Emily said...
CHANGE I HAVE MADE
I cut off the bottom shelf above the crib.
CHANGE I AM WORKING ON
I am going to nix the mattresses altogether. A few people kindly sent me links on the chemicals in crib mattresses creating a mold that realeases a toxins gas could be linked to SIDS. The gas sinks. Where Daniel is is on bottom, he is absorbing those chemicals whether the mattress is pulled out or not. I'm working on fashioning an alternative.
Notice she says she is working on an alternative, not that she will buy her children proper mattresses/beds? I wonder what the alternative is, any guesses? Dog Beds? Air Matresses? Making them sleep in the rubbermaid?
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I was just going to come over here and post this, but you beat me to it. I figure she might have the kids sleep on hay bales, cheap and organic!
ReplyDeleteWell we know damn well she isn't going to get them organic natural mattresses to sleep on. I'm placing bets on air mattresses. I bet she gets big Dna to get some at Wallyworld with his employee discount. And I love how she's supposedly so worried about the chemicals in the mattress creating a mold. *eyeroll* Yes, Emily, you are SUCH a concerned, caring mother. /sarcasm
ReplyDeleteKitty Dee said...
ReplyDeleteOkay, I've held off long enough when it comes to commenting on Emily; this really takes the cake.
What a squalid, depressing, claustrophobic little hovel of a "bedroom." There is nothing bright and cheerful about it; everything is arranged slapdash, half-assed, and make-do. Not to mention unsafe!
And for someone so miserly, letting the mattresses get ruined by urine (which they definitely will), plus the regular dirt and wear that comes with leaving them unprotected, makes no sense. Part of frugality is taking good care of things so they last. Putting sheets and a waterproof covers on a childs' bed both makes it more comfortable to sleep on *and* prolongs the useful life of the mattress.
But Emily's short-sightedness never ceases to amaze me. She pinches pennies until they scream, while letting dollars flutter away from neglect or disinterest. Here family "happily thrives" on less than $1000/month? Actually, the only thing I see that's happily thriving is Emily's massive ego. In the meantime, her husband and children eat meager rations of substandard food and live in ugly, shabby, surroundings because Emily wants to play her absurd, arbitrary game of domestic pick-and-choose.
I hate to think of her homeschooling efforts--after all, she's already teaching her kids that it's normal to sleep on bare mattresses, or in the space beneath a crib, and that it doesn't matter how much clutter you have as long as fits into a plastic tub or onto a flimsy shelf. Her boys may not be learning their ABCs yet, but they are definitely learning about how people are supposed to live, and how they are supposed to treat their possessions and home environment.
So when is she going to decide that it's time for her kids to stop sleeping in makeshift, wipe-clean dogbeds and start sleeping in proper beds fit for human beings, with clean sheets? If she's unwilling to wash little Dan's crib-sized sheets in the Wonderwash because it's "too much work," what is she going to do for three bigger boys (plus any future siblings) in twin-sized bunk beds? Will she (God forbid) lower her standards and resort to laundromats?
Emily has some lousy domestic habits, she's passing them straight on to her kids, and I don't foresee that getting better as the burden of housework grows with each successive child.
One other thing about frugality--there is an elegance in simplicity. There is dignity in having no more than what you truly love and need, and satisfaction in making things last. There is also plenty of room for beauty, grace, and true generosity when you aren't choked by junk.
I don't see any of that in Emily's blog; instead, I see plain, ugly cheapness. Emily is both prideful and profoundly greedy--all misers are greedy, and Emily's narrow-eyed skinflint ways are every bit as materialistic as her mother's lifestyle allegedly is. They might even be more so; just as Fundies who go on and on about purity and abstinence are far more sex-obsessed than the "sinful" general population, so is Emily, as she wallows in materialism masquerading as frugality.
I feel bad for those kids. Their mother arrogantly insists upon rejecting the comfort and privilege of her own upbringing, to the point where even something so basic as a real bed and clean sheets has fallen by the wayside. Their father is appallingly sub-literate, and if they are lucky he'll remain a Walmart janitor, rather than drag them along from one hardscrabble pastorate to another (while their mother obsesses over just how little space they can occupy).
I didn't expect to rant so much; I guess I've been saving it up! But after following her blog I keep being shocked at what a stingy, self-absorbed, mean-spirited control freak she is, and how utterly blind she is to the wretchedness of her chosen lifestyle. I hope her kids prove resilient enough to overcome it as adults.
Damn. I'd forgotten about the wacko toxic mattress gas causes sids theory. Of course that's the one thing that Emily would take seriously.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least we have all figured out that the way to get Emily to change her ways for the better is to give her an argument or explanation that allows her to save face, in her eyes, when making a change. With the Rubbermaid totes she could discover that she was being more efficient about repacking the clothes in crates because there was less wasted empty space. Here, she was able to discover the off-gassing of harmful chemicals.
ReplyDeleteHow old was that mattress, anyway? I suspect that perhaps any off-gassing had already been done a while ago. I wouldn't dismiss mold as a possibility, though.
Amen, Kitty Dee!
ReplyDeleteAnd another thing.
ReplyDeleteIf she's making a mattress out of blankets, how often will she clean *that*? If there are leaks, they'll be absorbed, and they'll *have* to be laundered unless she does cover her makeshift mattress with some kind of rubberized cover, and she catches leaks before they have an opportunity to be absorbed. That's a lot more work than using a real mattress. It also sounds like a potential suffocation hazard, if she is planning to use this substitute in the crib. Crib mattresses should be firm, not soft and moldable like a pile of blankets. This solution also doesn't address the issue of the crib mattress not being lowered or a child sleeping under the crib.
Personally, I do have concerns about the chemicals in flame retardants applied to mattresses. But I do believe that you can get mattresses untreated with those retardants from IKEA; at least, you can in Canada (there's that storage solution again!).
If the mattress wasn't moldy or still off-gassing, and, uh... clean, she could even keep the mattress going forward, and address the elevation issue by resting the mattress on an array of milk crates turned upside down or on their sides and wired together. They're probably strong enough to support a child's weight in that fashion. On their sides, you can even get a row of little cubbyholes for storing toys on the outside. She likes milk crates.
Any mold would be coming from letting a pool of urine fester in the dark next to a baseboard heater. The house might not be warm, but it's, literally, a breeding ground for bacteria and wild fungus, like sourdough starter and Therese the Pet Kefir.
ReplyDeleteI've got good money sitting on - HAMMOCKS. Seriously. It would be the unification of everything she loves - swags of random fabric, suspended from the ceiling/walls, and she could get like... 5 children PER WALL. She could make that room like the galley in an old-time Naval ship, just full of swaying hammocks..
ReplyDeleteHer solution will be to throw a piece of plywood across 2 bins. Bobby can sleep on the plywood and Dan can sleep underneath on the floor because he likes his cave.
ReplyDeleteI say she puts strips of velcro on the walls and puts a couple strips on their Star Trek pj's and just slaps the kids up against the wall each night. Saves tons of space and she could probably get 10 kids in the closet if she arranges them right. I'm mean, closets are for hanging things in, arent' they????
ReplyDelete8:20, excellent suggestion. I think you have invented cheap... er, frugal bunk beds.
ReplyDeleteOr, she could take the bins, turn them on their sides horizontally, glue them together, and put this structure against a wall1. The kids could sleep in the bins in individual little pods. When accidents happen, just wipe the bins down! It would be just like a kitty condo.
Speaking of- maybe she could salvage a REAL kitty condo for the kids to sleep in.
She is such a joke. Just because your body can birth a litter of children doesnt mean you are a parent. She cares as much about the welfare and comfort of her children as she does about the mess in her husband's mouth.
ReplyDeleteOh and that whole Haiti post? Nice try, Emily.
I'm guessing her sexy red dress, stuffed with recycled Brad and the seams fused together usung the heater from her crockpot.
ReplyDeleteHow about she gets the kids a futon atleast.
I can't believe she poo-poohed camping mats because she doesn't know what's in them... um, hello, you're feeding your kids crap and letting them sleep in a death trap "cave" but you're concerned about the materials in a camping mat?
ReplyDeleteThe really sad thing is that all of this information will live on the internet forever. Imagine if the boys ever go to any sort of school, or join any sort of group and other boys find these photos and comments.
ReplyDeletewait- of all that's been brought up, she's most concerned about sids in a three year old?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous @ 5:19 AM.
ReplyDeleteBest. Summation. Ever.
this is what I posted today after reading her updates. I doubt she'll post it. I just saw her update about no one being concerned about the baby in the crib. I tried to tell her yesterday about the danger of both boys sleeping under the crib, being rambunctious and kicking up at the underside of the crib therefore causing a collapse with baby in the crib but she didn't post it.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe the fact that some posters actually don't grasp the concept of Emily forcing this kind of life on her children abuse. Crabcakes, yes CPS woiuld consider it abuse to see a filthy, urine soaked sheetless plastic mattress on the floor, under a crib next to a baseboard heater!
To Anon who said people would be wasting their time calling CPS, CPS investigators would not consider a visit to this home a waste of their time, and really you have your head in the sand if you don't see this as an extreme case. She and her husband sleep in a nice warm bed with sheets, with room to stretch and move, and she FORCES her child to sleep on a filthy mattress on the floor with no sheets! How could you put your own comfort so far ahead of that of your precious child? Would you find that a comfortable way to sleep Emily?
Emily I am very very glad to see you are considering alternatives, but do you really think Daniel would be getting exposed to the mold if he was not under the crib? No crib mattress over top = no gases sinking down on you. But please, consider a different alternative than keeping that poor guy under the crib. It's a catastrophe begging to happen.
Honestly I don't understand the appeal of a lot of your choices, but I don't have to live it so I don't criticize. But this, Emily, is heartbreaking. You didn't post my response yesterday, I hope you post this one. I really feel you do care about your children, but you are just being stubborn and prideful on this issue. People are for the most part commenting from pure concern for your children. Most of us are moms who have more experience, some of us have had bad experiences, and are trying to prevent the same type of tragedy from happening to another mother.
I think this is my limit with Emily and her shenanigans. Anybody who could look at that pigsty of a room and call it "happy" is beyond hope.
ReplyDeleteNo more .0043 pennies per click from me, Emily. How you manage to justify your pitiful existance is beyond me, but you won't have to worry about my outrage and scorn anymore.
I truly feel for her poor children, and to an extent her husband as well. Her kids have no choice and no say in the manner, and likely don't realize what they're missing: good, healthy, nutritious food, a clean place to sleep and play, friends, maybe a pet one day in the future. It's just sad...and neglectful.
I have two cats and one dog, and I'd wager that I spend more on their food and treats than she spends on healthy food for her children.
Her smugness and arrogance about the entire situation are the last straw. Emily, should you happen to read this, quit acting like such a f*cking know-it-all. My 15 year old daughter has more common sense than you. Hell, my CAT has more common sense than you. Despite your overly-inflated opinion of yourself, you are far from knowing what's best for your family. Climb down off your high horse and listen to the advice being given. I promise, it won't kill you to say "Hey...I've given your ideas some thought and I belive you might be right."
Pull your head out of the sand before CPS does it for you and takes away your kids into the bargain. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for your kids, unless your definition of "frugal" includes not paying for your children's upbringing because you no longer have custody.
Sorry...I didn't intend to write a novel. I'm done with her. I may not even come back here to read about the crapfest that she calls a life. It's just too irritating!!!
I am not surprised by her behavior. No parent will make every decision perfectly, but really Emily...letting your son sleep UNDER your other son's crib?! I'm not even a mother and I know that is unsafe.
ReplyDeleteyou know what else is gross. they co sleep with the poor baby how do they have sex with the baby in the bed while little dan is comatose under the crib.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder little Dan naps in their bed! There are no words...
ReplyDeleteTo the above comment. Oh God! That is disgusting.
ReplyDelete