Jon and Kate Plus 8. Official Thread!!

[sha_lyn]

actually the girls were all potty trained by age 3, it just took longer for the boys (which is both normal for boys and for premmies)
I also imagine it is much easier with that many young kids, to have a potty for each one.

As for the kids being sick. When they were showing how sick they all were, they said that was the week before Jon and Kate left. Only 1 of the boys was really "sick" when they left town. The rest werre just at the tail end of the flu, where you are still weak but recovering.

 

[barkley]

actually the girls were all potty trained by age 3, it just took longer for the boys (which is both normal for boys and for premmies)
I also imagine it is much easier with that many young kids, to have a potty for each one.

As for the kids being sick. When they were showing how sick they all were, they said that was the week before Jon and Kate left. Only 1 of the boys was really "sick" when they left town. The rest werre just at the tail end of the flu, where you are still weak but recovering.

actualy-they said that one of the little girls had been 'realy sick' the night before they left with a high fever that worried them. so between at least one of the boys, the one girl and jody's one year old who was also sick-there were at least 3 sick kids and 6 in varying stages of recovery (plus jody's 3 other kids). still not a task i would ask someone to take on-family or not (and i don't suspect any money is involved since jon and kate said they were realy fortunate that jody was doing this as a favor to them them, and then later as they were caring for the kids kevin said 'the things we do for our sisters').

 

[Quacktatty]

Could the OP please update the title of the thread to the correct name:

Jon and Kate Plus 8

 

[brittsmum1998]

Could the OP please update the title of the thread to the correct name:

Jon and Kate Plus 8

Well, they did "make" 8

 

[GeorgiaPeach8]

I'm in total agreement with the post defending/explaining how heavily edited this "reality" TV is. I thought Kate showed the appropriate level of stress about leaving sick children with a relative. I have put up with an amazing amount of crap for my family...if my brother cared for my child so my husband could get FREE hair transplants, I wouldn't feel all that guilty. The kids were with family not at daycare or with a paid sitter. Lord, I can't think of a place I'd rather be than my mother-in-laws if I were sick. My kids feel the same way...she is far more sympathic and nuturing than I am. Additionally, the entire family has to be looking at the TV thing as a temporary deal. One day all the cameras and free offers will go away--probably very quickly.

The other thing I was dying to post (as I read all of the posts this morning--took forever ) was I'm so glad by page 54 people had got off Mady's back! I have a 5 year old girl. She has an incredibly strong will and a bold personality. Additionally, she is the big sister to twin brothers that just turned 2. Before the twins, she was the star of the show. People stopped us in the mall to tell us how cute and articulate she was. Now, all people want to do is ask me about the twins. My DD and I jokingly refer to them as our "rock stars". My DD deals with this plus having everything she owns taken by her brothers 24/7 and they follow her around constantly!! Mady deals with all this times 6 plus she is a twin. WOW! I think she is a drama queen...a behavior Kate may want to work on but I wouldn't have her signed up for the therapist's couch just yet

 

[Quacktatty]

Well, they did "make" 8

True...but then it should be Jon and Kate MADE 8, since we aren't exactly watching them in the act!

And jeez...8 kids, three with unusually spelled names, give Dad a break and at least spell his name correctly! He's Jonathan, not John!

 

[AnninIowa]

I'm in total agreement with the post defending/explaining how heavily edited this "reality" TV is. I thought Kate showed the appropriate level of stress about leaving sick children with a relative. I have put up with an amazing amount of crap for my family...if my brother cared for my child so my husband could get FREE hair transplants, I wouldn't feel all that guilty. The kids were with family not at daycare or with a paid sitter. Lord, I can't think of a place I'd rather be than my mother-in-laws if I were sick. My kids feel the same way...she is far more sympathic and nuturing than I am. Additionally, the entire family has to be looking at the TV thing as a temporary deal. One day all the cameras and free offers will go away--probably very quickly.

The other thing I was dying to post (as I read all of the posts this morning--took forever ) was I'm so glad by page 54 people had got off Mady's back! I have a 5 year old girl. She has an incredibly strong will and a bold personality. Additionally, she is the big sister to twin brothers that just turned 2. Before the twins, she was the star of the show. People stopped us in the mall to tell us how cute and articulate she was. Now, all people want to do is ask me about the twins. My DD and I jokingly refer to them as our "rock stars". My DD deals with this plus having everything she owns taken by her brothers 24/7 and they follow her around constantly!! Mady deals with all this times 6 plus she is a twin. WOW! I think she is a drama queen...a behavior Kate may want to work on but I wouldn't have her signed up for the therapist's couch just yet

Well put! With that many kids and during flu season, you would almost always have a sick kid! That house is like a day care or pre-school - someone is always bound to have something. Any working parent can relate, I'm sure; if you stayed home with ever sniffle or cough, you'd never leave the house. Jodi and Kevin were perfectly capable and willing to take care of the kids. The trip was obviously planned well in advance - not only the travel arrangements but the film crew - and wasn't something that could easily be rescheduled.

I agree, too, about people needing to lay off Mady. I think Mady is cute and funny. She is just a little girl, for crying out loud! It makes me sick when people say she is a brat and should be smacked. All kids have their bratty moments - most just don't have them on TV. She is obviously a loving child who is loved by her family.

 

[TaraPA]

This makes me wonder about how "the norm" differs from person to person whether or not sick children should be cared for by family. I remember many times being at my grandmother's house sick as a dog, while she also watched my 5 cousins, some of whom were also sick at the same time. My mom didn't think twice (nor my other aunts) about leaving us with gramdma when we were sick, and grandma wanted us there. My parents left me there for a few days once the same day I was diagnosed with strep throat. No one seemed to think this was odd, or bad parenting. Now 30 years later, if I have an emergency & I can't get off work & the kids are sick, my mother refuses to come watch them (she's got OCD times 10 over Kate!) So I can see both sides of this debate - but it doesn't make Kate & John's choice wrong because it may differ from what we find acceptable or unacceptable.

I agree - next week's episode looks good!

 

[Camster0307]

Honestly, a trip across the country would be pretty hard to cancel and reschedule - it's not just like cancelling plans to go out for dinner because the kids are sick. Again, I say Kevin and Jody's willingness to help as much as they do shows how close this family is; just because they don't show Jon and Kate reciprocating, doesn't mean that they don't.

Does anyone know if they continue to run first-run episodes all year? Or do they take a break at some point and come back with new episodes in the fall?

 

[GeorgiaPeach8]

This makes me wonder about how "the norm" differs from person to person whether or not sick children should be cared for by family. I remember many times being at my grandmother's house sick as a dog, while she also watched my 5 cousins, some of whom were also sick at the same time. My mom didn't think twice (nor my other aunts) about leaving us with gramdma when we were sick, and grandma wanted us there. My parents left me there for a few days once the same day I was diagnosed with strep throat. No one seemed to think this was odd, or bad parenting. Now 30 years later, if I have an emergency & I can't get off work & the kids are sick, my mother refuses to come watch them (she's got OCD times 10 over Kate!) So I can see both sides of this debate - but it doesn't make Kate & John's choice wrong because it may differ from what we find acceptable or unacceptable.

I agree - next week's episode looks good!

I remember as a kid being taken to my grandmother's when I was sick...my mom talks about going to her grandmother's when she had mumps. Maybe it is easier to be sympathic to other people's kids

I love the post about slowing down their VCR to read Kate's list...I caught the part about the blinds and I wondered the reason. I thought maybe it was because the little kids would tear them up. The blinds in my house look awful, you can even see it from the street. I'm sure my neighbors think our house looks terrible. We are trying to wait until the end of the summer to replace them..hopefully the twins will be big enough to leave the blinds allow at that point. I can't even imagine 6 little ones on things like blinds, coffee tables (my now have scratches from toy cars!)...all the things I could control with one baby--not hope with 3 under 5

 

[Camster0307]

Jon and Kate and the kids are appearing on the Today show - in the 8:30 half hour segment!

 

[TaraPA]

Jon and Kate and the kids are appearing on the Today show - in the 8:30 half hour segment!

Darn I missed it - anyone see it & what did they have to say? I was watching it last night on TLC but the TV was too far away for me to read all the little pop up facts they were doing - I would have loved to read them but I was too lazy to get out of bed to get closer to the TV!

 

[Camster0307]

Darn I missed it - anyone see it & what did they have to say? I was watching it last night on TLC but the TV was too far away for me to read all the little pop up facts they were doing - I would have loved to read them but I was too lazy to get out of bed to get closer to the TV!

First of all - regarding all those little pop-ups: you would have had to be sitting ON TOP of your tv to be able to read them. You weren't the only one who had a hard time!

They all looked very cute on the Today show. All the kids were dressed in yellow. It was a little chaotic though. The kids were antsy and talking amongst themselves - it was live tv afterall. The Today host (not Meredith) was very annoying - she kept talking over Jon and Kate. They were previewing Monday's show; but most noteworthy bits of info: today is Jon and Kate's anniversary; and they have signed on for a fourth season! Kate also mentioned the sextuplets will be starting preschool this year. It should be an interesting season!

 

[beeayekay]

For those who missed the interview and would like to watch it, the video is on the Today website

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633/

along with another interview with Jon.

Babs

 

[JESW]

..boy that interviewer was annoying!

 

[Camster0307]

..boy that interviewer was annoying!

I know! She wouldn't shut up -- and she was louder than the kids!

 

[TaraPA]

I thought John & Kate looked exhausted (and Mady & Kara too) & the kids were the most wild I've ever seen them! Normal for kids that age, and who knows how long they had to travel & sit & wait for that short segment.

I read the story online & it does confirm that they get no help from either set of grandparents. That's very sad, and I'm curious to know the story, but it's not my business. If they wanted it known, they'd let us know! It does also say they "employ" a regular sitter/assistant, which makes me think they pay them - not sure which one they are referring to though!

 

[LisainCalifornia]

last nites episode was for me so sad re. parental priorities. i simply could not take it when kate was saying how hard it is when parents 'have' to leave their sick children. sorry-but going to have cosmetic surgery is not a 'have to', and i suspect that since she said the kids had been sick for more than a week previously, with a phone call before the fact- the place that was doing it for free would have been more than willing to reschedual (and from the way she said that without accepting free offers they could'nt have afforded to fly to los angeles i suspect their air fare and lodging was gifted as well so it's not an issue of non refundable travel expenses). i found it insulting for parents who truly HAVE TO leave a sick child to go to work and provide support or have surgery that is medicaly neccessary (and i've known parents that have reschedualed this as well).

i dunno, it just realy blows me away that they go on and on about how difficult it is for just the two of them to handle 8 kids (and they had the episode back awhile ago about how much more difficult it was when they were sick) yet they seemed to not be at all concerned that jody and kevin would be watching not 8 but 12 kids (9 of whom between the 2 families were sick)

did anyone else catch that 'to do' list for jody and kevin that the camera panned over? allot of it they blurred out but i rewound my dvr to see what was written in bigger red letters on the bottom (the camera stuck to it for a bit longer)-nothing about child care-it was instructions to put the blinds up in the rooms ALL THE WAY EVERYDAY (big bolded letters) because 'blinds down+moisure equals mildew' (and i think it said something like 'yuck'). sorry kate-but if you asked me to come over with my 4 kids, while my 1 year old was sick to then watch your 8 kids all of whom were in varying degrees of illness-ensuring your blinds did'nt get a bit of mildew over the next 72 hours would not be my top priority

I agree with every word! Too much. The amount of "help" they are provided just floors me, and they seem to expect it like it is owed to them. I think there is an entitlement on their part that is growing with each episode.

 

[Ratpack]

This may have been mentioned with this many posts...
I know that the grandparents' (Kate's father and mother) faces are blurred out on the wedding video that keeps popping up on their show and this little video.

I know that nothing has been mentioned about them other than they are not in the picture for helping...I think that is really sad. There are 8 little ones who I am sure would love to be around them.

 

[barkley]

First of all - regarding all those little pop-ups: you would have had to be sitting ON TOP of your tv to be able to read them. You weren't the only one who had a hard time!

They all looked very cute on the Today show. All the kids were dressed in yellow. It was a little chaotic though. The kids were antsy and talking amongst themselves - it was live tv afterall. The Today host (not Meredith) was very annoying - she kept talking over Jon and Kate. They were previewing Monday's show; but most noteworthy bits of info: today is Jon and Kate's anniversary; and they have signed on for a fourth season! Kate also mentioned the sextuplets will be starting preschool this year. It should be an interesting season!

i have to imagine that the production company would have more limited opportunities for filming once the little ones enter pre-school.

jon and kate said they would be sending the kids to the same one cara and maddie had attended which was at their church an hour away, so i hope we are'nt going to see continual footage of 2 hours of travel each day. i also would imagine it would be difficult if not impossible to get a preschool to permit filming (beyond all the releases you'de have to get from parents and staff, while the gosselin kids have grown up with cameras filming them other kids have not-trying to maintain order in that classroom would be crazy ).

i also have to think that if all the kids are in school at least part of the day, allot of what seems to drive the show (and these threads ) with regards to kate's complaints of how difficult it is for her to get things done around the house will be greeted by viewers with 'do it like the rest of us-when the kids are at school'; and how hard it is to keep the kids entertained all day will be much less of an issue (if they go even half days to preschool, with one hour each way in travel that's having them gone from around 7 am-1 pm, so if they have lunch when they get home and continue having an afternoon nap-that's a good 8-10 hours of down time).

dang-if that preschool is'nt providing them with free transportation, can you imagine how much it will cost to drive that van all that way. figure if the church is an hour away it's maybe a minimum of 40 miles, so 40 there and back and there and back would be around 160 miles. dang, double dang-even if that van is lucky enough to get 20 mpg they're looking at over $30-$40 dollars a day in gas