Kim at LiaS is pregnant again

[starfish]

This will be #11 for her. We can expect another thrilling unassisted home birth story in 7 months

I think her previous tale of Perry dropping the baby as it was entering the world on the chicken-poop covered deck is the tops.

She is also pitching the Botkin sisters book and Kelly Crawford's book on her website.

[Miranda]

Great, another kid to stack on the Costco shelving in the room that already has ten kids crammed into it.

[celestial]

Great, another kid to stack on the Costco shelving in the room that already has ten kids crammed into it.

Seriously! How in the world do they plan on fitting several more blessings into that setup?? The little ones are getting bigger and sharing bunks is going to start becoming less feasible. There are only eight beds sleeping surfaces in that room, and soon to be 11 kids. Somebody better get married and move out ASAP!

[Witsec7]

I wonder if she will switch to a shoulder holster.

[slickcat79]

So...did she ever actually make an announcement about her pregnancy? I know she's got her "bump" countdown at the bottom of her blog, and she keeps making baby-themed posts and stuff, but I didn't see an announcement. Weird :?

[Koala]

Poor baby...

[jesssnerch]

I just read her "Open Letter to Working Moms." Ugh, what a smug bitch! Also she says, "Will you trade in your 2 year old car for a 13 year old mini van? The side door might not work very well. Yes, it will break down occasionally on your way to the kids’ dental checkups, but that’s ok. Your dentist will understand." Will this dentist understand that you can't pay him because you refuse to go to work? And the comments! I choose to live in poverty for my children! I choose to live in a place with rats and snakes in the walls! Right, because god wants your children to live in a dilapidated house. I hate people sometimes.

[starfish]

I think she was speaking metaphorically about the dentist. I'm pretty sure not one of those kids has been to the dentist. They don't go to the doctor. No vaccinations, no schooling either.

The smugness of the letter to working women is hilarious. It's offensive but it's so ridiculous. No, Kim, I most assuredly don't want to live like you. For one thing, I like air conditioning in the summer in Texas. And I don't worship Doug Phillips, either.

[onlyorganic]

Do these parents realize a teenager does NOT have the same space requirements and needs as a 2 year-old? You CAN'T put a teenage girl in the same bedroom as a toddler-age brother... it's unfair. Kids need their own space to grow and BE HEALTHY. I have trouble believing 9 kids in one room is healthy for their lungs, growing limbs and just their overall well-being.

[Wolfie]

Great, another kid to stack on the Costco shelving in the room that already has ten kids crammed into it.

In the house built on their neighbor's property.

I think she was speaking metaphorically about the dentist. I'm pretty sure not one of those kids has been to the dentist. They don't go to the doctor. No vaccinations, no schooling either.

Nope, they go to the vet.

[bea]

Wait - built on neighbor's property? Wow, that could get the whole house torn down, if the neighbor complained to the city/state.

Also, did they build this house themselves? If you know you're going to have umpteen-gadjillion kids, why not go for something a little bigger? I have a tiny house, with two girls that share a room, but we deliberated about it and decided that since we have two full bathrooms, we'd stay here and re-evaluate when they're tweens or teens

[nomi]

That's the woman that lives in the house without flooring and with walls that don't quite reach the ceiling right? She had a little ticker at the very very bottom of her blog in a teehee, let's see who sees this, sneaky kind of way when I looked a while back, maybe about a month ago?

[mockingbird]

I think her previous tale of Perry dropping the baby as it was entering the world on the chicken-poop covered deck is the tops.

I'm not familiar with her, and should learn not to eat while reading FJ.

My mom (stay at home mom) had a better car than my dad for years. Sorry Kim.

[jesssnerch]

I'm not familiar with her, and should learn not to eat while reading FJ.

My mom (stay at home mom) had a better car than my dad for years. Sorry Kim.

I know, I stay at home and I totally have a better car than my husband. I guess we're doing it wrong! :D

ETA: more to my sentence.

[bellamonster04]

Wow...the comments on her open letter to working mothers makes me sad.

"Our house is full of biting/stinging/poisonous pests, we can barely afford basic necessities and I have to deny my children everything beyond what they need to survive BUT I stay at home because anything else would be bad parenting!" is the gist of it and I don't get it....

What about working mothers who work from home? Do they get a pas even if it means the mother can't dedicate every moment to making poor quality things from scratch and homeschooling?

11 children stacked to the ceiling in a poorly designed house, surrounding me 24/7 and with very little money to use to care for them all sounds like a horrific nightmare of a life.

[Witsec7]

Wait - built on neighbor's property? Wow, that could get the whole house torn down, if the neighbor complained to the city/state.

Also, did they build this house themselves? If you know you're going to have umpteen-gadjillion kids, why not go for something a little bigger? I have a tiny house, with two girls that share a room, but we deliberated about it and decided that since we have two full bathrooms, we'd stay here and re-evaluate when they're tweens or teens

She's in Texas who cares? Actually I learned recently that most of Texas doesn't have enforceable building codes.

[starfish]

Although I find her living conditions deplorable and the way she raises her kids to be appalling, I find myself feeling sorry for her. It seems like she has really low self-esteem and possibly suffers from depression. And she's married to creepy Perry.

But who I feel the sorriest for is her kids.

[ilovetchotchkes]

Can someone provide a linky to the post where she harps on WOHM moms? I'd go through the blog but after 2 pages I got sick of the vision forum bad Christian book pimping.....

[BlackHawk]

Can someone provide a linky to the post where she harps on WOHM moms? I'd go through the blog but after 2 pages I got sick of the vision forum bad Christian book pimping.....

The one where she talks about working mothers...

inashoe.com/2009/09/open-letter-working-moms/

[smores]

Every time I read her post about the bunk beds again, I am just appalled. Sleeping on a shelf with just 6 inches of memory foam and 18" of space sounds like a horrible version of hell.

[Katiebug]

Her hideous open letter to working moms is making me rage.

Dear Working Mom,

I see you nearly every time I’m out with my children. Sometimes you are very young, sometimes you look older. You might look happy one day and tired or stressed the next. You are different every time I meet you, but you say the same thing to me nearly every time: “You’re so lucky. I wish I could stay home with my children but I just can’t afford it." Usually I smile and agree that I am blessed, but quite honestly I’d like to challenge you. You say you can’t afford to stay home. Maybe you can if you’re willing to make some changes.

Hmmm, except when I had to go back to work after a 10 week maternity leave, I've never thought that I'd like to stay home with my kids. I'd rather be working part time, sure, but not leaving the workforce entirely. So no, I've never said this to a SAHM.

■Will you trade in your 2 year old car for a 13 year old mini van? The side door might not work very well. Yes, it will break down occasionally on your way to the kids’ dental checkups, but that’s ok. Your dentist will understand. Do plan to change a flat every now and then, since you might be driving on older tires.

What dental checkups would we be going to? Without me working we would not have dental insurance (actually, we would through my husband's employer, but it's pretty crummy). A cleaning and exam at a pediatric dentist in our area runs roughly $200 per visit if you pay in cash, and you need each kid to go twice per year. Oh, and many doctors and dentists now charge fees for late or no-show appointments, so don't count on the dentist being very understanding about your tardiness!

And it's not exactly safe to drive on old, excessively-worn tires especially in a 13 year old vehicle that may not have airbags for anyone but the driver and likely with the children in expired car seats because you can't afford new ones. Way to treat your kids like the blessings they are!

■Will you buy your clothes at thrift stores from now on? I know your clothes aren’t terribly expensive now, but even inexpensive clothes add up when you buy them new. No, you won’t always be able to wear exactly what you want, but you might find that it’s not such a big deal if you’re spending most of your time at home. Your kids won’t make fun of your fashion sense. Well, not unless they’re teens. Then I can’t vouch for them.

I already buy most of my kid's clothes at the consignment store. My clothes are at least 3 years old - definitely from pre-pregnancy. My husband's clothes are of similar vintage. When you buy good quality clothes for yourself, they don't get faded, shrink, wear out in the wash, etc.

■You might have to reconsider cable TV. Anyway, the last thing you need is to watch the average 5 hours/day of TV. Too much of it is about working moms driving late model cars and wearing all those clothes you won’t be buying.

Our cable is bundled with phone and internet. I watch approximately 3 hours of TV per week and our kid watches NO television. I don't go in for reality programming anyways.

â– Something as simple as grabbing pizza on Friday night might become a financial decision, carefully weighed out.

That's kind of sad. Our budget has been tight at times but I generally don't have to check my bank balance to determine if I can get a pizza for dinner. We don't eat many meals from restaurants or take out for health reasons, but I like knowing that we're not so financially stretched that I could stop and pick up food if I need or want to.

■Your children should expect some changes too. Ballet lessons, karate lessons, and sports might go on the chopping block. They might be among the sad minority that does not possess a laptop or cell phone. They might never visit Disneyland. Summer camp might even be crossed off the calendar. Don’t let the guilt get to you. Just like adults, children are not entitled to all the best in life. Children need to understand that these things are extras. They are wants, not needs. The sooner your children know this, the happier they will be.

Our kid is a toddler, but things like sports, music lessons, dance lessons, etc. are important considerations if one hopes to raise well-rounded children. Some of my fondest childhood memories are from summer camp (which my parents scrimped and save to afford, mind you). Providing our child(ren) with extracurricular activity options within reason is very important to us as parents. We would feel like we'd failed our kids if the only option they ever had was to play in the backyard with thrift store toys.

■Would you be willing to sell your house? If you’re serious about wanting to stay home with your children, this might be what it takes. Are you willing to live in a smaller, older home, in a lower priced neighborhood?

To stay in this area near my husband's job and living on his income only, the only housing we could afford would be a small (600 square foot) 1 bedroom apartment in a less-than-stellar neighborhood. You know, like the one we lived in until we bought our house. Our only options for home ownership within that range would be a similarly-sized condo or duplex in a very bad neighborhood. We'd have to give up our dog because most rentals in our area don't allow them. We'd have to stack our kids like cordwood on shelves...wait, maybe you can give me some tips on that! :roll: Oh, and because the housing market has declined we have essentially no equity right now - if we could sell, we'd owe money after closing costs.

To sum it up, are you willing to give up a middle class lifestyle? I know you’re not rich now, but you could get by on less if you really had to. Is staying home with your children worth that much to you?

No, I'm not. I bring in 2/3 of our household income and my working for a paycheck is not negotiable at this stage of our lives. Honestly if our incomes were reversed then it would become viable for me to SAH if I wanted to, but I wouldn't want to. I've known for a long time that if we decided to become parents I would be working, if not both of us. One or two rude women have postulated that I should have picked a husband who could better provide for a family; like you can pick them from a catalog.

Not all women work to support an inflated or unnecessary lifestyle. Some of us don't want to raise our kids in abject poverty.

[FundiesInMyFamily]

Yeah like most moms aspire to have sickly, ill-educated kids with shabby clothes and no worldview except that which is shoved down their throats.

I'm not one to scream "social services!!!" with every fundie I read about, but there has got to be a limit. I know that most apartments have limits to how many people can live in a specific number of bedrooms/square feet, I wonder if there are the same guidelines for houses? This crap breaks my heart.

[ilovetchotchkes]

Oh FFS!!!

Staying at home IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. I am so sick of the fundies and their "one size fits all " mentality. Staying at home is good for me because I chafe a LOT at "corporate lifestyle". I just can't handle it and handling the tyranny of a 2 year old who thinks he is a tyrannosaurus is much easier. However, HOWEVER, this is for ME the best choice. For friends of mine who LOVE LOVE LOVE their jobs? they should be working if that's what they want to do!!!!

Basically its none of her damn business. I consider myself a feminist, but I want my kids to know that moms can stay at home, work outside of the house, work IN the house, or even :shock: DAD can be the stay at home parent if that's what's good for the family.

[jesssnerch]

Every time I read her post about the bunk beds again, I am just appalled. Sleeping on a shelf with just 6 inches of memory foam and 18" of space sounds like a horrible version of hell.

Sounds like an opium den :(

[smores]

That letter was supposed to be offensive - or else she would have titled it differently and not addressed it to "working mom". I'm not a working mom but I was offended because I have no objections to going back to work to, you know, provide a better life for my kid. I wonder what CPS would say about the choices she's made to be able to stay home. She isn't abusive but I know they wouldn't like that bedroom situation...