The moment that Shanann has been waiting for has finally arrived. She and Chris are on their way to Punta Cana.
1-31-17 (2:32)
31-01-2017 - Shanann Watts Facebook Video
Shanann and Chris have arrived in Punta Cana. Cristina Meacham, an old friend of Shanann’s meets them in the airport lobby. The two women have not seen one another in 12 years. Shanann has recruited Cristina and she has become a promoter of Thrive as well.
The video starts with Cristina speaking Spanish to an airport employee. Shanann begins to greet her live stream viewers and it’s obvious that she has a bigger audience watching than she normally does. Everyone is interested in Shanann’s much talked about trip to the Dominican Republic.
Cristina is very talkative and friendly with the hotel staff and with Chris, who she has just met. A band begins to play in a greeting to the trio after Cristina tips them. Shanann turns the camera on Chris and he uncharacteristically begins to dance for the audience. The three begin to walk away and Shanann tells those watching that they are on their way to the hotel.
They thank Le-vel for the experience and promise to be back soon to give everyone a tour of their lodgings for the next 5 days.
1-31-17 (4:53)
Shanann goes live from her hotel room and she wants to show it off. She takes the camera around the room, pointing out her favorite parts. She gives them all a look at the view from the balcony.
“Le-vel never disappoints,” Shanann says and she continues her tour of the room. I have noticed something in these videos. Shanann has this weird habit of blurting out the things that she really admires and uses the phrase “I want___ in my house.” She does it repeatedly.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve been on the..uh..caribbean over here on the east coast. Way too long,” Shanann says.
I am confused about what she means here. In case some of you are unfamiliar with the Caribbean, let me give a short geography lesson.
The Caribbean, once known as the West Indies, is made up of 13 independent island countries, some of which are dependencies of overseas territories. They are located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico, east of Central America and Mexico and north of South America. All 13 islands are grouped together in what’s known as the Caribbean Sea. Punta Cana is part of what’s known as the Lesser Antilles.
There are no islands located off of the east coast. This appears to be her normal social posturing and embellishing or outright lying.
She mentions having traveled to Dominica, which is odd because Dominica isn’t known as a destination location. It has resisted the building of large commercial airports and cruise ship ports in order to keep tourism away. I wonder what and who took her to Dominica.
She goes on to say that she had been to “a lot of the Caribbean.” There are no photos or Facebook posts of these visits. In fact, she has never made mention of these trips before now.
Shanann steps in front of the full length mirror in the room and asks her audience if they like her Lularoe leggings.
She says she wants the same bathroom sinks in her home.
She now tells those watching that the trips get better and better over time and she hopes to see her whole team on the next one.
She begins wrapping up her live stream when she reaches for something and hands it to Chris, “put these away, baby.”
1-31-17 (6:08)
31-01-2017 - Shanann Watts Facebook Video
The trio has showered and changed and are now downstairs ready to tour the hotel.
She says that all of the employees are nice and helpful.
“I want these in my house,” she says about the light fixtures in the lobby. Chris laughs softly in the background. As they look around and explore, Shanann talks non-stop to her facebook audience. She points out a painting of Elton John and claims he is her favorite.
“I want artwork like this in my house,” she repeats. She seems almost juvenile. It reminds me of a child who wants every toy they see in commercials on TV.
“I still want those balls. I love those balls,” she comments about the lighting fixtures for the 2nd time. They pass an entryway and Shanann says that they don’t want to go in there because it’s the gallery. Does she mean an art gallery? I would think that would be a perfect place to get good content about the quality of the hotel. But what do I know?
She films the employee at the small chocolate shop located in the lobby. She looks over the shelves full of treats while Chris samples the hot chocolate sold in the shop.
Cristina is very engaging with everyone she meets. She smiles and laughs and speaks to them in their shared language. She seems very comfortable and genuine around others. Shanann however, does not. She struggles to say things that will elicit a response and build some sort of rapport. She tries to mimic Cristina’s lovely Spanish accent but it sounds exactly like what it is. An uncomfortable attempt to draw attention.
Shanann turns and exits without saying anything to Chris or Cristina. She tells her audience that she needs to finish helping a promoter on her team who is on the verge of earning her 4k rank. Which means this promoter will earn $4000 in bonus cash through Le-vel.
This is one of the sleazy ploys that Le-vel uses to gain the trust of its newest victims. The first cash bonus is given without stipulation. The upline won’t begin their pressure campaign to “invest” the money back into the company until the 2nd “bonus” check. Then it becomes an onslaught of pushing and prodding the new promoter to take whatever money Le-vel sends them and spend it all on product to build their “inventory.” Basically the upline tells their team members to give the money that Le-vel has just paid to them, back to Le-vel. Immediately.
I have heard ex-MLMers talk about how much work went into trying to promote, sell and recruit for these companies. Everyone of them has made comments about how they had to constantly make and take calls, all hours of the day and night. A few even admitted to being on the phone trying to sell this “dream” during the entirety of their own family vacations.
After hearing these stories I began to pay attention to the backgrounds of these getaways,palooza’s, and parties and it’s an obvious thing. Shanann, especially, is always on her phone. Just to back up my statement:
And this one…
The 1st photo was taken by Chris while he and Shanann were on a date. There are rose petals scattered on the table and it's obvious that this was supposed to be a romantic dinner. Now notice her phone lying on the table while she smiles for the camera. Let's look closer…
Shanann has someone on hold on her phone. She had been talking to someone on her "team" while sitting at the table across from her husband. She has put her call on hold and smiles beautifully for the camera. She asks him to send her the pic so that she can post it to Facebook, which she does immediately. I'm quite positive the pic was her idea.
She goes right back to ignoring him at her favorite restaurant while on a date. After posting about their perfect relationship and how much she loves him on her social media. It's eye opening to what their marriage was really like.
She is telling the truth when she says she is going to help a new promoter reach their bonus rank. Even when on this "all inclusive" dream vacation. Because there was never a moment in a promoters waking hours that their team leaders weren’t reminding them that if they failed at this, it was going to be their own fault. Imagine putting yourself into a position to accept this kind of pressure without any tangible gain whatsoever. Shanann’s delusions of grandeur were so fully entrenched that she believed she would soon be living the life she felt that she deserved. One of her co-workers at the children’s hospital call center would say that when Shanann spoke about her involvement with Le-vel she made it seem like she would soon be on the pages of Forbes.
Here’s her comment:
She continues to talk about helping their new promoter earn her first bonus and Cristina joins in on the conversation. Shanann once again claims how much she loves helping others achieve their goals. She tells her viewers that she will “go live” in about an hour when the new promoter is predicted to reach her milestone. Shanann says that this particular person doesn’t know she is on the verge of making rank and she is too busy to have time to watch this and so the secret is safe.
“I want those in my house,” she says under her breath. This time it’s a collection of lit vases. Cristina Meacham mentions a hot rock massage and Shanann films her as her old friend laughs loudly and takes in all of the sights around them.
“I gotta lock her in her room,” Shanann quips. Strange thing to say. I didn’t hear anything lewd or racy. I don’t think Shanann was quite comfortable with her friend’s unconstrained and happy personality. It had been 12 years since they had been in contact with one another. And Cristina appears to be the opposite of Shanann. The former was outgoing and carefree while the latter only appeared to be that way. Interpersonal relationships were difficult for Shanann because she was calculated and rigid with those closest to her.
Shanann suddenly has an idea. She wants to get a drink. I believe this was a way for her to loosen up and grab onto some of Cristina's positive energy.
She touches her hair and complains about its condition due to the humidity. She wraps up the live and promises to be back.
1-31-17 (2:34)
31-01-2017 - Shanann Watts Facebook Video
She is back “live” and introduces Osiris “our bartender.” Osiris makes jokes as the women decide what flavor of margarita they want to try.
“Say hi to the followers. They’re watching you,” Shanann tells him. He greets those watching.
“No pressure,” she adds.
Osiris doesn’t look up from his task and doesn’t respond. Shanann laughs to break the silence and Cristina quickly says, “Best drink on the island, right?”
The bartender tells Shanann that her strawberry margarita may be a little spicy. He shakes the drink while Shanann and Cristina do the basic cheering to show appreciation for his effort.
He hands the drink to Shanann after pouring it and giving it a garnish and she turns the camera so that the audience can watch her taste it. She gives it her approval and she hands it to Cristina to try. The two women pass the drink and talk about how good it is. Shanann never offers it to Chris to try. The video ends and her husband is standing in the background looking uncomfortable and out of place.
1-31-17 (5:36)
31-01-2017 - Shanann Watts Facebook Video
Shanann and Cristina are on the phone with a new Le-vel promoter from Cristina’s team. Shanann starts the live by making weird faces into the camera. Cristina is asking the woman that she’s talking to on Facetime to check her Le-vel “back office.” Shanann and Cristina have been helping this woman make it to her 4k rank all evening.
Shanann always brags that the Le-vel lifestyle getaways were strictly “vacations” and not “work.” But it appears to me that in order to even attempt to keep your head above water in this company, you must be on the phone “networking” every waking moment of the day.
The two women congratulate the newest 4k rank promoter, as she seems to get emotional while exclaiming how hard she had worked to achieve it. Shanann and Cristina bombard her with “love” and eventually the parties sign off from one another.
2-1-17
Shanann doesn't seem to have any worries about sun exposure causing a Lupus flare. She claims the beach is her "office."
2-2-17 (3:24)
02-02-2017 - Shanann Watts Facebook Video
Shanann has gone “live” to encourage everyone watching at home to be on the next “lifestyle getaway.” There are several people around her and she asks them to say “hi” into the camera.
We see Chris and Cristina Meacham poolside. A pretty young woman pokes her head into the camera frame and greets Shanann’s viewers. This woman Shanann calls “Michelle” is an old friend of Shanann’s. She may actually be the oldest of her friends. Julia Michelle Davis knew Shanann from her life in New Jersey. The majority of Shanann’s Thrive team members were from the east coast.
This trip is really scratching all of the itchy spots in Shanann’s life. She speaks as though she was absolutely miserable before Thrive. She had a husband and 2 small children. They had already been through a bankruptcy. They both had to work long hours in order to play catch up on their mortgage payments. Her parents were living in their basement. She had no friends. It was not what she had envisioned her life to be. Shanann was bored and tired and feeling like she deserved a better life.
Along comes Thrive…
Now, here she is in Punta Cana, surrounded by friends and soaking up the attention. This is the life she has always wished for. Fun trips, lots of friends, parties, inclusion…it was a dream come true.
Shanann asks her audience who wants to be on the next trip with the team? Shanann turns the camera and lets everyone at home see the pool area and the people milling around. She praises the company and attempts to inspire people who aren’t Thriving and want to live a life like the one she is obviously enjoying, to reach out and she will help get them started.
She says she used to live her life like a “grandma” but because of Thrive, she is now having the time of her life. She says she is grateful that she is able to “have fun on vacation now” when before she used her vacations to sleep.
She walks around filming and I noticed that no one else is on their phones. There are dozens and dozens of people lounging, standing, walking, chatting, swimming, dancing, drinking. All of the things people normally do poolside when on vacation. Shanann is the only person on her phone.
At 1:19 she says something interesting when talking to a couple of women who were watching her live stream.
“You guys wanna come on the next lifestyle getaway. You don’t want to miss another one. They are absolutely truly amazing.” Shanann will make it her mission to attend every Le-Vel related event that she has knowledge of, even the small "locals" located in cities near other Thrive promoters. Like Scottsdale, for instance. She will frivolously spend thousands of dollars on plane tickets and hotel rooms in order to be seen.
She approaches the pool and the DJ booth and spots someone she knows in the water. The crowd in the pool is participating in something the DJ has going on. It is loud but Shanann shouts out to a woman in the crowd and tells her to say “hi” to everyone watching the live stream.
This is a good glimpse into the fixation that Shanann had with her phone and social media. Her father said in his FBI interview that Shanann always had her phone in her hand.
Here she is, on her “exotic” vacation and she will go “live” several times that day. She also posted pic after pic and update after update. All day long. Everyday of the trip.
She continues to walk and encourage others to work hard and share their Thrive Experience and they too can be on the next trip. She gets distracted by someone calling out to someone else. She apologizes explaining that she thought someone was shouting for her.
She gets giddy for a moment while talking about the next “lifestyle getaway” which will be in early summer. She tells her audience that they look forward to them joining her and having fun. She calls out to someone else in their group and everyone sort of squeals and “woohoo’s” to each other.
Shanann flips the camera back and forth several times. She settles it back on her face and then flips it to film the “view” but she doesn’t make it past a buff guy and she lingers on him for just a second. She continues to repeat her encouragement for all of those watching, to join her on the next trip with Le-vel.
2-3-17 (:44)
03-02-2017 - Shanann Watts Facebook Video
Today is the “big day” for Le-vel product announcements. The company will be unveiling their newest product at the cocktail party later that night.
Shanann and Chris are on their way to the hotel pool. Chris can be seen trailing behind his wife as she talks to her invisible audience. Shanann says that they have an appointment for massages later that afternoon “paid for by Le-vel” and she is really looking forward to it.
She promises to go “live” at the cocktail party so that those at home could watch as “Product X” is revealed.
2-3-17 (1:16)
03-02-2017 - Shanann Watts Facebook Video
Shanann goes “live” from the outdoor cocktail party. We can see Cristina Meacham and Michelle Davis are in attendance as well.
Both of these women were friends of Shanann’s when they were young girls. They had lost touch with one another over the years but Thrive had brought them back into each other's lives.
Chris is also there with his wife and her friends. The music is loud and Shanann says that despite how it looks on camera that the place was “packed.” It doesn’t look to be a big crowd at all. In fact, the majority of the poolside area is deserted.
Shanann, Chris and the other two women have walked away from the cocktail party because Shanann was unable to get a cell phone signal anywhere else in that area. So, she walked away from the other partygoers to find a signal and her little entourage followed her.
“Everyone needs to deserve this,” Shanann says into the camera. Shanann points the camera at Chris and says brusquely, “Tell em how much fun it is.” As usual, Chris does as he is told and says “Its ahhmazing.” Everyone agrees.
Shanann tells the viewers that they are going to go and have some fun and is excited to hear about the new product.
Shanann posts photos to Facebook almost constantly while in the Dominican Republic.
2-3-17 (9:34)
03-02-2017 - Shanann Watts Facebook Video
I didn’t cover much of the videos that Shanann took of the business side of these lifestyle getaways, in the original Slippery Slope posts. But I decided to get into them a little this time because some of it is eye-opening.
Remember that these people in this room practically worship the ground that these two speakers walk on. These are the co-CEO’s of Le-vel, Jason Camper and Paul Gravette.
Jason Camper speaks first about how he, Paul and all of those in the audience are business partners. “Equals.”
He says that in partnerships, certain situations need to be addressed together. He says that the company has grown by an additional $100 million. Paul Gravette speaks up for the first time and says that the company’s success was because of their promoters and team members in the audience. Jason agrees but continues on to make his point. That point is that the company will not show the same growth if “you guys are not in the game.” He assures them that the company will falter if those in attendance slack off on their work.
“We cannot be a billion dollar company, the next big billion dollar company if we don’t keep our ass in the game and I’m sorry. I’m…I’m a little agitated.” He tells a story about one of the women that helps run the blogs and press releases for the business and she emailed him about writing a post about goals and wanted to know if he had anything he wanted to share and he said he did. He shared a story with her that took place 16 years prior. He said he worked for a company and he was broke and lacked self confidence (“because when you’re broke you don’t have a lot of confidence.”) He said he had belief in himself but was not in a good space. He was invited to a meeting with a roomful of entrepreneurs. There was a man in that room that had created financial freedom for himself. He had “gone from zero to hero.” He says that this man was the “real deal” and not just someone who was full of that “motivational speaker BS.” He says this man gave everyone in attendance a journal and told them that the first thing he wanted them to do was write their goals on the inside cover. The man told them that his life was “a mirror image of the goals and dreams that I have pictured for myself and my family.” The man asked them all to close their eyes and picture their goals for the next 12 months and the next 5 years. He told them not to try and control their thoughts and to write down whatever comes to mind. He wanted them to “let it happen.” He didn’t want them to think that their goals could be “too big or too audacious.”
Jason Camper continues his story by saying that he was the youngest person in that meeting and he closed his eyes and he wrote down anything he wanted to happen for himself and his family. He wrote down “international houses, vacation homes, crazy stuff, not so crazy stuff” he let it all out on that journal cover. He says that he didn’t think any of that would ever come to fruition but last year as he was on his way to a “local” in Dallas he pulled out that same journal and he realized that everything he had written 15 years prior had come true except for two of them. He claims that he has the financial means to have those two things and he wasn’t trying to brag.
He says he has woken up every day of his life and was ready to “fight for more.” He claims it isn’t more money that he wants. He just wants “more.” He wants to constantly improve his situation. He says that Paul is the only other person he has met in his life that feels the same way.
“We’re not here because we want more money. We’re not here chasing a bigger dollar sign on the company. We’re here to freaking win and what I do know, speaking partner to partner, by is we cannot do it without you. We need you at 100% if you want to be there.” He tells the audience to go home and write down whatever it is they want out of life and go after it.
“We cannot be the world’s fastest growing company if half the people are out having margarita’s on monday.” He goes on to say that he knows everyone in the room has sacrificed things but if they sacrifice now they will never have to sacrifice anything ever again.
Paul Gravette steps forward and takes the floor and begins to speak. He says he has always had the pictures of the things he wants, in front of him. He talks in circles and doesn’t seem to really have a point except that he wants those who are there watching to work harder and encourage others to work harder.
I find it incredibly disingenuous for Jason Camper to say that the company had grown by $100 million but that he was still “agitated.” He and his partner, Paul Gravette, are at the very top of this pyramid shaped compensation plan. He makes money off the backs of the independent distributors. Le-vel doesn’t pay its distributors for the product they sell but rather the recruitment of other independent distributors that they bring on board. But Le-vel also requires their members to keep buying products that they may not be able to sell. Which is why Shanann ended up with $27,000 in Thrive in the basement.
While watching this millionaire complain about his unpaid sales force “slacking” he continues to promise those same people the life of their dreams if they work hard enough.
Shanann and Chris’ mortgage payment is behind by 2 months at this point and SoR had to buy the passports that the young couple needed to go on this trip.
These videos in Punta Cana are really interesting because while they should have been at home, pinching their pennies and living within their means, SW rounded up a couple of airline tickets & passports and jetted off to the Dominican Republic. Fresh off of a bankruptcy, will soon be unemployed, secreting away more debt from her husband, and literally doesn't appear to have a care in the world.
2-4-17 (7:30)
04-02-2017 - Shanann Watts Facebook Video
Chris, Shanann and her two friends are dancing and singing to a cover band. There aren’t very many people in this venue. It seems practically deserted.
Let’s pause a minute and put ourselves in Chris’ shoes. He is in another country with his impatient, ego-driven wife and her “friends.” One of which she hasn’t seen in over a decade and the others she has never met. Chris hasn’t been in the company of his own friends since he met Shanann in 2010.
Chris was sharing a home with other guys his age and working at a job that he loved when he met the pretty, 26 year old divorcee. He went to the gym everyday and sometimes twice a day, if he could find the time. As an introvert, Chris was most comfortable focusing on his inner thoughts and ideas, rather than what was happening around him. The gym was the perfect environment for him to focus on his mental and physical fitness without interruption. His skills at mechanics were also directly tied to his introverted personality, I believe. Chris was cruising through his 20s, carefree and untroubled until August of 2010.
Everything in his life changed the moment Shanann made up her mind about him. First, she demanded he stop working out at the gym. She was insecure about other women having access to Chris without her around. Since she didn’t like working out or the gym, he quickly gave up that important part of his life. Next, she prevented Chris from hanging out with his friends and his family. Even driving a wedge between him and his immediate family members. Creating a situation where Chris chose her over his relationship with his mother and father. She isolated him from any and all support systems other than herself.
So, by the time he found himself in Punta Cana, surrounded by his wife and her female friends, he was incredibly uncomfortable in forced social situations. Despite attending several “lifestyle getaways” with Shanann, he never seemed to find his place amongst her crowd. His only purpose was to stay dutifully at his wife’s heel in case she needed him. It was another step toward him becoming a bystander in his own life.
Cristina Meacham is dancing and seemingly having a great time. Chris finds himself in the camera’s frame and he hurriedly steps out of view. Michelle Davis then realizes that she too is on camera and she ducks out as well. Cristina doesn’t seem to care if people are watching and continues to enjoy herself.
The lead singer of the band awkwardly shouts out “party people '' periodically. Shanann turns the camera toward her and her friends and they sing and ham it up for the audience on Shanann’s live stream.
Shanann walks away from the loud music so that she can talk to her viewers. She expects her husband and friends to follow. She claims that they are having such an amazing time and she hopes to see everyone in Toronto in June. She gives a tour of the hotel lobby area. The camera turns toward Cristina and finds her lagging behind, still dancing.
Shanann keeps the camera on her as she catches up to the group. “She’s our entertainment. Show her some love you guys,” Shanann says to those watching her live stream. Shanann leaves the camera on her for several minutes until Cristina realizes that she is still being watched. She runs around and hides behind Chris but that doesn’t deter Shanann from following her friend with the camera. Shanann calls her friend “Puerto Rico” numerous times and even shouts it out at one point.
The little group runs into a fellow Thriver that they know and Shanann ends the live call.
2-5-17 (5:22)
05-02-2017 - Shanann Watts Facebook Video
Shanann goes live from the airport where she and Chris are waiting to board their flight to Miami and from there they will fly non-stop to Denver. She says they are super excited to see their girls.
She tells her audience that they had a wonderful experience in Punta Cana. She recites all of the activities that they had taken part in while they were there. She calls it paradise and says Le-vel “outdid” themselves.
Chris watches her as she talks to the camera. She thinks she has gained 10 lbs. She calls the cocktail party that they attended “super inspiring.” She says this trip has been her favorite trip ever. And the best part was she was able to spend it with her husband. She claims that you can’t beat an all inclusive trip by Le-vel.
“Everything is paid for. Your drinks, your food, everything…by Le-vel,” she says.
She also says they had only had about 15 hours sleep the whole 5 days. They were having too much fun mingling with the family and friends they have made with Le-vel.
“It’s also been awesome to see people that have been following me and were able to pull me out of a crowd and say, ‘hey are you Shanann?’ It’s been so awesome…so awesome that I have been able to inspire people like that.”
She says that they are “grateful and extremely humble” (?) She answers a question from someone watching and starts to say that they had an all day massage but she takes that back and says it was a 3 hour massage. They didn’t get to do all of the things they wanted to do because they had spent most of their time eating and “living on the beach.”
She then points to her shoulders and says that she had gotten “fried.” She is very red from a sunburn.
Let’s talk about this…
Shanann supposedly suffered from Lupus, which is an auto-immune disease that affects all parts of the body but especially the skin. The skin of someone with Lupus becomes extra sensitive to UV light. It’s called ‘photosensitivity’ and it causes unprotected skin cells to be more vulnerable to UV damage. The results range from a severe, sunburn-like rash, painful blisters, and skin swelling. Direct and indirect exposure to the sun can trigger a more systemic immune response that produces a flare-up and doctors warn their patients to avoid exposure as much as possible. People with Lupus do not sunbathe and yet, Shanann seemed to have no problems basking in the UV rays. Before you echo Shanann and give the credit to Thrive, I want to point out that Shanann shared dozens of photos of herself on the beach unprotected from the sun throughout the past 10 years. Even posting a photo of herself in a sundress, playfully posing on the beach in mid- May of 2010. Less than 1 week after her supposed Lupus diagnosis.
She talks about how blessed they are to have gone on this trip and she mentions their families have been taking care of the kids while they were gone. She says she wants to bring the girls back to Punta Cana someday because they have never been to the beach.
She then tells everyone how excited they are for the next lifestyle getaway in Toronto. She promises they will be there.
But Chris will not attend the trip to Canada. Instead he will stay home with the kids and Shanann will pal around with her old friend, Chris Miller.
She claims she had just put “Canada” on her vision board. She again mentions that they will be there but then she turns to her husband and says “hopefully Chris can go” and she smirks at him and gives a little laugh.
She asks the people watching if they like her hat. Chris says he loves the hat and he looks like he’s being honest. But as I watch Chris closely, he seems to really be studying his wife intently. He only smiles when she looks back at him but continues to stare at her while she is preoccupied. Wonder what he’s thinking…
2-8-17 (1:54)
Shanann and Chris have been back from Punta Cana since February 5th. Shanann had mentioned prior to her trip that her mom and dad had decided to move back to North Carolina. There is a claim from several sources that there had been an argument between Shanann and her mother just days prior to their trip. The result of that argument was FR and SoR making plans to return to the east coast.
Shanann’s only sibling Frankie had been living in the Rzucek home in North Carolina and there had been some kind of problem with that living arrangement and the older R’s felt they needed to move back in order to solve that particular dilemma as well.
So, her parents have limited time left in Colorado with their daughter and her family. SoR is driving the Lexus while running errands and Shanann takes care of some Thrive business from the passenger's seat. Cece is in the backseat. Bella must have been at home with PopPop.
She is going to draw a name from the group of her team members that met her goal for that specific giveaway. The prize for this drawing is $300 cash. This money is coming straight from the Watts’ bank account.
She has all of the names in a Thrive product box and SoR is going to draw. They are pulled over in a parking lot. SoR pulls the lucky winner's name. I wonder how she felt about her daughter giving away $300 when they couldn’t even afford their passports 1 month ago.
Shanann tells the winner to send her some Paypal information and she would “shoot” over her winnings. Insane.
2-15-17
Shanann is ready for her next trip. This time to Dallas for a "party weekend" with Le-Vel.
2-16-17
This is the 1st of many posts Shanann will share showing Cece either playing in the toilet or up on the bathroom vanity attempting to get a drink. With the R's moving back to NC, life was suddenly much more complicated for Shanann. Cece wasn't at all like Bella had been. It's the second born child thing that most of us with more than one know all too well. The first born for many of us is the reason we decide to have a second. The first child is usually calm and a relatively easy baby to care for and this fools us into having another, believing that the second will be a breeze, as well. This isn't the case for a lot of us. The second born child will gleefully shatter all of your preconceived notions on children.
Now, that Shanann's parents are back in NC, all of the child care during the day is up to her. The day after this post, Shanann will announce that after almost a year of being on the waiting list, Bella will be starting at Primrose. Coincidence? You be the judge.
2-17-17
Shanann announces Bella will start going to Primrose at the end of the month. But Bella doesn't actually start "school" until the end of March. Shanann's parents have moved back east and Shanann is alone with her children for the first time. As luck would have it, Bella gets her coveted spot at Primrose.
Cece will follow shortly. Both girls will begin spending 40+ hours a week at the fancy daycare.
2-20-17
Cece is a handful and Shanann gets many comments on her posts about Cece's rambunctiousness. Cece is given a lot of room to misbehave while Bella is micromanaged to the point of anxiety.
3-4-17
Pay close attention starting here. She will post almost daily about one or both of her girls being sick. Including Cece having a temp of 104.7…??? She should have been at the hospital if she really had a temp that high.
3-21-17 (1:35)
21-03-2017 - Shanann Watts Facebook Video
The baby monitor is being watched by Shanann. It shows Cece in a very dark room, standing in her crib. The white noise machine can be heard at a really loud volume. Cece grabs the side of her bed and begins to jump up and down. She makes baby noises loudly but the sound of the white noise machine drowns her out.
She suddenly sits down on a pillow and grabs her blanket but pushes it away immediately. She crawls around the bed before returning to the pillow and picking up the blanket once more. She throws the blanket back down and puts her hands together in her lap. She looks around in the dark and finally she grabs it again. She turns it, and flips it, several times and Shanann can be heard saying that Cece is looking for the little worn tag on her Yankees blanket. She finally finds it and lays down, pulling the tag toward her face and rubbing it between her fingers as she sucks her thumb.
This blanket and its tag are Cece’s transitional objects. A transitional object is something that a child will choose and form a connection with that reminds them of their mother. It helps the child deal with separation anxiety in situations where he or she is separated from their mother. In short, it takes the place of a mother/child bond.
A child’s use of a transitional object is fairly common in children from 1-3. However, Bella and Cece both had transitional objects starting from just a few months old. Bella was very attached to her small swan “blankie” and it is seen with her in pics when she was just 3 months old. The same goes for Cece and her yankees blanket. She started out with a small blanket that she could hold in her hand, just as Bella did but by the time Celeste was 6 months old, she had formed an attachment with a heavy, fuzzy, full size blanket.
These objects provide comfort , emotionally and physically. Especially at Cece's age. They are just beginning to recognize fear. Realizing that things, like the dark, are scary. Especially when alone. Her main transitional object (Yankees blanket) is used to decrease anxiety and increase comfort. Soothing her and helping her relax and fall asleep.
I find it extremely sad that her only source of comfort in those long hours spent in her bed, in the dark, was the very same thing that was used to take her life.
3-22-17
Shanann talks about "smashing" things on her vision board and then claims Bella has been registered for gymnastics and will start classes on 4-8. But it never happens.
3-24-17
Shanann posts the girls' upcoming schedules. There are no photos of any of these activities on these dates or any other. Shanann shares other posts on these days but never anything from swim classes, gymnastics or the gym. They will however start going to Primrose 5 days a week for 9.5 hours a day.
3-28-17 (:48)
28-03-2017 - Shanann Watts Facebook Video
Bella is standing in front of the upstairs bathroom door and she’s wearing a Princess ‘Elena’ costume. Shanann is sitting on the floor while filming her. It’s quite obvious that Bella is very uncomfortable with the camera on her. Her mom asks her to “do it again” but Bella doesn’t acknowledge her and turns to her daddy who is standing inside of the bathroom door out of view of the camera.
Chris is asking Bella to show her mommy what she had just been doing prior to the camera being turned on. Finally, Bella smiles at her mom and does a curtsy and raises her dress sweetly.
“You’re so cute,” Shanann tells her oldest child. Something just off camera gets Bella’s attention and she moves toward it. She crouches down and speaks softly to whatever it is as Cece comes into view of the camera. Shanann mentions Cece’s messy hair and tries to smooth it down.
Bella stands up and gives her baby sister a curtsy and says, “Good morning, Princess Cece.”
Shanann pesters her daughter to tell her what Princess she is pretending to be and Bella seems to ignore her questions. She turns and whispers something to her dad as her mom continues to ask her the same thing over and over.
Bella was very much like Chris, just as Cindy Watts claimed. She is calm and soft spoken. She, too, feels uncomfortable on camera.
3-29-17
Notice the girls are still sick and require steam showers. They have been sick for an entire month.
3-31-17 (1:50)
Bella is in her pajamas and sitting on her little couch in the family room. She has been attending Primrose for the past six days. She has a book in her hand and her doll is sitting beside her. She is pretending to read the book aloud and turns it around as if to show the pictures as she has seen her teacher do.
The girls’ bedtime routine is very regimented. At 5:00 pm, the girls are taken upstairs to be showered and dressed for bed. They are then fed dinner and allowed to watch TV and eat a snack until approximately 6:15. Their teeth are brushed and a story is read to them before lights go out at 6:30pm. The rest of the night is their mom’s “me” time.
Bella’s favorite things were her books and her dolls. The girls were not allowed to have any toys in their bedrooms. But Bella did have a small bookshelf in her room and I believe that this is the reason why she favored books. Bella was all alone in her bedroom for hours, everyday. Without anything to do, Bella could take a book from its shelf and keep herself entertained until she got sleepy.
Shanann shared a photo on Facebook of little Bella sitting in a chair in her bedroom, attempting to look at a book in the dark.
After the girls and their mom went missing, the police conducted a search of the Saratoga Trail home and they found a book under Bella’s bed. It was her favorite book. A Little Critter book written by Mercer Mayer. I think Bella stashed it there so that she could easily grab it after being put to bed.
4-1-17
Kids are still sick.
4-1-17 (1:31)
Bella and Chris are lying on the floor with a book about space. He reads to her and stops to explain some of the aspects of the book. He asks if she is ready for the “test.” He asks if she will pass and she says “no.” Shanann and Chris both laugh at her honesty.
Bella laughs along with her dad until her mom stops the fun and says, “Do the test.” He asks his young daughter some questions and both parents praise her when she answers correctly.
With Bella lying down and the camera catching her at this angle, it’s apparent by looking at the 3 year old that her chronic thumb sucking has caused a malocclusion in the form of an overbite in her teeth.
Babywise instructs parents not to give their newborns pacifiers. The reasoning behind this is that the newborn baby can’t find a pacifier and put it back in their mouths by themselves, which causes them to cry and the parent is tasked with coming to their rescue. Gary Ezzo says that the thumb sucking is a baby’s first lesson in self soothing. Tracy Hogg, another Babywise asshole, says thumb sucking is “one of the ways in which your infant gains control over their own body and their emotions.” Hogg also assures parents that the baby will give it up when they are ready. Easy peasy, right? Except Bella will suck her thumb until she is one month shy of turning 4 years old. Cece will still be sucking her thumb at the time of her murder, at 3 years old. Both girls' teeth show massive overbites caused by their chronic thumb sucking. But the real reason behind Babywise encouraging thumb sucking, is the baby has no excuse to bother their mom or dad. Shanann “trained” Bella to suck her thumb but that wasn’t the case with Cece. She was just two days old when Shanann brags on Facebook that she has “a thumb sucker” without her having to train.
4-2-17 (:10)
02-04-2017 - Shanann Watts Facebook Video
Bella is sitting at the dining table with an empty plate and her cup. She asks her mom for “just one” and holds up her index finger. Shanann asks her to say what it is she is asking for, and Bella looks toward the kitchen and says quietly “one baloney.”
Shanann corrects her and says, “brownie” which Bella tries to repeat. Bella is still very quiet as she pleads, “Just one. Just one more…baloney.”
On the same day, Shanann makes a post about one of the girls being sick… again.
4-2-17 (3:52)
Shanann goes live and she is standing in their family room just off of the kitchen. Dishes can be heard being moved around as she sits down on the couch and begins to talk about the free shipping being offered by Le-vel.
The kids have been fed and put to bed and Chris is cleaning the kitchen. It’s obvious that he was busy doing this when she decided to turn the camera on. We can hear the dishes clanking before she even sits down on the sofa. Yet, she chose to go live from this particular room while he was doing this chore.
She talks about sending samples of Thrive out. As she is talking about joining her Thrive team, the sound of silverware being stacked together causes her to give a long glance toward the kitchen. But she continues to talk to her audience.
She says she has been up since 5am and “running hard with my amazing team today.” This tells me that Chris has been taking care of the two girls all day. Shanann mentions the fact that Chris will care for the girls on his days off, in many of her videos, so that she can “work.”
She praises her team members for keeping her so busy all day. She rehashes all of her normal talking points. She isn’t saying anything she hasn’t said in her last 20 videos.
The sound of silverware clanking is heard again and this time she reprimands him.
“CHRIS,” she says in an irritated voice. She stares hard toward the kitchen, letting him know that he has messed up.
“He’s making so much noise. Um…I might just um…kick him out of the house,” she tells her viewers. She is angry at him for doing the dishes on his day off. After taking care of the kids all day. She could have done this live stream in one of the half a dozen other rooms that she has available to her but she chose to sit down in the same room where her husband had already started cleaning up and then gets mad when he makes too much noise and she demeans him in front of an audience.
She smirks and gives a little laugh after scolding her husband. This is one of the reasons that Chris had become disenchanted with his marriage. He was treated like a child, a maid, a headless wallet, and a joke.
Shanann continues talking and she mentions the energy boost Thrive can give you. She adds that “adultings not easy.” She is correct but Shanann will do less and less “adulting” as the weeks and months go by. Soon, all of the chores and responsibilities will be fully on Chris’ shoulders. Shanann will stick both her kids in a daycare they absolutely cannot afford, all while she sits at home, talking on the phone, going out to lunch, and planning her next trip. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?
4-8-17
The Watts go to see the Easter bunny. Bella is terrified, as usual. She has always been afraid of adults in costumes as has Cece.
Here's proof of my claim regarding Bella being afraid of this kind of situation since she was very small. She is just a baby in this photo and you can see that she is terrified. Shanann will dress her children in beautiful dresses, year after year, season after season, and take them to sit in terror on the lap of some poor Santa or Easter Bunny, for her own personal enjoyment. It reeks of sadism.
