Trading Spouses
Levy / Ferrel Families Part 1
Spooky Mom and The Ghostbusters
Recap By Unicornchaser
February 5, 2005
Lambe-Levy Family (Sammamish, Washington):
Marybeth (mother / physician), Mark (father / physician), Brendan, Sara, Emma, John, Yuanjun, Chengming, and Shenbo
Farrell Family (Carmel, New York):
Janet (mother), Dennis (father / HVAC engineer), Brian (20), Stephanie (17), Melissa (16) and Glen (15)
TS Announcer: "Can these families keep their spirits up? Or will the visit from beyond drive them over the edge? It's a supernatural Trading Spouses and it all starts right now!"
"Dad, Janet brought these NY ghosts to our house!"
This week we have another city (Janet) with country (Marybeth) swap, but the ghost twist is new. These episodes will likely be known as the "Janet, How Can You See Ghosts So Clearly But Not The Truth About Yourself?" shows. The editing excuse can only go so far, for so long. Anyway, now you know who the "bad guy of the week" is.
One family has 4 and the other 7 children. Some are adopted in both homes. Mary Beth seems serene, nurturing and hard working while Janet is shown to be loud, self-centered and spoiled (lazy?). We know from the first moments we see Janet that she is NOT going to enjoy her Green Acres experience...
LEVY FAMILY INTRO:
The Lambe-Levy family is a large, friendly, noisy one. They live on 5 acres in a nicely kept, spacious home out in the country. It's not a working farm but there is a cow, roosters and egg laying chickens. Marybeth says, "My childhood dream was to have a farm and a lot of children. I enjoy the farm life. I enjoy caring for the kids. I mean I really enjoy that as an occupation." And from what we see she does a heck of a great job managing it all calmly with a lot of love and encouragement for her family.
Mark acknowledges that "In our home, Mary Beth does everything."
Mary Beth is shown doing farm chores, working out, nurturing the children while keeps the home running neatly and smoothly. "It's tough to parent 7 children. There's a lot of chaos but the most important thing is there is that much more love!"
Mark would have been happy with 1 child before meeting up with Janet's heart's desires. However, he has wholeheartedly embraced the mini-United Nations they've created in their home. This is a close, happy family that enjoy and appreciate each other.
Marybeth's day starts at about 6 am. She wakes everyone to get off to school (3 different shifts), fed and with a lunch. The house gets cleaned before she goes to work out. She returns to deal with the cow, chickens, dog, "and whatever else needs doing". By then it's time for the kids to return. Marybeth supervises their chores and homework, fixes dinner. Stories and songs accompany bedtime. She seems to be always moving "quickly", but that works just fine for her.
"My mom holds the family together. She's really full of life and always happy and making things fun. She's always positive, never negative." This is high praise indeed from Emma, a teen! Most teens won't even acknowledge their parents are alive unless absolutely necessary, much less what they do for them.
Marybeth says, "The most important thing is the happiness of my family." She may not be super mom, but is obviously doing a lot of things right.
FARRELL FAMILY INTRO:
Janet is shown sleeping, not eager to wake up. "I love my life. It's like a vacation! I love to be pampered!" Her husband explains she is "not active around the house per se". Stephanie verifies this. "My mom usually doesn't clean. My mom would rather play games and hang out and stuff." Not with her children, it seems, as we see her play
cards with her friends wearing a "Bunco Babe" t-shirt.
"I like to have a good time. I like to fool around." Janet admits being "absolutely" spoiled by Dennis. She doesn't take the garbage out (doesn't like to touch it). No way she's picking up dog droppings "never, ever"! Dennis does "anything I ask him to" despite 2 back surgeries.
We see Dennis alone, lying on the living room floor, moaning in pain...
Janet's daughters are extremely talented Irish Step dancers. They have an impressive amount of trophies to prove it. Stephanie is ready to quit but Janet won't permit it. "The girls would be more than happy to skip lessons but it's good for them. It makes them tough!" We see a bit of their performance and they do look great.
Next up is Janet's version of a family meeting. That means only she gets to say anything. All the kids and dad sit there while Janet rants and raves at them. "They don't want to go to dance. They don't want to go cuz they're spoiled, rotten kids. Well, that don't wash with me! They can dance until 9 o'clock." Dad is shown to make a feeble attempt to talk to her then just leaves the room.
Apparently, Janet has two more hobbies she enjoys as much as playing Bunco. "My mom likes to criticize us...", Brian says. Janet is shown trying to perfect this activity to an art form. Her daughter notes, "Her regular routine is yelling at us."
Brian did drugs from ages 13 to 17. This got him got "arrested, kicked out of the house" and "caused a lot of problems". However, he has been clean ever since. Good for him! Brian loves tattoos (10 to date) and piercings (5, including his nipples). He wants to be a professional tattoo artist.
He shows Janet his newly pierced eyebrow causes her to squeal, not with delight. Dad just smiles. Brian tells his mom he loves her during a hug with her that she doesn't reciprocate. Janet makes it clear that no new piercings are to be added while she's gone. Janet tries to tell us, "That's just not him!" Hate to tell you, Mom, but with that many in the collection, it is him!
Brian explains, "Mom really hates my tattoos and piercings. She thinks it's crazy. She thinks I like to hurt myself or something. And she doesn't see me making it far in life which sometimes, you know, hurts."
This family is not nearly as close or happy together as the Levy's.
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