutrition from low-carb vegetables “the way cows do.” Honey, cows digest cellulose but human beings can’t. She took her show on the road and had thousands of adoring fans before she dropped off the map.

I don't understand these granola parents and their batshit ideas. They claim to know better than the rest of us but don't even have a basic working knowledge of digestion or immunity.

I recently came across a subreddit about a woman named Alice and her son Fern and oh my goodness, it's wild. Explanation under spoiler for triggers like miscarriage and alleged abuse

Spoiler

She doesn't believe in medical care of any kind because of a car accident that resulted in a loss of pregnancy. They live off of the insurance settlement. She dumpster dives for "exercise" and has one single bar of soap that they use for everything from scrubbing cat crap off the carpet to brushing their teeth. Fern and Alice are fruitarians (is that a word?) and look sickly. Fern is a toddler and doesn't appear to be thriving. He doesn't have a bedtime and spends the night wandering the house alone. I haven't seen very many toys for the little guy, either. Alice also loves car camping with this poor kid for a week or more at a time. She's pregnant again and still refuses any medical care at all. She plans to give birth at home.

 

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

Has anyone thought of contacting CPS about her?  It sounds like possible abuse to me, or endangerment or neglect or .... I'm not sure what.  And what about the child-to-be? Birth at home -- Alone? Midwife? Partner? No medical car at all?  She doesn't seem to be taking care of her son or herself.  Just my opinion.

Edited to add:  What's car camping? Literally at a campground camping in your car, or living in your car because you're (temporarily) homeless?

Edited June 11, 2022 by Red Hair, Black Dress

[JermajestyDuggar]

56 minutes ago, SuperNova said:

I don't understand these granola parents and their batshit ideas. They claim to know better than the rest of us but don't even have a basic working knowledge of digestion or immunity.

I recently came across a subreddit about a woman named Alice and her son Fern and oh my goodness, it's wild. Explanation under spoiler for triggers like miscarriage and alleged abuse

  Hide contents

She doesn't believe in medical care of any kind because of a car accident that resulted in a loss of pregnancy. They live off of the insurance settlement. She dumpster dives for "exercise" and has one single bar of soap that they use for everything from scrubbing cat crap off the carpet to brushing their teeth. Fern and Alice are fruitarians (is that a word?) and look sickly. Fern is a toddler and doesn't appear to be thriving. He doesn't have a bedtime and spends the night wandering the house alone. I haven't seen very many toys for the little guy, either. Alice also loves car camping with this poor kid for a week or more at a time. She's pregnant again and still refuses any medical care at all. She plans to give birth at home.

 

My opinion? Sometimes very young moms do a lot of this stuff out of fear and insecurity. I think they know that being a young mom means they are scrutinized more and it makes them insecure about parenting. So they go looking online for the seemingly perfect way to be a mom and they fall into a mom’s group that is probably extreme. Crunchy mom groups can get that way. Not all of them. But if she was already crunchy and then found a mom’s group that was even crunchier, it just went crazy from there. I’m sure there are lots of people online telling her she’s a perfect mom and everything she’s doing is right for her baby and herself. And all the dissenting opinions are just haters who are jealous. Fruit is healthy. So why not feed the kids fruit all day long?! 😒 I bet those are some very soft poops…

[SassyPants]

They took the whole family to Alaska. How much does that even cost? 10 airline tickets? Accommodations, meals, activities? Jesus

[mango_fandango]

I remember Erika Shupe posting about diet once on her old Large Families on Purpose, saying that her naturopath said to think of cows who “eat grass, and are all muscle” with regards to eating veggies or something. Like with a lot of Erika’s nonsense, I remember thinking what stupid advice it was. Humans don’t have four stomachs like cows do.

[danvillebelle]

10 hours ago, SassyPants said:

They took the whole family to Alaska. How much does that even cost? 10 airline tickets? Accommodations, meals, activities? Jesus

Royalty checks from the book must have started rolling in.  

6+ hours on a plane with Shiloh and the twins?  No thank you.  

[neuroticcat]

Wouldn’t be royalty checks - they are not paid immediately. Usually they come several months after the end of a quarter (sometimes a 6 mo period). And that’s only if an author has earned back her advance. So earliest she’d see that would be fall.

She might have earned back her advance with her launch sales if it was a smallish advance. But usually takes a year or so for most midlist books to earn back. And unlikely she got a huge advance given the pub, first time author, and self promotion efforts. I mean all authors do that but books with big advances get tons of in house marketing support.

More likely the advance from her second book. Usually authors get paid a chunk on signing the contract and then upon delivery of manuscript.

If Alaska features in her book they could write the trip off on taxes. 
 

My guess is they are thinking of moving there - influencer faux-off the grid style.

[Giraffe]

5 hours ago, danvillebelle said:

Royalty checks from the book must have started rolling in.  

6+ hours on a plane with Shiloh and the twins?  No thank you.  

6+ hours on the plane with Braggie? I’d take twins & Shiloh over that any day!

[JermajestyDuggar]

Braggie would never movie to Alaska. First problem is her parents couldn’t constantly babysit and homeschool her kids. Second is that there are no anthros in Alaska. She would die without that store. 

[SassyPants]

Their walk along that river almost made my heart stop. Why are the people who collect children seemingly so unconcerned with safety? 

[danvillebelle]

5 hours ago, SassyPants said:

Their walk along that river almost made my heart stop. Why are the people who collect children seemingly so unconcerned with safety? 

They never think anything bad is going to happen to them.  They're the beautiful, special, SANCTIFIED people, doncha know. 

[NotQuiteMotY]

On 6/11/2022 at 9:16 AM, anachronistic said:

And I’ve never known anyone with kids who didn’t have one bottom drawer/cabinet filled with Tupperware or baking pans or dish cloths - anything safe - for their toddlers to take out and play with as they cook. In my mind, if you need to think about where your plastic measuring cups are before you cook, that’s a good thing! Your kids are exploring and having fun! (Just don’t let them heat up pretend food in the actual microwave, as I did as a kid.)

I actually don't, even with little kids, but that's more safety and lack of space. I have a tiny kitchen and anywhere they could play in the cabinets is underfoot, which is a bad idea with hot pots, sharp knives, etcetera. They do have a bin of toy food and pans and the like just in the next room, so it's not unusual for them to be "cooking" for their toy animals while I'm cooking for them.

[SuperNova]

The family is still in Alaska and Abbie is herself wherever she goes, still complaining about everything and blaming it on sin nature. I can't stand the Christian mom trope of, haha everything sucks and I hate my life but I wouldn't trade this misery for the world because it's such a blessing to be cleaning dirty dishes and poop instead of actually enjoying my life. Like I get it, you've already had the kids. They're here and it's not like Jesus is going to take them back so you make the most of your lot. I take issue with the near constant complaining and seeing the children as a burden and a nuisance but thanking God for the privilege to be sanctified. God didn't send Abbie to Alaska to test the faith of her sinful 39 year old body. 

Spoiler

 

[JermajestyDuggar]

31 minutes ago, SuperNova said:

The family is still in Alaska and Abbie is herself wherever she goes, still complaining about everything and blaming it on sin nature. I can't stand the Christian mom trope of, haha everything sucks and I hate my life but I wouldn't trade this misery for the world because it's such a blessing to be cleaning dirty dishes and poop instead of actually enjoying my life. Like I get it, you've already had the kids. They're here and it's not like Jesus is going to take them back so you make the most of your lot. I take issue with the near constant complaining and seeing the children as a burden and a nuisance but thanking God for the privilege to be sanctified. God didn't send Abbie to Alaska to test the faith of her sinful 39 year old body. 

  Hide contents

 

Plus if she had stopped having kids she didn’t want 10 years ago, most of those problems she listed would disappear. She knowingly did this to herself. 

[danvillebelle]

Good gravy, any even *slightly* cursory search on what Alaska is like in the summer will mention the mosquitoes!  I've known that for decades, and I've never even been there!  Abbie's research for vacations probably consists solely of finding the most aesthetically pleasing Air BnB. 

I cannot imagine the mental hoop-jumping she does - spending thousands and thousands of dollars on vacations that the whole family seems to mildly enjoy at *best*. All to sanctify everyone.  Which can be done at home. For free.