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

[Pinke]

On 28/12/2017 at 6:24 PM, Angeltoes said:

"..link in my bio" like she's Elizabeth Taylor or something.  Girl, join reality, nobody would ever have known your name if you're parents weren't loons.

Not to defend Jessa, but that's actually the term Instagram uses to describe this section of a user's profile. I agree it may sound pretentious (not a big fan of Instagram myself), but it's pretty standard/common lingo for this platform so I won't really fault her for that myself.

Edited January 2, 2018 by PinkyCupcake

[Mollie]

4 hours ago, flyingdi said:

I agree as to where I think Jessa and Jill are the most adverse to too much change.  I think Jessa enjoys knowing everything there is to know about her environment.  I don't think she enjoys feeling out of control.  If she did move to Texas she would rely heavily on Jinger.

Jessa is 25 years old and has never displayed any outside interests, hobbies, talents or skills.  She is truly a boring person who can't even be bothered to keep her house clean. 

[GeeGolly]

8 hours ago, Mollie said:

Jessa is 25 years old and has never displayed any outside interests, hobbies, talents or skills.  She is truly a boring person who can't even be bothered to keep her house clean. 

Her only named skill is bitch. Michelle and most of her siblings have said if you want something done have Jessa be the 'overseer'. Jessa is a loud mouth ring leader in the Duggar Circus, but a lonely, insecure, self-conscious girl in the real world.  

Jessa is very much like JB & Josh and really puts her energy into what is good for Jessa. If Jessa would some how benefit from having pouty unkempt children, I'm sure those are the pictures we would see.

Edited January 3, 2018 by GeeGolly

[Arwen Evenstar]

I would say that Jill is more bookish and emo than Jessa.  Jessa has the life hacks of Being Duggar down. She knows what she needs to say/do. Make NO mistake, Jessa knows what side her bread is buttered on!

[HoboClayton]

That Spurgeon could be a star. One of the cutest kids I have ever seen. Would be a shame to take that light away from him. Well, both of them. 

[flyingdi]

3 hours ago, Mollie said:

Jessa is 25 years old and has never displayed any outside interests, hobbies, talents or skills.  She is truly a boring person who can't even be bothered to keep her house clean. 

When they have listed the children's talents Jessa was always described as organized.  Since when is that a talent?Jessa probably would have been the child who most benefited from a decent education if she had been offered one.

Edited January 3, 2018 by flyingdi

[floridamom]

Gee, if Jessa was really so organized, her own home would reflect that today. She is really an unorganized, lazy mess. Her house is proof of that to me.

[GeeGolly]

27 minutes ago, floridamom said:

Gee, if Jessa was really so organized, her own home would reflect that today. She is really an unorganized, lazy mess. Her house is proof of that to me.

Yup, she's only organized when she has a bunch of minions to order around.

[floridamom]

Yes, Jessa may have been the family 'packer', but she's good a telling others what to do....it seems she can't to squat herself. If she really was an organized person, her little two bedroom one bath home would reflect that. Being an organized person myself, I wouldn't be able to stand living in a toxic waste dump of a home like she's comfortable doing.

[lascuba]

Jessa's organized when she has people breathing down her neck. Now that she has her own home without the pressure of 19 other people to keep organized and parents to insist that she do it, she's become a slacker.

Sort of how Jill was apparently a great sister mom but is an unengaged disaster with her own kids. Burn out will do that to anyone.

[Arwen Evenstar]

40 minutes ago, lascuba said:

Jessa's organized when she has people breathing down her neck. Now that she has her own home without the pressure of 19 other people to keep organized and parents to insist that she do it, she's become a slacker.

Sort of how Jill was apparently a great sister mom but is an unengaged disaster with her own kids. Burn out will do that to anyone.

ITA. These young women have never had a life of their own or even a moment that was their own for that matter.  Burnout is definitely a  real thing and may be behind the disengagement.  I also think that their aziness is a form of rebellion and the only way they can say FU to Ma and Pa Kettle for forcing them into years of servitude and religious and psychological abuse. Wouldn’t at all be surprised if PTSD, particularly with Jilly’s behavior, wasn’t also part of the equation.  

Kids should definitely have chores as a means to learn about obligations and things they will have to do as adults.  Raising your siblings while your mom passes them off for you to raise so she can get knocked up again.ASAP shouldn’t be on any child’s chore list.

[DangerousMinds]

On 1/2/2018 at 2:19 PM, Sew Sumi said:

The only time she ever had a comeback was with the dirty house post. It was pretty defensive, though. 

And I don't think she wrote that comeback herself.

when has Bin ever cooked or cleaned?

[SMama]

Jessa humble bragged on IG about Ben making her dinner, a pasta dish if IIRC; I have read he was shown making breakfast on CO (eggs?). Either way he seems to be more skilled than his helpmeet. BTW, the pasta did not look bad, unlike Jessa's sweet potato monstrosity.

[Genevrier]

20 hours ago, flyingdi said:

When they have listed the children's talents Jessa was always described as organized.  Since when is that a talent?

Well, I’ve always wished I had that one. And so, I suspect, did everyone around me. ;-) You can learn to be organized, but it comes more easily to some people than to others. Like everything else in life, I guess.

[Angeltoes]

Has Jesse announced she's pregnant again? Sure looks like it.

http://duggarfamily.com

[Marigold]

Just coming to comment on the same thing.

Jessa looks pregnant in that dress and she is wearing pants/leggings under it. 

her hair looked better though. 

[Lunera]

I think Jessa is waiting until after Henry's birthday to announce  

[Caracoa1]

Is the reason these girls don't announce their due dates because they have not been to a licensed physician who actually confirmed their pregnancy?  I'm thinking they test daily the way other people brush their teeth!

[saylubee]

3 minutes ago, Caracoa1 said:

Is the reason these girls don't announce their due dates because they have not been to a licensed physician who actually confirmed their pregnancy?  I'm thinking they test daily the way other people brush their teeth!

No, Jill announced her exact due date with Israel and she went over by two weeks.  She took a lot of heat in the media for being reckless, especially when it led to a bad birth experience.  After that they stopped announcing exact dates and have gone with seasons (due in Winter) or months (due in February).

[drafan]

8 hours ago, Lunera said:

I think Jessa is waiting until after Henry's birthday to announce  

Looks like she's holding his hands away from the cradling the belly position. Tsk, tsk, Ben. You forgot that there's a paycheck to be gained from waiting.

Jessa must be ecstatic that her role model, Joanna Gaines, is having a billion kids, along with her  (JG's) sister.

((And that's a mustard-colored DRESS bought off the same clearance rack as the mustard-colored sweaters. It's too short for Fundy acceptability, so therefore the leggings.))

[lookeyloo]

9 hours ago, Lunera said:

I think Jessa is waiting until after Henry's birthday to announce  

She looks like she is trying to keep Bin's hands off her belly.  And look at his smirk. 

[GeeGolly]

No need for an MD visit for a due date. Obstetricians calculate due date by last period. For the math challenged the internet and phone apps will do it for you.  

[Marigold]

I noticed that too!

Jessa is aware that Ben could easily pull the fabric of her dress tight across her stomach and she has both his hands immobilized for the video. 

I do that too with my husband...he tries to hug me like Ben is doing for a picture and I'd prefer to keep the fabric a little looser around my middle. :)

[dargosmydaddy]

25 minutes ago, Marigold said:

Jessa is aware that Ben could easily pull the fabric of her dress tight across her stomach and she has both his hands immobilized for the video.

Maybe some Samuel-style swaddling is needed. Talk to Jill, Jessa.

[Temperance]

10 hours ago, saylubee said:

No, Jill announced her exact due date with Israel and she went over by two weeks.  She took a lot of heat in the media for being reckless, especially when it led to a bad birth experience.  After that they stopped announcing exact dates and have gone with seasons (due in Winter) or months (due in February).

 Jessa also announced the exact due date after Jill had the baby. I remember her date was her wedding anniversary November 1st. She also went over, and had a dangerous birth. Since then, they keep the dates vague. 

Edited January 4, 2018 by Temperance

[Sew Sumi]

Jessa only went over by 4 days, no biggie.

[Marigold]

I can kinda understand not giving exact dates.  Media can get a little over intrusive, especially at 40 weeks of pregnancy, no one is in the mood.

[FairyDusted]

I saw something more interesting congrats to......Jing????!!!! For what? Oh FFS Nooooo!

[Temperance]

On 1/4/2018 at 9:07 AM, drafan said:

Jessa must be ecstatic that her role model, Joanna Gaines, is having a billion kids, along with her  (JG's) sister.

I always wonder if Jessa likes the Gaines, partly because they have a letter-theme going. 

Edited January 6, 2018 by Temperance

[lascuba]

On 1/4/2018 at 6:55 PM, Marigold said:

I can kinda understand not giving exact dates.  Media can get a little over intrusive, especially at 40 weeks of pregnancy, no one is in the mood.

Social media was out of control waiting for Israel'ls birth. Jill absolutely deserved to be raked over the coals for her choices, but I still don't blame her for waiting to announce her pregnancy and not announcing the due date the second time around. 

[DangerousMinds]

It's their choice to involve the media/social media. They can step away at any point.

[cmr2014]

8 hours ago, Temperance said:

I always wonder if Jessa likes the Gaines, partly because they have a letter-theme going. 

I think Jessa likes the Gaines because she envisions something like that for herself.

The reality is that if the Duggars were to start their own little "Duggar World," people would come. They could have a "Marketplace" style restaurant and bill that served "favorite Duggar family recipes" (even though we, and the patrons, would know that there are no such things). There could be a little bakery and an ice cream shop. There could be a little gift shop that sold home made jams and jellies (maybe wrapped with little Bible verses) that said "Made by Jana" or "Made by Jill and Grandma." They could sell the Duggar books, a selection of inspirational Christian books, the parenting wisdom of the Pearls, etc. People could stroll through "Jana's Garden," and visit the "Garden Shop." 

The Duggars could, in fact, do that, and people would come, and it would employ the entire family and make enough money to support the mob. They could do that, but they won't. To do that, they would have to get up before noon, and everyone would have to work, and everyone would have to show up every day.

[GeeGolly]

2 minutes ago, cmr2014 said:

I think Jessa likes the Gaines because she envisions something like that for herself.

The reality is that if the Duggars were to start their own little "Duggar World," people would come. They could have a "Marketplace" style restaurant and bill that served "favorite Duggar family recipes" (even though we, and the patrons, would know that there are no such things). There could be a little bakery and an ice cream shop. There could be a little gift shop that sold home made jams and jellies (maybe wrapped with little Bible verses) that said "Made by Jana" or "Made by Jill and Grandma." They could sell the Duggar books, a selection of inspirational Christian books, the parenting wisdom of the Pearls, etc. People could stroll through "Jana's Garden," and visit the "Garden Shop." 

The Duggars could, in fact, do that, and people would come, and it would employ the entire family and make enough money to support the mob. They could do that, but they won't. To do that, they would have to get up before noon, and everyone would have to work, and everyone would have to show up every day.

Sad but true that if they build it people would come.

So very true they could never pull it off because it would take a lot of work.

[drafan]

3 minutes ago, cmr2014 said:

I

The reality is that if the Duggars were to start their own little "Duggar World," people would come. They could have a "Marketplace" style restaurant and bill that served "favorite Duggar family recipes" (even though we, and the patrons, would know that there are no such things). There could be a little bakery and an ice cream shop. There could be a little gift shop that sold home made jams and jellies (maybe wrapped with little Bible verses) that said "Made by Jana" or "Made by Jill and Grandma." They could sell the Duggar books, a selection of inspirational Christian books, the parenting wisdom of the Pearls, etc. People could stroll through "Jana's Garden," and visit the "Garden Shop." 

The Duggars could, in fact, do that, and people would come, and it would employ the entire family and make enough money to support the mob. They could do that, but they won't. To do that, they would have to get up before noon, and everyone would have to work, and everyone would have to show up every day.

This sounds like "Conservative Christian Cracker Barrel" (which means it's a slight tweak of CB)  .....so therefore it would attract Fundies and Grannies....good thing they'll never get around to doing it.

[lascuba]

9 hours ago, DangerousMinds said:

It's their choice to involve the media/social media. They can step away at any point.

Sure, and stepping away includes limiting the information they offer. 

Yes, they ask for a lot of shot by sharing their lives, and I don't sympathize at all, but stupid people on social media are stupid even if I don't care about the victims of said stupidity. 

[lascuba]

9 hours ago, cmr2014 said:

I think Jessa likes the Gaines because she envisions something like that for herself.

The reality is that if the Duggars were to start their own little "Duggar World," people would come. They could have a "Marketplace" style restaurant and bill that served "favorite Duggar family recipes" (even though we, and the patrons, would know that there are no such things). There could be a little bakery and an ice cream shop. There could be a little gift shop that sold home made jams and jellies (maybe wrapped with little Bible verses) that said "Made by Jana" or "Made by Jill and Grandma." They could sell the Duggar books, a selection of inspirational Christian books, the parenting wisdom of the Pearls, etc. People could stroll through "Jana's Garden," and visit the "Garden Shop." 

The Duggars could, in fact, do that, and people would come, and it would employ the entire family and make enough money to support the mob. They could do that, but they won't. To do that, they would have to get up before noon, and everyone would have to work, and everyone would have to show up every day.

This reminds me of the pioneer woman. Built up a popular blog and expanded that into a store/restaurant (or something like that...haven't followed her in years). The Duggars could have absolutely done that, but they were so focused on the show and speaking engagements that they never worked towards that,  and they developed some bad habits that I think it would be impossible for them to pull off now, even without the taint of the scandals.

And by bad habits, I mean how stilted and boring they are on camera. People are interested in the freak show aspect but only the true leghumpers would want to spend money on any merchandise they put out, and there aren't enough leghumpers. They're just not engaging or charismatic at all, and it's well established that their taste in food is garbage. 

If they thought long term, then maybe. If Jessa, for example, had stuck to those "cooking" videos and did a "watch me as I learn to cook!" Vlog or something, in a few years she might have been able to build to something. But she chickened out when people mocked her.  

[Maharincess]

On 1/4/2018 at 6:09 AM, GeeGolly said:

No need for an MD visit for a due date. Obstetricians calculate due date by last period. For the math challenged the internet and phone apps will do it for you.  

I was always told to take the first day of your last period, count back three months and add seven days. I figured out my due date that way before I ever went to the Dr.  The Dr gave me the same date I had figured out. 

Edited January 7, 2018 by Maharincess

[doodlebug]

49 minutes ago, Maharincess said:

I was always told to take the first day of your last period, count back three months and add seven days. I figured out my due date that way before I ever went to the Dr.  The Dr gave me the same date I had figured out. 

Nagel's Rule. I use it all the time even though my office computer has a fancy gestational calculator and I've got dozens of cardboard gestational wheels lying around the office.  

[queenanne]

16 hours ago, cmr2014 said:

I think Jessa likes the Gaines because she envisions something like that for herself.

The reality is that if the Duggars were to start their own little "Duggar World," people would come. They could have a "Marketplace" style restaurant and bill that served "favorite Duggar family recipes" (even though we, and the patrons, would know that there are no such things). There could be a little bakery and an ice cream shop. There could be a little gift shop that sold home made jams and jellies (maybe wrapped with little Bible verses) that said "Made by Jana" or "Made by Jill and Grandma." They could sell the Duggar books, a selection of inspirational Christian books, the parenting wisdom of the Pearls, etc. People could stroll through "Jana's Garden," and visit the "Garden Shop." 

The Duggars could, in fact, do that, and people would come, and it would employ the entire family and make enough money to support the mob. They could do that, but they won't. To do that, they would have to get up before noon, and everyone would have to work, and everyone would have to show up every day.

Can't you imagine Jessa at a family meeting, trying to cheerleader and gin up enough interest to get everyone to agree to do this?  85% of the Duggars would look at her and go, "Eh!  Meh!  Sounds too much like work!"

[BitterApple]

I agree with the above comments. I think Jessa wants to mold herself into some sort of Christian lifestyle brand, she just has no idea how to go about doing it and likely underestimates the amount of work and hustle it takes to make yourself successful. The Duggars are lazy and entitled. They're used to setting their own schedules, drifting in to events on "Duggar Time" and reaping rewards for minimal effort. Jessa would need to do a complete 180 in terms of work ethic.

Edited January 7, 2018 by BitterApple

[GeeGolly]

Jessa or any Duggar would need to invest a lot of money as well as hard work to get anything close to Magnolia off the ground. And in the end they would need to be good business people as well as creative - neither talent I've seen in a Duggar.

[tabloidlover]

8 hours ago, queenanne said:

Can't you imagine Jessa at a family meeting, trying to cheerleader and gin up enough interest to get everyone to agree to do this?  85% of the Duggars would look at her and go, "Eh!  Meh!  Sounds too much like work!"

Hilarious!!    Now THAT would make an excellent special episode!   I would watch that in a heartbeat.   Can you imagine the blank stares?   

*Thank you to @queenanne for giving me my first laugh of the day!

[DangerousMinds]

30 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

Jessa or any Duggar would need to invest a lot of money as well as hard work to get anything close to Magnolia off the ground. And in the end they would need to be good business people as well as creative - neither talent I've seen in a Duggar.

Yes, none have shown even an ounce of creativity. Especially Jessa. She doesn't even have any of her own interests, besides self absorption.

[kokapetl]

What’s the appeal of the Gaineses? The only time I’ve ever seen them on tv, they were super fakily feigning excitement while filming a birth of a goat (while the camera crew filmed them filming it), like a pair of Katie Courics.  

And those silos are a pair of boobs, can’t the Duggars see that?

[Churchhoney]

11 minutes ago, Kokapetl said:

What’s the appeal of the Gaineses?

They have fame, adulation, and an apparently thriving money tree. You mean you need something else to be appealing? lol

And if the Duggs see that the silos are boobs (juggs?), they probably figure that the building's pregnant. All modesty bets are off at that point. 

Edited January 7, 2018 by Churchhoney

[cmr2014]

39 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

Jessa or any Duggar would need to invest a lot of money as well as hard work to get anything close to Magnolia off the ground. And in the end they would need to be good business people as well as creative - neither talent I've seen in a Duggar.

I agree with you on this. The more I think about it, the more I think -- they could create something like this, but they would mess it up and it would fail.

Maganolia is in downtown Waco. Think about the Duggars take on "location, location, location" -- they live near the town dump.

The Gaines have taken some interesting historic buildings and, working with that theme, have created a cute destination. The Duggars would probably try to set up their own version in one of their warehouses.

The Gaineses could decorate a restaurant with mismatched furniture and it would look eclectic because they have a sense of style. The Duggars would decorate a restaurant with all of the rubbish from their warehouses and it would look just like that -- rubbish.

the Gaineses appear to be astute business people, JB is just cheap. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money, and invest for the long-term. He would never do that. Everything would be done on the cheap, and it would show.

Someone would have to go to actual college and take some business classes and learn about marketing.

But, most of all, it would take work. It would takes tons of coordinated effort among a lot of people who are all -- as far as I can tell -- bone lazy. Why get up in the morning and work hard, when you can sleep in and do a couple of speaking engagements every few months and keep the whole creaking mess afloat? Never mind that the speaking engagements are drying up, and there are more mouths to feed every year.

The Duggars are dim-witted, lazy people who fell ass-backwards into a pile of money and have convinced themselves that they deserve to be rich because they are the most Jesusy, Christiany people on Earth -- oh, and they have 19 kids -- have they told you about that?

[DangerousMinds]

18 minutes ago, Kokapetl said:

What’s the appeal of the Gaineses? The only time I’ve ever seen them on tv, they were super fakily feigning excitement while filming a birth of a goat (while the camera crew filmed them filming it), like a pair of Katie Courics.  

And those silos are a pair of boobs, can’t the Duggars see that?

I could never stand then, so I also question their appeal.

I do believe the Gainese both attended college, so the Duggars will never be like them.

[Minivanessa]

5 minutes ago, Kokapetl said:

What’s the appeal of the Gaineses? The only time I’ve ever seen them on tv, they were super fakily feigning excitement while filming a birth of a goat (while the camera crew filmed them filming it), like a pair of Katie Courics.  

And those silos are a pair of boobs, can’t the Duggars see that?

[While I was writing this, others posted replies, and I agree with what they've said. Here's my two cents worth.]

If you mean appeal to the average viewer, I watched a season or so of their show and thought it was less obnoxious than the general HGTV fare, but I soon got tired of the same old same old format of every episode. Both Chip and Joanna are savvy and well-educated people (they both have degrees from Baylor U., and Joanna after getting her BA in Communications, interned in NYC for a year). IMO they come across onscreen as both knowledgeable and experienced at house renovation and home design, and as pleasant and positive people. IIRC (and I could be wrong) the earlier episodes didn't focus as much on their own family as the later ones did. At any rate, they've built their brands (Fixer Upper and Magnolia) with a huge fan base and now a prosperous business. 

Magnolia stuff is really trendy now, I think especially in Texas and that region. 

The idea of Jessa Duggar Seewald thinking she could be the next Joanna Gaines is, sadly, ridiculous. She doesn't have the education, real world experience, or work ethic. If she has any talent for design it hasn't been encouraged or developed by education, training, or experience. All Jessa has in common with Joanna is that they've both been on some kind of reality TV shows, and they probably hold some similar Christian religious beliefs. But I have no reason to believe the Gaineses ever got into anything like Gothardism.

Jessa's and Joanna's experiences with TV were radically different. Chip and Joanna worked (note that active verb: work) at the business of house flipping for years, then took that to TV. The Duggar parents had babies and followed Gothard and were freaky enough to get their own TV show which just followed them around as they were being Duggars (aka self-righteous self-absorbed smug ignorant people living in a fundie echo chamber and keeping themselves as separate from the big wide world as possible). Jessa was a child when she started being on TV. She's never worked at any kind of job or had to manage or build a business. She's a great Duggar, has pushed out two babies and will soon be knocked up again if she's not already. Apparently the Duggar name generates enough online clicks that they will probably remain D list celebs with a TLC show for at least a few more years. 

[Arwen Evenstar]

9 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

The idea of Jessa Duggar Seewald thinking she could be the next Joanna Gaines is, sadly, ridiculous. She doesn't have the education, real world experience, or work ethic. If she has any talent for design it hasn't been encouraged or developed by education, training, or experience. All Jessa has in common with Joanna is that they've both been on some kind of reality TV shows, and they probably hold some similar Christian religious beliefs. But I have no reason to believe the Gaineses ever got into anything like Gothardism.

 

Bbbbbbut, the Gaineses never posted piles of filthy nappies on instagram.  Obviously, because they think that’s just NASTY!

[MsJamieDornan]

11 hours ago, cmr2014 said:

I agree with you on this. The more I think about it, the more I think -- they could create something like this, but they would mess it up and it would fail.

Maganolia is in downtown Waco. Think about the Duggars take on "location, location, location" -- they live near the town dump.

The Gaines have taken some interesting historic buildings and, working with that theme, have created a cute destination. The Duggars would probably try to set up their own version in one of their warehouses.

The Gaineses could decorate a restaurant with mismatched furniture and it would look eclectic because they have a sense of style. The Duggars would decorate a restaurant with all of the rubbish from their warehouses and it would look just like that -- rubbish.

the Gaineses appear to be astute business people, JB is just cheap. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money, and invest for the long-term. He would never do that. Everything would be done on the cheap, and it would show.

Someone would have to go to actual college and take some business classes and learn about marketing.

But, most of all, it would take work. It would takes tons of coordinated effort among a lot of people who are all -- as far as I can tell -- bone lazy. Why get up in the morning and work hard, when you can sleep in and do a couple of speaking engagements every few months and keep the whole creaking mess afloat? Never mind that the speaking engagements are drying up, and there are more mouths to feed every year.

The Duggars are dim-witted, lazy people who fell ass-backwards into a pile of money and have convinced themselves that they deserve to be rich because they are the most Jesusy, Christiany people on Earth -- oh, and they have 19 kids -- have they told you about that?

I wish I could “like” this 100 times. You have described them perfectly! 

Edited January 8, 2018 by MsJamieDornan