Parsnips and Parsimony

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It drives ME crazy how they say every day is a CRAZY day! For goodness sake! When you really analyse what they do every day it is no different to what any other family does in regards to the amount of running around they do. In fact, they have the luxury of having Art there WHENEVER Janelle wants him, they have no running kids around to school and after school activities and they never ever stick to a schedule at all. How many families have that? I think their days are far less "crazy" than that of the

Their time management seems to be non-existent. Those poor little kids don't have a clue what a schedule is and I am a firm believer that children thrive on routine. No wonder the "little girls" are constantly not napping and sleeping at night when they should be.

Janelle drives me crazy with the way she pronounces "and". She says aaaannnndddd ALL THE TIME! Petty ... yes ... but it is SO annoying.

I never gave it much thought, but your comment about sugar is very true. for a family who pride themselves on being healthy eaters, they do eat an awful lot of sugar. They also eat far too much cheap and fatty meat too. How much fruit do those kids get? Doesn't seem to be a lot. I've seen them all share a punnet of strawberries between them ... one each for their daily fruit allowance?

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Somebody posted the link to this thread in their comments a few days ago, so I do believe that the "teaching kindness to our children" vlog was about us. Rewarding kids with food is a bad idea, but they probably don't believe in psychology. And with ONE peanut, ugh.

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You read my mind! LOL I was coming on here to post exactly the same thing! I felt that vlog was directly pointed at us ... but too bad. It verily isn't going to stop me from saying what I think. And ONE peanut?? I totally agree. Also, why give little kids peanuts when they are running around like they were? I've seen them do that in the past and it is a recipe for a checking disaster. Surely they could have given them something else?

I noticed that Charity and John weren't the slightest bit interested in Janelle's "lesson" either. Charity spent the whole time with her nose in a book reading and Janelle had to ask them to stop talking and listen at one point. Mind you though, her style of "teaching" was woeful and I do't blame them for not being interested. She could hardly be heard over the chattering of the younger kids. Not one of them was listening to her and it was a total waste of time. If that is how she teaches, then heaven help those kids is all I can say.

Someone posted this link? Which vlog was that attached to? I'd love to read the comments.

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They deleted it pretty fast.

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That is not the first time they have deleted comments that they don't like, which I really thought they above doing. I'm sure now that they are reading here though. If it were me, I certainly would. LOL I hope they get a few ideas from some of the things we are saying and that the kids' lives improve because of it.

[dahell]

Oh yeah, they definitely delete comments. I would delete terrible or hateful comments too. Not sure what kind they are deleting. If there aren’t many comments, sometimes I’ll count them and it’s always less than what the comment count says. The reason I was curious is because, a while back, they had a few people that kept commenting kind of nasty things and then I never saw them again. So I assume they delete liberally now? Haven’t watched the latest few vlogs.

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I really don't know how often they do it. I've just noticed it a couple of times. It just annoys me that they constantly say that they put their lives out there exactly as it happens ... warts and all .... to show it "like it is", yet they can't take any comments that don't agree with them. I get the impression that they really have a very high opinion of themselves ... well, at least Janelle does. Art is more down to earth. I really like him!

Why does Janelle always have to have Art with her? In the latest vlog she had to take Charity's lunch to her at the ambulance station (which I think is just down the road), so Art had to drop everything and take her. That man has the patience of a saint!

[dahell]

Ok yeah, I totally agree. I’ve seen even thoughtful questions go unanswered or with a reply that’s a tiny bit snarky. Sometimes the snark is not even from them but their family that always comments!
That was one thing I’ve always wondered about. I’ve recently seen Janelle go out shopping alone but I’ve never understood why they sometimes all go and then they all wait in the car for Janelle (sometimes with Charity). I guess it’s a personal preference but I’d much rather my kids be at home playing or whatever than crammed in the “beast bus” waiting for me to shop. But then again, my husband has zero flexibility in his job. Good for them for setting it up that way if it works but, it makes no sense to me!

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It makes no sense to me either. Art's income must be very small, because he is never at work! I suppose that is one of the main reasons they live so frugally, because he just can't generate a large income when he is hardly ever at work. I do admire their frugality a lot but I also think they they can be quite mean to their kids about it too. Last Christmas their kids received some woeful presents, so I'm really interested to see what they actually give them this year. I was appalled at some of the "presents" they gave them last year.

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I just went back to last year's Christmas Eve vlog to remind myself what the kids actually got in their stockings .... goldfish crackers, boxes of Mac n Cheese, shampoo, dry noodles, and chap sticks are some examples. I remember someone criticising them for being so cheap, and they didn't take kindly to it at all. Those comments seem to have been taken down now though.

[dahell]

I just went back to last year's Christmas Eve vlog to remind myself what the kids actually got in their stockings .... goldfish crackers, boxes of Mac n Cheese, shampoo, dry noodles, and chap sticks are some examples. I remember someone criticising them for being so cheap, and they didn't take kindly to it at all. Those comments seem to have been taken down now though.

Seriously?! I don’t know how I missed that one. These last few months I’m kind of “burnt out” on their vlogs but I probably watched most last year. Those are odd choices. I get that kids don’t need tons of junk etc but...dry noodles? I really don’t get it. Have you seen the one where they took John (I think it was John or the other boy) our to eat and he really didn’t like it? Seemed totally like he was just mimicking the way his parents act about restaurants. Not saying Home cooked meals aren’t almost always better but his attitude was kind of odd.

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They are all kind of odd. LOL

[dahell]

You guys, they are taking a little break to “re-amp” their website and channel.

[DoodleBop2]

Surprise.

Janelle goes on and on about chemicals and going right into the anti-science stuff that's big among a lot of religious people online, yet the vast majority of what they eat is cheap highly processed stuff. There is healthy and what mom can get on clearance with a coupon.

[Caisflame]

I just love Mary. She's such a cutie and has a really fun personality. If anyone would break out of their sheltered lifestyle, I could see it being Mary. She seems like a free spirit.

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I thought their Christmas vlog was much better this year than in the past. The kids seemed to get some decent toys and it was nice to see them all together as a family concentrating on the kids for the day. One thing is for sure ... they really love those kids, even they are misguided in the way they often deal with their needs.

[dahell]

All snarkiness aside, I do like seeing people that put their families first. I know the kids seem gloomy at times but, you’re right, they do love their kids.

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Does their Snail's Pace Challenge drive anyone else crazy? They NEVER seem to get anything done from their list. And their New's Year's Resolution is to clean up ... again! .... the same resolution they have had for years. Do they actually ever achieve anything?

[DoodleBop2]

They're hoarders. They're constantly working on keeping it manageable. Stuff and more stuff because it's so cheap. It's like how they go grocery shopping and come home to full freezers and a nearly full fridge...but they just had to buy food.

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Yes the food drives me insane as well. Why not just stop buying it for a few months and get those multiple freezers empty? The amount of meat that family goes through is insane and yet they are constantly buying more to jam into those very full freezers.