Jessa, Ben and Their Brood: Making a (Diaper) Mountain out of a Mold House

[Jynnan tonnix]

1 hour ago, awaken said:

OMG, I’m so glad Bin’s mustache phase only lasted 3 days!  It looks like a clown or 30’s hobo costume. 

Haha! I thought it was cute, but then again costumes can be darn cute as well. Yeah, it would have gotten old if he'd kept it forever, but I've found that I'm easily forgiving when it comes to Ben - there's just something about him that I like. I've said it before, and I'll say it again...Other than those pesky fundie beliefs, I think I might get along with him very well on a variety of levels.

[xwordfanatik]

Ben looks like someone out of a movie circa 1910.

3 kids in 5 years?  I'd have gone bonkers.  He seems to be handling it.

[Zella]

4 minutes ago, xwordfanatik said:

Ben looks like someone out of a movie circa 1910.

YES! Like the character who's going to tie the heroine to the railroad tracks. 😂

[ozziemom]

Jessa confirmed on one of her Instagram posts that they always do Thanksgiving with the Seewalds and Christmas with the Duggars. 

[SMama]

JB and MEchelle are funding their existence.  Of course they always spend Christmas at the TTH.  Did the Vuolos spend a Christmas with Jeremy’s family?

[Sew Sumi]

1 minute ago, SMama said:

JB and MEchelle are funding their existence.  Of course they always spend Christmas at the TTH.  Did the Vuolos spend a Christmas with Jeremy’s family?

I think so. 

[SMama]

Good for them.

[ginger90]

I liked Ben’s post . Shoot me now!

[ginger90]

10 pictures:

[Growsonwalls]

So the Seewald women all wear pants. Hmm. I wonder when Jessa will start to follow her headship's family and wear pants.

[SMama]

Jessa is the kiddult most invested (by necessity) in keeping the gravy train going. She is aware her husband will never be able to support their ever expanding brood. So no pants for her in public to keep the brand going.

Edited November 30, 2019 by SMama

[OpieTaylor]

On another thread I’ve been commenting on how the married Duggars seem to be spending Thanksgiving with their in-laws and then Xmas (the bigger holiday IMHO) at the TTH. Jessa acknowledges that here, but perhaps she’s questioning it? Read her caption on Instagram post:

[BradandJanet]

Nice house. Do Ben and Jessa need the Duggars? 

[Barb23]

Whose house is that?  I'm having brick wall envy.  

On 11/29/2019 at 4:05 PM, Nysha said:

  Reveal spoiler

There's no spoiler.

Of course Spurgeon and Henry are inseparable and best friends, they're never around any other kids except their cousins. Hard to have friends when you don't meet anyone outside your own family.

I keep forgetting that Spurge is 4.  We keep commenting about Izzy needing to go to a preschool but I'm sure Spurge would benefit as well.

[QuinnInND]

12 hours ago, Barb23 said:

Whose house is that?  I'm having brick wall envy.  

I keep forgetting that Spurge is 4.  We keep commenting about Izzy needing to go to a preschool but I'm sure Spurge would benefit as well.

All the Duggar grands and the remaining Duggar kids at home would benefit from regular schooling. They're being short changed in so many ways. Its sad. 

[Nysha]

I bet the kids enjoy being at their paternal grandparents where they're unique and special instead of number 6, 7, and 13 on JB's way to 200 grandchildren.

[Sew Sumi]

Anyone want to take one for the team and watch her video (linked in bio)? 

[xwordfanatik]

"Were" doesn't need an apostrophe.  Say "we are" to yourself to see if it's needed.

I didn't watch.

[galaxychaser]

Henry cracked some eggs. That’s it. 

[ginger90]

Here’s the YouTube video:

[Sew Sumi]

15 minutes ago, galaxychaser said:

Henry cracked some eggs. That’s it. 

There is a YT video that's about 20 minutes long. Not gonna waste my time watching that!

[BetyBee]

I watched. It went on for a bit too long, but Jessa was very upbeat and seems to really be trying to make healthy food for her family and to encourage the boys to eat it, using positive reinforcement.  She held Ivy for part of the video - cute baby.  All their kids are cute.  

[galaxychaser]

Oh I’m not watching 20 minutes of Jessa either.

Guess Seewald kids eat better than Dillard kids.

[Dimi1]

21 hours ago, QuinnInND said:

All the Duggar grands and the remaining Duggar kids at home would benefit from regular schooling. They're being short changed in so many ways. Its sad. 

not necessarily regular schooling..it would depend on what school, what district etc...but private school...that would be nice...and even homeschooling through a co-0p with plenty of interaction and accountability would be the best....my grandson goes to a private school that is unusual to say the least...no grading till grade 9....interest inspired learning...he is way ahead of his peers at 7...and is articulate to boot....the issue with Jill is the fact she isolates and isolates within her core group of people....

[farmgal4]

2 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

There is a YT video that's about 20 minutes long. Not gonna waste my time watching that!

I watched the entire video and was impressed.  It was a really  well-made, interesting video IMO.

[farmgal4]

1 hour ago, galaxychaser said:

Oh I’m not watching 20 minutes of Jessa either.

Guess Seewald kids eat better than Dillard kids.

They eat MUCH better than the Dillard boys, because Jessa does a MUCH better job of parenting.  The difference is astounding.  I’m convinced that poor Jill doesn’t have much going on upstairs.  She’s below-average at everything she does, because that’s all she’s capable of. 😕

[MzTori77]

4 hours ago, xwordfanatik said:

"Were" doesn't need an apostrophe.  Say "we are" to yourself to see if it's needed.

I didn't watch.

I’ll give Jessa the benefit of the doubt on this one. It seems whenever I type “were” it autocorrects to “we’re”. And sometimes vice versa! But she could stand to proofread before posting! 

[Nysha]

This was a very good video. The boys were interacting with Jessa in a relaxed manner and she was talking to them in a normal parenting voice. That dinner looked really good, too. The other shocker was that Jessa didn't have the usual Duggar smugness. I think she'd do better shooting her own videos on YouTube instead of getting roped into TLC's nonsense "reality/fake" story lines.

[MichaelaRae]

She's more articulate than Jill (low bar but still...) though some of that is the editing - in the beginning of the videos, she was stringing together about a phrase or two at a time before a video cut, to the point I couldn't NOT notice it, but still she at least knows how to edit her content to be more articulate than Jill (again a low bar). But her interaction with her kids seems far more natural and less anxious than Jill. She seems to actually enjoy her children rather than playing a part her uteran host trained her to play. Jillymuffin is the more damaged and stunted of the elder girls, it seems. Jessa might be a mean girl - and by might, I mean, definitely - but she doesn't make me want to call a therapist upon watching her.

Edited December 3, 2019 by MichaelaRae

[Barb23]

I only watched the beginning of the video but it wasn't bad. Good for them to try things to get the boys to eat healthier.  She was right on about not buying all the snack items.   

I think it was Ben who showed Jessa how to eat better when they got married.  It seems like he does alot of the cooking too. 

[Madtown]

Never did I think I would watch a 20 minute Jessa video, but that was pretty good. Things I noticed, the boys didn't wear any bibs,  unlike Izzy and Sam.  Henry actually sat at the table with the rest of them, not in a highchair in the corner like Sam is half the time.

She is for sure a lot calmer and less hyper than Jill. I think she has more patience than Jill when it comes to involving the kids in helping with things.

5 hours ago, MichaelaRae said:

Jillymuffin is the more damaged and stunted of the elder girls, it seems. Jessa might be a mean girl - and by might, I mean, definitely - but she doesn't make me want to call a therapist upon watching her.

Jill is definetly the more damaged one, but I also wonder if Derick has a lot to do with how she is with the kids. I feel he's probably much more strict than Ben. I'm not saying Ben isn't strict at times with the boys, but he might be much more calm about it. I think Derick believes he is the ruler of the house and what he says goes. It's been said that Jessa probably wears the pants in the house and she probably does, but I don't think either her or Ben are anywhere near what Derick is when it comes to their kids.

I will say what others have said, they have adorable children..

[Fallacy]

I watched all 20 minutes too and thought it was really well done. She gave helpful tips, demonstrated her practices in action, and avoided being condescending by repeatedly saying they’re not perfect but they are practicing.  I was impressed overall.

The only flaw is that Ben offered nothing, and while Jessa was encouraging the boys to eat their dinner, he was scrolling on his phone. On the more positive note, you can tell that Ben was in charge of keeping the boys entertained while she made parts of the video. 

[Mojitogirl]

I have to disagree that this video places Jessa anywhere above Jill. I think the video was done at the direction of their publicists who have been hired to try and stem the dropping ratings. 

Derrick may not be palatable but they are actively not stunting their children by actually exposing them to a world outside of the little bubble Jessa, and most of the other Duggars, exist in. Jessa’s kids are not noticeably stunted because they are cute and still young enough that keeping them shut inside her house or the TTH is enough to stimulate them. She has NEVER shown us that she is expanding their horizons except for maybe a sponsored post of a monthly subscription box. 

I absolutely can’t stand the Duggars as much as anyone but I can’t give Jessa any credit just because her kids and husband are cute and more personable on camera. 

[Fig Newton]

Well done, Jess. Very good video with good information. Especially for families going through food transitions, concerns etc. I appreciated she showed some real honesty and was not tooting her horn. She looked good,sounded good- not smug or elitist in any manner. 

And those kids !! Yum. The cutest of all the granduggars in my opinion. One is cuter than the next of those little Seewald babies. I am open to future Jessa growth.

[MyPeopleAreNordic]

On 11/29/2019 at 10:16 PM, SMama said:

Jessa is the kiddult most invested (by necessity) in keeping the gravy train going. She is aware her husband will never be able to support their ever expanding brood. So no pants for her in public to keep the brand going.

Jessa is the married Duggar daughter whose entire existence and that of her family is funded by JB (assuming he pockets all of the Counting On money).  Ben works for JB.  Jessa gets paid or given housing/an allowance/something from JB for being on the show.  Jinger and Jeremy can live without JB's money (not maintaining their current lifestyle, but Jeremy could still pastor a small church, etc).  Joy and Austin could survive off of flipping houses or even working at his family's campground.  Jill and Derrick can live without it, too (even if Cathy is funding them while Derrick is in law school).  Those couples don't need JB.   Jessa and the Duggar boys are entirely on the JB dole.  She has to toe the line because she lives 24/7 in JB world and he's funding her family's basic needs and extras.

Sadly, I think Jessa would be the one to most embrace "worldliness" after she got over the initial shock of it all, but she's the least likely to have that chance unless Ben graduates from online bible college & gets a job that can support her and their eleventy kids away from JB.  In any case, "Jessa and Jeremy Take LA" would be a helluva lot more interesting than Jinger and Jeremy, at a minimum. (Although I'm sure Jessa couldn't have kept sweet with Jeremy loving himself more than her and would have shanked him by now, but I digress.)

Edited December 3, 2019 by MyPeopleAreNordic

[Temperance]

4 hours ago, MyPeopleAreNordic said:

Jessa is the married Duggar daughter whose entire existence and that of her family is funded by JB (assuming he pockets all of the Counting On money).  Ben works for JB.  Jessa gets paid or given housing/an allowance/something from JB for being on the show.  Jinger and Jeremy can live without JB's money (not maintaining their current lifestyle, but Jeremy could still pastor a small church, etc).  Joy and Austin could survive off of flipping houses or even working at his family's campground.  Jill and Derrick can live without it, too (even if Cathy is funding them while Derrick is in law school).  Those couples don't need JB.   Jessa and the Duggar boys are entirely on the JB dole.  She has to toe the line because she lives 24/7 in JB world and he's funding her family's basic needs and extras.

Sadly, I think Jessa would be the one to most embrace "worldliness" after she got over the initial shock of it all, but she's the least likely to have that chance unless Ben graduates from online bible college & gets a job that can support her and their eleventy kids away from JB.  In any case, "Jessa and Jeremy Take LA" would be a helluva lot more interesting than Jinger and Jeremy, at a minimum. (Although I'm sure Jessa couldn't have kept sweet with Jeremy loving himself more than her and would have shanked him by now, but I digress.)

I agree with this 😍.I also think that if the show goes off the air and Dad can't support them, Jessa will be the first one to change course. 

One thing though: Jessa and Ben own the mold house. They bought it from Grandma Mary for a "dollar" probably with more money from the show, but it is in their names. Of course that house is quickly getting too small for their growing quiver. Maybe they can trade up with money from the show and the sale of this house. 

Edited December 4, 2019 by Temperance

[Sew Sumi]

But will they "trade up" into a Boob property, or will they buy a house on their own like the Dullards?

[mynextmistake]

15 hours ago, Mojitogirl said:

I have to disagree that this video places Jessa anywhere above Jill. I think the video was done at the direction of their publicists who have been hired to try and stem the dropping ratings. 

Derrick may not be palatable but they are actively not stunting their children by actually exposing them to a world outside of the little bubble Jessa, and most of the other Duggars, exist in. Jessa’s kids are not noticeably stunted because they are cute and still young enough that keeping them shut inside her house or the TTH is enough to stimulate them. She has NEVER shown us that she is expanding their horizons except for maybe a sponsored post of a monthly subscription box. 

I absolutely can’t stand the Duggars as much as anyone but I can’t give Jessa any credit just because her kids and husband are cute and more personable on camera. 

Jill took them to the library like one time, with some friends who are probably almost as fundie as she is. Other than that all we’ve seen Jill do with the boys is the same kind of stuff all the Duggars do — go to church, Chik-Fil-A, family events, etc. I don’t think this really constitutes exposing them to the outside world. Putting them in preschool, signing them up for youth sports, enrolling them in music classes, etc. would be exposing them to the outside world. I don’t think they’re on track to be any less stunted than Jessa’s kids. 

[GeeGolly]

I know everyone has a personal preference, but I'm not into having large prints of humans on my walls. Back in the dark ages when professional photographers were not a dime a dozen, we used Olan Mills to take pics of our kids. They used to try and sell me giant canvas prints - each and every time. One time I blurted out, I live with these kids, I don't want giant photos of them on my walls.

Anyway, my life during my stay-at-home-mom years was much more well rounded than Jessa's. Although my kids were, and are, the center of my universe, they're not my entire universe. I predict Jessa's laundry room meltdown will be sometime in the next two years, after her fourth child.

[queenanne]

On 11/26/2019 at 9:08 PM, Madtown said:

I clicked on the link, but it's an 8 minute video. Not watching it..lol The pictures are cute though.

Are Jessa and/or Bin working on composition and framing?  Or was this just a happy accident?  They look good, very natural.  

Ivy's generic lumpy baby face is resolving into that of a tasty little mite, I bet she will take after Spurgeon.  Has it been discussed before, whether or not that ivy-colored onesie is intentional?

[mynextmistake]

3 hours ago, queenanne said:

Are Jessa and/or Bin working on composition and framing?  Or was this just a happy accident?  They look good, very natural.  

Ivy's generic lumpy baby face is resolving into that of a tasty little mite, I bet she will take after Spurgeon.  Has it been discussed before, whether or not that ivy-colored onesie is intentional?

Why is Jessa always posting pictures of Spurgeon wearing nothing but his drawers?  When he turns 18 he’s probably going to be pretty embarrassed to realize that millions of people saw pictures of him in his superhero underpants. 

[DangerousMinds]

1 minute ago, mynextmistake said:

Why is Jessa always posting pictures of Spurgeon wearing nothing but his drawers?  When he turns 18 he’s probably going to be pretty embarrassed to realize that millions of people saw pictures of him in his superhero underpants. 

She doesn’t care - someone’s got to support her family, after all. And it sure isn’t her or Bin.

[jcbrown]

2 hours ago, DangerousMinds said:

She doesn’t care - someone’s got to support her family, after all. And it sure isn’t her or Bin.

Especially not Bin in his superhero underpants.

[Sew Sumi]

[SMama]

How old is Ivy?

[Sew Sumi]

She was born at the end of May.

[Tikichick]

Does color blindness swim in the Duggar gene pool by any chance?

Mustard, puce, russet, terracotta, olive must have been the only colors left when they bought the used Crayola boxes to save the difference.

[Sew Sumi]

I think Ben is attempting humor herein.

[Nysha]

That is cute. Spurgeon is due for a haircut or some gel to tame those beautiful curls.

[BitterApple]

Spurgeon is in desperate need of a haircut.