cereality

So it begins - Josie is perched on her hospital bed gushing about having a boy and asks Kelton how he felt when he heard it was a boy and Kelton goes - "top 3 most emotional positive moments of my life - you walking down the aisle was up there too." You heard it hear first Willow and Hazel - top 3 best moments of your dad's life: (i) when he was moments away from knowing he'd be getting it on with your mom shortly; (ii) his BOY; and (iii) he doesn't say but - likely ONE of your births - but not both . . . . My sense is J&K's boy preference will be more big picture than J&A. I mean I do think Josie will say stupid shit like "I can spoil him, that's just how boys get treated" - ala Alyssa. But unlike A&J they do have money. So it won't be the case of the girls don't get to do any activities and the boy gets signed up for soccer or t ball the moment he can walk; or that the girls get cheaper and cheaper Amazon Christmas gifts each yr bc the boy needs his go kart and his sporting equipment. Willow and Hazel are already in something like gymnastics or tumbling - I don't see J&K pulling them out (at least not yet - now when she's up to 5 kids, yeah I can see the older girls being pulled out of activities bc Josie thinks it's too hectic to drive from practice to practice + it's about time the older girls stop playing and start housewife training). Same with toys etc. for the kids - they can afford nice stuff for 3 kids. Same with things like cooking - bc Kelton cooks, I don't see them JUST making the girls cook; I feel like 2 yrs from now this boy will be dumping thinks into measuring cups like Hazel does not. I do think picking up after the boy, piles and piles of laundry, cleaning the bathrooms etc. will fall to W/H as "housewife training" while the boy won't have to be bothered -- after all only Josie does those things, not Kelton ever. And Lord Kelton's plumbing empire - that is 100% for the boy, not the lowly girls. So it looks like this nameless boy was born Wed afternoon and by Wed night, he was under the blue lights bc of the antibody issue that Josie has, and he's been there since. Josie even says he's in the hospital thru the weekend and quietly says "or early next week." Wow - IDK what her exact antibody issue is, though she has said before it affects the newborn and tends to get worse with each birth - but wow they are willing to keep having kids knowing they're subjecting to days old newborns to A LOT. I mean normal humans would be like - 2 girls + boy namesake - we're good, let's not take any more risks. But who are we kidding Lord Kelton has always said he wants 5 + this boy needs a brother lest he turn out . . . well you know . . . .

Probably bc Layla is their moneymaker and they know it. In the case of Josie and Alyssa - most of their money comes from their husbands' trade jobs/businesses; sure Josie makes extra by influencing but even that isn't really Willow/Hazel centric as much as C&E rely 100% on Layla for content whether it is dance or potty training or crying bc the Christmas tree is gone or whatever. Here's hoping that both Rhett and Kelton 2.0 turn out to be Evan 2.0 - total losers. Evan is also the first boy after a line of sisters, clearly his parents spoiled him rotten and now look - the dude couldn't hold down a job if he needed to and instead is a lazy ass who'd rather exploit his wife's medical and mental issues + his daughter's childhood for $$$. Pretty sure Stewart #3 is being made tonight. I mean Carlin has said herself that she LOVES giving birth bc she has the attention of all the drs, nurses, visitors etc. and it's when she goes home with the baby and the visitors go home that the depression sets in. Me thinks that as she realizes that tonight Josie is getting ALL that attention - she is suddenly ready for baby #3. Plus making a baby now gives them a holiday season baby at the end of this yr so I'm sure there's more content there with pregnancy chaos + holiday themed baby showers + the actual holidays. Not to mention Kelton's smiles in the hospital pics. No way was the dude THAT excited when it was just girls.

Per the screen grab on Reddit, Josie posted a pic which showed the baby's bracelet saying "Male Balka" and then deleted it. It's been nice knowing you Willow and Hazel - hope you enjoyed the 4 and 2(?) yrs of parental attention you got bc now it's about to be ALL about Kelton 2.0. I mean I'd hope they wouldn't be the same type of assholes as Alyssa/John are being regarding their SON, but come on who are we kidding. Josie's already referring to him as the love of her life and Kelton now has someone in the house with a penis so obv he outranks his lowly sisters. But no fear, they'll keep the girls relevant by having them run to fetch diapers and coo over the boy. Now onto baby #4 bc every boy needs a brother of course . . . .

So Carlin is on a girls trip to Universal Orlando with who else but the pastors wife + pastor’s wife’s sister/relative who is age 65+ and has 10 grandkids + some other 45 yr old lady. Man IDK about everyone rose but when I was 25, I certainly wasn’t tagging along with the 45-65 yr old crowd. It’s like C&E are holding up a sign saying - we repel people our own age. Wonder if these ladies think it’s weird that Carlin is always sooo eager for any trip - I mean these people aren’t leaving toddlers behind but preteens/teens and adult kids who have flown the nest?! Meanwhile Carlin is posting sappy IG OMG my kids are growing up tooo fast while running off to Orlando to party party.

As much as I snark on them, I can't snark on Michael going to stay with Papa Bill when he was in the hospital. Maybe it was helpful that she's a nurse, but reality is he's older and has some dementia type of problems. He was admitted to the hospital and specialists/drs from different departments come around at all hours; he likely wouldn't know what questions to ask and may or may not understand their instructions. He probably needed someone there to handle that, nurse or not. And yeah there's Mama Jane but reality is she's older too - and I think has health problems - I'm sure she was exhausted too and just needed to be home at times and Michael being there, allows her to go home and rest for a few hours. Plus Michael isn't Kelly or Carlin. It's not like she just took her photo opp with Papa Bill at the hospital and ran home - the way Kelly did with Alyssa or Carlin did with Katie's birth. Frankly we didn't even know that Michael even was down there or when all this happened bc like a normal person, Michael didn't post it on social media; similarly, we only just found out that Michael went down to stay with/care for Meemaw in her last weeks - bc again she didn't plaster it on social media in real time. I'd venture to guess as soon as Papa Bill got home, Michael was helping him at home and/or also cooked a few freezer meals, went grocery shopping etc. so that Mama Jane wouldn't have to worry about food for a while. I know Gil's other siblings live on the property but my guess is they do a lot of the day to day heavy lifting, so I can see Michael putting enough casseroles or chicken in the freezer and groceries in the fridge so that when Gil's siblings are spending hours and hours at Bill/Jane's house - they have food too. It's ridiculous. Sure everyone bribes little kids sometimes to get them to cooperate or to reward them for cooperating but it's only a treat if it is occasional. A treat or sugary snack EVERY time your kid has to do something whether go to the dentist or sit in the car or go to Target - uh then it's just an expectation that they'll only perform like a dancing monkey if they have a snack in hand!? My absolute favorite was Jackson's wedding. All the flower girls/ring bearers are practicing walking down the aisle with empty baskets/ring pillow. Layla's basket is filled with crackers. When the rehearsal is over and everyone is regrouping to get out of the venue and head to lunch/dinner, again all the flower girls/ring bearers are standing around being told what to do next - Carlin is opening the crackers and giving them to Layla and Zade to shut them up. Funny how Kade, Kolter, Willow, Hazel, Z&W's kids didn't need to be bribed with crackers to get thru a 45 min rehearsal + 10 min of getting into the car and getting going!? The other kids weren't even looking at Layla's snacks or wanting some - they literally could not have cared less. Didn't see how she acted so I can't comment on that specifically, but honestly I feel that way about how C&E act in public pretty much anywhere. Let's see there was the time at Carlin's eye dr appointment where they bring the whole family and Evan is entertaining the kids by throwing things at Layla which she's fetching and bringing back to him - as if they own the waiting room. There were Carlin's various neuro etc. appointments where they brought the kids who are sitting there screaming - as if there aren't exams going on in other rooms requiring quiet. And the best - when they strolled into a cardiology appointment like 2 hrs late for no reason except - shrug we forgot and then stopped at Sbux. And then crowed about how the dr is STILL going to see them, they'll just have their kids make enough noise in the waiting room that the dr will promptly want to see them and get them out of there . . . .

I mean I was exaggerating and I doubt Ma Stewart actually said "get out of my house" bc yeah she/her husband created the man child that is Evan. But I'm just saying that it was VERY noticeable that they headed to Nashville for Christmas like on 12/22 and were back in Knoxville by 12/26. That's VERY different than years prior where they spent 2-3 weeks at his parents' - NEVER returning before New Years. While the Stewarts may not have said "go home," it is very likely that they kept Christmas small and boring this year. Maybe they HAD TO go visit some long lost relative on 12/26. Maybe his sisters HAD TO go back to work on 12/26 and sensing that no one was going to be around to feed and entertain them, watch their kids, and buy them Sbux, they decided to pack it up? Not unlike the visit with K&T in early December, where Trav likely didn't say "go home" but was all like "yeah your last trip here was insane, we ran off to NYC with Katie 9 mos pregnant, we won't be doing that this time" and then the trip was going to the gym and church once with Trav and otherwise mostly being home, and C&E decided that was boring and headed home. I mean they took enough advantage last Christmas that 65+ yr old MIL/FIL probably just couldn't do it again. On top of staying 14+ days, it seems like they just decided they were on vacation and MIL/FIL were there to feed them and raise their kids. They posted pics where at 8 pm MIL would be sleeping HARD on the couch - prob after cooking, cleaning up the kitchen, and chasing 2 kids all day - while STILL holding their damn child; and instead of being adults and saying Mom you're exhausted, give me the kid, go to bed, we'll straighten up the family room and lock up - they thought it was funny to take pics of her instead. MIL/FIL raised this man child and likely expected a wife would come along who'd finish raising him and make him a responsible, non grifting man . . . . Except he married Carlin who is exactly like him and loves that her inlaws are willing to feed them 3 meals/day + watch the kids so party party. IIRC Layla's bday hasn't happened yet and bc her loser parents don't work, they always do weekday parties. So it's possible there's a party this week? Hopefully that involves some little friends from church and/or dance class and that barber's kid who everyone claims as a family friend. But knowing these people, it still could be a cousin party - just including boy cousins like Kade, Kolter, Bradley; the little girl cousins; G&K and whichever of their kids want to come etc. It's possible this sleepover was the special treat with her bestie cousins . . . Kind of sad that these kids don't get to have any friends besides family. I mean I realize that's what Carlin's parents preached but how's that working out for them as half the sisters don't talk to the others anymore? But yeah I do question if on top of C&E just being annoying, other parents at church/dance won't be eager to send their kid's to Layla's party because they know their child will end up on YT for whoever to watch and jerk off too. I know C&E don't realize or care about this, but I can see other parents caring and declining the invite UNLESS the kid really insists that Layla is their bestie, they MUST go; and I highly doubt that given that she's done dance for what 2 months max? I highly doubt kids who see her 45 min per week 1-2 times/wk are sooo attached to her. And for church kids, again I could see their parents declining if they felt like uh that means C&E will start to consider US friends, no thx. I thought she said she got the nursing degree to take care of her aging GRANDparents? But I don't think she moved down to NC to live with Meemaw, nor do we see her with Bill/Jane weekly. I mean maybe she got it for her parents but uh they aren't even 60 yet!? And she has no professional experience, just SCHOOL. What on earth do you expect to remember from school some 15-20 yrs from now? Given the HUGE nursing shortages right, she could totally get hired as an LPN in any capacity and it's not like she'd have to work 40 hrs/wk either to make $$. She could legit only work 1-2 days/wk and if she doesn't want to be in a hospital setting, she could be in a drs office. But FWIW I don't think that she feels like her life is complete without being around children, talking to them, teaching them etc., so in that sense nannying 3 days/wk makes more sense for her and probably is more fulfilling to her. Sure she could work in a pediatrics office but that isn't an 8 hr connection with a child. I've always said C&E are absolute morons for not engaging Michael the 2 days/wk she's free - bc those brats could certainly use an adult who loves them and pays attention to them.

The extreme deprivation in which Carlin grew up + Carlin & Evan's sheer laziness in parenting [and everything else] is certainly producing an excellent environment in which to raise kids. 🙄 I've always said that they started getting Layla snacks EVERY time they went out legit since she cut her first couple teeth. At that point it always seemed to me that Carlin seemed super PROUD to be able to do that. In that - see G&K NEVER got us snacks even on special occasions like trips, yet we can do it EVERY time we go on the most mundane errand. Problem is you get a kid used to cake pops + krispy kreme sitting in a parking lot at age 1, yeah their taste buds totally change and they ONLY want sugar/junk. Suddenly apple slices or a tiny box of raisins packed from home ain't a snack. And when they get bigger the snacks get bigger. I mean we've seen plenty of times where they've been at an outlet mall, at the family ski trip (years ago when they went), sitting in the parking lot outside vacation bible school and Layla is polishing off bags of Fritos and Doritos that are the size of her head. Fast forward to age 4 with these eating habits + a kid whose never been taught NO - yeah of course she can demand a cup of whipped cream at the Target Sbux, whine/tantrum a bit, and she knows she's getting it. These people also act like they all need snacks (including C&E) every time they leave home as if they are crossing the Sahara, not running errands 15 min from home. FFS that cup of whipped cream was on a trip to Target the week between Christmas and New Years bc after Evan's parents politely declined to host for 2 weeks, they came home, got bored in 1.5 days, didn't know what to do, so ran to Target to entertain themselves . . . . So if you're there with nothing you really need and your kid starts whining for a snack, say no a few times. When that doesn't work - say ok, well you're hungry, let's head home and eat, we don't really need to be at Target . . . . Do that like 3 times and the kid will learn. Same with buying gifts for other kids. By age 4 almost kids get it bc they are going to their preschool pals' bday parties like every other week, so they are very used to going to the store and getting just 1 coloring book or whatever for just the bday child. Layla has 17,000 cousins. Can they not take her to the store and say ok we are here to pick out a present for cousin Hayley or Chole or Willow or whomever's bday. And then when she insists that she get something, you keep saying - nope ONLY buying for the bday child today, your bday is in 6 mos. Again stand firm 4 times, ignore her tantrums, and she'll learn. Carlin's own reliance on snacks is a bit eyebrow raising. We saw the one time in Nashville where she had Evan stuffing his pockets with candy bars, so she could have a snack for a 9 am church service!? And more recently in Orlando after Jackson's wedding, she exits a gas station w/ a shopping bag STUFFED full of snacks - crowing much like we've seen Gil do about how she got SUCH a great deal, prices are SOOOO cheap. She was comparing to Knoxville airport bc on the way to Fla, I guess she bought at the airport and paid like $8 per bag of chips. Evan even seemed annoyed as he was like - uh you didn't save anything bc you bought 3x the amount. The sheer amount of M&Ms, chips, etc. was ridiculous - even if they were going to share with K&T who flew with them. I mean Orlando to Knox is a 90 min flight!? I realize she's young so it doesn't matter what she eats now but 30 creeps up fast - and I believe her husband will be 30 this yr/next . . . she should think about why THIS much junk isn't a good idea even if you're skinny now.

William and some other kid are with Tiff and Callie. Tiff made it seem like William is visiting her/Callie but that just may be how these people write. Did Erin really send her 2 youngest off to Nashville??

Maybe Evan likes the school girl Brittany look - having never done it with anyone with any sort of education/going to school commitments? 🙄Though who knows they seem more like middle aged roommates than anything else at this point. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. They’ve been on a tear lately - see we grocery shop, we buy fruit, we cook, we read to our kids, our kids have a bedtime for our kids. Now do we get to see Evan scattering rose petals on the bed and lighting bedroom candles to convince us they’re doing it?? They’re so out of content right now it’s hysterical. When’s that third pregnancy coming along? Bc right now all they have coming up is likely the 10 hr drive to NJ for Katie’s kid’s bday. But I imagine it’s another long weekend rather than the 2 week stay they want. After all once Trav had them out with a 4 day stay last time, he may think hard about now allowing a 10 day stay complete with NYC trips etc bc then it just resets expectations again . . . . I mean Evan’s own mother had then gone with a 4 day stay at Christmas so K&T probably don’t feel more obligated than Grandma Stewart. Also does Layla really get a toy or junk snack every time they go out including errands like the grocery store?! Wow talk about a waste of $ + never teaching your kid that sometimes they’re gonna hear NO and they don’t need candy or toy every time they step out of the house?! But then recently I recall them getting her a cup of whipped cream at Sbux bc they HAD to get her something - even though were at Target post Christmas buying her some junk toy or nail polish or something anyway?? Like couldn’t say - nope you got your nail polish, you aren’t getting anything at Sbux today?!

Laughing out loud as Whit posted a video of one of her kids at gymnastics to the song Lil Boo Thang. While gross to use that song for a video with a little girl - why not just hold up a sign that says - we ain’t fundies anymore, thx. Lol. She has got to know what that song is referring to?!

Anyone notice the IG a few days ago at the grocery store in the produce section as Princess Layla screams - don't get broccoli, I don't like it? C&E thought it was the cutest thing in the world. Pan camera to a cart full of fruit as an eff you PrimeTimer/Reddit, see we feed our kids healthy. But "cart full" really meant a few boxes of berries and 2-3 apples and not vegetables bc apparently Layla said no. Then pan the camera a half hour later to TWO entire carts filled with Kroger bags, so I'm guessing one bag of fruit was buried somewhere below the bags and bags of processed food with Honey Nut Cheerios riding right on top - though I guess given their choices sometimes HN Cheerios are decent. Am I the only one who would've gotten the broccoli and told Layla to shut it or that she'd learn to like it or whatever? I'm sorry but they give that child entirely too much control. And then on the way out the door Layla is riding along in the cart holding a Barbie as Carlin is like - what you found it, put that back, it's for your bday. Of course Layla being used to doing what she wants is like - no I want to hold it. Again Carlin thinks this is soooo adorable and calls her a little stinker. Uh is Evan cutting back $ on Layla too now? Bc her bday present is a Barbie picked up at the grocery store, while cousin Hayley is getting a party planned by a party planner [comp-ed via social media I'm sure]? I could see Evan wanting to cut back bc after all they are already paying for dance and that's enough for a girl child. But these 2 are home all day long, could they not have picked up the Barbie on a trip where Layla wasn't with them? Or not ordered it in the 3700 Amazon packages of crap they get per week?

I'm laughing at the contrast of inviting M&B for dinner vs. C&E. Michael and Brandon would be model guests for a quiet weeknight dinner where you wanted adult company. I can picture Michael walking in, seeing Josie setting the table or getting the girls washed up, and jumping in to help, while Brandon walks out to the porch and stands out there with Kelton, fetching the aluminum foil or ginger powder or whatever Kelton may have forgotten indoors, as the two men talk about how snowy this winter has been just like when Brandon was growing up in Michigan, while dinner finishes cooking, and then Brandon carries food in so Kelton doesn't have to make 50 trips by himself and can shut down his grill. Dinner conversation would be polite and QUIET regarding Kelton's work; how Josie's last wedding job was a wedding that had 900 guests can you believe it - it was as big as Jill Duggar's wedding that we went to years ago; Brandon's work/church/faith/God; how Michael has been up late nights sewing lately bc she's getting a lot of blanket orders. Cue M&B making polite conversation with the children saying responsible aunt/uncle things like "you should eat your fish, it'll make you grow big and strong." And then I see M&B helping clear plates, wrapping up the conversation in another 15-30 min over a polite cup of coffee, and clearing out - realizing that J&K have to finish cleaning up, put 2 toddlers to bed, and oh yeah all 4 of them have work in the morning. Meanwhile cue C&E the woohooo party party guests who are so starved for something to do and someone to talk with that they'd show up at 5 pm on the dot, help with exactly nothing, move J&K's furniture around, put their bare feet on the furniture, let their kids stand on the furniture. And then dinner when Layla sits there being grossed out at salmon and string beans bc she's never seen such things before instead of being responsible parents who are like - try it, it's soooo good, Uncle Kelton makes the best fish, do you know it's cousin Willow's favorite dinner? They'd instead hand Layla a bag of Oreos to shut her up, while Willow and Hazel wonder why they have to eat salmon and string beans instead of cookies for dinner. And then they'd woohoo their way thru the entire conversation, asking nothing about J&K, and not taking hints to clear out as J&K practically ignore them loading the dishwasher and putting their kids in PJs while their own kids are falling asleep on J&K's living room floor . . . . Lol. I do wonder if beyond C&E's irritating clingy moocher personalities, Josie and Whit aren't super keen on their kids hanging out with cousin Layla too much just bc of how she's being raised. After all as everyone's kids get older, they will ask questions about why they have to go to bed at 8 pm when cousin Layla doesn't or why they have to eat fish for dinner while she gets Oreos. I mean when they went camping with Z&W, Zach cooked every meal and at one point made baked apples over the fire. Everyone ate baked apples, while Layla chowed down on a huge bag of Oreos. I imagine the girl freaked out having rarely seen an apple, let alone being asked to eat a fruit based snack. Similar to Jackson's wedding rehearsal, all the flower girls were running around with empty baskets. Cue Layla - her basket was filled with crackers, which Carlin was opening and giving to Layla and Zade to shut them up. Funny how Z&W's kids, Kade, Kolter had no problem making it through a 45 min rehearsal right before dinner without snacks. I think it's telling that they appear to have NO friends at a mega church aside from the pastor/his wife. I've said it before - it's akin to that annoying kid in 6th grade who all the other kids steer clear of so he says his best friend is the homeroom teacher, and she can't exactly tell him to buzz off bc this is her job. Even on this church retreat where it seems like couples were going out to breakfast etc. together, C&E went out with . . . the pastor and his wife. Posted pics standing in front of some strip mall with them + getting ice cream with them. LOL. It really is like the kid with his teacher bestie who is paid to be nice. I mean J&K appear to have a friend group - I presume at least some (all?) are church couples and they seem to be relatively the same ages. Meanwhile C&E's Jan 1 party party was a sad football watching party with a bunch of 40+ year olds in the church basement. Some of these 40+ year olds might legit be the pastor's friends as they seem close in age; some in attendance might be those who are new in town, new in church, looking to meet others so they went to a church sponsored event. But it ain't the type of event you see a 25 and 29 yr old attending on January 1 when one of them grew up in Knox her whole life, has 1000 siblings, went to college in Knox, SHOULD have some lifelong friends to spend the new years with. My sense is that amongst people their own age, word has gotten around about how they are. Loud, annoying, me me me, won't let you get a word in edgewise, expect you to always pick up the tab for Sbux, and if you want to be their friend - sure come babysit their kids, scrub their tub, or put Christmas lights on their house, and no it isn't a reciprocal thing - Evan ain't about to help you when you're repairing your driveway and could use a few guys to give you a hand mixing concrete while you shoot the $hit re Tenn. football. Reassured then Evan will be home playing video games slurping down his pumpkin spice something from Sbux in his $100 cuts pants.

I think the sisters' interpersonal relations are a nightmare bc they were raised by moochers G&K and raised isolated so they never understood how to treat friends etc. I mean Gil NEVER admitted that someone provided something for free to him. It was always, the Lord willed us to have - a big house; orthodontics for the kids; groceries. Uh no - JB after listening to your whining for years re raising 18 kids in a cottage decided it would be a decent story line for TLC if 2 mega families were friends and finished off a bigger house for you; and some local Christian orthodontist felt sorry for you so he agreed to provide care in return for landscaping; and Lawson put food on your table as a teen bc he hustled at lawn care . . . the food didn't fall from the sky. Cue Alyssa - she probably believes the Lord willed for her kids to look good on Sundays and also for her to get a few free trips to Miami. Uh no Alyssa, it wasn't the Lord, it was Tikky trying to be in your inner circle . . . . Alyssa for a time had other "friends" that she was calling all the time. Once I remember she called them over to help set up an anniversary dinner for her/John - and the dinner was nothing - like charcuterie spread out on their patio table + cookies from a bakery. But she was having these people get organized and set everything up. She had them around setting up her gender reveal and some of the kids bday parties. And then she makes a YT recently where she goes "oh we wouldn't feature our REAL friends on social media . . . ." Lol so I'm sure those people - who thought they were helping bc they were friends are now gone upon learning they aren't REAL friends, they're just there to be used. Zero social abilities having never had actual real friends of their own and just being told their besties were their sisters. I tend to agree with @BitterApple that Kelton strikes me a guy who does not want to owe anyone anything ESPECIALLY a Bates. Like I think 10 yrs from now he'd be royally pissed if any Bates took credit for his and Josie's success by being like - oh of course you guys could keep growing your businesses, you had Michael raising your kids. Not that I think Michael/Brandon are like that but as they become more successful over the years as his biz grows, I can definitely see G&K, Evan and Carlin saying that sort of thing in a hardy har har jealous way . . . . I can see Kelton wanting the ability to say - hey we paid Michael market rate and told her many times that she could quit anytime she didn't want to watch our kids, it would've been NBD bc we were paying market rate - we would've hired someone else. Frankly I think if she wasn't married to Kelton, Josie would have NO problem mooching off of free childcare from Michael. Josie gives me the bitchy vibe and likely thinks - what else does childless Aunt Michael have to do all day and she's so desperate for kids, she should be honored that she gets to spend 16 hrs/wk with MY kids. I have a feeling it's Kelton who up front was like nope - Michael gets paid monthly just like the mortgage and electric. Frankly I feel like if Michael is only asking for payment for 2 times/wk regular childcare but is happily taking on some of these extras like a 2 day marriage retreat or the night of Kelton's business Christmas party as Aunt Michael, Kelton would still be the type who'd be like . . . uh I bought some great steaks, Josie lets have Michael/Brandon over for dinner next week or I picked up beautiful lamb chops - Josie when you drop off the girls, give some of them to your sister . . . . As much as we've talked about how J&K do NOT invite her family over, it is noticeable that once in a while Kelton will say - I made a great brisket, it's more fun to cook for others, so we're having Josie's sister over - and it'll always be M&B that's invited.

So per Reddit - this week's YT is - Carlin is cleared to drive. So pregnancy #3 being conceived . . . at the marriage retreat? I mean if she can drive then life is going back to normal. She was weeping for a baby last summer and sooo sad she couldn't have one, he was pushing for a baby in Nov/Dec while she looked like she wasn't interested. I'm sure they decided to give her a month or 2 to get over her reluctance and get it done in the new year . . . . C&E use some girl from her store to watch their kids. She watched them for last month's 2 day sexy time vacation and when Carlin went to the hospital for 5 days. [As an aside IDK if anyone here is a royal watcher but Evan not coming home for 5 nights so he could stay with Carlin is a head scratcher even more so as you have Prince William now spending days/afternoons with Princess Kate and then he leaves late afternoon to be with his kids!? You know actual royals - where he could easily check out for 2 wks bc they have staff/nannies etc - but nope he feels he should be home bc Kate isn't?!] Thing is this chick from the store is probably babysitting for extra cash, right? Why would she watch kids for 2-5 days at a time for free? Though who knows maybe she's a hanger oner and would do it for free just to be part of the Bates circle? I could also see Evan being the type who pays strangers for things like babysitting but would be morally offended at the idea of paying MICHAEL for the same task - bc family, older sister, blah blah. I mean he expects stuff for free from his sisters as he's even said that as a 29 yr old man, he'll line up behind them so they'll buy his Sbux!? Yes Josie & Kelton do pay Michael for babysitting - for the regular 2 days/wk, and I assume then they also pay for these longer jobs like the week in Europe or this 2 night marriage retreat. Michael has directly said that babysitting is her job - she does 2 days/wk for Josie + 1 day/wk for a non family child. Josie IMO was obnoxious about it at first CONSTANTLY referring to Michael as "the sitter." Maybe she didn't want to say she was using her sister or maybe she didn't want people to say she was taking advantage just bc Michael doesn't have kids etc. But at some point seems like Michael got a bit pissed off about it bc every time Josie would say something about "the sitter" on IG, Michael would post a pic being like "had such a great time with the girls at the playground/zoo etc." and then Josie would feel obligated to say something about the girls love Aunt Michael soooo much. That's calmed down now and Josie feels ok admitting that it's Michael watching the kids + Michael ok saying that it's a job. C&E are beyond stupid. They have ZERO interest in raising their kids. They have Aunt Michael who LOVES kids and watches her nieces 2 days/wk and look how articulate/smart those nieces seem. Not that Josie/Kelton don't get credit - but I really think 16 hrs/wk of Michael doing activities with them, playing with them, answering their questions/talking has furthered their development. I mean Michael's way of watching kids is NOT - throw Doritos at them and park them in front of the TV. She's even shown before how she goes all out on Black Friday/back to school sales buying arts/crafts supplies, games, puzzles etc. to do with the kids she's watching all week. Layla - who basically still talks like a baby and has no creativity to be able to talk about anything besides makeup, nails, and hair - could totally benefit from 1-2 days/wk with Aunt Michael. But then Evan - paying, a family member, for his child's enrichment? LOL.

So is it a coincidence that after Z announces a cooking channel, Carlin posts a video of making soup today?? Or maybe it was Kelton making bone broth the other day and Josie using it for the last 2 days to make soup. That being said Z and Kelton/Josie's food looks GOOD. Carlin seems to just be throwing things in a pot. It was like brown up some ground beef by itself, throw in box of stock, can of kidney beans, can of black beans, can of pinto beans, can of crushed tomato, packet of taco seasoning, packet of ranch dressing, stir it up and serve - of course with a PILE of corn chips on top. Like I'm not much of a cook but even I know to brown ground beef in a pot with oil with some seasoning and maybe some pieces of onion. This was literally just like throwing ground beef over heat. And if this soup is supposed to be a chili, don't you have to let it thicken - either using corn starch etc. or letting it cook down? She serves it as a liquid with a ton of stuff in it. And can meals in that house not be eaten without chips on top? Or maybe it's the type of thing college kids/young ppl who can't cook do - I know my food isn't great/bland, so I always eat it with chips, a soda etc so then it seems fine. Though IDK my go to is things like crushed pepper or jalapenos - not CHIPS!? And DAMN guess she HAD to prove all of us here/on Reddit wrong who were giving her the benefit of the doubt that she just shills those supplements but wouldn't give them to her kids. Nope - she posts an IG calling Sissy over to the camera and giving her a half tsp of whatever supplement + giving Z some kind of pill. Jesus what is wrong with these people?!

It's interesting that of all of these people Z is the one who ISN'T scared of the world. He likes people and people like him. He wasn't scared to chat up a girl at Sonic, not even knowing if she was fundie or not. He wasn't scared to work at the city commissioners office for 5+ yrs - dealing with all types of coworkers and city residents coming in with their issues. He wasn't scared to go off to the police academy - including living there for a few months - in an academy class with all types of people [gasp] even women. He wasn't scared to be a cop for a decade again dealing with all kinds of citizens. As G&K's oldest, he could have easily built a life just like theirs. As the oldest son, he could have demanded to be the one that takes the tree service. Or he could've become a solo contractor/handyman like Chad or Trace to avoid working with others or taken on construction work with the Duggars or whatever sweet Fla. friend Jackson works for now. He seems to like having his own job, his own coworkers and work life separate from his family/church. Looks like he started real estate back in Dec. and he's joined a real company - has a LinkedIn page listing it. So this isn't a - oh I got a real estate license - and had some boards made up and now I'm hustling for listings. Looks like he goes to an office bc he already has a buddy there who is helping him start up the cooking YT prob bc he talks about cooking so much. His brothers and some BILs could take a lesson from Zach in putting themselves out there. Who knows maybe the Sarah Reith breakup was the best thing that ever happened to him - it made him realize his parents' view of stay within your own circle and live scared was unnecessary BS. Whit tried to bring him back to this a few yrs ago bc she likely had Kelly screaming in her ear about how bad it was that Z isn't home 24-7 with her and the kids and look how Bobby got the wandering eye, is a career worth that?? Worked for a while but I imagine in his heart of hearts Z was like yeah I can't be 24-7 folding dresses at my wife's shop for life. The company that he's with is a sizeable company that apparently also has mortgage specialists etc. I realize he doesn't have a college degree and I think he'd prob enjoy sales more, but I wouldn't be surprised if at some point he ends up getting into mortgage or title work - if he doesn't end up back in city government. Talk about a slap to G&K and their anti debt faith. I can't imagine they'd just hand the reigns to a manager or heaven forbid C&E and just check out. Whit will still be involved with products/photoshoots etc. and I bet Zach will still be involved also. Real estate doesn't usually end up being a 40 hr wk, 9-5 job. Some days you're coming and going looking at properties etc., other days it's just "market research" done on a computer. I doubt it'd be a big deal for his real estate employer if he was spending 10 hrs/wk at BSB - just stopping in a few half days and checking in, looking at the books etc. Frankly he's such a talkative person, bet he told the prospective employer all about needing to put some time into his wife's biz too - lol. And frankly if it were a problem for an employer, I see him being a hard enough worker that he'd be involved with BSB on nights/weekends. Yeah C&E need to see the writing on the wall here. Zach ISN'T tying his and Whit's future to a store that constantly has inventory stacked to the ceiling . . . C&E should consider why. But nah Evan is like this is the perfect "job" where I barely show up 1x/wk and otherwise we're rolling out of bed at 10 am, I'm playing golf mid week, and spend my days playing video games. You know C&E's first concern here was - damn Z isn't going to BSB daily now, and W is homeschooling 5 kids, wait does that mean WE are going to be expected to show up bc come on weekends are supposed to start on Wednesday and now we have to change that bc Z has decided to get a dumb office job? I think it's funny that right at the beginning Z says "I don't like to sit around bored." Lol and you Evan?

So Zach went and got his real estate license . . . . Interesting. He says in Whit's IG update that now that there's a manager in the shop, there's much less for him to do and he doesn't like sitting around doing nothing. Apparently he has a listing up. And then Whit goes on about how when he worked for county commission etc., he was so good at dealing with people . . . . Looks like Z&W are thinking ahead about how to diversify their income away from BSB which likely isn't going to last forever. Who knows whether this will be a full time career or not but may just be a way to bring in some extra $ as we all know that shop has some lean months - we've all seen the clearance sales month after month and inventory stacked to the ceiling. I can see Whit (and really Kelly) being more on board with this one than being a cop bc he'll still be working sporadically and be home "investing in his kids." Real estate isn't a 40 hr a week in the office job. It's more of a getting friends/family to list with you; going around to tour properties with buyers; working the occasional open house. I wonder how much of this is also a move towards not tying their future to Carlin & Evan. Like Evan who joined the store "temporarily" bc his wife couldn't be without him has now been on board for 2 yrs - with no signs of leaving. Maybe Zach thinks ok well I don't want to be with them 24-7, so maybe I leave/am around less bc oops gotta go show a buyer around this afternoon, see ya. Your move Evan . . . . You think it's time to get something of your own and let the ladies have their shop back? EDITED - and Z is starting a YT cooking channel, which was the idea of a guy at the office now who has helped him with the YT part of it. So I guess Z is going to the office some . . . . Me thinks Z got convinced by Whit - who was convinced by Kelly some years ago - that he HAD to be home to invest in his kids blah blah [and so he wouldn't by tempted by any hussies out in the real world - bc all this went down with everyone staying home after the Bobby allegations]. And after a few years of buying a house, remodeling it, puttering around the shop - Z is bored and like uh we need more money and I'm capable of more than this . . . . After all he remembers life when a new baby kept coming every year and Gil decided nope not gonna hold down a real job, whatever tree work and love offerings come our way are enough.

And now Carlin posts a pic of her wearing pig tails chomping on a banana while sitting with daddy who took her to purchase a mega case of toilet paper. It screams - daddyyyyyy I'm sooooo hungry, this shopping trip is taking soooo long, I need a snack, as he told her she could only have a health snack. This woman is 25 with 2 children married to a freaking 28 yr old. They are entirely too immature to be married with kids. We all know young adults/college kids etc. who wouldn't plan for weather and then be like hahah I just ordered 2 large pizzas and ate those for 3 days or ate PBJ for every meal or whatever. But those people don't have children. People with children are generally responsible enough to plan and/or always have extra food around so in case they didn't plan it'd be NBD bc hey there's always an extra bread in the freezer and PBJ in the cupboard and we always stay stocked on rice and lentils and pasta and cheese so we can still have meals even if they're boring meals. Meanwhile Josie is posting pics of Kelton getting their kids ready to go out in the snow. And Willow who is only 6 months older than Layla clear as day is saying to her parents "with all of this snow, I can't even see the grass. The other time it snowed, I could still see the grass. I hope it's going to snow a lot today." Layla is only 6 months younger and rarely can you even understand what she is saying; and when she does say stuff, it's just parroting back things about makeup, nails, hair, and dresses. IDK if I've ever seen her had an independent thought where she relays her own observations on the world.

Or as Carlin said “it’s vegan free.” Uh so it’s made of chicken and steak and eggs? Bc you could just feed your kid those things. So it snowed in Tenn and dumb and dumber only have a snow suit for one kid and not the other. Oh and it’s supposed to snow on and off this week and they don’t have enough food at home. Apparently Gil is stopping by to take her to the store as she’s hoping snow suits aren’t sold out. And oh yeah to pick up some food too. Doesn’t she have a headship? We know he can’t handle big things like working but can he also not handle going to the store and grocery shopping such that daddy has to come to the rescue? Kind of makes sense why they spend sooo much time with the ILs - adulting is hard. And also given that they don’t work for real + are home 24-7, at no point this week did they turn on the local news and say hmm weather, we have little food at home, we need to grocery shop? Though what am I saying last yr they set off for Christmas at the in-laws in a storm and the 3 hr trip took like 6-7. And they happened to stop for gas at some station in Nashville and ran into Law who lives 5 min from there and when he came up to say hi, it was clear that dumb and dumber had been at each other’s throats. Apparently that didn’t teach them to somewhat keep an eye on weather in the winter?

It's amazing how FAST fundies insist on living life. His mother died at 13. His mother was the center of his world - as is true for most children - but even more so because she home schooled so he literally was home with his mother 24-7. As the oldest, I guarantee he had responsibilities at home helping his father; if he wasn't cooking and cleaning, he at least was overseeing homeschool for the rest of his siblings. In high school he gets his plumbers license, starts working for his uncle's company, and decides he will be a plumber with his own business at some point. At 18 he meets Josie, decides that's it, she's THE ONE. Goes off to college and spends 18-21 being pissed off at not being allowed to date Josie. At 21, Josie turns 17, he's 21, he starts pursuing her again, engaged at age 23, married 3 months later, baby 9 months after that. All STILL at age 23. All of this happened within 10 years of his mother's death. That is A LOT to go through that quickly. I mean some of this may just have been coping - keep busy, don't waste time in life, keep getting onto the next thing in life whether work, school, business or Josie. But you'd think his dad or someone in his family would've encouraged him to slow down and take some time for himself. Even if that just meant chilling for a year or two after college and having fun while working before taking on a wife and baby. Or fine take on the wife because SEX but maybe use some protection. Agreed. Though let's be real, he ain't watching his kids all that much. He has taught Josie how to scale up her business just like he scaled up his plumbing biz - i.e. others are out there doing the work for the company, getting a salary, and the owner taking the lion's share of what comes in from every job. Truth is that sort of thing works WAY more successfully in plumbing than in wedding hair. In plumbing, a young plumber can't just go out and start his own biz because there is a ton of equipment, insurance, advertising etc. that goes into it, so he is better off working as an employee someplace while he gathers the capital to do that. In the wedding biz, when Josie isn't showing up to weddings, her employees are doing the hair and chatting it up with the brides and bridesmaids and hearing - oh so and so is engaged and getting married in 6 months. At that point, they ain't recommending Effortless Beauty, they are slipping that bridesmaid their own info and that bridesmaid is more apt to call that person individually - having had her hair done by her before and having never even met Josie. And the start up cost for doing this is just a few hundred dollars in hair supplies. Josie works VERY few weekend weddings nowadays. When she rarely says she's working a wedding all day, it's almost always a Friday wedding - i.e. Michael is babysitting. FWIW Kelton did used to make a big deal about "babysitting" Willow early on when Josie would be gone all day Saturday for a wedding and Josie would effusively thank him blah blah - as if it wasn't his kid too and as if the $$ coming in wasn't going to benefit both of them. And once the 2nd kid came around, Josie pretty much stopped going to weekend weddings prob bc it was too much work for her headship to watch both kids. But I think this is the best of both worlds for them. He gets to be that headship that feels like - see I don't control my wife, she has a business, blah blah. She feels like OMG I'm a #girlboss all because of Kelton. And in the meantime Kelton is inconvenienced as little as possible with his own kids.

My guess is that she falls asleep all over bc she isn’t getting the required amount of consistent sleep at night. Bc sleep is disrupted whenever it’s time to party party bc hey time to drive all night to Katie or Lawson is in town so midnight ice cream run and of course Layla is coming bc she’s like our college bro. And then the next day she prob works off that sleep disruption by randomly sleeping at 6 pm and oh look wide wake at bedtime so let’s party party until midnight, repeat following day. And frankly C&E don’t want to see stuff so they make excuses. I mean when Z&W were over and Evan basically made him assemble his grill and cook everyone fried rice, Layla and Z&Ws kids were playing and Carlin pans over to Layla snoozing in the hammock and says “awww she played too hard.” Hmm funny none of Z&Ws kids played so hard with your kid that they need a nap at 6 pm. Could it be that your kid didn’t get enough sleep last night? Or enough calories thru the day? I mean kids say crap so who knows when Layla recently said - I like dance but I get tired - gave me pause. What 3 yr old gets tired or even remembers they were tired last wk after dance or even cares about tired? Granted it could just be attention seeking but I did wonder if they give her dinner before dance or if it’s like vacation Bible school where she sat in the Tesla and polished off a huge bag of Fritos before going in.

My first thought - hopefully she’s just shilling and lying about actually giving it to her kid?? But with these people who knows. She needs vitamin D, zinc and magnesium to help fall asleep? Is she 4 or 40?? I’ve never heard of a kid needing supplements bc they couldn’t sleep. I mean some kids are just bad sleepers but I’ve never heard of it being vitamin deficiency related. And Carlin if you suspect it’s vitamin related - why not give the kid whole food throughout the day to see if that helps rather than just turning to pharmaceuticals? Things like spinach, salmon, meat generally, almonds/cashews (at whatever age kids can eat nuts) cover a lot of this. And maybe cut back on the kid’s sugar? Constant cake pops and donuts daily aren’t going to make it easy to wind down. I mean when they drove overnight to Katie’s last month - they took a pic of the kids in the convenience store candy aisle choosing their car snacks. For a trip where they were to sleep overnight, Layla chose and the parents allowed - some candy that was a bottle of liquid sugar??!

I kind of understand not wanting overnight guests at some level. Some people don't want that - it's a lot of work. With G&K, a guest room means - hey take Jeb/Jud for a week or take Addie/Ellie/Callie etc. (Though I don't think Brandon & Michael have a guest room and they pretty much are raising Jeb/Jud.) Plus Kelton wasn't going to be in a position of having house guests - with a dad, siblings, grandparents that are all local. What is weird to me is that no sibling - even the ones that were close to her - ever even VISIT!? Like no one stops by for an evening or a few hours when in town? We have seen Alyssa go and spend a half day with Carlin (even though they were never besties), with Erin when she lived in town, and with Michael. Meanwhile Josie had popped out baby #2 and Alyssa was in town and didn't even stop by and visit before leaving. Law comes to town and seems to spend like 1-2 hrs at his siblings' homes, not bunking there; we've seen him at Carlin, Erin, Zach, and Trace's homes but never Josie. And Katie who was the supposed absolute bestie - she doesn't come spend time with Josie at her house!? Last time they seemed to catch up at church and then the day Katie was leaving, Josie stopped by Carlin's to get more time with her. IDK what they did for this visit - though Katie said she was leaving today and as of yet we've seen zero pics with Josie. To me that screams, your family is NOT coming over, while I am here. And while he's hard working, dude is a plumber not a top surgeon - he isn't exactly at work 100 hrs/wk. And I don't buy the - oh they all visit but it doesn't get on social media. Please Josie is on social media plenty. I agree it isn't like her sisters where she doesn't moment for moment document her life. But she ABSOLUTELY takes 1-2 pics of whatever they are doing - like if gathering with friends or making dinner or whatever - and puts that on social media before going on with her evening. The only person who is 100% not on social media is Tori and even still a random pic of Tori's kid with cousins will posted so you'll know she was in attendance someplace.

Between pursuing a 14 yr old when he was headed off to college at age 18 + grabbing Josie's butt at the wedding in clear view of her parents and grandparents + posting a birthday message re 2 year old Willow that mentioned the child's virginity and her being pure for her husband - yeah dude's got issues. I mean sure maybe one can "overlook" that a 12th grader was pursuing an 8th grader because it was soooo long ago and he was a child himself blah blah. I don't overlook it but maybe one can. But the wedding was ONLY 5 years ago. He was a grown enough man then to know what he was doing. Grabbing her butt the way he did was very much a show to G&K that she was now HIS and ain't nothing Gil could do. For those who haven't seen it, it wasn't like a cute in the corner thing between husband and wife with a little "can't wait for tonight" whisper that no one was meant to see. It was more like they are walking into the reception, family lining both sides, stop and hug her and grab her butt right there for all to see with G&K and Bill/Jane standing feet away. The entire affair was one of bitterness as the rehearsal dinner best man speech included references to how G&K wouldn't allow them to be together years ago etc. I'm sorry your best friend only goes there in a speech in front of 100s of people only if YOU have made SUCH a big deal of it over the years that he remembers. Guys hardly remember the details of their own relationships, let alone their friends. You know he was crowing in Bobby's ear at engagement and beyond re haha I GOT HER, Gil can't stop me now. And Willow's virginity - uh he was a grown man and a father. What parent can think of their baby that way!? On top of all this being generally "I'm better than everyone" and "training" Josie on how his home should run - yeah IDK why he gets soooooo much credit. Just bc he's a plumber and makes some $ and cooks and pays for a vacation? That's a pretty low bar though I guess the bar is on the floor with fundies.

As much as I'm not wild about Kelton - I will say it's fairly obvious that they avoid C&E for the same reason that K&T and Evan's own parents sent them home after 4 days when they were jonesing for a 15 day visit and Z&W only have them over when there is a special reason like Katie is visiting and they want to have her over. I mean they've shown over and over that they are loud, bored grifters who if given an inch will take a mile. For all of Kelton's faults, it does seem like he and Josie have a friend circle that's their own age group. IDK if these are friends from church - they could be people from his or Josie's work that they like who also happen to go to the same church too, but in any event it goes beyond the barber and his wife who every Bates claims as their besties. While J&K aren't all loud "party party" about it, Josie does say every few months that they are having friends over to dinner or are going out for an evening with friends. I'm sure C&E would join this friend group with bells on if J&K so much as interacted with them at church. But can you imagine. They'd be thrilled to show up at J&K's and chow down on steak tacos this month while not letting anyone else get a word in edge wise, and then next quarter they're stuffing their faces at someone else's lasagna party. Then a few months later when their turn rolls around, Evan is all giggling gee we don't cook so we don't even have condiments, can one of y'all go to the store and grab ketchup and mustard; Kelton here's the ground beef, do you know how to make burgers; and can one of the guys go to Home Depot and grab a propane tank and replace it on my grill bc ooopsie it's empty . . . . While J&K have managed to find their own friend group, C&E are very much like those 9th graders who are so awkward that their best friend at school is their homeroom teacher bc she can't exactly tell them to buzz off. I mean they have GLOMMED ON to their 40+ yr old pastor and his wife - even going on a cruise with them and running to NYC on a girl's weekend with the pastor's wife and attending church basement football watching parties for New Years. As the pastor, I imagine they have to be inclusive so they can't tell C&E to get a life but it's obvious that people their own age have zero interest in hanging with them. Doesn't help that Carlin had the one church friend (Kristin?) over at her house watching Layla and scrubbing her tub + before Z&W drew some lines, Carlin was following them home after work as they tried to renovate their house, stepping in paint, ruining their floors, and not even noticing they were annoyed and wanted her to leave. I do agree with drawing lines on family like that. I don't agree with how Kelton is doing it otherwise though. Sure they didn't want a 2nd bedroom in their first apartment bc Josie knew Kelly would take that as license to send over her kids to be raised - I get it. But really at 5 years married w 2 toddlers, are they having sexy time 24-7 to the point that Katie or Alyssa or Law can't drop by for 30 min when in town? Those I think are Kelton's lines that he got Josie to buy into on day 1 when she was younger and looking to impress him and because it is HIS HOUSE, I don't get the sense Josie can go around him now without causing a fight -- hence no one visits if Lord Kelton is at the manor.