M is for Mama 17

[Ozlsn]

9 hours ago, SassyPants said:

Having someone/something in your home 24/7 is realllllllly messy.

All of us have been home sick with covid this week. Messy is an understatement right now. 

[Meggo]

I have to clean when the kid isn't here. Which isn't often. But he's like a little magpie or something. His latest thing has been collecting cans. Not to recycle - no, no. He's collecting them to take to the cottage this summer so he can put dirt in them. He takes the can, washes it out and puts it in a bin downstairs so that in three months - he can take them all to the cottage for dirt. 

Thankfully - I convinced him over Christmas that while I didn't want to infringe on his right to collect cans for his earth moving plans - they did NOT in fact, need to stay in my living room. I tried to convince him the garage was a great place for it - but alas, no. Instead, he built a "pen" in the basement out of the giant tinker toys from my youth and is storing all his "supplies" there. 
He also really REALLY likes to cut up cardboard boxes into 1 inch squares for his trucks to use. It's really awesome. (sarcasm). 
I don't want to stifle the creativity, it beats being immersed in the world of video games 24-7 but I am looking forward to my house not being an ACTUAL landfill/transfer station for recycling. 

[anachronistic]

My mom always says that she lived with kids and dogs for over 20 years and now she lives alone (or she did, she got married two years ago) everything is going to be perfectly in its place all the time and it is going to be clean. Her level of clean. And since her level of clean involves doing the dishes before you have actually eaten the meal, then heating the meal up in the microwave, very few people can ever achieve her level of clean. She is an enormous help to me but it is hard having her over sometimes because she just has so much more energy and a much longer attention span than I do for organizing and cleaning up. I love it when things are clean and I love Love love the fact that I now have a helper a few hours a week who can do things like vacuum without having to sit down at the same time, but I've long since accepted the fact that things will always be a little messy here and I have to prioritize my health over cleanliness. Which is very hard. Especially with my beautiful new apartment that I want sparkling and neat at all times… but that just isn’t possible. And that's OK. Neat and clean are two different things. As are filthy and kind of dirty.

Edited February 9 by anachronistic
Speech to text fail again

[SassyPants]

9 hours ago, Ozlsn said:

All of us have been home sick with covid this week. Messy is an understatement right now. 

Get well!!!!

[SassyPants]

Shiloh gets to share his birthday with his uncle and some random, adult friend. Abbie’s mom thought to bring a cake, which surprised Abbie. Abbie didn't make him a cake??? I guess Shiloh inconvenienced Abbie by not being born on 9/24, so she just combined his celebration with 2 adults. Poor kid looks confused in the snapshot she posted to IG. God she is just mailing it in. I hope the Lord decides that 10 is enough.

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

She really hates him doesn't she.  Not even pretending or trying to hide it.

We see you Braggie. We see you.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I honestly don’t remember ever seeing a cake for her kids. I think she usually puts a candle in a donut for them. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I genuinely think part of her decision to make her second set of twins to be born on her first set of twins birthday was the celebration aspect. You can tell she doesn’t want to bother with celebrating her children. So if she can celebrate 4 in one day, she’s killing 4 birds with one stone. 

[anachronistic]

I would like to recap my earlier statement. That blouse is genuinely hideous and it would be hideous on anyone. It is somehow too short and has too much material and the colors are awful. I know that some people like brown and orange together but surely not those shades of brown and orange… it looks like a notions store threw up.

[danvillebelle]

OK, 'fess up - who posted Braggie's craptastic barn on the McMansionHell subreddit?  They had a field day with it and I'm cackling. 

[Gobsmacked]

On 1/28/2024 at 5:29 PM, 3splenty said:

My coworker has this sign posted in her entryway:

"Our house is lived in, it isn't for show. If you don't like the mess, then you know where to go."

Perfect. Every house where children live should have this sign!! 

[Ozlsn]

On 2/11/2024 at 12:51 AM, JermajestyDuggar said:

I honestly don’t remember ever seeing a cake for her kids. I think she usually puts a candle in a donut for them. 

You know of all the things this kind of surprises me the most. I know her SAHMing is mostly cos-play but making a birthday cake is usually a pretty integral part. Even grabbing a pre-made cake (or 12 cupcakes) and sticking candles on the birthday child's one. Her brand of religion isn't anti-birthday celebration from what I remember, and it's such an easy way to make it a memorable moment for them (and get photos for insta) that I'm surprised she doesn't put more effort in. (Well sort of surprised. Mostly on the Insta front.)

[SassyPants]

She is totally a low effort mom. She cloaks her laziness in religion and the fact that she has a lot of kids. She also has repeatedly stated that she never was a kid a person and is not emotional at all. Frankly, I think she isn’t the most emotionally balanced person at all. I remember her stating that she had a hard time relating to her oldest daughter because she is so empathetic and kind, which are traits that AH does not have. AH is also very quick to list the kids that have, in the past and currently, push her buttons. Her kids are pawns and actors for her stories.

She is a parent (and apparently so is Shaun) that lets her kids act like hooligans in public and think it’s OK because they are a giant sized family. (See the train in Paris where a woman actually told them off, parks with signs that they ignore, museums, restaurants….)

[SuperNova]

8 hours ago, danvillebelle said:

OK, 'fess up - who posted Braggie's craptastic barn on the McMansionHell subreddit?  They had a field day with it and I'm cackling. 

I love this for her. Speaking of which, she posted this hot mess today. 

She'll probably change the wallpaper and hopefully the hideous lighting fixture but even then it will be a mess. The ceiling and floors clash so bad. What is it with Christian influencers and checkered floors? Audrey and Jeremy Roloff just installed the same crap. 

Edited February 12 by SuperNova

[mango_fandango]

Of course, some kids may prefer a doughnut to a cake for a birthday treat. Accommodating an individual child’s preferences is an awesome idea. I think Erika Shupe may have done this for her kids, some preferring the traditional cake and others wanting something different. But since this is Abbie we’re talking about… I doubt it. 

Nothing is as sad as the candle in the leftover slice of mostly-eaten pie that Sadie Rodrigues got for her first birthday. Kids don’t remember their first birthdays, but it’s such a sad-looking image and such a huge insight into Jill’s parenting skillz (or lack thereof).

[anachronistic]

I'm pretty sure that everyone figured it out, but I meant recant and not recap my earlier statement above. I would like to take back the fact that I said the blouse was not hideous because it is hideous. Although it would be very very difficult to find any item of clothing that is as hideous as Abbie’s personality.

[JermajestyDuggar]

10 hours ago, SuperNova said:

I love this for her. Speaking of which, she posted this hot mess today. 

She'll probably change the wallpaper and hopefully the hideous lighting fixture but even then it will be a mess. The ceiling and floors clash so bad. What is it with Christian influencers and checkered floors? Audrey and Jeremy Roloff just installed the same crap. 

Braggie’s problem is similar to Jill’s problem. She decorates with too much. Her style is busy as hell. It gives me a headache. I will look at Braggie’s stuff individually and think, “I like that cabinet but I barely see it over all the shit it’s covered in.” 

[Xan]

Six months.  They've been out of their house for six months.  I went back to look for the flooded kitchen post and it was in August.  In what universe does this makes sense?  She says they've moving back into their house in a week.

Plus, she could have done something to make the house work better for a family with ten children.  Nope.  We've got hard tile floors, sharp edges on counters and tables, and huge windows with no window treatments to help keep the house on an even temperature -- not to mention the lack of privacy.  Well, I guess it's all okay because Abbie got a new kitchen where her kids can cook while they keep an eye on their siblings.  She probably has another dumb book in the works anyway.

[anachronistic]

Could anyone be so kind as to post or send me a link to the Reddit thread about their house? I have looked and looked but can't find it. Thank you.

[Gobsmacked]

14 hours ago, SuperNova said:

I love this for her. Speaking of which, she posted this hot mess today. 

She'll probably change the wallpaper and hopefully the hideous lighting fixture but even then it will be a mess. The ceiling and floors clash so bad. What is it with Christian influencers and checkered floors? Audrey and Jeremy Roloff just installed the same crap. 

This room looks similar to the Rod Barndo before Dave the babe worked his magic. Hideous wall paper. 

[Alisamer]

14 hours ago, SuperNova said:

I love this for her. Speaking of which, she posted this hot mess today. 

She'll probably change the wallpaper and hopefully the hideous lighting fixture but even then it will be a mess. The ceiling and floors clash so bad. What is it with Christian influencers and checkered floors? Audrey and Jeremy Roloff just installed the same crap. 

I feel like each of the parts of this room could be great individually, but all combined it's just a hot mess. Like, checkered floor. OK. I prefer that look in real tile in a kitchen or bath, but whatever. It's not hideous and with furniture and a rug it won't be so dominant anyway. Wood ceiling? Can look pretty cool. A friend of mine bought a house that was previously owned by a flooring guy, who used leftovers for the ceilings and floors there, and decorated well it looks nice.  Walls with molding panels - these are an odd size and shape but generally it can be a nice look. The wallpaper? A bit much, really, but as an accent wall in a room where it coordinates it could be nice.

But all together, it looks ridiculous. It's like there's a public school linoleum floor trying to masquerade as a 50s style diner, with a rustic homey log home ceiling, a breezy beachy boho light fixture, antique-esque paneled walls, and a strange sort of not quite 70s but as busy as Victorian but attempting to be artsy or boho wallpaper. Cool toned floor and wallpaper, warm toned ceiling and light fixture, neutral walls, and none of it GOES. 

It's like the home equivalent of JillRod's kids throwing on whatever combo of clothes they can find that meet mama's modesty requirements and color scheme, and ending up with a long sleeved T-shirt under a formal dress worn with winter tights and grubby sandals.

[Meggo]

On 2/10/2024 at 9:03 AM, JermajestyDuggar said:

I genuinely think part of her decision to make her second set of twins to be born on her first set of twins birthday was the celebration aspect. You can tell she doesn’t want to bother with celebrating her children. So if she can celebrate 4 in one day, she’s killing 4 birds with one stone. 

My mom has three daughters and each of our birthdays are less than 10 days apart. So for example - Jan 1, Jan 10 & Jan 19th (not our real bdays)  I'm the youngest and they are both 5 & 7 years older than me. But I have to give my mom credit - even though she had to have three birthdays within a three week span - and between Mothers Day and Fathers Day - we never felt like our birthdays didn't matter. Now we lump them all together (and throw in my husband, whose birthday is the middle of the three days because OF COURSE it is! Of course he shares a birthday with one of my sisters) but as kids - we had three parties, three cakes (likely all made from scratch). 
My sisters had a lot cooler cakes when they were little (before I came along) - but I still had a home made cake in a theme. Go Mom!

 

[JDuggs]

The comments to this photo on Abbie’s IG are interesting. Some outright say they don’t like it, but many choose one feature like the tile and say they love that. Some people commented on loving how Abbie embraces her personal style (not commenting on the personal style). Others make noncommittal comments like Wow! Overall, people were not loving the look all put together and these are probably her followers that actually like her.

[JermajestyDuggar]

32 minutes ago, Meggo said:

My mom has three daughters and each of our birthdays are less than 10 days apart. So for example - Jan 1, Jan 10 & Jan 19th (not our real bdays)  I'm the youngest and they are both 5 & 7 years older than me. But I have to give my mom credit - even though she had to have three birthdays within a three week span - and between Mothers Day and Fathers Day - we never felt like our birthdays didn't matter. Now we lump them all together (and throw in my husband, whose birthday is the middle of the three days because OF COURSE it is! Of course he shares a birthday with one of my sisters) but as kids - we had three parties, three cakes (likely all made from scratch). 
My sisters had a lot cooler cakes when they were little (before I came along) - but I still had a home made cake in a theme. Go Mom!

 

I have two siblings and two children. One of my children was born the day after one sibling. And my other child was born the day before my other sibling. So my kids always celebrate their birthdays with an aunt or uncle each year. But it’s no big deal. Because we celebrate them in our little family without having to share with anyone else. 

[theotherelise]

2 hours ago, anachronistic said:

Could anyone be so kind as to post or send me a link to the Reddit thread about their house? I have looked and looked but can't find it. Thank you.