Jon and Kate Plus 8: ‘Multiple Blessings’ of Twins, Sextuplets

For Kate Gosselin, having two sets of multiples under the age of nine wasn’t enough of a challenge.

The Gosselins, also known as ‘Jon and Kate Plus 8′ talked about their family and new book “Multiple Blessings: Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets” on “Good Morning America.”

(ABCNEWS.com)

Between sending her twins to second grade and starting her sextuplets at pre-school — not to mention filming her family’s TLC reality show, “Jon and Kate Plus 8″ — Gosselin and her husband, Jon, somehow found time to write a book, “Multiple Blessings.”

“In the early years, so many people would say, ‘You need to write a book,’ and my joke was always ‘Oh yeah, in all my spare time, right?’” Kate told Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America,” where she appeared Thursday morning alongside Jon and the couple’s eight children: Cara and Mady, the two 8-year-old twins, and the 4-and-a-half-year old sextuplets, Aaden, Hannah, Alexis, Collin, Leah and Joel.

“Slowly [the book] happened,” she said. “Our goal was to record the memories before we forgot them … I didn’t care if it was never published. I wanted it recorded for the kids, for them to know how much they were wanted and loved. “

Having become an inspiration to so many parents who struggle with just one or two children, Kate told ABCNews.com that “Multiple Blessings” is really just a compilation of lessons she had learned, put down on paper for “moms everywhere.”

“We have lived through a lot — just about every situation you can imagine,” said Kate, 33, of her experience raising six girls and three boys at their central Pennsylvania home, where the TLC film crew comes three times a week for about two hours each day.

Often criticized for inviting cameras into their living room, Jon and Kate defended their decision, explaining that because they knew their unique family would garner attention no matter what they did, they opted to let the public into their lives on their own terms.

“Even if we would just go out in public we would be stared upon and looked upon,” Jon, 31, said. “It was an opportunity for us to show the world what it’s like.”

“To the critical people, a lot of times, we just say the major blessing to us that we never could have predicted or planned or worked toward was the fact that we can both work from home and have eight kids and provide for our family,” Kate added.

The show began when producers contacted the couple through their Web site. Two hour-long documentaries followed, and then, “Jon and Kate Plus 8,” now in its third season.

“Instead of people contacting us and doing news report after news report, why not let them into our house and let them see what it’s really like?” Jon said.

As for how long they’ll keep the cameras in their home, Jon said it’s up to the family.

“It’s always been a season-by-season decision,” he said. “We have a family meeting and we all vote on whether we want the cameras to stay.”

“Their childhood comes first,” Jon said, adding that as soon as the kids get sick of the limelight, they’ll kick the cameras to the curb.

Jon and Kate Gosselin Do It All, Times Eight

Even though the Gosselins may stand out as an atypical family, Jon and Kate say they face the same challenges as families who have just one or two children, leading to a large following of parents who are both inspired and fascinated by Kate’s ability to keep her household running smoothly. The thing that also surprised us was the fact that in the end, so many people are inspired by us,” Kate said. “It doesn’t matter if you have two kids or ten. Parents do this job over and over and over again every day. You just repeat it and repeat it. It’s the most worth it job ever. We’re having a blast.”

So how does she do it?

It’s all about organization, said Kate, who admits to being a control freak.

“My control is relaxing,” she said. “I’ve met my match. I’ve realized I’ll go over the edge if I don’t chill out a little bit. So the ‘me’ you see now is less controlled than the ‘me’ you used to see.”

For one, Kate deals with not just a few picky eaters, but eight, which has lead to her mantra known well by fans of the show: “If you don’t like what’s served,” she says, “the next meal is breakfast.”

“They don’t know life any other way,” said Kate.

Mady and Cara, the couple’s 8-year-old twin girls, played with dolls offstage while their mother demonstrated her favorite meat loaf recipe on “GMA.”

“I don’t like meat loaf,” Cara said, not shy to voice her opinion.

The twins say they prefer their mom’s blueberry cobbler and dad’s apple crisp.

Jon and Kate also make a point of spending time individually with each child, an important habit that Jon says the children look forward to.

“There is an errand rotation,” he said. “The kids always know who is next to come with just me — and not the other kids — the grocery store or the bank.”

As Eight Kids Grow Up, New Challenges Emerge

Amid the errands and cooking and the occasional nap, Kate says that she and Jon do find time to spend together without the children.

With the kids going to bed at around eight each night, Jon and Kate often retire to their newly-installed porch swing, where Jon says they “just talk.”

As for a date night, Kate says the closest they get to that is watching their favorite show, “Grey’s Anatomy,” together every week.

While having six newborns was a challenge, Kate said that even though the sextuplets are more independent now they are not necessarily easier to care for.

“It doesn’t get easier as they get older,” said Kate. “It’s just different.”

Kate said that while she used to just “plop them in car seats and go,” as they’ve gotten older they’ve become more outspoken.

“Now they can talk back to us,” she said.

But Kate said that as time goes on she has stopped sweating the small stuff — from sticky fingers to how she and Jon will pay for college for eight children. She says she tries her best not to worry.

“God got us this far,” said Kate. “He’ll get us the rest of the way.”

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