S08.E03: Unexpected/ S08.E04: Jinger and Jermey's Little Secret

[BitterApple]

It wouldn't surprise me if Jeremy and Jinger stayed at a hotel during their visits, especially if they're filming and TLC is footing the bill. I can see Jeremy being savvy enough to insist on it as part of their contract, especially after experiencing the Duggar version of "hospitality" when he was courting Jinger. 

One episode detail I forgot to mention which irked the shit out me. Did you guys notice how Austin roughly dragged that canoe onto shore and just walked off without helping Joy? Even if she wasn't pregnant that would be incredibly rude. What's next, he insists she haul lumber while she's having contractions? 

[SunnyBeBe]

While I was appalled and concerned with some events from this episode, it also made me laugh.  OMG...okay....it might be naughty, but, I got a good laugh at Austen when they were going fishing and he told Joy that he was going down to

Spoiler

get his worm wet. 

Okay.  lol  But, he could have been a little more careful with that freezing water and a heavily pregnant wife. OMG. That looked dangerous to me.  That behavior in that boat makes me really question Joy and Austen's mentality and judgment.  Something is awry, imo.  Plus, how unkempt Joy appeared.  Something is just odd there. I've been reading it here and not fully understanding, but, something is definitely off.  I hope she will accept help. 

The young girls are funny.  I enjoyed their antics quite a bit. 

With all of Jinger's talents, will she pursue them or focus on being mother/wife? 

[louannems]

45 minutes ago, kokapetl said:

Does anyone else suspect that the Duggar TTH diet is now at least 75% cheap takeaway? 

I tried hard to see what they were eating for their Special Meal.  I think I saw shish kabab!  They could be branching out!

In my Seattle suburban city, we have delicious Indian, Pakistani, and Napali food everywhere.

 

I do hate that the hordes of Duggars cannot ever prepare their own Special Meal, it's always take out or frozen Stouffer's.

[SunnyBeBe]

I've always wondered how the Duggars don't seem to have anyone in the family who is really obese.  Yes, I realize we've seen some pot bellies, on some of the older males but, nothing extreme.  I find that kind of unusual to see that many immediate family members with no serious obesity issue.  I'm not sure why.  Their diet seems to lend it itself to that kind of thing. Genetics, I guess.

I was impressed that most of them at least tried the goat cheese.  And seeing Ben and Jessa checking out the local farm....talking about buying local and eating fresh, organic, omg....how progressive!  I would never have believed this a couple of years ago. 

[BitterApple]

3 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I've always wondered how the Duggars don't seem to have anyone in the family who is really obese.  

They're dividing all those fatty casseroles between 20+ people. If it weren't for tiny portions, I guarantee we'd see more weight issues amongst the kids. As it stands, it wouldn't surprise me if they had high body fat percentages despite none of them being visibly overweight. 

[xwordfanatik]

11 hours ago, woot said:

I like how last week we got to see Jing and Jer sit down with his parents for a nice freshly prepared meal, served on real dishes and eaten over polite conversation.  This week we got to watch them eat a Duggar Dinner... huge troughs of prepared foods and platters purchased at the local big box likely scarfed down after fighting for a place at their conference style dining table.

The waste from all the paper/styrofoam plates and plastic utensils just pisses me off.  If I were Jin, I'd be so embarrassed by the Rube Family she was born into.

[xwordfanatik]

2 hours ago, flyingdi said:

Michelle did 19 baby "calendars"?  Sorry I'm calling bull on that!  My mom did a full baby book on my brother, mine has like my name in it!  I always thought that was normal in most families.  LOL.

I had one older sibling.  I'm sure there was a lot more in her baby book compared to mine.  Mine has my name, length & weight when born, and that's pretty much it.

Michelle probably did one for Joshley, and then nothing for the rest.  Maybe each kids' "buddy" was assigned to do it.  MOTY couldn't be bothered, when she had to be Boob's joyfully available hey hey hey hag.

[SunnyBeBe]

Was Jeremy using the word "pregnant" the first time we've heard it on the Duggar franchise shows?  I've always thought it odd how it was always referred to as expecting or with little one. 

Edited August 14, 2018 by SunnyBeBe

[woot]

35 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Was Jeremy using the word "pregnant" the first time we've heard it on the Duggar franchise shows?  I've always thought it odd how it was always referred to as expecting or with little one. 

I don't know why but I've always hated when people say "we're expecting" what, exactly are you expecting? Just say pregnant. 

[mythoughtis]

36 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Was Jeremy using the word "pregnant" the first time we've heard it on the Duggar franchise shows?  I've always thought it odd how it was always referred to as expecting or with little one. 

He and Jinger both used it. She specifically said ‘I’m pregnant’ rather than ‘We’re expecting’. 

[kokapetl]

59 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I've always wondered how the Duggars don't seem to have anyone in the family who is really obese.  Yes, I realize we've seen some pot bellies, on some of the older males but, nothing extreme.  I find that kind of unusual to see that many immediate family members with no serious obesity issue.  I'm not sure why.  Their diet seems to lend it itself to that kind of thing. Genetics, I guess.

Josh is obese, but we never see him. 

The j’slaves are calorie conscious. JD is pretty porky, and Joe isn’t far behind, but the rest have young person metabolisms. 

[SunnyBeBe]

I realize a couple of them may be overweight, but, what I meant was that none of them were very obese, like at least 100 pounds overweight.  I haven't seen Josh lately, but, from what I recall he once was maybe 50 pounds over, though, I know the BMI can vary.  

[kokapetl]

1 hour ago, BitterApple said:

They're dividing all those fatty casseroles between 20+ people. If it weren't for tiny portions, I guarantee we'd see more weight issues amongst the kids. As it stands, it wouldn't surprise me if they had high body fat percentages despite none of them being visibly overweight. 

Now that Jana is the sole sister-mom to Jennie, Jordyn and Josie, and all the other j’slaves escaped, I think the casseroles are in the too hard basket. 

[SMama]

4 hours ago, Albanyguy said:

Over on the Duggar FB page, the leghumpers are ripping him a new one for so "disrespectful" and "hostile" to Michelle  and for favoring his own family over the holy Duggars. He's an evil influence on Jinger: he forced her to move away from her beloved family and rebel against their teachings, encouraged her to plan her own childbirth without consulting her mother and sisters and he and Jinger have even been promoting his mother's SWAN project on social media when they should be promoting Jinger's sisters' "Happy Heart" CD!

I wish you were kidding, but leghumpers’ genetic trees do not have too many branches. In what way did Jeremy show disrespect or hostility to MOTY? My husband would not have had that screecher anywhere near me until I was fully recovered from delivery, and then in small doses. This was about JinJer and their new baby, period. I really dislike the way the Duggar vermin manage to mess up everything on their uninvited path.

[kokapetl]

16 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I realize a couple of them may be overweight, but, what I meant was that none of them were very obese, like at least 100 pounds overweight.  I haven't seen Josh lately, but, from what I recall he once was maybe 50 pounds over, though, I know the BMI can vary.  

Josh was obese in 2013, during the season with the black friend/personal trainer/nfl preacher(?).

He’s been sighted looking considerably worse in recent years. 

The Smuggars were obviously present for the special dinner (at least 3 M children where there), I bet Josh hid in the kitchen. 

[SunnyBeBe]

When Jinger was describing how Jessa and Jana seemed to be able to verbally get the younger girls to get with the program regarding the photos, I thought.....what's wrong with you Jinger?  She's just as smart and old enough to exert some authority for goodness sake.  She can't handle that?  Odd.  But, I'm more of a take care of business person myself.  It's hard for me to fathom people who throw their hands up and can't manage simple tasks.  

[SMama]

Or maybe Jinger felt she had put enough time taking care of her siblings and is way past being used. Let’s see how she does with Felicity, until then I give her a pass.

[fonfereksglen]

2 hours ago, xwordfanatik said:

The waste from all the paper/styrofoam plates and plastic utensils just pisses me off.  If I were Jin, I'd be so embarrassed by the Rube Family she was born into.

Is it any more than what is produced daily by a food truck or other mobile vendor?  My jaw drops every time I go to the Farmer's Market or various fairs and see the amount of trash produced.

[mythoughtis]

48 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

When Jinger was describing how Jessa and Jana seemed to be able to verbally get the younger girls to get with the program regarding the photos, I thought.....what's wrong with you Jinger?  She's just as smart and old enough to exert some authority for goodness sake.  She can't handle that?  Odd.  But, I'm more of a take care of business person myself.  It's hard for me to fathom people who throw their hands up and can't manage simple tasks.  

It wasn’t Jinger’s or Jana’s or Jessa’s responsibility to get those kids to follow directions to sit or stand or pay attention. It was JB and Michelle who were standing right there.  At the very least, the parents should have told the girls to listen to Jinger.   Jinger, as the photographer, should only have had to tell them to smile or adjust something for the photo- not corral them into the general area. She’s not even getting paid for those publicity photos.  Also as daughter number 4, she probably didn’t give as many orders as Jana even when she lived there. 

JB and Michelle are now down to a  number of minor children that they should be able to manage on their own. But they don’t. 

I love seeing some of the adult offspring putting the parenting back on the patents. Such as Joe, expecting his parents to keep their children on their own lawn.  

Edited August 14, 2018 by mythoughtis

[RedDelicious]

Last night I turned this on while washing dishes. I was appalled at the fishing scene. Fishing While Duggar. What freaking idiots. Joy had a horrible cold and wasn't properly dressed and I've never heard of frozen pond fishing. Ice fishing in the right environment yes, like on a lake or pond that actually HAS FISH, but that didn't seem like any pond that would have dinner fish in it. Maybe I'm the idiot because I don't know but good lord. That was a ridiculous exercise in futility.

[saylubee]

4 hours ago, flyingdi said:

Michelle did 19 baby "calendars"?  Sorry I'm calling bull on that!  My mom did a full baby book on my brother, mine has like my name in it!  I always thought that was normal in most families.  LOL.

Jessa called it a “family” calendar.  So I can see one calendar for each year and all the milestones for the year are written on it for all the kids.  That doesn’t seem like it’d be too hard, especially if it was hanging somewhere easily accessible.

[sigmaforce86]

2 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I've always wondered how the Duggars don't seem to have anyone in the family who is really obese.  Yes, I realize we've seen some pot bellies, on some of the older males but, nothing extreme.  I find that kind of unusual to see that many immediate family members with no serious obesity issue.  I'm not sure why.  Their diet seems to lend it itself to that kind of thing. Genetics, I guess.

I was impressed that most of them at least tried the goat cheese.  And seeing Ben and Jessa checking out the local farm....talking about buying local and eating fresh, organic, omg....how progressive!  I would never have believed this a couple of years ago. 

It's long been rumored that the Duggars practiced food rationing, reasons vary - to save money (MeChelle once said grapes are a "precious commodity"), to control the kids by keeping them a little hungry and needy at all times and a couple other theories.  It's not completely verified but one thing that points to the food maybe being held back or rationed when they were kids is how the boys seem to gain a lot of weight once they get out of the house and away from JB's influence.  Seems like once they're free to eat what they want when they want they lose control a bit.   Oddly the girls seem to go the other way - I don't know if it's having something like "Be thin and cute and compliant" drilled into them their whole lives or what.  I don't think that means they're all healthy, Jill always looks slightly anemic and they hinted at Joy having high sugar while pregnant (and she confessed they love chicken tenders and other not so healthy food).  I think those that are out of the house try to varying degrees and some (I lean toward Jessa and Jinger) succeed in figuring out nutrition and balanced eating.  But their nutrition and cooking knowledge is as bad as everything else they didn't learn during "homeschool"

As for the episode - have to admit I liked the yurt.  Not for a babymoon in frigid weather as they showed it but for a general camping vacation it looked cozy.   And they are oh so lucky Joy didn't fall out of that boat; there is no way she could have made it back to shore or that Austin could have rescued her if the worst had happened.  That wasn't "having a little pre-baby fun" that was just let's doing something monumentally stupid because we have no clue about consequences.  

[Horrified]

5 hours ago, flyingdi said:

Michelle did 19 baby "calendars"?  Sorry I'm calling bull on that!  My mom did a full baby book on my brother, mine has like my name in it!  I always thought that was normal in most families.  LOL.

I think the baby calendars were simply weekly headcounts.

[graefin]

Joy and Austin are dull and dumb. That is all.

Oh, except: how old is Johannah? 12? She is wearing makeup already. I don't think the older girls started wearing it that young. She resembles Jinger to me.

[SunnyBeBe]

I'm not sure if I'm misreading this.....but, I wonder if those younger girls may end up being quite the little spitfires. lol  Wouldn't that be something? Nothing dangerous or harmful. Just some normal tween shenanigans. lol Some kids are just naturally hard to handle.  

[kokapetl]

15 minutes ago, graefin said:

Joy and Austin are dull and dumb. That is all.

Oh, except: how old is Johannah? 12? She is wearing makeup already. I don't think the older girls started wearing it that young. She resembles Jinger to me.

Johannah is going through puberty. Duggar girls get some sort of cursory explanation from Michelle, and a toiletry bag with razors, makeup etc, when they start puberty. 

[lascuba]

4 hours ago, lookeyloo said:

And yet Jinger's "happiness" has been questioned here.  She's not really happy because Jeremy is so into himself and wanted a meek wife.  She isn't really happy because she doesn't have equal control with Jeremy, near as we can tell from the teevee.  I guess I am thinking that Jinger and Jeremy have worked out some sort of balance where they both are happy, at least on the teevee.  Of course that is a compressed version of their day to day lives and that could be a hundred percent different.  As much as Jeremy seems to love himself, he does seem enamored with Jinger and while we will never know the real story, she has done things differently than the rest of her family.  And if we live our lives *thinking* we are happy, are we?  Anyway, just throwing that out there.

See, I think she's perfectly happy, AND (or because) she's a meek little dumbass who doesn't express an opinion when really in love (I know a few women who turn off their brains when in love/lust...it's maddening). The two aren't mutually exclusive.

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

When Jinger was describing how Jessa and Jana seemed to be able to verbally get the younger girls to get with the program regarding the photos, I thought.....what's wrong with you Jinger?  She's just as smart and old enough to exert some authority for goodness sake.  She can't handle that?  Odd.  But, I'm more of a take care of business person myself.  It's hard for me to fathom people who throw their hands up and can't manage simple tasks.  

Jinger is very much the type to get away with doing nothing by faking helplessness. This is one of the few instances when I'm ok with that, because it's not her job to manage her siblings and she had enough of that before marrying.

[woodscommaelle]

Mackenzie's 'You can't even SAY you have a secret' (in regards to Jinger and Jeremy's baby) was a little weird to me, considering her father's past (present??) behavior. 

And Jennifer looks absolutely miserable 99% of the time we see her. A close second is Johanna. 

Edited August 14, 2018 by woodscommaelle

[BitterApple]

Regarding Jingle, I think there's all sorts of relationship dynamics and what works for one person may not work for another. I think Jeremy is a tad pretentious but I don't see him as some domineering tyrant who doesn't care about his wife's needs. She may be one of those types who just wants to worry about the house and the kid and she's okay with deferring to Jeremy on the big stuff, similar to how Bin defers to Jessa. 

[floridamom]

Why can't Laura DeMaise go back to HER family's home? She doesn't need to constantly travel with the Duggars. I highly doubt that ANY of the Duggar school children are doing any school work when traveling....so, Laura should not be needed. Something is strange about this situation IMO. They really should truthfully address why she is there and so 'deep in' their family. Doesn't she have one of her own?

[lascuba]

41 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Regarding Jingle, I think there's all sorts of relationship dynamics and what works for one person may not work for another. I think Jeremy is a tad pretentious but I don't see him as some domineering tyrant who doesn't care about his wife's needs. She may be one of those types who just wants to worry about the house and the kid and she's okay with deferring to Jeremy on the big stuff, similar to how Bin defers to Jessa. 

I don't think it's an issue of those strict gender roles, exactly. To me, it's more like...Jeremy isn't a domineering tyrant because he hasn't had to be, because Jinger is still in that phase where she's just so in love that she's happy to defer to him on everything. And I'm actually thawing a tiny bit towards Jeremy, so I'm not as convinced than he's any more of an asshole than every other fundie male, but I just think that he hasn't been tested yet. Jinger really could be that asinine and therefore it won't ever be an issue, but if she's not, and the day comes where she really disagrees on something and stands her ground? Well, that's the real test. Because right now I'm willing to bet money that those two haven't had a single argument or even a disagreement about anything to date.

[woodscommaelle]

34 minutes ago, floridamom said:

Why can't Laura DeMaise go back to HER family's home? She doesn't need to constantly travel with the Duggars. I highly doubt that ANY of the Duggar school children are doing any school work when traveling....so, Laura should not be needed. Something is strange about this situation IMO. They really should truthfully address why she is there and so 'deep in' their family. Doesn't she have one of her own?

And she had a talking head with Jana. Have we ever seen that before?

Edited August 14, 2018 by woodscommaelle

[humbleopinion]

Jana doesn't want to teach, Chelle is too medicated and addled... so who is going to give the little kids their inadequate and minimal schooling?.....3 grade reading level, ciphering on their toes and fingers?

They're lucky someone who is willing to do.

[SunnyBeBe]

26 minutes ago, lascuba said:

I don't think it's an issue of those strict gender roles, exactly. To me, it's more like...Jeremy isn't a domineering tyrant because he hasn't had to be, because Jinger is still in that phase where she's just so in love that she's happy to defer to him on everything. And I'm actually thawing a tiny bit towards Jeremy, so I'm not as convinced than he's any more of an asshole than every other fundie male, but I just think that he hasn't been tested yet. Jinger really could be that asinine and therefore it won't ever be an issue, but if she's not, and the day comes where she really disagrees on something and stands her ground? Well, that's the real test. Because right now I'm willing to bet money that those two haven't had a single argument or even a disagreement about anything to date.

I like Jinger a lot.  Nothing against her, but, if she isn't capable of telling 5 girls under the age of 13 where to stand and when to say cheese, I'm not sure how she would ever speak up to her husband, who is the head of the home.  I never really thought about it that much, until last night's episode.  I thought Jinger had a rather independent steak, but, I'm not so sure.  Of course, JB and Michelle could have intervened, but, it's the photographer who knows where she wants the subjects positioned.  But, she waits and relies on Jana and Jessa...........then, I recall how she needed help getting her house set up too, remember when she moved to Laredo?  Then, when she moved to the new house?  Maybe, it was just reality show activity that created it, but, IDK....now, I am curious. 

[debbie311]

7 hours ago, flyingdi said:

Michelle did 19 baby "calendars"?  Sorry I'm calling bull on that!  My mom did a full baby book on my brother, mine has like my name in it!  I always thought that was normal in most families.  LOL.

I am pretty sure I heard her say it was Austin's mother who did the calendar for him.  And he said something about it too - I already deleted it off my DVR but that's what I heard. 

[humbleopinion]

Jinge is used to getting steamrolled by Jessa and her sisters so instead of out shouting them she just waits until they are done bossing the herd and she snaps the photo.....

 Jinge goes along to get along....

[debbie311]

1 hour ago, floridamom said:

Why can't Laura DeMaise go back to HER family's home? She doesn't need to constantly travel with the Duggars. I highly doubt that ANY of the Duggar school children are doing any school work when traveling....so, Laura should not be needed. Something is strange about this situation IMO. They really should truthfully address why she is there and so 'deep in' their family. Doesn't she have one of her own?

I wondered the same thing, especially when Jana did the talking head with her.  Do you think possibly Jana and Laura are "more than friends?"  Although I know the Duggars would NEVER accept a lesbian relationship under their roof.  I just find it odd.  Also it is starting to be very apparent that Jana's siblings are all getting married, having babies, and she is not.  I think there is something more than her being picky.  Anyone else?

[lascuba]

6 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I like Jinger a lot.  Nothing against her, but, if she isn't capable of telling 5 girls under the age of 13 where to stand and when to say cheese, I'm not sure how she would ever speak up to her husband, who is the head of the home.  I never really thought about it that much, until last night's episode.  I thought Jinger had a rather independent steak, but, I'm not so sure.  Of course, JB and Michelle could have intervened, but, it's the photographer who knows where she wants the subjects positioned.  But, she waits and relies on Jana and Jessa...........then, I recall how she needed help getting her house set up too, remember when she moved to Laredo?  Then, when she moved to the new house?  Maybe, it was just reality show activity that created it, but, IDK....now, I am curious. 

I haven't seen this episode yet...was Jeremy there when she was photographing the kids? Because with the Laredo apartment, it later became clear that the reason she needed Jessa there to redecorate (other than needing a chaperone and tv fodder) was because she didn't want to be the one to tell Jeremy what changes she wanted. With the house, when her siblings asked what she wanted to do with the kitchen cabinets, she immediately yelled, "I DON'T WANT TO DECIDE ANYTHING WITHOUT JEREMY!" which makes me wonder if she wanted to avoid upsetting him with the "wrong" decision since this time she wouldn't be able to get away with saying it was all Jessa's idea. She seems to refuse to say or do anything that makes her sound at all assertive in front of him, so if Jeremy was there during the shoot, it could very well be that she didn't want sound authoritative, rather than just pretending she didn't know how to manage the kids because she didn't want to.

[xwordfanatik]

3 hours ago, fonfereksglen said:

Is it any more than what is produced daily by a food truck or other mobile vendor?  My jaw drops every time I go to the Farmer's Market or various fairs and see the amount of trash produced.

I see your point, but this is one family, versus dozens of people a day at one vendor.  I'm a recycler, even though my city doesn't support recycling.

[SunnyBeBe]

4 minutes ago, lascuba said:

I haven't seen this episode yet...was Jeremy there when she was photographing the kids? Because with the Laredo apartment, it later became clear that the reason she needed Jessa there to redecorate (other than needing a chaperone and tv fodder) was because she didn't want to be the one to tell Jeremy what changes she wanted. With the house, when her siblings asked what she wanted to do with the kitchen cabinets, she immediately yelled, "I DON'T WANT TO DECIDE ANYTHING WITHOUT JEREMY!" which makes me wonder if she wanted to avoid upsetting him with the "wrong" decision since this time she wouldn't be able to get away with saying it was all Jessa's idea. She seems to refuse to say or do anything that makes her sound at all assertive in front of him, so if Jeremy was there during the shoot, it could very well be that she didn't want sound authoritative, rather than just pretending she didn't know how to manage the kids because she didn't want to.

Excellent point. I had forgotten about that. It's true.  She couldn't make a decision about something that simple. It's just so odd to me.  

And yes, in last night's episode when she was photographing the younger sisters, it appeared that Jeremy was there.  

[ginger90]

From a clip I saw, didn’t Jinger and Jeremy make their pregnancy announcement at that shoot?

[Absolom]

Ratings:  9:00 PM  1.068 M viewers and a .24 rating.

               10:02 PM 1.071 M viewers and a .25 rating.  

 

Listed as two separate shows on the DVR, TLC's website, and the ratings.

[SunnyBeBe]

18 minutes ago, debbie311 said:

I wondered the same thing, especially when Jana did the talking head with her.  Do you think possibly Jana and Laura are "more than friends?"  Although I know the Duggars would NEVER accept a lesbian relationship under their roof.  I just find it odd.  Also it is starting to be very apparent that Jana's siblings are all getting married, having babies, and she is not.  I think there is something more than her being picky.  Anyone else?

This would never have entered my mind....but, it's possible, I guess. Hmmm......I suppose time will tell.  

[BitterApple]

14 minutes ago, debbie311 said:

 I think there is something more than her being picky.  Anyone else?

I have a theory but I probably can't post it here without getting banned, so I'll keep it to myself for now. What I will say is yes, I absolutely agree there is something more going on than Jana simply being picky or Michelle refusing to let go of her most productive Sister-Mom. If loss of household help was the concern, Boob wouldn't have been so quick to let the other girls fly the coop. Not to mention there's always a steady stream of young, Fundie women to exploit for free labor. 

It wouldn't strike me as quite so strange if Laura was actually seen teaching, but it seems like she's Jana's travel companion more than anything else.

[Pingaponga]

Did anyone else notice that when Jinger and Jeremy were eating dinner at the Duggar's after the pregnancy announcement, Jinger had a black plate with what looked like a scrunched up piece of plastic wrap lying next to it, and everyone else was eating off of a white plate?  Except for someone sitting way back on the right - Mary, I think - who also had a black plate.  Does Jinger have any food allergies we know of? 

I'm wondering if Laura is around simply to provide Jana with the company of someone around her own age.  All of Jana's sisters who are close in age to her have married and left home, and the age difference between Jana and Hannie is, what, about 13-14 years?  As Jana isn't really allowed to "hang out" with the guys, maybe providing companionship for older, unwed, stuck-at-home daughters is a "thing". It  would make some sense.

I thought it was kind of odd that Jinger kept talking about taking photos of her little sisters, and Jessa also talked about her little sisters recording an album, and omitting the fact that MacKynzie is actually their niece.  No one ever once said "little sisters and niece".  Which...okay, Josh.  But still - can't they mention MacKynzie (or however they spell it) being their niece without actually mentioning who her parents are?

[xwordfanatik]

18 minutes ago, Pingaponga said:

Did anyone else notice that when Jinger and Jeremy were eating dinner at the Duggar's after the pregnancy announcement, Jinger had a black plate with what looked like a scrunched up piece of plastic wrap lying next to it, and everyone else was eating off of a white plate?  Except for someone sitting way back on the right - Mary, I think - who also had a black plate.  Does Jinger have any food allergies we know of? 

I'm wondering if Laura is around simply to provide Jana with the company of someone around her own age.  All of Jana's sisters who are close in age to her have married and left home, and the age difference between Jana and Hannie is, what, about 13-14 years?  As Jana isn't really allowed to "hang out" with the guys, maybe providing companionship for older, unwed, stuck-at-home daughters is a "thing". It  would make some sense.

I thought it was kind of odd that Jinger kept talking about taking photos of her little sisters, and Jessa also talked about her little sisters recording an album, and omitting the fact that MacKynzie is actually their niece.  No one ever once said "little sisters and niece".  Which...okay, Josh.  But still - can't they mention MacKynzie (or however they spell it) being their niece without actually mentioning who her parents are?

Just like Jessa last week?  (I think) rattling off honeymoon babies, and skipping over Jill and Dillweed.  

"Those who wilt not be mentioned."

[jcbrown]

4 hours ago, kokapetl said:

He’s been sighted looking considerably worse in recent years. 

The Smuggars were obviously present for the special dinner (at least 3 M children where there), I bet Josh hid in the kitchen. 

I wonder what they tell the little kids about their pervy uncle/dad. It has to seem weird, especially since all the littles and the M kids have grown up on TV, that their dad/brother is always banished.

[Minivanessa]

14 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

I wonder what they tell the little kids about their pervy uncle/dad. It has to seem weird, especially since all the littles and the M kids have grown up on TV, that their dad/brother is always banished.

I doubt the little kids pay that much attention, or are allowed to watch the show, which is where they would see the final edit and could wonder why they don't see Josh.

What they actually experience, is the TLC crew filming while people are milling around. And their own THs. As I said, I doubt that they get the chance to watch the show because, ebil TV.

It's possible one of the kids has noticed something if the TLC crew is angling their shots to exclude Josh, but remember, these are Duggars. Any natural curiosity has been pretty well trained out of them by early childhood. Josh taking his plate out of camera range at dinner probably wouldn't even attract attention.

Edited August 14, 2018 by Jeeves

[GleamingMist]

How does this work with dinners etc in terms of Josh, Anna, Jill, Derick now that they're not filming?  Do they just come over anyways and then get sent to the laundry room so they can film?  Or are they just totally shunned and left out of things?  The M kids were clearly there at the dinner (I think - I'm starting to not be able to keep track of all those kids) so just curious how they get around that.

[Natalie68]

1 hour ago, BitterApple said:

I have a theory but I probably can't post it here without getting banned, so I'll keep it to myself for now. What I will say is yes, I absolutely agree there is something more going on than Jana simply being picky or Michelle refusing to let go of her most productive Sister-Mom. If loss of household help was the concern, Boob wouldn't have been so quick to let the other girls fly the coop. Not to mention there's always a steady stream of young, Fundie women to exploit for free labor. 

It wouldn't strike me as quite so strange if Laura was actually seen teaching, but it seems like she's Jana's travel companion more than anything else.

Well now I am SUPER curious!