Jon & Kate Plus 8

Yes, I have been watching the saga of the Gosselin family for 4 seasons now. Last night I watched the opening episode of season 5. I haven't read any of the articles in the magazines at the grocery checkout line -- just the headlines. So I don't know if Jon really cheated. I don't know if Kate really made an agreement with him to allow him to cheat. I don't know if she had an affair with her body guard. What I do know is that I enjoyed their show because they were a normal family but with more children than normal. They fought, they loved, they played, they worked. They just lived their lives and did the best they could to raise their 8 children. Basically, they were like my family only with a few less children (and of course our kids came along one at a time). Now they seem like a celebrity family with a huge house, fancy toys, expensive vacations, and a staff of employees including bodyguards and nannies. They don't come across as a normal family working together anymore. Given what I've seen on the show and what I saw in last night's episode, here's my unsolicited advice for the Gosselin family...

Kate -- Quit the book tour. Quit the speaking engagements. Stay home with your children. Play with them. Read books with them. Just enjoy them.

Jon -- Get a job. Get a job outside the home. Cultivate friendships with other dads.

I would never want my family's life put on television so I would stop the show immediately. I understand, however, that they make a lot of money doing this, and that's probably asking too much of them. But what is it doing to the kids?

I have started watching a new show on TLC called "Table for Twelve" that I enjoy so much more than Jon & Kate. The Hayes family also has several sets of multiples -- 2 sets of twins and a set of sexteplets. But they come across as a very normal family, a family I can relate to. Mom stays home with the kids while dad works as a police officer. Their home is chaotic at times and so is mine. They laugh at the chaos and I *try* to to do same. What's different about these 2 families -- the Hayes and the Gosselins? I think maybe the Hayes come across like the Gossleins USED TO. So to Jon & Kate -- go back to your roots. Go back to what brought you together in the first place. Take down the facade and be real, like you used to.