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Monday, November 11, 2019

The Stewarts Settle In

 Evan and Carlin

"I don't even know how to cook. How am I supposed to know how to set this stuff up?"
-Carlin Bates (now Carlin Stewart)

In TV time, the wedding countdown has begun, and Carlin and Evan are rushing to get their house set up before the big day. But they have already received a ton of gifts, and finding places for all their new belongings proves to be a more difficult task than they had imagined.


Photo/video courtesy of UPtv

66 comments:

  1. I feel bad for the new brides who don't know how to cook. They have plenty of opportunities to practice in their childhood and teen years. For that matter, the guys should be learning too.

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    1. It is very different to go from cooking for a large family to cooking for two. My daughter has struggled with figuring out how to cook for only two people and not a large family. We have seen them all in the kitchen helping with meals. I think they are just used to having Kelly around to give them instructions. It is a little difficult to have to plan meals, grocery shop and cook all by yourself.

      I always say that I can’t cook. I do cook but nothing fancy. Maybe the Bates just mean the same thing.... not that they can’t cook anything. They just aren’t proficient at it.

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    2. I hope that's what they mean, 12:41. I'm not one that likes to say negative things about them, but the cooking thing bothers me (maybe because I majored in home economics way back when and think everyone should know basic cooking and kitchen management. It's a life skill!).

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  2. It looks like a very nice home. I'm sure that Carlin is feeling overwhelmed with the wedding, honeymoon, and settling in to their home. Kitchens can be difficult to set up because one doesn't know which kitchen tools, dishes, and small appliances will be used most frequently. It takes awhile to sort things out. Patience is the key for any new couple.

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    1. Exactly! My daughter recently got married and set up her apartment. I have always set things up for our house, so it was hard for her to figure out the best places to put things. I told her not to be too concerned that she can rearrange as she figures out what they use most often.

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    2. I can't wait for my daughter's to get married (they've got a ways to go until then since they are 10 and 8 now) but I think it'll be so fun helping them with their home and when they have children. I look forwards to having sons-in-law. The family grows and that'll be fun!

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  3. I believe Carlin is a competent young woman; but how she forms words and what she says come off as kind of crazy. She’s overwhelmed about cabinets??? Where items go??? Really?

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    1. I had to chuckle over her supposed bewilderment over where to put things in the kitchen cabinets. I hope this was just staged and that she's not that clueless. Surely, she must've opened cabinets in her parents' home and knew where the dishes, pots, pans, etc. were stored. It isn't rocket science!

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    2. Maybe organization is not her thing and she's just overwhelmed.

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    3. The whole conversation just sounds staged to me.

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  4. So poor Carlin and Evan aren’t can’t figure out where things go in their home? What about those that don’t know where their next meal is coming from or how to pay for oil to heat their home! Those are the real struggles!!!

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  5. Well, Carlin, had you be offered the opportunity to live at college or after graduation in your own apartment; you’d have learned how to set up a home. It’s not that tricky.

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  6. "Our friends and family have blessed us overwhelmingly. . . " That sounded so staged.

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  7. Why didn't Kelly teach her girls to cook? I thought they were raised to be mothers and homemakers. Wouldn't cooking be an important part of their upbringing. I am raising my daughters to have careers and they know how to cook very well. It just seems so strange she can't cook.

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    1. I don't think Kelly is that into cooking, and she was blessed to have older daughters Michaella and Alyssa to do the food prep for years. I agree that all of them should be taught to cook, and if that is not Kelly's forte, she can work on it along with them!

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    2. I know what you are saying. Kelly has said numerous times that she herself can't cook. Remember the chicken commerical show? How does someone raise 19 children with no homemaking skills??

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    3. * response to 7:42 PM. MO- Haven't you noticed that no one cooks in this family. They say Michaela used to do the cooking- but she's been gone a long time. Erin didn't cook until she got married. Kelly says she not good at cooking (during the Tyson ad on "I Love You" day) and she has 19 kids! I still haven't seen much of a meal being served that wasn't take-out. Who's cooking? Any boys? Any girls?? Just wondering- :o)

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    4. And let me add it cost money big time for a bigger family like this (the ones still home) to always eat prepared food, take out, etc. I could go show them a huge savings on their grocery bill by teaching them how to cook from scratch and watch the sale bills for when different cuts of meat are on sale etc and buy up and part out and freeze. Oh my, the money for food like they want to eat for this family must be exorbitant. I only wish I had the luxury to have a cushion like this if I didn’t feel like cooking for my family! Calling Cracker Barrel....:/

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    5. I don’t know how they get away fat-wise by eating all that prepared, processed, takeout food. If I ate like that all the time I’d be bigger than a barn...there’s something remotely healthy by cooking from scratch I can testify to.

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    6. 2:39 How does someone with 19 kids have time to cook with homeschooling and laundry and activities and church work and babysitting grandchildren? She has probably just done simple meals like baking chicken or spaghetti.... things that don’t require a lot of prep work and time. I don’t think she means she can’t cook. She probably just doesn’t make anything super time consuming or with a lot of ingredients.

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    7. Actually, I think the show takes up most of Kelly's time. Going to meetings, planning shows, going to the site of the next filming, putting on makeup, choosing outfits, and re-doing scenes over and over so the lighting and sound is perfect. She is sort of like a career woman.

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    8. I don’t believe Kelly or Gil are producers of their show. So, it’s doubtful Kelly is involved with planning or going to meetings. How long does make up, tossing on a denim skirt take? Are there second takes in this show?

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    9. If Kelly does all that then she is an actor, director not a stay at home mom.

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    10. Of course there are second takes! And third, fourth and fifth takes!
      Haven't you noticed that you can always hear everyone clearly? And that the lighting is always perfect, never too dark, never too bright? There's never a dog running through an outdoor scene, or a car backfiring? That's because there are multiple takes. Kelly says her "lines" over and over, till the "scene" is perfect.

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    11. Kelly and Gil have to meet with the producers to plan an upcoming show. They would never just trust the producers to come up with a plan for a show. The producers might put them in a situation they feel is ungodly.

      "Let's have the family go camping,"
      "Well, OK, but maybe without the new moms"
      "Ok, and we'll have Gil fall in the river."
      "Sounds good."

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  8. Its so confusing. Bates women have been raised to be Godly housewives. You’d think they would have learned how to cook before getting married.

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  9. A young lady should be able to run a household before she gets married. Are these girls not taught to even organize a kitchen???

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  10. How is it possible that most of the Bates and Duggar girls cannot cook after getting married? Almost every episode shows the girls helping out and stuff. I just can't figure out how this skill got overlooked in a family the size of theirs. The parents always boasted how the girls and boys are being taught to get married and maintain a household. I'm always left dumbfounded at this.

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    1. I think Kelly said one time she would “cook” a lot of frozen foods! So, there may have been minimal homemade meals for anyone to learn!

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    2. I don't understand that either. We saw them baking for firefighters while they were growing up.

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  11. Why do they expect these women to be homemakers but then don’t teach them how to cook? Erin didn’t know how to cook as a newlywed and neither did Tori. At least Erin became an excellent cook after marriage so I hope she teaches her tricks to the other girls

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  12. Then why get married if u don't know how to cook

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    1. Well, there are a bunch of reasons for being married that have nothing to do with cooking . . . .

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    2. Cooking is not my favorite thing to do. I have a family of 6 so I get the job done but as a newlywed I knew nothing. I have had to learn over the years and I have more faith (in myself) in the kitchen than I used to. some of us just don't have a passion for food prep lol. Erin really figured it out and she is just an amazing all around person like her husband Chad is also.

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  13. im happy for the both of you. and im sure it wont take long to learn how to cook. if you have a little experiance it will come easy

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  14. I'm sure she'll learn to cook after marriage like Erin did.

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  15. If she is overwhelmed by putting pots in a cabinet, how will she care for an infant? That can be overwhelming to the best-prepared wife.

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  16. Sounds like Evan knows his way around a kitchen better than Carlin does. This is surprising, because it's always appeared like the girls were such help in the kitchen and helped the older married set up their new homes. I think it's important for anyone to know at least the basics of cooking, regardless of whether you are male or female. I learned it from my mom and Home Ec. 101 back in my public high school days eons ago.

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  17. It's strange that these young women, who are chomping at the bit at a young age to find a husband and get married, don't seem to have a clue about cooking or setting up housekeeping. If you want to be a SAHM, you'd better be prepared. It seems that Erin has stepped up and learned how to cook. If you can read or watch a video, you can cook!

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    1. SAHM and housekeeper aren’t the same.

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  18. Welcome to the real world, Carlin. It’s best not to bite off more than you can chew, however, new marriage, new business, baby on the way can all take their toll. Time, patience and a sense of humor are part of marriage 101.

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  19. What, these kids don't know how to cook? That's ridiculous!
    Fuzzyferet

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  20. Shouldn’t both of them cook? Why is the kitchen the brides space?

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    1. In these families, it is the wife's job. She doesn't work outside the home. Homemaking is her job, which is why it's so surprising that Carlin is so ill-prepared

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    2. Whitney is or at least was working as a realtor. Erin teaches piano lessons and does some decorating. Carlin, Erin, and Whitney are running the boutique. Michael sews and sells her items. Carlin was helping to homeschool her siblings while also finishing college. I don't think any of them are "just housewives." There is a lot more to homemaking than just cooking. It is easy to get overwhelmed when you have to decide where hundreds of items are going to go. Carlin has probably figured it all out now that she lives in the home.

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    3. I thought the one wife did real estate, another cuts hair and another is learning nursing? I doubt the woman is ill prepared. There isn’t much to say when taking things out of boxes and putting them in cabinets.

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  21. It comes by practice. Keep trginf. Evan need to help you goo. Team work

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  22. The Bates women reach their twenties without knowing how to cook? There are feminists who can cook just fine and teach their daughters, who, ironically, are better prepared for adult life than the Bates,

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    1. Nothing ironic about feminist parents teaching their children basic life skills. Feminism is about equal opportunity and that extends to teaching men and women basic life skills so they can take care of themselves and others. I'm a feminist mom, raised by feminist parents, both of whom worked outside the home but still made time to cook meals and teach us important life skills. Good for Evan for knowing his way around the kitchen and a big thanks to whoever thought it important enough to teach him those skills. My dad made our lunches to take to school and made us breakfast on the weekends, so I learned everything about making pancakes, waffles, eggs, and bacon from Dad and my mom, Grandma, and Food Network taught me how to make everything else. I'm certainly raising my daughter to be competent in life skills and if I'd had a son, he'd be right there in the kitchen, laundry room, and garden with me learning these skills because I'd want him to be able to take care of himself and his future family.

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  23. How is the new Bates family header going to be updated.

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  24. Well some of the married ladies order those frozen meals. Maybe This young couple will do the same..

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  25. I'm sure they ladies know how to cook but they most likely aren't comfortable cooking for just two people and concern their new husband might not like what they cook.

    Perhaps Kelly could incorporate home ec curriculum into her homeschool day. We used Christian Life Publishers which has lessons and recipes for the student to try.
    As far as setting up the kitchen, it CAN be overwhelming at first. When we moved into our current home I was overwhelmed with all the cabinets in our kitchen. I did figure out where I wanted things. I think that probably the reason the homes in our area ( we are rural) have so many cabinets is because we get snow and people want to have plenty of supplies in case of being snowed in.

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    1. I used that home ec curriculum!

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  26. Carlin will figure it out. She had a big support system at home. Now it's just her and her husband, a huge shock I'm sure. I bet she usually had at least one person with her every day. My little sister loved to cook, me, not interested. So, Mom taught her, I couldn't even make eggs. Until I got married, I didn't cook. I'm still learning. You gotta learn it, you half to eat. You can can only eat so much take out, its expensive! Good luck to this couple! I'd rather Carlin be real ,then fake and act like shes a pro when shes a newbie.

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  27. She can't make chili? Cook a steak? Roast vegetables? Boil chicken? Make applesauce? Such basic things. What is she going to feed the toddler she'll have in a couple of year? Canned food?

    Carlin is clearly not ready for marriage, let alone motherhood.

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    1. I'm sure Carlin has basic cooking skills and I think she is very capable of providing food for the toddler she will have in a few years. After all, lots can be learned until then. Considering the support system Carlin has in her Mom and sisters she will have cooking figured out in no time. Maybe it's just something she wasn't very interested in as a single girl. I was the same way, you learn as you go. Been married for 18 months have a baby daughter and have no problem cooking up a meal for her and my husband, where, newly married I couldn't cook nearly as good.

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  28. The ability to cook does not determine how good of a mother or wife you are and these comments are ridiculous and disheartening for women in general. I am a wonderful mother with a well run house and I still hate to cook and will avoid it unless there’s no choice. I always let someone else set up my kitchen when we move because I just don’t care. My mom feels the same way about cooking while my older sister can spend all day cooking and creating recipes. Who cares how food is getting on the table as long as it’s there. Kids are happy when they’re full and loved and I don’t see any of the Bates kids/grandkids starving in either regard.
    Also, Carlin is self-deprecating naturally and is more capable then she lets on. I will never understand why some people take everything out of a persons mouth completely literally.

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    1. With the focus that this family puts on the girls being wives and mothers, it would make sense that the girls were taught more skills in the kitchen. It is certainly not something I put much stock in, but given their messages about traditional roles in marriage it would be expected.

      Carlin is communicating that she does not know how to cook. I see no reason to doubt her statements. After all, most people will tell you the truth about themselves if we are willing and ready to listen.

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  29. Did any of us know how to cook before anyone got married, I for one took up home economics in high school. They should bring back the program to the high schools.

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    1. Oh, yeah. You have to ask yourself why the public education system thinks that something as important to a person's well-being as feeding themselves and their family is deemed unworthy of being taught. Look at the size and health of our general population.

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    2. That wouldn't have helped Carlin. She attended high school at home.

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    3. hey anon 1236pm im not married and i now how to cook and i didnt even take any classes i wanted to learn how to cook

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  30. Instead of being so critical and tearing them down offer words of encouragement. She will learn what she needs to know.

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  31. When Evan actually spent some productive time setting up their apartment with Carlin he seemed a bit annoyed and not liking her behavior. He also looked for a moment to me, like he had a few doubts about her maturity at the marriage license office. That woman is clueless. Who doesn't know their father's legal first name? She visits her grandparents every Thanksgiving, didn't she know that her father was born in North Carolina?

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