satrunrose

Does that mean you should make a love offering of lotion?

*Crosses Gideon off the list of fundie grandkids I had some hope for and sighs.* I'm not sure that this is about the jeans thing. It sounds to me more like Kiki stumbled across some sort of ex-fundie folks and got her knickers in a twist (or Jilldo did). I would expect that her recent shilling and Yay Mamhmo, ma man, me and Jesus (in that order) posts have poked her into a world where not everyone believes in the cult of Jildo the sainted martyr. On the off chance that the place she has stumbled on is here. Kaylee, your parents are not God, nor do they have a direct line to Him (that's sneaking close to idolatry btw). They want you to believe that so they can control you, not to bring you closer to your creator. There are a lot of ways to be a Christian and the vast majority of those ways consider your parents' "protection" outright abuse.

I think most of the Duggars have slid to fundy lite over the past decade (ie, their beliefs are still awful, but the obvious signs of fundamentalism (the denim skirts, the home perms, the anti-Santa/tree business) have been left by the wayside).

How much would Gideon's birth have set the two of them back?

I never thought I'd approve of Jill's "rules only apply when I can use them to judge others and they definitely don't apply to me when I'm chasing down a Social Media post." policy, but if it protects that poor exhausted kid for getting punished for falling asleep in church, I guess it's okay.

I'm glad Gid has a way to self-soothe with Jill clone and the Yes Man for parents, but isn't he a little old to just have figured out thumb-sucking? I thought that came earlier. PS: Kaylee is officially added to my list of "Fundie kiddults I don't know how to deal with. I want to be kind because the Rodlets got some of the worst of a bad bunch of parents and that's not their fault but they're having a whole new generation fueled by plexus, grifting and misery and there needs to be some accountability or attempt to do better.

I suspect the waif chorus is what gets people to make regular donations through the clearinghouse. We know Dave has a very limited range of products and isn't even willing to expand to print his wife's vanity projects. I kind of doubt the Rods would be the first that comes to mind if someone feels moved to use or donate to a print ministry...unless you know that you might be saving some godly waifs in the process. Jill's SM, where the family seems to be rolling in it (yes, I know the rv is bust, but the Plexus Queen is still "feeding" 10-odd kids, remodeling the house, rolling in new hoodie blouses, taking monthly vacations and, allegedly, going to Punta Cana) isn't going to drum up any pity donors.

Do people (other than the die-hard leg humpers) care enough to appreciate the suspense, though? I have been vaguely interested in the sexes of the first couple kids to see how they're set up for future sister-momming, but other than that I really don't care.

Yeah, I think you're probably right, but I also wonder if there is a lot of posturing over who Mahmo loves best in that case ie. "Well I'm part of Mahmo's amazing business," "Well I'm pregnant,"

I would love to be a fly on the wall for conversations between Nurie and Kaylee. Do they passive-aggressively point out evidence that Mahmo likes them best, or is it more of "Look, I did the Christmas tree farm, you'd better be taking her to the Nice Olive Garden so she gets off our backs about it"?

Man, I am so torn on this one. One the one hand, Amy does have a point that Dax's haircut is really nobody's business, especially since there is just so much that you can criticize about Amy the parenting expert (ugh) and the way she's spoiling her son rotten. But here's the huge other hand: Amy has been chasing celebrity (both reality tv and social media celebrity) for over a decade. She is cousins with teens and young adults who were born on camera. Heck, she was the one defending her choice to have Dax's sm open to his 9,000 nearest and dearest and now she's all shocked pikachu that there are people who don't like her kid's hair and say it. I'll echo what others have said, if you don't like it, get the poor little knife-thrower off the internet. Oh, but no, can't do that, what else would Amy have to get performatively irate over now FF is in jail?

Honestly, this is the one Duggar family where I want to put my fingers in my ears and go "La la la not listening!" if someone finds out something abhorrent about their beliefs. The family seems so happy and sweet. I really want them not to have asshole values. PS. Yes, I know the chances are slim but I just need one decent Duggar, just one!

There is a teeny tiny part of me who, despite living nowhere near the Rods, would kind of love to infiltrate a Jillstravaganza. I'd have anecdotes for years. Caveat: I would have to put on my best fake fundie, though. Having Rods harangue me for an hour about Jeesauce would be hell enough.

Uhhh, Amy, couldn't you, you know just... get him less stuff? This Is one of the last years before he's old enough to go full on Dudley Dursley "Last year you got me 40 presents and this year you only got me 35!" They should be course correcting before he gets completely insufferable, not amping it up to a month-long gift-a-palooza. The kid's homeschooled and the Dillard kids don't seem to have gifts-to-the-ceiling Christmas, so it's not like he's going to feel hard done by in comparison to his friends and classmates.

I picture "Jim" and "Shelly" as JB and Michelle's non-evil mainstream twins.

I'm sure Tim and the sluttish frontal hugs came into it, but Saint Nurie and the Sunshine Band (ahem, girl) held hands on Mahmo driven engagement photoshoots, so they're not living up to DBD's purity standards either. PS. Tim and the Sluttish Frontal Hugs would make the weirdest Fundie picture book title.

I doubt they will be. The grandmothers don't seem to step up at all after the babies are delivered, their married sisters and sisters-in-law (mostly) have the same demands on their time and energy (and the ones who don't are probably considered dubious influences by the true believer crew), Jana can't take care of everyone's kids and neither can the lost girls. They have few friends and the ones they do have are far away (Carlin) plus I've noticed that because the fundie women are so reliant on grifting to support their lifestyles, they seem to burn through what friends they have at a pretty fast rate. I'm so caught. I recognize it's sad that they don't have the kind of community support their mothers had, but you also don't have to raise and homeschool eleventy million kids just because some sicko loon with a foot fetish said you had to.

Is it the angle, or does that staircase look a little cockeyed?

The fundie girls inability to handle traditional female responsibilities always boggles my brain, so thank you for pointing out that they only had to do one thing (at high volumes) as kids, not all the things. I was absolutely not raised to be a SHM and my mom cooked with loathing (she hated cooking, but she loved us), but I left the house (and went to college and have a career) knowing how to cook, clean and do laundry. If my parents could do that around 2 full-time careers, what the heck is the Fundie matriarchs' problem? Also, re Hello Fresh, I find it's good if you have solid basic cooking skills and want to step up your game a teeny bit. I'm not a bad cook, but I find the timing in the instructions isn't quite right and one step always takes a lot longer than advertised which throws everything else off.

I can't bring myself to be too optimistic about Timbits (he'll always be Timbits to me), because I've been burned before and I can't forget his "Ugh! Women talk to me. Why can't they be dogly and modest like my sisters?" posts. Still, I can't help noticing that he does look a lot more relaxed and happy than he ever has in these pics with Heidi and fam.

Honestly, I know they're all adults and they made their beds etc. (plus I share your limited sympathy for fanatics), but I feel badly for most of gen 2. The only way for them to get away from - your family completely controlling your life - doing all the work so Ma and Pa can swan around "winning souls" or whatever they tell people their doing - no friends or social life outside of your siblings (who are encouraged to snitch on you) - Accountability partners - No individual attention (oooh don't forget that 15 min appointment once every two weeks!) - Thrilling conversations around favourite Bible verses and why sinners and liberals suck. - No real identity outside of the labour you provide to the family (see Jessa, the one who packs). Is to find a fellow fundie who is mildly tolerable, make a big show of being "best friends" and smooching in pics and get married before you've ever had a chance to figure out who you are and what you want. Is tragic...I mean not as tragic as how some of them, Jessa are recreating that for another generation but yeah, it's still sad.

Sorry, wasn't clear, I meant JRod using SM to grift and shill Plexus, not being directly monetized. How much are you making on a video at Jessa's rate? Seems like would be, at best, "fix the fence" money not "provide for 7 people".

I sort of feel sorry for him too, but then I remember that it takes two to make a new blessing. I think if JB isn't paying for a lot, then he must be. I don't think Jessa is on social media enough to be covertly (or overtly) supporting the family (see the Stew Crew and Jill Rod).

Glad to see Mr One and Only looking so delighted to celebrate the big anniversary. This is what I don't get about SM photography. You can edit, you can try a different angle that doesn't show faces, you can say "Jeez, my darling headship, could you try not looking like you're pondering a really deep sermon at a funeral?" Why publish shots that make it look like Ben would rather be scaring his kids about Hell than be at breakfast with his wife?

Doin' it amoeba style!