Recording every outing with your husband - Teri's tips

[16strong]

Their blog posts are particularly banal and boring lately.

Were you smoking something before that made them interesting? :shifty-kitty:

[Jezebel]

I'm surprised they didn't come up with a Maxwell beige journal for couples with excersizes, prompts, and bible verses and that kind of shit.

Given how many cartons of Making Great Conversationalists are still moldering away unsold in their basement storage area, I suspect they're a little gun-shy about publishing anything new (that isn't a Moody book, that is).

And yeah, their blog is duller than ever because they aren't hitting the road very much anymore, didn't even take what some would call a vacation this year (unless I missed it somehow), and have taken to secrecy about matters such as courtships and marriages. There's only so many frozen-smile-for-the-camera family photos I can bring myself to look at.

And even when they do try to build interest (such as the mystery of what country John traveled to and why), it falls flat. I still don't know where John went, and no longer care because it wasn't as if they posted anything interesting about it. Sarah isn't mentally equipped to have any interesting insights, or intellectually equipped to convey them. Anna's a complete cipher. Ditto, Jesse. Mary's cute, thanks to tweezers and orthodontics, but does she have an actual personality? John might be interesting--or he may be as dull as the rest of them

Steve and Teri are the only two Maxwells who have any personality at all. Years and years of blogging, and I know what the kids do, but I still have no clue who they are--and frankly, I don't think there's any great hidden depths, there. If there were, we would have seen some defections from the cult by now. But with the faint possible exception of John, they're all squashed down and stunted to suit their parents' narcissistic needs. So without some new activity once in a while, what is Sarah going to write stilted, vague, disjointed blog posts about?

The dullest family ever has, if anything, got even duller. Yeah, Joe and Elissa are about to have baby number eleventy-hundred. I wish them well, but big fucking deal.

Honestly, I think I'm just waiting for the day when Sarah finally snaps and goes all Lizzie Borden on the parents who destroyed her life.

[VodouDoll]

That's an interesting idea, that if there were any hidden depths among the kids at least one would've bolted by now. The Jeubs and Penningtons have both had rather spectacular defections. I wonder why the Maxwells haven't.

Run, John, run!

[sockinshoe]

I'm in a long distance relationship, where most of our disposable funds go into visits rather than dates and gifts, so this kind of memory exercise isn't really possible. However, I do maintain a list of fun date ideas/holiday destinations with the intention of spiriting my boyfriend away on a nice vacation when I have a bit of money saved...

[Grimalkin]

I...think that's a good idea? It seems like it would be something nice to look back at when you're angry or disappointed with your partner. Also, it might be nice later on in life when the memory starts to go, or when your spouse dies.

It seems nice, but with a Maxwell slant on it, it loses some of the appeal.

I think it's a nice thing to do too....... I have found it helpful to keep a gratitude journal when I am going through a rough time. I should do it all the time but I'm lazy. It seems to me that Terri needs to record these moments because her life is one rough patch after another long boring rough patch.

[FundieFarmer]

I like the idea itself, but I would do it to keep record of the sweet things Mr. FF did as a whole, or the things I really felt thankful for about him. I don't know if I would need the Maxwell slant of keeping it to remember, unless I thought I was really forgetting things.

[socalrules]

I have been thinking about this and Terri may record these events because on the bad days, she needs something to remind her that there have been good times and will be again. I think she does this with Steve because, good or bad, she may feel more connected to him that her children. Also, he is likely the cause of most of her stress.

[Elegant Mess]

Steve has made it a priority to nurture our relationship, give me a break from my normal household responsibilities...

Help me out here fellow FJers: Given that she's done homeschooling, what might Teri's responsibilities be these days, other than scheduling all of life into 15-minute chunks? There's only so much cabinet polishing and ceiling fan cleaning one can do.

[VodouDoll]

We did a similar thing right after we got married. We sat down with a notebook and pen and just did a massive brain dump list of every single cool or fun or funny or romantic thing that happened during the wedding day and honeymoon. Eight years later I absolutely treasure those pages because there's so much in there that I wouldn't remember otherwise.

[kpmom]

Help me out here fellow FJers: Given that she's done homeschooling, what might Teri's responsibilities be these days, other than scheduling all of life into 15-minute chunks? There's only so much cabinet polishing and ceiling fan cleaning one can do.

Not only that but now she has three adult full time helpers in her daughters. So what do all of them do all day?

[thoughtful]

Not only that but now she has three adult full time helpers in her daughters. So what do all of them do all day?

PS - that still is from a 1933 film called Ladies They Talk About. How approriate! :D

[16strong]

Not only that but now she has three adult full time helpers in her daughters. So what do all of them do all day?

On at 7: Are there enough celing fans to go around? Stay tuned to find out.

[Justme]

On at 7: Are there enough celing fans to go around? Stay tuned to find out.

You would think, with 4 adult women "homemakers", they would cook everything from scratch. Homemade bread, pasta, etc. You'd also think they'd have a big garden and fruit trees. They could can a lot of fruits and veggies. Just think of all the yummy homemade tomato sauce they could put up. Nope, they smash beans and eat burritos... :?

[salex]

You would think, with 4 adult women "homemakers", they would cook everything from scratch. Homemade bread, pasta, etc. You'd also think they'd have a big garden and fruit trees. They could can a lot of fruits and veggies. Just think of all the yummy homemade tomato sauce they could put up. Nope, they smash beans and eat burritos... :?

I've had this thought often. I wonder if they are like Roombas-- when not working they sit in a chair recharging until they are needed for another task-- turned off with a little green light shining out the back of their heads

[nokidsmom]

Not only that but now she has three adult full time helpers in her daughters. So what do all of them do all day?

Three adult full time daughters to help out. Three adult kids out of the house. Five kids remaining, three of whom are the helpers. So four adults to help maintain a house of 8 adults total. And somehow I hardly think that Steveovah and the sons are messy as hell throwing their stuff all over the place. So it's taking care of a home that's already in order. Good question on what they do all day.

[salex]

Three adult full time daughters to help out. Three adult kids out of the house. Five kids remaining, three of whom are the helpers. So four adults to help maintain a house of 8 adults total. And somehow I hardly think that Steveovah and the sons are messy as hell throwing their stuff all over the place. So it's taking care of a home that's already in order. Good question on what they do all day.

Maybe they get so many orders for their various books that they all spend 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, packing and shipping books .... or hosting ITONramp classes. Or maybe the 50 words a day blogs take up a full day (well, you know uploading the pictures might be time consuming)

No tv, no news, no talk radio, no books other than the bible and maybe an occasional commentary (steve approved) and their own writing (Menopause with the M0oodies.. the book where mom moody cries all through it) We heard about the flower arranging class, but are they allowed to take art or other classes?

[Maggie Mae]

Couldn't someone ask about their MOTH schedule?

My guess: Get up at 5, bible time, work out, cook/eat breakfast, get mail (maybe all three go to the mailbox in a pack? Got to stay safe from predators), bible time, crossword puzzle, lunch, nap, workout, clean, prepare dinner, pray, bible time, bed by 8.

[FundieFarmer]

It would appear they go to baby showers... blog.titus2.com

Perhaps they spend time writing and drawing, and consider that "work"?

[socalrules]

You would think, with 4 adult women "homemakers", they would cook everything from scratch. Homemade bread, pasta, etc. You'd also think they'd have a big garden and fruit trees. They could can a lot of fruits and veggies. Just think of all the yummy homemade tomato sauce they could put up. Nope, they smash beans and eat burritos... :?

Actually that would be a great idea. They could even write a how to book or cookbook on what they learned. I am fascinated by people that can do this. It's one reason I love the Little House on the Prairie series. Imagine if they did it for a year, calculated costs for various activities, i.e. canning or making bread, and explained how it went. I would read something like that, mind you not from a Maxwell because I like humor and real information, but it might actually sell well to fundies who really want to go back to simpler times and food. They could even add Bible quotes or say it is similar to food mentioned in the Bible.

[Handmaiden of Dog]

I remember seeing Teri's schedule at one point-- I think Mary was still being home schooled. It was dull, my friends, very dull. I remember we discussed the details. She got up at 4:00 am so she could do her back stretches. There were notes about preparing dinner if her back was not too painful. Then there was the morning Family Bible hour when everyone in the family read the Bible in the same room but did not talk as opposed to Evening Family Bible Hour when they took turns reading out loud.

[DowntownAbbey]

I remember seeing Teri's schedule at one point-- I think Mary was still being home schooled. It was dull, my friends, very dull. I remember we discussed the details. She got up at 4:00 am so she could do her back stretches. There were notes about preparing dinner if her back was not too painful. Then there was the morning Family Bible hour when everyone in the family read the Bible in the same room but did not talk as opposed to Evening Family Bible Hour when they took turns reading out loud.

They have them up on their website as "samples": titus2.com/downloads/maxwell-schedules.html

Highlights of the last schedule posted (2012-13) when Mary was 16:

• Up at 4:15 for back exercises
  
• Exercise and Walking for an hour and a half
  
• Playing with Josh for a half hour
  
• Writing for an hour
  
• Afternoon activities from 1 to 4:30pm: Fold Laundry/Chores, E-mail, Mon/Grandchildren visit at 4:00, Tues./Grocery Shopping, Wed/Bible Study at 3:00, Thurs./Take Gigi and Grandad to lunch at 1:00
  
• An hour of either dinner prep or back rest, Mary was also charged with dinner prep
  
• Family Bible for an hour
  
• "Odds and Ends" (Kitchen work, laundry, quick cleaning, desk work, other projects, and whatever needs to be done) for an hour

They only have up (as far as my research goes) schedules for Teri and the kids that were in school during those respective years.

Other highlights from other schedules:

• Jesse had two years of "Bible Outlining/Doctrinal Statement" for an hour
  
• There are no separate schedules for different days of the week.
  
• There was a half hour of Teri reading to Mary in 2008-2009, Anna was included in being read to from 2009 to 2011

[kpmom]

A bit off topic; I just looked at their main page,titus2.com/, and Jesse is looking somewhat different in the most recent picture.

It looks like he's gotten taller or broader, and it looks like he changed his hair style.

Also, I looked at their product pages and I am not seeing that Great Conversationalists book being offered at all. Even their leg humpers seem to realize what a joke that was.

[salex]

A bit off topic; I just looked at their main page,titus2.com/, and Jesse is looking somewhat different in the most recent picture.

It looks like he's gotten taller or broader, and it looks like he changed his hair style.

Also, I looked at their product pages and I am not seeing that Great Conversationalists book being offered at all. Even their leg humpers seem to realize what a joke that was.

It is still on the list. titus2.com/making-great-conversationalists.html

It is on a side bar to the "Maxwell family books" page with a blurb that says

A book that could impact who your children marry, who wants to employ them, and ultimately their success in life.

Given the litter of unmarried adult children, all working for Daddy and and their questionable success, I'm wondering if that blurb was the best option.