Tale of the 'Greedy Bitch' and 'Lying Bastard.'

I'm sure you have seen them in the news. Jon and Kate Gosselin of Jon and Kate plus 8. One of my favorite TLC cable shows about a couple doing the best they can to care for the blessings of their 8 kids --- twins and a set of sextuplets. Well, the 'shitolla' hit the fan in the last couple of weeks and you can't go to the grocery store without USWeekly or even PEOPLE magazine filling you in, by way of their covers, on the latest juicy bit of gossip associated with this now celebrity couple. I've heard some really nice people take aim at Kate, calling her a greedy bitch and only in it all for the money and fame. Really? On TLC? Did I miss their move to Hollywood or something? (ahhh man , bet that was a great episode.)

I can only imagine how hard this whirlwind must be for both of them. I am not debating the facts here, cause quite frankly, don't know what they are --- neither do you my sweet readers. I just don't understand why a brother of the 'alleged mistress' would sell his sister out to USWeekly. Oh yeah, MONEY. Nice family.

Kate's family isn't much better as we have now heard from her brother and sister-n-law. Ka-ching

By the looks of it, they seem to be the ones grasping for their piece of the proverbial fame pie. By the looks of it.

Did you catch the CBS morning spot on 'whether the Gosselin 8' are SAFE' ???

No lie. The morning anchor put on her best gravely concerned face and asked GLORIA ALRED if the children were being negatively impacted by all the frenzy and the way in which Jon and Kate snap at each other all the time..... (I guess morning anchor didn't consider the NETWORK'S blatant salacious story to be adding any pressure to this already hostile, not good for the kids and about to explode environment)

CUE ominous music.

Did we really need to ask that? And did we need to get that opinion from one of the most notorious female attorneys in the country and lead the interview with 'Are the Gosselin kids SAFE' hook? Yes, Attorney Alred occasionally dons her super human leotard and tights and fights the fight of the downtrodden but somehow this seemed waaaaaaay over the top and ever so slightly disingenuous for this particular situation. She's never met them. Never read their contract with TLC. Never been in the same room with the children but has all this first hand wisdom in dealing with THIS family. I somehow think CBS decided to use ALRED because she has attached herself to the other OCTO mom, you know the one, Angelina's look alike?

This story truly has the makings of a modern day Greek Tragedy. I hate it for them. You may say to me, "but didn't you hear they had an open marriage arrangement?" (gasp, is this where I'm supposed to be shocked?) or "she's just in it for the money."

I then ask, "have you considered how much money it costs to raise 8 kids in this modern civilization we're living in OR would you prefer the Gosselins to be living on WELFARE?" Hmmm, I believe there are quite a few people that would prefer it that way. SAD isn't it?

Why do we as a nation, when observing someone down, decide it would then be an even greater idea to kick them even harder? The media has been doing it for years, so true, but it seems to have taken on a much harsher tone. People seem to glory in the pain of others. Its a modern day take on a public execution --- think GUILLOTINE --- and that about sums it up.

I have not a clue what's really going on behind THEIR closed doors but I sure hope they can manage to somehow pull together and work as a team in raising their 8 beautiful kids. I'm not sweating their success or Kate's books about her experiences in being a mom of multiples. I'm glad they found a way to provide for their brood.

I haven't really heard anything that makes me desire their destruction. I live in the real world with all the rest of the screwed up people who like to believe they always have it together. They don't, none of us do. We have good days, maybe even some great days, but then there comes that moment when we are humbled --- again. We're just lucky that 'the world' isn't up our butts and in our business reveling in our pain.....

This couple signed up for a reality cable show, not Hollywood on crack. They are being treated to the worst it has to offer. And just so you know, I'm pulling for the 'greedy bitch' and 'lying bastard' to get their family back. They might even earn new nicknames --- like mom and dad or even better --- SURVIVOR.

A MOM 4 ALL OCCASSIONS

I can hardly believe it, but come this December I will have officially been on the job as mom for 19 years. I haven't counted the number of diapers I've changed or the bottles and boobs I've nourished with. Well okay, I only used the same two boobs, but you know what I mean.

Today is MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

It's the hyped up holiday brought to you by HALLMARK CARDS. I'm not complaining really, its nice to be recognized, but it'd be great to be appreciated the other 364 days out of the year when your up to your eyeballs in laundry and the countless to-do lists brought to you by the fruit of your womb. You know those 364 days when they don't feel obligated to buy that HALLMARK CARD or take you out to get your nails done. Come on, I know you're feelin' me.

Gregg is my near 19 year old man-child. The dude's been quite the 'experience' as far as sons go. I LOVE MY BUBBY. But one of the many attributes he has going for him is his ridiculous desire to shock people --- HARDCORE! He wants to challenge the mind visually and contextually. He's also stinking hilarious. On most days, at least once, I am dropped to my knees by something he has said. He challenges everything --- political views, religious hierarchy, musical tastes and trends of fashion. This young man takes nothing at face value but loves gazing at faces filled with BOTOX. He is an oxy-moron. And no, that isn't a subliminal jibe at my son. He can out-think and out-wit most people. He is well liked by his teachers and adored by most of my adult friends. The others he scares the proverbial crap out of. 19 years is a long time to stick with one job. But I think he's been worth the effort. He is a like water --- effervescent, always moving and a force that must be reckoned with. Gregg has many naysayers though. He's been written off by youth pastors because he didn't comply to their program, had some really difficult questions that couldn't be answered in the typical GOD IN A BOX way, and then, to put the cherry on top of the sundae, when time to pray and listen --- well, my boy heard crickets! Yeah, CRICKETS!

So what's this mom to do? Tremble in fear? Shake down the youth pastors for such limited narrow vision? DEMAND that the crickets talk GOD-SPEAK!!?? Nope. Not a chance. I am absolutely sure of one thing. This man-child has a purpose for being on this blue ball in the sky. He has a journey to make. I don't know how that will take shape but I have seen just a glimpse of the man he is becoming --- powerfully perceptive, hard-working, incredibly intelligent, intuitive, creative and not willing to put up with crap! He is intense. He does challenge the status quo. But he is so worth the effort.

Savvy. Well, I blogged about her a couple of days ago so I don't want to bore you with my redundancy but, she is my girl that is itching to start her own life. She has the guy and they have the dream. (See the pics above) She wants to start now. NOW! As you can see she is so very beautiful. She can make my heart swell like the ocean. She can also p*ss me off so badly that I want to forcefully borrow some of that long brown hair from atop her head. (I'm keepin this real people) Thankfully, that doesn't occur very often but when it does --- STAND BACK. LOL. Gregg says we can square off like no two others. I don't really get why it is that way with her. Maybe its because we are so much alike or maybe I just want so much for her that it scares me how fast the world could eat her alive. She's itty bitty teeny wheeny --- THE WORLD ISN'T. I marvel at how she can argue her way around the bush and back though. The girl has a mind like a steel trap. Seriously, she could probably convince the POPE to wear leather pants!!!! You want this girl on your team if it involves taking a stand for a cause you believe in. I know I want her on my team --- FOR LIFE.

Jaelyn is my baby. She is, as they say, DOPE. A fearless performer who suffers occasional panic attacks. Go figure. She has no patience for boys and their head games. Can I get an AMEN! She isn't long suffering at all when it comes to play acting stupid. The girl will shoot the truth straight through your heart! She works with the special needs kids at school and that makes me so very proud of her. She also adores her daddy immeasurably. Yeah, she's got her dreams of entertaining millions, but at the end of the day, she'd probably be happy being a dentist --- just as long as she doesn't have to live but a short distance from home. :-) We've told her that she is the character played by Joan Cusack in Raising Helen --- a natural born mother who is strong yet nurturing. We think we'll keep her around. She was our surprise baby. And there has never been a day where she hasn't surprised us. Like today for instance. She came home and was suddenly taller than her mother. YIKES! No kidding.

Today on this HALLMARK holiday, I've walked down memory lane. I've been thinking back to some of the funnier moments that have occurred with my kids. Moments like when I scared Gregg half out of his wits when he was just about 10 years old. Or the time when he decided to scare Savannah with a fake spider on a string while she was showering. And then Savvy, attempting to deliver pay-back, nearly breaking her head and the tub faucet lying in wait for Gregg to exit that same shower.

I've been reminded of the harder moments as well --- Gregg begging God to heal him as he lay in agony with his first migraine that required a hospital visit. Or Savvy fighting 3 strains of Salmonella at once. Jaelyn battling OCD with Anxiety after my best friend, Kim, passed away of Melanoma. You know the much harder less talked about times of motherhood.

I've thought about my dad today --- how he called Savvy his little princess and Jaelyn his poogie puss. I've remembered my mom and her incessant worrying over each and every single grandchild she has been blessed with. Yep, there are so many memories we mom's can conjure up on a day like today. I won't keep you any longer with mine. I'm sure if your a mom, you have plenty of your own to muddle through.

"MOM!!!?????" Yep, right on cue........

So in honor of Mothers Day I celebrate the best gifts I have ever received --- my three kids. I can always count on the unexpected, lots of laughs and the occasional hug that doesn't come with an alterior motive. LOL.

How does it work in your house?

SHE ROCKS MY WORLD

My last blog was all about my youngest baby girl, Jaelyn. Today I am inspired to write about my older baby girl, Savvy, aka Prada, nee nee, sissy boo sissy or her given name, Savannah Michelle. I am over the moon proud of this young woman in the making. We were informed yesterday that she was awarded a PELL GRANT in addition to her HOPE SCHOLARSHIP. How cool is that!!! She has been rewarded for all her hard work and diligence. Its an awesome wonderful thing when a woman in our society has the potential and the ability to educate herself and excel toward her plans and goals. Go nee nee!

It was about a 100 years ago in this country when young women were still denied the right to vote. Can you imagine that? How about the century where women weren't permitted to own land? Or even better how about the time IN THIS NATION when a husband was permitted to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb??? I'd be hiding me a black ironed skillet for that dear boy, LOL.

I am a huge fan of the Women's' Suffrage Movement and those incredible beings who had the where with all to go after and change the the laws of this nation. I'm referring to women like Lydia Chapin Taft, Abigail Adams, Elizabeth Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and a more obscure female abolitionist, Lucretia Mott. But even today there are still so many injustices occurring against our sisters in other parts of the world. Some African tribes still practice female genital circumcision. %$#!!!! And no ladies and gentlemen, that isn't performed in a clean and sterile hospital environment. There are countries where women have no choice as to who they marry. There are cultures today where women are still DENIED an education. I look back with a grateful heart to the above aforementioned women. In 1920 our country ratified our 19th amendment granting me, my daughters and all women in this nation the right to vote our conscience. In 1948 the UN declared it international law in the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS.

One of my favorite books is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I adore reading about this time period but am so grateful that my daughters greatest achievements in life do NOT have to center around WHOM they are given in marriage to. I am thrilled that they have the opportunities to move forward in society as people first. I want them to be able to stand up on their own two feet and seek God for their direction. I sometimes wonder if the women in our nation realize how truly blessed they are --- or if my own daughters ever pause to reflect on this. Our choices are no longer just marriage, governess or prostitute. Savannah was born in a time where the law clearly states she has the right to an education and the privilege to work and the ability to own property IN HER NAME. She has so many choices afforded to her now because of the courageous women that fought for her rights without even knowing her name. She will begin the next step in her life's journey this fall at MTSU. I am so very proud of my daughter. SHE ROCKS MY WORLD! I cannot wait to see what she chooses to go forth in.

And so today as I look forward to her future, I humbly look back at the women who have gone before her and say --- THANK YOU!

Thank you so very, very much.