RHONJ - Season 2, Reunion part 1

Holy smokes! Did you see last night? Did ya? Huh? Did ya? Did everyone stay awake for the whole thing? My question was (and I'm sure everyone else was asking it, too) what is the deal with Theresa's nephew? I've read two theories on the subject: 1) the "nephew" is really a secret love child by Juicy Joe's mystery woman, Tara and 2) the nephew is really Theresa's brother's child. The second theory expands to explain that Theresa's brother married a woman of African-American descent. His parents don't approve. And the family has been estranged since the marriage. Theresa says she'll address the issue in her blog. We'll see.

So, what did you think of the cat fights? Are you ready for Kim G's appearance next week? What was the most shocking revelation?

Caroline - not bad. She lost her temper. The more "Jersey" aspect came out, but I figured it would. She's wants to clear the air a bit.

Theresa - W-O-W! I really didn't think my opinion of her could get much lower. I was wrong. You can't sit there and play the prim and proper sweet mom card and then jump up and swear worse than any sailor I've ever heard (and I've heard a few) and body slam the host. Then there's the whole bankruptcy thing. You are in denial. It's not avoiding the negative (although that's just a nice way to say you're in denial). It's refusing to accept reality. And it's about time you admitted that your gorgeous hubby was drunk as a skunk on the drive home when he totaled his truck. Nobody's believing the story that he was so worked up that he went and got drunk afterwards. You're just lucky you got a nice judge on the appeal who reduced the sentencing to the minimum.

Jackie - sit down, stay quiet, and stay out of it. The more you open your mouth, the worse you make yourself look. It's just that simple. Salvage what you can.

And then there's Danielle...

I simply can't bring myself to give her the benefit of the doubt anymore after twisting things so much and lying so much. Do they treat her unfairly, sure they do. But she also brings a lot of it on herself. Caroline was right when she said that if her girls were hurt by Caroline's remarks, how did they hear about it? And if they were going to hear about Caroline's remarks, they're sure to hear about the sex tapes. The thing is, these "woman" don't understand that these shows are going to last. They're going to have to explain this behavior for a long time to come. I'm sure Milania is going to give good old mom the thumbs up when she's a teenager and somebody brings out the DVD to show her. The bad thing is that Danielle's kids are old enough to have to live through this now.

I'm sorry. Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm too old-fashioned. But I now have a daughter, who is the center of my world (as these ladies claim their children are for them). I understand that sentiment. But now I live for her. I had my time. I don't live through her. I live for her. There's a difference. Let her go and do her thing. It's my job to present the opportunities. Not my job to be a stage parent. Too many are & it puts too much pressure on the kids. But I do think about how what I do, say, act, etc. will affect her. I do try to limit the "bad influences" while still exposing her to limited reality. Yes, I want to shelter her, but I don't want her to be afraid of the real world and I want her confident enough to kick butt when she's out in it. So no, I don't fight her fights for her. I leave that to her so she'll develop coping skills. I don't buy her everything she wants. She needs to learn to sacrifice and save. Is it me? Are my values so out of line with reality? Because I just can't see how these women (maybe with the exception of Caroline) can say they're such great parents with the way they behave and the way they are raising their kids. *sigh* Okay, I'm getting off my soap box now.

I am curious to see what's going to happen next week. I find it hard to believe that the reunion is only 2 episodes. Didn't NYC get 3? I would have thought with so much drama and tension between the girls that there would have been more. We'll see....

What did YOU think?