[90 Day Fiancé: Pillow Talk]

13 minutes ago, Armchair Critic said:

Gummy bears but they are a strange color

I'd bet money they're wine gummies. 

I love this, I may just switch over to this instead of watching the actual show - it's only an hour and all they show is the stuff worth snarking about anyway!

[S08.E34: Reunion: Part 2]

I assume the arrangements were made in advance for them to travel for Jenelle and they had to film Chelsea separately last minute, but damn if it isn't ridiculous that they accommodated Jenelle being "afraid" to travel without David (more like afraid of how he'd react to her interacting with anyone without his supervision) and had Chelsea by satellite.  I agree totally with folks saying Jace was clearly not in danger during the footage of her braking.  His seatbelt did its job and he was obviously a little shaken but otherwise okay.  She escalated the situation because she lost control of her emotions and then used her son as an excuse later for why she chased and pulled a weapon on a stranger *with Jace in the car*.  She clearly had no regard for his safety or well-being in that situation.  David is a shitty person and certainly seems to have had a negative influence on Jenelle, but I wish Barb would admit to herself and others at this point that her daughter has her own issues that have nothing to do with who she's with and that make her an unsafe parent all on her own. 

[S08.E31: On the Mend]

When Leah was talking with Ali as they were getting ready for the appointment I was thinking that they should have made a list together of things to tell Dr. Tsao.  It's always hard to remember in the moment what you want to talk about, and if she was worried that Ali wouldn't feel comfortable talking about everything she'd been telling Leah (and that Leah had been hearing from school, etc), then having something to refer back to during the actual appointment would have been helpful.  As she's getting older it's important for Ali to feel empowered about her own needs as well, and have opportunities to practice advocating for herself at appointments.  Yet another benefit of parent and community groups that they could join would be to learn about strategies for attending important appointments, both with Ali's doctors and at school!  I've had several parents in the past bring a friend or relative to IEP meetings just to take notes so they can focus on listening and asking questions and the friend can take down all the information. 

[S08.E30: Road Rage]

Most of what I have to say about the situation with Ali's aide has already been mentioned, but with the information from Leah's instragram posts taken into account, it sounds like there was a temporary staff issue that was that was either explained incorrectly by the principal, or misinterpreted by Leah.  All respect to principals, but many building administrators do not actually know a ton about special ed and can have trouble understanding or explaining things to parents, especially with legal stuff.  It should really have been something that a special ed administrator or Ali's case manager should have contacted Leah and Corey about immediately. 

I hope that my guess on that is right - I was very upset initially thinking that the school was actually trying to put one over on them, but it's also not news to any of us that Leah and Corey have not necessarily done a great job of informing themselves and getting involved with parent groups, etc.  At least Corey pointed out right away that they can't just change the IEP without a meeting, but it was interesting to see Kail suggest that Leah get involved with some parent groups for kids with MD and that seem to be something she hadn't really considered before.  Their (understandable to a point) denial of Ali's needs is not doing them any favors when it comes to knowing her rights as a student with a disability and the channels to go through if something like this comes up.  Ali has a case manager they could contact, and either her school or in the district there would be a school psychologist and an administrator in charge of special ed.  Unless editing left out them talking about contacting one of those people, that's them not doing their due diligence.  The school is responsible for implementing the IEP as written and making sure her parents understand the process, but they also need to take initiative to talk to the people in charge of special ed if they think something is not being done right.  Worst case scenario if the school is actually being shady or out of compliance, sometimes just threatening to request a meeting with attorneys present is enough to straighten things out (plus Leah has the leverage of being on TV as well).  Joining parent groups wouldn't only benefit them by helping learn more about MD - it would also help them know about access to parent advocates to bring to meetings, etc. 

[Season 8 Finale Special - Check Up w/Dr. Drew Part 2]

Just now, SuzyLee said:

And once again Jo outshines the rest of these jackasses.  He comes out onstage in a collared shirt, a nice jacket, and an actual pair of dress slacks while Javi and Hulk are dressed either “stylishly” tattered rags and the same plaid shirt that I wear when I clean out my garage on Saturday afternoon.  Color me impressed, Jo.  *fist bump of solidarity*

Not to mention offering support to Javi, who was a total asshole to him for no reason not too long ago!  He's really grown into a class act!

I thought it was weird how Briana's family seemed to actually be pretty fair toward Devoin compared with how she was talking to him, but maybe they saw how they were coming off on TV and toned it down?  The only calling out Dr Drew has done in years was noting to her that Nova can't get to know Devoin's side of the family if Briana won't let her see them.  Briana was on the attack for sure, she seems scared to let Nova build an attachment to anyone outside their household.

[S08.E18: The Ties that Bind]

Did Ali roll her eyes when Leah started practicing her motivational speaking on the girlses, or am I just projecting?

[S08.E16: Emotional Roller Coaster]

Luis is no prize, but good on him for staying calm and ignoring Briana's mom berating him while he's holding the baby.  What could she possibly want to accomplish other than getting him to come over even less?

[S08.E15: Love You, Mean It]

5 minutes ago, Sprockets said:

When he left, did he say he was going to the hardware store "for my wedding?"  

Something like that, like it was the first thing he could think of and that he thought would somehow get people to sympathize with him?  Like he's so stressed that he's going to get married?  Asshole is a charitable way to describe him, as far as I'm concerned.

[S08.E15: Love You, Mean It]

So, so great to hear Cory talking about getting Gracie into therapy (and having Ali in a wheelchair, finally!).  The dynamic between twins when one of them has such a serious medical condition must be really complex, and recognizing that Gracie might need some professional support with that is very mature compared with the way Cory and Leah sometimes handle Ali's medical stuff.

David is so fucking sketchy, it seems like the producers are very put off by him too.  When other people have refused to film before it seems like the producers have been more direct in confronting them about it (Farrah, Adam, etc), but they really softballed David and Jenelle.  I wonder about them feeling nervous around them, David is deeply unsettling and Jenelle goes along with everything.

[S08.E14: Oh, The Places You’ll Go]

They just showed an Olive Garden commercial, which I'm assuming is like a preview of the menu at Jenelle's wedding. 

[S08.E07: Motherducker]

Ali seems to get related services (physical and occupational therapy) at school already and had them as a pre-school student as well, so the likelihood is that she already has at least a 504 plan if not an IEP already.  It might depend on state or district practices for what type of plan you need to have in order to get those services, or staff may be looking to switch her to an IEP from a 504 if they don't do aide support for 504 students.  These kinds of things vary a lot across states and districts and can be especially confusing when students move between districts (which I believe they did after the flooding issues last year or because of the new house?)  I can imagine a situation where the teacher emailed to talk about concerns/suggestions and mentioned that she would need a special education referral for an IEP to get more support, which might have led Leah and Corey to think she'd end up in a separate or self-contained class away from her current classmates.  That's a common misconception because of how often student with special needs used to be isolated in school, whereas now there's more of a focus on inclusion and least-restrictive environment as much as possible.  We get that question a lot from parents who are new to special ed because they remember how it was when they were in school and often just don't have any basis of comparison outside of that recollection.  It's not surprising that Leah and Corey might have that same worry, especially because Ali is quite with-it as far as knowing that she's different and they're conscious of her feelings about that. 

If nothing else, I'm very pleasantly surprised with Leah's improvement this season, she's really starting to step up as a parent more and seems to have gotten her shit together, even if her classes haven't worked out so well.  Always good to see her and Corey working together to get Ali what she needs (if only they'd apply some of that to listening to the doctor about the wheelchair)!

[S08.E07: Motherducker]

7 hours ago, AirQuotes said:

Public school does irritate me with the way they don't look at the needs of students and take care of it.  Parents shouldn't have to ask for their kid to get assistance eating!  It is obvious Ali needs help and assistance.

It sounds like you had an awful experience with your own kids and as someone working in special ed in a public school it's terrible to hear that you all went through that.  Obviously it doesn't change what you experienced and I don't fault you for feeling how you do based on that, but I can tell you that the vast majority of public educators work very hard to address student needs.  It sounded to me like Ali's teacher was advocating for her and talking to Leah and Corey about pushing for more support for her in school.  Unless we see it on the show or in the media we can't know if there's been push-back from anyone in the school about that, but I'd bet that the suggestion for Leah to contact the school directly is because things tend to move along faster if a parent makes a request, not because anything was refused or ignored.  She should have access to someone for additional support if she's having more physical difficulty at school, which it sounded like they were just starting to notice at the time (as Leah and Corey were also realizing).  The other thing with Leah and Corey is that they have in the past seemed reluctant to do things that they perceive will single her out or focus too much on her disability.  They have good intentions, but they may have been offered other supports in the past and turned them down in favor of wanting her to be more independent.

Watching last night I noticed how Jenelle's kids (and Maryssa) seem to talk so much less than the other kids on the show.  Even the younger ones like Lincoln and Addy are super chatty now, but Jace, Kaiser, and Maryssa seem to talk very little.  Could just be what they happen to catch while filming, but I wonder about that.

I think when Briana and her family keep talking about Luis screwing up, they're not talking about the pregnancy.  I think they're talking about him cheating, which kind of shattered the fantasy that he was going to be present and that they were all going to live together as a family.  If they just blame him for that and act like everything would have been fine otherwise, Briana doesn't have to take responsibility for her choices!

[S08.E05: Lips Don't Lie]

Have we seen Leah's "friend" before, or is she strictly there so Leah can bring in her fans for another pyramid scheme (sorry, "multi-level marketing company")?

Briana is having important conversations with her mom and sister about Nova, but they need to *stop having them in front of her*!!  She does not need to hear the unfiltered version of any of this and they can't and shouldn't expect her to be able to filter through it herself as a young child.  I know they need things to talk about in front of the cameras, but seriously, wait until she's in bed.

[S08.E01: And Then There Were Five]

Jenelle bitches about how she was crying and no one was paying attention to her.  Kaiser starts crying, so she gets out of the car, shuts the door and leaves him in there so she can keep complaining to a producer.  Ugh.

[S06.E26: We Are Family]

3 minutes ago, Brooklynista said:

I like this version of Farrah and its freaking me out. I like her fresh face, I like the way she and Simon interact and I even sort of like the blonde hair.

I think I just like her snarking about David.  That guy is a creepy weirdo, he deserves her usual rudeness!

[S06.E26: We Are Family]

2 minutes ago, ChicagoChris said:

GTFOH Tyler has just been told this crazy octagon house has been on the market FOR A YEAR and he still wants to make an offer sight unseen ?!?!

He and his wife just know what they want, okay?  That's why they're shopping for a house immediately after moving into the one they renovated to be what they want!

[S06.E25: Friday The Thirteenth]

I agree about Sophia saying she didn't want to go, that could have been her feeling that day after insisting she wanted to.  Seemed like a weird-ass acting lesson to me though, and that guy looked like he was drinking a beer?  I was way more put off by how Farrah obviously told her they'd be moving into the townhouse and then gave her a hard time about mentioning it when she was talking to the tenants like that isn't her plan.  She's a kid, don't tell her one thing and then get upset that she called you on it when you lied in front of her!

Is this hypnotist paying to be on the show, or what?

Matt is so gross, talking about lapdances in front of Leah? "Daddy"?  Amber continually getting back with him after all of this is just sad.  I'm not her biggest fan, but it's disappointing to watch her go back and forth with him instead of just standing up for herself and telling him to fuck off for good.

[S06.E17: Hello Again World!]

7 hours ago, Juniebaby said:

That birthday party was shameful.  Poor Bentley, I hope he had a real birthday party off camera.  What was with that non cake she made, it looked like a thin brownie with a candle on it.  Couldn't she bake a cake for him?  Was it the middle of the night when she sang happy birthday?  Half of them didn't sing and the others barely made an effort to bother.  I know we've discussed this before but what is really wrong with Ryan.  He looks 20 years older and is so vacant.  It looks like either brain damage or maybe he's on anti depressants that are making him loopy.  Does anyone have any idea?

It looked like a family birthday party to me - we've seen Bentley have more elaborate parties with friends before, maybe that was on another day.  I imagine it's getting harder and harder for MTV to get releases to film around the kids' friends since they're getting older and their moms have reputations as such gems, it might have just been easier to film the family party instead.  The brownies just looked like they were in too big of a pan, so they were thin, but maybe Bentley prefers brownies to cake (I always hated cake and would ask for brownies every birthday).  The singing was weird, but other than that, it seemed like a nice party to me.

Farrah in the car with Sophia was like a flashback to what her conversations with Debra must have been like when she was a kid/preview of how her relationship will eventually be with Sophia.  She seems totally dead inside at this point, the bullshit about positivity is like a rehearsed statement every time. 

[S01.E01: The Bone Orchard]

I went to a screening and Q&A event at Bard College last weekend.  I really enjoyed the episode, and I'm really happy with the casting.  I wasn't sure about Pablo Schreiber, but I thought he was actually perfect once I saw it. 

[S07.E19: Last To Know]

Watching Jace decide that it wasn't worth it to tell Jenelle his actual feelings about the pregnancy and just switch over to saying "yes" to all of her questions was pretty telling. 

[S07.E17: Privacy Please]

Wasn't Peach Kail's friend?  Interesting that she's hanging out with Javi now, makes you wonder about Kail's behavior - she used to seem like one of the ones who kept her friends over time.  She was being ridiculous acting so standoffish toward Javi.  He's not my favorite, but jeez.

[S07.E17: Privacy Please]

"If you're pregnant, it's going to come out sooner or later...", literally.  Thank you Barb!

[S07.E15: 100]

Chelsea treating her pregnancy and having another kid like it's actually a big deal is very refreshing for this show.  It's very sweet how much she's thinking about Aubree's feelings, too.

[S07.E13: Breaking The Wall / S07.E14: Deja Vu]

It looked to me like the dog had eaten some grass, which does tend to make animals throw up.  Not really out of the ordinary for pets that go outside though, in my experience.

Jenelle's brilliance strikes again - if she says she wants Kaiser for every single holiday, but Nathan can have him "every other year", that means the following year he would get him for every holiday...

[Teen Mom OG Reunion]

I totally agree about Farrah being right for once when it comes to her calling Amber.  That was something that I was impressed by, and it was very disappointing that despite Amber putting off the wedding to Matt, she clearly doubled down on trying to convince herself that he's good for her.  Now she's just a different kind of mess.