Team Maxwell!

[kpmom]

ITA with uber frau that I'd love to read the MOTH forum too. Unfortunately, you'd need to buy the MOTH book and then send in the registration form they have in the book before you'd be allowed on the forum. That would mean putting money in the Maxwell's pockets.

Sometimes I've seen MOTH books for sale on ebay that say they have the registration form in them. But when you registered the book would they realize you're not the person that originally bought it?

[kunoichi66]

Anna should not be jumping onto a box in that skirt - what if her feet catch in the hem? She could seriously injure herself!

But I suppose permanent injury is fine so long in the name of modesty.

I just....it makes me so angry to see people doing this!

[uber frau]

ITA with uber frau that I'd love to read the MOTH forum too. Unfortunately, you'd need to buy the MOTH book and then send in the registration form they have in the book before you'd be allowed on the forum. That would mean putting money in the Maxwell's pockets.

Sometimes I've seen MOTH books for sale on ebay that say they have the registration form in them. But when you registered the book would they realize you're not the person that originally bought it?

I'd totally buy a second hand copy and give it a try, if it weren't for the fact I'm not in the US and postage is insane. :cry:

[AlexIsAwake]

Anna jumping over that box in a bloody skirt is pretty hilarious, but the funniest part to me is seeing the guys with their tshirts tucked into their gym pants. LMFAO

[Rescinded and Mended]

I can only get the board with the list of posts, but if I click on the thread I just get a 404 Error. I suspect it might be because I'm not logged in. Damn, there's some corkers on there I'd love to read. Here's a taste of some of them (let us give thanks for hovertext):

On Scheduling a SAHD:

I wonder whether Teri admits to writing Sarah's schedule or if she insists that Sarah chooses to schedule herself in a way that magically fits in with the rest of the family. (Imagine if she decided she wanted to schedule an hour every evening to go to the gym, or if she decided to give morning Bible time a miss and sleep in schedule in her own Bible Study between 10.30 and 11.30 every morning. Somehow, I don't see that going down well).

On Personal Grooming time:

I want to know what the rest of that last sentence is. I'm guessing it is something to the effect of "I noticed in some schedules that were on the MOTH board that women only schedule 5 minutes grooming time a day."

I want to know if she got slammed for wasting so much time with such fripperies. I can imagine Teri exhorting her to throw away her makeup and her razors and trying to convince her that concerning herself with such things is worldly and sinful.

I'm sulking. I want to see. :shifty-kitty:

If Sarah has no prospects for marriage, is forced to cover herself from head-to-toe in modest long skirts and sleeves as well as other frumper attire, and has zero chance of escaping the Maxhell Borg collective, then why bother with shaving? That could save her a good thirty minutes right there. She could pick it up again if she ever gets a headship.

[Tangy Bee]

So who gets to shower first? Does anyone shower the night before? Assuming the Maxwells have 2 bathrooms.

[silverspoons]

My memories of catholic school skirts are about how immodest they were. I was lucky alphabetically I was in the middle of the class because the girls in the front of the line went up the stairs first and if the teacher heard a peep you would stop on the stairs and the boys on the bottom stairs would be looking up those skirts. Then in high school I can't tell you how many couples used those skirts for "easy access" quickies in the science wing.

A few times a year my daughter will really want to wear a skirt to school and I insist on leggings or biker shorts under the skirt. There would be no way I would let her go to school on a PE day in a skirt. That picture of Anna jumping also concerns me. My son does jumps on a box like that in weight lifting class and I have seen plenty of the schools top athletes fall once in awhile and they were in PE attire.

[Fun-Dee]

So who gets to shower first? Does anyone shower the night before? Assuming the Maxwells have 2 bathrooms.

I noticed in some of the old schedules (2008-09) that Terri's showers and Mary's showers were scheduled, but the rest of the "kids" showers weren't. I made me wonder, if their schedules are so tight, when do they shower?

In a later schedule (2011-12) Mary and Jesse have showers scheduled at the same time. 5:45 a.m.! This is after they have been up for an hour! Also, each year they get up progressively earlier. 5:45 in 2008, 4:45 in 2011. By 2012 Terri is getting up at 4:15!

[sparkles]

Nowhere in those pictures do I see any evidence of safety mats (especially for the box jumping...in a skirt) or a sibling acting as a spotter for the weights. Not that it's always necessary but you'd think the Maxwells would give it some consideration. Unless, of course, they think they don't need it because Jesus...

[Fun-Dee]

Nowhere in those pictures do I see any evidence of safety mats (especially for the box jumping...in a skirt) or a sibling acting as a spotter for the weights. Not that it's always necessary but you'd think the Maxwells would give it some consideration. Unless, of course, they think they don't need it because Jesus...

It also looks like Sarah is doing push ups on a hard, and probably cold bare floor. Push ups, the girly kind that I can still barely do, are hard enough on your knees when you are on a padded surface.

[sparkles]

It also looks like Sarah is doing push ups on a hard, and probably cold bare floor. Push ups, the girly kind that I can still barely do, are hard enough on your knees when you are on a padded surface.

Now that you mention it, it almost makes sense. One must suffer during one's time on earth, I guess. I wonder if they take cold showers too and not for the usual reasons (or maybe FOR the usual reasons).

[salex]

I'm surprised they don't require their girls to wear these

We do not know that they do not. Only that they have not yet blogged about it.

[ThatSnark]

Did you see how many kettlebells they have stacked in the corner? Those suckers are EXPENSIVE: $50-60 for one medium-weight. Maybe they picked them up at the thrift shop? The Maxwells puzzle me with their fancy stuff and plain lifestyle.

[kpmom]

Did you see how many kettlebells they have stacked in the corner? Those suckers are EXPENSIVE: $50-60 for one medium-weight. Maybe they picked them up at the thrift shop? The Maxwells puzzle me with their fancy stuff and plain lifestyle.

The kettlebells made me laugh because there is a fitness trainer named Steve Maxwell (no relation that I know of) who puts out books and videos on training with kettlebells.

I've looked up things on fundie Steve only to get things on fit Steve.

[Odd1Out]

So who gets to shower first? Does anyone shower the night before? Assuming the Maxwells have 2 bathrooms.

I'm guessing that Steve and Terie, of course have their own bathroom. But I'm also going to guess that they have separate bathrooms for the boys and girls. Can't have the boys seeing any feminine hygiene products or anything. There house is fairly large isn't it?

[Jana814]

It wouldn't Suprise me at all if they have schedule showers & bathroom times. (How very Sheldon Cooper of them). Everything is scheduled in the Maxwell world.

[Hane]

Normally the girls exercise together and the guys also are a team, but on this day we decided to join up for a special workout.

We enjoy our time together: whether it’s sharing at conferences, working on projects, or yes, gasping for breath as we exercise. Team Maxwell!

Ok, now they're just taunting us.....when do the Maxwells NOT do something together? The fact that the family live in the same house, eat all their meals together, have three hours of Bible study every night, do their "nursing home ministry" every weekend etc.....what could possibly make working out "together" special?!?! The family treat their time together like it's a rare, infrequent occurrence when they probably spend more time together than most children spend with their immediate families. Good God. If I met a Maxwell, I'd kidnap him/her and plop them in room for a few days just to see what happens. Maybe they start melting when they aren't within proximity of each other for more than 24 hours.

And don't forget that they share bedrooms with their brothers or sisters, so they don't even get any freaking privacy when they sleep.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

The kettlebells made me laugh because there is a fitness trainer named Steve Maxwell (no relation that I know of) who puts out books and videos on training with kettlebells.

I've looked up things on fundie Steve only to get things on fit Steve.

Heh. Yeah that trainer is a problem for me too, keeps getting in the way when I'm looking up Steve-O!

[Joan of Snarc]

Looking at their pictures of working out in a denim skirt, in an unfinished basement with siblings, sure makes me appreciate the gym I go to. Sunlight streaming in, people dressed comfortably in workout clothes, high-def TVs on every cardio machine, headphones in my ears blasting my favorite tunes, hit the sauna post workout. Damn it's good not to be a Maxwell!

[SPHASH]

Did you see how many kettlebells they have stacked in the corner? Those suckers are EXPENSIVE: $50-60 for one medium-weight. Maybe they picked them up at the thrift shop? The Maxwells puzzle me with their fancy stuff and plain lifestyle.

I've noticed in their hiking pics they have pretty nice windbreakers, hiking shoes and Camelbacks which are not cheap. I always figured they were frugal.

[sparkles]

Frugal and cheap are not the same thing, IMO. Buying quality, like the Maxwells seem to do, means you get good value and long life for the money you spend. In the long run, that's frugal and prudent. On the other hand, buying cheap crap that falls apart quickly so it needs to be replaced time and time again may seem frugal on the face of it but it usually ends up costing you much more than it would if you went for higher priced quality items in the first place. Spending for good quality is one of the few things I can't fault them for.

[Justme]

Remember, they don't spend money on TV, newspapers, entertainment, anything "fun". Plus, they are a family of 7 adults who "work" and live together.

[SPHASH]

Frugal and cheap are not the same thing, IMO. Buying quality, like the Maxwells seem to do, means you get good value and long life for the money you spend. In the long run, that's frugal and prudent. On the other hand, buying cheap crap that falls apart quickly so it needs to be replaced time and time again may seem frugal on the face of it but it usually ends up costing you much more than it would if you went for higher priced quality items in the first place. Spending for good quality is one of the few things I can't fault them for.

To me frugal is when you spend little money on yourself. True the Maxwells don't go to movies, have hobbies, take warm weather vacations, subscribe to TV or a news publication, but I also cannot see them plunking down $150 for hiking shoes either, an activity they participate in regularly. Cheap is when you spend little money on someone else, like one year my grandma drew my name for Christmas and asked what I wanted. I told her candles thinking she would go to Wicks and Sticks or White Candle Barn. Nope she went to the Dollar Store, got me three Christmas Candles, and candlesticks which I didn't want or need. She spent less than $10 and forgot to take the tag off one of the holders. I was so disgusted that when I got home I threw them in the garbage.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I'm actually kind of surprised they don't have more pricey gym equipment in the basement (cardio machines, etc) just because that does seem like the sort of thing they'd spend money on, since it's a tool for one of their main "goals" (fitness). I spent some $$$ on my elliptical machine for the same reason, it's a long-term investment in self-improvement/daily tasks that I'll use again and again, so for me it was worth it to go upscale and get something truly rugged.

...just ran on it now, even, though no skirts for me. Pair of sweat pants and an old polo shirt with some defrauding holes in it (plus it's bright red). Heathen worldly news programs on the iPod. I can't imagine wearing a skirt for that, there is no way I'm coordinated enough to manage!

[MamaJunebug]

Ah, my old English training kicked in. Looked up the definition of Frugal and found

sparing or economical with regard to money or food.

I think a more descriptive word for what the Maxwells do w/r/t equipment is "economical"-- giving good value or service in relation to the amount of money, time, or effort spent.

They are sparing in the amount of food they eat, and they spare/deny themselves things like Pepsi and cookies (what other family of 10 could make a box of animal crackers last more than a meal?).

But they buy high-quality tools from the shoes to the water packs to the exercise equipment to the kitchen equipment, because as others have said, better-quality tools should provide value in the item's good performance over its (supposedly) long life.

With quite a bit of time on their hands (ceiling fans really only need cleaning weekly and even the Maxwells seem to acknowledge that), they probably are able to purchase their high-end appliances and footwear, etc., at pretty deep discounts, finding the best offers and deals online.

Of course, Teri monitors it all since its online, but hey, what else does she have to do? :wink-penguin: