Sleeping on shelving??

[tinuviel]

Ugh. But it's still inspirational, because she's trusting God not to let her kids get lung problems from mold, humidity, allergens and airborne piss in their closet of a room.

10 kids in a closet with 1 fan AND a bedwetter in TEXAS. I bet the bathrooms in Penn Station smell better. O.O I hope those kids leave as soon as they get the chance!

[theologygeek]

Their clothing is stored under the house in the open air? In rat country? Forget the rats--it would take ONE stray cat or dog to anoint those clothes with an indelible stench.

She's disgusting.

http://inashoe.com/page/8/ "You do not want to take my advice on clothes storage, unless I'm advising you not to do it my way. My way involves rubbermaid tubs of clothes stored under the house. They are labelled by size, and it seems like a good system on the surface. The main problem is that we forget we have them and we buy what we need at a thrift store instead. Not very thrifty, is it?

Then a small child decides that the shelves under the house look like a fun place to climb, and the tubs are unceremoniously dumped to the ground where all the clothes spill out. The story doesn't end there: we don't notice the spilled clothes until 3 weeks later, by which time they have been rained on, chewed by puppies, and have several eggs stashed in them because apparently they are more comfy than the nesting boxes in the chicken coop."

[forever ago]

I don't even....

Just... no.

Put the crates in the attic. You know, the space between the second floor and the roof? That place. You don't have to worry about kids crawling up there, or puppies, or rain.

Or, you know, save up and buy a shed or something from Lowe's, and keep your shit in there.

'good system on the surface'? what an idiot.

[tinuviel]

God I wish I could IKEA-fy their home... they have ALL of this open space in the dining and living room area. You could do all kinds of wall storage and get furniture with built in storage etc.

And really, why does she parade the disgusting conditions she chose on her blog?? I can't believe she doesn't have the sense to be embarrassed.

[theologygeek]

because they don't fit on her ghetto jerry-rigged chunks of foam. .

There goes my Coke spewed all over the place. LOL

[forever ago]

God I wish I could IKEA-fy their home... they have ALL of this open space in the dining and living room area. You could do all kinds of wall storage and get furniture with built in storage etc.

And really, why does she parade the disgusting conditions she chose on her blog?? I can't believe she doesn't have the sense to be embarrassed.

Indeed... Three bedrooms, she and hubby get one to themselves and all 10 kids are stuck in one bedroom. Assuming it's an older-ish house (like 20 years, like mine is) those rooms are not big enough, at all. (I've noticed that newer houses have larger bedrooms and closets, if only slightly). One family across the street ran out of rooms in their house and converted the dining room into a bedroom- added doors and everything. Another family had an open space over the foyer, and they wanted a sewing room so they put a room over the foyer. just... wtf. My neighborhood is a middle-class neighborhood, but you'd think even a poor family would think twice before putting their kids in such appalling conditions. Rubbermaid crated UNDER the house- wtf? Do they really not have an attic? So much potential storage space as well, Target has all sorts of nice-looking containers for quite cheap.

And chunks of foam... you've just got to be kidding me...

[gardenvarietycitizen]

They could handle it the way I handled crib issues when I had a baby who flooded her crib every night. I made the bed with a waterproof mattress cover, a fitted sheet, and then another waterproof mattress cover and another sheet. So when baby woke up screaming in the night with a soaked sheet, I could strip off the top layer and have a bed all ready, no need to even turn on lights. It fit really tight, so it was safe, no smothering hazard. If I had a bedwetter I would probably still do this because they could just pull off the top layer and go back to bed.

Of course, you need to have real mattresses for my plan to work. But really? They should have real mattresses.

That is even more genius, yeah! :)

[bananacat]

It can't be that fucking difficult. Yes, it's difficult to raise 2 and I praise my parents for the work they've had to put into it, but really?? There's not enough space for all 10 of them? Not enough beds? That's when you go to a THRIFT STORE and buy bedding! Go to a local Salvation Army and buy mattresses and bunk beds! Tell your kids 'no' and tell them to set up a library somewhere fucking else! Putting an 18 year old in the same bedroom as a 3 year old plus 8 more siblings?! Unless you're poor enough to be collecting WELFARE... And even then, you have loads of charities, and if you're a fundie you even have a church to help you, or neighbors, SOMEBODY.

Letting your children share a bed with a bed-wetter? COME THE FUCK ON. IF YOU HAD ENOUGH BEDS TO BEGIN WITH THIS WOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM, DUMBASS. Putting the bed-wetter ON THE FLOOR? Great way to ruin the fucking carpet! Pull-ups too expensive? I'm sorry to hear that, get the generic brand. Oh, and rubber sheets ain't that expensive either, they last forever too! My sister and I were both bed-wetters... I stopped around 7 or 8, my sister went on until 13...

Personally I don't think it's so bad to have the bed-wetter wash her own sheets. It's better than laying in piss until morning, when it starts to smell. It's helping her siblings to since they don't have to wake up to the smell of piss. It's more than what most parents would do, yeah, but it's really not that difficult to do laundry, and I really don't understand people who don't know how to coming into college.

Fucking chunks of foam... why the hell hasn't CPS been called on this moron yet?

Just to be fair, it is illegal to sell used mattress in many states. They could certainly get used bunk beds though, or stop having kids. I think she used to actually have bunk beds though and she got rid of them so she could cram more kids into one room.

[Koala]

Just to be fair, it is illegal to sell used mattress in many states. They could certainly get used bunk beds though, or stop having kids. I think she used to actually have bunk beds though and she got rid of them so she could cram more kids into one room.

It's worth repeating...she could certainly stop having kids.

[emmiedahl]

I love large families when it's done right, but when you are storing them on shelving it is time to take a break. How much do you think they make? Some fundies make a big deal out of how poor they are (even when they are actually doing okay) because deprivation is an Olympic sport to them.

[onomatopoeia]

I'm new here (although I've been reading for a while). Hi, all!

Anyway, regarding the bedwetting, this is how I would handle it (which isn't brilliant or anything): I would not allow her to have anything to drink a couple hours before bed, except for small sips of water. I'd have her use the bathroom before she began her bedtime routine (before bath, brushing teeth, putting on pjs, etc.). Then I'd have her go again right before she got into bed, even if she insisted she didn't need to go. Let's say she goes to bed at 8:00 pm. Whatever time I was heading to bed, I would wake her up, walk her to the bathroom, help her go, carry her back to bed and tuck her in. Then I'd set my alarm for, say, 3-4 hours later so that I could wake up and take her again. Hopefully, by that point she'd be able to make it to morning without having an accident. After a couple weeks of doing this maybe she'd be used to getting up during the night to use the bathroom that she could get herself up if she needed to go. Maybe they've tried that, but LIAS's post made it sound like they've only tried things to help keep the mattress clean. Who knows, but it seems like there's a better solution to the problem than just teaching the kid to wash her own sheets every morning.

[Rosa]

Onomatopeia, that's a nice thing to do, but it probably won't cure bedwetting, nobody's ever really found something that does. Kids grow out of it when they grow out of it.

We do the "wake him up in the middle of the night to pee" with my son when he doesn't want to wear a pullup, and it works most of the time to keep his sheets dry, but it's not 100% and family history and our pediatrician say he'll just stop wetting the bed when his body figures it out. You can't learn how to behave in your sleep, because you're asleep.

[Lillybee]

I didn't think that anyone could be lazier than Ma Duggar, but this woman can rival her.

[Austin]

Even if it would work, it would be waaayyyyy too much effort for this breeder. This is a woman who thinks that getting her own purse is "exercise".

[bunny]

With some of these blogs, I suspect the posters are trying to put a brave face on a tough situation. Look at it this way-she's trained never to say anything bad about her husband, so she can't be complaining he hasn't put in an addition to the house or earned enough money to get them real beds or a big enough home, etc etc....maybe she really hates how she lives but feels trapped. And as to those that think she is lazy, I figure instead she is probably worn slap out after years of giving birth and overseeing the brood.

Her husband needs to figure out how to get them more space and a better living situation. Because that ain't living. And even if they don't believe in birth control, there's always the updated rhythm method (I forget what they call it. ) It would be better than nothing.

(I had my three children way way close together-as a result of uberfertility combined with bc failure. That was quite enough, I was totally overwhelmed, and the thought of having families as large as some of these folks is totally scary.)

[onomatopoeia]

I wasn't saying that it would "cure" bedwetting. But it could possibly prevent that little girl from waking up soaking wet and embarrassed every morning. It could also keep her from having to do a load of laundry first thing in the mornings. I've read LIAS for a long time now, and I wouldn't expect Kim to go to that much effort. She doesn't even get out of bed to take care of her older infants. That's just how I would handle it, at least to begin with. It beats the heck out of trash bags!

[tabitha2]

With some of these blogs, I suspect the posters are trying to put a brave face on a tough situation. Look at it this way-she's trained never to say anything bad about her husband, so she can't be complaining he hasn't put in an addition to the house or earned enough money to get them real beds or a big enough home, etc etc....maybe she really hates how she lives but feels trapped. And as to those that think she is lazy, I figure instead she is probably worn slap out after years of giving birth and overseeing the brood.

Nah,she complains sometimes-she hates the one bathroom situation for one.But really,she is the eldest of 14 and raised in pretty bad poverty and married at 17.This is all she knows and truly seems proud of them doing it themselves like her family did,

[theologygeek]

I love large families when it's done right, but when you are storing them on shelving it is time to take a break.

I love your way with words. LOL

[emmiedahl]

Awww, thanks. :)

OT but related: I have neighbors who have nothing in their home. Just a few boxes. They moved in a few weeks ago from Florida. Their truck broke down or something in Colorado, so they put their furniture and stuff in storage and took only what they could carry in their van (along with 2 parents, 4 kids, a dog and a bird. They can't afford to get it out and have it sent here, and they probably won't be able to pay for the storage much longer.

I went over to their house to bring them some chicken tikka kabobs because the dad was commenting on how good they smelled when we were bbqing them and they were not exaggerating; their apartment is empty. They bought a vacuum and a mattress/box spring for the teen girl with the mom's first paycheck, but the younger three and the parents are sleeping on the floor, with maybe 3-4 outfits each and whatever toys they had in the car.

I am not a hard-ass. I would never judge these people because they are obviously great parents--their kids play with mine every single day and I adore them. I know their address obviously but calling CPS is not even on my radar. If the LiaS woman were truly stuck in a horrible situation and sleeping on shelves with her kids, I would be the first to tell people to hush. But that is not the situation at all with her; she goes to sleep in a big comfy bed every night while her babies are squished into shelves. It just pisses me off so much.

[Brainsample]

I haven't caught up on all the comments for the day. But I was talking to my husband about the storage issues Kim and family have, and I told him where they store their stuff. We had a garage there in the hill country, and we had all sorts of critters and such that we had to deal with, and the garage was finished with an attic over top of it, so it was not like it was just exposed. We had it well sealed, etc.

Our living area was constantly invaded by small scorpions when it got dry in June which continued until the rain started around September or so. I don't so much mind the geckos and lizards. There are lots of snakes, and all four varieties . There are centipedes that are a big as a standard pencil with stingers on them. My dad came down from Pennsylvania to help us regrade our back yard, and he almost puked when he got a look at the centipedes outside (but they would get in the garage). There were two kinds of wasps. One was a parasitic kind that did not sting, and they built mud nests for their eggs. Anytime we got anything out of our garage that sat for more than a week, there was generally some mud on it from the wasps. (They carry mud in their mouths, then lay their eggs in the mud along with a couple of spiders or something in there for babies to snack on when they hatch.) Then, there were mean, aggressive, very large red wasps. (We never had roach or rat problems, but there were lots of mice, even outside. The mice would come eat bird seed out in the yard.) So there were quite a bit of insects that we dealt with in the garage (but the attics were sealed and didn't give us a problem). There were also huge, ultra-sized termites out away from our house, too.

When I told my husband about the outside and under the house storage, he immediately asked about how they controlled the scorpions and the wasps and the centipedes.

The fact that those bugs were on my air compressor or on the handle of a broom in the garage and how some nasty insects and worse could sometimes make it into the living space (scorpions) was bad enough. (I'm jumpy and crawly now, just saying that much. But the idea of that stuff on my clothing... (We had enough room that we were able to store all of our clothing and suitcases and such in our living area, and it didn't even need to be taken into the attic.)

That rant over.

HERE's why I think that Kim can't really add on to their house: They built part of their house on someone else's land.

inashoe.com/2005/04/rant-for-the-day/

[forever ago]

I haven't caught up on all the comments for the day. But I was talking to my husband about the storage issues Kim and family have, and I told him where they store their stuff. We had a garage there in the hill country, and we had all sorts of critters and such that we had to deal with, and the garage was finished with an attic over top of it, so it was not like it was just exposed. We had it well sealed, etc.

Our living area was constantly invaded by small scorpions when it got dry in June which continued until the rain started around September or so. I don't so much mind the geckos and lizards. There are lots of snakes, and all four varieties . There are centipedes that are a big as a standard pencil with stingers on them. My dad came down from Pennsylvania to help us regrade our back yard, and he almost puked when he got a look at the centipedes outside (but they would get in the garage). There were two kinds of wasps. One was a parasitic kind that did not sting, and they built mud nests for their eggs. Anytime we got anything out of our garage that sat for more than a week, there was generally some mud on it from the wasps. (They carry mud in their mouths, then lay their eggs in the mud along with a couple of spiders or something in there for babies to snack on when they hatch.) Then, there were mean, aggressive, very large red wasps. (We never had roach or rat problems, but there were lots of mice, even outside. The mice would come eat bird seed out in the yard.) So there were quite a bit of insects that we dealt with in the garage (but the attics were sealed and didn't give us a problem). There were also huge, ultra-sized termites out away from our house, too.

When I told my husband about the outside and under the house storage, he immediately asked about how they controlled the scorpions and the wasps and the centipedes.

The fact that those bugs were on my air compressor or on the handle of a broom in the garage and how some nasty insects and worse could sometimes make it into the living space (scorpions) was bad enough. (I'm jumpy and crawly now, just saying that much. But the idea of that stuff on my clothing... (We had enough room that we were able to store all of our clothing and suitcases and such in our living area, and it didn't even need to be taken into the attic.)

That rant over.

HERE's why I think that Kim can't really add on to their house: They built part of their house on someone else's land.

inashoe.com/2005/04/rant-for-the-day/

Between my older sister freaking out about lizards in her yard and your post about various kinds of critters in your house... I'm very glad I live in North Carolina where scorpions are bizarre, exotic animals. Instead we get the joy of dealing with mosquitoes and deer flies, plus mice, termites, and of course wasps and spiders. Spiders can get pretty friggin' big around here too.

It's why normal people store their shit inside, like in the attic or at least in a garage or shed.

What kind of idiot would build their house so that part of it is on someone else's land? wtf?!

[SquirrelySquirrel]

Onomatopeia, that is exactly what my mom did for me, every single night for about 2 years without fail. I consistently had wet the bed around the same time every night, so she pinpointed when to get me up and take me to the bathroom and only had to do it once a night. I still appreciate her doing that for me (and her too, I imagine, as no one enjoys wet bedding in the wee a.m. hours) to this day. Wetting the bed can be awfully embarrassing.

[VVV]

HERE's why I think that Kim can't really add on to their house: They built part of their house on someone else's land.

inashoe.com/2005/04/rant-for-the-day/

How is that even possible? Did they not have a survey done, or at least get paperwork with the property boundaries when they bought their land? What about construction licenses?

And what are they going to do when the owner of the land where they are squatting decides to sell? What a mess!

[tabitha2]

They did away with under house storage after one of the kids turned everything over and they noticed after the chickens laid eggs in the clothes and the puppies chewed everything up.now the clothes are stored in boxes inside.

[ladypuglover]

OMG, Becky! How in the hell do you accidently build a house on someone else property? I thought there were laws that you can not build a permanent structure within so many feet of the property line. Also wouldn't one check one last time on where their land stops and someone elses begins? Gah! And they are breeding!!11! I can see a fence but a house?!?

She is either going to have to spend huge bucks to move the house over so many feet or see if she can buy part of the neighbor's land because when neighbor sells it will cause a legal nightmare.