Maxwell 12: Eleven years of blogging, still got nothing to say

[SPHASH]

New post up.  They invited the "extended" family over.  Sigh.  Poor Sarah made a point of saying not all the extended family could come, so no Smug Joe and Invisible Elissa.  Scary Mary looked really crazy.             Monday afternoons are normally aunties’ playtime, and the girls decided to go ahead with it.   Like they had a choice.

[Snarfblatt]

Quote

Often on holidays, we’ll have a special meal at our house. The extended family is invited, but not always is everyone able to come.

Alternatively: 

We often have a special meal at our house on holidays. We invite the extended family but they are not always able to join us. 

 

[johnhugh]

Oh yuck  is Teri's mum about to give Stevie a foot massage in the photo ©bible time?

It would be interesting to know where Gigi fits into Stevie's 'extended family. She has a KJ Bible, has the skirt, but what about her other daughter Tami who used to post birthday greetings to the reversals?

[nomoxian]

13 hours ago, Snarfblatt said:

Alternatively: 

We often have a special meal at our house on holidays. We invite the extended family but they are not always able to join us. 

The way the Maxwells said that sounds like they are not native speakers of English.

I don't mean to make fun of people who learned English as a foreign language - but these are people who were raised in America by parents who were also raised in the same place who also had parents who lived in America. Their bloodline hasn't seen the other side of the Atantic in generations. 

Didn't Terri go to public school? If her adult childrens blog posts and books are any indicator of how great a Godly Homeschooling education is, I shudder to think of the result of a 2nd generation homeschoolers teaching their kids!

[Black Aliss]

I've noticed that Sarah has begun using "y'all" in her posts. Sometimes several times in one post. Not well, either. Isn't the plural of "y'all" "all y'all"?

Quick poll:

• She's attempting to write dialect
• She's courting a Southerner

[Palimpsest]

On 9/8/2017 at 2:18 PM, JermajestyDuggar said:

I actually see this a lot from her generation (my parents' gen). I often wonder if it's just part of growing old.

Are we talking about Lori or Teri?

::Coughs:: As Teri is a couple of months younger than I am - no.  And I am in my late middle age, not old or "elderly," and still perfectly compos mentis, thanks.

I always think that if you are a determined know-it-all asshole at 25, then you will probably still be a know-it-all asshole at 55 and at 85.  Age doesn't necessarily bring wisdom, introspection, or a willingness to accept responsibility for one's actions.  People really don't change that much in personality, unless they get dementia.

There is probably a level of denial in Teri.  She claims to have asked Nathan, Christopher and Sarah what they remember about the really bad days, when depression had her unable to function, weeping all day and completely incapable of coping with homeschooling or lively children.

They maintain, she says, to have no memory of those days when she was dysfunctional.  I think it is far more likely that the don't want to upset dear fragile Teri by telling her how truly awful those days were for them.

 Steve's solution before he quit his job, if you remember, was to shut the children up in their separate bedrooms with workbooks and make them listen to Daddy tapes. 

30 minutes ago, nomoxian said:

The way the Maxwells said that sounds like they are not native speakers of English.

They are only fluent in KJV English.

[lauraloralara]

4 hours ago, Black Aliss said:

I've noticed that Sarah has begun using "y'all" in her posts. Sometimes several times in one post. Not well, either. Isn't the plural of "y'all" "all y'all"?

Quick poll:

• She's attempting to write dialect
• She's courting a Southerner

Not sure if you are joking or not, but this is one of those things that I see pop up in things like chain emails/viral Facebook posts, and it doesn't ring true, at least in my experience. I have lived in the South (like, rural South for most of it) my entire life and really cannot think of a time someone said "y'all" to mean one person. 

[PennySycamore]

@lauraloralara,  you're right y'all is already plural, but I will admit to hearing all y'all before.  

That classic of Southern dialect  is titled You All Spoken Here by Roy Wilder, jr because not all Southerners are in the "y'all belt"just as all Southerners are not from the grits belt.  This book is a treasure trove of Southern idioms and expressions. 

[Odd1Out]

I'm thinking she may be trying to sound dramatic with the 'y'all!! These cookies though!' type of irritating post like Jen Hatmaker and other bloggers do. 

[Black Aliss]

7 hours ago, lauraloralara said:

Not sure if you are joking or not, but this is one of those things that I see pop up in things like chain emails/viral Facebook posts, and it doesn't ring true, at least in my experience. I have lived in the South (like, rural South for most of it) my entire life and really cannot think of a time someone said "y'all" to mean one person. 

Not joking. I just know quite a few Southerners,  including my mother in law, who say "y'all" to mean one person. Although in MIL's case she could very well have been seeing double, so never mind.

[Dark Matters]

You asked for it and you've got: A Day in the Life of Sarah.  Did you know she works for four companies?  And uses a large ball at her desk instead of a desk chair?  And spends forty-five minutes in bible time and prayer in the morning?  Don't you wish your life was just like hers?  Don't you?

[Palimpsest]

1. I cannot imagine having Bible time before coffee.
2. Poor Ellie.  She's a Golden Retriever pup with a lot of energy.  She need at least two walks a day unless the weather is truly awful.
3. Mary can't print her own labels.  And she can pack all the orders in the time it takes to drink a smoothie.
4. Sarah does bookkeeping for 4 companies:  Titus 2, Swift Otter, Maxwell Irrigation, and C Maxwell Photography.  That is 4.
5. Steve gives Ellie a treat once a day.
6. I thought Teri wrote Mom's Corner, not Sarah.
7. I'm a computer dunce and I could probably write one of Sarah's shorter posts and add photos in less time than she took to write that long description.

[nomoxian]

1. The only time I have before coffee is "pee pee machen" and that's only because I can take a leak while my coffee is filling up in my cup. I love my coffee machine. And by scheduling time to fill it with beans and water whenever I see it getting low, it's as simple as pressing a button.

2. She takes Ellie out to "make" and that's it. In a home like that with a huge yard, she could easily have access to run and "go" anytime. At my place we only have a small yard, and the dogs are able to come and go as they please. The only time they don't like going out is if it's raining.

5. Steve gives Ellie food daily so she's trained to like him.

6. Nah. She's like Ghostwriter. But without being a cool glowing blob... hey; I guess I do know where some people end up after they die!

7. I'm surprised they use Wordpress. Usually they make things unnecessairly complicated.

Notice how the picture where "Mom is playing with during her scheduled time" shows NOT MOM playing with the kids?

[LadyPriss]

The fact that Sarah writes the mom's corner is interesting.  I guess seeing as she doesn't have a book project in the pipe, Teri offloaded the corner to her?  Is Teri THAT busy she can't be bothered with writing her parenting newsletter?  

[Coconutwater]

"Any morning it’s possible, I try to take Ellie on a walk." Sarah, you don't have an outside job, there are plenty of opportunities to take that poor dog for a long walk like she needs. I work full time, have a social life, and guess what? I still have time to take my dog out at least 3 times a day! 

[Jana814]

I'm a dog walker. I give the dogs a treat every time we come back from a walk. I don't get why Sarah only gives her dog a treat once a day. 

[Coconutwater]

10 minutes ago, Jana814 said:

I'm a dog walker. I give the dogs a treat every time we come back from a walk. I don't get why Sarah only gives her dog a treat once a day. 

Mine gets a teaspoon of yogurt before I leave for work, when I get home she gets a dog treat. Sometimes more than one of she's really good. I space them out. I guess they treat their dogs like they've been treated. Sad. 

[formergothardite]

21 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

They maintain, she says, to have no memory of those days when she was dysfunctional.  I think it is far more likely that the don't want to upset dear fragile Teri by telling her how truly awful those days were for them.

Judging from Sarah's books that portray a distant mother who barely interacted with her children I agree they remember pretty damn well how bad those days were. I wonder if any part of Terrie felt a twinge of guilt when she read those books. 

[jerkit]

Bible before coffee? Does. Not. Compute.

[church_of_dog]

1 hour ago, Jana814 said:

I'm a dog walker. I give the dogs a treat every time we come back from a walk. I don't get why Sarah only gives her dog a treat once a day. 

I think it's only Steve who gives Ellie a treat once a day.  In one of Sarah's office photos there is a bag of dog treats near her desk, so I assume Ellie gets treats from Sarah as well as the one from Steve.

Anecdote:  I recently bought a package of locally-made dog treats.  The woman selling them says "but, CoD, you don't even have a dog!"  I replied "True, but I have lots of doggie visitors at my house."  I even have some dog treats behind the counter at the library, where officially no dogs are allowed.  I still manage to find dogs to give them to...

The Maxwells have what some would call a good life.  Too bad it's not by choice for the kidults.

 

ETA -- Just realized how SMALL that bag of dog treats on her desk is.  Maybe Ellie DOES only get one treat per day from Sarah too, because otherwise that bag would have to be replaced every few days.  I hope not!  Let's hope there's a big bag in the kitchen that this gets replenished from...

[ophelia]

2 hours ago, Dark Matters said:

You asked for it and you've got: A Day in the Life of Sarah.  Did you know she works for four companies?  And uses a large ball at her desk instead of a desk chair?  And spends forty-five minutes in bible time and prayer in the morning?  Don't you wish your life was just like hers?  Don't you?

Reading about her shedule made me really sad. Her day is packed and full of activities and yet it seems to be so empty. I would love have a more structured life and the consistency to read my bible and exercise on a daily base and yet I'm so grateful to be able to go with the flow every once in a while.

[Alicepooh]

Her day is incredibly more dull with respect to her sisters'... And, have you noticed how messy is her desk area? That is not what super-organized Teri teaches!

Also, when she says that "I love opportunities to enjoy the wonderful weather, and I go outside to say hi to the kiddos Mom is playing with during her scheduled time. They love Ellie!", why is that they feel the need to mention their beloved schedules ALL the time? We know Teri & Co. love them already, as I am sure do all of their faithful fundie readers. 

Sorry about my rambling on. I feel really sad for a 35-year-old woman to be living such an unremarkable existence.

[Jingerale]

The lamp next to her desk needs dusting. I wonder when she'll be able to schedule that in.

[church_of_dog]

1 hour ago, Alicepooh said:

Also, when she says that "I love opportunities to enjoy the wonderful weather, and I go outside to say hi to the kiddos Mom is playing with during her scheduled time. They love Ellie!", why is that they feel the need to mention their beloved schedules ALL the time? We know Teri & Co. love them already, as I am sure do all of their faithful fundie readers. 

I think it's because "scheduling" is the essence of what they sell in their books.  It's their mantra.

I'm in favor of routine when applied to my daily life, and wish I was more rigorous about it myself.  But it's not like people need multiple daily reminders about how miraculous life is if only people would schedule things.  And as you point out, they're not very good ambassadors for their own ideals.

[jerkit]

Also, my dog is a wee one (11lb Havanese) and even he gets two walks a day, plus a couple other bathroom breaks. And I give him a treat every time. And even sometimes just because I think he's cute.