All Episodes Talk: Small World, Big Lives

[LucyEth]

14 hours ago, Joan of Argh said:

You’re right it was fake snow, u could see it flying out of the machine in a couple scenes. ❄️ 

They really go overboard, probably on TLC's dime

 

14 hours ago, BrownBear2012 said:

Could be but toddlers can easily be overwhelmed by lots of family members and other stuff, like Christmas party decorations, etc…I know my grandson at that age would cling to his mama when he came to a family gathering even though I babysat him almost every day while mom and dad were at work. After 15 or 20 minutes he would loosen up and sit on my lap.

 Yes, a lot of pressure on a kid that is treated like the Second Coming!

[BrownBear2012]

2 hours ago, LucyEth said:

They really go overboard, probably on TLC's dime

 

 Yes, a lot of pressure on a kid that is treated like the Second Coming!

So true...everything is about Jackson. I wonder if they pay as much attention to Jeremy and Audrey's kids.

[chenoa333]

On 6/25/2021 at 11:14 AM, BrownBear2012 said:

So true...everything is about Jackson. I wonder if they pay as much attention to Jeremy and Audrey's kids.

I feel sad for both of the kids just because Zach is their father. 

[EllaWycliffe]

4 minutes ago, chenoa333 said:

I feel sad for both of the kids just because Zach is their father. 

Zach isn't winning any prizes but he does seem to provide for the kids, love them, and generally be concerned for them. I've seen much worse on tv and not. 

[floridamom]

Zach did not choose his lot in life. He was handed some pretty difficult physical circumstances. I feel for him about those things. I wish him good health and physical comfort moving forward. He seems to be a relatively nice guy too. His upbringing, work ethic could be anyone else's issue too. I also believe that he loves his children...good for him; he should love them and provide the best he can for them. I, however, question the wisdom of he and Tori continuing to roll the dice on the health of any future biological children.

[Quof]

12 hours ago, EllaWycliffe said:

he does seem to provide for the kids

By putting them on television and hawking them on social media (or at least being complicit in his wife's social media choices).  Has he ever had a job that would support a family?

[winsomeone]

Is it common to have a formal wedding in a barn? Will they sit around in their fine clothes on hay bales since Amy said they can't change into comfortable clothes after the ceremony? Amy lived on the farm for 30 years, so she must know that you never have just one mouse. Hope her hoard isn't worse than they are saying or showing.

[Quof]

Formal weddings in barns are very much a Pinterest thing. As long as the bride gets great photos for the 'gram, guests' comfort doesn't matter. 

[winsomeone]

To each their own i guess. Sure seems a big space to decorate too. 

[Absolom]

1 hour ago, winsomeone said:

Hope her hoard isn't worse than they are saying or showing.

I thought they were at her father's summer place.  If it isn't used year round, I wouldn't be shocked at a small critter or two.  

[EllaWycliffe]

2 hours ago, Quof said:

By putting them on television and hawking them on social media (or at least being complicit in his wife's social media choices).  Has he ever had a job that would support a family?

In fairness he is following his father's example - let's all remember Matt was unemployed for a year prior to the show starting. 

And like it or not, Zach is a paid member of the cast so yes, he has a job where he is filmed at some not so great moments where he is held up for public criticism and that does support his family. Since he is likely to have difficulty finding work equally lucrative, he's probably the one person in this family that I don't mind riding the gravy train. He may not be terribly bright, and he certainly may be lazy but "be filmed and make 150k per year or work min wage at a low end position?" - I think he made the right choice. 

My larger point I suppose is that if Zach and Tory aren't allowed to bitch when they get publically castigated for not taking the kids to the doctor enough for the public to be satisfied BECAUSE they are getting paychecks, then we can't also say "they don't work". They do work, they work on a reality show.

Edited June 27, 2021 by EllaWycliffe

[DonnaMae]

14 minutes ago, Absolom said:

I thought they were at her father's summer place.  If it isn't used year round, I wouldn't be shocked at a small critter or two.  

What does this have to do with the wedding in Oregon?

[SunnyBeBe]

I’ve attended several out door weddings in rustic, farm like venues where the dress is quite formal.  The receptions I attended did have a designated area to sit and eat your food.  Some were in an air conditioned building on site and others were under a open air covered area with a dance floor and place for the band.  That’s the downside to the Roloff farm venue. The barn is not large enough to accommodate the reception. I guess they could put up a tent or two to accommodate the reception area.  

[Rabbittron]

59 minutes ago, DonnaMae said:

What does this have to do with the wedding in Oregon?

It doesn't remember there are other things to talk about. 

[EllaWycliffe]

I'd use Zach and Jeremy's weddings as an example, and not any of the half assed wedding barn episodes. With the twins, no expense was spared, there were tents and dance floors and extensive professional decorating. The dress wasn't formal per se but suits and nice dresses, which I sense is where Amy is going 

It was really noticeable how much nicer those weddings were.

To me the big downcheck for doing a wedding with a lot of people on Roloff Farms? I don't like portapotties. 

 

[stoppro]

amy cooks for that wedding,they will need all the porta pottys they can get!

[winsomeone]

When they used to rent the farm out for weddings, was Amy a wedding planner?

[DonnaMae]

1 hour ago, Rabbittron said:

It doesn't remember there are other things to talk about. 

Yes, that's true.  But your comment has nothing to do with what Winsomeone was talking about. 

[ginger90]

2 hours ago, DonnaMae said:

What does this have to do with the wedding in Oregon?

Sometimes one can forget which thread they are posting in. That’s my guess.

Not a biggie.

[LucyEth]

2 hours ago, Absolom said:

I thought they were at her father's summer place.  If it isn't used year round, I wouldn't be shocked at a small critter or two.  

The mouse was in her little kitchen in her own home, not at the dad's summer place.

[chediavolo]

2 hours ago, EllaWycliffe said:

I'd use Zach and Jeremy's weddings as an example, and not any of the half assed wedding barn episodes. With the twins, no expense was spared, there were tents and dance floors and extensive professional decorating. The dress wasn't formal per se but suits and nice dresses, which I sense is where Amy is going 

It was really noticeable how much nicer those weddings were.

To me the big downcheck for doing a wedding with a lot of people on Roloff Farms? I don't like portapotties. 

 

I can NOT imagine using a disgusting porta potty at a wedding. Where are you are dressed up in possibly expensive most likely nice clothes

there’s no place to wash your hands

I can’t stand using those horrible things even when I’m out at a flea market🤮

[EllaWycliffe]

4 minutes ago, chediavolo said:

I can NOT imagine using a disgusting porta potty at a wedding. Where are you are dressed up in possibly expensive most likely nice clothes

there’s no place to wash your hands

This was always why I never saw Roloff Farms as a great wedding venue. There's rustic ambiance... and then there's shitting in a porta potty. 

Admittedly, I am "indoorsy" so I don't see the appeal of an outdoor wedding anyway. 

[all4mom2]

4 hours ago, Absolom said:

I thought they were at her father's summer place.  If it isn't used year round, I wouldn't be shocked at a small critter or two.  

The mouse incident occurred in Amy Roloff's Little Kitchen.  Not only a mouse, but a flooded room (the mouse was drowning in the water).  Chris was there, thankfully, to alert her (still in bed) and turn off the hot water, which had flooded the new kitchen floor.  All things considered, we can probably forgive her for not showering and washing her hair THAT morning...

Edited June 27, 2021 by all4mom2

[all4mom2]

4 hours ago, EllaWycliffe said:

In fairness he is following his father's example - let's all remember Matt was unemployed for a year prior to the show starting.

I thought Amy said Matt was working a full-time job when they bought the farm (then additionally supervised the farm).  I suppose at some point he transitioned to making the farm his full-time job, which was smart since you can't always count on someone else to hire you when you're a little person or otherwise disabled.  I certainly don't think anyone could ever accuse Matt of being lazy or directionless.

 

[AZChristian]

4 hours ago, all4mom2 said:

The mouse incident occurred in Amy Roloff's Little Kitchen.  Not only a mouse, but a flooded room (the mouse was drowning in the water).  Chris was there, thankfully, to alert her (still in bed) and turn off the hot water, which had flooded the new kitchen floor.  All things considered, we can probably forgive her for not showering and washing her hair THAT morning...

But she said she was filming the "corn" beef hash cooking at 7:00 or 7:30 PM.  After all they went through that morning, the FIRST thing I'd be looking to do is shower.  

Oh, and Fry's (Kroger's) and Walmart (other places, too, I'd bet) have beef brisket for sale right now.  It's June/almost July.

She kept talking about how time consuming it was to make it.  You drop it into the brine and stick it in the "fridgerator" for several days, then stick it into the crockpot and let it cook.  It's not like you have to dedicate yourself to actually DOING something with it for all that time.  One of the "how to" places I googled talked about how EASY it is to do it yourself.  

Edited June 27, 2021 by AZChristian
Clarity and grammar.

[AZChristian]

8 minutes ago, all4mom2 said:

I suppose at some point he transitioned to making the farm his full-time job, which was smart since you can't always count on someone else to hire you when you're a little person or otherwise disabled.  

I remember a couple of seasons into filming, Matt was apparently managing the farm (and the contracts with TLC) full time.  Amy insisted he needed to go BACK to having a full-time job (maybe for the benefits, or maybe she just didn't want him around all the time).  They showed him getting a job fairly quickly, and then zipping around on his small motorized scooter around an airport.

I've always thought he was pretty clever to be able to provide such a nice lifestyle for his family, given his physical challenges.

[all4mom2]

Wasn't he also very active in LPA at that time?  The first episode of the show featured him giving a speech at a school (maybe his kids').  I think his stool business has been around a long time, too.  At any rate, it was interesting in the last episode to hear Amy concede that of course Matt was physically unable to perform the farm work himself, so his "job" was supervising the labor of others.  

[EllaWycliffe]

32 minutes ago, all4mom2 said:

I thought Amy said Matt was working a full-time job when they bought the farm (then additionally supervised the farm). 

He was. However when the show began, he had been unemployed for at least a year and was in the process of suing his former employer for firing him. He lost the lawsuit. 

22 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Amy insisted he needed to go BACK to having a full-time job (maybe for the benefits, or maybe she just didn't want him around all the time). 

Amy was worried at the end of season one that there wouldn't be a season two - season one was filled with catastrophic health issues for Zach if you recall so benefits were likely a concern since TLC doesn't provide health care. 

 

32 minutes ago, all4mom2 said:

I certainly don't think anyone could ever accuse Matt of being lazy or directionless.

I agree. However, the farm, without the show, and the step stool company, were not providing them the lifestyle they wanted or needed to raise four children, one with health issues. They were pointedly borrowing money from Amy's parents for Zach's dental care in season one. The show dramatically boosted the popularity of the farm as a tourist attraction. Prior to the show, the farm was not a business they could live on. 

The stool company was never terribly successful, which is why it only exists now as a play business.

I don't think Matt is lazy or directionless. I think his big business success was getting the farm on a tv show to make it a tourist attraction. 

*Matt's book - Against Tall Odds, also references a period of financial instability earlier where he was almost forced to sell the farm due to poor decisions. He's not lazy, but his every idea is not always an instant winner. 

Edited June 27, 2021 by EllaWycliffe

[Irate Panda]

I think in the early years of the show Matt was a software salesman and also had the stool/direct access business. I think when the show first started he had quit or was let go from some other job in the computer field but then got the sales job in the first or second season sometime.  I think eventually the show probably gave them enough money to build up the farm and not work “regular” jobs anymore.  

As far as the farm, it always seemed like Camarino and Mike were a big part of getting stuff done on the farm in the early years.  I always saw Matt as the idea guy, which makes sense considering his physical limitations, although I’m sure he did some things.

[EllaWycliffe]

2 minutes ago, Irate Panda said:

I think when the show first started he had quit or was let go from some other job in the computer field but then got the sales job in the first or second season sometime. 

He was unemployed for a year prior to the show premiering. This is actually mentioned in Little People Big Dreams. He was fired from that job. He did sue, for discrimination - which was also albeit briefly - mentioned on the show. He did not win. (That you have to look up the case to find out) There was a new sales job at the very end of season one, that he did for season two and then it mysteriously disappeared and Matt was on the farm. By mysteriously disappeared, there's never mention that he decided to quit although with the show very successful at the end of season two, I can understand why. 

 

5 minutes ago, Irate Panda said:

As far as the farm, it always seemed like Camarino and Mike were a big part of getting stuff done on the farm in the early years.  I always saw Matt as the idea guy, which makes sense considering his physical limitations, although I’m sure he did some things.

My small exception to this is that I think Mike was also an idea guy and tended to have a better idea of how to go about things. 

[Jeanne222]

1 hour ago, Irate Panda said:

I think in the early years of the show Matt was a software salesman and also had the stool/direct access business. I think when the show first started he had quit or was let go from some other job in the computer field but then got the sales job in the first or second season sometime.  I think eventually the show probably gave them enough money to build up the farm and not work “regular” jobs anymore.  

As far as the farm, it always seemed like Camarino and Mike were a big part of getting stuff done on the farm in the early years.  I always saw Matt as the idea guy, which makes sense considering his physical limitations, although I’m sure he did some things.

I think Mike died and Camarino  was deported. Yes they played a big part in maintaining the farm. 

They must have been replaced. Seems talking about the help could fit into the show nicely. 

I wonder why we never hear about them.  Actually I don’t remember hearing much about the lady renting the farmhouse right now!  Is she just a seasonal, pumpkin season, employee?

[DonnaMae]

10 minutes ago, Jeanne222 said:

  Actually I don’t remember hearing much about the lady renting the farmhouse right now!  Is she just a seasonal, pumpkin season, employee?

Isn't she the manager who replaced Caryn?

[all4mom2]

17 minutes ago, DonnaMae said:

Isn't she the manager who replaced Caryn?

Yes; isn't that the farm manager position?  It's not just for pumpkin season.

[LucyEth]

34 minutes ago, Jeanne222 said:

think Mike died and Camarino  was deported. Yes they played a big part in maintaining the farm. 

Mike did die

[DonnaMae]

7 minutes ago, all4mom2 said:

25 minutes ago, DonnaMae said:

Isn't she the manager who replaced Caryn?

Yes; isn't that the farm manager position?  It's not just for pumpkin season.

My guess would be that being the farm manager is a full-time job.

[chediavolo]

On 6/27/2021 at 3:14 PM, all4mom2 said:

I thought Amy said Matt was working a full-time job when they bought the farm (then additionally supervised the farm).  I suppose at some point he transitioned to making the farm his full-time job, which was smart since you can't always count on someone else to hire you when you're a little person or otherwise disabled.  I certainly don't think anyone could ever accuse Matt of being lazy or directionless.

 

I just started watching some episodes beginning with season one & Matt said he made a lot of money in his previous job. I think it was something tech, maybe software. I think he used that to buy the farm. 
he also mentioned that, at that time at least, little people could not get health insurance. It was considered a pre existing condition 

Edited June 29, 2021 by chediavolo

[ginger90]

[EllaWycliffe]

New episode!

Amy and Chris's house! Thats what they call it now. Chris is bringing Henry, his dear pet fish, because he's moving in. He kids that they are a package deal. He also kids how he has no more escape hatch but its teasing and they seem quite natural and sweet. This is the most natural I've seen Chris. They discuss the wedding and I start to tune out as Amy drones on about it. Sorry, I just find weddings and wedding planning so boring. Chris seems to be like minded with me.  Chris wants his vows short and Amy wants a speech beyond "I'm here, I love you, lets do this".  Chris apparently likes cupcakes. Chris notes that basically he is out of the planning and just needs to show up for the wedding. Amy doesn't seem thrilled with his band choice. This is already way more attention to a wedding than I need. 

So Chris is fine with the wedding on the farm. Amy seems against it and lays out some reasonable reasons why. God, Prince Charles marrying Lady Diana seems less involved. 

Over to Zach and Tori's. Tory talks about Lilah's strabismus. Jackson's leg is also being monitored. Oh geez, they're celebrating their ten year first date anniversary. They plan to dump the kids off on Matt and Caryn. They share cute stories about cosleeping with Jackson. 

Now to Matt on the atv, and Caryn. Matt has bought a new minivan with car seats for the kids. Caryn has been hanging at her house. Matt shows off his chairs. Matt doesn't sleep over because of the stairs. Matt is working on the house plans, and does a passive aggressive bitch about Amy making a decision on it and I find myself noting "You're the one who made the offer to someone you constantly bitch about being indecisive".

Zach and Jackson gather eggs. Montages of Jackson playing with chickens. Matt and Zach discuss the log cabin. Matt insists that its cheap, and quick and dirty. Zach notes that its rather unnecessary and Matt is only doing it because it's cool. Zach is also still musing on buying part of the farm. He notes it might be too much of a roller coaster. 

Now log cabin building.  Matt insists the log cabin will be around forever, and he also basically describes it as a play house. 

Amy and Chris decide to commit to marrying on Roloff Farms (sigh). Chris seems pleased, Amy seems more hesitant and Chris does seem to appreciate her issue. She's worried that it will get weird. Amy worries about putting Chris and Matt together, Chris seems ok if Matt is his friend. Amy notes its weird and strange, and Chris, maybe you shouldn't be friends with Matt. He then drops that he's still friends with his exes, which I think is actually fairly mature. Again, Chris seems really natural and comfortable in this. 

Zach preps for the date night. Tory gets the kids ready for the grandparents. Zach now has a tiny window of time to set up a movie theater in the back yard. The kids are dropped off, and back to Zach and Tory. Zach was planning to make dinner but Tory realizes she needs to do it since he got marinara sauce instead of salsa.

There's kids playing and I don't like little children so just assume its adorable and cute. 

Tory and Zach have their date night anniversary. They reminisce about their first date.  Its sappy and sweet and I'm not diabetic but I made need someone to check my blood sugar.... Then they start talking about more kids and its more sweet. I need insulin. 

 

[all4mom2]

Amy seems really weirded out by the fact that Chris is still friends with his exes; apparently she thinks all exes should be enemies forever, which isn't surprising.  She thrives on anger and victimhood, family harmony be darned!

Also, is "Henry" urban slang for something else?  They giggled way too much about Chris walking into the house with his "little Henry."

Edited June 30, 2021 by all4mom2

[SunnyBeBe]

Yaaay.  Half my wedding prediction has come true.  Now....will Matt attend the wedding?  Lol. 
 

I would go as far as to predict that Chris asks Matt to be his best man, but that’s probably pushing it. 😉

Edited June 30, 2021 by SunnyBeBe

[Spazamanaz]

Amy is really irritating me in this episode. She's just too bossy and opinionated,  more so than usual. And what's up with her waving her giant man hands around all the time while she's talking?! 

[Irate Panda]

Maybe Chris wants cupcakes because he’s been emotionally scarred by Amy’s little cobbler LOL. Yes, please hire the band Chris likes, but have them learn all new songs.  #FREEHENRY

[BusyOctober]

I used to feel bad for Amy b/c her marriage to Matt and her role in their relationship and parenting seemed very much one sided.  But over the past few years, Amy has become unbearable.  All the constant yo-yo-ing of her feelings and moods is exhausting.  She’s happy about planning her (yes ‘her’) wedding….then she’s annoyed about planning her wedding.  She’s happy Chris has opinions about the wedding, but she’s sour he expects to have any of his opinions count. Roloff Farm is the perfect venue because the farm means so much to her, but it isn’t a great option because of her history with it.  She loves the farm because “30years blah blah”, but she’s indifferent to the farm because “it isn’t mine anymore, I am not involved “.  And her procrastination over leaving the big house, selling the farm, buying a house….And the saga of her actually moving all of her shit out of the big house.  Planning and executing the moon landing took less time FFS.  Plus I can’t stand her giggly school girl behavior around Chris or her girlfriends when talking about Chris.  Yet if the GF’s or Chris disagree with her, or state honest opinions that rub Amy the wrong way, she gets nasty and ornery.  I think Amy has a very low emotional IQ.

It was sweet of Zack to do the anniversary thing, but can he not read?  How does one mistake jarred marina sauce for salsa?  Maybe the grocery store in his town keeps all red colored food products in the same aisle?  My grocery store isn’t super fancy or big, but there’s an aisle for pasta and spaghetti sauces, and an aisle with tortillas, taco shells, queso, salsas…

Edited June 30, 2021 by BusyOctober

[SunnyBeBe]

1 hour ago, Irate Panda said:

Maybe Chris wants cupcakes because he’s been emotionally scarred by Amy’s little cobbler LOL. Yes, please hire the band Chris likes, but have them learn all new songs.  #FREEHENRY

I hope Amy gets a professional baker for the wedding cake. Do you remember when she used to make birthday cakes for loved ones to serve at the party? Often there would be 12-20 people and the cake was this tiny little thing....I laughed.  There was not enough to serve everyone a piece. I never understood why.  

[Irate Panda]

14 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I hope Amy gets a professional baker for the wedding cake. Do you remember when she used to make birthday cakes for loved ones to serve at the party? Often there would be 12-20 people and the cake was this tiny little thing....I laughed.  There was not enough to serve everyone a piece. I never understood why.  

I would think even the little kitchen cook would have the wedding catered. I mean how’s she gonna have time to make all the food,  unless she’s just trying to make the dessert, but even then we’ve seen her work under pressure...not great lol.  Besides she will probably be busy making sure Matt didn’t move a flower pot (TM Tori), telling the band not to play any songs Chris likes, playing bouncer so none of Chris’ friendly exes get in despite being invited guests, filming a cooking video for garlic and paprika fudge, and making sure Chris and Matt don’t become friends.  That’s a busy afternoon!

On another note, I am wondering if Zach is just thoroughly confused, has some sort of learning disability or did Amy use the terms salsa and sauce interchangeably while he was growing up. I guess since he’s mentioned problems with his ears maybe he’s just heard the word wrong all these years.  I don’t know what Tori’s back story is but that first date with Zach sounded shitty.  I’m glad they’re happy, but they way she told the story, it sounded like the beginning a Dateline episode. 

 

[SunnyBeBe]

Yeah...a lot of red flags on the weird date with Zach.  She sure must have been blinded by love.  Zach is a lot more positive than he used to be.  He used to be very negative and down on himself.  

[EllaWycliffe]

4 minutes ago, Irate Panda said:

On another note, I am wondering if Zach is just thoroughly confused, has some sort of learning disability

I think Zach (and Jeremy) were just raised with the expectation that women do certain things and men don't. Men don't shop for food, or cook, beyond rare manly things Lest we all start harping on Amy's shitty parenting, "women make me food" is very much a Matt Roloff attitude, complete with being ridiculously useless at women tasks. 

Plus - there's been multiple "Zach is an imbecile in the kitchen" episodes to where I thought it was obvious he'd be filmed fucking something up.

[Jeanne222]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Yeah...a lot of red flags on the weird date with Zach.  She sure must have been blinded by love.  Zach is a lot more positive than he used to be.  He used to be very negative and down on himself.  

I think Tori was the best thing that ever happened to Zack.

He made reference to living under Jeremy's shadow!

[TipseyGirl]

8 hours ago, EllaWycliffe said:

Plus - there's been multiple "Zach is an imbecile in the kitchen" episodes to where I thought it was obvious he'd be filmed fucking something up.

I remember the time that he was trying to fry a hamburger. He put cheese on the patty and then flipped it with the cheese down on the skillet. Amy promptly had a come apart.

8 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Yeah...a lot of red flags on the weird date with Zach.  She sure must have been blinded by love.  Zach is a lot more positive than he used to be.  He used to be very negative and down on himself.  

He also used to be extremely grubby. Well, all of the kids were. They used to look like sweaty messes most of the time. 

[MargeGunderson]

2 minutes ago, TipseyGirl said:

I remember the time that he was trying to fry a hamburger. He put cheese on the patty and then flipped it with the cheese down on the skillet. Amy promptly had a come apart.

He also used to be extremely grubby. Well, all of the kids were. They used to look like sweaty messes most of the time. 

Zach doesn’t strike me as someone who has much in the way of common sense. He also seems like one of those guys who, if they weren’t married, would expect his mommy to do everything for him. It’s like he went from relying on Amy to relying on Tori (!) to handle the adult stuff.