MckMama Drama - Including the Fire - Merge

[Petunia117]

Apparently, several people did (I guess I say 'several', but I just know that more than one person basically said they did, reading MWOP).

I think she would only make it password protected if she were told to by law enforcement, etc.

Now she's talking on FB about wanting to run away where no one know her and live off the land. I really think she's mentally ill, but I don't get why her parents or her husband don't step in.

@antifundie- she was a teacher and he had a contracting business. They lived WAY beyond their means when he was working (she was a SAHM by that time) and he got sued for a bunch of debts, both in their own names and his business's name. And they had a 50k tax lien. So, he can't really operate a business because he can't get credit and because he let his license expire (he was a general contractor). She let her teaching license expire as well, and if either one of them starts to work then the government or creditors will garnish their wages. She gets paid under the table via PayPal, but PayPal is going to start reporting to the government, so who knows what she will do then...I think basically they don't have jobs because they're lazy.

[Beeks]

The more I hear about this woman, the more I dislike her.

I read that neither she nor her husband have jobs? Why not?

I'm pretty sure her blog supports them, and she does all kinds of odd jobs like photo shoots and classes. Her husband seems like a huge loser/douche (from when he used to blog) and she tries to make him out to be this awesome guy. Apparently he has a porn addiction, has been arrested for DV multiple times and basically spends his life mooching off her and going fishing. Yeah, what a catch there, Mck. Prince Charming he is not.

[Petunia117]

Her blog doesn't support them anymore- she lost her BlogHer ads because of plagiarism and then whatever ads she had after that because she went on a rant about gay people. Now she has some sleezy ads that put spyware on your computer, but she doesn't make much off of that. She just ran a special for the ad space on her blog- I think it was $15 a week? She's barely making anything off the blog, and she had to remove some of her destinations from her RV/photo trip because there wasn't any interest. Whenever she runs out of cash, they scramble to get some. She just had a garage sale (where she sold all the baby gear her baby is still using. wtf?) and now she's doing photography lessons around the country. She's a serious scammer, but she's not making the money she used to. (And if any of that income pops up on the radar of any of their creditors, then they're totally screwed.)

[fundiefan]

Her blog doesn't support them anymore- she lost her BlogHer ads because of plagiarism and then whatever ads she had after that because she went on a rant about gay people. Now she has some sleezy ads that put spyware on your computer, but she doesn't make much off of that. She just ran a special for the ad space on her blog- I think it was $15 a week? She's barely making anything off the blog, and she had to remove some of her destinations from her RV/photo trip because there wasn't any interest. Whenever she runs out of cash, they scramble to get some. She just had a garage sale (where she sold all the baby gear her baby is still using. wtf?) and now she's doing photography lessons around the country. She's a serious scammer, but she's not making the money she used to. (And if any of that income pops up on the radar of any of their creditors, then they're totally screwed.)

What a scary, sad way to live. I live hand to mouth but not intentionally. I can't imagine doing so by choice; as a way to avoid debt payments and taking responsibility for myself. I owe taxes. I hate that and it makes me uncomfortable and pretty scared about the near future as far as finances go. But, I can't imagine trying to avoid it. My motto is "just play by the rules and do what I gotta' do" You'd have to hide the rest of your life. That never goes away or disappears, no matter how many years pass.

How the hell does she travel around the country - and to Africa - if she makes money sporadically and by scamming?

Um, actually, don't tell me. I don't want to know. I can't and don't read her for reasons that already make me squigged out. Any further reason would just be overkill.

[antifundie]

I'm guessing that if they both got jobs, yes, the gov't would take some of their money, but I'd think they would be left with some to live on right?

And yeah, going to Africa when you don't have a job? And how do you "scramble to get some" cash? I wouldn't think a garage sale would be all that lucrative, baby gear or no.

Do her followers give her money?

[Petunia117]

I'm guessing that if they both got jobs, yes, the gov't would take some of their money, but I'd think they would be left with some to live on right?

And yeah, going to Africa when you don't have a job? And how do you "scramble to get some" cash? I wouldn't think a garage sale would be all that lucrative, baby gear or no.

Do her followers give her money?

Well, say they have 20k in a bank account. One of the creditors that has a judgment against them could just wipe that out. They can take anything in an account. Or, they can garnish your wages- each state is different, but it's amazing how much they can take. There's a formula, usually, where you get minimum wage and they take a percentage of whatever you make above that. So if she goes back to being a teacher, she might only be bringing home, say, 20k after creditors have gotten their part.

They sold ridiculously expensive baby stuff- like several strollers that were work $700 each new, a high chair that was work like $450...just crazy stuff. The kids all wear $50 sweatpants. She sold all of that stuff, along with all the other junk they had- an extra refrigerator, another lawn mower (they sold their first one in their first desperate sell-off), tools, etc.

Her followers used to give her money- when Stellan was sick, they gave her hotel rooms (because she turned her nose up at the Ronald McDonald House), new iPhones, restaurant gift cards, Target cards, etc. She had so much extra credit with the hotel that she bragged about using it in the spa (instead of paying it forward, I guess) and then showed how she re-did her kids' rooms with Target stuff, and mentioned that the Target cashier asked if it was someone's birthday or something. She used to get handouts, but now she just charges $250 for 20 minutes of photos (and everyone that gets their CDs of photos (months later!) says that they're terrible). Clock's ticking on that scam...

[antifundie]

So. Freaking. Disgusting.

I mean, I don't begrudge anybody's hard time--the economy is terrible, I know it's really really hard to get jobs, etc., but it sounds like her issue go WAY BEYOND normal financial hardship. And to avoid working so that you don't have to pay back your creditors is just not ok.

[Beeks]

She lost ads because of a gay rant? I missed that....what's the story?

[Petunia117]

I can't remember who the ads were thru now...someone who also works with "mainstream" things that are accepting of homosexuality.

She posted that being gay is a choice and that it makes God sad but that she still likes people if they choose to be gay. She said it's sinful and then worried that, someday, saying that being gay was a sin would be labeled as "hate speech". People got upset and then she said "well, it's not my fault that the bible says that. I'm a Christian, so I have to tell it like it is."

Ironically, that tirade was peppered with her saying things like "i won't allow name calling or negativity" and "we should show God's love to gay people", but now she lets people say "fag" like it's nothing, so...

ETA: I just looked it up. It was Glam Media.

[UmmSqueakster]

This is why MWOP exists. I know there was a thread on here awhile back about how we've jumped the shark, but under MWOPAnja, I think the blog is doing just what it's suppose to - making sure her appalling behavior does not go unchallenged.

[Beeks]

I wonder if CPS will pay her a visit over the photo. I'm assuming they're already aware of her family because of the DV convictions...or does it not work like that?

[julie]

What's the story with the hate on MWOP? I haven't spent enough time there to really have a strong feeling either way, but I'd love to know why others are not fans.

[Petunia117]

I think MWOP gets over the top sometimes. It's gotten better lately (from what I've seen) but sometimes (when mckmama is behaving herself) it's a lot of people complaining about her kids having messy hair and stuff.

Other than that, I think it's much like this site (with more off-topic chatter).

[StarrieEyedKat]

This is why MWOP exists. I know there was a thread on here awhile back about how we've jumped the shark, but under MWOPAnja, I think the blog is doing just what it's suppose to - making sure her appalling behavior does not go unchallenged.

There was a thread about how we jumped the shark? I don't get to keep up with things on here like I used to, can anyone direct me to that?

ETA - Oh wait, you meant MWOP, didn't you? Reading comprehension fail...

[Beeks]

Yeah I stopped reading MWOP a while back because they got way too nutty. All the conspiracy theories were bordering on insane (like that the cat wasn't really pregnant...I mean, really??).

If they have a new owner/mod/whatever that's cool, but it would take a lot for me to go back. It really is more of a hate site than anything else, and I think the majority of the people there will hate Mck no matter what.

[deborahlynn1979]

Her second ad contract was with Glam Media, which apparently is headed up by a lesbian. I believe someone sent her a Tweet regarding MckMama's anti-gay marriage rant, and they dropped her after that. I lurk daily on both MWOP and MckMama and I'm ashamed that I know so much about this, but it's so freaking COMPELLING to read these competing sites each day!

[Patsy]

Seeing as we're onto MWOP conspiracy theories, does anybody have any insight into the house repo stuff? There was a post there a while ago about how the bank was going to take the house, and people had links to current government info to back it up - like, at one point someone said "I'm not sure about this" and the concensus seemed to be "No, this is pretty certain, look at this official stuff". Now it's been retracted. Was there something wrong with the info? I don't know anything about how you'd figure out whether it was legit either way, so I have no idea.

[Petunia117]

They never got a "real" mortgage for the house. They owned 2 other homes (a regular house and a lake house) and they foreclosed on both and then put down $25k on this house (they could have paid their mortgage, but instead saved up their payments and put them towards a new house because housing prices had dropped and they could get a nicer house for the same amount). She says they downsized because they couldn't afford it, but their latest house was more $$ than the first. Basically, she's just super shady.

She denied her first house was in foreclosure, saying that it wasn't and they were never late. The reality was that on the day she typed that, she was in the newest house and they had lost their first house like 4 months before. It had already been sold at auction.

Anyway, the newest one- they did a contract for deed and the bank was listed as the owner on property records, but mckmama was the taxpayer. All of a sudden the house shows up on random foreclosure realty sites. It seems that was premature, but it was triggered by the county's records, which changed to reflect the bank as the owner AND tax payer. Basically, the mckinney's are now totally off of the house, legally. It looks like she ended the contract for deed and are just renting it until they move. MWOP people sent in a check to her county's recorder or whatever, but the check was never cashed and they finally gave up. I don't know if they're going to try again. I think it might have gotten all messed up when Minnesota's government shut down for a bit.

So, it was retracted, which I think was polite, but not necessary. The status of the house changed, and it's clearly because they can't buy/afford the house.

[lilah]

This isn't the first time she's pulled this stunt. Right around the BP oil spill Jennifer did something where she was camping and she and her friend covered their kids in chocolate syrup and had them go wash off in a lake and she blogged about it using a lot of the same key words as the oil spill. It was clearly a ploy to get hits and as a result get money. That woman is addicted to drama and attention, and since the blog is her livelihood she needs the drama and attention to make money. It's a pretty sad state of affairs. But trying to get clicks from pedophiles is an incredibly disgusting low move.

[Petunia117]

She posted about marriage/divorce when Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz announced their divorce, and used their names (are a lot of people really Googling them?), said they had blood on their sleeping bags (click on my blog to find out why!) when they were camping at Yellowstone the same day a man was mauled to death by a bear (how awful is THAT?!), magically saw a double rainbow (and posted a picture, where you could only see one rainbow, oddly enough) when that guy's double rainbow video went viral, posts things that use keywords relating to certain days, like world breastfeeding week, etc. (like when she was pregnant, she had some (fake) drama and it happened to be on a day for premature birth awareness or something), even posting videos of her kittens playing on her laptop when there was a popular viral video like it.

Basically, she whores out her blog to try to get ANY clicks (and then pretends that it's her "real life"). But it's still shocking that she would whore out her children to pedophiles. It's sick. She's awful.

Also, she's taken to posting many blog posts about all the things she loves- she says people always ask her (but you never see anyone doing it). Then she links things on Amazon thru her affiliate link. So she'll say "we love this thing! ((insert affiliate link))". You click, and even if you don't buy that thing, anything you buy on Amazon for the next 2 days sends a % of the money her way. All the expensive crap she claimed to looooove was recently sold at her garage sale, so it must not have been that amazing. Haha.

She's super crafty, but a total scammer.

Now she's hinting that she's going to move to a 300 sq foot house. But she swears that it's by choice and NOT because they are totally broke.

[antifundie]

I'm guessing she does this for clicks/publicity, but WHY does she have her sons in ponytails and stuff? I have ZERO problem with boys playing around with "girl stuff" but I do feel that it shouldn't be parent directed--like a little boy wants to wear a princess dress? Fine. But I wouldn't MAKE he wear it you know?

I just think it's weird--but has she given a reason (like, oh, wanting her sons to be able to express their individuality) or something?

[Petunia117]

She just does it to be edgy. Her kids have hair that's always in their eyes- they have to tilt their heads to see out from under it, so their heads are always cocked to one side. (I don't care about long hair on boys, but I don't think any kid should have to peer out from under a mess of hair. (Except those geeky teenagers that think that's the "in" style.) There's a lot of speculation that she wants Stellan and the girl to look like twins because they're close in age and have the same hair color/style (and she calls them her Irish Twins and says that people always ask if they are twins).

I agree that if a kid wants to do something, there's usually no harm. But she projects their "image" onto them a lot- the one with the longest hair is really "creative" (she paints his nails, his hair is long, etc.) and the next one is "all boy" (and he sometimes has this awful mohawk that's dyed red)

Everything is her trying to fit the kids (and herself) into a mold, but she's not nearly as good at keeping up with it as she is the rest of her weirdness. Like, she'll say they're really healthy eaters and she photoshops pics of herself so she looks thin, but then you see pictures of her and she's like 300+ lbs. She takes a pic of their fridge, stocked with organic milk and yogurt and stuff from Whole Foods, and then she shows a pic later that has regular milk, 2 liters of Coke, and strawberry "flavored" yogurt. She does virtually everything for show (including raising her kids) but then can't do it consistently, so people realize she just says one thing and does another (and then acts like an expert).

[antifundie]

Oh, wow, that's...not ok.

I did know a kid who had crazy curly hair, and he hated getting it cut as a little guy, so he was always peering around it, BUT his parents would try to sneak in at night and give a trim while he was sleeping, lol.

Aren't these kids a little young to declare that one or another is "All boy?" I really hope she gets help as it sounds like her home isn't very stable, not to mention the whole posting compromising photos of your kids online thing.

I guess inconsistency doesn't bother me that much, except I'm not a blogger and I don't make all my $$ from it.

[Rachel333]

How did she become such a prominent blogger? I don't get it.

I'm not really familiar with her, but I was looking at her site a bit and all the "Africa" stuff is bugging me. Why does she keep saying Africa instead of Kenya? As someone who has lived in Africa, I almost always say which country I was in, and it really bothers me when people treat the entire continent like one country. And that's the least of what's bothering me about her trip, but I won't go into all that.

[Patsy]

Oh God, Africa. She has a heart for Africa. And she helps in Africa. And look at the beautiful Africans. The charity she works for is a bit too similar to a ponzi scheme for my liking you get a paid job with them, and then find people to sign on to sponsor your village. Most of their donations go towards paying your wages, yes? I'm pretty sure she's been PAID for at least one of her 'mission' trips to 'Africa'. Not sure on that bit, but the expenses of foreigners staying in the community, at least, come from those donations. But for the actual community, don't worry - they get a blog! And some paint! And photos of pipe being laid, that was actually paid for and provided by someone else!