Jon and Kate Plus 8, Official Thread-Part 3

[3prettyprincesses]

Yikes. If I were Beth I think I'd keep letting people believe Kate wrote it.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

That was what I noticed too. it seemed like the author (either Beth or Kate) was trying too hard.

Here is one example. This is a quote when Jon and Kate went to look at buying a new house. She explained how the house was only a few houses away from Aunt Jody and Uncle Kevin and how she knew the people who were selling it. Anyway the wordiness reminded me of a creative writing class.

" I can't even explain how my emotions vacillated when we walked through the front door. I shivered as I somehow realized that I had just turned the page to another new chapter of our lives. I absolutely loved my little house where we had smiled, cried, struggled, and rejoiced... [snip]

God had answered our prayer by supplying a house for us that met our every need, and yet our sadness hung heavy in the cold air of the car. We both felt strongly that we had found the house for us, and we enthusiastically spewed ideas of where things would fit and how to make it work--only to settle into silence as each of us absorbed our own thoughts of yet another major life change."

typing in word with the thesaurus opened......

 

[barkley]

typing in word with the thesaurus opened......

or styled after those funky "romance" books that they now sell in the religion section of some bookstores. they are like a very clean and sanitized harlequin romance kind of read,

OR the kind of wordy junk my dd and her classmates comes up with when the teacher tells them to write on a certain topic and it has to be so many words

 

[Tinker74]

I really enjoyed the book and thought it was well written...an easy read.

But to be honest I don't read a lot of books...so Iam no expert...I usually get bored and never read beyond the first chapter..but this book I couldn't put down!

 

[MichelleVW]

I don't know if the comments about the Table of 12 family about being normal were in this thread or another one. I said they were boring and other people said, "normal is boring". I have a story to say that normal isn't boring at all.....

Saturday night my DD18's friend spent the night with us. We were just sitting around watching movies and out of the blue she said, "omg you guys are so funny you should have a reality show!!" We weren't doing anything outlandish, just being our normal selves! Then yesterday same girl went to the zoo with us and said about a million times, "I would so watch you guys on a reality show, you guys crack me up!!"

So..normal does not have to equal boring!!

Here are my kids acting "normal" at the zoo!!

 

[RichNKatHolly]

That was what I noticed too. it seemed like the author (either Beth or Kate) was trying too hard.

Here is one example. This is a quote when Jon and Kate went to look at buying a new house. She explained how the house was only a few houses away from Aunt Jody and Uncle Kevin and how she knew the people who were selling it. Anyway the wordiness reminded me of a creative writing class.

" I can't even explain how my emotions vacillated when we walked through the front door. I shivered as I somehow realized that I had just turned the page to another new chapter of our lives. I absolutely loved my little house where we had smiled, cried, struggled, and rejoiced... [snip]

God had answered our prayer by supplying a house for us that met our every need, and yet our sadness hung heavy in the cold air of the car. We both felt strongly that we had found the house for us, and we enthusiastically spewed ideas of where things would fit and how to make it work--only to settle into silence as each of us absorbed our own thoughts of yet another major life change."

Wow, very high school english class where the student is trying REALLY hard to impress the teacher. Let's see how many "big" words and adjectives I can put in here, oh and let's add some symbolism too - at least once in every paragraph!

 

[newtodis]

Haven't read the book yet...I'm thinking about getting it from the library before we drive to MI in August to give me something to do for 15 hours in the car with a 2 year old and five year old!

Are there requirements when writing a book (I seriously have no idea) - like it has to be so many words/pages/whatever and maybe that's where the "wordiness" comes from? Our maybe Beth wrote it and Kate "revised"?

I watched part of their Hawaii show over the weekend and I was in tears when Kate was swimming in the pool with Leah (I think....) and she took off her swimmies and the little one was actually swimming (with Kate's help). To see Kate that excited and proud for her child made me tear up - I wish we'd see more moments like that. That's why I started watching the show and that's kind of gone away. I also liked when they were making leis and one of the girls got flowers put in her hair and Kate pulled out her pink phone and took a picture - that's a more "normal" mom.

 

[OhMari]

I have no idea .. but between the tissue weight of the fabric, and the styles that are out now, I'm having an awful time finding anything remotely fashionable that looks good on me.



you'll miss tonight's storms .. Bowling Green is under a tornado watch right now. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the upper 50's (highs)
Bowling Green forecast

Have a great time!! People are in a very good mood these days, since the University of Kentucky hired a new basketball coach

Is the University of K, in Louisville or Bowling Green?

I took a picture of Elizabethtown road sign, to prove I was there.
My left ear got sunburned really bad, Saturday.
We had great weather, a tad chilly Sat., but warmed up.

I heard on a radio in Bowling Green that J&K8, was renewed.
I thought it was pretty funny, to hear it on the radio.

 

[Soccer Princess]

The University of Kentucky is in Lexington. Western Kentucky University is in Bowling Green and The University of Louisville is in Louisville.

 

[RAV]

I'll admit it. I watched Table for 12 this week. The first episode was from last Christmas. Dad ran over to the preschool to watch the tup’s Christmas program and later explained why it was so important for him to be involved in his children’s activities and lives — His own father was not involved w/his family, so he does all he can to be active in his own kid’s lives. Chaos reigned supreme Christmas morning and my first thoughts were of the criticism they would get for their kids being wild, but in my eyes, their kids reminded me of my family years ago; tearing into gifts all at once, pushing to see what the other got, impatience, and it was all followed by a hot yummy breakfast.

The second episode was about a special day for Rebecca? the tup daughter with CP. The family went to a special therapy horse farm for an evaluation for possible intervention and help for her.

During an interview part, Mom was saying what she hoped to gain from the special day and what she’d heard about horse therapy helping children with CP. The therapy offered at this special farm was quite comprehensive and impressive. Mom and Dad explained some of Rebecca’s health issues such as why she can’t see, she can hear, doesn’t speak, how touch is important, etc. Mom told of some of the goals she had for Rebecca such as building strength in her trunk area, more stability to hold up her head and one thing she really wished was to one day hear her daughter tell her she loved her. And with that, she teared up, put her hands to her face and then saying she needed to leave, got up from her chair and left the scene. And, I cried too. I can’t imagine the challenges and the highs and lows that come with raising a child with special needs and my heart and praise goes out to all of you who do!

So far anyway, the Hayes family appears to me to be genuine. They seem to be hands-on parents and express their love to the kids and each other. It killed me to see the look of sadness and helplessness in the dad’s eyes when the Mom was talking about their daughter. IMO little comparison can be made between the Hayes and Gosselin shows - so far anyway. In the beginning of J&K I'd have thought differently, but the tone and subject matter of J&K's show has changed and for me it's just not the same family I hurried to watch each week. Their show now sometimes looks to me like it's a forced and painful process (almost like a chore) just to film an episode. I hope J&K can find and bring back that special 'spark' they had - to the show and to their family relationships. I’ll continue to watch the Hayes show until/unless I see production overpowering reality. And will check in with J&K to see if it's changed.

Mrs. Hayes did an interview saying their goal for the show was to bring awareness of the issues of raising a child with CP (and raising a large family). If the first 2 episodes of Table for 12 are an indication of what’s to come I personally feel this family has something to offer and that I can learn from their struggles and triumphs. I liked the first 2 shows much better than their special and will watch unless they change the focus from being about a family loving and living with a child who has CP to one where we rarely get a glimpse of their interactions with her. I hope TLC has another hit on their hands - for everyone's benefit. Of course, all IMO, only.

I think the reason some viewers don't enjoy Table for 12 is that the family is so real and raw. My heart aches for their daughter with CP and the look on the mom's face when she speaks of her struggles. Perhaps Kate could learn something from this family. A knob off of a dresser or crumbs in the kitchen are not really that earth shattering in the whole scheme of things.

 

[MichelleVW]

I think the reason some viewers don't enjoy Table for 12 is that the family is so real and raw. My heart aches for their daughter with CP and the look on the mom's face when she speaks of her struggles. Perhaps Kate could learn something from this family. A knob off of a dresser or crumbs in the kitchen are not really that earth shattering in the whole scheme of things.

It's been said by Kate many times how thankful and blessed they are that all their kids are healthy.

 

[madge]

Is the University of K, in Louisville or Bowling Green?

I took a picture of Elizabethtown road sign, to prove I was there.
My left ear got sunburned really bad, Saturday.
We had great weather, a tad chilly Sat., but warmed up.

I heard on a radio in Bowling Green that J&K8, was renewed.
I thought it was pretty funny, to hear it on the radio.

UK is in Lexington, but the fan base is state-wide. Western (WKU) is in Bowling Green. The Hilltoppers ... the mascot is Big Red. LOL.

It was a lovely day Saturday, we were outside nearly all day! I do apologize for today and tomorrow's weather. It's crap.

 

[brockash]

You dont color coordinate your family for Christmas morning!! I know I only have 2 kid, but I always had them in matching Christmas PJ's. I'm also thinking that if you had 6 kids of the same age it would be just easier to dress them alike.

I always said I wouldn't dress my kids alike, but it was easier and they liked it.

I do it too. I have a girl and a boy, so they don't wear the exact thing, but yes everyone (including myself) have to have red/green x-masish pj's on for x-mas morning. I also kinda do this at Disney though, we don't have to wear the same colors ect., but we can't clash either. It's all for the pic's

 

[Geoff_M]

there was a psychologist talking about what negative impact could occur raising kids in an environment that would ential some degree of "staging" of activities and such but putting it out as their "normal" lives, how it could cause real issues for them when they hit school age and they encountered people who had already based their opinions on how they were presented on tv

I haven't followed these threads page by page, but to the point I quoted above, has anyone brought this up in reference to the "Mother of All Reality Programs": An American Family? It was the first TV program ever to simply follow around the subjects in their daily lives and edit down the results. They followed The Loud Family of Santa Barbara, CA around and filmed over 300 hours of footage over seven months and edited it down to 12 hours that was aired on PBS. The large audience was treated to what was probably Exhibit A as to how so many American nuclear families were screwed up in the 70's into a dysfunctional mess that climaxed with the husband and wife opting to divorce. The possible parallel to Jon and Kate's show is the Loud's son Lance, who was a late teen when the show was taped. Aside from being the first person in TV history to "out" themselves in a show, it's obvious to viewers that Lance was often times playing to the cameras for effect. He later admitted as much, and also (perhaps unfairly) blamed the show for contributing to his family's demise. He once said "Television ate my family!"

 

[OhMari]

UK is in Lexington, but the fan base is state-wide. Western (WKU) is in Bowling Green. The Hilltoppers ... the mascot is Big Red. LOL.

It was a lovely day Saturday, we were outside nearly all day! I do apologize for today and tomorrow's weather. It's crap.

I'm home, so don't worry about the weather.

Ok, Now I get it with UK, it is like our Wisconsin Badgers, in Madison.

 

[longstangetrip]

I think the reason some viewers don't enjoy Table for 12 is that the family is so real and raw. My heart aches for their daughter with CP and the look on the mom's face when she speaks of her struggles. Perhaps Kate could learn something from this family. A knob off of a dresser or crumbs in the kitchen are not really that earth shattering in the whole scheme of things.

I don't love the show, but I do think I would like the family very much if I knew them. The parents are witty and very real to one another and their kids. I don't think anyone in the familiy is physically unattractive as stated on this thread. As a matter of fact I find the kids quite cute, the parents look just fine to me, and Rebecca is downright beautiful. and you know the timeless saying...pretty is as pretty does (amen). The Gosselins are a physically beautiful family, don't get me wrong. Sometimes Kate, Leah and Alexis are just stunning. I hope the Hayes? only do a few shows and call it quits. I'd hate to see them realitytized.

 

[phamton]

It's been said by Kate many times how thankful and blessed they are that all their kids are healthy.

I know she says that and I am sure she is thankful. But when she says things like "She's ruined!" when the kids get ice cream on their clothes, her reaction speaks volumes.

 

[TotalSnowWhite]

I know she says that and I am sure she is thankful. But when she says things like "She's ruined!" when the kids get ice cream on their clothes, her reaction speaks volumes.

And I'm sure the crazy Disney atmosphere we all know and love had nothing to do with her reaction...

Kate just seems to be a high-strung person who happens to be in a lot of hectic situations. I don't think her reactions speak of anything except how she reacts when stressed.

 

[marivaid]

I know she says that and I am sure she is thankful. But when she says things like "She's ruined!" when the kids get ice cream on their clothes, her reaction speaks volumes.

It's the same reaction any neat freak would have. She admits to being one.

I was watching an old episode yesterday where Jon said he was thankful for going off to work every day and could never cope with being home all day with the kids and doing the work Kate does. Noone thought that was insensitive of him. Now the roles are reversed and suddenly it shows bad taste to say you love the life you have outside of home.

 

[MichelleVW]

I know she says that and I am sure she is thankful. But when she says things like "She's ruined!" when the kids get ice cream on their clothes, her reaction speaks volumes.

She was meeting the Princesses at Disney, Kate had a meltdown....it happens to the best of us. Just ask my kids how I totally freaked out when my camera batteries died during the Beauty and the Beast show, I flipped out.

And I'm sure the crazy Disney atmosphere we all know and love had nothing to do with her reaction...

Kate just seems to be a high-strung person who happens to be in a lot of hectic situations. I don't think her reactions speak of anything except how she reacts when stressed.

Seriously, I would have flipped out at that moment too...