So, have you ever heard of a family raising sextuplets on a reality TV show? No, not that family. The network WE tv launched its new show Raising Sextuplets in June, which profiles the brood of Jenny and Bryan Masche, of Lake Havasu, Arizona and their six two-year-olds (predictably adorable Bailey, Savannah, Molli, Cole, Grant and Blake.) WE TV first started following the Masche family with cameras for a documentary on Jenny's pregnancy (she did IUI after two-and-a-half years of trying to get pregnant.) So far the show has none of the drama of Jon and Kate (whew) but some of the fun and chaos: Jon tries to lose his "baby weight," the kids whack each other in the tub. As if you needed any more reason to feel inferior, Jenny works nights as a physician's assistant in the ER and runs marathons.

Babble talked to Jenny about what makes them different from the Gosselins, why they did the show in the first place, and what parents of just one or two kids can learn from a mom who had to manage six bottles at the same time. — Jennifer V. Hughes

There has been such an enormous amount of negative publicity and reaction to Jon and Kate Gosselin lately — why in the world would you want to do this TV program, especially now?

You know, all the stuff about them makes me very, very nervous, but our show started out so long before any negative publicity ever came out about them . . . we were filming our documentary when I was pregnant. But we are very different people. Just because we have a show doesn't mean the same thing is going to happen to us. The only similarity I see between us is that we both have sextuplets.

Do you think there is something you can do with your situation to avoid the kind of media circus their lives have become?

Absolutely. It's all about choices; they were not in the media until Jon got photographed at a bar with another woman, and then it snowballed and got crazy. Brian and I, we're not perfect by any stretch, but we believe in Christ and we live our lives based on that, and a lot of the choices we make reflect on that. Hopefully we're grounded in that reality with God, and that will keep us from things that will bring us negative attention. I mean, we still have our moments of being angry, but . . .

Why did you decide to do the show to begin with?

When we got pregnant with the sextuplets and they asked us to document the pregnancy, we thought this was a one-time shot for us. It was a documentary — we never thought of a show. We loved it, we just thought it was fun. It was positive, and hopefully it will continue to be positive. If it ever starts to add stress in our lives, it's done.

Why do you think people are so fascinated by parents of multiples — the Jon and Kate thing, Octomom?

You know, I honestly don't know. My life seems really boring to me. I don't know anything different from sextuplets. But all my friends with one or two, their lives are so astronomically changed, people can't even fathom having six or five or four. They think, "I'm overwhelmed with one child; how the heck does someone do this?" Sometimes it can be encouraging to see someone's life that seems harder that yours. It helps to have perspective.

I'm sure you've heard about people making judgments about your decision to have so many babies, to do the show — what has bothered you the most and what did you do to deal with it?

You know, I don't look at anything. I don't read anything, because I want to guard my ears and my mind from negativity. As long as I please God and my husband and my family and the people around me can see that what we're doing is a positive thing, I don't care about what other people think.

What has been the most surprising thing you've experienced since having your children?

It's surprising that it's not as bad as we thought. I was so depressed when I delivered — I'm sure a lot of it was hormonal, I was sick, in the ICU. I had envisioned that this situation we got ourselves into was totally impossible. When you're that depressed and negative, then when you actually have the kids come home and you realize what a joy they are . . . They fulfill me in a way I've never been fulfilled in my life.

What has been the hardest moment so far?

The hardest part is making sure we focus on our marriage. The first year was really hard. I had six little people who were totally needy of me and I had a husband who was needy of me too, and I didn't have enough of me to go around. It's been a struggle but it's been good because it makes us work on it. If things are too easy you can get complacent.

What has been the best?

Absolutely the babies and our families. Our families rallied around us and it was so amazing. That and just regular people. I email a lady from South Africa to this day. She followed our pregnancy and we just became friends. It's cool when you meet people from all over the country who are praying for you.

What do you think parents of just one or two measly kids can learn from your experiences?

I think there are probably a lot of things I do wrong. Hopefully people will see that and say, "Oh yeah! I don't want to do that!" [Laughs.] I hope that people can learn how to let go of things and choose your battles. With only one kid you can fight a lot more battles. With us, we really have to let a lot of things go.

How do you get six toddlers to bed? Feed them? I'm talking logistics here.

You just do it. I fix dinner, I put it on the table . . . they're toddlers, they sit down, they eat, they run away. I can't physically force six of them to sit in chairs. Dinner time is just like that around here. They actually loved diaper changes because they got alone time with me. You learn how to be really, really patient. You do six of everything and that's your whole night. Once you get them down you take a breath and think, we survived the day.

I feel that way with one!

My friends with one all say the same thing! I just don't know any different.

How do you get anything else done? Dishes? Laundry?

I have to do everything when my kids are asleep. I do a huge clean up at naptime and a huge clean up at bedtime. My husband is really good at cleaning up the house. That's something I'm grateful for.

I know that multiples often have health difficulties —  are all of your children healthy?

They are totally healthy —  we feel so blessed.

So, are you going to have any more?

[Laughs.] No. My husband got fixed when they were four months old. That's done. C'mon, really?

You started out playing in indie rock bands. How did you make the transition into being a children's artist?

When I first came to New York I actually tried to get work as an illustrator. I took my portfolio everywhere and collected a big, fat stack of rejection letters. Then I got into the music scene here. I had a band called Morgan Taylor's Rock Group. We had a moment, but in New York that can fizzle out fast. Morgan Taylor's Rock Group broke up and I put out a solo album. But after I played my record release party, I just felt like something was missing. Rachel, my wife, said, "Why don't you do that kids' book you've been thinking about?"

I had this stockpile of songs from when I first moved to New York and I was feeling really stimulated. I chose some songs from that, the ones that were sort of more colorful or silly or pretty, and I drew out images to accompany them. I had the "Pterodactyl Song, "The Eel Song," and I had this song "I Am From the Sun." As I was drawing out the images, I realized that the songs were written in first person, but the speaker wasn't me. It was more like a fictitious character. Years before I had started drawing this yellow, pointy-headed guy. He was floating around in my brain. I thought that maybe this project was the home for that character. And then it hit me, "Yes, of course! He's the one from the sun!" I drew out five or so of these songs and put them together in a book to try to get it published. One of the people we showed it to asked me if I wanted to animate it and we loved that idea. Once we put out the first DVD, the reaction was just instantaneous. All of the press started saying really nice things and I was like, "Wow, all I had to do was add cartoons to my music and now everybody's paying attention!" The song "I Jump on Cake" was originally a drawing in my portfolio.

Yes, I was wondering whether or not kids go home after your show and jump on cake.

[Laughs] I've had parents email me to say that their kids do.

You started Gustafer before you had children of your own. Has being a dad changed the project for you?

If anything, it's made us more business-oriented. Now we have to think along the lines of paying our bills and raising a family. Being a dad has made me realize, if this is what I'm going to do, I have to really be committed and do it.

What bands do you listen to that impact your songwriting?

I think I'm always trying to write Bread songs. Do you know the band Bread? Their biggest song was called "If." They were the premiere, '70s soft-rock balladeers: beautiful strings, heart-wrenching songs, a tiny bit cheesy. I think I loved them because my older brother and sister's record collection was in the house when I was born. I inherited their taste.

So you listen to a lot of '70s music?

Yeah, I do. I feel like that's the nucleus of Gustafer. When I was listening to that music, that's the time of my life when I started to be creative, around six or seven years old. For me, writing music is like chasing the feeling you have at that age. I guess that's where I tend to go for inspiration.

What do you think is up next for Gustafer?

Right now we're mixing and editing the live DVD. We recorded a show in San Francisco with a symphony orchestra made up of public school students. It was amazing. We're going to try to put it out next spring.

You have reached a pretty wide audience through Gustafer. Why do you think it's struck a chord with people of different ages?

I think that there are so many levels to it. For really young kids, Gustafer has bright images and soft, melodic music. With the six- and seven-year-olds, they're right at that age when you begin to conceptualize. They are the best to play for because they're just looking at me like, "Is this real?" Kids who are a little older start to pick up on the humor. There are even some teenagers who come to my shows. I think they just like Gustafer because it's kind of weird and trippy. [Laughs.] But, my target demographic is probably people my own age.

Really?

Yeah. Most people my age have kids who are four, five and six, and they're mainly the ones coming to my shows. I'm of the generation that, when we were a bit younger, all we did was go out to bars to see bands. Now that we're parents we can't really do that so often. My feeling is, why should those people have to suffer through kids' music that's, what I call the "silly hat bands"? You're allowed to like whatever you want, but there are a lot of people, like me, who grew up with alternative music, like R.E.M. Those are the people who have young kids now and I want to play something that appeals to them as much as it appeals to their children.

We hear your son is a big fan of the Cartoon Network?

He's a fan of the Cartoon Network, all that stuff. He watches a bunch of them. He has them all TiVo'd on his Direct TV box!

So how did this opportunity to star on one of their shows come about?

They asked if it was something I'd be interested in doing [as part of a partnership between the NBA and the Cartoon Network], and I asked him if he'd be interested in doing it. He said, "Yeah!"

Jaelen goes to public school. How do his classmates react knowing who his dad is?

I don't know — he really doesn't talk to us about that. You get the looks and the waves 'hi' when you go pick him up, but besides that I think it's really normal for him.

What about you — how do you carve out the family time with three kids and eighty-two games a year plus practices?

You have to juggle responsibilities, take care of your responsibility at work and then come home and take care of your home responsibilities. You just figure a way out.

How does being so family-centered affect you as a player?

It gives you motivation. When you look and see your kids in the stands or when you leave and they say, "Have a good game!," it's extra motivation to go out and perform to show the best of your capabilities.

]]>Jeanne Sager http://www.babble.com/Ziggy-Marley-the-reggae-star-and-father-of-five-on-his-family-time-record-shark-tales-jamaica-music/There is no bigger name in reggae than "Marley," and Ziggy, son of Bob, is holding up the family moniker with pride. He?s won four Grammy awards and released two hugely popular albums. But perhaps more important to grade-schoolers, he also sings that jammin? theme song on PBS?s Arthur, and did the voice of Ernie, the Rasta jellyfish in the movie Shark Tales.

Ziggy?s third solo album, Family Time, is his first kids' CD, and  it?s got a mind-blowing array of guest performers. (Willie Nelson! Laurie Berkner! Paul Simon! Even Jamie Lee Curtis shows up ? twice.) The album was also a family affair. His mother and sister perform, as does his four-year-old daughter, Judah. (Ziggy has four other kids, aged 20, 17, 14 and 2.) 

Ziggy talked to Babble about his interest in education, his famous dad, and the expertise he's gained from raising all those kids. ? Jennifer V. Hughes

You have some major stars on your new album. What was it like bringing together such a wildly diverse group of artists?

It was a privilege for me, you know what I?m saying? It was very exciting to bring in guest artists. 

Is there a thread musically or emotionally between all of them and your work?

I felt something for them, when I was going to put together a group of people who I would work with, I had to find people I have a good feeling for, it has to be a good vibe. It?s a cool vibe,  the spirit in their music. It?s hard to explain, but everything cannot always make sense ? sometimes it?s just a feeling.

The proceeds from the sale of the CD will go toward the Chepstowe Basic School in Jamaica ? tell me about that project.

The school is for the very young. I wanted to get into education for kids so I adopted a school and we started doing some development. Some of the money will help with more classrooms, more books, better pay for the teachers. I want it to be an example for the rest of Jamaica in terms of what we can do. 

You know, I read that Ziggy is not your given name ? it?s David. Where did Ziggy come from?

Ziggy came from my father ? it?s from how I used to kick the soccer ball.

Maybe this is a silly question, but what do you think it is about music and children ? why are children so drawn to music?

I think that music, beats, melody, sound are a natural part of our DNA, our vibe. It?s just a part of the cycle of our lives, we?re born, we have eyes, we have music. It?s part of us from the beginning. We?re drawn to it because it?s a part of us.

Other than reggae, what other styles of music do you and your kids listen to?

My kids listen to my father?s music, which is reggae of course. They just listen to music that makes us feel good ? rock, jazz, anything. For me it changes depending on what I?m feeling. I?ve listened to Jack Johnson, Green Day, I listen to African music. I listen to a wide variety, I don?t think there is any constant. I go from one thing to the next.

Many of the songs on the album have messages ? saving the earth, caring for your brother. What do you think little kids will take from those kind of songs?

I don?t know what they can take from it ? I hope they take something. The songs have different layers to them, it wasn?t that it was important, it?s just how we did it. As the kids grow they can understand the deeper meanings of the songs. It will stay with you from birth to old age.

Your dad was such an influential artist, so renowned and beloved. What is that like for you, as a musician?

Well, I was just always trying to play music and create something. I?m very adventurous and so the aspect of being my father?s son never really struck me as any difficulty or a problem or whatever. I just wanted to make music. What he did was not a deciding factor for me.

What do you think you would have done if you were not a musician?

If I was not a musician, I?d still be a musician. Being a musician is just what I?m on earth for. I might not be talking to you, I might not be making records but I?d be making music.

Do you think any of your kids will follow in your musical footsteps?

I don?t know for sure ? it?s possible, but I don?t care at this point. I?m not thinking about that now. I just want them to get a good education and a good upbringing and be good human beings. I want them to be good people first.

Since you have five kids ? which automatically makes you a parenting expert in my book ?

Oh, yeah? Really?

? what?s the most important piece of advice you would give to another parent?

I don?t know ? it can?t be one thing for every  parent because every child is different. Patience is important, discipline is important, you have to learn balance. I guess that would be my general advice, keep it balanced? don?t lean one way or the other way too far.

You know, come to think of it ? the lyrics to "Three Little Birds" might just be good parenting advice ?.

(Laughs) Oh yeah, sure.

Ziggy Marley is on tour! Check out his tour dates here.

She’s also the lady behind Lemlem, the cute new clothing line you may have seen in the spring J. Crew catalog. Lemlem is another charitable endeavor, and one that keeps the New Yorker in what she describes as a constant state of chaos.  Babble roused her for an early-morning phone chat recently about kids, fashion and the mystery of why nobody makes good clothes for girls ten and up. — Tammy La Gorce

Lemlem’s been around for a while, but you’ve just joined forces with J. Crew. Right?  

We’ve had the line for a year and a half, and we just started this partnership with J. Crew for the Spring 09 season. We showed them the line and they loved it — they’re very encouraging and supportive, and the catalog just came out and we’re getting great reviews. It’s really cool.

It’s for kids up to size 6X, and you’ve just introduced a few Lemlem things for women. How did the line start?

Well, I had gone back home to Ethiopia on a visit about three years ago, and I started looking at the clothes, the traditional clothes and how they’ve always been made the same way — it’s our traditional art. Men weave, and it’s a talent that’s passed on from father to son.

So the women don’t weave? They don’t have a hand in making the clothes?

Yes — the women spin the cotton. That’s how it’s traditionally done. So some of our products are hand-spun, which gives them a soft and very cozy feeling. The texture is incredible. This is my little way of trying to support their creative talent, by bringing them to the Western market where they can showcase their talent. It’s also so the Western market can experience something beautiful from a different world. So it sort of helps both worlds.

How does that work? Are part of the proceeds sent back to Ethiopia?

No. I really got inspired seeing Bono do his RED campaign. I like this sort of social entrepreneurship — it’s so interesting to be able to employ people so they can be sustainable. The sustainability factor is so important. I love that whole theory of, "Teach a man to fish rather than giving him a fish." This is a different sort of helping that not only helps the weavers but helps the industry in Ethiopia. It sort of gives it credibility. I really want to help make Africa the next place where designers go to make their clothes.

Does that fit in with your World Health Organization ambassadorship? Is Lemlem directly related to helping women and children?

At the end of the day everything is sort of related to poverty. I’m trying to make people independent there so they can support a family. 

What’s the Lemlem aesthetic? Does it match the J. Crew classic preppy-clean look?

Well, it’s very summery and colorful, and J. Crew is known for all those colors as well. The way it fits in is that you can dress up your J. Crew stuff with a piece from Lemlem, a unique piece. You take your regular J. Crew things and you mix it up with a Lemlem skirt and you’re good to go.

You have two kids — your son Suhul is eight and daughter Raee is three. Did they inspire Lemlem?

Oh my God, yes. The way this became a children’s line is because I enjoy buying for them more than I do for myself! The clothes for them are so much more interesting and fun. My daughter has been part of the team forever. We try things on her. She plays dress-up with us. My mother-in-law actually calls my daughter Lemlem — it means to bloom, or when something is sort of lush and green and fertile, in Ethiopia.

Is clothing design a natural offshoot of modeling?

No — it wasn’t something I’ve always thought about at all. But being in fashion put me in a good position to be able to help the weavers. Things happen for a reason.

Do you now travel to Ethiopia a lot to make sure things are going the way you want them to?

I go back at least once a year, maybe a few times more. It’s sort of an organized situation there now. We’ve already done the difficult work of getting it up and running. Now it’s amazing for us to watch the craftsmanship that comes out of there. They’ve latched onto the idea of exceptional work, and it’s really great to see they’re getting it. At first it was really funny because when we’d send them designs, we’d be so specific about every inch of the fabric, or how we want the design to be this way or that way. They thought we were loony. They thought we were these crazy people in New York. With this J. Crew launch I think a lot more people will be aware of the line so it will expand — then we’ll be able to hire a lot more people and we’ll really see the difference.
 
Is it a struggle to be a mom, a fashion designer, an ambassador, and a supermodel all at once?

You know, not really. I love that I have the chance to do all these different things. I’ve always been into different things, and the more things you do, the more things come up that you want to do. And see. I handle it very chaotically, though. I handle what needs to be handled at any given moment and then go from there.

Do the kids respond well to the chaos?

My son is eight now, which is insane, so he’s used to it. And my daughter is three going on twenty. She loves it.

Do models obsess over changes in their bodies after childbirth more than non-models, do you think?

I don’t know; I guess I only know one side of the story. It probably depends on the model. If you’re going to go back into modeling you have to get right back into shape, that’s for sure. But actually I think the obsession about bodies has kind of reached the limit with everybody. There are a lot of model mommies now. So many babies backstage at shows.

What do you think about how Americans dress their kids? Too grown-up looking? Chic?

I think it depends on the age. Younger kids, under ten, it’s all casual. Boys are harder to dress because there are not a lot of options for them. But girls are tricky once they reach the age of ten, because they do wear overly mature clothes sometimes, and it’s a bit too much.

Why don’t more designers do clothes for that age group? Why not Lemlem?

I don’t know if it’s for us because of the way our clothes are made, the hand-weaving. We can’t go in a gazillion different directions. But if you’re going to do regular clothes, I don’t see why you wouldn’t make nice clothes for that age group. I don’t know if girls buy the overly mature clothes because they like them and if that’s what’s driving the market, or if it’s that nobody’s giving them anything good. They do dress like little adults. I don’t know how my daughter will dress when she’s that age — I’ll see what she comes up with and talk to you then.

Does your son have a personal style?

He’s a typical boy — T-shirts and jeans. If I ask him to wear a shirt, like a button-down shirt, it’s like the whole world’s collapsing.

Is it cool for him to have a supermodel as a mom?

It’s not something we talk about a lot. He knows what I do and he thinks it’s funny. I don’t know how he addresses it at school, but we try to keep it low-key. We don’t want it to affect his world.

That sounds like sensible mom-speak. Are you a very hands-on mom?

Yes. I do my Lemlem work from my home office. I like to be here when the kids come home.