<p>I’ve been reading this thread from the beginning and am just now chiming in.</p>
<p>Let me preface by saying I am no fan of Kate for all the reasons everyone else isn’t. But I would be lying if I said there are not some qualities in her that I see in myself, thankfully not to the same level but isn’t most every mom an organized control freak to some extent? </p>
<p>So to that end, I am glad to see some are coming around to give Jon his fair share of blame. From what I could tell from the early episodes, he was pretty much always a slacker and even when he “worked” he barely worked. I think he is just as happy to have this new wealthy lifestyle as Kate (the snowboarding trip alone is evidence) and he is “acting out” as the bored housewife as you all mention. But I believe he was quite glad to take on this role and get out from behind the cubicle. Now he is spoiled (always the child) and doesn’t want to give it up.</p>
<p>I also want to mention that many pages back when everyone was criticizing Kate’s “stay out of our bedroom” speech, my thought when I saw that was that she had read some parenting book about keeping your marriage special and making sure the kids knew their were limits so as to give the couple their private marriage space. “Working on the marriage is the best thing for the kids” is the mantra. So in her twisted way, she was “putting Jon first.” Same with the Hawaii wedding.</p>
<p>I did watch the shows last night and it was odd watching those taped before the birthday one last week – you could see the start (or probably middle) of the serious problems. No excuse for Jon scheduling the ski trip over Kate’s birthday weekend. She may be a witch but if he cared about the marriage, that was inexcusable. Flip side is that the kids remain adorable (well, Maddie maybe not) and I couldn’t help but just love the scene of Alexis’ trip to the doctor. It is sad to think where they will come out of all this.</p>
<p>As for Kate, again, I agree with all written here and I think she is now realizing her behavior has backfired and does have some regrets. On the other hand, she too isn’t willing to cut back and make it work. I do not think she slept with the bodyguard. (Of course I didn’t think Chuck Stewart killed his wife either until he jumped off the bridge). Sometimes she is so manipulative I can’t help but wonder if she planned this entire life of hers way back when she immediately started on fertility drugs after being married such a short time and IMMEDIATELY started them again after the twins. I don’t care what underlying problem she claimed to have had, she was way too young not to follow the general advice that you try for awhile before going that next step. Especially as she conceived the twins rather easily.</p>
<p>Sad situation all around. I wish TLC would take the high road and just take the show off the air for a year.</p>
<p>Mannix, I agree with everything you said about Jon. I think the problem with him is that he had kids much too young and is now wanting the life of a wealthy bachelor. I can see myself in Kate in some ways, too. I’ve always had to be the family organizer because my husband simply can’t do those things. That was the cause of major friction in our marriage. I deeply resented that he was the more at home parent and carried a lot of anger because I wanted the traditional gender roles and didn’t get them. Of course I’m projecting here, but I’ve never liked Jon. </p>
<p>I think Kate had PCOD and had known that for a long time. I had health concerns that led doctors to tell me growing up that I might have trouble conceiving. Having known that for many years before getting married, I had already made certain decisions for myself and as the young child of older parents, I wanted my kids younger. So I can see why she didn’t wait. Sometimes you already haev a diagnosis.</p>
<p>If you have watched the other show about the family in NJ with around 10 kids they are the exact counterpoint to JK+8. Not much is very organized and Mom would rather PLAY with the kids than worry about them being color coordinated. Mom never berates Dad except for the occasional traditional jabs. Dad works (as a cop) and mom does not. One kid is disabled and gets extra attention from Mom.</p>
<p>My only worry about this group is if they start to see the money and it changes them. </p>
<p>I don’t think Kate has changed–this WAS her plan from the get go. Get rich with kids. That is the key difference between her and Jon and what makes her evil.</p>
<p>Jon and Kate both say that they started the reality show to document the kids’ lives while they were little. Give me a break…there are a lot easier ways to document your kids’ childhoods than having a TV film crew come into your home on a more or less constant basis! Plus things like having a screaming fit at your spouse while Christmas shopping at Toys R Us are not events you want to document…we’re probably all guilty of similar behavior under stress, but those aren’t moments we want to remember.</p>
<p>I don’t think Octomom should be slamming anyone. If she’d turned down offers for a reality show exploiting her family rather than actively seeking one, I’d be more tempted to give her a break.</p>
<p>I thought that I read somewhere that Jon and Kate’s kids were given the guarantee of FREE COLLEGE education when the sextuplets were born—Just another one of their free perks.</p>
<p>Don’t forget that they are all in at once, so they’d qualify for more financial aid than if they were singletons that were spread out. If what nysmile says is true, that’s another problem already solved.</p>
<p>On the sextuplets’ first birthday, the Lt. Governor of the state opened TAP accounts for each of them but that’s it. The state is not contributing to those accounts and I’ve never seen any confirmation that anyone promised them a free education at a state college.</p>
<p>Good Grief, you don’t really think that Queen Kate would permit her offspring to attend a “mere State School” ,do you? She’ll probably sue and say that they’re entitled to an Ivy because that would be better suited to their fame! Ugh.
You know, I really feel cheated. We all began watching the “specials” about this family years ago. Now, it has become a 40 week battle ground and forum for 2 adults to prove that they are less mature than their almost 9yr old twin daughters. I don’t know about you, but I now have no interest in watching how millionaires attempt to tear each other apart and let others raise their children. Does a bus come and pick me up on my birthday, whisking me away to a special bakery where I am presented with a gourmet confection? When was the last time that Emeril cooked dinner in my kitchen? A week at a spa in San Diego? Sure, I do these things all the time- NOT. Face it, TLC and the Gosselin’s have betrayed the very people who made them popular in the first place and no one at the network, Lazy Jon the Snow Bum or Queen Kate, give a hang what we think. The money is pouring in, and J&K head for another vacation spot, the tanning booth or salon, or out to buy another sports car.We are left knowing that without us, they would have lived a relatively normal life, helped by family and friends, maybe being interviewed for a magazine article once every couple of years. You have to wonder why, considering that there are quite a few large familes of multiples, why this crew went off half cocked? What was it in their make-up that let their egos get so big that they felt entitled to more and more? Kate got her “China Dolls” and Jon gets to ride aound on his tractor like the landed gentry, hefting 6 kids into high chairs (what is with that? the kids are 5!) and using his “house husband” status as a “babe magnet” in college town bars! These two overgrown babies are monsters made by the media, and I feel horrible for the part I’ve played by watching the show.</p>
<p>Hopefully the Gosselin kids will learn to read though. I was horrified during the Duggars’ school episode last evening, when one of the boys, probably at least 7 or 8, was working on a workbook page with “Big B, Little B”, and the book that one of the older girls said was her favorite? No classic, but some Christian Prince Charming romance book? Ugh! Where is Shakespeare, Poe, Hemingway? What do these children really learn? The older girls can barely string together a coherent sentence.</p>
<p>Talk about an endorsement for the reasons that SOME people should not homeschool!</p>
<p>I thought exactly the same thing! I’m thinking that maybe none of those kids have ever eaten at a friend’s house - otherwise they’d come home and say, “But Jacob doesn’t have to sit in a high chair at dinner.” Granted it keeps them confined in their seats, thus reducing dinner time havoc, but how long will this go on? When they start school in a couple of months, are they going to wait for their teacher to put them in a high chair?</p>