Alyssa and John: Lunch with Lurch

[floridamom]

Does Allie have a hearing loss? There is a video posted on You Tube about this showing her taking a hearing test. Does anyone know about this? I hope she's ok.

[ozziemom]

1 hour ago, floridamom said:

Does Allie have a hearing loss? There is a video posted on You Tube about this showing her taking a hearing test. Does anyone know about this? I hope she's ok.

She has a slight hearing loss but sounds like they are just monitoring it for now.

[cereality]

So looks like Thanksgiving will be spent at Alyssa's at least for some part of the Bates clan. G&K posted a picture of going to church w Alyssa and John on the weekend so I figured maybe a pre Thanksgiving visit. And now Law and Trace posted a video of flying town to Fla and saying they'll be with Alyssa for the week. Though it's possible that it's Law and Trace with the Websters for Thanksgiving and G&K come back -- bc what exactly are they doing with Callie/Jud/Jeb/Jackson/Warden/Isiah?? Unless those minor kids have been farmed off to Michaela for Thanksgiving. Or unless EVERYONE is driving down? While it's possible that Law and Trace flew the parents down this weekend and flying themselves down now, I don't think their jalopy planes can take a 30+ person clan.

Guess they're ok with meeting up during a pandemic. I mean can't fault them -- look how many people are traveling. Though IDK if ALYSSA is the right choice here -- didn't she have a cardiac procedure last year + is pregnant!?

[Absolom]

Maybe it's better than the whole crowd showing up at Gil's parents' house.  

[cereality]

See this is the negative of convincing all your kids and all their sweeties that they MUST LIVE in Rocky Top, when you want to go away for a holiday there's no place to go. Though these people are quick to rent beach houses in the off season in random towns, go do that. I mean I think that's preferable to showing up in the middle of the pandemic at the home of your 1 out of town kid who is pregnant with a heart condition or to the home of your age 75+ parents/inlaws with your entire brood that's undoubtedly been working, shopping, take the kids places for fun etc.

[3 is enough]

My guess is that since some of them already had COVID they think they are immune.  We know Carlin, Evan, and Erin had it.  But at the end of the last episode of Bringing Up Bates we were told that several family members besides Evan and Carlin contracted it.  The question is which ones.

It is still a boneheaded move.  And you can get it a second time...

[65mickey]

Whitney announced that she had Covid and wait for it she is pregnant with #4. 

[cereality]

Sounds like Z&W, Erin, Carlin and Evan have had it. Maybe others -- don't know. Carlin & Evan seem to be heading to his inlaws as he has said that he can't wait to celebrate with his mom. Evan has said that when he tested positive some of his sisters did as well and just last week his brother said he has it and is in quarantine. Maybe that'll be over by Thanksgiving? The hard part with this is I'm sure some people have had it but some haven't -- by continuing to mix and mingle, isn't there a chance that those who haven't had it get exposed?? Like say Alyssa hasn't had it -- she's pregnant with a (now fixed) heart issue, is it a good idea to be with her?! 

And it looks like it's the whole clan (minus those going to inlaws) in Fla bc Trace posted an IG video with Jeb or Jud so the younger kids have arrived. Looks like they rented an AirBnB with a pool but clearly A&J will be hanging out there bc Trace was carrying one of Alyssa's kids around asking if she wanted to go swimming.

Edited November 24, 2020 by cereality

[3 is enough]

So Alyssa was a bridesmaid today- her “ best friend” was getting married.  She has pictures on her Instagram stories.  There were 5 bridesmaids, and of course John and the girls were there.  I’m afraid to guess how many people were at this wedding.  Sounds like a super spreader event 🙁

And of course she was doing the bump cradle pose in all of the photos- just annoys me, especially at someone else’s wedding.  Talk about stealing the show...

I just don’t know what they are all thinking- cases are skyrocketing  and she is attending a crowded event with probably little to no social distancing at 30 weeks pregnant? Her own sister had a bad bout with COVID-  have any of them learned ANYTHING?

[emmawoodhouse]

In a word? 

No.

[65mickey]

So Alyssa was admitted to the hospital to check for  preterm labor. It turned out that she was just dehydrated because of her continuous vomiting. But those two laughed and carried on like it was a big joke.  And I thought they were supposed be be so mature. . I am at a loss as to why this woman continues to keep popping out child after child. She must like torturing herself.

[emmawoodhouse]

She just said in a Q&A that she would wait two years before considering another kid due to her rough pregnancies. We'll see, I guess. 

Edited January 16, 2021 by emmawoodhouse

[Temperance]

1 hour ago, emmawoodhouse said:

She just said in a Q&A that she would wait two years before considering another kid due to her rough pregnancies. We'll see, I guess. 

Well there was 2 year gap between the last two pregnancies...

[3 is enough]

Funny, a few months ago she said she was done. 🙄

If she willingly gets pregnant again she should not complain even one time about any nausea or vomiting.  Evidently that’s a choice she is willing to make.

[andromeda331]

3 hours ago, Temperance said:

Well there was 2 year gap between the last two pregnancies...

That was because of her issues with her heart. 

[ozziemom]

In another 2 years her older daughters will be ready to cook, clean and take care of the younger siblings. It seemed like John was ready to stop at 3 but Alyssa definitely wants a boy, so they will be trying again. They also mentioned a while ago that they are house hunting, I guess the prospect of 4 kids crammed in a tiny bedroom made them realize they need more space.

[Temperance]

16 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

That was because of her issues with her heart. 

Yes, but heart problems don't cause convenient infertility. It shows they can wait two years. 

[floridamom]

Alyssa, IMO, will absolutely keep going until she has a boy...even then, I think 'he will need a brother'...and so on, and so on. She is full of it IMO. If John is satisfied with the size of his family, he should tell her and do something about it. 

[andromeda331]

1 hour ago, Temperance said:

Yes, but heart problems don't cause convenient infertility. It shows they can wait two years. 

They can wait two years when there's a serious problem. Had their not been one though they would have already had their fourth and probably pregnant with their fifth. I'd really like to believe Alyssa when she says she's thinking of waiting two years. That's a very good and sensible plan. It probably was very nice not to be pregnant or dealing with a newborn and a baby. I really don't think she'd like having a lot of kids. But I have a hard time believing her given how fast she got pregnant with Allie, Lexi and Zoey and then how quickly she got pregnant with Maci once her heart problems were fixed makes it hard to believe her. But I really do want to be wrong and Alyssa waits two years and decides she's done having kids or even deciding to have one more and then done. 

[cereality]

Yeah love how she's backing off of -- we're done, that's it, OMG I can't be pregnant again -- to now -- oh we'll see in 2 years. Yeah right. She's going to be pregnant again by the time this one is 6-9 months old, having another child in 15-18 months after this one. I really think it's the I NEED a boy problem. Which seems like it's more a problem for her than for John. And if child no. 5 isn't a boy, they'll try for child no. 6. If either 5 or 6 IS a boy, then it'll be -- well he NEEDS a brother. Best case scenario, kid nos. 5 and 6 are both boys and they are done.

[BitterApple]

Yeah, there's no way Alyssa's stopping. She's said she's done after every pregnancy and here we are on #4. I guarantee she'll be pregnant again before Maci's first birthday.

[emmawoodhouse]

Baby is here. Too lazy to dig up the People link.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLFJdw8DHs9/?igshid=1fe1rw0yiy5qt

[Absolom]

She had this one in a real hospital and not the Motel 6 looking birth center?  It's a hospital bed and with her medical condition I hope she went to a hospital. 

[emmawoodhouse]

People article

https://people.com/parents/alyssa-bates-webster-welcomes-fourth-child-daughter-maci-jo/

[65mickey]

Maci Jo is a very pretty baby. 

 

[drafan]

On 2/9/2021 at 1:58 PM, emmawoodhouse said:

People article

https://people.com/parents/alyssa-bates-webster-welcomes-fourth-child-daughter-maci-jo/

WTH is on the baby's head in that third pic? Some pink monstrosity to identify her as a female?

I want Alyssa's palm frond PJs.

[IndianPaintbrush]

Alyssa and John bought a new house. It needs a ton of work, but good for them. I think they might be the first Bates couple to have a pool.

[BitterApple]

13 minutes ago, IndianPaintbrush said:

Alyssa and John bought a new house. It needs a ton of work, but good for them. I think they might be the first Bates couple to have a pool.

Too funny, because that video just popped up in my recommendations.

The house has the potential to be really nice. I wonder if they got it as a foreclosure? It looked pretty neglected and had a ton of deferred maintenance. It seems like John is quite handy, so if he can do a lot of the labor himself, it'll save them a ton of money. 

If she hasn't already, Alyssa needs to sign the girls up for swim lessons. 

But overall, good for them. It's amazing what you can accomplish when your husband has a real job...

[Temperance]

I get nervous with babies and pools, but otherwise good for them.

In other news, Alyssa is bragging about how good she looks. Maybe I'd brag too, but I never claimed to modest. 

[emmawoodhouse]

Apparently in the video John said that they plan to fence and lock the pool. 

[ozziemom]

6 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Apparently in the video John said that they plan to fence and lock the pool. 

And that the girls are obedient so I guess they won’t disobey and sneak to the pool?

[emmawoodhouse]

6 hours ago, ozziemom said:

And that the girls are obedient so I guess they won’t disobey and sneak to the pool?

John said they plan to lock it. Hopefully, that will be enough to keep the kids out.

[ozziemom]

1 hour ago, emmawoodhouse said:

John said they plan to lock it. Hopefully, that will be enough to keep the kids out.

Yeah but he added the obedient part too, but kind of quietly, but it does sound like they are planning on being responsible about the pool. Alyssa seemed really nervous, maybe growing up she didn’t have much experience with a pool. Since John grew up in Florida where there are pools everywhere so hopefully he knows what they need to do.

[floridamom]

Alyssa needs to sign her 3 daughters up RIGHT NOW for private swimming lessons from an instructor certified by the American Red Cross. My children were 4 and 7 when they received excellent daily/private swimming lessons from a great lady certified by the ARC. Miss Maryann taught my boys how to swim for fun AND FOR SURVIVAL. I am still grateful to her 20+ years later. A life skill everyone should have; especiall here in Florida. THIS should be her focus first, not decorating the girls' bedrooms.....the fence and lock around the pool should be John's first focus also.

[3 is enough]

I got the impression that they would not actually be moving in until the place is fixed up.  The kitchen is not functional right now. So hopefully the pool enclosure will be installed before they move in.  Swimming lessons are a must though.

[65mickey]

I was chilled looking at the video and seeing that there is a sliding door that opens from the house right to the pool. I could not move in until that pool was fenced. That house is going to take a lot of work just to make it livable. Good thing John seems to be pretty handy. It looked like they will have to put in an entire kitchen. 

[floridamom]

Does anyone know if the new home is far from the current one in Clermont?

[Tikichick]

Am I the only one who got nervous seeing the mirror leaning very haphazardly against wall/doorways in the hallway?   I went on red alert listening, like I could even help, when the girls were back upstairs on their own as John and Alyssa wrapped up the video.

[emmawoodhouse]

Oh, I missed the mirror. No wonder Alyssa bought the house. 😂

[3 is enough]

They certainly are working hard on that house.  Carlin and Evan were there over the weekend painting, now 4 of her brothers are there laying the new floor.  The painting is almost done.  They still have to do the whole kitchen which was totally gutted. 

I guess the girls are staying with John's parents.  In some of her stories you can see the baby there in her carrier, but yesterday she was nowhere to be seen.  That's a lot of work with a newborn- she is also packing up their current home.  

[Tikichick]

4 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

They certainly are working hard on that house.  Carlin and Evan were there over the weekend painting, now 4 of her brothers are there laying the new floor.  The painting is almost done.  They still have to do the whole kitchen which was totally gutted. 

I guess the girls are staying with John's parents.  In some of her stories you can see the baby there in her carrier, but yesterday she was nowhere to be seen.  That's a lot of work with a newborn- she is also packing up their current home.  

Nowhere in your words about lots of work being done by relatives coming into town, help being provided for childcare, a lot of work remaining to do and a newborn to tend to is there a single mention of Kelly or Gil.   Maybe if Alyssa put up some balloons and tossed some pizza rolls in the oven and called it a party they'd show up?  

[BitterApple]

4 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

They certainly are working hard on that house.  Carlin and Evan were there over the weekend painting, now 4 of her brothers are there laying the new floor.  The painting is almost done.  They still have to do the whole kitchen which was totally gutted. 

I guess the girls are staying with John's parents.  In some of her stories you can see the baby there in her carrier, but yesterday she was nowhere to be seen.  That's a lot of work with a newborn- she is also packing up their current home.  

I saw that in Alyssa's stories. The house is coming along really nicely. I like the colors and flooring she chose. 

[3 is enough]

22 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

Nowhere in your words about lots of work being done by relatives coming into town, help being provided for childcare, a lot of work remaining to do and a newborn to tend to is there a single mention of Kelly or Gil.   Maybe if Alyssa put up some balloons and tossed some pizza rolls in the oven and called it a party they'd show up?  

That did occur to me too.  Honestly I would never expect them to come and help.  The only time it seems they show up is for a quick photo op with a newborn grandchild, but they never stay long enough to actually help out.

[Tikichick]

1 hour ago, 3 is enough said:

That did occur to me too.  Honestly I would never expect them to come and help.  The only time it seems they show up is for a quick photo op with a newborn grandchild, but they never stay long enough to actually help out.

Kelly still expects all sorts of help herself as if she is still the mother of the very large brood with very little ones and more on the way.  I have a feeling her attitude is, but you don't have 19, so how much help could you need?   I don't think she'll adjust easily or willingly to her new season of life. 

[cereality]

I guess that's the positive of such a big family. They can help each other out with these big projects, thus allowing J&A to buy a house that looked like a total foreclosure, knowing they could fix it up without having to spend 100k or more on contractors (which is what this gut renovation would otherwise take). John is a really handy guy -- guess it isn't shocking given that he's in the skilled trades. But they've made great progress so far -- painting and floors moving along quick. The kitchen will likely take time. 

It was kind of surprising to see Evan & Carlin show up and actually work -- you know not treating this as their beach vacation and being out doing photoshoots. They posted an IG live getting on a flight on Friday at like 5 am and were back in Tenn around 5 pm on Sunday and then the videos in between were basically them painting the whole time except for a dinner out with J&A at Olive Garden. Now it looks like Trace/Warden/Jackson/Isiah are there -- which will help a ton with flooring and things like renovating the bathroom since they do some of that work with Chad day to day. I wonder if Chad makes an appearance at some time for the harder worker like putting together the kitchen -- though who knows Erin is like Kelly, I could see her being like nope sorry I can't manage 4 kids alone for an entire weekend esp given how much we've been thru with our baby train lately, not sending Chad. 

I feel like in that family the kids closest to Alyssa are -- Zach; Trace; and Josie. Trace has already come down there once and I imagine he may return. I wouldn't be surprised if Zach spends a weekend down there at some point; while he doesn't have a specific skill, he is super handy as I think he used to make money on the side doing foundation/concrete work so he can probably do a lot of general re-model work. And Kelton's plumbing skills could certainly be useful as they have to re-do the entire kitchen, John had said there was a leak in there which they needed to find the source of before they could re-do the kitchen and he could do general bathroom reno work too.

G&K yeah they ain't coming -- not even to babysit the kids. They'll show up when J&A are ready for a house warming party where their kids can act like they've never been fed fruit or appetizers before as they hoover up plates of food meant for all the guests, and more importantly when they can jump into J&A's pool bc I mean they are always looking for free activities for Jeb/Jud/Callie/Ellie/Addie. I mean it's going to save Gil $$ now bc when they visit J&A while they still have to rent an AirBnb (bc the new house isn't THAT big), they no longer have to rent a place with a pool in order to feel like they're on a Fla. vacay bc they can just go and swim in J&A's pool . . . win win.

[Spazamanaz]

I'm curious to see the finished results of their new house. 

[emmawoodhouse]

They usually post their YouTube video on Friday morning (although I think they missed last week). I'm sure this week's video will have a tour, next week at the latest.

[Spazamanaz]

2 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

They usually post their YouTube video on Friday morning (although I think they missed last week). I'm sure this week's video will have a tour, next week at the latest.

The house was such a mess when they bought it, especially the kitchen. I want to see all the work that John has done. Hurry up Friday! 

[3 is enough]

From what I have seen in her stories it looks pretty nice. It looked like there are still some finishing touches to be done in the kitchen. There is a pony wall with an unfinished top, so maybe they are waiting for another piece of counter top. Actually the kitchen is quite small - there is not a ton of cabinetry or counter space.  No hardware on the cabinets- maybe that will come later, but with 4 small children and white cabinets that would be a must for me.  No backsplash either. No door on the pantry- I assume that still has to be installed.

 
Looks like they put new carpet upstairs- again, with small kids I would have just done laminate on both floors.  Probably not much difference in price.  
 

But everyone has priorities and I bet they have spent a ton of money already.  They probably need furniture too.

ETA: They did an incredible amount of work in a very short time, especially impressive since she just gave birth .  I will say that John and Alyssa are probably the most industrious of all the couples. Given how awful the house looked before the transformation is amazing.

Edited March 25, 2021 by 3 is enough

[Spazamanaz]

OK that was a bust. The video posted today didn't really show much of the new house. Pretty much just the girls bedrooms. And the empty house they just moved out of. I've never been this curious about anything they've ever done before. Lol