Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Recap: 'Florida Fun.' Fla-rida NOT very fun.
Coming up on Kate Plus 8. Kate loves to deep sea fish. Does she deep sea fish a lot in the creeks and rivers of PA? I only remember one other time she tried this sport. She's totally one of those fake people who did something posh once only because they had a Groupon--like golf, or fencing, or Ethiopian food, and then later claims to just love it so much that it's a lifestyle for them. She is hopeful maybe this time the kids won't puke, but not really, because she's counting on that as a major plot line.
Kate doesn't do waterparks, because parenting is only about engaging in activities that you would independently schedule for yourself even if you were childless.
This year, their summer family vacation is in Fla-rida. Next up is a sand castle lesson. That sounds like fun. Obviously most people know how to build a simple sand castle, but I'd be interested in learning about the finer points of architecture for the really elaborate castles adults make.
Who are these instructors teaching them? They never explain. Mady quickly loses interest in all this, explaining it was just too hot that day to want to participate. This is sadly getting boring fast, likely because it's running way too long and I can already hear Betty White quipping about having to watch other people's vacation videos. The kids build some towers and the instructors show them different ways to make stairs and blocks on the towers like with spray bottles and what looks like butter knives.
Kate thinks the kids were hesitant to get involved in this project without her, Kate. Lol, what?! The kids are all really into it just fine, I don't think Kate is even a thought in their minds. What a narcissist. Where is Kate, anyway? Cigarette break? No wonder it's been so quiet and stress-free and boring. Kate finally reappears to take an iPhone photo of their finished castle. A picture she won't think to post on Twitter because why post anything interesting on her social media feed?
Commercials.
No, not another thing Kate "typically" does. Gaaa! I'm typicallied out. Just once I'd like to see Kate introduce a segment by saying, "now just to mix it up we're going to do something a-typical." Typically on vacation they plan some messy activity, this time it will be tie-dye. Kate honestly doesn't know where she got the idea back in the day to have a pudding war. Will it refresh her recollection if I suggest to her production thought of it? Mady spends a really long time explaining they have done tie-dye before. Bless her heart, she explains things just like her mother. How did they get all this tie-dyed stuff on the airplane, or did Kate find time to swing by Michael's while they were building sand castles to get all this, plus pick up some of those huge canopy tents you always see on movie sets? Heh.
The kids more or less seem to enjoy the activity. The producer sounds like he'd rather have a nap right now as he asks Kate if Kate likes to follow instructions or wing it. Does anyone care whether Kate prefers instructions or winging it? Does anyone care what anyone prefers as to this incredibly mind-numbing topic? That sounds more like a stupid interview question for a tech start-up and your answer is the difference between the offer or the boot, which is dumb. This segment is, mercifully, pretty short, more than likely because no big drama happened. I almost feel a tiny bit sorry for the editors trying to find usable footage to fill up an entire hour. Sounds like quite the task.
Next up, and this will later prove to be a very important moment so listen up! Hehe. Kate says, who is going fishing, and who is going to stay behind and clean the house with their nanny? So yes, as Kate later tweeted, she did give the poor vomiting children a choice whether they would like to vomit. And that choice was: hard labor or vomiting.
I can see a kid debating the finer point of this one in his head. Well, I know I probably am going to vomit because I've vomited on boats before, but maybe I will only vomit once or twice and the rest of the time I will have fun. I sure don't want to clean on vacation, so I guess I'll take my chances on the vomiting.
The only fair choice is to give the kids who stay behind an equally fun activity, period.
Why do they have to clean the house anyway? If you just tidy up as you go there shouldn't be much to clean, and it's completely unnecessary to clean this as you would your own home unless that's required as part of your rental. I can't imagine a nice house rental like this doesn't charge a cleaning fee to take care of that for you at the end of your stay. As long as you don't trash the place, you're fine. Sigh.
I see too she's one of those parents who lures the nanny along on a wonderful all-expense paid trip to Florida, only to leave them home to mop while you all get to have the fun. They're such joys.
I think it's funny in a random way and at times somewhat offensive when people pull out a Southern accent for no particular reason, which Kate suddenly does when she says she's gonna catch the biggest fish. Lol.
Cara tries to explain to Kate it's likely the children are going to be puking, so thanks but no thanks. It sounds like she mostly doesn't want to go not because she has an objection to deep sea fishing but because she just doesn't want to watch children vomit. Who would, sheesh. Aaden is looking at something toward the ceiling near Hannah, and is getting rather close to her personal space, seemingly unaware she is there. Hannah appears to smash her foot into Aaden's in bitter retaliation, to which he yelps in obvious pain. This goes unchecked, of course. She could have tried "excuse me, Aaden, you're in my personal space" first before physical assault.
The three older girls and Hannah wisely stay behind to do hard labor.
A minor point I haven't seen anyone mention. Kate says she was thrilled she got at least five of the kids to join her. It was probably obvious to the children right then this made her happy. Another reason this was not a "choice" for the children, or an impossible one anyway. Stay behind and disappoint Mommy or at least see her indifferent, or make Mommy "thrilled." If they didn't get the message then they will get it now after watching this episode, and it will affect future "choices" she offers to them. The deck was stacked against them before the "choice" was ever even presented. The system is rigged.
I do have a genuine little laugh when Kate says to one of the girls, who is whining about something or other, I'll give you a piece of gum but be quiet. A rare truly funny moment frazzled parents may relate to.
Haha, Kate can't really explain why she likes fishing when asked. How could she, she's done it once, twice? I think someone hit the nail on the head in that she just likes this because she likes the attention from the men on the boat. Doesn't matter if it's fishing for tuna in the Atlantic or fishing a spider out of a kiddie pool. The activity itself is not what interests her, it's the attention. She finally comes up with some weak answer about how blah blah she likes open water. So did they.
This year, their summer family vacation is in Fla-rida. Next up is a sand castle lesson. That sounds like fun. Obviously most people know how to build a simple sand castle, but I'd be interested in learning about the finer points of architecture for the really elaborate castles adults make.
Who are these instructors teaching them? They never explain. Mady quickly loses interest in all this, explaining it was just too hot that day to want to participate. This is sadly getting boring fast, likely because it's running way too long and I can already hear Betty White quipping about having to watch other people's vacation videos. The kids build some towers and the instructors show them different ways to make stairs and blocks on the towers like with spray bottles and what looks like butter knives.
Kate thinks the kids were hesitant to get involved in this project without her, Kate. Lol, what?! The kids are all really into it just fine, I don't think Kate is even a thought in their minds. What a narcissist. Where is Kate, anyway? Cigarette break? No wonder it's been so quiet and stress-free and boring. Kate finally reappears to take an iPhone photo of their finished castle. A picture she won't think to post on Twitter because why post anything interesting on her social media feed?
Commercials.
No, not another thing Kate "typically" does. Gaaa! I'm typicallied out. Just once I'd like to see Kate introduce a segment by saying, "now just to mix it up we're going to do something a-typical." Typically on vacation they plan some messy activity, this time it will be tie-dye. Kate honestly doesn't know where she got the idea back in the day to have a pudding war. Will it refresh her recollection if I suggest to her production thought of it? Mady spends a really long time explaining they have done tie-dye before. Bless her heart, she explains things just like her mother. How did they get all this tie-dyed stuff on the airplane, or did Kate find time to swing by Michael's while they were building sand castles to get all this, plus pick up some of those huge canopy tents you always see on movie sets? Heh.
The kids more or less seem to enjoy the activity. The producer sounds like he'd rather have a nap right now as he asks Kate if Kate likes to follow instructions or wing it. Does anyone care whether Kate prefers instructions or winging it? Does anyone care what anyone prefers as to this incredibly mind-numbing topic? That sounds more like a stupid interview question for a tech start-up and your answer is the difference between the offer or the boot, which is dumb. This segment is, mercifully, pretty short, more than likely because no big drama happened. I almost feel a tiny bit sorry for the editors trying to find usable footage to fill up an entire hour. Sounds like quite the task.
Next up, and this will later prove to be a very important moment so listen up! Hehe. Kate says, who is going fishing, and who is going to stay behind and clean the house with their nanny? So yes, as Kate later tweeted, she did give the poor vomiting children a choice whether they would like to vomit. And that choice was: hard labor or vomiting.
I can see a kid debating the finer point of this one in his head. Well, I know I probably am going to vomit because I've vomited on boats before, but maybe I will only vomit once or twice and the rest of the time I will have fun. I sure don't want to clean on vacation, so I guess I'll take my chances on the vomiting.
The only fair choice is to give the kids who stay behind an equally fun activity, period.
Why do they have to clean the house anyway? If you just tidy up as you go there shouldn't be much to clean, and it's completely unnecessary to clean this as you would your own home unless that's required as part of your rental. I can't imagine a nice house rental like this doesn't charge a cleaning fee to take care of that for you at the end of your stay. As long as you don't trash the place, you're fine. Sigh.
I see too she's one of those parents who lures the nanny along on a wonderful all-expense paid trip to Florida, only to leave them home to mop while you all get to have the fun. They're such joys.
I think it's funny in a random way and at times somewhat offensive when people pull out a Southern accent for no particular reason, which Kate suddenly does when she says she's gonna catch the biggest fish. Lol.
Cara tries to explain to Kate it's likely the children are going to be puking, so thanks but no thanks. It sounds like she mostly doesn't want to go not because she has an objection to deep sea fishing but because she just doesn't want to watch children vomit. Who would, sheesh. Aaden is looking at something toward the ceiling near Hannah, and is getting rather close to her personal space, seemingly unaware she is there. Hannah appears to smash her foot into Aaden's in bitter retaliation, to which he yelps in obvious pain. This goes unchecked, of course. She could have tried "excuse me, Aaden, you're in my personal space" first before physical assault.
The three older girls and Hannah wisely stay behind to do hard labor.
A minor point I haven't seen anyone mention. Kate says she was thrilled she got at least five of the kids to join her. It was probably obvious to the children right then this made her happy. Another reason this was not a "choice" for the children, or an impossible one anyway. Stay behind and disappoint Mommy or at least see her indifferent, or make Mommy "thrilled." If they didn't get the message then they will get it now after watching this episode, and it will affect future "choices" she offers to them. The deck was stacked against them before the "choice" was ever even presented. The system is rigged.
I do have a genuine little laugh when Kate says to one of the girls, who is whining about something or other, I'll give you a piece of gum but be quiet. A rare truly funny moment frazzled parents may relate to.
Haha, Kate can't really explain why she likes fishing when asked. How could she, she's done it once, twice? I think someone hit the nail on the head in that she just likes this because she likes the attention from the men on the boat. Doesn't matter if it's fishing for tuna in the Atlantic or fishing a spider out of a kiddie pool. The activity itself is not what interests her, it's the attention. She finally comes up with some weak answer about how blah blah she likes open water. So did they.
In any case, deep sea fishing seems like such a ridiculous sport from someone who lives in such a landlocked area to take up unless they really have the time and means to sustain such a sport (and I know some do, and that's great for them). The reality is it's prohibitively expensive not only to charter your own a boat but to even get to locations you can do fishing like this in the first place. What a silly hobby for someone like her with eight kids to raise. If she's really sincere about this fishing thing why not take up something like fly fishing? I've heard there are some wonderful spots in PA's rivers for that. She could even get the kids into it and no one would vomit.
Dolphins, a pirate ship. Choppy water. Green kids. Some of the kids are catching a few fish and are proud of themselves. Notably Leah says they have done deep sea fishing before in North Carolina (a previous episode as you recall) and "it wasn't very fun." Sigh.
Kate proves how selfish she is by saying she's sad the kids just don't take to the ocean because she loves it. That's wonderful for you. But your kids don't. So why do you keep on insisting on doing this to them? There are just so many other fun activities you could do with kids in Florida.
Back at the ranch, why are the girls not doing hard labor? Wth!
Instead they're planning to make a fun dinner. They suggest veggie pizza. Add a hearty mixed salad and that sounds delicious. Their nanny sure is a barrel of laughs. Just kidding, she's totally checked out, like hello-anyone-home checked out.
Mady is getting into a sassy argument with her nanny about whether the meal they are planning has to include meat. While I don't like the way Mady is copping an attitude with her nanny (any good nanny wouldn't tolerate such nonsense for a second), I do have to say Mady is right. The girls can cook a great, healthy, filling meal for the family without including meat. I will say this though, the nanny may be worried more about Kate, since there's a good chance Kate might come home to a vegetarian meal and be mad at the nanny for allowing this. So I'm tempted to give Andrea the benefit of the doubt on this one.
A long discussion about who is good at cooking and other boring stuff. They're filling a lot of time by having Mady read the whole shopping list. These poor editors, they're trying so hard.
Back at the boat, Kate's got something on her hook reeling it in like a boss, and this time it's not her ex-husband. She's having the time of her life, smiling like a goon, while her kids sit dejectedly behind her, growing greener by the minute.
She can't just quit while she's ahead. They've already caught some great fish. Instead they decide to push farther out, where the waves are much worse.
I won't belabor this part too much other than to say Aaden eventually gets sick to his stomach, and there's a lot of puking. Kate actually tells them this is all mind over matter. Okay, Tom Cruise.
Kate lists all the things she brought to help with this, like ginger ail and towels, not one of which includes medication for seasickness. She also admits she doesn't suffer from seasickness so what does she know. Right, that's my point. What a doofus.
The girls are making lasagna. They go on some tangent about present wrapping. Yawn. It's good for teenagers to bring a friend. Yes, genius.
Kate's back on the pole. The fishing one that is. And there goes Leah. Kate keeps reeling as she watches her puke, feigning concern. She later goes into a long explanation about why she didn't go help her that doesn't make much sense. But I do notice as she reels Kate's hair is getting precariously close to the reel and I imagine how hilarious it would be if it got tangled up in there. Bitch got tangled! Alexis is now in tears. Aw.
A producer asks Leah when she started to feel sick. Um, what the heck does that matter? What a creepy intrusive question. Leah rolls her eyes and says she doesn't want to talk about this, and good for her. Jesus, I approve of that eye roll. I can't wait until they don't want to talk about anything much less their vomiting habits.
Kate finally, finally, calls it a day when Alexis tells her they all want to go home except Kate. Poor things. Kate the martyr says she had to call it a day because sometimes moms have to do that. Um, what does being a mom have to do with making compromises for your loved ones? That's what any decent person would do much less a mom when everyone else around them is vomiting. And good Lord, a good mom never would have taken the kids on this trip in the first place, or would have gotten them strong sea sickness medication, or would have turned around much sooner, well before the point where the children were suffering. I cannot believe after all this she still has hope they can get back on a boat together someday. No! Stop it! My God. On a positive note, this little stunt prompted a big sheeple fleecing like we haven't seen in years, so. Lol.
The lasagna the girls made looks great and they all came home to a yummy dinner. Kate actually with a straight face acts like she never, or rarely, has had someone wait on her with dinner ready when she gets home and that it's so nice. Mady is pretty proud of this dish and the fact that it's vegetarian. I wish she had more constructive activities like this to harness her energy. Most of the kids really loved it, aw.
Commercials. We're back, and Kate doesn't enjoy water parks and therefore they've never gone. Uh huh. She really doesn't see the irony there to the deep sea fishing trip they just did. Amazing.
Commercials. We're back, and Kate doesn't enjoy water parks and therefore they've never gone. Uh huh. She really doesn't see the irony there to the deep sea fishing trip they just did. Amazing.
We watch a family we've never met go to a water park. Betty White, where are you? Pass the rumspringa!! Mady doesn't want to be here. Mady doesn't want to be much of anywhere apparently.
Kate is worried about the inability to control eight kids at a water park. How do school groups do it? Hannah gives her huge lip about Kate wanting them to stay in the same group, which I understand is a real drag, but like Andrea said I'm not sure how else they're going to supervise them. There are great things about having a lot of siblings and some down sides, and they're eleven now and are really going to have to grow up about some of the downsides and just deal with it.
Kate practically humps this inner tube in the shape of an eight, she loves it so much. I don't know if I would see that so much as an "eight" inner tube as opposed to just a double circle one. Only thing better would be an inner tube in the shape of a dollar sign, eh?
This episode is an hour and three minutes? That extra three minutes is not fair!
Mady sucked it up and admitted she had fun. Well that's good.
The kids really want Kate to join in, which of course they don't show them really saying (they never show the kids saying half the things Kate says they do) but Kate doesn't want to do much because she's.....afraid of losing her top????
What?!
Awkward. Anyway Kate finally agrees to do the lazy river which I know is much more fun to actually be in than to watch strangers and their kids go on. Hey, I once recovered and returned someone's lost waterproof camera I found in the lazy river. I am a lazy river hero. Oh god, the only thing that could make this worse is if Kate starts to talk in a string of up-tilt questions.....and there she blows.
The kids now every day ask to go back to the water park. Every day? Wow. Do the kids have any concept of how much it costs to take eight kids to a waterpark? They are old enough to be made aware of such things and to not make such demands daily. Geez. I'm just thinking, if you're so afraid of losing your top at the waterpark, why not just wear a one piece? The Lord helps those who helps themselves.
Commercials. TLC really is peddling the Duggars hard. Apparently in 2015 "cancelled" means more like "cancelled only until most viewers forget whatever the scandal of the month was that caused us to cancel it."
We're back and at some place called Gator Beach where we will do a redux of Alexis handling an alligator. If there's one thing quite noticeable about this episode is there was no theme or direction, no "storyline." It's just a bunch of random activities stitched together into 63 minutes in the hopes that at least a few of them will cause some drama. Who even knows if any of these activities occurred in the order they show them. What it has done is made this trip seem very jam packed and whirlwind. On vacation I just want to relax sometimes. I feel sorry for Alexis in that she acts like she thinks the man running the alligator show actually chose her from the crowd randomly. Kate is sneering from the sidelines trying to act concerned for what she is doing, which is of course completely safe and benign. Later they all taunt some small alligators with food on a pole. Gross, I hate such places. I can't believe Kate says Alexis enjoyed her "alder-gaters." She hasn't said it like that in like eight years, just stop it.
Not another packing segment. The only highlight is the epic eyeroll Hannah gives Kate, heh. Parting is such sweet sorrow, Juliet opines.
To make the episode stretchhhhhh to fit the time they now show us a bunch of "recap" clips from this episode. Lol, that's too much.
Every year is one less year Kate has with her children? That sounds terribly morbid. I've definitely heard kids grow up too fast, but never quite heard it put that way.
Next time, antiquing and then someone will get chopped!
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Discussion thread: Kate Plus 8 'What's Old is New'
Kate Plus 8
What's Old Is New9:00 PM on TLC, 1 hr 2 min 2015 TV-PG
Kate takes Mady antiquing to find some deals on vintage items. Meanwhile, the family takes a trip to the Land of Little Horses in Gettysburg, Pa.; and Kate judges the kids' cooking competition.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Discussion thread: Kate Plus 8 'Florida Fun'
Kate Plus 8
Florida Fun6:00 PM on TLC, 1 hr 3 min 2015 TV-PG
The gang is still in Florida, where some of the kids go deep-sea fishing, but their adventure is cut short by seasickness. Later, Mady and Cara look up recipes to cook the family dinner; and the kids have fun on their first trip to a water park.
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Recap: 'School's Out!' Jim Boobs gets locked in a room without a muzzle and bitches her way out
Coming up on Kate Plus 8. Which I guess was cancelled, then back for some specials, now back for a "season"? I liked the olden days, like in the 90's, where when your favorite show was cancelled it really was dead and you mourned and cried and then moved on and found a new and better show and hoped maybe someday you'd see those people again at an autograph trade show you stumble upon in a Burbank mall.
Anyway, coming up there will be a lot of whining and arguing and drama, and the comment of the day goes to the lovely Leah, who, arms crossed, quips, "This show should be called Kate Plus Kate." Baw! The kids are finally old enough to get it, and it's glorious.
They heavily promote the terribly awkward Bachelorette date complete with a NYC helicopter ride. Oh, they know that's the pinnacle moment of the "season." The budget was all in on that episode. At least the guy seems very nice for an actor, although I half expect him to hand her a head shot at the end of the night in case she's ever interested in booking him again.
Kate doesn't know what's the proper way to say goodnight at the end of the date. Is this really that hard? Maybe it is for someone who doesn't experience emotion. Usually a polite hug is fine, whether you like him or her. If there's sparks and it was a really spectacular date, a little kiss is appropriate. Kate however shuffles into her limo, the inside glowing with halogen blue lights, and gives him a little acrylic finger wave, avoiding eye contact. Not even a full wave, just a forefinger. She will never get married again if she can't even wave with her full hand at the poor guy.
There's a lot of blah blahing about the beach and how she's sure many families like going to the beach during the summer. Many families could never possibly afford to go to Florida for 10 days in the summer let alone go to the beach every year as she says they do, but she's tone deaf to that.
The kids, the girls namely, pretty much give her lip to everything she asks them to do. The kids are going to pack their own bags for the first time ever? Aren't they 11 and 14?? I wonder if they will also get to feed themselves on their own this year, and even wipe themselves. Geez.
Kate is explaining all this in excruciating detail, without a stitch of make-up on. She is really getting comfortable with the cameras. We flash back to another recent 1 percent boring vacation in Mexico. I keep thinking of the great Betty White, who once said of Facebook, "In my day, seeing pictures of peoples' vacations was considered a punishment!" Oh, it's still a punishment here, Betty.
They head to an unnamed department store because the store probably wouldn't give their permission to use their name. Looks like a JC Penney or Bon-Ton, one of those places that has "semi-annual" home sales semi-weekly. In the parking lot they're all walking just fine, two and three-abreast and relatively close to the parked cars. No other cars are driving around. Kate barks that she wants them to walk away from the middle of the "street" and walk "single file." The kids mostly just ignore her, which is hilarious. Actually, one of my pet peeves is circling the parking lot looking for a spot and there are people walking in the middle of the road you can't get around. You feel like it would be a little much to beep at them, especially when they're bogged down with several shopping bags, yet you don't want to crawl around at 2 mph for the next 30 yards either following behind them waiting for them to get to their car and get out of your way. But since there are no cars circling to be found, is it really worth nagging them about this?
Aw, poor Joel has a back ache and feels sick to his stomach, but according to Kate, he wanted to go shopping anyway. I find it rather disturbing Joel asks his mother for permission to sit down. He has to ask her? Just sit down if you want to sit down. You're her child, not her hostage.
Joel, bored with the coach conversations about this, says I just didn't feel good.
But, but, tell us more. Did you puke? Was it everywhere? What was your temperature? Is it rabies, or amebic dysentery? The sheeple want to know. Autocorrect to this day still wants to change sheeple to something else, this time it was "shekel." Well, tis the season! L'Chaim!
Kate immediately had thoughts of he's sick and, literally, "oh my gosh we have to travel tomorrow!" but then immediately realized she literally doesn't care if someone is sick and they have to travel tomorrow because typically what does that matter. For someone so organized, should they be buying luggage the day before a big vacation? I always like to wipe down new luggage and let it air out a few days to get the formaldehyde smell out. Plus what if they don't have what you're looking for? You'll have to take your old luggage on the trip and that would be just terrible.
Kate was hoping for six different colors of luggage. I don't know how realistic that hope is unless you shop online. Isn't it funny how dated this process already seems, going to a box store and picking out luggage?
How do you read reviews and know which ones the wheels fell off within six months or the zipper broke? What if you pick something out and realized later it only has 2 1/2 stars, or what if you saw it online for 20 bucks cheaper plus a coupon code? That would suck. These days you go try out the luggage in the box store then go home and buy it online, and box stores are desperate to figure out what to do about that. In any case I would be happy to just watch Kate browse luggage on Amazon for the same amount of time we watch her go through these shenanigans in this store, it can't be much more boring and at least poor sick Joel could go to bed.
Different colors helps keep everything organized. I get that, but wouldn't it be easier to just tie six different colored ribbons on the handles? Surely there is a Joann Fabrics nearby to help with that.
Aaden and the girls really want to buy some stuffed animal neck pillows. That strikes me as rather babyish but I guess whatever makes them happy. Another girl is approaching Kate with a memory foam travel pillow. Memory foam? Lol. I'm sure that makes a hell of a lot of difference 14 hours into a trans-Pacific flight. What's next, the twins want to buy Rachel Ray's garbage bowl? The kids are behaving as if a lot of whining and begging has gotten Kate to cave before. And I bet it has, because they hold some serious collateral on her.
They finally decide on their bags, and it looks like she gave in on the neck pillows, heh. This segment was only about four minutes but it sure felt like four hours. I can't really get a good look at the luggage nor know much about any luggage but my own, but some of the posters here said it is pretty expensive. Naturally. Unless you go to a discount place like Target or Walmart, luggage often is crazy expensive and I'm not sure why. Seems a little scammy.
Commercials! Tomorrow they're going to Flar-ida. Heh, you can't take the PA out of the TFW.
The little kids are going to pack their luggage? Who? The 11-year-olds? I took 41 11-year-olds to Sydney last July, six adult chaperones, and no one was nearly this helpless with their luggage.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I could have sworn either TLC or Kate vowed many years ago never to film in the children's bedrooms. I recall them being smug about it too, like of course we wouldn't do that how dare you suggest that! Yet here we are, in their bedroom, filming. They talk to a male production member, a producer or camera man I suppose, about the inexplicably boring subject of packing their own bags. We have, literally as Kate would say, been talking about this subject the entire episode. Just this subject. The door is closed. Sigh.
You know, the whole house is very cluttered in general. It's not Little People level, but it's getting there. That would drive me nuts. There are kitchen gadgets and various crap all over the kitchen, and their bedroom floor is covered with American girl paraphernalia. They have lots of cabinets, shelves and other storage materials, put things away. Kate doesn't work, surely she has time for a little tidying up every day.
The twins tease Alexis about how she rotates the same three outfits over and over. That's common for a child that age and not a big deal as long as you wash them. She'll outgrow it. That's nothing, often boys her age want to wear the same one outfit over and over. Cara has some graphic on the bodice of her shirt that they must not have gotten permission to show because they blur it out, but it's in her bodice area so there's this weird constant blur on poor Cara's chest right where they would tend to blur the Girls Gone Wild women on those commercials. Sheesh.
Mady tries to help Alexis branch out and try out some different outfits just like those montages in the movies where the girl tries out lots of different looks. Where are these outfits coming from? This makes Alexis very uncomfortable, she thinks the outfits are "harsh" and "ugly" but this is a normal sister thing to do I suppose. I think they should leave her alone and let her wear what she wants, but sisters never do. If Collin is the child singled out from the boys, Alexis is singled out from the girls. All the other sisters treat her differently, like she's odd. I feel awful for her.
Well that didn't take long, Kate has taken over the packing for the boys. Lol.
There's a lot of harmless teasing and joking among the kids, and it's a relief to see. At least some of them seem to enjoy and appreciate each other instead of everyone hating each other all day long.
Kate is still going on about the packing like this is interesting, gesturing widely with her fake nails. You know what's harsh and ugly? Those things.
Is that a black and white professional photo of Jon in the background, kissing one of the newborns? I think I see a candle on the shelf there too. That must be the butsudan to him, may he rest in peace Amen.
The packing shockingly went well, Kate opines. But she stepped right in and fixed it all, so what does she mean?
Andrea, the childcare girl Kate can't give the respect to call their nanny, is going on the trip with them and she also went with them to Australia and Mexico. I don't remember her at all. Marley is going with the twins as their bribe. Kate says she knows they've been to the beach a lot but that's where the kids want to go, and Kate loves it, too. Funny, in the preview Mady clearly says she hates the beach. Or maybe her kids just want to go where ever makes her, Kate, happy, because it's just easier that way.
They talk at length about how excited the kids were to find out they were going to the beach. They shook the floor with excitement. Really? After Mexico and the other fun swag and trips they've gotten this year they're still this engaged? Color me surprised. Why do I get just a little bit of satisfaction about seeing that harpy having to fly coach these days, and in the back of the plane too? Lol.
Kate assigns them their rooms in their gorgeous house rental. Is she looking at a notation on her phone for this or is she just using it for a flashlight? Number one, she can't remember the assignments by memory? Number two, can't she just assign them on the fly if she must? I've never seen someone waste so much effort being "organized."
Aaden, Joel and Alexis together? I feel like they're getting a little too old to have to shack up with opposite genders. Not that anything inappropriate would happen, but it's just a matter of respecting a child's privacy and understanding they're getting to the age where everything is embarrassing including having to room with your brothers. Alexis looks dismayed. Well that sucks.
I haven't the foggiest idea why Kate is arguing with the twins about the room assignments. They're not paying, they have a nice room they don't have to share with the opposite gender, deal with it.
The ungrateful twins are upset over something or other they never explain, to which Kate says she has to share a bathroom with five girls and three boys, so this is fair. God, I hate when I agree with Kate. This is a beautiful house, any room is a good room, who cares?
The bottom line is though, this is not a discussion. You don't negotiate with teenagers on nonsense like this. It's clear these girls perpetually feel slighted, and maybe in many ways they have been over the years. But when you start seeing slights in virtually anything your parent ever does, it gets exhausting for the parent.
I think a huge part of Kate likes this drama. She likes to see the twins get strung out, and then she likes explaining the justification behind her wonderful ideas for them as they get even more upset. I think she likes the power she has over them. She won't just tell them this is your room, deal with it, and walk away, because that's not dramatic and interesting. The twins suggest Kate take this room, and Kate refuses. Part of me wants to yell at the screen to just switch rooms and end this. But now I'm thinking no, teenagers don't get to tell their mother how it's going to be, even if their mother is Kate and she might deserve it. The teens could ask her nicely if she would consider the merits of taking this room and switching, but she doesn't have to if she doesn't want to. That's not how they approached it though. They were not polite. They were rude and whined and treated Kate like Kate was being cruel to them when she wasn't. Kate's right on this. And a lightning bolt just struck me down.
The kids are all hugging Kate and thanking her. For what? TLC paid for this and likely planned all of it, do they still not understand that? They understand a lot else. I think Mady at least was being a little sarcastic there. Or patronizing. Funny.
Commercials, and we're back. They're staying in what I would call a gated golf course community popular in Fla-rida beach towns. The rental comes with two extra long golf carts to drive down to the beach. They pile them high with beach stuff and hit the road. The kids are griping the whole ride down. I really don't care what they're whining about this time, I've started to tune them out. A tiny portion of the ride involves getting out onto a main road and then making a left turn to the beach. This scares Kate, and she admits she drove like a granny. Safety's first! Kate cries. I think the expression is "safety first" but I understand what she means.
The kids loved the beach and the water. Alexis is so bored talking about all this on the couch she tosses her head back and clutches her forehead. Betty, please pass the sangiovese, we still have 30 minutes to go of this.
Just like in the preview Mady says she hates the beach and always has, including the sand, swimming, and outside in general. Lol. She's kind of an indoor girl, as Jack Dawson would say.
As they head back to get some lunch, the older girls were, wait for it, stopped and chatting with three boys. There must be at least a couple yards distance between the two genders.
"No, that's not okay with me," Kate says. It's not okay with her the twins talk to boys from more than an arm's length away? Why, Jim Boob? I mean, Boobs.
Mady and Cara explain that the boys were simply asking what was being filmed. That sounds credible. Seems like that will often happen when you bring an entire production crew onto a quiet little beach. Lookie loos are going to be curious and ask. Mady tosses her hair and says she told the boys, "If you want to see more of this, like, watch it!" Cara cracks up. Heh.
For Kate's part, she accuses Mady of flirting. I don't know if I would call that flirting so much as showing off. Either way, Mady didn't do anything wrong.
Commercials. The Duggars are coming back and even Anna is now speaking, holy goodness. Anna says it was heartbreaking to hear what had happened. Which part? Is she talking about the child molestation perpetrated by her husband or the fact that the vicious and vindictive media broke the story? Because the latter is all her sisters-in-law seem to be upset over. I don't know if heartbreaking is so much the word as terrifying for the safety of your three young children. If there's one thing the Duggars have done is give me perspective. Kate seems as harmless as the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz compared to that f-ed up family. Or maybe she's the scarecrow. Whichever one didn't have a brain.
Kate i.e. production found this game Escape Zone where you have 60 minute to solve puzzles and get out of a room. Like we've talked about I've done something similar called Exit Game and it was fabulous. But with Kate at the helm we all can predict how fun this will be.
I don't like Mady's lip about this. She says Kate needs to accept the fact that they are not a team. I have no idea why Mady to this day still feels so antagonistic about the family as a unit but I don't like the younger children hearing such negativity. Not that they don't get it from their mother all the time. This is rich, Kate feels team work is important and that she has to instill the idea of working together into her children. She has done nothing but create divisiveness among the children, how can this woman not see that? I think she intentionally pits the children against each other because she's terrified they might some day band together against her.
She hopes the kids someday will stick together when they're older. Heh, she might not like that if they all decide to estrange her together. Be careful what you wish for.
Sadly, Colin is nowhere to be found during this activity, so I guess it's a family team minus one.
This room is much more cluttered than the Exit Game I played. It's full of colored belts, jackets, helmets, clocks, things posted on the wall, books, white boards. I think you would need a big group to be successful in this room just to sort through all the junk.
Thirty minutes in Kate has already lost it and is snapping and yelling at everyone while just leaning against a counter and not helping. She snatches a book out of Mady's hand and says "Who died and left you in charge?" Wtf! It's just a game, and if Mady wants to take a leadership role in it she can if she darn well wants to. It's not like Kate was contributing much just standing there helplessly.
"We" get stressed and "we" fall apart, Kate explains. You, TFW. You. At least Mady was still trying to solve clues at that point.
"You are stupid," Mady says. I'm not sure who she is saying that to, I think it's Kate.
Commercials, and we're back. Twenty minutes left and they seem to be onto something, and are turning off the lights and finding clues I guess you can only find in the dark. Kate's shouting orders, barking at them, and now that things are actually moving along she's suddenly back in the thick of it instead of along the sidelines feigning a headache. Heh, she's a fair weather Escape Game companion. Those are the worst! Mady remarks that Kate gets way too competitive.
I don't understand why Kate is competitive in this scenario. Competitive against what? They're on the same team, or is she too stupid to understand that. In any case, I found when I played it's best to be calm during the game and not get so frantic. It can help to slow down, read all the clues again, and take your time.
Even one of the girls has to tell her, "It's just a game, Mommy!" Geez Louise, that's what we in child welfare call "parentified."
This room does seem hard. They're flipping through what looks like a periodic table textbook. My word, no thank you.
They're getting all kind of clues up on this TV screen. Wouldn't you know it with two seconds left they break out of the room. Kate was right, this season did bring some twists and turns!
The instructors were amazed they got through with just two seconds left. It's not that amazing. What would be amazing is if they got through this without any hints. They got tons of hints including telling them what to do with the numbers they had. That's not really beating it at all. By the way the instructor said earlier no one makes it out without a hint. No one ever? So maybe they should make the room a little easier then. Some people, like me, preferred to play this game without hints because it's more satisfying that way. Getting through something hard but with a bunch of hints from Big Brother along the way doesn't mean much.
People over 40 shouldn't say holy crap. People over 30 shouldn't say holy crap either for that matter.
They take a photo with a "winners" sign. The kids seem very proud of themselves, so that's nice. Poor little Colin missing all this. He would have loved it.
Commercials, and Kate and the nanny are making Korean bbq for dinner. Did Kate get another nip tuck? Those girls!
Kate said it. She said Voldemort! May he rest in peace.
What are we, Alexis asks curiously? Just mutts, Kate remarks lazily. Opportunity blown. Contrary to popular belief, Kate says, she actually cares about their heritage. Popular belief? Was there polling done on this issue? Lol, what a narcissist! She cares about their heritage, right, which is why she blew off their important question about their heritage just now, heh.
Jon is Korean-Hawaiian. No, no, he's not, dummy. Hawaiian "influences," she says a bit afterward. Yes, that I will give her.
I want them to look at who they are as a good thing, and support it, Kate explains. Why on earth would you ever look upon who you are as a bad thing, especially Korean, which is such a colorful and rich culture and heritage? That should just be a given, like saying my life philosophy is to just be nice to people. TFW doth protest too much.
Kate loved what she made and the kids like it too except Cara who is vegetarian.
So, what is in Kate's Korean bbq? They never explain. I've never made it, only been to Korean bbq restaurants, which I very much recommend if you get the chance to find one. L.A. has a Korea town and I imagine other cities do too.
You know, this is part of why these episodes are so mind numbing. Anything remotely interesting, like their heritage and the Korean bbq ingredients, is glossed over and we spend most of the time watching them pack luggage and then escape a room we don't understand.
Kate is honestly amazed at her dinner. Heh, she's something else. Our Asian dinner is out of the way, Kate says. Yes, get that out of the way right away, please. "Asian" cultural heritage activity: check!
Kate has much more planned for the kids. Sweet, there's more episodes to come from Fla-rida, including potentially, some vomit. The sheeple/shekel will be thrilled.
Anyway, coming up there will be a lot of whining and arguing and drama, and the comment of the day goes to the lovely Leah, who, arms crossed, quips, "This show should be called Kate Plus Kate." Baw! The kids are finally old enough to get it, and it's glorious.
They heavily promote the terribly awkward Bachelorette date complete with a NYC helicopter ride. Oh, they know that's the pinnacle moment of the "season." The budget was all in on that episode. At least the guy seems very nice for an actor, although I half expect him to hand her a head shot at the end of the night in case she's ever interested in booking him again.
Kate doesn't know what's the proper way to say goodnight at the end of the date. Is this really that hard? Maybe it is for someone who doesn't experience emotion. Usually a polite hug is fine, whether you like him or her. If there's sparks and it was a really spectacular date, a little kiss is appropriate. Kate however shuffles into her limo, the inside glowing with halogen blue lights, and gives him a little acrylic finger wave, avoiding eye contact. Not even a full wave, just a forefinger. She will never get married again if she can't even wave with her full hand at the poor guy.
There's a lot of blah blahing about the beach and how she's sure many families like going to the beach during the summer. Many families could never possibly afford to go to Florida for 10 days in the summer let alone go to the beach every year as she says they do, but she's tone deaf to that.
The kids, the girls namely, pretty much give her lip to everything she asks them to do. The kids are going to pack their own bags for the first time ever? Aren't they 11 and 14?? I wonder if they will also get to feed themselves on their own this year, and even wipe themselves. Geez.
Kate is explaining all this in excruciating detail, without a stitch of make-up on. She is really getting comfortable with the cameras. We flash back to another recent 1 percent boring vacation in Mexico. I keep thinking of the great Betty White, who once said of Facebook, "In my day, seeing pictures of peoples' vacations was considered a punishment!" Oh, it's still a punishment here, Betty.
They head to an unnamed department store because the store probably wouldn't give their permission to use their name. Looks like a JC Penney or Bon-Ton, one of those places that has "semi-annual" home sales semi-weekly. In the parking lot they're all walking just fine, two and three-abreast and relatively close to the parked cars. No other cars are driving around. Kate barks that she wants them to walk away from the middle of the "street" and walk "single file." The kids mostly just ignore her, which is hilarious. Actually, one of my pet peeves is circling the parking lot looking for a spot and there are people walking in the middle of the road you can't get around. You feel like it would be a little much to beep at them, especially when they're bogged down with several shopping bags, yet you don't want to crawl around at 2 mph for the next 30 yards either following behind them waiting for them to get to their car and get out of your way. But since there are no cars circling to be found, is it really worth nagging them about this?
Aw, poor Joel has a back ache and feels sick to his stomach, but according to Kate, he wanted to go shopping anyway. I find it rather disturbing Joel asks his mother for permission to sit down. He has to ask her? Just sit down if you want to sit down. You're her child, not her hostage.
Joel, bored with the coach conversations about this, says I just didn't feel good.
But, but, tell us more. Did you puke? Was it everywhere? What was your temperature? Is it rabies, or amebic dysentery? The sheeple want to know. Autocorrect to this day still wants to change sheeple to something else, this time it was "shekel." Well, tis the season! L'Chaim!
Kate immediately had thoughts of he's sick and, literally, "oh my gosh we have to travel tomorrow!" but then immediately realized she literally doesn't care if someone is sick and they have to travel tomorrow because typically what does that matter. For someone so organized, should they be buying luggage the day before a big vacation? I always like to wipe down new luggage and let it air out a few days to get the formaldehyde smell out. Plus what if they don't have what you're looking for? You'll have to take your old luggage on the trip and that would be just terrible.
Kate was hoping for six different colors of luggage. I don't know how realistic that hope is unless you shop online. Isn't it funny how dated this process already seems, going to a box store and picking out luggage?
How do you read reviews and know which ones the wheels fell off within six months or the zipper broke? What if you pick something out and realized later it only has 2 1/2 stars, or what if you saw it online for 20 bucks cheaper plus a coupon code? That would suck. These days you go try out the luggage in the box store then go home and buy it online, and box stores are desperate to figure out what to do about that. In any case I would be happy to just watch Kate browse luggage on Amazon for the same amount of time we watch her go through these shenanigans in this store, it can't be much more boring and at least poor sick Joel could go to bed.
Different colors helps keep everything organized. I get that, but wouldn't it be easier to just tie six different colored ribbons on the handles? Surely there is a Joann Fabrics nearby to help with that.
Aaden and the girls really want to buy some stuffed animal neck pillows. That strikes me as rather babyish but I guess whatever makes them happy. Another girl is approaching Kate with a memory foam travel pillow. Memory foam? Lol. I'm sure that makes a hell of a lot of difference 14 hours into a trans-Pacific flight. What's next, the twins want to buy Rachel Ray's garbage bowl? The kids are behaving as if a lot of whining and begging has gotten Kate to cave before. And I bet it has, because they hold some serious collateral on her.
They finally decide on their bags, and it looks like she gave in on the neck pillows, heh. This segment was only about four minutes but it sure felt like four hours. I can't really get a good look at the luggage nor know much about any luggage but my own, but some of the posters here said it is pretty expensive. Naturally. Unless you go to a discount place like Target or Walmart, luggage often is crazy expensive and I'm not sure why. Seems a little scammy.
Commercials! Tomorrow they're going to Flar-ida. Heh, you can't take the PA out of the TFW.
The little kids are going to pack their luggage? Who? The 11-year-olds? I took 41 11-year-olds to Sydney last July, six adult chaperones, and no one was nearly this helpless with their luggage.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I could have sworn either TLC or Kate vowed many years ago never to film in the children's bedrooms. I recall them being smug about it too, like of course we wouldn't do that how dare you suggest that! Yet here we are, in their bedroom, filming. They talk to a male production member, a producer or camera man I suppose, about the inexplicably boring subject of packing their own bags. We have, literally as Kate would say, been talking about this subject the entire episode. Just this subject. The door is closed. Sigh.
The twins tease Alexis about how she rotates the same three outfits over and over. That's common for a child that age and not a big deal as long as you wash them. She'll outgrow it. That's nothing, often boys her age want to wear the same one outfit over and over. Cara has some graphic on the bodice of her shirt that they must not have gotten permission to show because they blur it out, but it's in her bodice area so there's this weird constant blur on poor Cara's chest right where they would tend to blur the Girls Gone Wild women on those commercials. Sheesh.
Mady tries to help Alexis branch out and try out some different outfits just like those montages in the movies where the girl tries out lots of different looks. Where are these outfits coming from? This makes Alexis very uncomfortable, she thinks the outfits are "harsh" and "ugly" but this is a normal sister thing to do I suppose. I think they should leave her alone and let her wear what she wants, but sisters never do. If Collin is the child singled out from the boys, Alexis is singled out from the girls. All the other sisters treat her differently, like she's odd. I feel awful for her.
Well that didn't take long, Kate has taken over the packing for the boys. Lol.
There's a lot of harmless teasing and joking among the kids, and it's a relief to see. At least some of them seem to enjoy and appreciate each other instead of everyone hating each other all day long.
Kate is still going on about the packing like this is interesting, gesturing widely with her fake nails. You know what's harsh and ugly? Those things.
Is that a black and white professional photo of Jon in the background, kissing one of the newborns? I think I see a candle on the shelf there too. That must be the butsudan to him, may he rest in peace Amen.
The packing shockingly went well, Kate opines. But she stepped right in and fixed it all, so what does she mean?
Andrea, the childcare girl Kate can't give the respect to call their nanny, is going on the trip with them and she also went with them to Australia and Mexico. I don't remember her at all. Marley is going with the twins as their bribe. Kate says she knows they've been to the beach a lot but that's where the kids want to go, and Kate loves it, too. Funny, in the preview Mady clearly says she hates the beach. Or maybe her kids just want to go where ever makes her, Kate, happy, because it's just easier that way.
They talk at length about how excited the kids were to find out they were going to the beach. They shook the floor with excitement. Really? After Mexico and the other fun swag and trips they've gotten this year they're still this engaged? Color me surprised. Why do I get just a little bit of satisfaction about seeing that harpy having to fly coach these days, and in the back of the plane too? Lol.
Kate assigns them their rooms in their gorgeous house rental. Is she looking at a notation on her phone for this or is she just using it for a flashlight? Number one, she can't remember the assignments by memory? Number two, can't she just assign them on the fly if she must? I've never seen someone waste so much effort being "organized."
Aaden, Joel and Alexis together? I feel like they're getting a little too old to have to shack up with opposite genders. Not that anything inappropriate would happen, but it's just a matter of respecting a child's privacy and understanding they're getting to the age where everything is embarrassing including having to room with your brothers. Alexis looks dismayed. Well that sucks.
I haven't the foggiest idea why Kate is arguing with the twins about the room assignments. They're not paying, they have a nice room they don't have to share with the opposite gender, deal with it.
The ungrateful twins are upset over something or other they never explain, to which Kate says she has to share a bathroom with five girls and three boys, so this is fair. God, I hate when I agree with Kate. This is a beautiful house, any room is a good room, who cares?
The bottom line is though, this is not a discussion. You don't negotiate with teenagers on nonsense like this. It's clear these girls perpetually feel slighted, and maybe in many ways they have been over the years. But when you start seeing slights in virtually anything your parent ever does, it gets exhausting for the parent.
I think a huge part of Kate likes this drama. She likes to see the twins get strung out, and then she likes explaining the justification behind her wonderful ideas for them as they get even more upset. I think she likes the power she has over them. She won't just tell them this is your room, deal with it, and walk away, because that's not dramatic and interesting. The twins suggest Kate take this room, and Kate refuses. Part of me wants to yell at the screen to just switch rooms and end this. But now I'm thinking no, teenagers don't get to tell their mother how it's going to be, even if their mother is Kate and she might deserve it. The teens could ask her nicely if she would consider the merits of taking this room and switching, but she doesn't have to if she doesn't want to. That's not how they approached it though. They were not polite. They were rude and whined and treated Kate like Kate was being cruel to them when she wasn't. Kate's right on this. And a lightning bolt just struck me down.
The kids are all hugging Kate and thanking her. For what? TLC paid for this and likely planned all of it, do they still not understand that? They understand a lot else. I think Mady at least was being a little sarcastic there. Or patronizing. Funny.
Commercials, and we're back. They're staying in what I would call a gated golf course community popular in Fla-rida beach towns. The rental comes with two extra long golf carts to drive down to the beach. They pile them high with beach stuff and hit the road. The kids are griping the whole ride down. I really don't care what they're whining about this time, I've started to tune them out. A tiny portion of the ride involves getting out onto a main road and then making a left turn to the beach. This scares Kate, and she admits she drove like a granny. Safety's first! Kate cries. I think the expression is "safety first" but I understand what she means.
The kids loved the beach and the water. Alexis is so bored talking about all this on the couch she tosses her head back and clutches her forehead. Betty, please pass the sangiovese, we still have 30 minutes to go of this.
Just like in the preview Mady says she hates the beach and always has, including the sand, swimming, and outside in general. Lol. She's kind of an indoor girl, as Jack Dawson would say.
As they head back to get some lunch, the older girls were, wait for it, stopped and chatting with three boys. There must be at least a couple yards distance between the two genders.
"No, that's not okay with me," Kate says. It's not okay with her the twins talk to boys from more than an arm's length away? Why, Jim Boob? I mean, Boobs.
Mady and Cara explain that the boys were simply asking what was being filmed. That sounds credible. Seems like that will often happen when you bring an entire production crew onto a quiet little beach. Lookie loos are going to be curious and ask. Mady tosses her hair and says she told the boys, "If you want to see more of this, like, watch it!" Cara cracks up. Heh.
For Kate's part, she accuses Mady of flirting. I don't know if I would call that flirting so much as showing off. Either way, Mady didn't do anything wrong.
Commercials. The Duggars are coming back and even Anna is now speaking, holy goodness. Anna says it was heartbreaking to hear what had happened. Which part? Is she talking about the child molestation perpetrated by her husband or the fact that the vicious and vindictive media broke the story? Because the latter is all her sisters-in-law seem to be upset over. I don't know if heartbreaking is so much the word as terrifying for the safety of your three young children. If there's one thing the Duggars have done is give me perspective. Kate seems as harmless as the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz compared to that f-ed up family. Or maybe she's the scarecrow. Whichever one didn't have a brain.
Kate i.e. production found this game Escape Zone where you have 60 minute to solve puzzles and get out of a room. Like we've talked about I've done something similar called Exit Game and it was fabulous. But with Kate at the helm we all can predict how fun this will be.
I don't like Mady's lip about this. She says Kate needs to accept the fact that they are not a team. I have no idea why Mady to this day still feels so antagonistic about the family as a unit but I don't like the younger children hearing such negativity. Not that they don't get it from their mother all the time. This is rich, Kate feels team work is important and that she has to instill the idea of working together into her children. She has done nothing but create divisiveness among the children, how can this woman not see that? I think she intentionally pits the children against each other because she's terrified they might some day band together against her.
She hopes the kids someday will stick together when they're older. Heh, she might not like that if they all decide to estrange her together. Be careful what you wish for.
Sadly, Colin is nowhere to be found during this activity, so I guess it's a family team minus one.
This room is much more cluttered than the Exit Game I played. It's full of colored belts, jackets, helmets, clocks, things posted on the wall, books, white boards. I think you would need a big group to be successful in this room just to sort through all the junk.
Thirty minutes in Kate has already lost it and is snapping and yelling at everyone while just leaning against a counter and not helping. She snatches a book out of Mady's hand and says "Who died and left you in charge?" Wtf! It's just a game, and if Mady wants to take a leadership role in it she can if she darn well wants to. It's not like Kate was contributing much just standing there helplessly.
"We" get stressed and "we" fall apart, Kate explains. You, TFW. You. At least Mady was still trying to solve clues at that point.
"You are stupid," Mady says. I'm not sure who she is saying that to, I think it's Kate.
Commercials, and we're back. Twenty minutes left and they seem to be onto something, and are turning off the lights and finding clues I guess you can only find in the dark. Kate's shouting orders, barking at them, and now that things are actually moving along she's suddenly back in the thick of it instead of along the sidelines feigning a headache. Heh, she's a fair weather Escape Game companion. Those are the worst! Mady remarks that Kate gets way too competitive.
I don't understand why Kate is competitive in this scenario. Competitive against what? They're on the same team, or is she too stupid to understand that. In any case, I found when I played it's best to be calm during the game and not get so frantic. It can help to slow down, read all the clues again, and take your time.
Even one of the girls has to tell her, "It's just a game, Mommy!" Geez Louise, that's what we in child welfare call "parentified."
This room does seem hard. They're flipping through what looks like a periodic table textbook. My word, no thank you.
They're getting all kind of clues up on this TV screen. Wouldn't you know it with two seconds left they break out of the room. Kate was right, this season did bring some twists and turns!
The instructors were amazed they got through with just two seconds left. It's not that amazing. What would be amazing is if they got through this without any hints. They got tons of hints including telling them what to do with the numbers they had. That's not really beating it at all. By the way the instructor said earlier no one makes it out without a hint. No one ever? So maybe they should make the room a little easier then. Some people, like me, preferred to play this game without hints because it's more satisfying that way. Getting through something hard but with a bunch of hints from Big Brother along the way doesn't mean much.
People over 40 shouldn't say holy crap. People over 30 shouldn't say holy crap either for that matter.
They take a photo with a "winners" sign. The kids seem very proud of themselves, so that's nice. Poor little Colin missing all this. He would have loved it.
Commercials, and Kate and the nanny are making Korean bbq for dinner. Did Kate get another nip tuck? Those girls!
Kate said it. She said Voldemort! May he rest in peace.
What are we, Alexis asks curiously? Just mutts, Kate remarks lazily. Opportunity blown. Contrary to popular belief, Kate says, she actually cares about their heritage. Popular belief? Was there polling done on this issue? Lol, what a narcissist! She cares about their heritage, right, which is why she blew off their important question about their heritage just now, heh.
Jon is Korean-Hawaiian. No, no, he's not, dummy. Hawaiian "influences," she says a bit afterward. Yes, that I will give her.
I want them to look at who they are as a good thing, and support it, Kate explains. Why on earth would you ever look upon who you are as a bad thing, especially Korean, which is such a colorful and rich culture and heritage? That should just be a given, like saying my life philosophy is to just be nice to people. TFW doth protest too much.
Kate loved what she made and the kids like it too except Cara who is vegetarian.
So, what is in Kate's Korean bbq? They never explain. I've never made it, only been to Korean bbq restaurants, which I very much recommend if you get the chance to find one. L.A. has a Korea town and I imagine other cities do too.
You know, this is part of why these episodes are so mind numbing. Anything remotely interesting, like their heritage and the Korean bbq ingredients, is glossed over and we spend most of the time watching them pack luggage and then escape a room we don't understand.
Kate is honestly amazed at her dinner. Heh, she's something else. Our Asian dinner is out of the way, Kate says. Yes, get that out of the way right away, please. "Asian" cultural heritage activity: check!
Kate has much more planned for the kids. Sweet, there's more episodes to come from Fla-rida, including potentially, some vomit. The sheeple/shekel will be thrilled.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Discussion thread: Kate Plus 8 'School's Out'
Kate Plus 8
School's Out!6:00 PM on TLC, 1 hr 2 min 2015 TV-PG
Season 4 begins with the end of the school year and a trip to Florida. Also: Kate cooks a traditional Korean barbecue dinner and discusses the kids' heritage.
