Partying down at Chez Maxwell

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Mary is going to be sixteen! (And she is quite pretty, too.)

 

"Going to be?" Yep. It's yet another birthday they don't want to celebrate while on vacation for some reason, so they had the party early. I suppose maybe the new moms won't be going on the vacation so they're having the parties where they can attend?

 

Still, they had plenty of salad dressing to go around!

[Seven Severn]

They played Uno. That's a game. How can that be? Games are a distraction from the LORD. :naughty:

[lilith]

They played Uno. That's a game. How can that be? Games are a distraction from the LORD. :naughty:

And the cards are so bright! Maybe they need to market a special edition in shades of beige and grey so people don't see them playing with the regular deck and think them worldly and frivolous.

[emesbe]

WOW. Have we ever seen or read any indication that the Maxwells play games? I don't remember any.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I'm actually kinda surprised to see that they play cards (though maybe they wouldn't play regular cards?). So many of the fundies I've met in real life have had a problem with cards in the same way they had a problem with alcohol, calling it gambling even if no one was betting anything.

[FloraDoraDolly]

I'm actually kinda surprised to see that they play cards (though maybe they wouldn't play regular cards?). So many of the fundies I've met in real life have had a problem with cards in the same way they had a problem with alcohol, calling it gambling even if no one was betting anything.

My grandma came from a strict Baptist family where cards were eeeeevil. This was a hundred years ago, though. The rules of fundieland were different then. When Grandma grew up and got married, she played cards every week, sometimes more than that. :)

[luckystone]

I thought you were joking about the salad dressing!

I do think she's quite pretty. I wonder if being the youngest she'll be able to escape.

Is that Joseph in a photo further down? He looks kinda creepy

[Lillybee]

I am surprised that the Maxwells don't make their own salad dressing. It is easy.

[johnhugh]

I am surprised that the Maxwells don't make their own salad dressing. It is easy.

But with all those different bottles of salad dressing, are they not making an idol of it? :naughty: Stevie

[lilith]

I am surprised that the Maxwells don't make their own salad dressing. It is easy.

But that would be real food.

For a household with four full time homemakers, one of whom (Anna's) cooking skills they tout all the time, they eat a hell of a lot of processed crap, just in tiny portion controlled serves so they cant make an idol of it.

Who can forget the hilarious story of Teri accidentally eating her cheese slice with the wrap still on it? And the two animal crackers each? And the ubiquitous frozen chocolate custard for birthday deserts?

[bouncyball]

Mary is as cute as a button. Once she hits adulthood she'll be a real beauty; together with her fundie royalty lineage she should have no shortage of suitors. I hope at least one of the girls escapes anyway.

[snarkbillie]

I'm actually kinda surprised to see that they play cards (though maybe they wouldn't play regular cards?). So many of the fundies I've met in real life have had a problem with cards in the same way they had a problem with alcohol, calling it gambling even if no one was betting anything.

Growing up we were allowed to play UNO and Skipbo because they were games that didn't use "real cards". The ones with hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds were a "no-no".

[Guest Anonymous]

Mary seems to be allowed more fun than the others... possibly because of the influence of the sisters-in-law and nieces? Teri used to write about how birthdays were ordinary days with a few treats, and that even those would be curtailed if the Birthday Child showed a bad attitude in the run up to the day. But Mary got to play and shop on her 'day off'.

Either that, or Steve is paying attention to what we have said in previous threads and realises he and Teri have come across as restrictive douchebags where their parenting is concerned.... :whistle:

[Rainbowcolor]

My guess? The cards are for teaching the "little girls".

[freejoytoo]

Me and Mary nearly share a birthday!

Presents sound pretty dull. At least they got to play a real game.

[formergothardite]

How did she eat a cheese slice with the wrapper still on?

[Creaky Mom]

I don't get the having a party early because you will be away. Some of Creaky family's best birthday celebrations happened on the road. But I guess that means variety and clearly variety is reserved only for store-bought salad dressing. :roll:

Mary has some card making supplies; who is she supposed to send them to?

John is beginning to take on a paroled prisoner look.

Joseph is wears his mother's pained expression.

Poor Reversal Anna needs hair help.

Positive...something positive... NR Anna has a very plump, squishy baby.

[MaroonMandy]

How did she eat a cheese slice with the wrapper still on?

I think they were making sandwiches and somehow missed unwrapping the slice on Terri's sandwich.

[pixydust]

The way that Bethie was looking at the cards, is that normal? Her face is sooo close to them. If one of my kids looked at things like that I'd have them to the eye doctor in a heart beat.

[ophelia]

The way that Bethie was looking at the cards, is that normal? Her face is sooo close to them. If one of my kids looked at things like that I'd have them to the eye doctor in a heart beat.

QFT. There is something "wrong" with her and the cards.

[lilwriter85]

The fundie lite family who lived next to my family when I was growing up was also against playing with regular playing cards. UNO, Skip-Bo, Phase 10 and similar games were ok to play with. There is a Mormon blogger who I follow, that often has game nights. I have noticed that her game nights with friends usually consist of stuff like Phase 10, Name 5, Apples to Apples type games. I know Mormons are against gambling and I wonder if some of them avoid board games like Monopoly as a result.

As for Mary's birthday party, she is a very pretty girl and I'm sure there are a few fundie boys who have their eyes on her. They are waiting for the day when they can ask about courtship. I do think Steve will marry off Anna and Mary.

[sparkles]

I predict that Mary's the one who's gonna bolt. More and more, I think I see a "there's gotta be more to life than this" expression behind that smile. But that could just be wishful thinking on my part. FREE MARY!

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I am surprised that the Maxwells don't make their own salad dressing. It is easy.

I wondered that myself. I am not a big salad dressing person but when I eat at my neighbor's who likes the stuff (and a WIDE variety of fruit-based vinaigrettes and interesting stuff like that) she always just whips a bit of stuff together right there in an old jelly jar and that's it in 5 min.

Probably a lot of it is just people not thinking to google to find out just what's in a lot of things that tend to get sold as a unit. Plenty of sauces and spice mixes and whatever else you can make at home if you just find out the proportions. (Nothing wrong with buying at the store either necessarily but if you move between countries, a lot of branded stuff won't be available and you NEED to figure out what the actual contents are so you can recreate it from generic things buyable anywhere.) Marinades and random "soup mixes" are a big one. (Way more than the Maxwells though I have to wonder what the DUGGARS are thinking. They could really get some mileage out of a garden and mass cooking, what with all those people to help!!)

I predict that Mary's the one who's gonna bolt. More and more, I think I see a "there's gotta be more to life than this" expression behind that smile. But that could just be wishful thinking on my part. FREE MARY!

I suspect she has the best chance purely because of her age, too. She's only just now turning 16, and her parents are not getting any younger. Meanwhile she has older siblings who are now starting families (to the point where her "younger siblings to care for" are actually her nieces/nephew). So I can imagine Steve-O at least fading more to the background (if not shuffling off this mortal coil entirely) while she is still young enough that IF she decided to just start over in some radically different lifestyle (school!!), she wouldn't be all that out of the ordinary old to catch up. Steve-O is a lone patriarch setting all the rules and is her direct parent, but the brothers' generation has more "heads" who are going to be subtly different, plus they're not her direct parent.

I mean heck, even 10 years out from now she'll only just be turning 26, which is still young and not unheard of to still be doing the school and/or suffering at an interesting but low-paid experience internship type of thing, if she were to go that way. Missions etc too, if she still stayed fundie but wanted some more action.

[Daenerys]

Even getting married would be an achievement for a woman chez Maxwell.

[WonderingInWA]

Doesn't anyone else think it's odd they said not to worry, that salad wasn't the main course of the meal? Um, we have salad as a main course often -- throw in a bunch of good stuff, it's a meal! They are so weird.