A new post

We need a new post. Comments are bogging down the last one.

There has been some interesting talk about MckMama's tattoo picture. I'm going to put something up about it later this weekend (not pulling a MckMama and trying to drag out clicks - I just need to look through everything and laundry and washing the dog need to come first this sunny Saturday!).

Oh, also, I banned Robertsontami last night after having to drudge through all the "haters, losers, idiots, ignorant dummies" comments he/she left. Grand total of banned is now 8.

More chicken

MckMama has posted more about chicken. It was funny to her, and some of her readers. Her comments are way up - over 200 for the post. But before you get too excited for her, almost 50 are by MckMama herself.

I wonder if BlogHer keeps record of a blogger's IP address. Do a blogger's page views count when they're figuring out page views and writing checks?

Some Words

breasts
turned on
penis
bowel movement
underwear
sexy
pelvic
breast
intimate

In other words, MckMama has a new post up on her mommy blog.

Also, I would like to throw out there that considering MckMama wrote mere days ago about tolerance and understanding (of a hostile racist, neither of which are medical conditions beyond his control), the below quote must be a joke:

(you might be the mother of MSC if)…you sound like you have Tourette’s when you talk on the phone. “So, Sarah, do you and the kids want to meet up for–GET DOWN FROM THE FENCE RIGHT NOW–do you guys want to meet us at McDonald’s for–NO, YOU CAN’T!–for lunch at 11:30 as soon as we–DO NOT PUSH YOUR BROTHER DOWN ON THE TILE, OR ANYWHERE FOR THAT MATTER-get finished up here?” (by Rachel E.)

Talking to Strangers

There's a new post up, "talking with strangers". MckMama says she stopped on the way home from "a road trip, motivated by wanting to help after the devastating floods in our state", one where she had her 4 1/2 children with her.

After seeing some of the messages on the sides of the buildings, did anyone else feel it was unreasonably dangerous or irresponsible to stop and talk with the person writing these messages with their children in tow?

Guesstimate

Once again, we need a new post. There have been a few requests for a timeline. I'll see if I can get that put together over the weekend. In the meantime, let's take a break and do something completely mindless.

Let's guess the newest MckMama baby's birth day and size. Time is not really applicable since she's having a c-section.

Not really in line with what the site is set up to be, but since she won't tell anyone when she's actually due, this will probably range by a lot.

Winner gets Internet-generated cannolis and wine. And should probably buy a lottery ticket soon after.

Focus on the Family

I didn't post this immediately, but I have recently had a lot of requests to post the letter readers received from FOF in a post. There have also been several comments and questions recently about FOF and their relationship with MckMama.

My reason for waiting was pretty simple. MckMama said she had a project coming up with FOF and I wanted to see what she interpreted a "project" with FOF to be when their take was so different from what she was saying.

The reality is FOF severed ties with MckMama. I received several emails and comments from readers who contacted FOF and they were all very similar. Here's one from April 28:

Thank you for contacting Focus on the Family. We value the time you’ve taken to let us know of your reservations about the blogger known as “MckMama” (Jennifer McKinney). We realize that your comments are born of your loving concern for our ministry, and you can be sure that we accept your feedback in the spirit in which it was offered.

In response to your remarks, we’d like to let you know that the information we’ve received from you and others has led us to reconsider future involvement with Mrs. McKinney. We should also clarify that her participation on our recent webcasts took place before we became aware of issues and statements inconsistent with Focus on the Family’s values. Now that we have been alerted to this information, however, we can assure you that we have no plans to feature Mrs. McKinney moving forward. At the same time, as a ministry dedicated to promoting thriving families, we will continue to come alongside the McKinneys to offer our encouragement and help.

Thank you again for writing. We hope this response has set your mind at ease, and we invite you to get in touch again if there’s some other way our staff can serve you and your loved ones. Meanwhile, may the Lord’s joy and peace be yours in abundance!

Kathryn (removed last name)
Focus on the Family

According to MckMama, however, there were still plans to work together:

Marie says:
May 12, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Are you going to be doing another “Focus on the Family” podcast any time soon? Loved the last one!

Reply
mckmama77 says:
May 12, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Yep! I was just talking with them the other day. Am actually involved in another project of theirs, too, that I’ll be sharing about on my blog soon! So thankful for Focus on the Family.

Unless I missed it, she has not mentioned FOF since May 12. Likewise, they haven't mentioned her since April.

Friday Night Post

You guys....you're killing me here. I don't have anything new to post, but we need a new post for comments.

Hello to all our new followers. We have picked up 33 new followers and SO many new commenters this week.

*Edited to add*
Here's a few stats for you this Friday night:

TOTAL VISITS: 760,744
TOTAL PAGE VIEWS: 1,769,839
Google Readers: 542
Followers: 233 234

A Poll

MckMama's surgery/procedure/intervention went well, according to her Twitter. They "had to intubate" her but she didn't aspirate. Whew there.

I put up a poll this morning, based on a request from EmAnon; should MWOP take a break when the baby is born? There have been some yeses and some no's. Good thoughts on both side of the coin. Since we have no idea how much time we really have until the baby gets here, let's see what the majority thinks now. If things change and the drama is overwhelming, we can always reassess.

Another hospital day

MckMama did not have her procedure/surgery/intervention done today, on her birthday, but is set to have it done tomorrow.

May her doctor's hands be swift, knowledgeable and drama-free.

Please continue with your stories on when you realized MckMama wasn't all she claimed she was. It's been nice meeting all our new commenters!

When Did You Know?

We have once again hit our comment cap in the lesser browsers. The browser powerhouses (Firefox, Safari, and Chrome) seem to be going well with lots of comments, though, if you're dying to keep up with everything being said.

Anyhow, for our new post we have a request: when did you know there was something off about MckMama? How often did you read before then, and did you do anything special for Stellan or the family?

This would be a great way to introduce the regulars to new readers, too.

Hospital, part two

Once again, I hope MckMama feels better soon. Other than that, not much else to say that hasn't already been said! Hello to everyone - you're making it nearly impossible to stay caught up!

Happy almost Friday

Here's a new post for comments. To catch everyone up, MckMama reports she is in the hospital with kidney stones and has gestational diabetes.

I hope she feels better soon. Pain sucks, especially when you're pregnant.

Illegal giveaway

From a reader, Tina:

MckMama is currently hosting a giveaway on her blog and she is breaking the Blogher Rules once again....

Lets all send emails to Blogher asking WHY Mckmama gets to not follow the rules. Numbers are power....

The current giveaway is 15 hairbows and if you go to the sellers site the cost is $5 per bow....therefore MckMama is violating the rules once again....

If you would like to join in the email complaint the email address is Jenifer@blogher.com

Make sure you post a link to her current blog post and state that you know Angie Smith and Kelly Stamps follow the rules...why is it Mckmama doesn't have to? Also state you know she is violating the rules with an item for giveaway valued over $40.....15 hairbows @$5 = $75.....

I Played The Fool

Welp, that sums up that, huh? Here's MckMama's "Not Me Monday" twitter:

I did NOT just possibly invite drama by what I posted to my blog this morning: (url removed). I'd NEVER do that. Not me!

And here's the bulk of her post, because I feel like an ass for caring for the last four days:

In our home, we have a rule that the main level is not the place for loud voices, toys strewn about or roughhousing. The rule is hard and fast and I never, ever make exceptions. I certainly did not make one yesterday before we left for our Fourth of July festivities by allowing Nuggey to jump off the arm of our couch.

Repeatedly. Nope. Not me!

We avoid potentially unsafe behavior of all types in our family, choosing always to be “better safe than sorry.”

This includes allowing our boys to rough and tumble and jump the way they want. I don’t stand for that, especially in our living room.

Not me!

And even if for some unknown reason, I did allow our children to explore their world and their bodies in such unsafe ways, I certainly wouldn’t risk getting the Worst Mother of the Year award by photographing the escapades and posting said photograph to my public blog! Not me.

Nope. I learned my lesson after posting these picnic table jumping photographs and I’ll never again stick my neck out there to be criticized in the comments of my own blog by other mothers who think they know better how to raise my children. Not me! I just can’t handle that kind of criticism.

Nope. I never post dramatic things to my blog partly for interest’s sake, either, nor would I link back to previous blog drama like the one above or the infamous wet trampoline pictures. I am a meek, mild and timid person who would never do such a thing. And our children, in their own ways, are clearly following in my footsteps. Those meek, mild, timid things.

Even if my husband and I did sometimes allow our living room to be converted some nights into a WWF arena or some days into a track and field stadium, complete with the long jump and high jump, we certainly wouldn’t make any excuses for that kind of reckless behavior on our part.

Nope.

We’d never actually believe that part of the reason we haven’t had any serious injuries or broken bones (yet!) in our family is that we do allow our boys to explore their physical capabilities to their comfort level. Nope. We certainly don’t think that by letting kids be kids, they actually learn to nail safe landings, catch themselves when they fall and keep their own bodies relatively safe. Not us!

No risk of broken bone, skinned knee or wounded pride is enough for us to take the chance. I love my children too much to let them sometimes jump off couches under my supervision. I’d never let them do that.

After all, if I let Nuggey do it, I just might be setting his little brother up to follow in his footsteps.

And I’m most definitely not ready for another generation of crazy boy jumpers in my house.

Not me!!!

Here's my Not Me! Monday:

Jennifer, you're an idiot. The picture of your three-year-old jumping over his one-year-old brother's head?



Just proves that you don't give a flying eff about anyone but you. I pray you have saved the money you have been making off of your circus life to date and you will be able to continue to pay for your house so your children can continue to have a home. Obviously, your husband isn't going to be able to pay for your half a million dollar home, since he's a door-to-door contractor (read: "Ma'am, have you considered vinyl siding? Let me give you my card...") and not running off of referral business. You're in a contract-for-deed house, and you have NO options when (not if) you miss payments on this house, save mommy and daddy.

You have created your own hell, and you know what? While your smart-ass post may have given you readers today, it will be interesting to see who you LOSE over your holier-than-thou, screw all the caring readers who are not naysayers who commented on your children's safety in the past, bashfest.

As for "haven't had injuries", remind me again, wasn't it your family who has been to the emergency room twice this year for child-related injuries, or was that some other consistent liar with four and a half kids, four cars, two foreclosures, a husband with two Domestic Violence charges, and a dropping readership?

Your fifteen minutes are almost up. I predict you lose more than half of your remaining readership when you pop out "Oops #5", so you have until then to get it right. Turn your shipwreck around and become a real, respectable, honorable mommy blogger, or you're going to be in a hole which even your Jesus card won't be able to dig you out of.

To your caring friend who sought to help you out this week, here's my official answer: Sorry. She brings it on herself.

You have almost five children already, six when your husband plays the roll; you don't need another. Grow up.

Not that I would ever write that on my even-keeled, polite, non-bashing blog. Nope. Not Me.

"Moms like me"

Comments are dangerously close to crashing again, so we need a new post. I thought it would be wonderful to share a few things commenters wrote this week that spoke to me (and others, based on the likes!). So here's the first, from September29:

Another reason I think the blog should stay open: Moms like me. I'm a work-at-home-mom - doing my best to take care of my kids and make a living at the same time. I was turned onto Jennifer's blog through Kayleigh Freeman's blog during one of Stellan's hospitalizations and it caught my attention. However, as I read through her older posts, and when he got out of the hospital and she returned to normal blogging subjects, I started to feel soooo inferior. First of all, the perfect diet they eat. There was a picture on her sidebar of this slender mom with her beautiful babies and all her posts were about this food they eat that I could not force myself or my family to eat. I struggle with my weight, and I do my best as far as getting my kids to eat healthy and she made me feel like I was failing because I wasn't doing it nearly as perfectly as she was! Then there was the amount of stuff she was able to get done while caring for so many young children (and one of them ill). The house always perfect, and them running from one fun activity to another. How? What was I doing wrong? My house is a wreck, the laundry is piled up and if I try to take them anywhere it just gets WORSE. And of course her awesome parenting techniques. So calm, so patient, she always knew what to do. I am a failure!!

Then - I saw one of those news videos of her. She appeared every bit as overweight as me! What?? Her weight is NOT relevant, and I would never criticize her weight because I too am overweight - BUT her hiding behind photoshop - not cool. And then I started thinking, how can she even be so overweight shen she lives on "woodland creature food?" Again, I only bring this up because it speaks to what she does to Moms like me.

Then there was that naysayers post, which sent me searching because something had started to seem a little off to me and I wasn't sure what exactly. I found OHIH, where I was mostly a lurker. But boy did I have my eyes opened! She wasn't better than me - she had help! She was LYING about so much, and making regular moms like me feel inferior. Making herself look like she could do sooooo much when really she had help. All those posts about their perfect food when clearly she is eating a normal diet just like me. And later having readers here point out those old posts about the spankings. So her parenting wasn't something that I aspired to anymore either.

And of course there is the issue of God healing Stellan because he was so loved - more loved than other babies. Thankfully this issue doesn't apply to me personally, but it does to so many others and I feel for them. This gives moms like them (and me) a place where they can see that its not US, its HER.

One more thing - the financial irresponsibility - thats a big one for me. I am SO glad I found out about that because I cannot go around idolizing someone who does things like that.

Oh, I thought of something else. The DV - that in itself is a private issue of course, but when she gives marital advice and tells wives to "submit" to their husbands, this is scary and dangerous, and once again this blog is a place for real women to see the truth so they don't follow that scary advice.

Good morning

Most people noticed I left comments off and didn't blog yesterday. It was for two reasons. There was a blogging day of silence in honor of a family whose little boy died of heart problems yesterday. I went back and forth about posting it here, but I didn't want anyone in the family concerned their child or blog was associated with a "hate site". Not everyone approves of MWOP, you know.

The second was because I had an email from someone close to MckMama letting me know how badly this site is affecting her. I won't go into more details because they asked me not to, but I admit, I'm a softy and their words did get to me. They begged me to take the site down for her health and well-being. I don't think that's the answer, but as the comments and readership have been growing, I worry this site will turn into a nitpicking "Mean Girls" place, rather than one that focuses on the bigger lies she tells to spin things for money. But on the other hand, I completely understand that what's "big" to one person is small potatoes to another, so where is that line?

There were a few requests for new posts, for example. There's a MckMama user account under the name Dana, and it's definitely questionable, but I wonder how far to take it? I mean, Dana exists, according to people (and myself) looking up her Twitter account name, and she has real relatives that exist, so what do I do to find out if it was MckMama pretending to be someone else, or if someone copied her information? And since it was only one comment many months ago, does it really matter that much?

There was also a video where MckMama spent all her time on her iPhone. I felt sad after watching it - she is missing out on time with her children that she'll never get back. But on the other hand, she was at a dirt bike track. How many minutes would I last, or you, before we would be looking for something, anything, else to do?

Then there was the "oil" pictures. I know how I personally feel about them, but since they have been hashed through in the comments, do I need to put up another post because readers think the pictures are in bad taste or because she did it to start a debate? Personally, I think she is uneducated about what is going on in the Gulf, and that it was obvious in her post and comments. I seriously doubt if the same traumatic events were taking place on her "beach" that she would have felt the same about those pictures, or had so little to say about the spill itself.

On top of everything else, I want to keep the posts on this site as fact-based and true as possible. I don't want to put up the things we find without looking into it and knowing for sure there are lies or manipulation behind them. I also don't know how I feel about putting up comments posts just for the sake of comments. I tried that a few months ago and it did not go well. Maybe things would be different now?

Most of all, while I do laugh hard at some of the comments on here and see the small friendships and like getting to know the regulars, I appreciate all those who try to keep this site on topic. We do everyone's "investigative" hard work a disservice when we veer off track too much, and when that's what new readers see.

I don't know. I'm thinking about these things. When is it nitpicking or being mean? How do we give her a chance to be a better person when there are so many of us here who think so little of her already? Can she change, or will this blog still be around calling her out two years from now because something in her personality tells her that it's only the Internet, and she can lie and manipulate for money without regrets?

Those are my thoughts this week. If you have suggestions, I would absolutely love to hear them.