Alyssa and John: Lunch with Lurch

[BitterApple]

35 minutes ago, Spazamanaz said:

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

I saw it and agree. Couple of things stood out to me. For the amount of square footage, the kitchen is really small. Alyssa actually had more cabinets, counter space and storage in the rental.

Second, I like her videos better when she doesn't feature the kids. They're always whining and screaming in the background. Neither John nor Alyssa seems particularly enthralled with Maci. I think there was serious gender disappointment with #4, even if they won't admit it. 

Overall, the house is really nice. It's great both families were able to help so they could get moved in relatively quickly.

 

Edited March 26, 2021 by BitterApple

[Spazamanaz]

Just now, BitterApple said:

I saw it and agree. Couple of things stood out to me. For the amount of square footage, the kitchen is really small. Alyssa actually had more cabinets, counter space and storage in the rental.

Second, I like her videos better when she doesn't feature the kids. They're always whining and screaming in the background. Neither John nor Alyssa seems particularly enthralled with Maci. I think there was serious gender disappointment with #4, even if they won't admit it. 

Overall, the house is really nice. It's great both families were able to help so they could get moved in relatively quickly.

 

I agree with everything you said. The kitchen is smaller, maybe they'll put in a pantry somewhere. The bedrooms seem small too. But maybe that's just the layout of the upstairs, because the hallway or whatever you call it, the top of the stairs seems large and spacious. Do they have a basement? 

I also think they were disappointed about another girl. John obviously wanted a boy. And Alyssa wanted a boy for John. Do you think they'll keep trying until they get a boy? 

They are really blessed that they both have family willing to help. (I'm jealous, I wish I had that! ) otherwise it would have taken them so long to finish. I like the house too, and can't wait to see how she decorates each room. They both looked so tired in the video. I've moved (to a different province) with a baby, and it is stressful and tiring! Now maybe they can get some rest and take their time decorating and such. But something tells me that Alyssa gets things done.

[IndianPaintbrush]

I think they will absolutely try for a boy. Alyssa's said 6 kids is her ideal, and no one in this family seems to care about health risks.

John is so easygoing, I really like that about him. I know that feeling of leaving behind a house with so many memories even though you were totally ready to get out.

[emmawoodhouse]

I noped out of that video about halfway through. Soooo boring and everything still in major disarray. I think this is at least a week old, before they went to the beach for the weekend.

[3 is enough]

The kitchen really is tiny for such a big house.  I'm not sure how much Alyssa cooks, but it doesn't look like it would be very easy to work in such a small space.  I think the upper cabinets are extra tall so she probably has room for all her stuff, but since they were replacing the cabinets anyway they could have extended the run along the wall into the nook.  They could have easily had an extra 6 feet of counter space and storage. They appear to be doing laminate countertops so it wouldn't have been super expensive, especially if they just did lower cabinets. They do have a small pantry across from the fridge.  She showed how Katie organized it with bins on one of her Instagram stories. 

Still, they worked really hard and were lucky to have a lot of help.  It will take a while to get everything organized, especially with small children and a newborn.  We moved from Canada to the US when my son was 5 months old and my daughter was 2, and we were on our own.  I can't remember how long it took to get everything put away, but it was a least a week.

 

Edited March 27, 2021 by 3 is enough

[65mickey]

Did anyone notice when Lexi climbed up on her bunk bed? She reached up and touched the ceiling fan. If she stands up on that bed with the fan going she could be seriously injured. Who puts a bunk bed under a ceiling fan? I also thought it was strange that Kelly Jo was there and she didn't say anything or even appear on camera except for a split second. Katie was also pretty much a non entity. John and Alyssa are very very fortunate to have all of the family help. They both look so tired. Don't think Alyssa is going to snap back after Maci's birth like she did with the other three. 

[Spazamanaz]

Just now, 3 is enough said:

The kitchen really is tiny for such a big house.  I'm not sure how much Alyssa cooks, but it doesn't look like it would be very easy to work in such a small space.  I think the upper cabinets are extra tall so she probably has room for all her stuff, but since they were replacing the cabinets anyway they could have extended the run along the wall into the nook.  They could have easily had an extra 6 feet of counter space and storage. They appear to be doing laminate countertops so it wouldn't have been super expensive, especially if they just did lower cabinets. They do have a small pantry across from the fridge.  She showed how Katie organized it with bins on one of her Instagram stories. 

Still, they worked really hard and were lucky to have a lot of help.  It will take a while to get everything organized, especially with small children and a newborn.  We moved from Canada to the US when my son was 5 months old and my daughter was 2, and we were on our own.  I can't remember how long it took to get everything put away, but it was a least a week.

 

I found moving across country hard enough, I couldn't imagine moving to a different country!

I'm not on Instagram so I've miss a lot of Alyssa's videos and posts. I have a small kitchen and I really don't like it. You need a big kitchen especially if you have or are  planning  a big family.  

65mickey, yes that ceiling fan in the girls room is just an accident waiting to happen! I was watching the video thinking why they didn't set up the bunk beds against another wall. Or why have bunk beds at all. 

[floridamom]

Where is the video of the finished new house?

[ozziemom]

35 minutes ago, floridamom said:

Where is the video of the finished new house?

I saw it on YouTube. Sorry I can’t link.

Edited March 27, 2021 by ozziemom
Finished sentences are good

[3 is enough]

Just search for The Webster Family on You Tube.

[floridamom]

I watched Alyssa's video of her new house. Although I wish them well and all, that house with those small children makes me nervous. The open upstairs concept scares me; those little kids falling over of through the railing from the loft upstairs; the bunk bed waaaayyyy too close to that ceiling fan in the girls' bedroom; the pool outside with none of those girls actually knowing how to swim or having any survival swimming lessons...Why is she putting all that light colored carpet in the house? All that vacuuming! When will she have the time/energy to keep that carpet clean? Eww, and double eww for me was seeing Kelly and the 3 girls outside BAREFOOT then coming into the house with dirty feet. Why didn't they have SHOES ON OUTSIDE; then take them off when entering the house? John seems to want no 'shoes' in the house and Alyssa dissed him about that saying "it's my house". Wow, I saw how John backed down very quickly. So much for the man being the headship. Those girls learned from Kelly how to let the husband THINK he's in charge while the women actually run everything. All in all, not a house to have unending little kids live in IMO way too hazardous.

[3 is enough]

I don't understand the carpet at all.  Textured carpeting like that is much more expensive than laminate.  Lowe's has Pergo for $2.49 /sq ft., and her brothers could have installed it for them.  She is putting down patterned area rugs anyhow .  Light coloured carpeting and little kids is a recipe for disaster. 

The ceiling fan is another hazard.  I guess there was no other way to configure the furniture. They need to have a talk with the girls and tell them that if they touch the fan while it is moving they could really hurt themselves.  I would say they could demonstrate with a piece of paper but the girls might think it was exciting and want to do it themselves.

I did see what looked like some fencing around the pool in one of her stories.  Alyssa did seem quite nervous about the pool so I think they are not taking it lightly.

Edited March 27, 2021 by 3 is enough

[BitterApple]

Did Alyssa say the girls don't know how to swim? If so, that's insane, especially for a family that regularly goes to the beach.

[65mickey]

If they can't change the girls's bedroom around to move the bunk bed away from the ceiling fan then I would take the fan down. Lexi is already  jumping on the bed. If the fan is on and she jumps up I shudder to think what will happen. I know that Alyssa and John are young parents but this is just common snese.

[Spazamanaz]

On 3/27/2021 at 3:57 PM, floridamom said:

So much for the man being the headship. Those girls learned from Kelly how to let the husband THINK he's in charge while the women actually run everything. 

You nailed it! And I think the same goes for Erin&Chad, and Tori& Bobby. 

[cereality]

Alyssa did not look well to me in that video. I mean John looked tired too but Alyssa just looked wiped out. I wish these people would slow the eff down. This woman just had her second heart surgery just 18 mos ago, then spent 9 or those 18 subsequent months pregnant, pushed out a kid, and like 1 week later was on her feet painting and packing. I mean I get it, it's a seller's market right now so if a house comes up on the market that's in your price range, you have to jump on it. And they have talked about needing a house; I mean they're stacking up kids like t shirts. But I honestly don't understand why it had to be fixed up ASAP to the point where John was working until 2 am daily and Alyssa was there like 6-8 hrs/day painting etc. and 6000 Bates siblings had to come help in shifts all while they have a newborn. I realize that when people buy they want to get into the new house ASAP because they're paying a mortgage on the new house + rent on the old one. Yet somehow I thought the house they rented was rented from John's dad -- maybe I'm wrong on that. Even if it was a 3rd party landlord, was their budget soooo tight that they could not possibly do the work in 2 months instead of 1 and thus pay 2 months more of rent? I know they've said before they're terrible at budgeting and it kind of showed.

And that house is underwhelming at best. It's big in terms of square footage but the usage of space is fairly awkward. I mean a family of 6 is going to live in a house with like 8 cabinets and like 18 inches of counter space max? And I've lived in 2 bedroom apartments with pantries bigger than what they have -- they JUST moved in and are already doing space saver things like using the floor of the pantry to store stuff -- usually that happens a lot later when you've been living someplace for a while and start running out of room. And yeah the fan in the younger girls' bedroom WTH!? The middle girl (no idea who is who) didn't even have to jump on her bunk to touch the fan, she literally just reached out and her hand was there. Hope she's not a kid who flops around in her sleep arms and legs swinging free. And Alyssa just stood there calmly being like -- let's not touch the light -- instead of starting to drill it into the kids' head that they are never to reach up like that because they could get really hurt. I assume they're like eh NBD we just won't ever turn the fan on when the girls are in bed, but if that fan has a wall switch, how easy is it for Ally to come running into their room, turn on the switch to turn on the light so they can play in the middle of the night or whatever. And even if there is no wall switch, you know at some point some kid will get curious about what the pull strings off the fan do and will reach for them while sitting up in that bed . . . .

I assume they're doing bunk beds bc Alyssa assumes there will EVENTUALLY be a boy and this house is only 3 bedrooms upstairs and the 4th bedroom downstairs isn't useable for much for about a decade until the kids are older bc you can't have parents in a downstairs master with kids ranging from newborn to age like 6 upstairs alone. So eventually this room becomes a girls' room housing all 4 girls in 2 sets of bunks and the boy gets his own room until/unless he has brothers. Fine just take down the GD fan and put in a light fixture w/ no fan.

Someone above said neither J/A seem enthralled with Maci. Who knows. I think they're exhausted too but I think there is no way that Alyssa doesn't feel gender disappointment here. She desperately wants John to have a John Jr. and here we go again, another girl . . . . John OTOH I'm sure wants a boy but I think understands the reality that it may not be in the cards and just doesn't seem entralled with kids generally. I mean he loves them but this is a 30 year old man who is desperate to sleep in, vacation, stay up late, and have sex with his wife -- as demonstrated by how ridiculously happy he was with that crappy staycation they took to an AirBnb in their own city w/o the kids where they stayed up late, ate Cheez its and had sex; like he was pretty clear he had no desire to go pick up the 3 screaming kids when the weekend was over. He's said he doesn't need a John Jr and has also said that one of his brothers had something like 5-6 girls in a row -- so I think he knows that it's quite possible that he's one of the Webster men who won't make a boy.

Yet he also knows his wife and he knows she calls the shots including between his legs so until they have a boy or maybe get to 8 girls in a row, yeah they'll keep on trying. For a man who didn't want 3 kids, I'm sure he doesn't want 5 or 7 or whatever just for the chance at a boy. And then let's not forget if/when there's a boy, we must give him a brother or else he'll surely turn out gay . . . so the baby train continues . . . .

[floridamom]

Yes, they were renting their old house from John's father. I highly doubt that they were on a formal lease agreement and John's father would not be flexible with their move out date. Perhaps they weren't paying market rate on the house either. They all work together for their own mutual benefit. None of these families do things in the traditional way anyhow. I agree that this project was way too much for Alyssa and John. I posted earlier that I didn't think the floor plan for that house was good for little children. We all know Alyssa will birth more.

[Tikichick]

On 3/26/2021 at 6:08 PM, Spazamanaz said:

Do they have a basement? 

Florida doesn't do basements.

[emmawoodhouse]

9 hours ago, floridamom said:

Yes, they were renting their old house from John's father. I highly doubt that they were on a formal lease agreement and John's father would not be flexible with their move out date. Perhaps they weren't paying market rate on the house either. They all work together for their own mutual benefit. None of these families do things in the traditional way anyhow. I agree that this project was way too much for Alyssa and John. I posted earlier that I didn't think the floor plan for that house was good for little children. We all know Alyssa will birth more.

They did not rent from John's father. The owner is 3rd party who may well be related. He also owned the new house. 

Edited March 30, 2021 by emmawoodhouse
Autocorrect is not my friend

[Spazamanaz]

6 hours ago, Tikichick said:

Florida doesn't do basements.

I did not know that. It's never even really crossed my mind, as I live in Canada. I guess that's due to the high water table and proximity to the ocean? I guess it's like places in B.C. 

[Temperance]

If John doesn't want more kids, he needs to tell Alyssa. 

Most of his siblings only have 3 or 4 kids. 

[floridamom]

I believe I read somewhere recently that John's father owns many of the houses in the street that Alyssa and John lived on. He wanted to form some type of "compound". Am I wrong about that? I would not be surprised if the owner of their rental home is connected to them in some way. These people do things all within their belief-community. Exception: the newly married Bates daughters who seem to have rented real apartments in apartment complexes....but they get out of those pretty quickly for a reno-house; most likely through someone they 'know'.

[emmawoodhouse]

Well, given that J&A felt comfortable enough with the landlord to buy a house from him, I would guess he's at minimum a family friend. 

[riverblue22]

On 3/30/2021 at 5:05 PM, Spazamanaz said:

I did not know that. It's never even really crossed my mind, as I live in Canada. I guess that's due to the high water table and proximity to the ocean? I guess it's like places in B.C. 

They don't have basements in most southern states.  It's strange to me-- we have always had a basement in the North and Mid-Atlantic.  With all the hurricanes and tornadoes you would think they would come in handy.

[lookeyloo]

36 minutes ago, riverblue22 said:

They don't have basements in most southern states.  It's strange to me-- we have always had a basement in the North and Mid-Atlantic.  With all the hurricanes and tornadoes you would think they would come in handy.

Sometimes it is a water table issue.  Grew up in NJ. All houses have basements. Moved to Baton Rouge. No houses have basements. Now live in Metro Atlanta and not all the houses here have basements. We finally have a nice walk out one. I guess there is no general rule. 

[marypat57]

The houses in the Long Island suburb that I grew up in had no basements, with the exception of the few houses that predated our development.  
The idea at the time was to build as many houses as they could to house returning WWII veterans.  If the houses had no basements, they could be built much faster.

[BitterApple]

Caption from one of Erin's latest Instagram posts. Is this a complete drive-by on Alyssa, or what? It feels like Erin's going the Jessa Seewald route. Completely failing in terms of upward mobility, so she insists making memories is preferable to doing things like styling her kids' hair or giving them adequate living space. Methinks somebody's a leeeettle jealous of that big, new house.

 

 

Edited April 1, 2021 by BitterApple

[3 is enough]

Erin is the queen of passive aggressive posts.  Totally aimed at Alyssa.  Of course she is jealous of the house.  Also probably even more jealous that Alyssa can have more children and she can't.

Meanwhile Alyssa is probably smiling and thinking how karma is a bitch. Payback for all those years she slaved away as a sister mom while Princess Erin got to focus on her music.

Edited April 1, 2021 by 3 is enough

[65mickey]

if you live along the coast in GA, Fl or any other coastal areas prone to floods  you don't have a basement. Bonus rooms yes but no basements. 

[Jeanne222]

4 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

Erin is the queen of passive aggressive posts.  Totally aimed at Alyssa.  Of course she is jealous of the house.  Also probably even more jealous that Alyssa can have more children and she can't.

Meanwhile Alyssa is probably smiling and thinking how karma is a bitch. Payback for all those years she slaved away as a sister mom while Princess Erin got to focus on her music.

Erin can’t have more children?  I thought she was pregnant again!

[3 is enough]

17 minutes ago, Jeanne222 said:

Erin can’t have more children?  I thought she was pregnant again!

Whitney, Tori, and Josie are currently pregnant. 

Erin had some gynecological issues and had to have one ovary and part of the other one removed.  She is going through perimenopause, and it is very unlikely that she will be able to get pregnant again.  She claims it is due to COVID complications- but I am not totally convinced that is true.  

[cereality]

Damn Erin is kind of mean as that does read like it’s directed at Alyssa. Like Alyssa needs to stop worrying about posting pics of her perfectly dressed children, put down her phone, and read to the kids, let them dance as she plays piano, make s’mores, let them run thru the yard. Granted Alyssa’s children do seem more prissy and if they were doing some of this fun stuff we’d see pics just as we do of the weekly perfect church dresses. But does Erin live with them? How does she know there aren’t fun backyard games or s’mores happening or bedtime stories and maybe J/A ARE putting the phone down and that’s why you aren’t seeing pics?!

And what now Erin — you can only have 4 kids so no need to groom them or provide them more than 2 ft each of living space and no need to discipline — they can just run wild barefoot chasing the chickens bc you’re pissed you won’t have 10 more kids?!

IIRC the sibling/friend subgroup breaks down into Alyssa close w Trace, Josie, Zach, Michaela (IDK how much they have in common but she seems to respect Michael as she’s shared news of pregnancies privately bc she understood it may be hard for her), and maybe Katie. IDK who Erin is even close with — I think Carlin and maybe Tori and that’s it. Interesting that the ones that are more industrious (minus Katie and maybe Trace to an extent) ended up tight and the lazy, whiny, good for nothing ones also ended up tight. 

 

 

 

 

[BitterApple]

I agree with all the above.

I think Alyssa is vain and way too image-conscious, but I also think she and John work pretty hard and have a right to be proud of what they've achieved. I'm not saying Chad and Erin are lazy, but the choices they've made have kept them stuck in a tiny rental, stacking kids up like firewood. 

The whole matchy-matchy aesthetic Alyssa likes to project isn't my cup of tea either, but I don't think it makes her a bad mother nor does it mean her kids aren't as happy as those who grow up in a more free-range style of household. 

Maybe Erin's okay with her circumstances, who knows, but IMO, that post read like a hit piece directed towards her sister. 

[emmawoodhouse]

1 hour ago, Jeanne222 said:

Erin can’t have more children?  I thought she was pregnant again!

Erin had one full ovary and 2/3 of the other removed. It's unlikely she will have more children. You may have confused her with Whitney, Tori, or Josie who are all pregnant.

[cereality]

Alyssa strikes me as a combo of a girly-girl and a woman who just did not have a lot of nice things growing up so now she wants what she does have to be perfect and she's willing to work hard to make that happen. I think it's a lot of why all her kids must be perfectly attired and clean with their hair done and for god's sake she even tries to coax them to wear "matching" jewelry when they are going somewhere special -- i.e. no don't wear the tacky yellow bracelet with your pink dress, don't you think the tacky pink one matches better?

And the same is true for her home. She has 4 young kids but from what we've seen from her IG videos etc. she keeps a pretty pristine home. Hell even Gill knows how much Alyssa hates it if you mess up her house or even her plans like messing up the food platters she's putting together to look nice for a party in advance of said party just bc you couldn't take yourself from eating the fruit or whatever. So when they visit with the younger kids Kelly still won't get off her ass, Gil is the one who literally follows the younger kids around at like a 1 ft distance making sure they don't break or mess up anything; and often he is seen rounding everyone up and he'll even say he wants everyone out of Alyssa's space and at the park -- which undoubtedly is easier for him as he can just set them free to let them run wild rather than having to watch them like a hawk.

I think J&A are no doubt proud of what they accomplish -- this house; the small vacations they take etc. But reality is unlike Princess Erin, they work HARD. John has said he can take no time off in the summer bc in the Florida AC season, if someone calls and you can't send a tech that day, they're calling the next company; he's even been shown going out to jobs at 9 pm bc for commercial jobs like car dealerships etc. they can't just close the dealership or turn off its AC in July so the HVAC crew can work. And not to mention for 1-2 yrs they had a cleaning business too -- John would come home and watch the kids and Alyssa would go out and clean a few offices and an ice cream shop that they had commercial cleaning contracts with. I think they had to set that business aside due to Alyssa's heart surgeries but still it showed a woman willing to roll up her sleeves to work -- at night -- after having wrangled little kids and cleaned her own house all day.

Erin OTOH it's unclear to me what she does at all. I assume she throws the kids boxed pop tarts or instant oatmeal for breakfast and a PBJ for lunch. She hustles the 2 older ones off to Tori's for "school" -- if Tori is still doing that -- if not she plops them in front of devices for "school." The rest of time I do think the kids run wild -- unbathed, ungroomed, barefoot, outside chasing the chickens and "making memories." I think Chad likely gets home by 2-3 pm (bc lots of contractors start the day early and end early) and then it's on him to do what needs to be done + occupy the kids. I think CHAD is the one tending to their thousand animals; throwing in loads of laundry; cooking dinner; cleaning up after dinner; making sure the kids get a bath and then reading to them/playing guitar/or whatever other "making memories" crap Erin requires before putting them to bed; then probably the tasks like paying bills and/or repairing whatever the kids broke in the house. Oh and then he gets to work on her love note which she expects to wake up to EVERY FREAKING MORNING!?

IDK when Erin's surgeries where. To the extent that she's still in pain/recovering, I get it. But my feeling is they were this fall so she is physically better. So is being menopausal/not having any more kids = an excuse not to have to raise the kids you already have or to run your household!? All that "bragging" in those IG post re how her man is "better than her" at cooking, dishes, mopping and laundry = Chad is doing the cooking, dishes, mopping, and laundry, while I sit here miserable that I don't get to have more "blessings" and freaking Alyssa even with her damn heart problem likely does and look she got a better house than me to stack her blessings in too. As ugly of a person as she is, I imagine she sits around feeling superior to Michael though -- I may ONLY have gotten 4 kids but I'm #blessed -- Michael/Brandon got 0.

Edited April 2, 2021 by cereality

[IndianPaintbrush]

I read Erin's post as someone who is trying to come to terms with her health and not having more children. It was definitely passive-aggressive, and more than a little hypocritical given her own track record with social media. Take your own advice and step away from your phone, Erin. And please stop talking to your kids in that little baby voice.

[Spazamanaz]

8 hours ago, cereality said:

Alyssa strikes me as a combo of a girly-girl and a woman who just did not have a lot of nice things growing up so now she wants what she does have to be perfect and she's willing to work hard to make that happen. I think it's a lot of why all her kids must be perfectly attired and clean with their hair done and for god's sake she even tries to coax them to wear "matching" jewelry when they are going somewhere special -- i.e. no don't wear the tacky yellow bracelet with your pink dress, don't you think the tacky pink one matches better?

And the same is true for her home. She has 4 young kids but from what we've seen from her IG videos etc. she keeps a pretty pristine home. Hell even Gill knows how much Alyssa hates it if you mess up her house or even her plans like messing up the food platters she's putting together to look nice for a party in advance of said party just bc you couldn't take yourself from eating the fruit or whatever. So when they visit with the younger kids Kelly still won't get off her ass, Gil is the one who literally follows the younger kids around at like a 1 ft distance making sure they don't break or mess up anything; and often he is seen rounding everyone up and he'll even say he wants everyone out of Alyssa's space and at the park -- which undoubtedly is easier for him as he can just set them free to let them run wild rather than having to watch them like a hawk.

I think J&A are no doubt proud of what they accomplish -- this house; the small vacations they take etc. But reality is unlike Princess Erin, they work HARD. John has said he can take no time off in the summer bc in the Florida AC season, if someone calls and you can't send a tech that day, they're calling the next company; he's even been shown going out to jobs at 9 pm bc for commercial jobs like car dealerships etc. they can't just close the dealership or turn off its AC in July so the HVAC crew can work. And not to mention for 1-2 yrs they had a cleaning business too -- John would come home and watch the kids and Alyssa would go out and clean a few offices and an ice cream shop that they had commercial cleaning contracts with. I think they had to set that business aside due to Alyssa's heart surgeries but still it showed a woman willing to roll up her sleeves to work -- at night -- after having wrangled little kids and cleaned her own house all day.

Erin OTOH it's unclear to me what she does at all. I assume she throws the kids boxed pop tarts or instant oatmeal for breakfast and a PBJ for lunch. She hustles the 2 older ones off to Tori's for "school" -- if Tori is still doing that -- if not she plops them in front of devices for "school." The rest of time I do think the kids run wild -- unbathed, ungroomed, barefoot, outside chasing the chickens and "making memories." I think Chad likely gets home by 2-3 pm (bc lots of contractors start the day early and end early) and then it's on him to do what needs to be done + occupy the kids. I think CHAD is the one tending to their thousand animals; throwing in loads of laundry; cooking dinner; cleaning up after dinner; making sure the kids get a bath and then reading to them/playing guitar/or whatever other "making memories" crap Erin requires before putting them to bed; then probably the tasks like paying bills and/or repairing whatever the kids broke in the house. Oh and then he gets to work on her love note which she expects to wake up to EVERY FREAKING MORNING!?

IDK when Erin's surgeries where. To the extent that she's still in pain/recovering, I get it. But my feeling is they were this fall so she is physically better. So is being menopausal/not having any more kids = an excuse not to have to raise the kids you already have or to run your household!? All that "bragging" in those IG post re how her man is "better than her" at cooking, dishes, mopping and laundry = Chad is doing the cooking, dishes, mopping, and laundry, while I sit here miserable that I don't get to have more "blessings" and freaking Alyssa even with her damn heart problem likely does and look she got a better house than me to stack her blessings in too. As ugly of a person as she is, I imagine she sits around feeling superior to Michael though -- I may ONLY have gotten 4 kids but I'm #blessed -- Michael/Brandon got 0.

Very well said, and you took the words right out of my mouth. I think Alyssa wanted a better life, new clothes instead of homemade prairie dresses, and a clean and tidy home. Imagine growing up in a house with 18 other siblings? The messes, the noise, the housework.  I think maybe that's why she puts so much effort into the way her girls are dressed, no prairie dresses. Also, isn't her father-in-law a congressman? Maybe that has something to do with her idea of how she should represent herself and kids. Maybe she wants her girls to have the things that she never did. 

[Gweilo]

I think that Erin and Alyssa are simply reacting - each in her own specific way - to the trauma that they must have experienced growing up the way they did.

[moonchild81]

erin, carlin and whitney have that online store / erin does have her music too like lawson does

[zenme]

I can see Alyssa’s point of view.  She likes order. She grew up in a chaotic atmosphere with all those kids, and she appreciates calm and order. 

[Tikichick]

On 4/3/2021 at 4:11 AM, Gweilo said:

I think that Erin and Alyssa are simply reacting - each in her own specific way - to the trauma that they must have experienced growing up the way they did.

And both of them are now fostering environments and psychological burdens on their own children that they themselves will either work to replicate or repudiate when they are adults. 

[emmawoodhouse]

Welp, they're using the pool. Not sure how safe this is. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNaapT3FoXU/?igshid=zcgje072r20m

[BitterApple]

Alyssa mentions the girls are starting swim lessons next week, but wow. I'm genuinely shocked she didn't get them into classes earlier, especially Allie. Living in Florida, a majority of friends and families homes are going to have pools. Water safety isn't something I'd slack on in that environment. 

[emmawoodhouse]

It also looks like they're using the fence that came with the house. I thought John said that would be one of the first things he did.

[65mickey]

On the youtube video last week the  tour of the new home, John and the girls were standing by the pool. A bucket had fallen in the pool. John said to the girls someone needs to jump in and get the bucket. I thought stupid thing to say to 3 kids 2 of whom are under 5. 

[cereality]

2 hours ago, 65mickey said:

On the youtube video last week the  tour of the new home, John and the girls were standing by the pool. A bucket had fallen in the pool. John said to the girls someone needs to jump in and get the bucket. I thought stupid thing to say to 3 kids 2 of whom are under 5. 

Wtf - and you especially don’t say that to 3 kids without proper swimming training, as Alyssa said that they’re starting swim classes this or next week?! Like haha funny dad joke and of course if anyone tried to jump in to get the bucket he’d stop them. But what happens when one day dad is at work, Alyssa is in the bathroom or putting the baby down, the kids sneak out and throw or drop something in the pool but then are like nah we don’t need to wait for mom/dad to get it for us or mom/dad will yell at us for being out here in the first place, one of us can just get it quick and they never have to know. These ppl act like that haven’t spent their lives around 8000 kids . . . .

[floridamom]

I watched a You Tube of one of the girls' birthday. Sorry to say I didn't see any friends outside of their cousins in attendance. It was merely a commercial for their family brand..."thanks for watching!"...what kid is forced to say this at their birthday party?

[curbcrusher]

22 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Welp, they're using the pool. Not sure how safe this is. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNaapT3FoXU/?igshid=zcgje072r20m

Exactly what is unsafe about this?

There are 2 adults (mom holding the baby, and I think it's save to assume dad taking the pic), four kids. No one is in the pool, and everyone seems to be paying attention.

I'm not a fan of the "water wing" floats that two of the girls are wearing, and if I was engaging in hyperbole (which I often do when I watch parents ignore a kid wearing the stupid floats), I'd talk about the false sense of security they offer and how many kids drown wearing them, but realistically there is nothing unsafe going on here.

[Tdoc72]

On 4/9/2021 at 4:54 AM, sATL said:

I think it is more behind the story with Zach. Possible thoughts

1 - If his police dept does some kind of physical/health check - not as much as the academy but something - he his probably not meeting that standard. When he said he only chases criminals a few feet and sits in a car all day eating pizza , that just didn't sound right...what if he has to do backup - he could be a liability to his partner, not to mention himself. I still question could he actually pull the trigger towards a human..

2- Does a sheriff  actually spend their entire career, sitting in a patrol car, 12 hrs a day? If could work a 8hr shift , would he stay?  How many stripes and/or commendations does he wear on his uniform ? Seems like its time for him to move up/lateral, if anything to make room for newbies and the experienced move on... he might not be doing much to move himself along. He was ambitious enough to get the job, but then perhaps became stagnant. 

3- Sheriff dept, like some state/city dept offices, do have layoffs, RIFs, early retirements, eliminate open positions, realignment - esp. with the reduction in tax revenues going into the 2021 budget year.  As much as we love Zach - I can see him being an easy target if the head financial person , had to make a decision.  And given all that was going on in the summer of 2020 - some law enforcement did make career decisions for personal conviction reasons.

4- I do see Gil/Whitney being a little whiny-bug in his ear. Gil isn't getting younger and needs/wants #1 son (jury is still out with sons #2-#4)  to take over the tree business, as there are a few sons (and possible future SILs)  who need to serve their tree-time. Gil probably had to turn down a few jobs as people were a home and paying attention to their property more. If  Zach wanted to "get fit" there are a plethora of things to do, besides the tree business, starting with picking up an apple and putting down the pizza. I think Gil believes a person should only be non-self employed for 10 years max b/c that is what he did - so he says. Whitney has has Kelli in her ear, whining, how you need you man at home when the kids get up and go to bed. 

And Zach - I got news for you - the last yard guy that appeared in our yard, huffing , puffing & out of shape in GA high-humid summer and called himself doing yard work - we let him go.

5- RE: benefits. I guess I am wondering just how deep is his benefit pkg currently. Its not like he's leaving a major city force - so is there really a partially vested pension? Was he doing any kind of 401k or taking advantage of other benefits - like life ins? And I don't know how this family does it -  but health care ins, doesn't seem to be a concern . And like the same point I said above about Michealla - getting paid time off for holidays isn't a benefit to them - they will rather go unpaid (or quit) before they have to work on a Bates-Holiday.

I wondered if he would need some type of degree to move up further in law enforcement that he doesn’t have. Whatever the exact reason, I personally think it was a mistake.

9 hours ago, curbcrusher said:

Exactly what is unsafe about this?

There are 2 adults (mom holding the baby, and I think it's save to assume dad taking the pic), four kids. No one is in the pool, and everyone seems to be paying attention.

I'm not a fan of the "water wing" floats that two of the girls are wearing, and if I was engaging in hyperbole (which I often do when I watch parents ignore a kid wearing the stupid floats), I'd talk about the false sense of security they offer and how many kids drown wearing them, but realistically there is nothing unsafe going on here.

I agree that pic is fine. But if you have time, watch the birthday video. Near the end, the 3 year old is alone on the porch with the pool fence wide open, while Alyssa is in the living room w/John and the baby.  Alyssa says the party’s over and there is no one else there.  So dangerous!

[Spazamanaz]

On 4/10/2021 at 4:32 PM, curbcrusher said:

Exactly what is unsafe about this?

There are 2 adults (mom holding the baby, and I think it's save to assume dad taking the pic), four kids. No one is in the pool, and everyone seems to be paying attention.

I'm not a fan of the "water wing" floats that two of the girls are wearing, and if I was engaging in hyperbole (which I often do when I watch parents ignore a kid wearing the stupid floats), I'd talk about the false sense of security they offer and how many kids drown wearing them, but realistically there is nothing unsafe going on here.

I agree, I would rather see the kids in life jackets/vests rather than those water wings. Other than that, I don't see a problem.  Their kids are pretty well behaved and do listen to Alyssa and John, they are not hard to handle children (from my observation anyhow). And who's to say that they are alone, other family could be around, just not in the picture.

You are right, there is nothing unsafe here.