Oh, dear God - she's gone and done it again...

I'm at a little bit of a loss for words today.

It has just come to my attention that Michelle Duggar is pregnant with her 19th child.

Now, a few months ago I had quite the fascination with this family, which led me to write several posts about the Duggars. I'll be honest - when I look back at them now, I realize I was a bit harsh from time to time, and I'm really not a mean-spirited person at heart, so forgive me if some of the stuff I said was a little much.

I even started a weekly feature on the blog called Freaky Fridays where I posted something Duggar related. It only took a couple weeks for my guilty conscience to kick in, and I halted the Freaky Friday posts.

Since I wrote the original posts, I'll admit the show is on my DVR, and from time to time, I watch it. I've grown to tolerate the family a little more, but I still think something is definitely wrong with Michelle's head.

I mean, hello! Her first child and his wife are expecting their first child in a month, and here she is, going on The Today Show announcing it's time for their 19th. I'd be just a bit freaked out if my mom kept having babies on purpose, even though she's a grandma.

Thoughts? I'd love to hear them.

And, if you're interested in reading my past posts about the Duggars, check them out below. I'm prepared for my follower count to drop...

The original Duggar post - my letter to Michelle Duggar

Oh, no he didn't - when Dennis taped A Very Duggar Wedding as a joke

Gettin' Jiggy Wit' It, Duggar Style - The oldest Duggar kid gets hitched

Duggar factoids for the newbies

Jim Bob explains he can't keep Michelle off of him

I think I've created a monster...

Seriously. Someone needs to take my temperature. I think I'm coming down with something.

I DVR'd "Bringing Home Baby Duggar." Do you think it's safe to say that I've officially gone off the deep end? Please, please don't answer that...it was a rhetorical question.

When I started blogging I never imagined that I would suddenly take such an interest in this family. I'm blaming it on Mama Kat because I never blogged about them until she prompted me to write a letter to someone who bothered me, and I happened to choose Michelle Duggar. Click here to read the letter.

Now I just can't stop. The family has always intrigued me and freaked me out a bit, but the more I learn, the more sucked in I get.

I think Michelle is sending out some sort of weird voo doo vibes through the television or something. I don't know.

Anyway, I don't want to overdo it, so I think I'm going to start a "sometimes weekly" slot for my reflections on the Duggars. I am hesitant to say it will be every week because I hate pressure, and that's too much pressure. So, it just depends on if I have material and if I have time. It will be called - Freaky Fridays: Your Weekly Dose of the Duggars or something similar to that anyway.

I'll change it up from week to week so you won't have to constantly be reading these hugely long posts about why the Duggars baffle me. Some weeks we'll have longer commentary, other weeks it'll be quick thoughts, and we'll even throw in a video here and there.

It's going to be crazy, fun times, people. Crazy, fun times. Emphasis on the crazy.

And for my regular readers who are wondering, Miss Kaylee is doing a bit better. Still not 100%, but she's getting better. Last night she was groggy again after throwing up, but we knew she was okay because she was clapping in her sleep. :) Thanks for the well wishes!

Oooooh, no he didn't...

Yes. Yes, he did.

The following conversation took place this morning at our house:

Dennis: Oh. Hey, hon! Guess what I DVR'd for you?

Me: I don't know. What?

Dennis: Guess.

Me: I don't want to guess. Just tell me.

Dennis: I'll give you a clue. It's about one of your favorite people EVER!

Me: *naively thinking he is being serious, I jog through the possible choices in my head - Brad Pitt, Stephen Colbert, Will Ferrell...* I don't know! Just tell me!

Dennis: I recorded "A Very Duggar Wedding!!!"

Me: You did NOT.

Dennis: Yes, I did. *insert evil grin here*

And, yes, we watched it. Out of pure, morbid curiosity. And it's a good thing I can type without looking at the keys because I jabbed both my eyes out with a butter knife by the time the show ended.

Tune in tomorrow to find out what fun new things I learned about my favorite family ever - The Duggars.

(And if you actually believe they're my favorite family ever, I think you better go read my letter to Michelle Duggar.)

Michael Phelps, the Michelle Duggar wannabe, and a few other things weighin' on my mind...

This week for Mama Kat's Thursday Writer's Workshop, I could have written a poem, told you about a talent I have, shared a lie I told, or - OR - I could choose to do one of my most favorite hobbies - write a list. The list must be made up of ten things that were on my mind this week. That shouldn't be a problem, since the wheels are always turning up in this noggin. So, let's get on with the list, shall we?

Ok.

1. Michael Phelps. What the hell, Michael Phelps? You let someone take a picture of you smoking pot? Your a friggin' celebrity, dude. Have you not heard about Paris Hilton's little snafu? And now you're trying to pass this off as a youthful mistake? You used up your stupid youthful mistakes quota when you got your DUI at age 19. Knock it off, dude. Like you NEED something to give you more of the munchies - you already eat 80 bajillion calories a day and have zero percent body fat (for that I hate you, by the way). Quit being such a cotton-headed ninny muggins, you stupid fool.

2. The lady who had 8 babies at once. Ok, so at first I heard the story and I was all, "WOW. That's so amazing - the babies were all born healthy! What fantastic news - this is such a miracle." Yadda, yadda, yadda. Then I find out she already HAD 6 kids and now she's asking for $2 million before she'll give any interviews and such. Father of the babies - not involved, apparently. Two words, people: NUT CASE. Why are such stupid people allowed to keep having babies? She's on the fast track for the Michelle Duggar plan, I guess...

3. It's great to be done nursing, but I forgot about the fact that I no longer burn 500 - 1,000 calories a day for being a dairy cow. Dammit. My pants are starting to be too tight. Now I actually have to do workouts that make me sweat. Someone pass me a tissue, I'm about to cry...

4. I've been a little nervous that maybe Kaylee will start to walk soon. She is now pulling herself up to a standing position like it's nobody's business. And she crawls faster than her little legs can keep up with sometimes. I think it's only a matter of time until she discovers that there's an even faster way to move. Well, tonight I find out that my husband and his sister each walked at 9 months old. Now, what has become a nagging thought in the back of my mind for the past week has become a potential case of severe heartburn. For Pete's Sake, I'm still trying to child proof my house appropriately for a crawler. God help me, but I'm going to push the kid down (ever so gently) when she stands without support. I will do it. And you will not stop me.

5. What the FRICK is up with all these "tell us 25 things about yourself" facebook tags? Holy jeepers, people. I think I've received 875,326 requests to tell you 25 random things about myself. Everyone and their brother is doing this (well, except me, and my brother now that I think of it - I don't think he's done it...). And I'm not. So keep sending me your requests all you want, but I'm not doing it. Even if a teeny weeny part of myself wants to do it, just because...

6. I continue to think about my decision to stop breastfeeding Kaylee, and I continue to have more confidence that I made the right choice. At the same time, I was a little overwhelmed with all the comments that other women had in response to my post about being done. Holy crap, people. Every comment talked about a struggle with breast feeding in one way or the other. Never in one place have I read so many open and honest struggles with the issue. It has really got me thinking, and in fact - I've gotten a little upset that the issue of breastfeeding induces so much guilt among mothers. Guilt that they don't breastfeed. Guilt that they DID breastfeed, but not long enough. Guilt that they could breastfeed one child and not the other. Promoting breastfeeding is a great and all, but it's become a bit more clear to me that SOMEONE had better start sending out the message that if you don't breastfeed you're not a bad mother, and that if you don't have problems along the way, well then - guess what? You're in the frickin' MINORITY, people. *stepping off that soapbox*

7. I've had the chance to have a few consecutive days off of work, and I'm realizing that I'm beginning to feel more confident and comfortable in my role as a mother. I'm starting to loosen up a bit. I don't worry quite as much about if I'm doing things the right way. I'm having more FUN, and I'm not taking myself so seriously or being as hard on myself. Most of the time.

8. Money. This always seems to be on my mind these days. Whether it's trying to balance the checkbook, pay the bills, figure out new ways to save, clipping coupons, or worrying about not having enough days of work this month, it's always there - always in the back of my mind. Sometimes I wish that it weren't an issue - that it was not something that caused me stress. But, if I had so much money that I wasn't stressed out about money, I think I'd have a whole nother set of issues, and frankly - I think I'd rather worry about not having enough.

9. I've also been wishing that I had more time to catch up on all the shows I have DVR'd. I love that stinkin' machine - I just wish I wasn't so far behind on my shows. And I wish I had a pair of 3-D glasses so I could watch Chuck. It looks funny this week if you're not wearing 3-D glasses. Anyone know where I can get a pair?

10. Ok, so remember my post about cleaning my house all day while my mom watched Kaylee? I got my kitchen, living room and dining room all cleaned? Well, we're approaching 2 weeks of keeping those rooms clean, and I'm still scratching my head about how we're managing to pull it off. I guess it's not so bad when you can just maintain it on a daily basis. I kinda feel like giving myself a quick pat on the back. But then following that pat, I feel like giving myself a swift kick in the pants because I still have 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, an office, a car, and a garage that need cleaning, too. Ahhh, cleaning, shmeaning. Always on my mind...

Not diggin' this Duggar

As part of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop, I'm writing a letter to someone who bothers me.

Who is the lucky recipient of my letter, you ask?























In case you live under a rock, that's Michelle Duggar, wife to Jim Bob Duggar, mother to EIGHTEEN children, and I've been wanting to talk to her for quite some time now. I've finally been given the opportunity to share my thoughts with this famous baby mama (thank you, Mama Kat), so I'm hoping Michelle will take some time out of her busy (Get it? Busy? 18 kids? Busy? Never mind...) life to respond to my questions.

Dear Michelle,

Yo. Hey, first, I just want to tell you that I really appreciate you taking a short break from procreating in order to read my letter. I mean, I don't mean to crimp your style (that wasn't a hair joke - your hair is ........ lovely?), but to be honest, you bother me a little bit.

I'm concerned about you. You have 18 children. Were you aware of that? I mean, if you weren't aware of that I'm not blaming you or criticizing you or anything. I mean, shoot - I'd have lost track of them by now. I realize that back in the day, people had lots of kids. People who had 18 kids probably didn't even get a second glance when people walked past them on the cobblestone roads in their horse-drawn carriages - all 18 kids in tow.

Now it's not so common, and consequently, you've become quite an iconic family in America. People are fascinated by you. I mean, here you are - over 40, you're popping out babies left and right, and you haven't demanded that your husband get the old snippety snip yet. In fact, I've read that he says that the decision of whether to have more children is up to you since you're the one who has to carry them and labor through the births. Nice guy. He's considerate.

And you're a little bit of a crazy person. Again, not trying to criticize. I mean, shoot - I was a little bit of a crazy person after I had my first (and only, and will be the only for up to five years, thanks to a handy dandy little device called Mirena - you should really google that and maybe get one for yourself, dearie. On behalf of your hoo ha, I think you need to give it a rest for a while. Seriously.). But, it wasn't anything that a few anti-depressants (fondly known as ABP's at our house) couldn't handle.

You're a mom of many children, so surely you've heard of John and Kate Plus 8, Michelle, haven't you? Kate is real. She has 8 children, and she's not afraid to show that she's a little bit (a LOT bit) frazzled and a little bit crazy. She snaps at her husband and gets mad at her kids and loses her patience. She has less than half the amount of children than you have, lady, and half the time I think she's barely holding it together.

You, on the other hand, obviously love to shake, rattle, and roll, but it appears that you never get shaken or rattled - you act like you have it together all the time. Oh, and you know what? You pretty much freak me out with your constant smiling in public. I've never seen you lose your cool or act like you're stressed out. You just seem to have this weird alien-ish zoned out freaky smile thing going on.

Maybe you can just clear this up for me. I'm thinking one of two things is going on. Mind if I share my theories with you, Michelle?

One - you are not actually a human. You're...some type of robot woman, kind of like the one they made up on Weird Science, only after having 18 kids I'm sure your boobs aren't quite as perky. So, that's my first theory - you're an alien/robot/non-human lady.

Two - you are hooked up to a constant IV drip of Ativan, Xanax, Zoloft, or some combination of several anti-depressant/anti-anxiety medications. I don't even know if those things come in IV's, but if I were you, I think I'd demand an IV hook up. In fact, I'd demand that I have one of those buttons that I'm in control of, so I can get the drugs any time I need them, which - if I were you - would be ALL. THE. TIME.

So, allow me to get back to Kate of Jon and Kate Plus 8 for a minute. So, she's got 8 kids, but her and her husband make it a point to spend time with each of the children individually. I'm certainly not saying you don't love your kids. I don't doubt that you love them immensely, but don't they get lost in the shuffle?

You and Jim Bob decided it would be appropriate to announce to your 17 children that you were expecting #18 while you were on The Today Show. No pressure for them to put on a happy face about the news, eh? Anyway, msnbc.com posted a story about your appearance. Here's a direct quote from the story:

"With so many children, there is a sign-up list in the kitchen for children who feel they need one-on-one time with a parent."

I'm sorry. Did I misunderstand that? An effing sign-up list? This, lady, is why you bother me. What are you teaching your children?!? Does a 7-year-old really know what it means to sign his name on a list - scratch that - WAITING list with 17 other kids on it just so he can have some alone time with his mom or dad? Give me a break. So, your kids decide when they need to spend alone time with you, and not the other way around. Wow. Just WOW. The day you decided it was time for a sign-up sheet for one-on-one time was the day you probably should have busted out a Trojan.

Anyway, back to your kids. What do they think of having 80 bajillion sibs? It kind of seems like rather than having a house full of kids you have a house full of miniature parents raising each other.

Ay yi yi, Michelle. It sounds to me like some of your kids are missing out on their childhoods.

And speaking of what your kids think, your oldest son just got hitched. Good for him. I'm just taking a gander that he'll probably have a child or two (or eighty-six) of his own in the near future. What do you think he'll think if you keep having more babies?

In this day and age, when people's grandmas are having babies ON PURPOSE that's just a little, oh, I don't know - WEIRD?

I don't know, Michelle. What else can I say to you? You've already had people make jokes that your bajingo is not a clown car, people make fun of the fact that you dress your teenage daughters in the same plaid dresses as you, and your hair appears to be the nesting ground for a flock of geese, but you just don't seem to care.

Maybe I should be applauding you for all of those things. You just don't care, do you? You just want to keep having babies. And that's all well and good, except that maybe 18 is an appropriate number to say that enough is enough. Maybe it's time to give it a rest and do what other people your age are starting to do...like - oh, I don't know - becoming grandparents, or oh - I don't know, having sex for reasons other than procreation? People DO that, Michelle. It's not just for baby makin'.

Honey, it's a natural part of life to eventually QUIT having babies and start watching your kids raise their OWN babies. Really. I'm not even lying. It's true. People do it. You should try it. Or, at least try this, or this, or this (Hey, it's a free sample! How can you pass that up?). Please?

Oh! Oh. I'll, uh, let you go. I think I hear Jim Bob calling for you. Something about he's got a Barry White CD and a onesie he picked out for the baby you're going to have in 9 months? Maybe I misunderstood him. Anyway, I'll be looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Sera (who thinks life with one baby is enough craziness for at least a couple more years)