StayingAfterSunday

Has the question been raised as to whether Matt has a girlfriend waiting in the wings somewhere? I wondered about that early on in the separation, and now even more so, after seeing Matt's eagerness to get the divorce finalized quickly (as per Amy).

I suspect Jake may be gay, too, judging by those dusty, dirty knees of his when he came in after going MIA overnight. (and that abrasive sister of his probably knows the truth about him, too, which could be one of the reasons she subjected Ami to that poolside interrogation.) I liked Paul and thought he and Kallie would have made a nice fit -- maybe not immediately, but I thought Kallie might have come to appreciate his manly qualities, despite his somewhat "sheltered" history. Kallie puts too much stock in her family's approval, which might hurt her chances of finding "the one." Let's be real; no one is perfect and if she's looking to find a guy that will suit every one in that big, judgmental family of hers she may end up with no one. I inwardly applauded Paul for speaking up so decisively during his dinner with Kallie in North Carolina. She was basically asking him to change for her, and he was forthright and stood his ground, implying that if she didn't like him for himself and for what he had to offer, then it wasn't going to work. It looks as though he was right.

It's unfortunate that the ones who talk the most are actually saying the least (are you listening, Christine and Meri??). Janelle's silence often comes off as "stonewalling." Here's what Psychology Today says about women who stonewall others, particularly their partners: "Stonewalling, according to the research of Gottman and others, as well as the experience of most couples' counselors, is far more likely to be a male thing. When women stonewall, it’s typically a function of temperament – they’re shy, inhibited, or introverted. More commonly, it’s a learned behavior – engaging in conflict or emotion-laden conversation has exposed them to put-downs or abuse in the past." PsychToday Dec. 2012.https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/anger-in-the-age-entitlement/201212/how-ruin-perfectly-good-relationship-0 I'd love to hear more from Robyn: Not just bits and pieces of scripted insights that miss the mark of credibility more often than not; I'd like to hear real feelings and observations from her. I'm tired of stuff like, "I knew what I was getting into before I became a sister wife," blah and blah some more. It would be more enlightening to hear how she feels now that she is one of them. Her general affect and expression seem rather flat in these recent episodes but that, of course, may be due to her very advanced state of pregnancy. It will be interesting to see if that mood lightens up - and if her manner of expression deepens - now that she's back to "normal" again after birthing the 18th Wonder of the World.

Yeah, Christine spoke about Kody's excellent skills as though he had coached her for the Olympics. That was really weird. Odder still was Robyn's hand wringing (well, not really; does she ever show any genuine emotion?) over the baby's no-name status, and her attendant remark: "I'm really stressing..." and then, "This little girl needs a name." "This little girl? How strangely impersonal. Then again, after seven straight months of "Baby Sister," maybe anything is preferable.

I thought she did tell her mother he had four kids. Her mother did not seem to be very encouraging about her daughter pursuing a guy with four kids. About Valene: She has such an attitude of entitlement. Coming from Colts Neck, NJ, an affluent area, does make me wonder if she isn't more than a tad spoiled. Also, I wonder if maybe she doesn't have all that much experience with men, in general. Looking at her I wonder if maybe she used to be obese and has since lost a great deal of weight (judging from her arms, it appears she has a lot of loose flesh). In any case, the optimism I felt after seeing her with Mikey at the aquarium soon plummeted while witnessing her little whiney, passive-aggressive acting out later that evening. "Alone time," "alone time," is becoming a sort of mantra for this petulant child-woman. Yeah, I get the gay vibe, too, on Jake. Also, he and Ami could not be more mismatched. She may be only four years older than Jake, but she looks old enough to be his mother. What were producers -- what was Ami? -- what was Jake? - thinking. Evidently, the only one who was thinking, ironically, was Jake's sister. Re: The adorable little Elijah who is clearly not potty trained yet. Accidents happen with young kids this age, but Elijah's soiling himself seemed beyond what is typical of a four-year-old, I think. This is something that the father (John?) should have shared with his new roommate/date/girlfriend before leaving the kid with her for an entire work day. Also, his father's alluding to the "whole poop," and the "whole nugget," or whatever image he used to convey the fact, was nauseating and unnecessary. Last: I thought Kallie would be a fine addition to that family, but I agree with those who feel as though Paul has other reasons besides love and romance in his quest for a woman. His telling Kallie that he did not think having four kids made him "desperate," could just be a defense mechanism. Certainly any man who is the primary caregiver for multiple children is going to be viewed as someone in need of help. "Desperate" may be too strong a word, but "needy" might fit the bill.

I, too, wondered about all of these things and more.... One explanation for Jenelle's decision to marry her ex-sister-in-law's husband: Maybe there wasn't that sort of closeness between Meri and the brother (Jenelle's ex). The sister wives seem to pride themselves on being unique in their abilities to bond with one anther and operate as one cohesive unit. If Meri's polygamous upbringing lacked that particular type of unity it is possible that the brother who married Jenelle was actually a half brother of Meri's and one with whom she was not particularly close. It's possible, too, that she didn't care enough about him to take offense to Jenelle's divorcing him. Regardless of the truth re: the above, there is still the big question surrounding Meri's feelings once Jenelle joined her and Kody in the marital bed, so to speak. Meri admits to being jealous. Perhaps she really did have little, if any, say in Kody's decision to bring Jenelle into the fold. I can see where Meri, to this day, holds some resentment towards Jenelle. How could she not? Polygamous relationships cannot possibly breed healthy emotions in the "participants." It may be natural for a man to want a different wife for different purposes, but it's not a prudent decision for him to act on those inclinations. In reality, giving in to our feelings is a short-term solution to our basic impulses. It doesn't work, despite what the sister wives profess. What I just don't get is how Christine and Jenelle, who are both Kody's "spiritual wives," can suddenly appear to be so accepting of Robyn, who has now become Kody's only legal (i.e. "real" wife). But that's a whole other topic for another section of this forum, no doubt.

After watching my fair share of cases involving disappearances I have noticed a common theme in most of them, and that is drugs. In the situation involving Tammy Kingery, for example, I sensed that she was battling withdrawal from opiates during the period of time when she arrived at work in distress and the time spent recovering in her bed at home. I believe the amount of time that transpired was approximately two weeks or so. It would not surprise me that she seized an opportunity once her husband and son left the house that morning. It is not at all uncommon for an addicted person to get through the first uncomfortable days or weeks of withdrawal only to weaken and resume using their drug of choice again. A common scenario is for a person to pick up their habit at the same level of potency that they had maintained prior to their abstinence, leading to overdose and, often, death. It's possible Tammy contacted someone the minute her husband was out the door, and that person simply acted as her ride to wherever it was she wanted to go. Not sure if they ever thoroughly investigated the man or men Tammy was supposed to have been involved with during her marriage, but I do not get the feeling that her husband is involved in her disappearance. (I did read a report online that quoted Tammy's husband as saying that his wife had taken a large amount of "medicine" and alcohol the week prior to her disappearance; the article did not specify the type of medication, however.) I don't think the idea of Tammy using drugs again, either alone or with someone else, and overdosing from those drugs, is a far-fetched theory, considering her recent behavior, her depression, and the episode with drugs and alcohol that transpired the week before she disappeared. With respect to the disappearance of Brian Histand, yes, it is possible his repeated head injuries factored into his recent bizarre behavior. It is also possible that the stress of so many back-to-back losses pushed him into the zone of unreality and, ultimately, his demise. The "tipping point" for bipolar individuals is often, if not typically, stress. Even if Brian were undiagnosed as having bipolar disorder, his behavior does indicate he was having trouble dealing with the stressful events in his life. Then there is that other possibility: That Brian was having a psychotic episode of sorts from doing drugs, particularly methamphetamine. His cleaning frenzy that persisted throughout the night and into the next day, coupled with his lack of sleep, could easily suggest a manic episode induced by meth or simply a manic episode brought on by stress or of its own accord. Although his death was probably due to dehydration and exposure to the environment, I do wonder if a manic episode from drugs (or mental illness) was the primary factor. Then there is the giant basketball player, Rico Harris, who also vanished. He was known to have a quite serious drug problem. Although it may be unrealistic in some ways to imagine, Rico may still be alive and, perhaps, living as a transient, his awareness obliterated by the smoke from a constantly-burning crack pipe. Lastly, the vanishing of Robert Hoagland could very likely be the result of "Hoagie's" altercation with associates of his drug-using son. I, too, question the wisdom of confronting a bunch of drug thugs over a couple of laptops that belonged to his wife. Was Bob that frightened of his wife that he would risk his own life (and maybe his son's, too) in his quest to retrieve these computers? Maybe. Then again, maybe a combination of stressful events all came together in one big mess, compelling him to plan his exit. Didn't detectives mention something they found on his computer that related to wiping a hard drive clean? I do seem to recall, however, that they added a caveat to this discovery: that this info. on how to execute a "clean swipe" of the hard drive might have been an ad or pop up that inadvertently arose on the computer screen rather than being the result of a search that Hoagie had initiated for his own purposes. On the other hand, if he had been secretly planning to take off, the particular time that he disappeared would seem to make sense. His wife was away, for one thing. Also, I had a feeling that the one son with whom he had regular contact did not seem to be adding much peace or joy to his father's life, as it appeared he was still very much involved in the drug-using lifestyle (despite his mother's assertions that he was in recovery). If Robert Hoagland did actually opt to leave, he may have done so with the intention of it being only temporary. Maybe he viewed it as a well-earned hiatus, as a move that was crucial to his future well being. It's possible he rationalized his leaving as something beneficial in the long run to not only himself, but to his wife and sons, as well. Perhaps he told no one of his decision to go, not even his family, because his stress had reached a level where he could not risk being talked out of it. I could imagine this man lacking the courage to tell his family he needed a break. That would be a tough announcement for anyone to make. How much easier to just GO. If only for a while.

About Meri's request to take Solomon with her on the trip. I agree with those who suspect she had an ulterior motive in making this request. Since Mariah has always loved Sol, it would make sense that Meri might see an advantage in bringing him. A distraction, perhaps, so that Mariah's focus would be Sol rather than Meri? Or simply as a gift? "Here, Mariah, instead of a bottle of wine, I've brought something better -- Solomon!" Under different circumstances, I could see Meri's preferring to bring Sol on the visit rather than Breanna. He's younger, cute as a button, innocent, and too young to be judgmental. Even with all of the above considered, Robyn did not need to go into any lengthy dissertation as to why she was refusing Meri's request. The speculation by Robyn and Kody over the cause of Solomon's recent clinginess, etc., was unnecessary; furthermore, the reasons were rather obvious: Solomon was feeling a little insecure knowing that Baby Sister would soon be arriving, thanks to Kody mentioning the fact every ten minutes or so.

It's funny you mentioned "Lunchables." That episode where Gracie opens the fridge and laments the fact that her mother didn't buy Lunchables made me think -- just for a minute, mind you -- that Gracie was turning a bit bratty and, for that matter, turning on her mother as well. I know she's only - what? - six? - but geez....

Perfectly stated. And so, so true.

I am now to the point where I can no longer judge Meri's behavior or even attempt to identify her character flaws because it is just so obvious to me that Meri is seriously depressed. It seems painfully evident regardless of whether or not a formal psychiatric diagnosis has confirmed it. Menopause or peri-menopause could be a component, too, of Meri's emotional distress. Another thought I've had about Meri: Living amidst a child-bearing factory must have been progressively more hellish for her as the number of offspring increased between Jenelle and Christine. (It almost appears as though a competition of sorts might have been going on with those two). Also, despite Meri's being raised in a polygamous family herself, seeing evidence of Kody's physical relationships with the other two wives no less than twelve times over the years makes me wonder just how Meri held up as long as she has. I do believe Meri began to develop a genuine animosity towards Jenelle and Christine because of all of this. When Meri brought Robyn into the mix she acquired an ally until Robyn began turning out more kids, too. These days you can add me to the "poor Meri" camp.

I think Kendall is beautiful. I do agree with you about her face outshining her actual showmanship. It's too bad because I have always thought she had the face of a ballerina and have waited to see the rest of her live up to that perception. I still think Kendall is a beautiful dancer; she is just not the lithe, graceful dancer that makes it all "look easy," to use Abby's words. Both Kendall and Maddie do, however, share one common facial advantage: Both girls have magnificent eyes --large, well-spaced, soulful and expressive. The eyes are such a critical component for performing artists, and Maddie has learned to use those eyes to her advantage when she dances before an audience. Kendall, too, has caught on to the importance of connecting with an audience via the eyes. But another poster mentioned Maddie's recent lacklustre affect during the talking-head segments (I've also noticed this flat affect during her conversational scenes with Abby). It wasn't just her lack of expression, though, that gave me pause; it was the dullness in her usually bright eyes. I actually found myself feeling sad for her. Maybe she wasn't feeling well that particular day, or perhaps it's more... maybe Maddie is getting tired, or burned out.

Yes, I, too, can clearly recall Jill having her first of what turned into gadzillions of hissy fits over Princess K's rightful place on Abby's "royal dance troupe." The irony of it all is that Jill left to go to Kathy's Candy Apples dance studio in Ohio, only to return to the ALDC where Kendall was finally granted a place in Abby's kingdom.

One more thing, which is totally unrelated to any particular Lifetime presentation, but I do wonder sometimes if all, if not most, of the main male characters on these Lifetime movies are gay? Not saying this to cause a war or break rules. Just a general observation.

I'm so glad someone else noticed and said it! I agree with your "note to Jill." Where is Jill getting off in saying that "our girls started the whole thing?" I am paraphrasing what she said, but she has been harping this same mantra for the last three or so episodes about being the first, the ones who started it all, blah, blech and gag!! Enough, witchy woman! If my memory serves correct, I believe it was Kelly's girls, Paige and Brooke, along with Chloe (mom, Kristi), who were among the originals. They were also very entertaining, albeit mean at times, but who could blame them, considering Abby's continual favoritism towards Maddie at the exclusion of all three of the aforementioned dancers? Holly and Nia, in addition to Melissa and her goddesses, also made up the originals. Have I left out anyone?

Jenelle definitely showed self awareness and some degree of a conscience when she admitted that her mother "raised" Jace (during car scene with the Dave when they were discussing Barb wanting to take Jace on the Christmas trip). I have to admit, as minor as this may seem, I felt tremendous relief when I heard those words coming from Jenelle's usual poor-me mouth.

Re: Corey: I agree. Corey seems to have had a good, sold, male role model in his life, as far as I can tell. When Ali's disability first came to light, I thought Corey's attitude was not one of ignorance or naivete', but suggested that he had something deeper -- his words, though few, suggested he had faith that all would be well with her. (I think some of Corey's faith that Ali would be okay comes from Jeff.) This childlike perspective endeared him to me, although I'm sure it was maddening to others who may have viewed his response to Ali's apparent life-long handicap as being dismissive. Either way, Corey has been receptive from the start to the importance of getting Ali to her appointments as well as the need for that dang wheelchair. The show hasn't offered up much on Corey's mother, though, although I do recall her appearing in a couple of scenes, one of which showed her cutting his hair before his wedding (I think). She didn't impress me. As I say, there wasn't much to go on, but I got a feeling that his mom is a bit on the icy side, whereas Jeff seems a warmer person, more empathetic - and more congenial - for the most part.

Oh, gag, I know! It's akin to hearing, "between he and I," when it should be, "between him and me." Grates on my nerves big time whenever I hear these errors, no matter who makes them. This is definitely one aspect of reality t.v. that lives up to its claim. Producers allow the cast members to speak the way they're accustomed to speaking. About Neph: Initially, I thought maybe Neph would bring a little humor to the show, but now I'm not so sure. I'm still holding out a little hope, though...

Oh, so true. That movie was a collossal mess. I hate these "campy" scripts. I recognized the actor who played the cheater-turned-accomplice husband as Sam Page, the actor who played "Greg" in Mad Men. I saw another LMN disaster recently called, "Double Cross." Talk about over-acting or bad acting or whatever. The actress who played Kathy, the "good wife," distracted me throughout the movie. Her bottom lip trembled whenever she was upset or heard bad news, and seemed so over the top and exaggerated. Not to mention her voice. I couldn't figure out if she was a man or a woman in the beginning of the movie. The movie, to some extent, was redeemed by the acting of Laura Soltis, who played the "bad wife." Either way, the storyline did nothing to help the acting deficiency. The plot idea itself was clever and held great potential but it was poorly executed and included some ridiculous scenes. Just for starters: Kathy refusing to enlist the services of her attorney - played predictably well by Barbara Niven - in tracking down the murderer of her (Kathy's) husband. Another one: Scaredy-kat Kathy suddenly overcomes her timidity as she pulls a gun on James, demanding he go along with her scheme. Just dumb, and totally unbelievable. But then again, I have to keep reminding myself, this is a Lifetime movie. One of the bad ones.

I've always thought that a primary reason for Jeremy's attraction to Leah was Corey. I think Jeremy sort of looked up to Corey; also, Corey was "there first," so to speak, with respect to Leah. He seemed to want Leah because Corey found her appealing. Sort of similar to the mindset that goes along with wanting to buy a certain outfit or shoes or whatever because someone you admire has that particular thing. If Jeremy is the jealous/possessive type, which his behavior at times indicates, then any suspicion that Leah has rekindled a flame with Corey will send him into a rage and he will want to reclaim Leah as his own --- for the timebeing. You know, just to put his "taken" stamp on Leah so that he has "one up" on Corey. Even if Corey has no intentions of pursuing Leah. Then the whole mess will start up again, with Jeremy finding fault with Leah, Leah whining about Jeremy, etc. etc., which Jeremy will use as a neat excuse to make his exit. He's not as smooth as he seems to think he is.

Yes, it's obvious she can get very defensive at times. I wonder what type of personality Jason's mother had? Obviously, she was an artist. Cortney is a makeup artist and, while I'm not saying Jason's mother's artistry and Cortney's are of the same genre, they may have similar personality traits. Perhaps Jason is accustomed to certain aspects of that type of personality. Here is Myers-Briggs Personality traits for the Creative personality (a/k/a "The Artist"): It lists the positive and negative traits. From what we see of Cortney, this personality type appears to describe her pretty well. http://myersbriggspersonalitytypes.tumblr.com/post/49467992301/isfp-traits-the-artists.

Fair enough. Makes sense to me.

Chelsea is a pretty girl and doesn't need puddles of makeup. I'm with you, Ghoulina, and have always made an effort to put some makeup on during the day. My reason for doing so is a bit different from yours, though; I do it because I look like a corpse without it and, of course, it's always the day I have no makeup on that a neighbor rings my doorbell, etc. Never fails. Back to Chelsea: I also think she enjoys working with and applying makeup as do many people in the beauty profession. Even so, IMO she had way too much eye makeup on in this episode. It was distracting, to say the least. Although I find Chelsea a bit on the boring side, her physical appearance definitely makes up for what she lacks in personality. She gets prettier all the time. I haven't seen a whole lot of girls who look great with true, blood-red hair, but Chelsea definitely looked amazing with it.

Speaking for myself (hope this isn't what constitutes "board on boards"), my post did not imply that Corey and his wife were out to spite Leah. What I did say, in so many words, was that I believed money played a role and that Corey's dad may have been influential in Corey's decision to seek full custody. Now, with that out of the way, there is something else that bothers me about the custody arrangement. While it was not explicitly stated (not that I recall) that Leah was an "addict," it may as well have been announced to the world; granted, Leah did nothing to discourage that label and, indeed, went so far as to promote it at times. So, between Leah's rather obvious displays of "impairment" and her refusal to accept help in getting the twins to school, therapy, and medical appointments, why would the Custody Agreement grant Leah custody on weekends when she will be required to drive her girls here and there for cheerleading, dance, and whatever else (I'm assuming kids' birthday parties, etc.). Yes, there are always going to be offers of help from family members and from parents of the twins' friends, but you see what I'm saying here. In summary, I'm questioning why the hell the judge didn't grant FULL custody to Corey, in light of Leah's issues with substance abuse and the insinuations that these problems have not been resolved? At the very least, I'm thinking supervised visits might have been better than nothing and would have definitely trumped putting two kids in a car with a parent who can barely keep her eyes open.

Miranda fell for Corey, I think, because of --- surprise, surprise --- his "celebrity," as someone else kindly put it. I have said from day one that Corey has trouble expressing himself and, when he does, it falls short of anything coherent. Again, ... putting it nicely. Corey has always held that soft spot in his heart for Leah; say what you wish, but it appears to be very much the case. Regarding Miranda and Corey's seeking custody of the twins: I believe money played a part, and I suspect Jeff, Corey's dad, may have been a significant player in encouraging Corey to seek custody. I don't see Miranda as a key figure in what transpired, but I certainly understand how her involvement in the mess was inevitable and almost unavoidable. Speaking of the custody situation, they may call it whatever they like -- primary physical custody, or primary legal custody, etc., etc., --- but the decision on custody seems balanced to me, on both sides. Leah gets what she wants, in a sense. Not having to get up so early to get those kids to school, for starters. Sorry, 6:30 a.m. is unnecessarily early, especially with the long travel time - and bad weather days - taken into consideration. The Agreement states that Corey has the kids for four(?) weekdays, during which they are in school much of the day -- and Leah gets them every weekend when there is no school, but when there are kids' commitments, such as cheerleading and gymnastics, that Leah will need to ensure they fulfill. Was there any mention of what happens in the summer when school is not in session? Will the same schedule be enforced? It remains to be seen how all of this will work out once Miranda has the baby. It won't be easy, that's for sure, even if the twins are in school much of the day. Will this arrangement still feel like a wish come true? And will it be that much easier for Miranda to get three kids ready to go each morning, when one is disabled and the other is a little baby?