Alyssa and John: Lunch with Lurch

[andromeda331]

6 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Saving what? They lived pretty extravagantly when they were still renting. John can't be making THAT much. 

I was wondering how much John makes with all the spending they do. A lot of trips and nice stuff. Also Alyssa wants a second house in Utah? Anyone have any guesses on how much John makes?

[GeeGolly]

I'm going to guess John makes enough to support a middle class life and the SM and UPTV income is the 'fun money', and likely some of what they saved toward the house. Does anyone know if they have a mortgage?

[floridamom]

I hope Alyssa isn't nagging John to move back to Tennessee. She would be an idiot to want that. Her pushy family would always be a problem for her. She said she liked a quieter lifestyle. Here in Florida, where John has a good J.O.B., she can have that. His family business is here and a/c repair/install is a MUST down here..they are very busy most of the year which equals $$$. They just bought a house that they dumped  "mucho dinero" into. One thing is, it's a 3 bedroom with a guest room downstairs..if she keeps on having more children, this house will become too small for them  for lack of bedrooms.

I agree that a drink now and then is not going to lead you to become a hopeless alcoholic. Why do John and Alyssa have this extreme opinion? Nothing wrong with choosing not to drink at all but his explanation was ridiculous. They don't trust themselves one bit, do they?This is not being a responsible adult IMO.

[Dehumidifier]

The labor on their renovations was provided by her brothers, probably for free. The cost of materials on a reno is negligible in most cases, compared to the cost of manpower.

[3 is enough]

I really have no idea how expensive it is to live in Florida, but it is one of the states with no income tax so that is one expense they don’t have. Also, early in their marriage they did have that cleaning business so I don’t think it is inconceivable that they were able to save for a down payment on a house.  
I still think she gets a lot of free stuff from her Instagram promotions and they do make some money from their YouTube videos.  So along with his salary, which is hardly minimum wage, they probably do ok for themselves, but I am guessing they come off looking more prosperous than they actually are.  

[GeeGolly]

I have family that live all over FL. The cost of living is way cheaper than New England, so depending on your job it can feel very inexpensive to live there.

[BitterApple]

Their current house was a total gut job, so they probably got it for a steal. I doubt they paid cash, but I agree they would've had money for a solid down payment. As far as affording a second home? I think that's dream more than reality. I think the Websters are comfortably middle class but not balling to the extent that they can afford two mortgages, two property taxes, two homeowner's insurance policies, etc. They've also mentioned being terrible at budgeting which means they spend (or overspend) the bulk of the money that comes in. I wonder what they have, if anything, in retirement and investments.

 

[emmawoodhouse]

Being "terrible at budgeting" (Alyssa's words) is why I question how they saved for a down payment. Have you seen her closet? Her 100 pairs of shoes? Surely those weren't all gifts from Tikky.

[Dehumidifier]

2 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Being "terrible at budgeting" (Alyssa's words) is why I question how they saved for a down payment. Have you seen her closet? Her 100 pairs of shoes? Surely those weren't all gifts from Tikky.

She hit it big at the Payless going out of business sale.

[3 is enough]

To be fair she does seem to do a lot of shopping at Ross, TJ Maxx and other discount stores. Because she is so tiny she has more luck because those stores usually have more of the 0’s and XS sizes in stock.  And while the girls have lots of Sunday outfits courtesy of Tikky, I have seen them wearing the same outfits multiple times for everyday activities in her Instagram stories.  

Also, they don’t go crazy for birthdays or Christmas.  Last Christmas the girls each got one gift ( a pair of sneakers) and their stockings. 

[So unbelievable]

What city do they live in Florida?  I've never heard where. 

[emmawoodhouse]

3 minutes ago, So unbelievable said:

What city do they live in Florida?  I've never heard where. 

Clermont. A suburb of Orlando.

[So unbelievable]

52 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Clermont. A suburb of Orlando.

Many thanks @emmawoodhouse.  

It is frightening how easy it is to find things online.  

They bought the house for $263,000 and looks like they mortgage $210, 000 of that.  
It is a bigger house than mine, but not as huge as some probably think.  

Some websites say 3 bedrooms, one says 5 bed, 3 bath, 2687 sq feet.  Maybe 2 rooms are unfinished and could be bedrooms.  Not much less than other houses in the area.

[Tdoc72]

38 minutes ago, So unbelievable said:

Many thanks @emmawoodhouse.  

It is frightening how easy it is to find things online.  

They bought the house for $263,000 and looks like they mortgage $210, 000 of that.  
It is a bigger house than mine, but not as huge as some probably think.  

Some websites say 3 bedrooms, one says 5 bed, 3 bath, 2687 sq feet.  Maybe 2 rooms are unfinished and could be bedrooms.  Not much less than other houses in the area.

I think 4 bedrooms. 3 upstairs (1 is the master) and 1 guest bedroom downstairs. I don’t know of any other space that could be another bedroom and she’s shown all of the house. 

[emmawoodhouse]

I suppose the school room could have been a fifth bedroom. Or was it originally the family room? The layout of that place confuses me.

[BitterApple]

Yeah, I'm not sure where the fifth bedroom would be unless they're counting that crawl space below the stairs, lol. I looked up the house online, and it's amazing how perspective changes things. All of Alyssa's pics and videos show the house close-up, making it look huge, but from the street view, it's not that big at all. I think the current school room was the original formal living. The garage takes up the front left half, so the rooms are basically a straight shot down the right (living, dining, kitchen with family and bed on the back left). 

I agree it's scary how easy it was to find. It would certainly make me think twice about plastering my kids all over social media. 

[emmawoodhouse]

That's the DINNING room! 😂

[Tdoc72]

21 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I suppose the school room could have been a fifth bedroom. Or was it originally the family room? The layout of that place confuses me.

A realtor told me once that it would have to have a closet to be considered a bedroom. I agree with whoever said the school room was probably a formal living room. 

[So unbelievable]

21 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I suppose the school room could have been a fifth bedroom. Or was it originally the family room? The layout of that place confuses me.

Me too.  I think that big tall entrance/stairway gives the illusion of it being much bigger.  

[MMLEsq]

11 hours ago, Tdoc72 said:

A realtor told me once that it would have to have a closet to be considered a bedroom. I agree with whoever said the school room was probably a formal living room. 

I've heard a closet and a properly-sized window or door to the exterior (some way to get directly to the outside in the event of a fire).

[lookeyloo]

1 hour ago, MMLEsq said:

I've heard a closet and a properly-sized window or door to the exterior (some way to get directly to the outside in the event of a fire).

Depends on locality. In our former city there were garden homes on “zero lot lines” and some bedrooms didn’t have windows.  Our friend said she liked it because it was conducive to her sleeping. Also - people put beds in different places not necessarily official bedrooms. I spend a lot of time on Zillow when I am bored and it is surprising how a house listed as 3 bedrooms will have beds in unusual places. So maybe for official listings but not how some people use the space 

[floridamom]

If Alyssa has 8 children like she seems to be plannin on, almost any regular house will be too small for a family of 10....Time to move....to Tennessee? Maybe that's what's up her sleeve.

[65mickey]

I thought she said early on that she wanted six.  Depending on the sex of the children a 4 bedroom house should be plenty large enough. 

[IndianPaintbrush]

I had to chuckle at Alyssa's dream birthday gift of a cordless Dyson vacuum. It's funny that her astrological sign is Scorpio, because she seems like a classic Virgo to me.

[GeeGolly]

In our area to be listed as a bedroom it must have a closet and two sources of egress. Almost all homes in our area have basements. To legally use the basement for sleeping it needs a bulkhead door or windows that an adult can climb out of, in addition to the stairs to the main floor.

I don't know what the codes are in FL. Anyway Alyssa and her siblings were stacked on top of each other until her parents were forced to finish building the unusable half of house the Duggars left them with. And she just lived in a two bedroom with four kids. I'm sure she'll stack bunk beds in the bedrooms, when the time comes.

[ginger90]

21 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

I don't know what the codes are in FL.

 

[lookeyloo]

46 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

 

To count as a bedroom, must comply.  But, people put beds in other places, use screens, etc. and maybe don't call them bedrooms but people sleep there.  

[SongbirdHollow]

On 11/13/2021 at 3:51 PM, ginger90 said:

 

I’m kind of surprised at the closet requirement. Closets are relatively modern inventions. People used wardrobes or other furniture. 

[ginger90]

24 minutes ago, SongbirdHollow said:

I’m kind of surprised at the closet requirement. Closets are relatively modern inventions. People used wardrobes or other furniture. 

It’s not a code everywhere. This was based on Florida code.

[3 is enough]

Alyssa just posted in her stories that Allie has been making lunch for her sisters all week and she is "so proud". Allie says it is fun. 

FFS she is SIX.  

The cycle continues.

ETA:  I am not opposed to age-appropriate chores for kids.  Making their beds in the morning, setting the table, cleaning up their toys, even "watch your baby sister while I go to the bathroom" are all fine.  And if Allie volunteered to do the lunches that is ok too but if she gets fed up she should be able to stop.

Edited November 19, 2021 by 3 is enough

[AgathaC]

It can make kids feel very big and important to help younger kids so I’m not surprised Allie thinks it’s fun. As the oldest in my family, I certainly did a lot of helping my sisters and don’t feel I suffered for it. It helped me learn responsibility and strengthened my relationships with the younger ones. But I wasn’t one of umpteen kids and there was no doubt my parents did the real work. It was more like a quick “hey, I’m in the middle of cooking dinner. Can you change X’s diaper please?” My oldest niece helps out a lot but she’s 14. Given the philosophy of these families, it’s hard to see Allie’s caretaking chores as just a little girl pitching in and learning age-appropriate skills. It has the whiff of indoctrination. I would hope this will not be a requirement and a job for her. But I’m not optimistic.

Edited November 19, 2021 by AgathaC

[Absolom]

9 minutes ago, AgathaC said:

Given the philosophy of these families, it’s hard to see Allie’s caretaking chores as just a little girl pitching in and learning age-appropriate skills. It has the whiff of indoctrination. I would hope this will not be a requirement and a job for her. But I’m not optimistic.

I agree.  My granddaughter at age 6 last summer "made lunch" a few times for herself and her older brother.   She was quite proud of herself.  No one in our family thinks it's appropriate for that to be her job and we teeter between praising her for being independent and being rather aghast that the kids got that hungry before an adult attended to making a meal.  

[ozziemom]

2 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

Alyssa just posted in her stories that Allie has been making lunch for her sisters all week and she is "so proud". Allie says it is fun. 

FFS she is SIX.  

The cycle continues.

ETA:  I am not opposed to age-appropriate chores for kids.  Making their beds in the morning, setting the table, cleaning up their toys, even "watch your baby sister while I go to the bathroom" are all fine.  And if Allie volunteered to do the lunches that is ok too but if she gets fed up she should be able to stop.

Yeah Allie, it’s fun now, but you’re looking at 20 years of meal prep, until you have your own daughter to take over. Alyssa may not have 19 kids, but she certainly is following KJ ways. 

[SMama]

2 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

Alyssa just posted in her stories that Allie has been making lunch for her sisters all week and she is "so proud". Allie says it is fun. 

FFS she is SIX.  

The cycle continues.

ETA:  I am not opposed to age-appropriate chores for kids.  Making their beds in the morning, setting the table, cleaning up their toys, even "watch your baby sister while I go to the bathroom" are all fine.  And if Allie volunteered to do the lunches that is ok too but if she gets fed up she should be able to stop.

Alyssa is her mother’s daughter.

[BitterApple]

1 hour ago, SMama said:

Alyssa is her mother’s daughter.

She sure is. 

 

[SMama]

7 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

She sure is. 

 

Alyssa claims she doesn’t want 19 kids. Since Allie is such a helper I can see Alyssa being OK with being a Pez dispenser like her mother.

 

[ozziemom]

5 hours ago, SMama said:

Alyssa claims she doesn’t want 19 kids. Since Allie is such a helper I can see Alyssa being OK with being a Pez dispenser like her mother.

 

They will be trying for a boy and then a brother for the boy soon. Alyssa is only about 27 so plenty of time for another 4-5 kids. Plus Lexi and Zoey will be ready to start cooking and cleaning very soon. Allie is already roommates with Maci so she has practice with infant care.

[GeeGolly]

Allie needs to learn to be careful what she learns to do, because it may well become her job. 

[andromeda331]

16 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Allie needs to learn to be careful what she learns to do, because it may well become her job. 

I think that's exactly what Alyssa has in mind.

[Dimi1]

Alyssa is my least fave of all the fundie ladies....

[cereality]

Alyssa seems intent on torturing her husband and her husband seems intent on going with it because as long as the girls are being raised how I want, as a good man I have to do what Alyssa says. She posted that the usual ~9 hr trip from Orlando to Knox took them all day Saturday and into Saturday night!? I mean obviously because of the post holiday rush. But given that this man did like ~35 hrs of driving like a month ago for Nathan's wedding and Katie's baby shower and had Alyssa drive the last 4 hrs of the 15+ hr overnight trip from NJ to Orlando and physically looked ill in the last stretch of that drive, they REALLY couldn't chill at home Sat/Sunday and drive to Tenn on Monday??

I know it'd mean one less day of sitting in the salons with her mom and sisters for the 1000th time tossing her hair, but damn is her husband no where in her priority order?? I mean they had friends visit from Thanksgiving from Wed-Friday, those friends leave Fri and they hit the road Sat morning? Why not chill Sat/Sunday, pack, John can watch football etc. and THEN drive? I mean is 6 days of wedding "fun" not enough for you, do you really need 7? Though she doesn't care she's chilling now without her kids as she and the bridesmaids and Mama B are at the salon again and the kids are likely being watched by whoever at G&K's house.

Edited November 29, 2021 by cereality

[ozziemom]

25 minutes ago, cereality said:

Alyssa seems intent on torturing her husband and her husband seems intent on going with it because as long as the girls are being raised how I want, as a good man I have to do with Alyssa says. She posted that the usual ~9 hr trip from Orlando to Knox took them all day Saturday and into Saturday night!? I mean obviously because of the post holiday rush. But given that this man did like ~35 hrs of driving like a month ago for Nathan's wedding and Katie's baby shower and had Alyssa drive the last 4 hrs of the 15+ hr overnight trip from NJ to Orlando and physically looked ill in the last stretch of that drive, they REALLY couldn't chill at home Sat/Sunday and drive to Tenn on Monday??

I know it'd mean one less day of sitting in the salons with her mom and sisters for the 1000th time tossing her hair, but damn is her husband no where in her priority order?? I mean they had friends visit from Thanksgiving from Wed-Friday, those friends leave Fri and they hit the road Sat morning? Why not chill Sat/Sunday, pack, John can watch football etc. and THEN drive? I mean is 6 days of wedding "fun" not enough for you, do you really need 7? Though she doesn't care she's chilling now without her kids as she and the bridesmaids and Mama B are at the salon again and the kids are likely being watched by whoever at G&K's house.

I guess if you’re a Bates you don’t realize all the people with regular jobs and school generally travel on the Saturday or Sunday after Thanksgiving. And all this wedding hoopla is more of the same, but I would not be surprised if Alyssa plays the “cos of you I live sooooo far from my family” card. What is John doing while all this wedding fun happens? I also doubt that the Webster girls have done any schooling recently and probably won’t until 2022.

[floridamom]

I see no need for 6 'pre-wedding days' of activities. It's not like this is her only sister OR sibling who will be getting married....a wedding happens every other month with these people. Doesn't her husband have to work? Who is answering the a/c-heat calls at the office? How much can John's brothers spread themselves around the greater Orlando area? Selfish, immature woman.

On another note, I think it was the Thanksgiving video I viewed but I was absolutely shocked at the filthy oven that Alyssa has in her brand new kitchen - brand new appliances included. That oven is new and it's filthy. She never cleans what really needs to get clean, does she? I'd be embarrassed for my oven to be seen on public videos if I were her. I also was quite surprised that she didn't just get a TURKEY for Thanksgiving...why did she cook all of those wings instead? Wings don't have much meat on them. It would have been easier for a whole turkey to be roasting in the oven. My opinion is that she doesn't know how to roast one. Thanksgiving at the Webster house looked more like a commercial for their family instead of a family/friend holiday dinner. Her children don't know how to eat properly either. Terrible table manners. Most of the girls are old enough to eat properly. I don't think she ever will teach them proper table manners. Sorry to type these things but it's what I noticed from the video. John must be exhausted most of the time. Alyssa should try and to out to work a real job for 6 months and see how she feels at the end of the day and week. John is stupid IMO for not opening his mouth when needed.

[65mickey]

Roasting a turkey is the easiest thing to do. Take it out of the bag wash it off pat it dry smear it with butter, salt and pepper and poultry seasoning put it in the oven and bake it for the recommended time. Done! Much easier than frying wings. Maybe John's family doesn't like turkey or maybe someone else brought the turkey and it was just out of camera range. Who knows? As far as driving all day Saturday no I would not do this on the Saturday after Thanksgiving but then in my younger days I probably would have. They seem to have a lot of energy.

[BitterApple]

I was watching Alyssa's Instagram stories, and I swear she complains more about her kids than any parent I've seen in my life. They're in the car on their way to a dress fitting and she mentions John went out with her brothers. She states she has the girls all day, and then pans the camera to her daughters and snottily says "Oh, joy." Nice.

I get that everyone needs an occasional break, but when is Alyssa really ever on her own? She has siblings and friends rotating in and out of her house constantly, and John's family helps. She went to Miami with Katie, and did the Bachelorette trip so it's not like she never gets any kid-free time. John has been driving all over creation for these events, not to mention working his regular job, so you'd think Alyssa wouldn't be such a bitch over the poor guy taking ONE day to have fun with the boys. He's certainly earned it.

[3 is enough]

I saw that too. I just don’t get it. No one held a gun to her head and forced her to have 4 kids in the space of 6 years. It was all her idea- I really get the impression John would have been happy to wait longer between babies or even stop at 2 or 3.  This was all on Alyssa, so now she should shut up and look after her daughters.

[Gweilo]

Alyssa. There's this thing called daycare/kindergarten/school. It's wonderful when you're an overwhelmed parent, and it's such a benefit to your children, too. Ignore your Father in Law's stupid beliefs (Hint: If a man is extolling homeschooling, chances are he does not do the homeschooling)

You're clearly going to keep having babies until you get your boy (+ a spare), so John, start using contraception.

[BitterApple]

I was watching Alyssa's stories today. Trigger warning for English majors: her captions are a nightmare. If you're a stickler for grammar, proceed with caution. 

Anyhoo, her friend came over to help address Christmas cards and ended up writing all of them while Alyssa did...who knows what. This same friend was also featured in a previous post folding the family's laundry. I'm just curious as to why these women bend over backwards to be Alyssa's flunkie? She doesn't strike me as a particularly warm, kind or generous person (unless she's entirely different off-camera). I'm not sure what it is about her that makes it such a privilege to be her "friend." 

I've helped people countless times when they've been sick, injured, post-partum, grieving or struggling for whatever reason, but I can't imagine doing chores for someone while they sip coffee and browse Instagram. For as much as Alyssa portrays herself as the most overworked housewife ever, she sure has a lot of help. 

[3 is enough]

I saw that too.  She's always getting help with something, but I can't recall her ever reciprocating.  No time to fold her laundry, but always has full makeup.  

Eventually all of these "friends" are going to get fed up.  

Oh, and Christmas cards?  You don't have to send them.  It's a dying tradition anyhow. 

[SMama]

4 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

Oh, and Christmas cards?  You don't have to send them.  It's a dying tradition anyhow. 

But how is she going to make the masses jealous of her perfect family?