Category Archives: family

by | June 19, 2009 · 11:09 am

today is national flip flop day!

flipflops

A SWTCTW Public Service Announcement:

Today is National Flip Flop day! As if you needed another reason to get a pedicure and wear your flip flops, you can actually do some good today AND get a free smoothie. If you go to a Tropical Smoothie Cafe wearing your flip flops, you’ll get a free smoothie. That’s all you have to do. The day is set up to benefit Camp Sunshine, a wonderful place where children with life-threatening illnesses can spend quality time with their families. So while you’re at Tropical Smoothie Cafe, buy the $1 paper flip flop and help out! Click here to see the Web site and find a local store!

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | June 16, 2009 · 10:09 am

love story meets viva la vida.

Say what you will about Taylor Swift (and I’ll say this: I unabashedly love her), but this arrangement is absolutely gorgeous. You have to watch until the end, where the composer talks about his daughter and how he arranged the piece for her. Even Kathleen teared up:

[Posted by Mallory]

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by | June 10, 2009 · 2:41 pm

kendra wilkinson’s having a baby bunny!

kendra-wilkinsonYup, former Girl Next Door Kendra is having a baby!  She announced her pregnancy when she was asked why she didn’t participate in the champagne toast at her bridal shower.  (Apparently, according to Perez, her mother and grandmother are pissed because they found out at the same time as everyone else…)  Congratulations to Kendra and her hubby-to-be, Eagles wide receiver Hank Baskett!  Can you imagine?  A baby bunny at Hef’s mansion, just coming to hang out and play.  That would bring a whole new meaning to the phrase “playmate”, would it not?

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | June 8, 2009 · 9:59 am

nostalgic monday: i miss ’90s nickelodeon.

Kathleen must be given credit for finding this wonderful link to 25 of Nickelodeon’s Best Original Songs, but she didn’t post about it yet, so I win! Mwhaha.

I thoroughly enjoyed purusing these videos yesterday, because watching Nickelodeon took up about 50% of my childhood. The other 50% was spent eating some form of fast food almost every night. (My mom used to work late as a nurse and was horrified to discover, a decade later, that chicken fingers and french fries made up a substantial protion of her daughters’ diets. Thanks, Daddy!)

My sister and I love to try to remember all of the Nickelodeon shows that we were obsessed with, and this Top 25 Songs list helps with that. I mean, Doug is a given. But shows like My Brother and Me? Totally forgot about it! Clarissa Explains It All? Amazing. (Don’t pretend you didn’t have the biggest crush ever on Sam. It made me wish I lived on the second floor just so that my best guy friend could have a ladder and sneak into my room whenever he wanted.) And I’m not sure whether to be proud or embarrassed that I still know all the words to the Salute Your Shorts theme songs. I could have used a few references to Wild ‘n’ Crazy Kids or Guts, but I’ll take what I can get with this brilliant piece of You Tube-y nostaglia.

These days, I feel pretty bad for the kids who weren’t allowed to watch as much teevee as I was. What happens if “Nickelodeon Shows” is a Kings category? What if people start talking about how weird it was that Alex Mack turned into silver goo, and you don’t get the reference? How humiliating. (If you are one of those kids, please do yourself a favor and memorize the songs from the Top 25 list. Then you can probably fake your way through most of the references.)

So, to get all big picture for a second…it’s sort of strange to think that I spent so much time watching the teevee and eating horrific fast food, and ended up turning out okay. Of course, I played outside a ton, and I’m sure my mom snuck some vegetables in my diet when my dad wasn’t looking, but if a kid exposed to all that trash and poison managed to get through college and has turned out reasonably healthy and normal, do parents these days really need to be obsessing over Baby Einstein and organic milk and French lessons? I wrote a few speeches on this in college, and now I’m sort of obsessed with this topic. There’s certainly a lot to think about, there. (If you want to read a legitimate article about this, not just the ramblings of an unmarried, childless 20-something, check out this NY Times Magazine article.)

But since I’m (erm, hopefully!) many years away from worrying about this stuff fer real, let’s all just join together and appreciate the awesomeness that was Nickelodeon in the ’90s:

And speaking of le television, if you need a new show to get addicted to this summer, and you’re four years behind the times like I am, please start watching Weeds. You won’t regret it.

KILLER UPDATE: From a Gchat conversation with my friend Rachel, because I know you love getting inside looks at my deep, deep Gchat convos. (Background: Rachel and her friend Meghan are frm South Orange, NJ):

Rachel: here’s a tidbit u will enjoy
they filmed pete and pete in south orange
me: no way!
Rachel: and used meghan’s house for hair and makeup etc
me: NO FUCKING WAY!
Rachel: not the whole thing of the show just parts
me: THAT IS THE COOLEST THING IVE HEARD ALL DAY

It doesn’t take much to get me riled up on a Monday morning, I guess.

[Posted by Mallory]

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by | June 3, 2009 · 9:35 am

sesame street teaches us about marriage.

Here’s a cute clip that’s been going around the Interwebs lately.  What I love about it is how Sesame Street defines marriage as two people who hug and kiss, live together, love each other and are best friends. [Insert Bert and Ernie joke here. Ha!]  Does that scare you, NOM? The Sesame Street definition is simple, and probably the best one I’ve ever heard.  We are never too old to learn lessons from Sesame Street.  Thank you, Jesse and Grover!  (PS- How adorable is Jesse?!)

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | June 2, 2009 · 5:25 pm

kate gosselin shows off her stomach.

America’s obsession with the Gosselins is getting ridiculous.  Today, one of the top Googled searches is for Kate Gosselin in a bikini and these pictures are flying around the Interwebs like craaaaaaaaazy.  Normally, I’d be a little weirded out by that kind of Google search (because it’s usually done by pervy dudes who live in their parents’ basement).  But this one, I kind of get.  I mean, the lady has had eight kids.  Sick curiousity makes you want to look.  By the way, TMZ calls her haircut the reverse mullet.  Agreed.  I HATE IT.

Here is what she looked like preggo and before she became a teevee MOMster:

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So here is what she looks like, five years later, in a bikini:

Kate Gosselin

Kate Gosselin

Ah the wonders of a tummy tuck and a personal trainer.  I’ll admit it, she is a pretty sassy mama of eight.  Minus the HIDEOUS hair and attitude.  Kate Gosselin, I give you the obligatory RAWR.

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | May 12, 2009 · 12:15 pm

tyler frost gets suspended for dancing.

tylerfrostOf all the ridiculous things I’ve read today, this trumps them all.

Poor Tyler Frost.  All the senior in high school wanted to do was escort his lady love to her sinful, pagan public school prom and maybe move in sync to the musical stylings of Taylor Swift, and whatever Godless slow-jam-last-dance song those high school kids are listening to these days.  And his school suspended him.

That’s because Tyler’s school, Heritage Christian School in Ohio, forbids dancing, rock music, and fun.  IT’S JUST LIKE THE MOVIE FOOTLOOSE!  It doesn’t specifically say fun, but whatev.  Might as well.  But you know, there are other reasons as well.  Here is part of the statement from the school’s principal, Tim England:

In the Old Testament, Joseph was in a place of temptation and he fled. Unlike this situation, he didn’t put himself in that place. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.” II Timothy 2:22 says, “Flee also youthful lusts but follow after righteousness faith charity and peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” When the school committee, many years before I became the principal, set up the policy regarding dancing, I am confident that they had the principle of fleeing lustful situations in mind. The question as I see it is, should a Christian place themselves at an event where young ladies will have low cut dresses and be dancing in them? Isn’t it contrary to the example of Joseph and the verses that I stated?

I did some research and came across Friendlyatheist.com, which fights Bible fire with Bible fire.  Thanks for providing us with the verse, FriendlyAtheist!

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 (King James Version)

1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

All sassiness aside, I think there’s something deeper here.  Dance, whether Mr. England chooses to acknowledge it or not, is embedded in the history of humanity.  As cliche as it is, people use dance to express themselves.  People dance at weddings– Christian weddings– to celebrate and show joy.  Little children dance (read= jump up and down and wave their arms) when they’re happy, and they just don’t know why.  In fact, there’s a budding genre of dance called Liturgical dance.  It’s a prayer in the form of dance.  Some people find dance so beautiful and spiritual that they use it as a way to praise the Lord.

Taking away dance is denying an important act of humanity.  Not that I, nor anyone else, should speak for the big guy upstairs, but I don’t think punishing someone for being human is what was intended.

Tyler and his stepfather, Stephan Johnson, went on CBS’ “The Early Show” this morning.  Watch that.  He said he doesn’t regret going to the prom.  I sure hope not.  I hope that he is allowed to walk at his graduation this year.  And when he does, I hope he dances on stage.

And now, a song that I dedicate to dear Tyler. I hope you dance, dude.

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | May 6, 2009 · 10:31 am

jon, minus kate and 8, cheats.

jon-and-kate-gosselinSCROLL DOWN FOR STORY UPDATES

I just read some devastating, but kind of unsurprising, news.  Jon Gosselin of “Jon and Kate Plus 8” definitely cheated on Kate.  US Weekly has the whole story, which includes pictures.  The other woman is Deanna Hummel, a 23-year-old third grade teacher.  Her brother, Jason, lives with her and that’s why he can give all the juicy details.  And in case you’re wondering, he’s just trying to protect his sister, not get publicity for himself or somehow finagle money out of this.  Of course.

In fact, he’s trying to protect her so much that he takes away all of her privacy and any of her dignity with this gem of a quote:

A lot of the time, it was pretty, um, gross listening to her, you know, um — how do I say this? The walls are thin. Let’s just say that. I mean, no one wants to hear his sister having sex, let alone with a married dude who’s, like, almost twice her age and who has eight kids and a maybe-crazy wife. Ick. Nast.

Ick? Nast?  Gross.  I don’t really want to talk about the content of that quote, but I am obligated to point out that Jon isn’t “like, almost twice her age.”  He’s 32, and she’s 23.  He’s 14 years short of being twice her age.  Just sayin’.

This whole thing is a mess.

Two weeks ago, when pictures surfaced of Jon in a car with “the mystery woman” (it was Deanna) leaving a club, he made this statement.

“I went to Legends to speak to the owner.  A friend of mine wanted to check out my car, so I let her drive it to her car,” he says. “Yes, I have female friends — but that is all she is. I’m not going to end my friendships just because I’m on TV.”

Now Jon, that was stupid.  Kate is going to hit you extra hard now when you’re sitting in that big chair talking about your day and the lessons you learned.  Kate doesn’t like it when the kids lie, I doubt she’ll be very kind to you.

I wonder what TLC is going to do.  They said “no comment” on the story last time.   It’s all awful, and despite me thinking that Kate is really mean to Jon, there is no justification for his actions.  He doesn’t get a pass.  He has eight children under the age of seven.  What on earth was he thinking?  Did he think that nobody would recognize him?

I’m sad for the family, and most of all the children.  One of the things the Gosselin’s show was praised for is how “real” it is.  And we, their audience, really liked that.  Well, the scenes with the kids are real.  But the family dynamic is larger than just the day to day silliness of the kids.

Will this change the way you see the show?

Oh, and Aaden, if things get too tough at home, you can come live with me and Mallory.  We’ll raise you.  And get you a cuter pair of glasses.

UPDATED!

Here are the statements from Deanna Hummel and Jon Gosselin from People magazine:

“My brother is making this all up,” Hummel tells PEOPLE. “He has no credibility … I can’t even stomach the lies he’s saying about me.”  Hummel continues to deny any sort of romantic relationship with Gosselin, and the elementary school teacher admits that there’s been bad blood between her and her brother for a while now. “My brother is very shady,” says Hummel. “He has no job. He has a criminal background. He was charged for drug distribution. He’s on probation right now.”

“These allegations are false and just plain hurtful,” Gosselin says in a statement exclusively to PEOPLE. “As I adjust to the attention that comes from being in the public eye, I need to be more careful and aware of who I am associating with and where I am spending my time. But the bottom line is, I did not cheat on Kate.

And the plot thickens!

Here are the pictures.  Who do you believe?

gosselin_01

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | April 16, 2009 · 7:34 pm

surgery means like daughter, like mother.

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The tree didn’t fall far from the apple.  Like daughter, like mother.  Obviously these are backwards, but they kind of make sense for Janet and Jane Cunliffe.  Janet, the mother (and the one on the left), wanted so much to look like her daughter, that she spent about 15,000 bucks to do so.

The best thing to do with this story is to give you the quotes from the story, which appeared in one of the UK’s prestigious beacons of journalism, The Daily Mail.

‘It might sound barmy that I had cosmetic surgery to look like my daughter, but she’s gorgeous. Who wouldn’t want to look like her?

‘The way I see it is that she got her looks from me in the first place – mine have just faded with age.

‘Seeing how attractive Jane is made me want to get my looks back. Now instead of mum and daughter we look more like twins. I had good genes and good skin, but I needed a helping hand to make me feel better about myself.’

Barmy indeed, Janet.  That’s a pretty expensive helping hand, wouldn’t you say?  Here’s something else that sort of got my attention.  The way she talks, you’d think she just got new boobies and a face lift or something.  Well, I know you’ve been dying to see what her “before” picture looks like.  FEAST YOUR EYES ON THIS!

FIERCE!

FIERCE!

Janet’s first foray into plastic surgery was her boobs.  Apparently her husband was not too impressed, and with words worthy of a Pulitzer, The Daily Mail states:

Alas, the new breasts weren’t enough to save her marriage.

Brilliant writing!

So Janet and her husband divorce.  Janet moves to Spain with a lover.  Janet and her lover call it quits, so she has nowhere to go.  She moves in with her daughter, Jane.  She began to party with Jane and Jane’s friends.  The saggy saga continues.

‘Jane and her friends are so glamourous and gorgeous that I stood out like a sore thumb. I felt like an old bag,’ she says. ‘Jane told me not to be so self-critical, but I knew it was true.’

Jane didn’t say it was false…

‘I envied Jane’s crinkle-free eyes, full lips and luscious, long blonde hair,’ says Janet. ‘I was desperate to look more like my daughter, but knew no wrinkle creams could ever wind back the clock that far.’

Janet just had to do something!

‘I had some savings and knew if I wanted to look more like Jane then I’d have to get my eyes done first, and my nose.’

So now, when Janet and Jane go out, people think they look like sisters… or twins.  But I’d say those who call them twins have been drinking too much. Bleached hair and big boobs does not necessarily mean that they are twins.

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Another cute pic of the girls (notice that Jane is wearing the same outfit that Janet is wearing in the picture above!):

article-1170348-0460c4f8000005dc-903_468x496

And I’m speechless.

Apparently Jane doesn’t care and thinks her mom looks better than Madonna, but I’m not so sure.  I mean, how would you feel?  Sure, people get plastic surgery– that doesn’t bother me.  If that’s what they need to do to feel better, then alright.  But I think it’s a little bizarre that a mother would get plastic surgery to look like her daughter.  It just seems…odd.  Am I wrong here?

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | April 15, 2009 · 2:00 pm

hate cats, but this is adorable.

Well, I guess they are kittens, not cats.  THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.  Anyway, I was shown this video over the weekend and I’ve been dying to post it.  (Weekend away=no blogging).  “Kittens inspired by kittens” is a masterpiece!  Enjoy!

[Posted by Kathleen]

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