Paul Arndt had an awesome 34th birthday!

[HereticHick]

A 34 year old man waking up and going into his parents room to sing a song he made up. :? What did the Arndt parents do to their children?

30 years from now the police are going to visit this house for some random reason and discover all these manboys, dressed up as penguins, right? The policeman will stumble on the Lego pieces strewn on the floor, fall against a bedroom door, and discover the moldering remains of Mommy and Daddy.

God, its a X-Files episode. :shock:

[Odd1Out]

Why can't this poor guy just marry Sarah Maxwell?

Because Sarah would have a breakdown. She could not handle the fun as well as wearing white shorts like Ma Arndt.

And because she deserves a mature husband.

[JenniferJuniper]

Because Sarah would have a breakdown. She could not handle the fun as well as wearing white shorts like Ma Arndt.

And because she deserves a mature husband.

They just aren't a match.

For example, Mary Elizabeth was allowed to play in the lateset Softball Classic. Playing with and against menfolk. She scorched a double. No doubt in the white shorts that match her mother's.

[precious_one]

These family scares me and fascinates me at the same time. How can parents brainwash, guilt (I don't even know the word) grown men to live at home as children? This family needs to be studied!!

I can barely get my 19 yo son to eat dinner with us the same room. I couldn't tell you the last time any of my children was in our bedroom.

I have no words either!!

[anniebgood]

Our 27 year old lives with us and does participate in most family things. He works 32 hours a week for LA County, but that doesn't even come close to what he'd need to pay rent. He doesn't come into our bedroom unless he needs to ask a question. He's got a lot of friends and isn't shy. But he doesn't sing and dance for us for his birthday. His only request- an ice cream cake. And because we raised him right, he goes over to his 90 year old grandma's house 2x a week and does chores. :)

The Arndts need to let go. Maybe their sister will be able to escape. Mommy doesn't seem to be as clutchy with her as she does with her boys. :nenner:

[church_of_dog]

Daddy's Diary.

It's asking me for a password.

Have I been banned? I swear I'm a good girl! Please let me in!

[gustava]

It's asking me for a password.

Have I been banned? I swear I'm a good girl! Please let me in!

Only if you are a penguin :penguin-no:

[insanityzcat]

Holy wow. Some of these guys are not bad looking. I would LOVE to corrupt one or a few of them. Am I the only one who has considered this? :D

[Odd1Out]

I watched the clip from the local news they had in their post (daily updates) talking about the softball tournament. They seem so normal........

[yewnique]

Daddy's Diary.

It's asking for a password. Need to register to get access.

I'm curious to read, but not curious enough to want to register. :(

[Miggy]

This would be fun....for a FOUR YEAR OLD! Wow. Just Wow. And the whole family doesn't get to go out to eat? Talk about the Family Cult. 34 Years old--he should be married, have 2.5 kids, a golden retriever, a cat, a JOB, a 401K and be remodeling the basement. Instead he's having happy time in his parents bedroom.......Too Weird for Words.................

He has a job. I think that is where I struggle to understand the Arndts. Paul, John, Mark & Luke all work as part of Daddy's court reporting business. This isn't like the Maxwells - everyone locked away at home working - it's all of them going out, often alone to work. Mark also runs his own photography business and he's good. Looking at the photos and videos on the site, I'd be happy to employ him. Luke and James have a computer repair business, so again, lots of contact with regular people.

I understand how families that isolate keep their kids at home well into adulthood. I can not work it out with the Arndts. They mix with people at work and through softball. Some of the boys even went to school for a year. How are Cathy & Rick keeping them at home?

*Luke is hot but James is my pick for a husband. He's good looking, does a lot of the maintenance around the house (a useful skill in a husband), he can cook, he has a proper job, etc. I really don't understand why some girl hasn't swooped in and claimed him yet.

[BrownieMomma]

Maybe it is nothing more than the malaise of the current culture. 34 seems a bit excessively old but in the last year I've had a therapist tell me the new age of the end of adolescence is 28. What I read seems to bear this out... like kids who graduate college but have to move home with the 'rents because they are unemployed or underemployed.

[nelliebelle1197]

Maybe it is nothing more than the malaise of the current culture. 34 seems a bit excessively old but in the last year I've had a therapist tell me the new age of the end of adolescence is 28. What I read seems to bear this out... like kids who graduate college but have to move home with the 'rents because they are unemployed or underemployed.

So I am guessing you don't know anything about the Arndts.

[chaotic life]

I cannot compare this man to my sons. I really thought the Arnt sons were in their 20s. My brother is two years older than this man. He holds a Master's degree, owns a home, two cars, and a motorcycle. He also has two children.

Or, I could compare him to my husband's brother who he is two years older than. Hubby's brother has done two tours in Iraq, two in Afghanistan and now holds a full-time job, owns a house and two cars and us divorced. He also has two kids whom he has 50% custody of since his wife left him in his last tour before he joined civilian life.

I cannot imagine a 34 year old living at home and celebrating his birthday in mom and dad's bedroom. That is messed up in every way possible.

[JenniferJuniper]

Maybe it is nothing more than the malaise of the current culture. 34 seems a bit excessively old but in the last year I've had a therapist tell me the new age of the end of adolescence is 28. What I read seems to bear this out... like kids who graduate college but have to move home with the 'rents because they are unemployed or underemployed.

This isn't the reason the Arndt men are still at home. THEY are the ones supporting their parents. Aside from his cable access TV show, Rick hasn't worked in years (he's still in his 50's) and I don't think Cathy ever did. The sons even built the house and a couple of them work full time to maintain it. Most of the older sons have skills that would enable them to support themselves.

I've concluded the Arndts cannot be puzzled out.

[nokidsmom]

I understand how families that isolate keep their kids at home well into adulthood. I can not work it out with the Arndts. They mix with people at work and through softball. Some of the boys even went to school for a year. How are Cathy & Rick keeping them at home?

While I can't truly know how Cathy and Rick are doing it, I will take a stab at it based from watching my sisters who stayed at home until their 30's. They worked, they could go out, they could travel, so they did meet people and they had some friends, however no boyfriends and no dating. Parents were very overinvolved in their lives and knew everything that was going on. Sisters always worried about not pleasing Mom and Dad. It was a rather weird mix.

After I left home amid a lot of turmoil and parental disapproval simply because I decided it was time to carry on with my own life post college, my moving out was seen as "breaking up the family". It was "abandoning" my parents. They drummed it into my sisters' heads that they didn't want to be doing that too and became another "bad daughter". My folks were very invested in their parental roles and authority plus they were the type of parent that needs to be "in the know" and in control of things because it made them feel safe, certain and special. So I suspect it may be something like this.

[JenniferJuniper]

While I can't truly know how Cathy and Rick are doing it, I will take a stab at it based from watching my sisters who stayed at home until their 30's. They worked, they could go out, they could travel, so they did meet people and they had some friends, however no boyfriends and no dating. Parents were very overinvolved in their lives and knew everything that was going on. Sisters always worried about not pleasing Mom and Dad. It was a rather weird mix.

After I left home amid a lot of turmoil and parental disapproval simply because I decided it was time to carry on with my own life post college, my moving out was seen as "breaking up the family". It was "abandoning" my parents. They drummed it into my sisters' heads that they didn't want to be doing that too and became another "bad daughter". My folks were very invested in their parental roles and authority plus they were the type of parent that needs to be "in the know" and in control of things because it made them feel safe, certain and special. So I suspect it may be something like this.

Some of this is almost certainly going on with the Arndts. You can tell they've been convinced that their family is far more special than most others and that they are very lucky fellows indeed.

But what makes them so extraordinarily unique is the fact that there are 10 adult sons at home; non of whom have apparently even had a single date with a woman. It hard to fathom that not one of these guys has given into his libido and started rebelling even just a bit, especially considering the fact that they are out in the world, and even allowed to travel to distant cities on their own from time to time. And why is there never a hint of strife between all those brothers living in one house and sharing bedrooms. Don't they ever want to beat the crap out of each other? It's just so normal for brothers in close confines to fight.

If Mommy and Daddy could bottle their magic it might do wonders for prison inmate control....

[skankbiscuit]

I think while Cathy puts on a good show, I think that she goes insane if a female comes within 10 feet of any of those "boys" and probably scares them away. I think she probably also makes the boys feel guilty and cries and tells them how no one is good enough for them, and mommy is the only one who understands just how special they are.

[Firiel]

I just realized these guys have, like 50 episodes of a TV show. I can't believe I didn't know that before.

Stand aside, Parks and Rec... I'm gonna have to watch stuff about the Arndt family for the next few weeks!

[nokidsmom]

Some of this is almost certainly going on with the Arndts. You can tell they've been convinced that their family is far more special than most others and that they are very lucky fellows indeed.

But what makes them so extraordinarily unique is the fact that there are 10 adult sons at home; non of whom have apparently even had a single date with a woman. It hard to fathom that not one of these guys has given into his libido and started rebelling even just a bit, especially considering the fact that they are out in the world, and even allowed to travel to distant cities on their own from time to time. And why is there never a hint of strife between all those brothers living in one house and sharing bedrooms. Don't they ever want to beat the crap out of each other? It's just so normal for brothers in close confines to fight.

If Mommy and Daddy could bottle their magic it might do wonders for prison inmate control....

My folks only got 2 out of 3. That the Arndts are 10 for 10 (at this point) is beyond remarkable. It would seem the odds would dictate that at least a couple of them would have "rebelled" by now but there's nothing or any sign that maybe they might want to move out, go on dates, maybe not wait for Princess Charming to show up on their doorstep. No sign of any of them telling Rick and Cathy that it's time for to move out and just do it. It's so weird.

Oh yeah, it's quite normal for brothers to fight, no matter how many of them. I bet that they have been trained by their parents to not fight from very early on. How that worked would be another secret of theirs.

This also reminds me of a friend of mine. She's the only girl out of four kids. She moved out but all three of her brothers are home with Mom and Dad; they are all around 50. Brothers never married, never dated, never moved out, one or two work, one was disabled after the age of 37. Very involved with Mom and Dad; Dad's a retired pastor and kind of a weird guy like Rick. Even my friend thinks the situation with her brothers is sad. Wonder if this is what Wizzy will think years from now. She will get out but the brothers will remain as mentioned upthread.

[Letgo]

None of the Arndt manboys even seem to want to leave. They appear to be quite happy with the lives they have. It is just so weird. Many families are close, but this one is at a whole new level. I just don't get them. Don't Rick and Cathy want more for their sons? I want my adult children to be independent and have happy married lives with children and careers and their own homes-and that's want they want, too. They are excited to be buying houses and fixing them up. They enjoyed going away to college, having friends, and actual lives. The manboys could move out and still have relationships with mom and dad and each other. I would think that Cathy would get tired of cooking and cleaning for all those men. I know I would. I would also be worried by now that ALL OF MY ADULT SONS were still living with me!

[salex]

rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mostfran/unique_characters/janisbrothers_bachelors.html

An eventual possible ending for the boys.....

IT all sounds so familiar

[nokidsmom]

None of the Arndt manboys even seem to want to leave. They appear to be quite happy with the lives they have. It is just so weird. Many families are close, but this one is at a whole new level. I just don't get them. Don't Rick and Cathy want more for their sons? I want my adult children to be independent and have happy married lives with children and careers and their own homes-and that's want they want, too. They are excited to be buying houses and fixing them up. They enjoyed going away to college, having friends, and actual lives. The manboys could move out and still have relationships with mom and dad and each other. I would think that Cathy would get tired of cooking and cleaning for all those men. I know I would. I would also be worried by now that ALL OF MY ADULT SONS were still living with me!

I don't have kids as per my username but seriously, I would consider myself a parenting failure if any of my able bodied adult children had no inclination to be independent and go out and craft a life for themselves. I would wonder where I went wrong.

But I suspect Rick and Cathy, whatever they have done, don't wonder what they have done wrong. In their weird world, they have done right. This is exactly what they want and they have managed it quite well.

[BrownieMomma]

rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mostfran/unique_characters/janisbrothers_bachelors.html

An eventual possible ending for the boys.....

IT all sounds so familiar

Here and there I read about sisters, usually in pairs but these Janis brothers are quite remarkable.

It is so natural to seek to reproduce. It's like puberty never happened for these brothers except in the barest of physical ways. They said they had girlfriends I wonder if they all died virgins.

But the Arndts don't even have girlfriends. Wonder they will all stick together after the parents pass.

I admit, I don't get it, not even the slightest little bit.

[sparkles]

I've also wondered how the Arndt parents keep 'em down on the farm and honestly, the only thing I can think of is drugs. When you think of it, it would be pretty easy. Not very Jesus-y of me, but really, nothing else makes sense, especially since they all seem to have a case of arrested development. Part of me is kidding but then part of me goes "hmmm…"

They're just. so. weird.