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

[Liddy52]

Has Jessa ever served an ice cream cake for a birthday? It would be festive but not a cake. You can get them in a range of sizes. Also, I remember the Duggars serving "birthday cakes" made from ice cream sandwiches and Cool whip (????) . I think Jana even posted the recipe one time. The kids would probably enjoy one of those.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Liddy52

[BigBingerBro]

Ice Cream Cake

[Liddy52]

26 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

Ice Cream Cake

Thanks! That is the one I was talking about. I am sure Jessa could cut the recipe in half to make a smaller cake, if she didn't want so much of it for her smaller family. 

[Westiepeach]

I just don’t think she wants to make the effort.

[emmawoodhouse]

25 minutes ago, Westiepeach said:

I just don’t think she wants to make the effort.

Nope. Much easier to stick a candle in a donut or serve freezer burnt ice cream.

[Lady Whistleup]

The issue isn't the cake, it's just the fact that everything is so sad and half-assed. And she makes videos about it as if it were adorable.

[Zella]

3 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

What happens if one (or more) of her kids have cake, say at a cousin's birthday party, and discover they really like it. Will Jessa bake them a cake because the KID wants it, or will she continue to be selfish and present rock hard ice cream or donuts? 

Yeah it's not that they don't have cake = horrible birthday automatically. As I've posted on here before, I have relatives who never want cake for their birthdays and their requests are honored. I personally have never had a traditional birthday cake, though I often request some form of cake, and my family and friends always honor whatever whim I ask for. 

The problem is that Jessa never seems to give a flying fuck what her kids actually want for their birthdays and she makes no effort whatsoever. There's pretty clearly no cake there because she doesn't like it and doesn't want to mess with it. If she actually made an effort and had a treat that they actually cared about and wanted, regardless of whatever it was and whether or not it was store-bought or homemade, it wouldn't matter if there was a cake, and I doubt anyone would say anything. 

She can dictate that all she wants on her own birthday, but on someone else's birthday, it's not about her. It's about what they want. 

Edited June 18, 2022 by Zella

[Joan of Argh]

Wasn’t there a birthday recently, maybe Henry or Spurge and they threw a hunk of meat in a pan, cooked it then presented it to the kids as a special “Steak Dinner Treat!” Or some such nonsense….. no side dishes just a hunk of meat on a plate!

maybe it was a nightmare I had because I seem to remember Jessa giving Ivy “extra gristle” as a bonus!   😂🤮

Edited June 18, 2022 by Joan of Argh
Auto incorrect

[Cinnabon]

13 hours ago, the-grey-lady said:

Absolutely agree.

I wonder if growing up as [x] of 19 hasn't messed up Jessa's sense of individuality. I don't think JB&M had any understanding of who their kids were beyond members of a horde, so it makes sense that they never got anything tailored to themselves. How many times did we see that chocolate mess thing? That's a fine treat if that's what the kid wants, but did every Duggar kid love that thing? I doubt it.

Now we see Jessa rebelling against the idea she's not her own person, in small ways like not having cake at her wedding, but she can't do it like a normal person. Other people like cake even if she doesn't, but she seems to have no understanding of how to assert herself as an individual without being completely selfish. It's fine if she doesn't care for cake and wrapping paper, but her kids probably like those things, and it's like she's determined to force her newfound sense of personhood onto them.

Didn’t she have a small cake? She just didn’t care enough about the horde of nameless, rando fundies she invited to get one big enough to feed them . Or I could be imagining this.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Cinnabon

[emmawoodhouse]

39 minutes ago, Joan of Argh said:

Wasn’t there a birthday recently, maybe Henry or Spurge and they threw a hunk of meat in a pan, cooked it then presented it to the kids as a special “Steak Dinner Treat!” Or some such nonsense….. no side dishes just a hunk of meat on a plate!

maybe it was a nightmare I had because I seem to remember Jessa giving Ivy “extra gristle” as a bonus!   😂🤮

I remember that! But I don't remember whose birthday week it was. I do remember the steak looking like shoe leather. It was disgusting.

Just now, Cinnabon said:

Didn’t she have a small cake? She just didn’t care enough about the rando fundies she invited to get one big enough to feed them . Or I could be imagining this.

No cake at Jessa's wedding. Just the ill-advised ice cream bar in the freezing parking lot.

[Cinnabon]

11 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I get critiquing Jessa for half-assing celebrations and for her mirroring her upbringing with her children.  I'm all for talking about this. I do think Jessa is her mother's child and is raising her children in the exact same way her mother did. Michelle didn't give a shit about birthdays, so Jessa does the same.  

What I will push back on is the idea that cake is some sort of god-level dessert that absolutely must be served for every celebration the person who's being feted (and paying for it) be damned.  I have never been to a wedding where the cake was so delicious I was figuring out how to smuggle some more home with me.  Most of the time, I eat two bites while pretending to enjoy it.  

I’d rather have an ice cream cake, but not many have ever taken that into account. I’ll eat most desserts, anyway, 😆. Cake to me is mostly a vehicle for the frosting! I just wonder if Jessa has ever even asked her kids what their favorites are.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Cinnabon

[Joan of Argh]

15 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I remember that! But I don't remember whose birthday week it was. I do remember the steak looking like shoe leather. It was disgusting.

I found the video, it was Christmas 2021 the night they took the kids to the Christmas village, Henry kept crying and crying that his hands were freezing and Jessa said “Stick them in your pocket”

anyways they get home, the kids are tired and Ivy is cranky but Jessa says they’re gonna have their “Special Christmas Dinner!!!” So Ben throws a couple frozen solid steaks in a pan and then Jessa gives each kid a plate of meat… Ivy is grumpy and won’t eat her meat, she asks Jessa for the fat….Jessa gives her some crispy fat and Ivy gnaws on it,  Spurge and Henry are chowing down on their plates full of meat.

then Jessa TELLS them “OK guys we’ve had a FUN evening!” and “This is called Feasting for the Holidays!” And follows it with some reference to scriptures about feasting.

Ben cooks different meat (a couple rib eye steaks for himself and Jessa) and Ben chows down like a wolverine 😊

[iwantcookies]

What’s sad is Jessa thinks this is normal. She did not even bother with a big salad and fresh baked bread.

[Joan of Argh]

8 minutes ago, iwantcookies said:

What’s sad is Jessa thinks this is normal. She did not even bother with a big salad and fresh baked bread.

Exactly….. if this is what Jessa’s “Special Christmas Dinner” looks like…. what do her Basic Weeknight Meals consist of?

no wonder Henry is usually passed out in a heap clutching crackers 

I mean come on how hard is it to toss a few potatoes in the microwave…. serve them with the meat, sour cream and chives….. Ivy loves sour cream I bet she’d gobble up a baked potato with toppings….. but nope she gets 2 pieces of fat to gnaw on.  

[farmgal4]

7 hours ago, Cinnabon said:

Didn’t she have a small cake? She just didn’t care enough about the horde of nameless, rando fundies she invited to get one big enough to feed them . Or I could be imagining this.

Jessa had a smash cake for Ivy’s first birthday.

[xwordfanatik]

10 hours ago, Joan of Argh said:

I found the video, it was Christmas 2021 the night they took the kids to the Christmas village, Henry kept crying and crying that his hands were freezing and Jessa said “Stick them in your pocket”

anyways they get home, the kids are tired and Ivy is cranky but Jessa says they’re gonna have their “Special Christmas Dinner!!!” So Ben throws a couple frozen solid steaks in a pan and then Jessa gives each kid a plate of meat… Ivy is grumpy and won’t eat her meat, she asks Jessa for the fat….Jessa gives her some crispy fat and Ivy gnaws on it,  Spurge and Henry are chowing down on their plates full of meat.

then Jessa TELLS them “OK guys we’ve had a FUN evening!” and “This is called Feasting for the Holidays!” And follows it with some reference to scriptures about feasting.

Ben cooks different meat (a couple rib eye steaks for himself and Jessa) and Ben chows down like a wolverine 😊

How pitiful.  Looks like Ben is a lazy toad, like Jessa.  👎

[Churchhoney]

15 minutes ago, xwordfanatik said:

How pitiful.  Looks like Ben is a lazy toad, like Jessa.  👎

I sure hope they're done having kids, since they clearly don't even have the energy to create a very good home -- and school!-- life for these four. ... But I expect I hope in vain. 

[Lady Whistleup]

1 hour ago, Churchhoney said:

I sure hope they're done having kids, since they clearly don't even have the energy to create a very good home -- and school!-- life for these four. ... But I expect I hope in vain. 

They don't seem to like each other very much which is its own birth control ...

[cmr2014]

2 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

They don't seem to like each other very much which is its own birth control ...

It should be, but the "not liking" has been around for a while, and Ivy and Fern have arrived anyway . . .

It seems like it's impossible to convence any of them that the solution to all of life's problems isn't "more babies," but that seems to be the only tool in their toolkit (see Duggar, Anna). And, of course, when you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

[babyhouseman]

17 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

No cake at Jessa's wedding. Just the ill-advised ice cream bar in the freezing parking lot.

All the married girls' wedding receptions were lacking in the food department. 

[emmawoodhouse]

1 minute ago, babyhouseman said:

All the married girls' wedding receptions were lacking in the food department. 

Didn't Jinger's reception have real food, or am I misremembering?

[ginger90]

1 hour ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Didn't Jinger's reception have real food, or am I misremembering?

I don’t know how to quote and move to another thread. I guess I should learn!

From a People article:

After their nuptials, the newlyweds enjoyed a few moments alone before joining guests at their reception where pickled okra, cheese and crackers, and meatballs were served. They fed each other bites of a vanilla-flavored “naked cake” covered with grapes and berries, then hopped in a decorated vintage Jaguar for their grand exit.

The cake:

[GeeGolly]

Well, pickled okra, cheese and crackers, and meatballs are odd choices! I must have confused the rehearsal dinner with the wedding reception all these years, because I thought the had a typical sit down dinner. 

Pickled okra, cheese and crackers, and meatballs is far from a typical wedding reception menu in my world.

[emmawoodhouse]

14 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

Well, pickled okra, cheese and crackers, and meatballs are odd choices! I must have confused the rehearsal dinner with the wedding reception all these years, because I thought the had a typical sit down dinner. 

Pickled okra, cheese and crackers, and meatballs is far from a typical wedding reception menu in my world.

At least there was something in addition to cake (or ice cream in Jessa's case). 

[iwantcookies]

18 hours ago, Joan of Argh said:

Exactly….. if this is what Jessa’s “Special Christmas Dinner” looks like…. what do her Basic Weeknight Meals consist of?

no wonder Henry is usually passed out in a heap clutching crackers 

I mean come on how hard is it to toss a few potatoes in the microwave…. serve them with the meat, sour cream and chives….. Ivy loves sour cream I bet she’d gobble up a baked potato with toppings….. but nope she gets 2 pieces of fat to gnaw on.  

Or even warm up some canned baked beans… something to accompany the meat. Not even bread. 

[Joan of Argh]

3 hours ago, ginger90 said:

I don’t know how to quote and move to another thread. I guess I should learn!

From a People article:

After their nuptials, the newlyweds enjoyed a few moments alone before joining guests at their reception where pickled okra, cheese and crackers, and meatballs were served. They fed each other bites of a vanilla-flavored “naked cake” covered with grapes and berries, then hopped in a decorated vintage Jaguar for their grand exit.

The cake:

The bride and groom look like “Fisher-Price Little People” 😂

[jennblevins]

27 minutes ago, Joan of Argh said:

The bride and groom look like “Fisher-Price Little People” 😂

I’ve been to a couple of weddings where there were actual toy figures on the cake — superheroes, Playmobil people, Han and Leia.  

Of course, they all had cake, too, which puts them ahead of Jessa’s. 

[LilJen]

13 hours ago, Joan of Argh said:

The bride and groom look like “Fisher-Price Little People” 😂

We found actual bride and groom F-P Little People for our cake. We thought it was fun.

we also had real food.

[emmawoodhouse]

As usual, Jessa brings the 🙄 and the 🤮

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce_-8oqueBU/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[Lady Whistleup]

Quote

Dear Dad,
I love you so much and I’m so thankful to God for you! When I think of things I’m most grateful for, these 5 things top the list:
1). Reading and explaining the Word. Over the years, you read the Bible to us from cover to cover, pausing to explain and bring big ideas down to our level.
2). Applying the Word. Throughout my growing up years, you were faithful to grab on to hundreds of teaching opportunities, tying everyday situations back to God and the Bible.
3). Family prayer. Often you would lead us in times of family prayer where we would take turns praying for family, friends, missionaries, needs, life decisions and more. As a family, we brought our petitions to the Lord and witnessed countless answered prayers.
4). Quality time. You’ve always said your family was your hobby, and I can attest to the truth of that statement. Your evenings and weekends were nearly always devoted to us, and whether we were working together on a community service project or pitching a tent in the backyard to “camp out”, it was loads more fun having Dad present and involved!
5). Connecting with our hearts. You and Mom prioritized reaching our hearts through intentional one-on-one time— whether running errands or doing a project together, you’d make it a point to ask thoughtful questions, cheer us on, ask our advice and opinions, and pray with us individually.

I’m so thankful for these things and countless more! Thank you for pointing us to Christ in good times and in hard times. Thank you for seeking to humble yourself before God and before us, apologizing when you messed up. Thank you for extending grace when we messed up. I’m thankful for the godly legacy you’re passing on to the next generation! Keep fighting the good fight and pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Love, Jessa

Gross.

[babyhouseman]

15 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Gross.

Fatherhood is more than a hobby. And she put Mom in there too. Don't leave out Mother of the Year. I'm surprised she didn't include Spurge's witty sayings about Father's Day.

[iwantcookies]

Jessa really is sucking on her parents tit/bank account. How sad and pathetic. I feel sorry for Spurgeon, Henry, Ivy and Fern, your bright futures are ruined because your parents are too lazy to get jobs and disown Jim Bob and Michelle.

Free $ is more important than being free of toxic parents!

[Lady Whistleup]

Jessa reminds me of this one child of Bing Crosby's who refused to admit that Crosby was a mean drunk and an abusive husband and father. He went on for the rest of his life singing the braises of Crosby. 

[auntieminem]

I doubt Jill liked her post. 🤮  It is so crazy all the people liking and saying how great her post and JB are.  Of course there was a time when Jill would have agreed; when she was his favorite.  I can understand the younger ones thinking he is great compared to the other cult dads but the adults I don't get.  Especially after seeing how he dealt with Josh and sacrificed the rest of the family for him and lied.  

[GeeGolly]

I'm guessing Jessa genuinely feels what she wrote. But I'm also guessing she went over the top as a fuck you internet moment.

[Lady Whistleup]

None of her siblings have "liked" what she wrote.

Jessa is the only Duggar (I don't count Josh) who isn't trying to give her kids a better life than the one she had.

Every other Duggarling is doing so. Like every time I see Joy posting pix of Evy and Gideon bathing together, nearly naked, I think she's trying to make up for the body shaming she went through as a child. Is it misguided and foolish? Yes, but I get it.

Some of these steps seem weird to us, but they all seem to be coming from a place of "My kids arent going through what I went through."

Jessa went the opposite direction. She's determined to replicate her own childhood with her kids. 

Edited June 20, 2022 by Lady Whistleup

[Cinnabon]

3 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Gross.

Why is it a “fight” at all? Sounds so exhausting.

[Adeejay]

I've said it before and I will say it again, "Of all the Duggar siblings, I believe Jessa is the biggest Kool-Aid drinker. "

[Cinnabon]

1 hour ago, auntieminem said:

I doubt Jill liked her post. 🤮  It is so crazy all the people liking and saying how great her post and JB are.  Of course there was a time when Jill would have agreed; when she was his favorite.  I can understand the younger ones thinking he is great compared to the other cult dads but the adults I don't get.  Especially after seeing how he dealt with Josh and sacrificed the rest of the family for him and lied.  

Well, she spends a lot of time deleting all of the negative comments. 🤣

1 hour ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Every other Duggarling is doing so. Like every time I see Joy posting pix of Evy and Gideon bathing together, nearly naked, I think she's trying to make up for the body shaming she went through as a child. Is it misguided and foolish? Yes, but I get it

I’m not sure Joy is even thinking about it at all. Fine to let the kids play without many clothes, it’s hot! It’s the sharing them with millions of complete strangers that boggles the mind.

[lascuba]

3 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Jessa reminds me of this one child of Bing Crosby's who refused to admit that Crosby was a mean drunk and an abusive husband and father. He went on for the rest of his life singing the braises of Crosby. 

Janet Jackson insisted in her recent documentary that her father wasn't abusive, despite her and her siblings very explicitly describing his abuse in the past. That denial doesn't seem uncommon among abuse survivors. 

[Madtown]

A screen shot from her Instagram post. She wrote a novel for JB, but this about the father of her kids.

Happiest Father's Day to this amazing
Daddy! @ben_seewald Our kids think you hung the
moon-and so do I. 
 

Edited June 20, 2022 by Madtown

[iwantcookies]

14 minutes ago, Madtown said:

A screen shot from her Instagram post. She wrote a novel for JB, but this about the father of her kids.

Happiest Father's Day to this amazing
Daddy! @ben_seewald Our kids think you hung the
moon-
 

He can barely hang a shelf 🤣

[Lady Whistleup]

That’s sad that branded “Spurge” t shirts exist.

[YupItsMe]

The kids may think he hung the moon, but there’s no mention that she does too.

[emmawoodhouse]

1 minute ago, YupItsMe said:

The kids may think he hung the moon, but there’s no mention that she does too.

Yes there is, in the entirety of her post. And it sounds so insincere.

[ginger90]

The video:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfAqbXRDbGI/

[Madtown]

My bad. I didn’t get all her post. She said she did too, think he hung the moon. I edited my post. 

[Westiepeach]

Have we ever seen this picture before?

[Churchhoney]

14 hours ago, auntieminem said:

 but the adults I don't get.  Especially after seeing how he dealt with Josh and sacrificed the rest of the family for him and lied.  

Well, I'd bet part of it is that they just don't really know anybody else or any other kind of life.

They've been coached and shoved and endlessly harped at to see every other kind of life as terrible and dangerous and scary and ugly. 

Their parents, their church, their cult have all told them to shun everything that isn't their echo chamber. They don't read. They don't work for other people. They've never been to any kind of school. So to this day they've encountered absolutely no trustworthy references to tell them otherwise than the major major scare stories they got from JB, M and the Wisdom books. .... When they traveled, they traveled in a protected pack, and I have a feeling JB and M warned them every day of their travels to steer clear of all those strange people they've seen and pointed out the horrors of the foreign food they were encountering! And never get on a school bus!  All those "other" people are going to hell! 

Plus, their bubble has been a very cushy place to live for many years now, too, with JB handing out cars and snowboarding and hunting trips. If it gets more financially wobbly over time, more of them may start wondering whether the outside world is so bad after all. And maybe some of them are even wondering now, post-trial. 

Jessa's one of the last who'd ever allow herself to wonder, I'd guess. She seems to be a person who's pretty uncomfortable with anything unfamiliar to her. And it seems she's quite dependent on Duggar Dollars. Anybody who's like that will just sing JB-and-M praises forever, probably. 

[Churchhoney]

11 hours ago, Madtown said:

11 hours ago, Madtown said:

A screen shot from her Instagram post. She wrote a novel for JB, but this about the father of her kids.

Happiest Father's Day to this amazing
Daddy! @ben_seewald Our kids think you hung the
moon-and so do I. 
 

Well, I know there's some possibility that Bin has a good paying job somewhere.....But as far as we know, JB has provided Jessa with a lot more cash over the years....🙂

1 hour ago, Westiepeach said:

Have we ever seen this picture before?

They sure do love 1955. 

Edited June 20, 2022 by Churchhoney