Eurasian Coot, Fulica Atra

The common Eurasian Coot is a plump waterbird similar to a moorhen. I spotted this one foraging by the pond in Saint James's Park, London.

Travel Update

Adding up the trip to Colorado, MckMama and "MckDaddy" will have both been away from their children for 29 days since Saturday, January 16. For those who don't want to whip out the calendar, that is 29 out of 54 days.

29 out of 54 days.

Twenty-nine days that four children, ages 5, 3, 2, and 1, will have been without their parents. They're not with their grandparents, or aunts and uncles. Since they don't have a nanny (MckMama says), they're not in the care of any caregiver who knows them in and out or cares for them daily.

They are with a "really great friend" while their parents are on self-imposed vacations several hundred to several thousands of miles away. Is it work-related? Maybe for her you could kinda sorta argue it for the trip to Tennessee and Kenya, but not for the cruise or Colorado.

But how can anyone justify Israel McKinney, a contractor who owns his own business, leaving his many small children for almost an entire month in 2010 for any reason?

One last comment to ponder while we're discussing if we can write these four trips off morally as "business trips" (I'm certain they will be writing them off fiscally): would not going affect their income in any way? Would a boss fire them? Would the blog fall apart and cease to bring in money?

No? THEN DON'T GO.

One would think that mommy/parenting bloggers would/should be with their children in order to write blogs about being parents. Not to mention the benefit the four small children would have from having parents at home instead of galavanting around as a "really normal mom on tour" (from her Twitter).

Maybe....

...we need a new poll?? From the comments today on her stream of consciousness - Colorado style post:

Ok so a friend sent me a link to a stupid website that is all negative about you and your blog..I caved and read a few entries out of curiousity and shock that people have time to set up a blog about this sort of well..crap..anyway, as you know J I have been reading your blog for over 18 months and I totally like you and what you have to say. I also do not care what others say about you. So with that being said I hope you do not take this wrong but I really hope you do not read that blog and then respond to it..their was a post about you not showing any of the kids toys and then today randomly you show this pic of the legos..please tell me it has nothing to do with that blog and its negative people?

Anyway, for the first time that just kind of bothered me and while you dont owe me or anyone explainations I just hope that you dont give those people the time of day by responding in anyway to their negativity..

I feel guilty for even reading some of that blog and I wont be returning to it..
take care,
erica h
in wa

And MckMama's reply:

Thanks for your sweet words! I took the Lego photo many days ago and randomly posted it this morning in my post. I don't ever read the dissenting stuff about us on the Internet. I have better things to do:)

A simple "Yes/No" oughtta work: Do you believe MckMama? Poll's on the right! No login required on polls, so let's hear from the lurkers!

Domestic Violence, Part 1

MckMama and her MckDaddy are guests today at the "Focus on the Family" seminars in Colorado. Why they're there, who paid for their trip, what they needed to do to be guests, who knows. Hopefully they are not there to disperse advice in any form, but the trip came complete with a Mck-approved advertisement:


I have had a hard time writing a post on the domestic violence charges, even though commenters have asked for it. I have gone through and read the posts around "MckDaddy's" arrest and it's obvious that things weren't great. I feel bad for MckMama of 2008. What would I write if I were in MckMama's shoes? What would you share with strangers? The truth is, I wouldn't share this information if I were MckMama and I don't think many others would volunteer it either.

BUT (and it's a big but).

I would not preach marriage advice repeatedly over the next year, especially advice that does not apply to relationships involving domestic abuse. I saw this on another blog:

NO domestic abuse information or expert supports a wife becoming more submissive after domestic violence, and for a national blogger to praise these methods as saving her marriage after abuse could be detrimental to other women with marital and spousal abuse issues who read the blog.

Equally as concerning is her take that the problems were her fault for not being more submissive. No spouse deserves abuse for any reason. Period.

The second part of my big BUT is if the dirty laundry does get aired (as it was for MckMama), and public records are available, don't continue to lie about what happened on your blog. You're just asking for someone (like me and the commenters here) to shoot you down for it.

Once again, MckMama spun the truth - two arrests were one, time served was now "no jail time", and relatives moved in on a whim, instead of because Israel McKinney being ordered to not have unsupervised contact with his wife while on probation.

Spin, spin, spin. It's a common theme in the MckMama world.

Here's the facts, so I'm not just rumor mongering:

You can find the information here: http://pa.courts.state.mn.us/
Case numbers: 27-CR-08-42701 and 27-CR-08-46901

First arrest: 07/02/2008
Domestic Assault-Misdemeanor-Commits Act With Intent to Cause Fear of Immediate Bodily Harm or Death

And some blog posts...
From July 8:

"As our personal struggles have not been something I often feel the desire to blog in depth about, I have kept mum as to the recent storm that has broken directly over my husband and myself during the past week. This storm has driven me hard into the arms of my Savior and, as unbelievably difficult as this is to weather, I know I am in the Right Place, close to my Lord."

From July 10:

"For reasons at this point entirely out of our control, Prince Charming will not be able to go to the appointment with me this morning and--yes--I am going alone."

Second arrest: 08/25/2008
DOMESTIC ASSAULT-MISDEMEANOR-COMMITS ACT TO CAUSE FEAR OF IMMEDIATE BODILY HARM OR DEATH

Nothing after this arrest about "MckDaddy". It was, however, an OB appointment day to check Stellan's heart.

COURT DATE: November 3, 2008.

And from the weeks following:
November 9:

I deserve a break today. Actually, deserve isn't the right word. As a matter of fact, it's probably not even close to the right word. Because, if I was being honest with myself, I'd tell you that what I really deserve is death. I deserve to be separated from God for the evil that is in my heart and for the wrong that I have done and, if you must know, continue to do.

What I deserve is to die a slow, painful death like Jesus did. He never sinned, and yet He had to die like that. I sin every day, and yet by the grace and mercy of God, I know life. I do not experience what I deserve. I am at the same time humbled, thankful and awestruck that I should have even the chance to receive forgiveness for my wrongs and for the terrible ways I sometimes choose to think and act.

Oh, sure, I'm Supermom. We all know that by now. That is what this blog is about! My Charming Kids. All four of them. God's work in Stellan's life and in my heart. How I feed them organic food and take them on outings. Heck, we just got back from the Children's Museum where we spent the entire day playing and learning. I'm a wonderful mom. I'm a super mom. It's fun to talk about that. And, truly, that is what I intended this blog to be about.

And that's okay. This mostly one-sided blog. It's fine and healthy and entertaining and fun for me to talk about my life as a mother.

But what is not so fun is the truth that I am significantly less than super in a throng of other areas in my life. I repeatedly require forgiveness for the same shortcomings. I need grace and mercy on a minute-by-minute basis.

November 13:

....Prince Charming and I decided to let his teenage brother move in downstairs. Tonight. He's moving in.

November 18:

And, just like that, Uncle Duke moves back out. Ahh, fickle teenagerhood. Wait!? What am I talking about!? I'm 31 and I'm still fickle. So, no hard feelings.

November 24:

"But, Prince Charming's mama was looking for a transition (PC's dad died when we were in high school and his mama raised Uncle Duke and now had been living by herself since he graduated high school and moved out.). I say "had" because she moved in to our lower level this weekend--Oh, with her dog, too. Gotta keep life interesting over here!--so she could stay with us through the winter and spring."

Current Legal Status for Israel McKinney: Satisfied 04/09/2009. The "Queen Mum" moved some time in May/June 2009. Date unknown.

More information on her marriage posts and "spin control" coming in Part 2.

Did she or didn't she?

UPDATE: From Twitter - "Driving back from the Watters' house. Wonderful time! Missing our kids, who are at home sleeping soundly! Tomorrow is a BUSY day for us." 7 minutes ago

Looks like their priorities are once again in the right place. Hiking and dinner with strangers instead of home caring for their many small children.

ORIGINAL POST:
Thursday, February 18

"Getting ready to head to Colorado next week for a couple days. Wow, we are like the crazy traveling family lately. But it's fun. And important stuff!"

Saturday, February 13

"I think we're going to bring our kids to Colorado this month so that we don't have to be away from them so much so close together since they aren't coming to Kenya."

And here we are, Wednesday, February 24. She's in Colorado. "Prince Charming" is in Colorado. But are the children, the ones who make up her family, the ones that she doesn't want to be away from because they leave for Kenya next week, with her?

What do you think? I put up a poll - take a second and vote in the right rail and we'll see how accurate our "jaded" readers are when MckMama reveals how many people got on that plane - two two and a fetus, or six seven!

the most important thing

"There was a little piece about my blog and our family on the news yesterday. To be honest, I keep waiting for the media to grow weary of our story, but so far they have not. While it's nothing we are seeking out, we are very open to sharing our story with whomever asks and in various forms. It's just that I don't think our story is anything more special than anyone else's. But, it is our story, it's how God has worked in our lives, so we will share, because our story is all we have!"

New post where MckMama explains the blog exists as a testament to God, and not to make money. Hmm.

European Robin, Erithacus Rubecul

Normally I'm too slow when trying to take close-ups of birds. By the time I'm ready they're long gone! Luckily this robin in the gardens of Hampton Court Palace didn't mind waiting for me.

Monday Challenge

Remember this post where readers tried to name characteristics that the kids have? Here's another one for you: what toys do the MCK have?

Poor Stellan had to play with his mom's camera strap while she snapped 6,489 pictures of him this weekend, but what else have you seen the MCK play with? Or what toys have you seen in videos and pictures? Anything colorful at all, other than the walls and the kids' oversaturated eyes?

With four five children, you would think an occasional toy would peek through, right? Once again, this should be an easy challenge....

The Apennine Mountains

No matter how many times I photograph the moon, every photo seems to reveal surface features I hadn't previously noticed. Tonight the shadows fell just right for the Apennine Mountains to show to the west of the Sea of Serenity. The range includes Mons Huygens, the highest mountain on the moon at 5000m.

Woodland Creature Food....errr, Pizza Pockets

MckMama addresses her not-so-healthy eating habits by saying she's "almost as much into nutrition and woodland creature food as I've ever been," but she says almost "because as I mature (Ha, ha, ha! I wish!), I am slowly realizing that I am not in control."

She says she is "not in control of my husband, my marriage, my children's lives, their ultimate eating habits, etc" but goes on to say she is trying to model good eating as best she can.

A favorite quote of commenters: "I've just stepped off my high nutritional horse a little. And back into reality. And the reality remains that I love to make healthy stuff for our family!"

Also noticing that her pictures are taking on new editing tactics. Gone are the unnatural eye colors, and the new, hip Lightroom preset action is a 50s flashback with rounded corners. What do you think of the new action style? Is it something you're gonna try, or should the faux faded look stay as gone out of style as beehive hairdos?

Edited to add: You can find a similar Lightroom preset to the vintage style MckMama is using here.

Squirrels in Central London

This morning I wandered around central London and was amazed how tame the squirrels are. They seemed quite happy to pose patiently for photos and were confident enough to climb all over me!

A Commenter Post Request

From commenter LovinTheSunshine:

"What was your "Ah-Ha Moment?" What was the red flag that started to put questions in your mind (about MckMama)? I'm curious as to what others have to say! Thanks!

Thanks Lovin for the suggested post!

My red flag was her interviews on April Rose after the "Trifecta" blog post claiming we should all trust the three bloggers and leave it alone and stop asking questions. I will admit to being completely naïve and trusting to that point, even while she was in Boston (though I did not always agree with or even read posts about things that weren't my cup of tea). Follow that flag with a bunch of previously undisclosed and fraudulent information that was counter-intuitive to her lifestyle, and I was suddenly seeing through the pretty, oversaturated pictures to the real woman behind the blog.

When was the moment you began to question MckMama?

Kenya

MckMama mentioned in her newest stream of consciousness post that she and "MckDaddy" are leaving in a week and a half for Kenya for a trip with Compassion International. Since this is a topic in the comments on other posts and she brought it up, I figured I would start a new thread.

Please note that this is not a mission trip, but an all expenses paid business trip. You can read more about "Compassion Bloggers" here. Bloggers will "begin an adventure in Kenya that will take them to the Maasai tribe, through the largest slum in the world and into the homes and hearts of Compassion children. Come here daily to make this journey with them through their words, pictures and videos."

What I don't understand is why "MckDaddy" is going on this trip. Will the children of Kenya benefit from him tagging along with his wife while she takes pictures and writes blog posts about their homes and hearts, or would his time be better spent taking care of his own home and the hearts of the children he fathered?

What exactly will he be adding to this trip? And what could the money it will take to get him to and from Africa, pay for his room and board, as well as all his meals for a week be used on instead for these children of Kenya?

Offering from the Druids

The Nine Ladies Stone Circle is a Bronze Age circle of 10 stones in the Peak District National Park. The tenth stone was discovered in 1976. According to legend the Nine Ladies were turned to stone for dancing on a Sunday.

The circle appears to have been used by modern Druids as a holy place to worship nature. Their offering was left at the centre of the circle.

Moderating

It's not big news that MckMama heavily moderates her site. Many commenters have said they have had their comments removed, or watched it happen. Sometimes she leaves comments up, then refers to them on Twitter, as she did today, sending readers to her site (one would assume) to defend her. Most of the time though, she deletes the comments and blocks the commenter. Sometimes it's warranted, but there have been plenty of times where it isn't, like asking how many hours a day of help she has, or questioning the vaccinations required for her Kenya trip while pregnant.

Today, I have a question about the malicious intent of both MckMama and her readers. After sending the "sheeple" to her site to read the "bitter naysayers" comments, she failed to comment on, delete, defend, or otherwise address this reader, leaving her to the mercy of some vicious sheeple, and leaving me wondering how egotistical, uncaring and uncouth MckMama really is.

Here's part of the thread:

Emily 5 hours ago

You have all different types of readers, I happen to be one that has a hard time getting pregnant and when you go on about how your past two pregnancy's were not "planned" it really gives me a knot in my stomach. I guess I just need to stop reading.

Linda 3 hours ago in reply to Emily

Personally, I think this is way too much information for me. We all know how babies are made and I just didn't need to read it. If you didn't want any more babies, perhaps birth control would be an option.

I am sorry, Emily, that you had to read this post....

I, too will probably stop reading this blog.

Pamela 3 hours ago in reply to Linda

kaseylharrison and 1 more liked this.

Really???? You both are a little ridiculous! First of all, the Lord is the one and the only one who opens and closes wombs... He always has been. So, getting jealous over someone who the Lord has chosen to open their womb is ridiculous and sad. I am sorry that you are having a hard time getting pregnant, but don't steal the joy from someone who is. AND Linda, maybe you are just not enjoying life like the Lord intended. Sex is meant to be enjoyed and there is defiantly NOT too much information here... it is simply real. They were not planning on having anymore babies, but that does NOT mean that they did not WANT anymore. ALSO, PS... birth control is not 100% effective.... we are living proof, had two babies on birth control! ---- FYI, if your going to leave hate comments, it might be better for you to not read her blog anyhow!

amyoconnor 2 hours ago in reply to Pamela

Ugh! No kidding. I don't understand the people that feel that they need to say something not so nice or sometimes just down right nasty. This is Jennifer's blog about her life. If they don't want to read about her life, her pregnancy, her kids, then they can "click the red box in the corner" as she says. I wish more people could just be happy for others. I personally have a good friend who's baby was due one month after my youngest was born. The doctor decided to induce early since the due date coincided with his vacation (first indication to ditch him, IMO). To make a long story short, the doctor basically killed their baby by trying to force her out before she or the mom were ready. This lady is the godmother to my children now. She still has not been able to become pregnant again and I think she would be elated if we were to become pregnant again. I feel bad for and pray for those who are unkind regarding this issue.

AmberFilkins 2 hours ago in reply to Pamela

Pamela, you obviously haven't walked in their shoes. Obviously. I understand 110% where they are coming from and I know their comments didn't come from a hateful place. Matter of fact, I've taken THREE pregnancy tests in the past 2 days, and each time, negative. I've had 2 miscarriages in the last year, and it took us a year to conceive after the first one. My last mc was in October, and we've been trying ever since. So YES, it IS hard to read all of this, even though you can still be happy for a person. It is heartbreaking. My first daughter was unplanned, and I was a single mom for 5 years. So I'm from both sides of the track here. You need to not jump down their throats.

Cyndi 1 hour ago in reply to Pamela

OMG...seriously? "the Lord is the one and the only one who opens and closes wombs.." So the women who have a hard time getting pregnant it's b/c the Lord doesn't think they should?

SandieMN 1 hour ago in reply to Pamela

Holy crap! I have never heard any one speak the words "the Lord is the one and the only one who opens and closes wombs". I honestly cannot believe you threw that one out to some who has difficulty getting pregnant. You have no tact. Emily, it doesn't seem fair sometimes, I know.

stephywubba 20 minutes ago in reply to SandieMN

Gen. 20:18--The Lord closed all the wombs of household of Abimelech

Gen. 29:31--The Lord opened Leah's womb

Gen. 30:22--The Lord opened Rachel's womb

1 Sam. 1:5--The Lord closed Hannah's womb

1 Sam. 1:6--The Lord closed Hannah's womb

JamieV 54 minutes ago in reply to Linda

Nobody FORCED you two to read this blog. You knew she was pregnant and you can see the title of this post and CHOOSE wheather ot not to read it. Sorry for your infertility issues, Emily, but that doesn't mean you have to bark at other people joys and excitements. And Linda, you don't need to read it either. It's a choice that you have. If you can't find joy or humor in someone else's story then you need to get a life. Seriously.

Jessica 3 hours ago in reply to Emily

I'm really disappointed that you've taken her news that way. I can't speak for her but I don't think she had ANY intentions of going on and on about an unplanned pregnancy, nor did I feel that she did.

It's *her* story and although it might not be the same as yours, this is her space to share it. Just because you haven't been as blessed, or had as much luck (however you want to look at it) doesn't mean that you must criticize others for being excited about events in their life or say that they shouldn't "go on and on" about their circumstances.

Clearly, unplanned or planned, her and her husband are considering this one of God's greatest blessings. I wish everyone could view it that way, too.

LittleLlamas 3 hours ago in reply to Emily

would you rather her lie and tell you they struggled with infertility for years? This is her story. She happens to be fertile... and can get pregnant very early after having a baby (not this time after stellan, but after the others.,..got pregnant VERY soon) Regardless... this is HER story. Praying that YOU will one day have a glorious story to share with the world. Hate that her sharing her story would deter you from reading. But there are a lot of blogs out there sharing the pain of infertility. it is painful for sure.... but her pregnancies, though unplanned, were never unwanted or accidents. There is no need to criticize her sharing the truth of her story... they were surprised by pregnancies. They weren't trying to get pregnant... but they did. And they have given all glory to God and loved every blessing he has given them. THAT is to be commended.

Tessa 3 hours ago in reply to Emily

Emily, Jennifer has been very conscious of keeping women like you in her thoughts and words during this pregnancy of hers. I can relate to you in a way. I want to adopt SO BADLY and we are not in a financial situation to do so, nor do we live in a large enough house to bring in more children. I hope I can someday, but I do get a twinge of jealousy when I see other families with adopted children or talking about it. I can see where the feeling comes from. It's just that we have no right to make someone else feel bad for the ways they have been blessed just because our time has not come for that yet. It's nobody's fault that you are unable to conceive just as it's nobody's fault that I am not in a position to adopt. It's our responsibility to own our own feelings and not project the onto others. God Bless.

"Welcome, Number 5"

Yet. Another. Post. This one talks about how she told "MckDaddy" about baby #5, who, by the way, despite months and months (and months) of talking about babies, being upset she wasn't pregnant for the first time in a year since their marriage, and ogling over newborns and saying over and over she wasn't pregnant, is a total surprise. As in, not planned, nary a thought in her head.

And yes, she says they know what causes this. The real question is do they know how to prevent it from happening again??

he is so special

No, not "MckDaddy". The fourth child, last to get his own personal update, "Nuggey".

Three posts in one day, totaling, like, 2,000 words. And that's just MckMama's part!

"MckDaddy" is ok (?)

Sorry, no link. All posts by "MckDaddy" are in the archives of mckmama.com, so if you really want to read his post, you have no choice to click through.

If you are only partially tempted to click through, I'll just let you know now it's running at over 1200 words, so if you couldn't get through yesterday's post (900) words, you'll have an even harder time today.

She's sick

Didn't you hear? Mckmama is tired and sick. She just mentioned it for the 45th first time on her blog in a dedicated blog post. All things organic and healthy and made from scratch (because that's how she rolls) make her puke. Just a few of her organic dietary items I'd like to find at my Whole Foods:

Cool Ranch Doritos

Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls
Honey Nut Cheerios

fish sticks
soda pop

Jelly Belly jelly beans

Maybe I'm looking in the wrong sections??

Introducing MckDaddy

Mckmama.com is now a MckFamily blog, with Israel as her new "blogging partner". But at least they have finally started being honest with readers and started coming clean.

We blamed each other, lost a house, fought, lost a car, came exceedingly close to giving up on our entire marriage and have almost lost a second house.

I'm obviously not a fan of MckMama and while I think the addition of "MckDaddy" is a lackluster fanfare move with no real purpose, the rest of this post was a step in the right direction to me. How about for you?

More financial stuff

The lake house is officially foreclosed on. It disappeared from the real estate listings last month, a few weeks after MckMama said they were "now at our old (empty!) house getting a few of our things." (from Twitter)

The lake house was released as a foreclosure as of 02/10/10, and is now listed at $282,000, nearly half the price of the new home they purchased:

New listing for the foreclosed home.

And another.

In her own words, on how they bought the new house:

"The money we had saved to attempt to keep our old house, we were able to use as a down payment for this one once we decided to move. We were able to get a loan that is not conventional, using both my husband's and my income. As you know, my blog has advertisements, and that money, even though to this point we have given most of it away as I have mentioned before, is counted as income, exactly as if I were still teaching art at the elementary school where I used to work."

Considering the house didn't foreclose until the last 30 days, it would appear they had months and months (since August) to "attempt to keep" their old house. They just didn't want to.

In late 2008, MckMama had her Escalade reposessed, and borrowed from her husband's mother (and now owns) a 1999 minivan. She's now talking about replacing it with another vehicle: "a used vehicle for our soon to be family of seven." (from Twitter)

Oh, and one more: a federal tax lien in the amount of $52,207.00 was filed by the IRS against MckMama and her husband on 5/4/09.

Some Biblical passages on Fraud that MckMama might want to read:

Leviticus 6:2-5, Psalm 10:3-11, 1 Thessalonians 4:6 and especially:

Psalm 37:21 - The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously

Don't you wish you could just not pay your bills, then dump everything and start anew? $500,000 brand new house, new vehicles, four trips in four months, food delivery services, eating out regularly....I thought that kind of lifestyle only belonged to lottery winners.

our inspirational, goofy firstborn

New post is up. This time, pictures and words about her firstborn. She's really driving home the point that her kids have personalities....even if she's forgotten to mention her kids or their personalities on her blog for the last two years.

The real question is what will come next: a post about "Nuggey" (skipped in birth order, oddly enough), another giveaway, a religious post, or another "oh, I'm so pregnant/sick/tired" rant? Wonder if she's figured out what's causing the last one yet?

Not that this blog has become predictable.

Since You Brought it Up Again

Play Ball, y'all. MckMama would like to talk some more about the editing of her child's unibrow/birth mark. She would also like to clarify that she doesn't "pluck" or "edit" her child's brow.

From MckMama's Twitter:

I'm participating in a very intriguing discussion here:http://tinyurl.com/yh6gdem about the Photoshopping and/or removal of imperfections.

And what she says in this "very intriguing discussion":

Actually our daughter has those stork bite birthmarks between her eyebrows. The boys have them, too, either a tiny bit on their eyelid or at the base of their neck behind their head. They are all very faint (getting fainter as they age) and not usually visible unless the child is mad, cold or hot, but then they appear! And I've actually been accused of plucking our daughter's eyebrows (Um, no!) or editing them out (Um, no!) because every once in a while her birthmark can be seen there and it apparently looks like eyebrow to some people when photographed! Hah.

So here's some more evidence for you. Top are unedited pictures of "Small Fry" not taken by MckMama, bottom, pictures from the "most beautiful eyebrows" post by MckMama:

(removed per photographer's request)

And, just for edification, pictures of "Small Fry" as a baby:

What do you think? Did MckMama edit them out of these pictures as well, or are we not talking about editing out "stork bites" these days to begin with? After all, MckMama herself says that her children's "bites" are "all very faint (getting fainter as they age)".

Last picture, from "Small Fry"'s father:

The caption, in case you can't read it: "U try wearing a unibrow and being that cute"

Go ahead, MckMama. Poke the bear.

**I would just like to point out that it doesn't matter that "Small Fry" has a unibrow. The point of this post is the spinning and continued lying done by her mother, not on the child's feature.**

Inconsistencies and lies

One of the red flags lots of people have mentioned are the inconsistencies and lies they have seen in MckMama's posts. Some are little things, like being a cloth diapering mom, but running to Target to buy diapers; abandoning and "not owning" a televison, but letting her children watch tv who knows how often from the tiny DVD player they own; being a cosleeper, yet putting her children in cribs in her closet. But when you add them up, it's layer after layer of "saying one thing, but doing another."

What inconsistencies and lies have you seen? If you can back them up with quotes, that's even better!

Cave Formations in Gough's Cave

There are some amazing formations in Gough's Cave, but I can never see what they're supposed to be. What do they look like to you?

a little more on blessings

New post is up. Alternatively titled: "Blissdom Backpedaling" or "Appeasing Everyone So I Don't Lose Money."

Also, a note: Fair Use only covers a certain number of words, and while I don't agree with her business practices, MckMama.com is first and foremost a business, and that should be respected even if it's not respectable.

I have had commenters ask why I don't post her blog here to keep clicks down. Well, it's because I am MckMama and this negative blog brings even more hits to my site.

No, I jest. In all seriousness, links in posts (like the one above) from now on will go to to her feed, so you can click and read without worrying about sending her more money.

Photoshopping Children

When are pinks...

not pink enough?

When are the blue eyes God gave a miracle child...

just not good enough?

And when is one eyebrow...

Not as good as two?

When does editing become too much when it comes to children?

"Small Fry" is well-known in person for her unibrow. But no one on her mother's blog has ever seen it.

See that bullseye right in the middle of "Small Fry"'s eyebrow in the picture on the right? That's where her mother used Photoshop and made her daughter two eyebrows.

While an eyebrow isn't a beauty mark (there are photographer horror stories of photographers deleting birth marks or adding dimples), and "Small Fry" will most likely separate her eyebrows when she is old enough, is it appropriate to photoshop your child's eyebrow(s) in every picture, and then comment that she:

...has what might possibly be the most uniquely beautiful eyebrows ever.

Boy Wonder

New post is up, and? It contains information about a Mck child. Like, actual, real Mommy blogging. Of course 1/3 is about his heart, but still. A whole post about a child that is almost like it could have come from any normal regular mommy blog where the purpose of the blog is the children.

Not Me! Monday is up!

My Not Me! Monday:

I did not spend 30 minutes updating this blog yesterday, no time on twitter, maybe 30 minutes on Facebook, and every single other minute of non-nap time time with my family only to have naysayers come to this blog and tell me to get a life.

They then ignored the fact that MckMama was away from her children for five days, and all night last night, and so far this morning, before 11 AM has updated her twitter five times, and written a blog post.

Get a life? Nope, not me! Already got one, thanks.

Bait

The famous "Adenosine NOW" twitter and photo. MckMama snaps a picture while three nurses stop her child's heart and sends it to strangers on the Internet.


"It's bad. Our parents and families are on their way." July 27.


"We just said goodbye to Stellan." July 25.




Stellan comes back from the brink of death, from "it's bad, the family has been called in" and "Stellan is being airlifted to Boston" and "trying to not think about what happens if it's too late to go to Boston", and, miraculously, goes home on August 3rd.

To celebrate, two days later on August 5th, Mckmama, her husband and three of her children go to California on vacation. Where's Stellan? Who is with him for this extended vacation to California? And what kind of mother would leave her child who, a week earlier was "dying" to go on a damn vacation??

Some facts from last July/August.

• MckMama twittered 29 times on July 26, while her son lies "dying". Writes 1-3 blog posts a day. Twitpics her baby's discomfort to strangers.
• MckMama twittered 34 times on July 27. Same deal.

• She averaged 25 twitters a day the rest of his visit.
• In the entire week Stellan was in the hospital, with 15,000+ Twitter followers praying and commenting on her hundreds of twitters and posts, MckMama only responded to two twitters: Dr. Phil and his wife, Robin.

But really, she cares about the followers. You're why she twittered hundreds of times while he was in the hospital; not because she needed the attention or money or notoriety. It was all about Stellan, and you, the faithful follower.

Reflections of the Swiss Village

The Swiss Village is a formation in Gough's Cave, Cheddar. The picture and clip both show the village's reflection in a shallow pool below the formation.

Click, click, click....

From the comments:

Who is Dooce? How do these people have so many 'followers'? How do you know they make $30k-$40k a month? That just doesn't make sense. On ads?

This is one of the areas that really pisses former MckMama readers off. MckMama is considered an "expert" on keeping people coming back to her blog. In fact, her BlogHer profile reads:

"Turn Your Visitors into Regular Readers - with MckMama
Chances are, most people who visit your blog will never return. It's hard to snag those visitors and turn them into active readers - someone who returns day after day and contributes to your blog community.

MckMama is a master at drawing her visitors into her blog. She turned thousands of passerby's who were concerned for her sweet son into a legion of active readers. Her blog, My Charming Kids, was voted the #1 Mom Blog of 2008 by Momdot.com. MckMama will teach us:

How to interact with your readers
How to draw a visitors attention
How to listen to your readers
Please vote for this room- we can't have a conference full of Mom bloggers without hearing from MckMama!"

MckMama uses Twitter as a driving force to send people to her blog. She has over 20,000 followers currently, and has mastered the "post coming soon!" and linking to her blog, sending readers to the new post. She hints at secret contests by mentioning readers might want to comment on certain posts. She keeps her readers coming back for more by hosting lots of fairly interesting contests and pretty much every other method in the book - recipes, pictures, tutorials, controversial posts, etc.

Is there anything wrong with this, you ask? Not a thing, I answer. She's a self-proclaimed "professional mommy blogger," and she wouldn't be doing her job if she didn't keep readers returning.

However (and this is big).

It is immoral and sickening to use your sick child as bait to keep readers coming back to your blog. MckMama did this every time her son was in the hospital, but last summer was the absolute worst. She commented often that a "post was coming soon!" or "updates to follow, check back", even going as far as preceding those with "Stellan is very bad off". But the blog posts she spoke of? Wouldn't follow for hours, MANY hours in some cases. This would leave her readers, who cared deeply about Stellan, click, click, clicking. She would follow up her twitters with comments on how she ran to grab a bite to eat, but the post is up now, or more often, no excuse at all. Just a very long delay.

You can verify this yourself by going back to last July/August and reading her twitters.

The price of those clicks were worth more than her dignity. The actual money worth for the clicks? Well, MckMama claims she has 100,000 readers per day (now that Stellan is not sick). We'll call that a conservative 3,000,000 page views per month (1 per person per day). At those numbers on an average BlogHer pay scale, her BlogHer ads alone would bring in $27,000 a month. A month, people.

Dooce has admitted to making $40,000 a month, so this is not an unreasonable number for MckMama.

You can see why the click, click, clicks are so important. But again, to use her sick son as bait? Disgusting.

MWOP Exclusive!!!

Here is Jennifer's Blissdom speech, typed as she spoke in Tennessee this evening!:

Welcome, everyone, to Blissdom and thank you for flying me & my LOVE here, all expenses paid, so we can enjoy a well-deserved getaway from our MSC. We have 5, don't you know??

I wanted to speak a bit on the topic of community and how it came about that I now have such a supportive online community that is my blog readership.

You see, when I learned of Stellan's illness, I wanted everyone else to know about it...even the President. So I started visiting other popular blogs, especially blogs dealing with the loss of a baby. I developed a fabulous button and encouraged everyone to "grab" it. I asked for people to write my son's name in the sand, in cheerios, you name it, all over the world. I asked for a picture of his name at the Eiffel Tower and BAM! It appeared in my Inbox. So wonderful was this community, that they all demanded a "Worldwide Hug Stellan Day," the first of which occurred just a month ago. We will be repeating this celebration next winter, only Stellan probably won't be attending that one, either.

Some of my more rabid fans, even though they were strangers, showed up at the hospital with food, tons of cute burpies and blankies, gift certificates for massages, etc. I found that when I tweeted about these gifts from my devoted community, then I was BLESSED with EVEN MORE gifts.

I mean, when I mentioned how uncomfortable I was in the hospital room, I was then blessed with a freaking suite at a nice hotel! So nice that I had sleepovers with one child at a time, and then enjoyed a night out on the town with my LOVE, followed by a sleepover, of course!

If I dropped my phone, lost Stellan's baby legs, or any other setback, BAM! Those things would reappear.

This community of mine even extended all the way to the east coast. When we flew to Boston, not only did I have more hotel rooms donated than I even needed, but I also had a personal assistant coordinating meal deliveries. Back home, another assistant collected the many packages that made Stellan hit "pay dirt." My testimony about my community was particularly well-received by the cashier at Target, who had never seen someone redeem so many gift cards. Thank you to my community for sticking to the list of preferred gift card locations!

But you know, the dedication of my community was so impressive that they convinced me to put a paypal button on my blog for the "Stellan Fund," (even though we give away most of our earnings), because you know, the meals, hotel rooms, gifts, just weren't cutting it. My community wanted to show just how generous they can be!

So I wanted to share my testimony about the importance of a community. I just don't know how other parents of sick children even do it! I know I couldn't have done it without you, my beloved community. God is so, so good.*

*(to me.)

**Not mine, a very funny commenter left this gem.

Canned Response

I couldn't make this up. Here's MckMama's canned email auto-reply these days:

I appreciate you taking the time to write!

I have made the decision to not respond personally to all my email, as time with my own family and husband must come first. Please know that I do read all my mail, though, and will pray over all requests. Thank you for understanding!

I wrote a post about email here:
http://www.mycharmingkids.net/2010/01/forget-nike-i-just-cant-do-it.html
if you want to get a better idea of where I was coming from with my decision about it all

Thanks again for writing and reading!

Warmly,

MckMama

We're not in Jamaica/Kansas/Frozen Tundra....whatever.

But MckMama and Sarah Palin? Just alike...just ask MckMama!

While Palin might be pretty, she would never be a person I would want to compare myself to. Just sayin.

Other than 5 short lines of "I=Sarah Palin cool", there's lots of mediocre pictures of random things in Jamaica with the saturation kicked way too high. If you want pictures of a vacation to make you drool, check out Amalah. I doubt she even edited hers. And? Glory be, she went with her children!

oh, the laughs...

New post is up. She meets the rest of the "blogger trifecta" from the April Rose fiasco last summer. Despite almost 0 contact from June to present, and the more admirable bloggers removing her Stellan button from their blogs last summer, they're thick as thieves and nearly BFFs, according to MckMama.

Oh! And a special treasure - a picture of all three pregos:

Aren't they beautiful?? Here's another shot:

Hmmm. Photoshop: 'Evolution' at its finest.

More on the new house

A Blog Frog participant posted the following; thought readers would like to see it before it gets deleted:

Evening Ladies,

While I have not read thru each page, I did read the initial question concerning whether or not Jennifer and Israel were unknowingly the victims of a "scam." They were not.

I have knowledge of the transaction that led to them being in their current space. Without going into too many details, I can tell you that the builder of the home, Lane Custom Homes, originally had the home listed for around $670K (it was the model home in the development, and actually could have gone for closer to $1 million had the economic conditions been right as it sits less than 1/2 mile from an 18-hole golf course that is lovely). Unfortunately, it became harder and harder to sell as most people in the area who would have purchased the home as a "move-up" home, were having trouble selling the less expensive ones they were already in, so...no moving up! After being on the market for a while, the house went back to the bank -- this is the "owner" listed on the tax/court records.

Since there was a significant credit risk -- with I believe two foreclosures, etc. -- and qualifying for any kind of bank financing was out of the question, the choice was instead made to leave the previous residence (that was in foreclosure) during what's called the "Redemption Period," after discontinuing all payments due to their mortgage lender at the time, and put that money towards a (I believe) 0% or 3% downpayment on the current house in what is called in the real estate market "Deed for Contract" agreement with the owner (which is the bank in this particular case). In this agreement, they pay an amount each month to the owner (who holds the deed) just as you would if you had a mortgage, along with all taxes, and they live in the house as if it's theirs. They also commit to get lending for a traditional mortgage down the road at an agreed upon time when they qualify and can afford it. The only catch is, if they reach a point where they can no longer afford the payment to the owner, they lose all money paid up to that point (b/c there would be a lawsuit filed) and have to vacate the property unless of course they can come up with the monthly payment. If I recall, they paid around $400K (give or take) for the house, which resulted in a significant loss to the bank. The builder already had lost big earlier on in the process. When the house is paid up to the agreed upon amount, and they have secured proper financing down the road for the remainder, thereby fulfilling their contract to the owner, they/mortgage holder will then be given the deed to the house.

This type of creative financing, as you can imagine, is very controversial, but widely done in certain situations. As someone who works in the industry, it's always sad to see grown adults make the decision to walk away from one property and not fulfill their obligation. Unfortunately, this type of behavior is what got the housing situation in the mess that it is in today. Neighbors have to contend with plummeting property values around those houses that are left standing empty/foreclosed on, and it's not right. It affects everyone.

Hopefully I was able to clear some things up for all of you. I don't look down on the family for doing what they did, but it is a very sad and unfortunate situation that I'm sure has had devastating effects on many people. Credit such as this is not something easily fixed, for it takes years to get it to this point in the first place. I do hope one or both of them is able and blessed to land a job that is both secure and rewarding so that they can begin to repair the damages that have been left in their wake, as well as be able to provide for their growing family with a clean conscience.

Goodnight. And Happy Friday all!

The (very, very, very, very long) Redemption story

2,595 words, to be exact. I counted each word with my finger. Or not (thanks Word Count Tool!).

That's 5 1/2 pages in Word, single spaced, single lined. English teachers everywhere would be impressed by the length anyway.

So, who read it? Did it have a point?

Travel

The travel days away from her four children is now at 25 out of 66 (and sure to climb), with her arriving three days early for the Blissdom conference. Her husband is with her, so their children have so far spent all of the 2010 travel days without a parent.

That's 16 out of 40 days.

At least in 2009, they usually took their MSC* (their term, not mine) with them. Speaking of travel, how many (non-medical) trips do you remember them taking last year, and to where?

There was the original MckCruise, the trip to California (which really deserves its own post), a trip to Atlanta......what are we missing?

*Waves at MckMama* Thanks for joining us!

We look forward to reading your rebuttals to the things people comment here!

And thanks for clarifying that you do indeed own your new mckmansion:

"But didn't laugh as hard as I did at the one tonight that "outed" us for pretending to own our home when we "actually rent it." Wow, that girl has some serious inside information! Even I didn't know that! I could have sworn (but, you know, don't) that we bought this house. I'd better look into that."

The real question, however, isn't whether or not you own your house, it's how you bought it when you have at least one foreclosure on your record (and we've heard two - the house you let your sister rent, could you clarify that for us??), a reposession of your Escalade last winter, and your only source of non-blogging income is your husband's "struggling" construction business. Oh, and you of course have medical bills from Stellan's multiple hospital stays and "fixed-wing aircraft" rides.

Sounds a little fishy when we put it that way, huh? That's what we're interested in. Just sayin'.

Frost Crystals

Yesterday's frost formed needle-like crystals up to 3mm. Hopefully it won't be the last hoarfrost of the winter because I'm hoping to get a better shot.

Have you got any tips on taking close ups of frost, ice or snow?

Da roof is on fire

Readers are interested in the new house/old house, so here's a new house thread. The old house was foreclosed on in July 2009. They moved into the new house in August 2009. Here's some links for you, thanks to our commenters:

New house:

http://i49.tinypic.com/10r92kl.jpg

Old house foreclosure:

http://i46.tinypic.com/15p3g39.png

So the question remains: How does someone have at least one, and possibly two, foreclosures on their credit history in less than 9 months, and still manage to buy a brand new house three times the size of their "lake house" and worth half a million dollars?

Tuesday's Challenge

We have a challenge for you. It's a doozie, and you can't find the answer by Googling. Ironically, as a "mommy blog", this challenge should be easy. Oh and if you can do it, you don't win anything, except notoriety on a little-known blog. You ready?

Name one character trait of each of the Many Small Children. Just need one, but you can get bonus points for more than one. These are not physical traits, and not "mom" responses to comments made, just a personality trait that makes these kids who they are.

Example: "Gavin doesn't need sleep. He doesn't nap and he goes to bed late. He loves Handy Manny and recently he's been biting his siblings. He can also be stubborn about using the potty, but he can be bribed with chocolate most days."

Ready........go!

Traveling with many small children

MckMama is the expert! Check out her itinerary this winter:

Saturday, January 16 - Saturday, January 23: "MckCruise"

Saturday, February 6 - Wednesday, February 10: Blissdom Conference

Thursday, February 25 - Colorado Springs get-together

Thursday, March 4 - Wednesday, March 10 - Compassion BLOGGERS (this is a business, not mission, trip)

Any parent would bow down to a parent taking their four five children five and under on just one of these trips. But MckMama, being the crunchy, homeschooling, attachment parent that she is, will be taking all four five of her many small children on all of these trips.

Because surely a mommy blogger who has four five small children wouldn't leave her children home without their mother for a minimum of (non-travel related) 22 of the next 56 days....

Fandom!

MckMama has created her very own fan page on Facebook! It seems largely ridiculous to her, but hey, she has almost 5,000 close friends on Facebook and she needed more.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/MckMama/269148616733?ref=search&sid=600601158.2100298526..1

General Comments 02-01-2010

Have something to say that doesn't belong to the posts below? Post it here! New posts can be created for topics of interest to readers on request.

Colorado Springs ain't ready for this

Take Thursday, February 26th off of work and visit Colorado Springs! Why? For the supreme privilege of having a MckMama photo op! She and her "Prince Charming" have promised they will talk to you individually, too!

Other exciting highlights include paying her to take pictures of your children, and fellowship with her and her husband (who attend regular counseling following two domestic violence incidents last year) while they attend a marital seminar!

upcoming excitement

Everything I learned, I learned at a big box store

You ever discovered your inner super-hero by taking your children to a big box store? Truly the epitome of any great SuperMom is their ability to shop once a month with their children in tow.

how Target makes me feel like SuperMom

Forget Nike, she just can't do it!

Sorry, poor readers. MckMama has drawn the line. She will continue to post 2-3 times a day, and Twitter (twitter.com/mckmama) anywhere from 6-24 times a day. She will also continue to over-saturate her many pictures of her many small children, but you, dear reader, are out of luck. She will no longer be reading and responding to your emails.

Her family comes first.

Forget Nike, I just can't do it!

Welcome!

Need a free place to discuss the blogger who calls herself "MckMama"? Ever had a question about the many inconsistencies in what she writes and what you've heard/read but don't know where to ask? Been blocked for asking a reasonable question or not agreeing with something she's done?

Here you go, a place just for you, hopefully moderated with little drama.

A few rules, though. Stolen straight from other favorite "WOP" sites.

1. We're going to allow Anonymous posters. If it gets to be too much, we'll turn that option off.
• Do not be rude to other posters or call them names.

• Do not be rude about the children or call them names. Commenting on behavior is acceptable, but no name calling.

• Don't tell the moderators how to run the blog.
• No posting addresses.

• The administrators are not able to verify the identity of people who comment here. Believe what you choose to believe.
• We are not a blog about religion, please do not comment or assume that we are all Christians.