Jon and Kate Plus 8 Official Thread - Part 5

[newtodis]

As Jon and Kate Gosselin prepare to move into separate homes, their eight children spent most of last night's episode of "John and Kate Plus 8" playing in four new playhouses of their own, ironically dubbed Crooked Houses.

On last night's episode of TLC's "Jon and Kate Plus 8," the family got playhouses from Crooked Houses, which cost thousands of dollars.

At a price tag of $7,000 apiece, the children's new houses were perhaps emblematic of the excesses the family has reaped as a result of its TLC show, which chronicles the parents' trials raising a brood that includes sextuplets and twins.

The delivery of the playhouses, made by a Maine-based company called Kids Crooked Houses, was shown on Monday night's episode, during which the couple also announced that after 10 years of marriage and five seasons of the show, they are separating. They have filed paperwork to dissolve the marriage.

Owned by Glen Halliday, 38, and Jeff Leighton, 34, Kids Crooked Houses has been "inundated" with phone calls and catalog requests since the episode aired Monday evening.

"Within 60 seconds of Kate saying the phrase 'crooked houses' on TV last night there were 170,000 visitors to our Web site," said Halliday.

Halliday said his Web developers are still scrambling to process the influx of requests the company has received since last night, but said that so far they are estimating that half a million people logged on to the site Monday and nearly 7,000 people have requested catalogs as of 10 a.m. today.

"The phones are ringing off the hooks," said Halliday, who estimated that the company has built 500 houses since it was founded in 2005.

On Tuesday afternoon, TLC released a statement announcing that the show would be on hiatus until August.

"TLC continues to support the Gosselin family and will work closely with them to determine the best way to continue to tell their story as they navigate through this difficult time," said TLC spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg in a statement.


"Following a retrospective of Jon and Kate's first 10 years airing on June 29, the show will be on hiatus until Aug. 3," said the statement. "During this time the family will take some time off to regroup and then a modified schedule will be in place to support the family's transition."

The homes get their name from the fact that none of the walls are straight, said Halliday, who first got the idea for the design from watching cartoons with his kids that showed houses in which "not one angle on the house was square."

While the door is child-size, the ceilings within the homes are 7½ feet tall and allow adults to fit in the "whimsical" structures comfortably as well, said Halliday.

The price of the playhouses depend on the model and range, from $1,249 for an original model that is delivered unassembled and unpainted to $5,000 as the starting price of a customized home, whose designs Halliday said "can get pretty crazy."

Halliday estimates that the homes delivered to the Gosselin family, which were designed to look like a pirate ship, a haunted house, a veterinary clinic and a garden house, were "at least $7,000 apiece."

Asked whether Kids Crooked Houses donated the homes to the TV family, Halliday said, "We've been well compensated for our efforts."

Halliday said that the Gosselins' houses had been in the works since October 2008, when the company -- an employee of which is friends with one of the Gosselins' publicists -- sent customization materials to the family's Pennsylvania home.

"We sent crayons and markers to the kids to color in houses that they would like us to make," said Halliday. "Then we do a custom illustration and send it back to the family where the kids can then tell us that it either looks good, or we make changes."

Original homes usually take two to three weeks to deliver, said Halliday, whereas customized homes like the Gosselins' can take up to two months.

The Gosselin kids' excitement was hard to miss on Monday's episode, which showed the clan of eight clamoring for permission to play in their new playhouses.

"Oh my gosh, they were so excited," said Halliday, who also appeared on the program last night. "The kids were so well behaved."

"Like any kids they were so anxious to play with their house, but they were very patient when we were going back and forth on where to put them [on the property]," said Halliday.

The argument on where the houses were to be placed was one of several spats Jon and Kate Gosselin got into during the course of the 60-minute episode.

"Once they were able to play in them they were so happy," said Halliday. "It just reconfirms our position that these homes spark their creativity."

"Within minutes of playing with the houses, they came and told me that there was a bear behind the house -- but it was just their imagination," he said. "That's the beauty of it."

Halliday was watching cartoons with his own set of multiples -- his now- 9-year-old twin boys -- when he thought of a way to entice them to spend more time outside, an idea that turned into Kids Crooked Houses.

"When we were kids a cardboard box was all we needed," said Halliday, who also has a 5-year-old daughter. "But now with five cartoon network channels and everything else, our kids spend so much time sitting on the couch I think their imagination is being force-fed to them."

"That's how the idea was sparked, by seeing my kids becoming lethargic," he said. "I kept asking, 'Why aren't you outside?' That's what builds character."

Halliday said he was not notified until last week that the episode featuring his company would be the same one where the family announced they were splitting up.


He said that when he met the family he did not notice any outward hostility between Jon and Kate Gosselin but did say the couple interacted very little with each other and mainly focused on their kids.

"We had no idea our houses would be combined with the Gosselins' special announcement," he said. "To be completely honest, it was great exposure for us, but it was bittersweet."

"We met the family, and Kate is an amazing woman and Jon is the sweetest guy you'll ever meet, and they both love their kids so much," he said.

"All I saw were loving parents."

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Business/S...7907245&page=1

[newtodis]

This morning on The View, Elisabeth Hasselbeck said that Jon & Kate Plus Eight should no longer exist ("They shouldn't have a show") and that Kate Gosselin should "get a job." When co-host Sherri Shepherd noted that the Gosselins had essentially given up their jobs to work for their reality show -- i.e., that this, in addition to parenting, is Kate's job -- Hasselbeck said vehemently, "I don't care!... It's not healthy for the kids."


"Get the camera off the kids!" said Hasselbeck.

Barbara Walters, who was the only person on the View panel who admitted to watching Jon & Kate, said that she thought that "if you have more than five children, you shouldn't be allowed to get divorced."

The audience applauded enthusiastically.

http://watching-tv.ew.com/2009/06/el...the-view-.html

[newtodis]

Between the economic recession, a killer flu and North Korean weapons' testing, you'd think there are more important issues to discuss than a TLC reality TV show about parents in Pennsylvania raising sextuplets and a set of twins.

And yet what issue is seemingly front-and-centre in the public discussion? Jon and Kate Plus Eight.

Jon and Kate Plus Eight have been the focus of headlines and celebrity TV shows recently thanks to the alleged marital problems between the titular characters. The North American media have been chasing the story like they would a natural disaster.

In a perverse way, it is a natural disaster. America's favourite quaint, child-populous, Christian family is threatening to fall apart right in front of the public's eyes.

Nearly 10 million U.S. viewers tuned into the Season 5 premiere on Monday, almost twice the number who watched the Season 4 finale. Rumours and allegations of Jon and Kate Gosselin's extra-marital affairs have pushed the show from a feel-good family program to tabloid fodder in a matter of weeks.

But the question remains: Why do we care so much?

Our natural voyeurism and the sense of superiority viewers feel when watching reality television play major parts in the fevered Gosselin obsession, says Robert Thompson, a pop culture and television expert at Syracuse University.

"We watch a lot of reality TV with a sense of mockery or irony," he said. "People like to think about how they would do things differently."

The same rule also applies to shows like The Bachelor, Big Brother and Survivor, Thompson added. "Generally, people without scripts act in ways we like to make fun of."

But beyond enjoying the hypocrisy apparent in the Gosselins' fall, humans naturally like to peep into other people's lives, and reality shows like Jon and Kate offer the ideal portal, Thompson said.

"We have a natural voyeuristic tendency," Thompson said. "Thousands of generations ago, cavemen were probably peeping into other people's caves to see what they were eating for dinner."

And, at the end of the day, the Gosselins' scandal made for good television.

"It had hypocrisy, a turn of events, and people are tuning in to see what all the fuss is about," Thompson said.

Thompson points to Britain's Got Talent's Susan Boyle, and her overnight celebrity status, as another example of how hype can bring in viewers like lambs to the slaughter. Viewers will learn whether Boyle will win the reality television contest on Saturday night.

"Ten years from now, those of us who remember Susan Boyle will look back at this as kind of a pet rock and ask 'why did we make such a big deal?'"

http://www.canada.com/news/care+abou...504/story.html

[newtodis]

Viewers may not have been shocked to hear Jon and Kate's Gosselin's divorce announcement last night, but most are left pondering a serious question: What will happen to the couple's children if the break-up is indeed final? On the show last night, Jon and Kate said the children will continue living in the house the couple bought last year, but the parents will "flip-flop," as Kate put it, depending on who has visitation rights.

Both parents seem committed to doing what's best for the kids, but if there does turn out to be a custody battle, things may not be so simple. "I can’t recall a case where there were eight kids," Los Angeles divorce lawyer Lynn Soodik says. "But let me just tell you this: If Jon gets four and Kate gets four, that’s not fair. So it’s not like money that you equally divide, because it’s not your right to have the children in an equal division. It’s what’s best for the children. And usually, they don’t split up siblings unless there’s a very specific reason to do so.”

At face value, simply being the kids' mother gives Kate an advantage in a custody battle, but as celebrity divorce lawyer Raoul Felder points out, that certainly is not always the way it plays out. "The fine print says it’s women -- mothers usually get custody of children." However, he adds, "I think some judge would want to consider who was the moving force in this theatrical enterprise that they got the kids involved in. I think it’s going to be a bad mark for whoever it turns out to be.” Soodik agrees: "You probably know yourself couples with kids where the dad is a much better parent than the mom, and other times, you’re lucky the dad even knows the kids’ birthdays. It really depends on what’s been the best interest of the children."

Although viewers have formed opinions on who the better parent would be from watching the show, the heavily-edited Jon and Kate footage should not figure into the judge's decision. “The judge can’t even consider the show," Soodik says. "Because that’s not really evidence before him or her. Who knows what goes on in an editing booth. For example, let’s say a mom is a fabulous mom, but one day, does something bad. That might be what’s on TV. It’s not a good way to judge, because what is entertainment is not necessarily what happens the majority of the time."

"I must say, I saw the show a couple of times," Felder says. "I wasn’t particularly impressed, because it looks like they’re both performing for the camera."

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2009/...-weigh-in.html

[madge]

Originally Posted by mickey&minnie04

That's what I'm trying to say...none of our business! Yet I find it ironic that people are seeking out these things and are on more then one message board dedicated to this. I have to admit that I have been sucked into this board, but I have not looked anywhere else for info...why would I there is so much "info" posted on this board. I wonder where half of this stuff comes from and how can anyone believe what is being read? "We" may be the problem reading all this stuff on the internet and then spreading it like wild fire! Before anyone gets upset, I include myself in that "We".

When I say "alone" I mean all the preaching that we should stop watching the show, etc....

the overall tabloid fascination about Jon & Kate is the same as any other celebrity, IMO.

(the following statement is directed toward and about the generalized you or us. no one specific poster)

The difference between Jon & Kate and say, George Clooney, is that people felt a sincere connection with this family. Quite literally, people were invested in the Gosselin family. On part 2 of this thread, there was a poster who saw Jon & Kate at her local church and made a contribution to a love offering .. and regretted that she couldn't give more. For whatever reason, people LOVE this family, especially those darling children. I think that the feeling is they could be living next door to any of us. People are so heavily invested, they want answers, they want more .. they want to understand why this didn't work for Jon & Kate, who's protecting the children, and even the silly things like what she's wearing or how her hair is cut.

The internet is like the biggest small town out there, I think. News travels FAST. Is it right to spread the information to this thread (or anywhere else) after it's been written? Is that hurting the family? I honestly don't know.

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Originally Posted by Epcot luvr

Thanks for your answer. I do think Jodi and Kevin in their first interview were not using their best judgemnt. I was sort of happy to think they would set the record straight and then it just didn't come off that well. It is frustrating to even state an opinion either way on the situation because as soon as one person says X about Jon there is another person who counters with Y about Kate, and all of the information is in fact gossip. I hope it will all quiet down and the kids will have a real summer break.

That's exactly what I find annoying - an opinion is stated and then discussed a couple of times and then it's suddenly stated as fact! So if I don't hear them say it (on film or in a recognised interview) I tend to not give it as much credence.

As with you, I hope the media and paparazzi find some morals and ethics and give this family some peace and stop camping out in front of their house and the kids can get back to some form of 'normality'.

[newtodis]

I googled Kate's attorney's information from the divorce info and this is what I came up with (only because I was curious!). Below is what I found - assuming it's the same person of course!

BIOGRAPHY
Cheerful, straight-shooting and widely respected by her peers, 44-year-old Cheryl Young is already regarded as one the leading matrimonial attorneys in Eastern Pennsylvania, and a great asset of Wolf, Block, Schorr & Solis-Cohen, a 200-attorney firm with seven offices throughout the region. Further, rivals say Young brings a down-to-earth common sense to a field with its share of histrionics and high drama. Growing up in Skokie, Ill., outside Chicago, Young knew early she wanted to be an attorney: "I saw that the law required being able to see both sides - yet be willing to be adversarial. And that was me." Besides, she adds, "My mother always said when I argued with her I usually won." She went on to Michigan State ("A big campus I loved") and later American University Law School in Washington, D.C. ("I wanted to try a different part of the country.") She met her husband, a Montgomery County native, in law school; they returned to Norristown and she joined a small general practice that gave her early trial experience. "I was the only woman doing litigation," she recalls, and partners began handing her divorce cases - "It was a matter of doing a good job and all of a sudden five more clients were knocking at my door. Next thing I knew I was a divorce lawyer." Though she never shied from litigation, Young is a skilled negotiator; in 1993, Young received a call from Wolf Block's Lynne Gold-Bikin, herself a well-known matrimonial attorney based in Norristown, who relayed a remarkable offer: A partnership at what was to become Gold-Bikin, Clifford & Young.

Three years later, they merged with prestigious Wolf Block. Since then Young's profile has only grown: her practice - and her reputation as a measured and level-headed practitioner - now extend throughout the region. The firm's nine-attorney Norristown office has diverse talents: Young's style contrasts with that of her more-combative peers, but she is no less successful; she sits on the firm's 12-member executive committee. In keeping with her natural leadership skills, Young served this year as president of the Montgomery Bar Association. Still, Young maintains a substantial caseload - "You've got to be organized and very efficient to do the job properly" - with most cases coming by referral. One rival says she may make a fine candidate for the bench down the road. With a pace only slightly slowed by recently joining a book-discussion group ("always fiction"), part of Young's success stems from her ability to balance the personal and professional. The mother of children ages 15 and 12, Young, her husband - himself a corporate attorney - and family live in Maple Glen.

http://www.tenleaders.com/law/matrim...-l-young/1210/

[Epcot luvr]

NewToDis I give you an A+ for your work on finding articles today and posting.

[DMRick]

Originally Posted by Epcot luvr

NewToDis I give you an A+ for your work on finding articles today and posting.

I agree..she certainly made for a lot of reading

[madge]

if you listen closely .. you can hear the execs at TLC laughing all the way to the bank .....

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/art...es_History.php

[newtodis]

More info on the attorney. She appears to be quite accomplished!

Cheryl L. Young
Shareholder
Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin

Biography

Ms. Young concentrates her practice in matrimonial law, which includes divorce, custody, support, property distribution and adoption. Ms. Young is a 1985 graduate of American University, Washington College of Law Review. She received her B.A. in Sciences in 1982 from Michigan State University.

Education

American University, Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C., 1985
J.D.

Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 1982
B.A. Sciences

Honors and Awards

Fellow, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
Pennsylvania Super Lawyers 2004 - 2008

Professional Associations and Memberships

Pennsylvania Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
Member

Pennsylvania Bar Association
Vice President, Family Law Section
Member, House of Delegates
Chair, Membership Committee
Chair, Outreach to Children Committee
Trustee, Insurance and Trust Fund

Montgomery Bar Association
Past President, 2004
Chair, PBA Liaison Committee
Past Chair, Family Law Committee, Young Lawyers Division
Past Member, Board of Directors

American Bar Association

Desmond J. McTighe Inn of Court


Teaching/Lecturing

Pennsylvania Bar Association Meeting – Hot Tips January 2007, January 2008
Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants Conference – November 2007

Publications

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue – and Don’t Forget the Prenupt, . . . . .

Avoiding Malpractice Traps in Divorce Cases, . . . . .

Ralston Purina Co. v. Encore Frozen Foods, Inc.: Token use Taken to the Limit?, . . . . .

Perception is Everything

Community

Board Member, Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Board Member, Montgomery Child Advocacy Project
Past President, Victims Services Center of Montgomery County
Past Board Member, Ambler Area YMCA


Bar Admissions

Pennsylvania

http://www.amicabledivorcepa.com/cheryl-l-young.html

[JBurke]

Originally Posted by newtodis

As Jon and Kate Gosselin prepare to move into separate homes, their eight children spent most of last night's episode of "John and Kate Plus 8" playing in four new playhouses of their own, ironically dubbed Crooked Houses.

On last night's episode of TLC's "Jon and Kate Plus 8," the family got playhouses from Crooked Houses, which cost thousands of dollars.

At a price tag of $7,000 apiece, the children's new houses were perhaps emblematic of the excesses the family has reaped as a result of its TLC show, which chronicles the parents' trials raising a brood that includes sextuplets and twins.



http://www.abcnews.go.com/Business/S...7907245&page=1

I cant believe in this economy, people would be willing to shell out so much cash for a playhouse. I didnt even think they were that great. They were cute on the outside, but nothing to the inside-pretty boring actually. There was hardly room to put anything in them either.
I kept waiting for one of the kids to get their fingers smashed in the doors.

[3prettyprincesses]

Originally Posted by madge

if you listen closely .. you can hear the execs at TLC laughing all the way to the bank .....

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/art...es_History.php

Ok Madge, I actually clicked on this looking for a video link! I took your joke literally! I think I need to get some caffeine quick, my senses are dulled.

Wow, 10.6 million viewers? That's huge!

[newtodis]

Originally Posted by Epcot luvr

NewToDis I give you an A+ for your work on finding articles today and posting.

Originally Posted by DMRick

I agree..she certainly made for a lot of reading

Aww thanks guys! I'm not so motivated to actually do my work they're paying me to do so I'm looking busy and working on something a bit more interesting....hopefully I'll find the motivation before they realize I'm working on J&K I like to read the information since the DIS is the only place I get mine other than googling to see what's "new" out there....

[newtodis]

Originally Posted by JBurke

I cant believe in this economy, people would be willing to shell out so much cash for a playhouse. I didnt even think they were that great. They were cute on the outside, but nothing to the inside-pretty boring actually. There was hardly room to put anything in them either.
I kept waiting for one of the kids to get their fingers smashed in the doors.

Agreed! I think I said (it's all running together now) earlier this morning at the beginning of this thread that I was surprised at how "unsafe" they appeared. They're super cute on the outside though - hopefully they hold up well in the winter weather there in PA.