Alyssa and John: Lunch with Lurch

[andromeda331]

On 3/2/2024 at 6:54 AM, 65mickey said:

I thought that he tried working in the office before and he didn't like it and said he was happy to get back out in the field. Kelly and Gil sure did impress upon her children that the husbands need to work from home. So far only Kelton and Bobby seem to be able to hold down a job away from the home. But I don't have any idea what Trace, and the other recently married guy do for a living.  

I wish one of their children or daughter/son-in-law would impress on Kelly and Gil not ever job can be done from home and they wouldn't know anything about it anyways since they supported their family by grifting from other peoples hard earn money. I/we intend to support our family ourselves with a job. Thank you very much.  

 

[65mickey]

I wonder if part of Alyssa's problem is that she is turning 30 this year and her 10 wedding anniversary is coming up and she has 5 kids ranging in age from 1 -9 maybe she is just worn out and sees her youth slipping away in her mind anyway and sees no out. It's kind of curious that after this last child John is now working from home. It's been my theory all along that having babies doesn't solve problems like depression it just adds to the problem. I bet that Alyssa has some resentment to being cooped up in the house with 5 kids home schooling some and taking care of a toddler and an infant. She probably feels exhausted and trapped. I know I would.  It's so sad that some of the Bates girls see themselves as breeding machines and they don't enjoy the best years of their lives.

[Dimi1]

1 hour ago, 65mickey said:

I wonder if part of Alyssa's problem is that she is turning 30 this year and her 10 wedding anniversary is coming up and she has 5 kids ranging in age from 1 -9 maybe she is just worn out and sees her youth slipping away in her mind anyway and sees no out. It's kind of curious that after this last child John is now working from home. It's been my theory all along that having babies doesn't solve problems like depression it just adds to the problem. I bet that Alyssa has some resentment to being cooped up in the house with 5 kids home schooling some and taking care of a toddler and an infant. She probably feels exhausted and trapped. I know I would.  It's so sad that some of the Bates girls see themselves as breeding machines and they don't enjoy the best years of their lives.

could be...but I think it has to do with her heart issues/health...those girls have been trained to have babies, stay at home/ home school... so they know no different...

so far - Michael, Erin, Carlin, Alyssa and Josie have health issues...can't remember if there are others...it really is a shame to push your body like that as a young women...it seems they are tolerating it  in their  20's...but eventually time takes it's toll....  

[BitterApple]

Don't forget Katie. She was seeing a specialist throughout her entire pregnancy, had postpartum issues and then the kidney stones. 

I can't remember if Tori has the clotting disorder or not, but these women are putting their bodies through so much stress. I hate to think how it's going through catch up to them once they hit middle age. 

[3 is enough]

Tori does have the clotting disorder. The only one to escape it is Alyssa but she has the heart condition plus she gets really sick during pregnancy, to the point where she finds it difficult to function. I think she needed an IV when she was pregnant with Rhett because she was so dehydrated.

They should all count their blessings and stop but of course that is not going to happen.🙄

[Natalie68]

So maybe this is the goddesses way of telling the Bates girls to slow their roll.

[Salacious Kitty]

7 minutes ago, Natalie68 said:

So maybe this is the goddesses way of telling the Bates girls to slow their roll.

They'll keep birthing babies until they drop dead. Alyssa may look exhausted, but she's probably got 3 more kids to go before she totally wears out. 

[65mickey]

But the question is why do the husbands want this for their wives? Do they really want their wives and the mother of their children to be worn out tired and depressed in their late 20's and 30's? It is mystery to me why anyone thinks this is a good life.  

[Salacious Kitty]

15 minutes ago, 65mickey said:

But the question is why do the husbands want this for their wives? Do they really want their wives and the mother of their children to be worn out tired and depressed in their late 20's and 30's? It is mystery to me why anyone thinks this is a good life.  

It's only bad until the oldest daughters can pick up the slack of sister momming and housework. Isn't Allie almost 9? I'm sure she's been roped into this role for a couple of years now. 

[AgathaC]

14 hours ago, 65mickey said:

But the question is why do the husbands want this for their wives? Do they really want their wives and the mother of their children to be worn out tired and depressed in their late 20's and 30's? It is mystery to me why anyone thinks this is a good life.  

My guess? At least part of it is the cult mindset: the focus is on birthing babies. Creating warriors for Christ. Not much thought goes into “should” (or what will happen once they’re here). Also, I get the impression that a fair amount of their masculinity is tied up in how many children they can sire. The physical, mental and emotional well-being of the women isn’t high on the list of priorities.

Besides, I don’t think empathy is something their cult rates all that high when it comes to traits you want to instill in your kids. Some may have it naturally. But some of these people grow up to be incredibly selfish, self-centered and downright cruel.

For girls, they’re taught their only value comes from popping out kids. The first time some of these girls get extended, positive attention is when they’re getting married. Then when they get pregnant. Gotta keep it going or you become irrelevant.

[Notabug]

15 hours ago, 65mickey said:

But the question is why do the husbands want this for their wives? Do they really want their wives and the mother of their children to be worn out tired and depressed in their late 20's and 30's? It is mystery to me why anyone thinks this is a good life.  

The husbands don't think of their role in this way.  It is their job to lead the family, make the important decisions, be a good provider.  If their wife is depressed, tired or worn out; that is her problem to solve.  She needs to pray harder, get the older daughters on the production line to keep things running smoothly.  Women are told from childhood that they must 'keep sweet'; always present a happy face and agreeable personality to their headship, no matter what.  She is letting him down if not doing so and that is just one more item on her list of things to change.

These people seem to be generally quite skeptical of modern psychology/psychiatry and would be unlikely to recognize, let alone acknowledge depression.  I'm sure the husband would find it his duty to point out his wife's failings and maybe tell her to ask her mother or sisters for some help; but I don't think that most of these fundie husbands see themselves as co-leaders of a team along with their wives nor do they think it is their role to pitch in when things get hard on the homefront.

Edited March 5 by Notabug

[farmgal4]

I have zero respect for these people who don’t want more kids but have them anyway because Jesus.  Shame on them and God help the children who are treated poorly and neglected because of this insane mentality.

[Dimi1]

Alyssa posted a vid on YouTube...she visits her grandparents with Rhett and John takes care of the girls....since we are in PT red flag jail Im not sure what I can and cannot say...so just go have a look for yourself...

[floridamom]

I agree with Dimi1....I am afraid to post any opinions thatI may have. Thank you to all who go ahead and post as I appreciate reading all different opinions and points of view on these sites.

[Salacious Kitty]

16 minutes ago, Dimi1 said:

Alyssa posted a vid on YouTube...she visits her grandparents with Rhett and John takes care of the girls....since we are in PT red flag jail Im not sure what I can and cannot say...so just go have a look for yourself...

I say what I want. I just try to be respectful of others' points of view. I think that is all they want. That if there are disagreements we handle them like adults. I think we already do that. 😀

[BitterApple]

I just watched the video. 

I predict John won't last a month working from home. He had to take care of his kids for a whooping three days and seemed totally over it eight hours in. 

When the video started, I was laughing at Alyssa telling her audience how tough it is to leave John and the girls. She couldn't get out of there fast enough. That was the happiest and most animated I've seen her in months. I will say, the bond she has with Bill and Jane is very sweet, and that was nice of her to clean the entire house. I'm sorry to say that Bill isn't looking too good. I don't know if they have a visiting nurse or what, but I'm surprised they haven't had to move him to a care home, especially with his worsening dementia. 

[Heathen]

8 hours ago, BitterApple said:

I just watched the video. 

I predict John won't last a month working from home. He had to take care of his kids for a whooping three days and seemed totally over it eight hours in. 

When the video started, I was laughing at Alyssa telling her audience how tough it is to leave John and the girls. She couldn't get out of there fast enough. That was the happiest and most animated I've seen her in months. I will say, the bond she has with Bill and Jane is very sweet, and that was nice of her to clean the entire house. I'm sorry to say that Bill isn't looking too good. I don't know if they have a visiting nurse or what, but I'm surprised they haven't had to move him to a care home, especially with his worsening dementia. 

They may not be able to afford assisted living or a nursing home for him. Both of those are damned expensive, and Medicare does not cover it all. There may also be a waiting list for facilities that Medicare does cover. 

[3 is enough]

I’m not sure where they live in South Carolina, but care homes may be few and far between in their area, and there may be a waiting list. Also, they are expensive. It’s possible they can’t afford it. Bill’s dementia would keep him from being accepted into assisted care and Jane would not be able to move into a memory care facility with him, so staying on the farm keeps them together.

To be fair bringing all 5 kids would create more chaos than Bill can handle, although Alyssa probably didn’t need an excuse to leave the girls at home.

I guess great minds think alike. 😉 As I was typing this @Heathen posted to the same effect. 

I had a  similar experience with my mother. Fortunately she was in Canada and care was more reasonably priced, but we did have to deal with waiting lists. 

Edited March 9 by 3 is enough

[Absolom]

1 hour ago, Heathen said:

They may not be able to afford assisted living or a nursing home for him. Both of those are damned expensive, and Medicare does not cover it all. There may also be a waiting list for facilities that Medicare does cover. 

He may very well need memory care which is usually private pay or Medicaid. It was thousands a month for my mother for 7.5 years. Also he may be very resistant to going into a facility. Medicare does not pay for assisted living or memory care. To go into a SNF he would need actual nursing care and Medicare only covers that after a hospitalization and with a strict limit.

[ginger90]

[AstridM]

How precious and neat!

[BitterApple]

The party was only an hour and forty-five minutes? Is that typical for kids parties held at venues? 

[GeeGolly]

Is this a party place, or did Alyssa rent a room and dictate plan the party herself?

The giveaways to me are a scheduled prayer and not one group activity.

[BitterApple]

I just got caught up on the Instagram reels, and wow, that party makes me feel even sadder for the girls.

When Alyssa said they were combining the birthdays and renting a venue, I figured it was going to be somewhere kid-friendly.  FunZone, Dave&Buster's, Chuck E Cheese, SkyZone, etc. That would make sense, because it wouldn't be affordable to host four separate events. I also figured they'd put in a real effort considering the girls had to share a party while Master Rhett got his own. But damn, they ended up with that sad conference room? With no princess themed activities? And the photo booth wasn't even a photo booth, it was someone shooting Polaroids against a balloon backdrop. 

I'm not familiar with the Orlando suburbs, but I'm assuming a major tourist area must have a bazillion places that specialize in kids parties. I have a hard time believing this is the best they could do. 

Edited March 23 by BitterApple

[Heathen]

3 hours ago, BitterApple said:

I just got caught up on the Instagram reels, and wow, that party makes me feel even sadder for the girls.

When Alyssa said they were combining the birthdays and renting a venue, I figured it was going to be somewhere kid-friendly.  FunZone, Dave&Buster's, Chuck E Cheese, SkyZone, etc. That would make sense, because it wouldn't be affordable to host four separate events. I also figured they'd put in a real effort considering the girls had to share a party while Master Rhett got his own. But damn, they ended up with that sad conference room? With no princess themed activities? And the photo booth wasn't even a photo booth, it was someone shooting Polaroids against a balloon backdrop. 

I'm not familiar with the Orlando suburbs, but I'm assuming a major tourist area must have a bazillion places that specialize in kids parties. I have a hard time believing this is the best they could do. 

They didn't WANT to do better. Girls are just girls in their cult world -- they exist to do the work and raise the next kids. Rhett got an actual party that he won't remember or care about because he's special, y'all. And now to reiterate my wish that he turns out to be a horrid little shit. 

"Fairy tale" as a noun is two words, not one. When it's an adjective used to describe a noun, it's hyphenated ("fairy-tale ending"). 

Carlin needs a fill. 

Edited March 24 by Heathen

[RebeccatheWriter]

6 hours ago, BitterApple said:

The party was only an hour and forty-five minutes? Is that typical for kids parties held at venues? 

It was sad looking on that schedule. They had 15 minutes for eating? And that included praying? I hope that was a quick prayer.

What happened to princess storytime or games? One ticket for a photo. One ticket for a balloon animal. Goodie bag and go home. 

I get that it is hard to find activities to include for a 3/4 year old to a 9 year old, but that's the reason you don't do one party for every single girl in the family. The girls were taken to shop for presents for Rhett that Alyssa specifically said she and John would fund. Did they each get a gift "from" their brother? 

Edited March 24 by RebeccatheWriter

[GeeGolly]

Alyssa feels very proud of the party. Lets hope it was better in person.

[andromeda331]

I'm not sure how the girls would know so many people they wanted to invite considering their home all the time 

I'm not a fan of combining birthdays my mom always had to with her brother and they both hated it. They don't even bother to go all out for it. There's so many things they could do even cheaply. But they don't want too.

Alyssa's schedule reminds me of Christine's ones from Night Court. She always planned her parties and Bull's wedding down to the seconds. Including how long  spontaneous clapping should be.

[ozziemom]

So did Gil & KJ not attend either Rhett’s or the girls parties? Seems like right up KJ’s alley, fly in, take pictures, fly out. I feel bad for the girls but this is their life now. Next event that will be just for Allie will be her wedding.

[Dehumidifier]

1 hour ago, andromeda331 said:

I'm not sure how the girls would know so many people they wanted to invite considering their home all the time 

Church and their dad's baseball field are two places where they would possibly meet other children.

[floridamom]

Did Alyssa empty out her living room for Rhett's party? I think I noticed the room was empty in her video. I don't see the need for this. Anyone know why?

[satrunrose]

2 hours ago, ozziemom said:

So did Gil & KJ not attend either Rhett’s or the girls parties? Seems like right up KJ’s alley, fly in, take pictures, fly out. I feel bad for the girls but this is their life now. Next event that will be just for Allie will be her wedding.

Which, not to be too gloomy about it, is exactly why she's likely to marry the first derpy fundie boy who's nice to her, make the same kind of awkward life decisions you make while your prefrontal cortex is still growing and restart the cycle all over again.

[3 is enough]

What a sad looking party. The snacks were sad, the venue was sad, the regimented schedule of events was sad. 
The only splurge I could see was that Alyssa hired someone to do the balloon decor and the balloon animals for the kids. 
Carlin forgot the gifts for the girls 🙄 I don’t know if she forgot to pack them or buy them. But apparently Alyssa told her not to worry about it. I would have been out the door to pick up more gifts ASAP.

I realize we only see what is posted on  Instagram, but it looks like Carlin and Erin did not interact. I do wonder if  Allie picked up on the tension. She seems like the kind of child who would notice such things.

So Allie was Belle, Lexi was Cinderella, Maci was Rapunzel, and I have no idea who  poor Zoey was supposed to be.  Looked like a generic pouffy party dress to me. Poor kid probably took too long to decide so Alyssa just clicked on a random dress.

If Alyssa hadn’t gone on about how she was planning a “special” party for all the girls  I wouldn’t have given it a second thought. But this wasn’t any different from their previous parties except it was at a church hall/ meeting room. 
I feel so bad for those poor girls.

[AstridM]

10 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Alyssa feels very proud of the party. Lets hope it was better in person.

SHEIN! Why not the family boutique? 

[cereality]

What a cheap ass party. I assume A&J didn't feel like they had to do/spend much bc . . . girls PLUS they're lucky they're getting a party outside the home, what else do they need??

I mean it's hard enough to throw a combined party for 4 kids when the ages range from 3-9. Even harder in a church hall. The only way to pull off a fun party with such wide age ranges is at some kind of play place bc they'll have activities/games for toddlers and for older kids.

But seriously A&J couldn't spring for better food other than piles of goldfish, packaged muffins, and packaged rice krispy treats? I realize there was pizza and small veggie and fruit trays but come on?? Couldn't have a few trays of chicken nuggets or cater in a few BBQ chicken trays or something like that for a 6-8 pm party? Couldn't have some activities beyond every child getting 1 polaroid + 1 balloon?? IDK what activities could be held in a church conference room appealing to ages 3 and 9. In normal world, the 9 yr old and her friends would be turning on Taylor Swift music and singing and dancing and the 3 yr old crowd would try to keep up. But lol in a fundie church - def not.

While Alyssa is saying the girls wanted to invite soooo many people, but the looks of the sad cake/cupcake table, it doesn't look like they got to invite sooo many people. There were 4 tiny little cakes for each girl + cupcakes for the crowd, and it didn't appear like there were THAT many cupcakes. When you count Erin's brood of 7 + Carlin's family of 4 + Jackson/Emerson - that accounts for a dozen cupcakes right there; add in John's siblings and their families as I'm sure most attended bc they're local - uh yeah I think that was pretty much the attendance. Maybe each girl got to invite 1 church/coop friend or something but I wouldn't even count on that.

And IDK why the cakes annoy me so much but they do. The day before this sad party, Rhett gets a great looking baseball cake - that he likely made a mess of. These 4 girls get the smallest cakes the grocery store had and the only thing that made it "theirs" was each was a different color. You can't tell me that 4 kids all like the same type of cake best. In any group - you have some kids that like chocolate cake vs. vanilla; someone wants a cake with fruit on it while others don't; someone is eh on traditional cake but love cookie cake. But then that would involve A&J knowing each girl and giving a damn what she lives AND spending money on said thing.

Wonder if Rhett gave each of his sisters a gift, like they "got to" give him a gift the day before. Lol doubt A&J would spring for that. Or if there was a gift from Rhett, watch it was one thing to be shared by all the girls - like a tea set that'll appeal to younger kids that Ally will shrug at.

It's interesting how certain Bates kids hate how their parents raised them and are adamant to do it differently/better [Jackson; Zach - doesn't say it but he's def raising the kids as individuals]. Meanwhile Alyssa claims to hate her upbringing but is just perpetuating it. But hey in 10-12 more years, the site of Friday's bday party will be the site of Ally's wedding to whatever boy looks at her first as she runs away from her parents and from being a sister mom.

[65mickey]

51 minutes ago, cereality said:

And IDK why the cakes annoy me so much but they do. The day before this sad party, Rhett gets a great looking baseball cake - that he likely made a mess of.

That baseball cake most likely came from Publix bakery. They have all sorts of  cakes to choose from and baseball cakes are common. That baseball cake didn't look special to me. 

[cereality]

15 minutes ago, 65mickey said:

That baseball cake most likely came from Publix bakery. They have all sorts of  cakes to choose from and baseball cakes are common. That baseball cake didn't look special to me. 

I agree. I wasn't suggesting the baseball cake was a bakery special order, it was just a grocery store cake. It's just that 1 kid got a nice looking cake that went with the theme of his party. The other 4 it was like - eh just give me the smallest 4 cakes you have, in 4 different colors so we can say it's special for each kid but it really is the same cake just one pink, blue, purple, or yellow ring at the bottom.

[RebeccatheWriter]

I think they did buy pizza. There was a slice of pizza next to Carlin's photo of the agenda. But it was still pathetic looking. 

[BitterApple]

I just watched Carlin's vlog and the way she said "I forgot the gifts" makes me think she bought presents but forgot to pack them. I've done that before where I bought a bunch of stuff at Target or Walmart and intended to take certain items out for my suitcase, only to realize I forgot later. The Stew Crew seems like the type who scramble to the airport at the last minute, so I'm not surprised. She wanted to run out and buy something before the party and Alyssa told her not to. 

I thought it was very sweet of the girls to make cards and letters for Layla and Zade, but I noticed Alyssa blew Allie off yet again when Allie excitedly tried to show her mom what she'd drawn. Alyssa always gushes over anything Lexie and Zoey do, but Allie gets a split second of attention or she's ignored entirely. Poor kid. 

[Salacious Kitty]

The way Carlin had Layla's stuff all laid out to pack before they left makes me believe that there were no gifts. Layla had princess dresses, crowns, etc. 

Granted, she didn't show Zade's travel gear. However, I think that Carlin could have shown the wrapped presents as a way to show where they were going. Just one slide, girl. 

[RebeccatheWriter]

2 hours ago, BitterApple said:

I just watched Carlin's vlog and the way she said "I forgot the gifts" makes me think she bought presents but forgot to pack them. I've done that before where I bought a bunch of stuff at Target or Walmart and intended to take certain items out for my suitcase, only to realize I forgot later. The Stew Crew seems like the type who scramble to the airport at the last minute, so I'm not surprised. She wanted to run out and buy something before the party and Alyssa told her not to. 

I thought it was very sweet of the girls to make cards and letters for Layla and Zade, but I noticed Alyssa blew Allie off yet again when Allie excitedly tried to show her mom what she'd drawn. Alyssa always gushes over anything Lexie and Zoey do, but Allie gets a split second of attention or she's ignored entirely. Poor kid. 

In Alyssa's defense on the gift thing - Carlin and Evan were sans car. John and Evan went to set up the location in John's car and Alyssa was getting the girls ready and about to head over to finish prepping the room (how much prep?) when Carlin jumped in with forgetting the gifts. I would have told her never mind too, as Carlin's going to have to take a 30-45 minute side trip at least to pick up gifts, then cards, then gift bags. Alyssa's kids would end up late for their own party and it would have eaten into prayer time. 

Carlin could have summoned an Uber and taken Layla to buy gifts, but didn't. 

Allie is begging for attention. I hate to break it to Alyssa, but it won't always been in such a sweet and pleading way to you. Teenagers begging for attention tend to not be as pleasant. 

Maybe I have missed it but Alyssa seems to be posting thank you to Carlin (and Evan) for coming, but not even mentioning Erin. I have family I don't like either, but I try to be nice in passing out the thank yous. 

[AstridM]

1 hour ago, RebeccatheWriter said:

Carlin could have summoned an Uber and taken Layla to buy gifts, but didn't. 

And she should have! No excuses.

[GeeGolly]

I noticed Alyssa tagging Carlin and Evan too. I thought maybe it was to pick-up some of Carlin's followers and maybe to promote the new up and coming famous photographer that C&E told us Evan is.

Edited March 25 by GeeGolly

[Dimi1]

13 hours ago, BitterApple said:

I just watched Carlin's vlog and the way she said "I forgot the gifts" makes me think she bought presents but forgot to pack them. I've done that before where I bought a bunch of stuff at Target or Walmart and intended to take certain items out for my suitcase, only to realize I forgot later. The Stew Crew seems like the type who scramble to the airport at the last minute, so I'm not surprised. She wanted to run out and buy something before the party and Alyssa told her not to. 

I thought it was very sweet of the girls to make cards and letters for Layla and Zade, but I noticed Alyssa blew Allie off yet again when Allie excitedly tried to show her mom what she'd drawn. Alyssa always gushes over anything Lexie and Zoey do, but Allie gets a split second of attention or she's ignored entirely. Poor kid. 

Because Allie is non compliant to alyssa's agenda...Allie is the scapegoat of the family...I think Allie does not perform for the camera...I have seen her being aggressive toward the other kids...grabbling thinks first  etc...because Allie cannot perform for the camera - she gets less focus...it will go one of two ways with Allie..either she will continue to rebel/ act out or she will fabricate a personality to please Alyssa...lets hope she continues to buck that whole system...also note...it is the "scapegoats" that "see" what is wrong in a family ...it is the scapegoats that will not maintain the "show" for the public --- the show meaning -- what is presented to the public - vs - what really goes on behind closed doors....so go Allie...go Allie....lets hope she has enough exposure to be around people who value her for who SHE is...that speak into her ...

[Dimi1]

Also wanted to add...the party is not the problem...it is a symptom of the problem...boys are better/ more valuable/ more wanted -  than girls...also some of the girls are more wanted than other girls...

poor kids grow up without having individual parties, birthday cakes etc....but...if the poor kids are loved, valued, given attention with words and actions...they have a better chance of turning out better than kids with "things" but no love...I read a study once on Chronic post traumatic stress syndrome...have you ever wondered why some people have it and some people do not...those who had grown up in a loving family tend to be able to process trauma through a loving lense...as in " they have the memory of coming back to the love they were given as children"...so fancy parties don't matter...what matters is what was said to them, what was shown to them, what value they were given daily....the issue with A and J...is the they treat all their kids differently valuing one more than the other...all have roles to fulfill ...( google dysfunctional family systems)....and all the roles are for the purpose of maintaining the facade of a perfect family for outsiders...and orange given to a child can have all the specialness from a parent if it is given in love ..vs .. a party that is over the top with cakes and costumes...

[YupItsMe]

I don’t see a problem with Rhett getting a “better” cake, photo shoot, and such. It was his first birthday. Lots of people go all out for first birthdays and this was just medium-level at best.

 

[3 is enough]

 Alyssa posted a  photo of Allie on a bike, saying she was so proud of her for taking the training wheels off.   The bike looks way too small for her. What are the chances she gets a new one? My guess is not likely. 

[Heathen]

2 hours ago, YupItsMe said:

I don’t see a problem with Rhett getting a “better” cake, photo shoot, and such. It was his first birthday. Lots of people go all out for first birthdays and this was just medium-level at best.

 

The problem wasn't with Rhett's half-ass birthday party. The problem was that his sisters got cheated, again. If John and Ofjohn can't afford a decent party for each girl, they don't need to spend money on a first birthday party for a kid who won't even remember it. The girls, at least the three older ones, WILL remember. 

[BitterApple]

2 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

 Alyssa posted a  photo of Allie on a bike, saying she was so proud of her for taking the training wheels off.   The bike looks way too small for her. What are the chances she gets a new one? My guess is not likely. 

That picture made me feel really bad for all the times I was a brat towards my parents. My dad always bought my bikes and made sure the seat was adjusted to the proper height. I was also off training wheels at 5. The bike was way too small for Allie and the fact that she's just now riding a two-wheeler at 9 indicates to me, she isn't getting out that much. 

It goes to show just how shitty John and Alyssa are as parents. They didn't always have five kids, so what were they doing when Allie was much younger and there was only one or two siblings? She didn't have a tricycle or a small bike with training wheels back then? Did they just sit in the house and stare at the walls all day?

[Notabug]

3 hours ago, YupItsMe said:

I don’t see a problem with Rhett getting a “better” cake, photo shoot, and such. It was his first birthday. Lots of people go all out for first birthdays and this was just medium-level at best.

 

If Rhett's was medium-level, the girls were somewhere down in the basement.  I expect most parents make a bigger deal/spend more money on parties for their older kids, at least through the early years of grade school.

When I was a kid, a birthday party meant inviting a bunch of friends to the event.  These kids have no friends, only their sisters and cousins.  And my mom would plan a bunch of games with little prizes for the winners.  Musical chairs, dropping clothespins in a milk bottle, pin the tail on the donkey, hot potato do not cost more than a couple of bucks but give the kids a chance to have some fun.  My mom had the same dog-eared pin the tail on the donkey set for all 6 of us kids, spanning a 17 year age range.

Alyssa didn't have to spend a lot of time or money to make the girls' party special. it's that she really didn't do anything for them that makes me feel like, if it wasn't for her followers on social media, there wouldn't have been anything at all.