Kate + 8 (Jon Optional)

[Deleted]

Point taken, but there are certain times when the usual food rules don't apply, like birthdays and holidays. As far as what Kate does overall (or appears to do -- I don't live in her house!), she serves her kids with divided plates with the food portioned and separated for them. With that sort of dining at home it can be harder for kids to figure out how to eat in moderation when they are eventually on their own with no one telling them how much they're allowed to eat. Food disorders are complicated and can come from different places. A mother who brags to her heavier friend when she complains about the small quarters of an RV by saying "I can fit! I'm a size 2!" (a lovely Kate quote); regularly portions out food precisely for both herself and her kids; and displays behavior like eating salad while everyone else is eating the "yummy" food she prepared (see below) can just as easily set her kids up for an eating disorder as one who lets her kids eat junk food with no boundaries.

Fan: And so what did Miss Kate "the resident on site cook" prepare on the grill 2nite?

Kate: BBQ chicken, baked beans, deviled eggs, garden salad, asparagus in Italian dressing and cake and icecream for dessert! Yum!

Fan: quite a menu all good stuff how u going to work that off exercise wise

Kate: I ate a salad

I'm not saying Kate is this absolutely awful mother whose kids will surely have eating disorders, and apparently the kids did eventually get the real cake and ice cream party where there's enough to go around. Like I said, I don't live in their house. I'm just noticing some telltale signs of an unhealthy relationship with food based on the things she says and the pictures she puts out regarding food. Kids being healthy when they are at home living under their mother's strict rules doesn't always translate to them becoming healthy adults.

[margojata]

Well, Kate sets a shitty example by going with all salad for herself. Come on, that's ridiculous. People need to eat all food in a moderate manner to be normal and healthy. This chick is so damned proud of her new body (and her old body was actually just fine), that she mentions her own eating disorder all the time... and proudly. I remember some episode where she cooked something special (and damn if I can't remember what it was), but then cut to her with a plate of greens and none of that food. And it wasn't junk food at all, just something normal.

She used to berate Jon constantly about his being fat... when he wasn't. And now he is. So I guess that's his big ole dysfunctional F YOU to his ex-wife. Yeah, she's really hurting, dummy.

She doesn't have to make a sheet cake to feed 50 or anything, but everything this chick does with food seems to have some sort of motive behind it. The counting out of the grapes, peas, etc. I know she's anal, but come on.

[LurkerNan]

Don't the kids get a birthday party with friends? Is the assumption that they get to share in each others' birthdays so they don't need anyone else around? That seems really sad to me.

As to the cake, it is clearly a small cake to be shared between 8 kids. At best they are going to get about 6 ounces each. I guess the nannies, etc, don't get to share, which means Kate meant for it to be an advert, not a celebration. There WAS clearly some other motivation behind the cake. Even the comments "Wish we could have a recap episode!" is ridiculous - The rest of us film our own kids' lives, we don't wait for someone to give us a "recap episode".

Yeesh... she is deluded.

[margojata]

Here are Kate's tips for avoiding summer boredom. She actually gets paid to write this crap?

1. Swim in the pool if you have one. I have gotten creative and made up a diving scavenger hunt game. Each random item has a different point value assigned. I’ve picked up all kinds of items to dive for at the dollar store for just $5 total!

If you don’t have a pool, there are the affordable little wading pools and water slides that can still make water play a lot of fun. Just the other day, while at Lowes, Mady and Cara saw the little blue wading pools on a tall stack and asked me to buy some. I had to laugh because they obviously have fond memories of those little tiny swimming pools from years ago!

2. This may sound odd, but it saves my sanity every year! I always save my plastic eggs to reuse at Easter year after year. So, during the summer, I get them out and hide them, unfilled, for the kids to find. It absolutely thrills them and doesn’t cost me a cent!

3. I always have rolls of paper on hand. At my local newspaper, I can pick up the ends of the rolls which have quite a bit of paper left on them. I roll them out either outside or in the basement on a rainy day and let the kids go crazy with crayons and markers (if you’re brave enough!)

4. Make pudding pops! I buy waxed Dixie cups and popsicle sticks. I have my kids help make the pudding, then we pour it into the cups, add a popsicle stick and let them freeze. I usually ask my kids to go play outside until the pops freeze and then deliver them to my eight hot sweaty summer kids!

5. I pack a picnic lunch and spread a blanket in the shade many days during the summer. It’s so nice to feel “lazy” and enjoy the great outdoors. If you’re feeling especially stir crazy, take that same picnic lunch to your local park. Let the kids tire themselves out on the equipment, eat lunch and then hopefully they will fall asleep. This is one of my kids’ favorite summer memories!

6. Water gun battles! I always set up buckets of water throughout our yard and we split into teams and have a water battle. It usually gets really competitive here but it’s always fun!

7. My final idea that always always thrills everyone is “Ice cream for dinner.” This is a famous Gosselin tradition and it usually happens on a July or August day when it’s too hot to cook and the kids are bored. I call out, “How about we do our yearly ice cream for dinner tonight?” and the loud screams of delight times 8 unanimously answers my inquiry. The funny thing is, by the time we get home, they are usually hungry for “real dinner” so we end up eating again! ; )

Hope these really easy, inexpensive and fun ideas help you keep your sanity this summer!

XO,

K8

Yeah, that ice cream for dinner once a YEAR is really gonna help you get through the summer. And let's all head to our farmhouse in-ground swimming pool! Oh wait. We don't all have one? Sure, a bunch of 10 year olds will be thrilled with baby pools.

I'll give her the water guns, but pudding pops and empty plastic eggs would have never cut it in my house. At least not after about 4 minutes.

[Deleted]

I can't for the life of me imagine why finding an empty plastic egg would be exciting for a child. Shoka wouldn't even be amused by finding one. In fact, those things are a choking hazard for a dog.

I pack a picnic lunch and spread a blanket in the shade many days during the summer. It’s so nice to feel “lazy” and enjoy the great outdoors. If you’re feeling especially stir crazy, take that same picnic lunch to your local park.

She makes it sound like going to the park is a rare thing. Not to sound all martyr mom, but when my kids were little we would walk the few blocks to the park all the time. It was a part of everyday life for them.

Now that I'm thinking back to when my kids were little, I can't believe Kate omitted taking the kids to the library as something fun and educational to do. Local libraries are awesome! The kids can attend events, do crafts, or just sit around and read or look at pictures. I still remember the magic shows, ice cream parties, bird shows, puppet shows. Ah, those were the days. Oh, and the kids enjoyed themselves too.

[margojata]

Their lives are very self-contained. I know it must be a pain in the ass to take so many kids out, but you can't stay one unit on your own property all the time either.

Where are the sports? Camps? Scouts? My kids always did cheap sports camps and lessons with the park's department. Kate's a stay at home mother (who endlessly tweets). She can load them up in the morning and take them to activities.

Didn't they pretend that the girls were doing gymnastics or something for the show? Kate's reaction to other people looking at her said it all. She freaked, and you knew that they were not REALLY in that class. Well, maybe next time you go without a production crew and cameras and people would loosen up and get used to you.

Hopefully she allows friends. It seems that the older girls were going out to see other people, but the little kids were kept together as a unit. Maybe that was just for filming... what good are sextuplets if you can't see them all together?

[LurkerNan]

Kate can't arrange anything like a playdate for the kids elsewhere, because TLC isn't there to pay her for the privilege of filming it.

[margojata]

Kate Gosselin ‏@kateplusmy8

I gotta sleep. I'm way past tired...tweet ya tomorrow! Don't forget2watch The Today Show on Monday! you shall see my smiling face there!

Ohh boy. Maybe she's the new Today Show expert on summer fun. Empty plastic eggs!

Let's all count the passive-aggressive slaps at Jon.

[Deleted]

Here's the very pointless interview: LINK

Today must have signed a contract with Coupon Cabin or something, cause there was next to nothing to talk about. Unless you count Kate's hopes and wishes and ordinary life events as newsworthy.

Kate is hoping for another show to exploit the kids. After all, a dozen or so fans on twitter are "begging" for one. Yeah, I'm sure a network will jump at the chance to capture that demographic. You know, the one that couldn't afford Kate's cruise.

Kate is compiling recipes for a book doesn't quite exist yet. The only recipes she has had on her blog are ones she got from somewhere else that she "personalized" by using turkey instead of beef or whatever, but she might surprise us with a diet cookbook about preparing food that looks so unappetizing that you are guaranteed to lose weight.

Kate is running a half marathon. This is an amazing achievement, so good for her....and all the other busy moms who do this as well.

Her money-saving tips have yet to be unique. Again, these are things most people already know about it.

Now on to Jon. Apparently he's finally reached Kate's level of perfection and is "working with" her. I think I know what that means. Jon is down with getting the kids back on TV in order to make more money. It's the only bond these two can ever share.

In other news, Ann Curry looked bored as fuck.

[margojata]

Wow, she's smooth.

Ann: "Hi Kate, how are you?"

Kate: "The kids miss filming, they miss the crew, they ask why can't we do fun adventures anymore, I'm just putting that out there for the fans who are BEGGING!". Exhale

I can't stand Ann, but I got a kick out of her, "Mmmm hmmmm" after that little rehearsed speech.

And yes, I totally believe that now that Jon and Kate are out of their contracts, they'd both be more than willing to do a divorced family whacky hijinks show together. Maybe they can all move to Jennie Garth's farm. Or on the road with Wilson Phillips.

I'm surprised there were no questions about the cruise or DWTS. Was this Kate's only gig for the day? They didn't even give her as much time as a Duggar would get.