Jon and Kate Plus 8. Official Thread!!

[missypie]

If you can stand one more comment on stains: I've raised three kids, and was not fussy about their clothes (except things like Christmas dresses). DH is a stay at home dad and believe me, he let them do a lot of things that a mom wouldn't have.

But in all the years with all the kids, almost nothing has become so stained that it wasn't wearable again. One time one of my DDs went to a birthday party where they painted nutcrackers with non-washable paint and the hostess did not provide coverups...DD ruined a brand new top and I admit that made me mad because we parents had no warning about the activity.

I know that Kate does not want to spend hours on stain removal each day (apparantly not even minutes). Here's an idea if you're reading, Kate: Now that the little kids are 4, give each of them their own stain stick (I'm sure some brand will comp them)....put their names on them. Tell each kid that when they undress, look over the clothes and "color" each stain with the "stain marker."

 

[madge]

I know that Kate does not want to spend hours on stain removal each day (apparantly not even minutes). Here's an idea if you're reading, Kate: Now that the little kids are 4, give each of them their own stain stick (I'm sure some brand will comp them)....put their names on them. Tell each kid that when they undress, look over the clothes and "color" each stain with the "stain marker."

My DD is 6, and she doesn't carry around her own Tide To Go stick, but she does like markering out her stains when I'm doing the wash. LOLOL.

Are we sure that Kate does her own laundry? She has people that do the folding and ironing ... we've seen that on the show.

 

[missypie]

My DD is 6, and she doesn't carry around her own Tide To Go stick, but she does like markering out her stains when I'm doing the wash. LOLOL.

Are we sure that Kate does her own laundry? She has people that do the folding and ironing ... we've seen that on the show.

That ANYONE does "the ironing" shows how compulsive Kate is. Does anyone out there still do "the ironing"? I remember my mom always having an ironing basket going...in the days before synthetics. Of course, if you just take the clothes out in a pile and leave them until someone else comes over to fold them, I guess they would need to be ironed by then.

 

[missypie]

Does anyone out there have any clue as to how much actual money J&K get for the show? I'm not talking about freebees, I'm talking about cash. They're probably tired of doing the show, but they probably want to keep doing it until they fully fund each kid's college account.

 

[Camster0307]

My DD is 6, and she doesn't carry around her own Tide To Go stick, but she does like markering out her stains when I'm doing the wash. LOLOL.

Are we sure that Kate does her own laundry? She has people that do the folding and ironing ... we've seen that on the show.

We've also seen Kate doing her own laundry on the show; the people that fold and put away the clothes offered to do it, so Kate accepted their help. Wouldn't we all?

And, yes, I still iron. I have only two daughters and still find that I can't get the clothes out of the dryer and folded in a timely manner. I cannot stand wrinkled clothes!

 

[madge]

We've also seen Kate doing her own laundry on the show; the people that fold and put away the clothes offered to do it, so Kate accepted their help. Wouldn't we all?

agreed. If I had offers to help me with the laundry, I'd take it. LOLOL.

Before I say any more, I want to make it clear that I am somewhere inbetween most of the opinions expressed here and other boards that discuss Jon & Kate (either personally or their TV show) ... I'm not a sheeple, nor am I a basher. How they choose to live their lives, raise their children, and treat their extended family & friends are their business. Jon & Kate will have to live with the choices they make just as my DH & I have to live with the choices we make. I enjoy the older episodes of the show, but this week's episode really rubbed me the wrong way.

One of the things that I find interesting about the people (no one specific, just people in general) that support Kate. I've seen SO many of them jumping up & down yelling & screaming about how hard it is to do all the work involved with raising 8 kids. But Kate has help. Kate has help we see on the show, and undoubtedly, help we don't see. Don't get me wrong, I have 3 kids ... and if I was offered help, I'd take it. LOL. But the suggestion that Jon & Kate manage to run the house and raise the children on their own isn't really true.

 

[missypie]

agreed. If I had offers to help me with the laundry, I'd take it. LOLOL.

Before I say any more, I want to make it clear that I am somewhere inbetween most of the opinions expressed here and other boards that discuss Jon & Kate (either personally or their TV show) ... I'm not a sheeple, nor am I a basher. How they choose to live their lives, raise their children, and treat their extended family & friends are their business. Jon & Kate will have to live with the choices they make just as my DH & I have to live with the choices we make. I enjoy the older episodes of the show, but this week's episode really rubbed me the wrong way.

One of the things that I find interesting about the people (no one specific, just people in general) that support Kate. I've seen SO many of them jumping up & down yelling & screaming about how hard it is to do all the work involved with raising 8 kids. But Kate has help. Kate has help we see on the show, and undoubtedly, help we don't see. Don't get me wrong, I have 3 kids ... and if I was offered help, I'd take it. LOL. But the suggestion that Jon & Kate manage to run the house and raise the children on their own isn't really true.

I am very impressed with their circle of friends, that they're still giving help after 4 years. So many times, church friends and neighbors help out for a few months then disappear. It is hard to keep up that commitment for years.

 

[Camster0307]

agreed. If I had offers to help me with the laundry, I'd take it. LOLOL.

Before I say any more, I want to make it clear that I am somewhere inbetween most of the opinions expressed here and other boards that discuss Jon & Kate (either personally or their TV show) ... I'm not a sheeple, nor am I a basher. How they choose to live their lives, raise their children, and treat their extended family & friends are their business. Jon & Kate will have to live with the choices they make just as my DH & I have to live with the choices we make. I enjoy the older episodes of the show, but this week's episode really rubbed me the wrong way.

One of the things that I find interesting about the people (no one specific, just people in general) that support Kate. I've seen SO many of them jumping up & down yelling & screaming about how hard it is to do all the work involved with raising 8 kids. But Kate has help. Kate has help we see on the show, and undoubtedly, help we don't see. Don't get me wrong, I have 3 kids ... and if I was offered help, I'd take it. LOL. But the suggestion that Jon & Kate manage to run the house and raise the children on their own isn't really true.

I hear what you're saying. I'm certainly not one of the bashers; but I don't think I'm one of the sheep either. I find myself shaking my head at alot of things Kate has done over the seasons and I have felt bad for the kids plenty of times. But who am I to judge? As many have mentioned here, I'm sure, as parents, there are plenty of things we have all done or said that we now wish we could take back. Our "freak-outs" aren't being broadcast on television.

If you read back over this entire thread, or look at others, you'll see that there are some posters who just want to bash no matter what and I don't think any of us are here for that. Overall, we just enjoy the show. I hate to read accusations that are made w/out any proof to back it up. And, for the life of me, I don't know why that then compels me to come on here and defend Jon & Kate - people I don't even know! Crazy!

We all have different parenting styles - no one way is right or wrong. It's fun to come here and discuss how we each feel about the way things are presented in the show. I just like to have pleasant discussions and not insult or undermine anyone.

btw - I'm not implying that you are one of the bashers; I just used your post as an example because I kind of agree with what you were saying.

 

[mommytobug]

I love this show but does anyone remember the Dilly's? They were so down to earth, wore whatever they could afford, and just loved one another. I love watching their updates. Their home is always modest but what they can afford and emphasis is not put on worldly possessions or clothing, etc. Anyway, I love watching the show but I am shocked at times when things happen!! But, who am I to judge?

 

[KAMLEM]

Why couldn't they have made the cupcakes at home?

Because Kate would never allow that mess in her house!

I have been watching this show since day 1 & I have a theory about Kate's OCD behavior. I think she is a neat freak & control freak, for sure. But, I also think that Kate realizes that this is a huge part of her TV persona- one of the things people love to hate her for. And, I think she is smart enough to give the people what they want so that she can continue to have a show. Not that she doesn't already have these qualities...I just think she & TLC magnify them to make for good TV.

I agree with this 100%.

I know that we always see them dressed alike, but I'm wondering if they really dress alike ALL of the time. The only reason I say that is that when they got home from the bakery Kate told one of the boys to take of his church clothes and pick out an outfit from his playclothes drawer.

I absolutely love Aaden. His expressions are so adorable. When he was told he couldn't have a cupcake because he didn't eat I felt so badly for him!

 

[madge]

I love this show but does anyone remember the Dilly's? They were so down to earth, wore whatever they could afford, and just loved one another. I love watching their updates. Their home is always modest but what they can afford and emphasis is not put on worldly possessions or clothing, etc.

I do remember them! They used to do a yearly update with Diane Sawyer (I think?) do they not do that anymore?

I just did a quick google, and discovered that the mom & dad have MySpace pages. Becki's page is much more current that Keith's and has a really nice blog entry. All parents should read it.

Whatever happened to the McCaughey family? They do the once a year TV show, still .. with Ann Curry, I think?

 

[Sugardimples]

I hated that one of the twins (i'm sorry but I don't rememeber which one) had on shoes that no longer fit and that hurt. Somehow this is OK with Kate but don't get anyting dirty. The child's feet hurt! Let her wear a different pair of shoes! But I guess the other shoes didn't match to Kate's specifications.

 

[MM27]

I love this show but does anyone remember the Dilly's? They were so down to earth, wore whatever they could afford, and just loved one another. I love watching their updates. Their home is always modest but what they can afford and emphasis is not put on worldly possessions or clothing, etc. Anyway, I love watching the show but I am shocked at times when things happen!! But, who am I to judge?

If I remember correctly, the Dilly family had to move out of the house they had built because they couldn't afford it any more after all the donations died down. The mother had started homeschooling them too, because one of the boys was having a problem with being bullied at school.

I just hope that Jon and Kate really invest wisely and prepare for the future. They may want to keep doing the show, but when the cuteness factor is gone, the ratings will most likely go down.

 

[Kycha]

I figure they are good for one more year. Once the little ones start going to school I think that will be the end of the show.

 

[MichelleVW]

I hated that one of the twins (i'm sorry but I don't rememeber which one) had on shoes that no longer fit and that hurt. Somehow this is OK with Kate but don't get anyting dirty. The child's feet hurt! Let her wear a different pair of shoes! But I guess the other shoes didn't match to Kate's specifications.

When they showed them coming out of church Jon was carrying the shoes and the girls had flip flops on.

Ask my DD15 about her mom being mean about shoes.....She had gotten a new pair of riding boots and kept telling me they hurt, well, they are new boots, OF COURSE they hurt, shut up and stop whining. Well...when we got home and she took them off I saw where she didn't have her socks pulled up enough and the leather had rubbed her legs raw. It looked like rope burns on the back of her legs....talk about feeling awful! To this day (it's been over 6 years since this happened) I still occasionally hear, "Remember when mom told me to stop whining about my boots and they made me bleed!!!"

I'm sure that would have went over well if the whole world were watching my family at the time.

 

[McDISer]

If I remember correctly, the Dilly family had to move out of the house they had built because they couldn't afford it any more after all the donations died down. The mother had started homeschooling them too, because one of the boys was having a problem with being bullied at school.

QUOTE]

I saw an update on them last winter. I think they are all in Jr. High. The focused on each child and said what each one was interested in. One of the boys and one of the girls are into dance. One of the boys plays on a baseball team. I think one of the girls plays soccer. I just remember the mom being really sad, that they are grown up, and she can do things she wants to do, but she rather have her kids still be babies. There was a lot of eye rolling. I think they had to move, because her husband was an airline flight controller and he was suppose to get laid off, but then he didn't. But he was commuting an hour each way, and they wanted to be closer to his job.

 

[purplegirl247]

Regarding the shoes, Kate specifically said during the couch interview that she didn't realize it was a sizing issue. I think she thought the twins were just being whiney (they're 7; I'm sure they're whiney all the time! )

Regarding the cupcakes, she obviously wasn't *too* on the warpath about the cupcakes, because she let Mady and Cara have theirs. I think she just realized that they're older and would be more careful whereas the tups would go a little wacky. And since it technically wasn't their birthday, why should the "try to eat your din before you get dessert" rule not stand? Mady was helping Hannah eat her dinner to have the cupcakes out of a desire to help; it isn't like Kate was the one being mean and telling the boys no cupcakes, no way. If they had eaten more, they would've gotten more.

And like Kate said, the little boys totally forgot about the cupcakes the next day. It's not like they were traumatized or scarred for life!

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I do remember them! They used to do a yearly update with Diane Sawyer (I think?) do they not do that anymore?

I just did a quick google, and discovered that the mom & dad have MySpace pages. Becki's page is much more current that Keith's and has a really nice blog entry. All parents should read it.

Whatever happened to the McCaughey family? They do the once a year TV show, still .. with Ann Curry, I think?

The Mccaughey's are Septuplets (7) and they will be 11 in November. I haven't seen anything on them in awhile, but working at night I could have missed it. There is an article from NBC from December 2007 with Ann Curry.

Suzanne

 

[Yzerbear19]

Regarding the cupcakes, she obviously wasn't *too* on the warpath about the cupcakes, because she let Mady and Cara have theirs. I think she just realized that they're older and would be more careful whereas the tups would go a little wacky. And since it technically wasn't their birthday, why should the "try to eat your din before you get dessert" rule not stand? Mady was helping Hannah eat her dinner to have the cupcakes out of a desire to help; it isn't like Kate was the one being mean and telling the boys no cupcakes, no way. If they had eaten more, they would've gotten more.

And like Kate said, the little boys totally forgot about the cupcakes the next day. It's not like they were traumatized or scarred for life!

I thought she just didn't want them to have the cupcakes there because it would spoil their dinner. That was what my mom always told us when we wanted a treat. And I was thinking earlier that during the episode I thought some of the Tups were eating the fondant, that might explain why they didn't want their dinner later.

 

[Camster0307]

The Mccaughey's are Septuplets (7) and they will be 11 in November. I haven't seen anything on them in awhile, but working at night I could have missed it. There is an article from NBC from December 2007 with Ann Curry.

Suzanne

I think Redbook or Good Housekeeping usually does a feature on them every year during the month of their birthday.