Michelle and JimBob aka J'Chelle and Boob

[OSM Mom]

The ad with JimBlob laughing like a moron makes me want to punch him in the face even more than usual. Grinning idiot.

[Ljohnson1987]

Boob is an idiot.  I pity anyone who has to be in his family. 

[Lillybee]

 

Hey, why don't the kids play outside anymore?

Mullet claimed that it is usually too hot.

[Ljohnson1987]

Mullet doesn't have enough sister moms to watch them. She'd have to get off of her ass and watch her own kids. GASP! She hasn't been a parent in so long, that U doubt she knows how to. 

[maraleia]

A place to discuss all things J'Chelle and Boob including news items, appearances, and what happens with them on the show.

Feel free to add more to the title to make it more interesting. Just wanted to get this going.

[LazyToaster]

I assume Jim Bob and Michelle got to pick each other. Why, if they raised children to have good judgement, can't those same children be trusted to find their own mates? Just so baffling and sad to me.

[SmallTownMom]

I cannot understand the mindset of people who won't let one daughter sit aside of a boyfriend in the car, but take another to Nepal to see a boy they never met before? I know they were chaperoned, but WTH?

Oh, well, free trip!

[MrMattyMatt]

Never try to make sense of it...  It's how they draw you in...

[smittykins]

Didn't Boob and Michelle get engaged at 17/18! How did Boob manage to support them anyway?

IIRC, Boob worked as a supermarket checker/stocker in the early years of their marriage, and J'Chelle substitute taught/gave away samples at the supermarket.

Edited April 14, 2014 by smittykins

[MrMattyMatt]

They also ran a convenience store and had investment properties they rented out (and still do I think) - The first book they wrote goes over a lot of those early years.

Edited April 14, 2014 by MrMattyMatt

[wanderwoman]

IIRC, Boob worked as a supermarket checker/stocker in the early years of their marriage, and J'Chelle substitute taught/gave away samples at the supermarket.

No.  According to their books, Grandma Duggar ran a yogurt shop.  Michelle applied for a job and Jim Bob encouraged his mom to hire her. He asked her out.  The rest is history...

They both had real estate licenses at one point, before Josh, I believe.   After Josh, Boob got into the towing business.

[all4mom]

At least they've always been self-supporting; I have to give them credit for that!

[zebra2013]

I pretty much loathe everything about the Dugger parents, but I read their first book and am in awe of their/his business savvy and initial hardworking ways. He is a tightwad and wheeler dealer but the description of their working and hustling and finding lucrative ways to support their rapidly growing family without debt or much education is pretty cool. I think now, the TV money and the real estate income paying off has made him fat and lazy. But I do not think he would be broke w/out TLC and I think he could hustle again if/when it dries up. He might not be sharing with his children their cut, but I bet he is using it wisely for the most part and if anything, their nicer clothes and toys and gadgetry are probably his way of sharing the wealth and loosening his very tight fist. And many are adults living and traveling on his dime...

Edited April 16, 2014 by zebra2013

[Chris Knight]

Sorry but I disagree. They may be debtfree but they have always accepted handouts up the wazoo. They took donations from neighbors and others in their community. They called them "love offerings" which makes it all sound cute and commendable. TLC finished that barn of a house and then furnished it and supplied HEwasherS and dryerS. Debtfree, my foot.

[MrMattyMatt]

I often think what the family would be like now had TLC never shown up.  The first special showcased an "interesting" family on the fringe of poverty.  I actually felt they were basically truely humble at that point.   Remember the one bathroom and the dining room table that barely fit in the room?

[Absolom]

I fear that they've become too much reality tv people and believe too much of their own press.  Jim Bob seems to have been bitten the worst.  I think it's going to be a real let down for him the day the cameras stop showing up. 

[roamyn]

Yes. He's the male Kate Gosselin.

[SnarkyMcSnarkerson]

I pretty much loathe everything about the Dugger parents, but I read their first book and am in awe of their/his business savvy and initial hardworking ways. He is a tightwad and wheeler dealer but the description of their working and hustling and finding lucrative ways to support their rapidly growing family without debt or much education is pretty cool. I think now, the TV money and the real estate income paying off has made him fat and lazy. But I do not think he would be broke w/out TLC and I think he could hustle again if/when it dries up. He might not be sharing with his children their cut, but I bet he is using it wisely for the most part and if anything, their nicer clothes and toys and gadgetry are probably his way of sharing the wealth and loosening his very tight fist. And many are adults living and traveling on his dime...

While the grown children are technically living and traveling on his dime, do they really have any say in the matter? I can't begrudge them not paying their own way when JimBoob won't allow them to leave the home, get a job, move out and pay for their own living and traveling expenses.

[wanderwoman]

I often think what the family would be like now had TLC never shown up.  The first special showcased an "interesting" family on the fringe of poverty.  I actually felt they were basically truely humble at that point.   Remember the one bathroom and the dining room table that barely fit in the room?

I think about that, too.  When TLC came along, they were worried about where they were going to live.  The had 13 or 14 kids crammed into a tiny house.  IIRC, there were kids sleeping on the couches and doubled up on bunks.  The tinker toy house was a shell.  It had taken Jim Bob and the kids 4 years just to get the frame up and one of the things discussed on the first documentary was  that the kids were taking "field trips" to construction sites.  Jim Bob claimed it was taking so I long because he was buying building materials and supplies only at auctions or fire sales.  When their contractor friend (who was "like family"...family that was never heard from again) looked at the state of affairs, he estimated it would be YEARS before completion at the rate things were going.  When TLC decided to film them for a series, TLC contacted real contractors and decorators, and got supplies in exchange for advertising, and the house was completed.

If TLC hadn't come along, I think they'd be living in a half-finished shell of a house, very close to the poverty line. 

[Laura Jane]

I completely agree with you wanderwoman.  I cannot imagine how they would be surviving on JB's income without the TLC checks.  They would not be living like middle class people for sure with all the new clothes and electronics and SUVs, etc.  I also wonder if all of the boys over 12 would have been encouraged to earn some sort of paycheck to help out the family.  Perhaps even the girls would have been told to make things at home for sale like quilts, jam, soap, etc.  I really think they would have been living hand-to-mouth, forgoing dental visits, relying on one broken down old bus, still wearing used shoes, maybe even doing without heating or air-conditioning.  It is insane to raise 19 kids in this day and age and econimically suicidal without having millions in the bank.

[Rebekah]

I agree, I remember a episode where they went to the dentist and although all the kids had bad teeth the older ones were the worst. Although this is probably half down to their diet, it may also be due to the fact that they didn't have many dental visits when they were young.

Being British I am not familiar with the US health system, but it is my assumption that you pay for everything or you pay for insurance which covers it or most of it, but would some one let me know if this is the case.

[Bella]

Being British I am not familiar with the US health system, but it is my assumption that you pay for everything or you pay for insurance which covers it or most of it, but would some one let me know if this is the case.

 

That's essentially it. I pay a certain amount each month to my insurance company. When I visit my doctor, I pay a token fee called a "co-pay," in my case around $10. If I am in a horrible traffic accident or come down with a dreaded disease, I will pay up to a certain pre-determined amount (in my case, $2,500) called a "deductible." Once the deductible is paid, the insurance company pays everything else from then on, even if it goes into the millions of dollars. Different insurance plans vary in terms of monthly fees, co-pays, and deductibles. Dental insurance is separate, but it operates along the same lines. Sometimes specific dental procedures are capped at a dollar amount - say $X for a crown or $Y for braces.

 

I am not surprised that the Duggar kids have bad teeth, though I am saddened by it. Jim Boob and J'chelle would have done better to have the number of kids they could care for well, rather than the number of kids they could produce. YMMV.

[bigskygirl]

Do the girls and Mullet see a ob/gyn for basic yearly checkups or would that be considered defrauding?  I can imagine the damage to Mullet's body after numerous pregnancies.  Of course, the Duggars think she is fine and has no physical or mental problems.  Mullet, queen of denial, floating on a river of bs. 

[Lillybee]

I have a feeling that Michelle is now wearing Depends.

[DangerousMinds]

Regarding the family not taking money from government programs, how did they ever, especially in the early years, pay for health/dental insurance for the whole family?

[Lillybee]

I think that the kids' dental health was ignored. I remember them having dental visits on TLC's dime when they had many dental issues.

When the kids got sick, Boob would take one to the doctor and get scripts for all of them. He is such a cheap bastard.

[MrMattyMatt]

In one of the early specials or seasons, Boob mentioned that they were part of some sort of co-op insurance for people who could not get traditional insurance.  Apparently they paid premiums, but the money was pooled amongst many familes and they dipped into the pool when there was a medical need.  I can't recall all of the details.  I doubt they are still on it.

[all4mom]

High-deductible -- or "catastrophic" -- health insurance; you just try not to run to the doctor's every five minutes for every little thing, which is another "thrifty" tip I admire and try to emulate; it would save this country bazillions.  Or a church "pool."  I personally see nothing wrong with saving money as long as you're not taking from others to do so, and I don't count "kids eat free" or saving condiments (I said CONDIMENTS) as "stealing."  That said, wish they'd rerun the early, frugal, hard-time Duggar episodes...  THOSE I would actually rewatch... 

Edited May 2, 2014 by all4mom

[MrMattyMatt]

 wish they'd rerun the early, frugal, hard-time Duggar episodes...  THOSE I would actually rewatch... 

You can find a few of them on You Tube.  It's like watched a completely different family.  They are actual likeable back then.

[Wordsworth]

All4mom, thank you for saying what you did.  Not everything Jim-Bob and Michelle do is off-the-wall or morally questionable.  I do not agree with the Gothard-twisting of Christianity that the Duggars follow and I'm sure at least one of those kids is going to break away eventually, but the animosity that is shown toward this family can reach a ridiculous extreme sometimes.

[wanderwoman]

I hear you, but I'm not sure it's animosity, as much as sheer shock at the collective wtf-ness of some of their actions and justifications as parents.  Using the "kids eat free" isn't what bothers me.  What bugs me is the feigned confusion and register blocking horde that screams, "hey! Look at us ordering 10 adult and 7 kids meals!"  Why is that even an episode talking point?  Send the kids to grab some chairs and have that order ready to go so u only need one or two people at the register.  I came from a big family.  There were 9 of us including my parents.  My older bro would run in and grab a take away menu.  We'd all say what we wanted and mom wrote it down.  We politely filed in and grabbed some tables (never pushing them together because we knew it disturbed the flow) and mom and dad handed out list to the waitress or counter staff with a generous tip.  We tipped on the front end because we knew serving a family our size was work.  Needless to say, we didn't go out often.  The Duggars could do this

  But, then where would the spectacle be?

 

I guess what I am saying is: I don't wish ill upon them.  I do think it's potentially dangerous to put them on a pedestal. :)

 

ETA: no. We weren't Quiver full.  We were a hippy family. Lol.  I have a sister named Sky and a brother named Gale.  Hunger Games before it was trendy, baby!

Edited May 7, 2014 by wanderwoman

[Wordsworth]

Wanderwoman, thanks for clarifying that.  I wasn't really accusing anyone here of animosity so much as I've found a lot of it on the web in general.  I remember another website in which a discussion took place after an episode in which the family attended Grandpa Duggar's funeral.  Because the members of the forum didn't like Joshua Duggar, they started criticizing the speech he was going to make at the funeral and resorted to questioning whether or not Grandpa had earned his WWII medals.  When I suggested that, maybe, questioning whether a WWII vet earned his medals was not really appropriate, I was warned by the moderator not to tell people what they could or couldn't post.  :rolleyes:

 

So, I've seen what I would consider a lot of unfair derision directed at the Duggars for minor issues that the accusers would probably overlook in someone that doesn't follow the IBLP/ATI/Quiverfull philosophy.  That's why I thanked all4mom above for pointing out that lots of people have just catastrophic insurance, that it's not specific to the Duggars' peculiar worldview and is a perfectly valid financial choice.

 

That being said, I do believe that the spending ten years on television (very likely with little to no direct compensation to the children.  I'm sure almost all the money is paid directly to Jim-Bob as children cannot sign contracts) is harmful to the kids.  The legalistic atmosphere under which they are raised has severely underprepared them for life in the real world, up to and including the lack of educational opportunities, the limited freedom for the adult children and unrealistic view of marriage & family relationships.  

 

I'm convinced that, eventually, one of the Duggar girls is going to find herself in an unhappy marriage . It would be sad to have her save even hand-holding for marriage only to end up divorced and living with one of her brothers.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Wordsworth

[roamyn]

Wonder what ol' JB & Michelle think abt AK passing gay marriage today?

Sorry.. AR. got the acronym wrong.

[maraleia]

I bet their heads exploded and with Michael Sam getting drafted by the St. Louis Rams today and Clay Aiken close to winning the Dem. primary for US rep in NC this isn't a good day for anti-LGBT people like the Duggars and their ilk.

Edited May 11, 2014 by maraleia
corrected Clay Aiken news info- had false info earlier

[Ljohnson1987]

J'Chelle's heart should be breaking when the kids call out for their older siblings instead of her, when they're in trouble. I know it doesn't. J'Chelle is a cold bitch. 

[MrMattyMatt]

What's interesting to me is that we never see any of the J'Slaves ever protest to doing any of this childcare work.  I find it hard to beleive that in all the years they have been doing, not once would they act like a normal pre-teen or teen and rebel.  Perhaps we just never see it.  It's all part of the Happy Perfect world that Boob and J'Chelle want to portray to the world about themselves.

[Ljohnson1987]

They're trained to keep sweet and not show their true emotions. We know what happens when that goes down. Josiah cried during the Jubilee announcement and Boob twisted his arm. 

[Wordsworth]

The IBLP philosophy emphasizes the countenance as representative of the inside attitude.  Someone with a "dark" countenance is rebelling.  

[Ripley68]

Watching older episodes the last few days.  have to say that JB gave Josh some good advice before the wedding (about how women feel and it being a partnership). Of course, there were some cringe things too (the sex stuff). But overall, he was pretty decent.  You can see that he does love his family in many of the episodes.

[all4mom]

I actually thought J'chell's advice to Jessa, although delivered in the cringeworthy, melodramatic baby voice, had salient points; not the "be fake sweet" part, but the "hear what his 'love language' is and return it in his own language, so he can get what he needs, too" part.  Of course, ideally, the two lovebirds would naturally speak the same language -- as Jessa says of "Jerrick," "he says sweet things and she loves to hear it" -- so it wouldn't be forced and artificial.  For this, a couple needs to be genuinely compatible, which "Bessa" is not.

[wanderwoman]

I actually thought J'chell's advice to Jessa, although delivered in the cringeworthy, melodramatic baby voice, had salient points; not the "be fake sweet" part, but the "hear what his 'love language' is and return it in his own language, so he can get what he needs, too" part.  Of course, ideally, the two lovebirds would naturally speak the same language -- as Jessa says of "Jerrick," "he says sweet things and she loves to hear it" -- so it wouldn't be forced and artificial.  For this, a couple needs to be genuinely compatible, which "Bessa" is not.

That is the issue, the way I see it.  Michelle's advice was well intended (and gag worthy with it's delivery) and is a good rule: learn your partner's communication preferences and emotional depth.  That IS key! But,...and it's a huge "but", you have to have some basic compatibility and experience with other potential suitors to know what YOU want.  Honestly, I think, if Jessa was head over heels in love, she would be more communicative and receptive to those sweet nothings.  I don't care how cool or straightforward you are: there is a guy out there who you'd swoon for.... you just have to find him.   Or, if you're incapable of receiving lovey dovey, romantic talk, then don't agree to court someone who NEEDS that in return.  The old rule stands: you're not going to "change" your partner.  At best, you compliment them and bring out the best in them.   I think Jessa saw the fakey, over adoring "love language" her parents put on display and has some discomfort with it.

Edited May 15, 2014 by wanderwoman

[Marigny]

I agree, I remember a episode where they went to the dentist and although all the kids had bad teeth the older ones were the worst. Although this is probably half down to their diet, it may also be due to the fact that they didn't have many dental visits when they were young.

Being British I am not familiar with the US health system, but it is my assumption that you pay for everything or you pay for insurance which covers it or most of it, but would some one let me know if this is the case.

 

 

Regarding the family not taking money from government programs, how did they ever, especially in the early years, pay for health/dental insurance for the whole family?

 

I read somewhere that they have access to lifetime state-funded insurance, thanks to Boob's stint in the Senate. Just by seeing their dietary habits, especially during the early days of the show, I'm not surprised by the dental issues but I am surprised there aren't more weight issues. 

What's interesting to me is that we never see any of the J'Slaves ever protest to doing any of this childcare work.  I find it hard to beleive that in all the years they have been doing, not once would they act like a normal pre-teen or teen and rebel.  Perhaps we just never see it.  It's all part of the Happy Perfect world that Boob and J'Chelle want to portray to the world about themselves.

Two words: Blanket training

[Lillybee]

Since Boob only served one or two terms, he didn't qualify for lifetime health insurance for his family. I believe that Josie's over one million dollar bill for her stay in the NCIC unit was probably covered by Medicare/Medicaid although the Duggars would be loath to admit it.

[floridamom]

I agree with you, Lillybee. They will never admit who really picked up Josie's NICU tab. They can probably thank us, working outside the home heathens, for funding Medicare/Medicaid; without a traditional workforce, the funds would have never been there for them in the first place. Their idea of life is utterly unrealistic.

[all4mom]

"I think Jessa saw the fakey, over adoring 'love language' her parents put on display and has some discomfort with it." 

 

Don't we all?

Edited May 16, 2014 by all4mom

[SometimesBites]

And have we all heard THIS?? Any fertility doc that would help them conceive again should be tarred, feathered, and run out of town on cold speculum.

[bigskygirl]

She is more concern about holding a baby and being physical able to have a baby but what about being emotional ready. 

Edited May 20, 2014 by bigskygirl

[merylinkid]

If they leave the number of children up to God, why are they visiting a fertility doctor?   Maybe God is telling her the clown car vagina has run out of gas.

[Rhondinella]

What does she mean by being ready to "catch" a baby if that's what God wants?  She said that twice in that clip.  Is "catch" some kind of euphemism for getting pregnant?  Was she joking?  Did she mean literally "catching" the baby when it comes out (which seems it could be a little difficult)?

[aunt jen]

Just posted this as a comment on someone's FB:

A high-risk OB is not a fertility doctor, stupid Today Show. A fertility doctor is a reproductive endocrinologist. What they are doing is responsible. Many older women discuss it with a high-risk doc before deciding to have more kids. As do women with recent traumatic pregnancies/births, including me. At least they're trying to be informed.

Now, if the high-risk doc tells her the chances of her life being in danger are very high, would she actively try to prevent via birth control or having her tubes tied? That's an interesting question. It would be the ultimate FU internets.