Eight is Great!
The Gosselins wanted just one more baby after having twins. They got six additional bundles of joy plus a reality television show.
Shrieks of glee and the sound of 16 pattering little feet make the Gosselin family home sound like a war zone. It's a dull rumbling that suddenly bursts through the door in tears to complain about baby throw-up. Kate Gosselin sighs.
"For the past few weeks, we've really been exerting our wills," she said through deep breaths from her Pennsylvania home.
If this were a war, then Kate, 32, and her husband Jon, 30, are outnumbered. They have to contend with eight children who are as Kate describes, so cute you either want to eat them up or squish them a little harder.
Yes, eight healthy and happy kids: seven-year-old twins Cara and Mady and sextuplets Alexis, Aaden, Collin, Leah, Hannah and Joel.
The sextuplets, who were conceived through fertility treatment because Jon and Kate wanted just one more child, created a media sensation when they were born May 10, 2004.
"They're in their terrible threes ... horrendous threes," said Kate with a laugh.
Of course, there is also a fair share of scatological humor and giggles about bodily functions. Jon, who is half Korean, has passed on some words he picked up from his Hawaiian parents.
Every time the kids let a little toot of air slip they proudly announce, "Mommy, I bhang goo-ed!"
How Do You Do It??
It's perhaps the most popular question flung at the couple who got married in 1999 after a chance meeting at a picnic. So the Discovery Health Channel sought to fill in the blanks with the reality television show, "Jon and Kate Plus 8," which captures every gurgle, triumph and potty training session.
"We just agreed that it's okay as long as it's normal for us and our kids," said Kate about letting cameras into their home. "If it's not fun anymore, we'll have to stop and reevaluate."
They are currently filming their second season and set to go on a long adventurous road trip, which will be a part of the next season. For now, it's business as usual, and their slice of life is fascinating just because of the sheer chaos.
A typical day in the Gosselin household begins at 8 a.m. when Kate, a former nurse, wakes up to sounds of the sextuplets playing. Sometimes she sends the twins down to entertain the toddlers until breakfast at 9 a.m. Some more playing takes place and then they take a field trip outdoors for lunch before naptime.
"On a good day, they sleep for one to three hours. On a bad day they don't sleep at all and spend the day shredding books and creating havoc. I don't know what I'm going to get," said Kate.
Dinner is usually at 6 p.m. when Jon, a government information technology supervisor, comes home. By that time, Kate is watching the clock and softly saying, "C'mon. C'mon." When Jon's car finally rolls up the driveway, "we scream," she said.
"We don't have a lot of flexibility. It's hard work. There are a lot of people in the house at one time," said Kate about the handful of cameramen and producers. "But we are collecting all these memories. We're going to look back on and feel so glad we did this."
Having a camera in the house is humdrum for the kids who all have their own very unique personalities. After all, don't all kids get their own television show?
The Camera's Unrelenting Gaze
"The series has been like marriage counseling for us. It's like another set of eyes," said Jon. "Our communication has improved."
Besides the kids, it's the couple's unflinching interactions that make the show so watchable. Like any other couple, they grate against each other and raise their voices a notch too high while shopping, but in post interviews after watching the footage they hold hands and laugh.
"In the heat of the moment, you say what you say, but later when you see it, you say 'I'm sorry I said that,'" said Jon.
"There were so many people following us," said Kate. "They invested so many prayers and time on us. We get e-mails from people who say that we show the real side - REAL in all capitals - of parenting. Why would I sugarcoat my life?"
The show has also opened up opportunities for the family to travel and meet talk show hosts like Martha Stewart and Dr. Phil. When the Gosselins came to Los Angeles to film a "Dr. Phil" show, they took the kids to a Vietnamese restaurant in Beverly Hills. One of twins looked around and said, "There are so many Asians here."
"We don't live in a very Asian populated area. It's very rural here," said Jon.
But letting cameras into their home also meant letting strangers into their lives. For the Gosselins, criticism about their marriage and their parenting skills comes with the territory. On the Discovery Health Channel chat forum, viewers have devoted ample space to dissecting their marriage, but they've learned to tune those out.
They're in for a new big challenge - they have to potty train the three boys.
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