Thursday, November 10, 2011

19 Kids and Counting: A Big Q&A

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This episode was your standard Q&A show on TLC. Everyone does it. Unfortunately, some of the questions asked were repeats that have been answered in the past. Some of them were answered in the books, so I don't expect everyone to have read those. Some have been asked on the show before, which irritates me slightly; some were already responded to this season, and that really ticked me off. I mean, if you are truly interested in courting one of the Duggar girls, you know the routine by now... it's been stressed a half-dozen times at least. Still, I did learn a few new things from this episode, and that makes me happy. I've included most everything that was brought up, regardless of whether I already knew the answer. Anything interesting stand out to you in this repository?

19 Kids and Counting "Duggars: All You Wanted to Know" (S08E10):
Q: How many grocery carts do you need per week, and how many boxes of cereal does the family eat in a morning? About 4 boxes of cereal. Sometimes it's 4-7 carts for a big trip. They've spent up to $1300 at the grocery before. Lately, they tend to send someone every couple of days with a shorter list. [this last part piques my interest... I wonder why that's hwo it's being done lately...]

Q: Do you use coupons? Most of the stores they shop at are wholesale grocery stores that don't accept coupons. [I get annoyed at that, too. Costco would be AMAZING if they took coupons other than their own (which you don't actually need to clip, by the way. they'll give you the price when they scan your card upon check-out).] Maybe they could save more, but that would be a full-time job for someone in the household. 

Q: What do you do when bad storms, like tornadoes, come your way? They huddle in an interior clothes closet. They have tornado drills to practice, too. They are considering building a safe room. [what? really? for so many people? seems impractical...]

Q: Do you like beetles? They try to exterminate. [this was one of the more random (albeit original) questions of the episode.]

Q: Why is it a family rule not to dance? It's more of a personal conviction not to shake your body parts around to draw attention and stir up desires. [maybe this dead horse can die this time around...]

Q: How do the kids get along so well? Constantly training them to treat others as they want to be treated and putting others first. [let's not forget... JOY - Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last.]

Q: Do you ever mix up the names or forget them? Yes. Both the kids and the parents are guilty of doing so. [I don't consider this to be a big deal. My mom had moments where she'd get us mixed up and there were only three of us. On more than one occasion she went through all three names to get to the one that was appropriate, LoL.]

Q: Do you give the kids timeouts? Yes, but not really as correction, but rather when they're rowdy, to calm them down before trouble brews. They might sit down with a book, etc. for some quiet time.

Q: How do you bathe all the kids consistently? An assembly line - fill the tub and the cleanest one comes first. [... like the middle ages? ewwww... "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!]

Q: How do you get the kids to go to bed on time? They have family Bible time at like 8:30pm or 9pm. The kids tend to fall asleep. They listen to a preaching message as they fall asleep. Duggars under 6 take naps.

Q: What if a teen kisses a boy or girl by accident? How would it happen on accident? [yeah, what does that mean??] If it was on purpose, it might be a thing. But most of the kids have expressed a desire to only kiss their spouses. [most? meaning some haven't said that's their plan? or some just aren't old enough yet to express their thoughts?]

Q: Is Jim a real soundman or a hired actor to boost ratings? He is a real soundman, but also acts as a grandfather figure to the family. The kids call him "Uncle Jim." [really? who thought the guy was hired to improve the ratings? that makes so little sense!]

Q: How do you spend individual time with the kids? They take 1-2 at a time on errands, and it's at those times that they have heart-to-hearts then. Plus, the homeschooling helps. [...neither of those apply to the oldest group of kids...]

Q: Do any of the family have twitter or facebook accounts? Josh and Anna had a facebook page, but it was reported fake so it was removed. There are a bunch of fake accounts on twitter and facebook, but the only real one is by TLC on facebook. [I was amused that Josh and Anna had one. They seem to be enjoying trying out things that they didn't grow up with... I'd like to see more about that sort of thing.]

Q: How does the family get everyone ready and out the door? They generally don't get anywhere on time. It generally takes 2 hours to get out the door.

Q: Is it possible to become a Duggar for a day? First, JimBob jokes that your name would have to start with a J. Michelle adds that you need to be prepared to jump in and help clean. She also points out that you'd probably want to wear earplugs - it's noisy with music practice, etc. Dan Harris from Good Morning America did it for a day, let's not forget!

Q: How do JimBob and Michelle you spend quality time together? They try to have date nights once a week.

Q: Have you thought about your children joining the military? They'd be honored if any of the kids choose to serve the nation that way. [I could see a couple of the younger boys looking into it...]

Q: How do you stay humble and grounded in the lord with all the publicity? They look at it as an opportunity to share their principles and such. They have a lot of ministry opportunities because of it. [I thought this was a good answer.]

Q: Why all the J names? The first three names were coincidence, after that they just never wanted someone to feel left out. [I don't even know how many times they've gone over this!]

Q: Will Josh and Anna go with all M names? They liked the first two names, but will consider continuing the trend when they need to think about it.

Q: What would it take to date one of the Duggar girls? Get to know the girl, find out about their goals and values. Talk to JimBob, as he knows what the ladies are looking for. [again, REPEAT!]

Q: When the older girls are "married off," who will take over the responsibilities? It'll work since the jurisdictions switch around and everyone learns to do everything. [you KNOW this question came from the internet!]

Q: Any plans for a Duggar cookbook? Both of the books and the website have some of their recipes. [note that JimBob didn't technically say "no," though...]

Q: Who will be the next to marry? Nobody is named, but Jill doesn't think it'll go in birth order. [does this perhaps hint at the fact she'll go before Jana? The internet already believes that JohnDavid is on his way out the door...]

Q: Without TV in the house, how do the kids get entertainment? There's always things going on. Drawing pictures playing basketball, playing games, broomball, etc. [are you kidding? who asks this? Was it a young kid?]

Q: What church do they go to? They used to belong to a mega-church. 12 years ago or so, they joined a small Baptist church, and they hold it at their house (or others' houses). There's fellowship, sports, music, meals, etc. on Sundays.

Q: Do you ever lose your temper with your children? They struggle. JimBob says Michelle is a calm person who speaks with a quiet voice. [another instance where they kinda dodge the actual question...]

Q: What is the biggest challenge of being in a large family? Laundry - they do 10 loads a day! Jinger & Grandma are all over that. JimBob says just getting around is a hassle. [both are quite believable! The 10 loads a day thing seemed a bit strange, though. In one day, 21-30 sets of clothes are worn. If only one person wore 30 outfits, that would be a month. When I lived alone I did 2-3 loads every other week MAX, which would be 6 loads for 30 outfits... and we know that they have large-capacity machines... I guess all the sheets and towel add up fast, though?]

Q: How do you celebrate birthdays and Christmas with so many kids? Birthday lunch at their favorite restaurant with just them and maybe their buddies. They also go shopping for a gift. Then, something as a family - go-karts, arcade, etc.

Q: What is the secret to fertility? God is the giver of life. Pray. Adopt. [...oooook.]

Q: Do Michelle or JimBob have any family members that oppose the large family thing? Michelle says yes.

Q: How did the family get through Josie's premature issues? Cry out to God. Stay together as a family in Little Rock.

Q: What brought on the need to bring that many kids into a society that's overpopulated? Overpopulation is a myth. [I'm not going to touch that one.] Raise kids who will help make a difference - love the Lord and serve and love others. [agree!!]

At this point, the family gathers for a group picture and instead of saying "say cheese," JimBob springs it on the family that Michelle is going to have another baby, so the photo is the faces in reaction. [I thought it was a rather unique way of breaking the news, though the whole "we haven't had a group picture since Michael was born" seemed like a dumb reason. the "really?" in unison sounded a bit staged.] Most of the kids were pretty excited, but a few had strange looks on their faces. We even see Jana, who genuinely seemed happy about it. Michelle is feeling morning sickness all day. If it's a girl, they will have 10 boys and 10 girls. Anna looks forward to more babies, Josh seemed a little iffy. Then, we have some more questions...

Q: What do you think the reaction of others will be? The health concerns because of what happened with Josie.

Q: Do you think you'll take some criticism? Michelle: Yes, most definitely.

Q: What are you thinking having another child? Michelle: Looking into Josie's face, I'd do it again.
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