Little Life On The Prairie - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

[Guest]

Anyone else catch this the other night? It features Lauren and Nate Webnar and their super-cute daughter, Juniper. In keeping with the TLC tradition, Lauren and Nate are little people (who are not morbidly obese) who left their life in California behind to live on a farm (of sorts) in Arizona. I didn't catch all of the beginning so I'm not entirely clear why they decided to leave California for Arizona. I assume it was for more reasons beyond having their own reality show?

I have to say I really liked this couple as they seemed down to earth and totally normal. Plus, Nate was really handsome and not at all an asshole like Matt Roloff or his large adult asshole-ish male children.

[ShowsILoveToHate]

Quote

I watched it. I thought the parents as well as Juniper were very sweet, and normal.  I hope that their fertility treatments work to help them have another healthy child. 

[EtheltoTillie]

I hadn't heard of this and saw it listed as a new forum. Maybe I will try it based on these recommendations. 

Edited August 23, 2018 by GussieK

[Evagirl]

I watched it and thought, "What an attractive family!"  He's handsome, she's pretty, and baby-girl is just adorable.  However, I think trying to make a go at farming and being little is going to be extremely difficult.  Perhaps they can make enough money off the show to hire average-size hands to help with the heavy stuff, like the Roloff's do/did.

Their heartbreak at losing two children was hard to watch.  Nate seems to have much compassion for his wife and he appears to feel the loss of the children just as hard as Lauren.

I truly hope they succeed at building their dream farm and making a living from it.  I also hope they are successful in having another healthy baby.

Edited August 23, 2018 by Evagirl
typo - as usual

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Evagirl said:

I watched it and thought, "What an attractive family!"  He's handsome, she's pretty, and baby-girl is just adorable

Yes to all this! Also, they didn't seem very reality-show tainted. I mean, yeah, obviously they're on one and the situations were all very TLC-manufactured (I swear on every TLC show there's a visit to a "local boutique") but they seemed very natural about about the set ups and not acting all "Intro to Acting 101" the whole time. There was another little person-centric reality show like this (maybe the 7 Little Johnstons?) that I enjoyed a lot that kind of went nowhere and then disappeared from the TLC schedule with no fanfare. Hopefully, this couple will have some longevity. 

[Evagirl]

1 hour ago, Giant Misfit said:

Yes to all this! Also, they didn't seem very reality-show tainted. I mean, yeah, obviously they're on one and the situations were all very TLC-manufactured (I swear on every TLC show there's a visit to a "local boutique") but they seemed very natural about about the set ups and not acting all "Intro to Acting 101" the whole time. There was another little person-centric reality show like this (maybe the 7 Little Johnstons?) that I enjoyed a lot that kind of went nowhere and then disappeared from the TLC schedule with no fanfare. Hopefully, this couple will have some longevity. 

Another show about little people I liked included the mom, dad, big brother Jack, and twin toddlers.  All of the kids has blond-blond hair and were little.  I can't remember their names.  I would like to know so I can look them up and see how they're doing.    I remember the mom had a wacky younger brother that the kids adored.  When he babysat, he let them do whatever they wanted and even acted like a big kid himself.  It seems like they lived somewhere in Maryland.  I think they got booted because they were "too normal" for TV.  I thought it was refreshing.

[Guest]

According to this article on Starcasm, Nate also had a handful of acting gigs. And so while I'm now side-eyeing if his dream really was to have his own farm or whether it was something manufactured to get him acting work, I find myself meh-ing over the idea. They still seem like super nice people who I'm willing to give an hour of my time to every week even if that "dream" is less than authentic. Then again, it's TLC—the network that roped me into enjoying Here Comes Honey Boo Boo until it was revealed June was one of the worst people alive—so maybe after the second season, I'll live to regret that decision.

[readheaded]

On 8/23/2018 at 2:03 PM, Evagirl said:

Another show about little people I liked included the mom, dad, big brother Jack, and twin toddlers.  All of the kids has blond-blond hair and were little.  I can't remember their names.  I would like to know so I can look them up and see how they're doing.    I remember the mom had a wacky younger brother that the kids adored.  When he babysat, he let them do whatever they wanted and even acted like a big kid himself.  It seems like they lived somewhere in Maryland.  I think they got booted because they were "too normal" for TV.  I thought it was refreshing.

That show was "Our Little Family" about the Hamills who lived in Annapolis, MD.  The family was Dan, Michelle, Jack, Cate, and CeCe with Uncle Jeff.

[Evagirl]

20 hours ago, readheaded said:

That show was "Our Little Family" about the Hamills who lived in Annapolis, MD.  The family was Dan, Michelle, Jack, Cate, and CeCe with Uncle Jeff.

Thanks!  I'll try to find out how they're doing.

[Scarlett45]

I saw a preview for this and the family looks charming. 

[DVDFreaker]

They are a cute family and I hope they will have a healthy baby

[CalicoskiesNC]

I liked the family and look forward to watching more epis. Family seems genuine and fun. 

[ChiCricket]

On 8/23/2018 at 5:21 AM, GussieK said:

I hadn't heard of this and saw it listed as a new forum. Maybe I will try it based on these recommendations. 

 I'm going to watch it on demand for the same reason.

Ps if anyone else has Dish, don't put "little life" in the search field. I only found it by searching by network, and then found it under TLC as just "On the prairie" ?

[GoldaVining]

These folks are enjoyable. Lauren is low-key and smart and funny. Nate is super pumped and positive.

We recently sold our little farm and we have a young son, so this show appeals to me on many levels.

Everything about Ruby and Ray is brutal and breaks my heart. What an unbearably difficult time these folks have had starting their family. I think I would be in pieces.

Everything else about the livestock and making cheese (anything homesteading) is super interesting to me. I miss my goats and chickens so much. I look forward to seeing this family get their farm up and running but I am totally confused about their land. I have so many questions. I think Nate explained that they are housing their animals (temporarily?) on their friend's land. Are those animals stuck in those small metal enclosures all day? Is there no pasture land? Is the cow expected to just stand there her whole life or is that just for filming? Is this how farming is done in the desert? That little pallet shed is the only place for Xanna to get out of the sun/heat? And those nursing goats are just standing on dust/sand eating hay? Goats are more like deer than sheep in that they prefer to browse for leaves, all kinds of leaves and bark, not just hay. Is Nate going to continue to haul hay 2 bales at a time on his commuter car roof rack? Dude needs a truck. Does the friend take their animals into her barns at night? Are there no predators in the desert? Our goats and birds (chickens and quail) were heavily preyed upon by bears and cougars and coyotes. We had barns with heavy metal bars across the doors and windows for our animals at night. We had livestock guarding dogs outside in the daytime, and we still suffered losses to predators (mostly bears). We had our chickens free-ranging with our goats and they would stand under the goats or hide with the dogs when the eagles and hawks were circling. This whole set up is weird. I am concerned but still very much interested.

[gonecrackers]

I didn't see the last episode yet but am also very intrigued by this family. I've never farmed but have wondered some things as well.

The wife is so chill & their daughter is adorable, but the husband seems 'on' all the time. When @Giant Misfit said he had done acting, I thought oh yeah, well that explains him!

I also wonder if the 'farming' is just for the show & to be acting again.

Edited September 5, 2018 by gonecrackers

[dreadfulLeigh]

13 hours ago, GoldaVining said:

These folks are enjoyable. Lauren is low-key and smart and funny. Nate is super pumped and positive.

We recently sold our little farm and we have a young son, so this show appeals to me on many levels.

Everything about Ruby and Ray is brutal and breaks my heart. What an unbearably difficult time these folks have had starting their family. I think I would be in pieces.

Everything else about the livestock and making cheese (anything homesteading) is super interesting to me. I miss my goats and chickens so much. I look forward to seeing this family get their farm up and running but I am totally confused about their land. I have so many questions. I think Nate explained that they are housing their animals (temporarily?) on their friend's land. Are those animals stuck in those small metal enclosures all day? Is there no pasture land? Is the cow expected to just stand there her whole life or is that just for filming? Is this how farming is done in the desert? That little pallet shed is the only place for Xanna to get out of the sun/heat? And those nursing goats are just standing on dust/sand eating hay? Goats are more like deer than sheep in that they prefer to browse for leaves, all kinds of leaves and bark, not just hay. Is Nate going to continue to haul hay 2 bales at a time on his commuter car roof rack? Dude needs a truck. Does the friend take their animals into her barns at night? Are there no predators in the desert? Our goats and birds (chickens and quail) were heavily preyed upon by bears and cougars and coyotes. We had barns with heavy metal bars across the doors and windows for our animals at night. We had livestock guarding dogs outside in the daytime, and we still suffered losses to predators (mostly bears). We had our chickens free-ranging with our goats and they would stand under the goats or hide with the dogs when the eagles and hawks were circling. This whole set up is weird. I am concerned but still very much interested.

Yes! Agree with everything!

They seem like people I’d enjoy hanging out with. They seem sincere and genuine. I only worry that it’s so skewed towards Nate’s dream and Lauren has little to make her happy. Maybe living in LA was mostly Lauren’s dream and now they flipped. But, I don’t know, wasn’t there a better middle option than LA or The Desert Farm in BFE?

[gonecrackers]

13 minutes ago, dreadfulLeigh said:

They seem like people I’d enjoy hanging out with. They seem sincere and genuine. I only worry that it’s so skewed towards Nate’s dream and Lauren has little to make her happy. Maybe living in LA was mostly Lauren’s dream and now they flipped. But, I don’t know, wasn’t there a better middle option than LA or The Desert Farm in BFE?

She's chill & going with it , but as she's said it's for him & she doesn't seem too happy. Then again maybe she's just fixated on getting a pregnancy going, which to me is all bad timing. It will be a lot for them to start farming, her be pregnant, then a newborn, their other child, etc.; if there are any problems it will be extra challenging.

They both seem to be supporting the other in what they want - he wants farming, she wants a baby - but neither seems to be that into what the other wants, at least not at this moment.

[dreadfulLeigh]

Is cheese making supposed to be her job? It’s one thing if she already knew all about homesteading and farming and whatnot, but learning all that AND having a newborn and young child is a lot. I wonder how much they see her day to day involvement in the farm? 

[LazyToaster]

I like these people a lot - they seem like down to earth folks who would be good friends.  Juniper is so adorable - what a sweet little girl!  Farming though...  I don't know much about it; but, this seems a little hodge podge to me.  But, it is also hard to know what is just for camera.  

[SunnyBeBe]

I've been watching this and like it for the most part.  I do have some questions though.  Doesn't it seem that the wife is not that into this whole farming idea?  And, how is the husband going to manage doing all the things on the farm that need doing with his physical limitations?  It's fine, if you have employees or other family members who are physically able to do things, but, can you regularly call people to come help who live far away or have their own jobs to comply with? Can he afford to hire employees? 

I'm also curious about their comments about their embryos.  They are very open about it, but, I wonder if they have considered their church's position on this.  They have been open about their church involvement too.  Do you know if they have said what they will do with the unused embryos? It's such a huge and serious decision.  I felt the flipping a coin scene was in poor taste and trivialized the matter. 

[JocelynCavanaugh]

I generally like them, and Juniper was already reminding me of Jack before I read here! They would be adorable to watch together. 

Lauren does seem low-key miserable, and it’s also hard to watch her go through that bangs journey on TV. She picked an odd time to grow them out if that’s what’s going on. 

Nate is definitely “on” but his emotion when Lauren’s mom told him how Lauren is crazy about him seemed real. Something about him reminds me of Greg Gutfeld (not his stature!!).

I cannot believe all that Lauren has been through and is still willing to go through to have more kids. It seems like nonstop pain. I’ve never related to that level of desire to procreate but I wish her well. 

[winsomeone]

I sort of wish they would keep their fertility problems private. Not really into watching all of that sadness. Think I will give this show a miss..the little girl is sure cute though.

[readheaded]

I guess I don't understand how they're making a living, not to mention where their health insurance might come from?

[SunnyBeBe]

I would think that having your animals away from your house would be quite inconvenient.  Won't they need to be there to milk the goats and cow every morning? 

[GoldaVining]

On 9/19/2018 at 6:12 AM, SunnyBeBe said:

I would think that having your animals away from your house would be quite inconvenient.  Won't they need to be there to milk the goats and cow every morning? 

Yes. Exactly. This whole set up is weird.

When Nate was talking to his dad about possibly scaling back, I thought how can you "scale back" from one cow, a couple of goats, and a handful of chickens? If anything, it isn't enough. What do you do with a single cow? Long term if milk is what they want, they are going to need to buy or borrow some boys for their girls every year. But adding boys (bulls, billy goats, roosters) is where things get nuts fast. Literally. Most dairy cattle farmers order frozen semen to avoid the situation (and for genetic planning/diversity of course).

On 9/17/2018 at 8:55 PM, JocelynCavanaugh said:

Lauren does seem low-key miserable, and it’s also hard to watch her go through that bangs journey on TV. She picked an odd time to grow them out if that’s what’s going on. 

 

Bwahahaha! This made me laugh out loud. Not about her being miserable, but her "bangs journey". That killed me. So funny. I don't know anything about her bangs journey but I know the misery of my own bangs journey. Ha! So relatable,

Those properties they were looking at were shocking. Just nothing there. No fences, no barns, no trees, no shade, nothing. Talk about starting from scratch. I would buy a fixer upper that at least has fences. Rather than scaling back, it is the order of things that needed to be considered. Buy the land, fence the land, build the barns, get the livestock.

On 9/18/2018 at 12:05 PM, readheaded said:

I guess I don't understand how they're making a living

I don't understand either and the show has not been clear.

[SunnyBeBe]

Good points above.  Just how are they going to make a living farming with a few animals, that are really suitable for their own use.  And, is it safe to drink unpasteurized milk from that cow? My dad grew up on a farm and they did, but, things were different back then.  His mom churned the milk into butter. The whole live off the land deal.  They grew all their food, except for basics like salt, pepper, flour, coffee and sugar.  The rest, they grew and harvested for their own use. They raised their own pork and chickens.  Hunted game to supplement.  Cash crops were cotton and tobacco.  This was a long time ago, of course and my dad said it was TOO HARD for kids.  He, his parents, siblings AND hired workers did all the work.  He said you can't imagine how much work this is.  And they had a big family.  I thought most farms were now run by corporations. 

https://www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm079516.htm

[gonecrackers]

I would think they can't possibly be caring for those animals if not together 24/7 - farming is not the kind of thing one can do p/t.  Lauren isn't into it at all. My guess is this is a story line to fund the baby process &/or jump start more of an acting career for him again.

[Scarlett45]

On 9/22/2018 at 9:09 AM, gonecrackers said:

I would think they can't possibly be caring for those animals if not together 24/7 - farming is not the kind of thing one can do p/t.  Lauren isn't into it at all. My guess is this is a story line to fund the baby process &/or jump start more of an acting career for him again.

Ditto. 

[Scarlett45]

I liked this family, but I guess they are done?

[zoomama]

i sure hope they come back!

[zoomama]

baby freddie is here!