Maxwell 27: Increasing the Clan

[Fun-Dee]

I can't snark too much on this post.  Lots of cute kids, and some actual real smiles from the adults.  As far as gifts go, I always like getting the newest gadget that will make cleaning easier.  Oh and can't forget my favorite Maxwell, Arnold.  I like the picture where everyone is laughing, and Arnold looks really annoyed!

 

[usmcmom]

51 minutes ago, Melissa1977 said:

 

But it's shocking to see a 11 year old being promoted while her 20 something aunts are still babysitting and eating in the kids table.

So true! And none of those kids is actually little enough to need help with their meal. All the littlest ones sit in high chairs with the adults. I know those kids love their aunts but I wonder if there is an attitude of expectation there too - that Mary and Anna will always drop everything to entertain them. I think the family as a whole kind of has that expectation; I wonder if it has rubbed off on the kids. 

As for the photos, I think Married Anna looks genuinely happy in them and I like her red dress. Even Christopher seems relaxed and happy. 

[catlady]

I’m on the fence with some of the gifts. If Melanie asked or hinted that she wanted the bins, then it’s a good gift. But if the giver thought, “Mel’s a slob; she should use these,” well, that’s another story. I once gave my sister a container of Tide because she specifically requested it.  Likewise, I hope Jesse *wanted* two pairs of scissors.  But without context, it’s hard to say....

it made me happy to see Arnold in so many photos.

[anjulibai]

What I dislike about the bins is that they aren't even fancy bins. Just plain, cheap ones. They could have at least sprung for something nice and cute looking -  there's lots out there. 

[Rosie]

34 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

What I dislike about the bins is that they aren't even fancy bins. Just plain, cheap ones. They could have at least sprung for something nice and cute looking -  there's lots out there. 

What I dislike about the bins is that they are not really for or about Mel; they are for the OfNathan household.

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 hours ago, usmcmom said:

So true! And none of those kids is actually little enough to need help with their meal. All the littlest ones sit in high chairs with the adults. I know those kids love their aunts but I wonder if there is an attitude of expectation there too - that Mary and Anna will always drop everything to entertain them. I think the family as a whole kind of has that expectation; I wonder if it has rubbed off on the kids. 

As for the photos, I think Married Anna looks genuinely happy in them and I like her red dress. Even Christopher seems relaxed and happy. 

That’s what I was saying earlier. I think there is an expectation and that’s why Teri has very strict increments of time allotted to the grandchildren. Because if there was no expectation at all, I think it’s likely she would spend less time with the grandchildren. I think it’s possible Sarah isn’t that into child care either. But she’s expected to be a doting aunt and help out until she’s married (so forever).

[MamaJunebug]

Ages ago (Mel & Nate only had 2 kids), I attended the evening session of a Maxwell Live Infomercialnoutside Of St. Louis, about a 4-hour drive ftim Leavenworth.  I seem to remember it was a one-off trip, not part of a a larger tour.

Anyway, it being so close to The Fatherland,  Mel&Nate had driven to the gig to surprise The Original Steve Maxwell Family.

i distinctly remember my surprise by the absolute joy with which ReversalAnnaAnd Mary dived onto the floor to start playing with toddler Abby after the presentations had begun and no one was at the sales table. 

Ok, I guess RA&M hadn’t seen the little girl in, oh, a day or two. And I understand: babies change so much, so quickly, and play with nieces was the only play the younger Maxwell (Original)  Sisters had. And they had been cooped up with PSarah who basically state-managed the event, and their brothers and parents for that time  

But they would’ve been like, what, 14 and 17 at the time?  When I was at that larval state, young children could not have interested me less. 

Difference between being raised by my folks, and being raised by Pharisteve and his Terifying acolyte, for sure.  

[theologygeek]

11 hours ago, Rosie said:

I completely agree.

I was also aghast at Melanie's gift:  Organizing bins.  WTH.  Is that supposed to be something for Melanie to enjoy, take joy in?  

I guess now wouldn't be a good time to say that I recently ordered 15 rubbermaid huge bins.  With covers!  lol  I love bins.  I'm going to stack them in the garage.  Bins bring me joy lol  

[HerNameIsBuffy]

3 minutes ago, theologygeek said:

I guess now wouldn't be a good time to say that I recently ordered 15 rubbermaid huge bins.  With covers!  lol  I love bins.  I'm going to stack them in the garage.  Bins bring me joy lol  

me too!  would be a great Christmas haul for me!

and I love James Herriot.

[theologygeek]

4 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

me too!

I bought my grandson a beautiful sled that I keep here because he lives with his mother in a condo.  I have a yard.  What do you think he does?  He takes the bin covers out of the garage on the old bins in there and uses them for sleds.  He likes bin covers more than the sled apparently.  

[Lgirlrocks]

To chime in about aunts sitting at the kids table. My cousin has three boys, all under 12, her brother who lives out of state has two daughters, 10 and 8. They love to have the older cousins sit with them at the kids table. They may ask a great aunt to sit with them. I hope Anna, Mary, or whatever relative that sits with them does it because they want to. 

[Eclipse]

I am of two minds about Mary and Anna sitting at the kids table. There is an age gap of about 15 years between my cousins and my sisters and I. When they were young adults, my cousins resented being regulated to the kids table with us, until they were allowed to sit at the adults table. They thought it was boring and begged to be able to sit at the kids table with us, which they did until my sisters and I were adults. 

I have never married and I don't have kids. I have two nephews. I love them dearly. I spoil them rotten and I spend a lot of time with them. But sometimes at family gatherings, I resent that my sister and brother-in-law get to visit with people, while I spend the entire time taking care of their kids. Sometimes, I would like to visit with other family members too. I have a female cousin who never married and doesn't have kids as well. The same thing happens with her and her brother's kids. We've taken about our feelings about it. 

I'm guessing that really Mary and Anna enjoy the kids table at times but sometimes resent being there. However, they likely have been conditioned to believe that it is a blessing to them and for others for them to do it and take care of their nieces and nephews and that they should be enjoying it. That they feel guilty if they don't. 

[Jana814]

Part of me thinks that Anna & Mary wanted to sit with the kids which is perfectly fine. 

[FloraDoraDolly]

I am shocked-- SHOCKED, I tell you-- that Teri and Steve picked out those cool pizza shirts.

As for Anna and Mary sitting at the kids' table, maybe that's the only way they can have fun and escape their parents' never-ending scrutiny. But for Abby, sitting with the grown-ups more likely means getting away from little kids for once. Coming from a family where I am the single one who didn't have kids (but who has a degree in education), there were times when the relatives with kids took it for granted that I would look after the little ones during holiday gatherings. Sure, I liked being with the kids in my family. But since I was working as a childcare provider at the time, I needed a break, too. It was also a challenge to navigate the different rules/expectations that the different sets of kids had to live by. One branch of the family was less strict with their kids than the other when it came to what their kids were allowed to do/watch/play with/eat. I wouldn't be surprised if Anna and Mary have this same problem. You can see that just by looking at the different sets of Maxwell kids. Nathan and Melanie's kids are probably less sheltered than Anna and Mary themselves. Calia is cooler than all of them. Yet, here are Christopher and Anna Marie's kids in their bibs and matching prairie dresses. I doubt their boys would have been allowed to wear pizza shirts; they're usually dressed in matching polos. They look like the kinds of kids I wouldn't want to babysit because I *know* their parents would get pissy with me if a drop of apple juice dribbles beyond some kid's bib and onto their clothes (that is, if I remember to put the damn bib on a 4-year-old in the first place).

[nelliebelle1197]

13 hours ago, anjulibai said:

What I dislike about the bins is that they aren't even fancy bins. Just plain, cheap ones. They could have at least sprung for something nice and cute looking -  there's lots out there. 

Those are from IKEA. I went shopping with the office manager when we moved into our new office at work and we bought those to store kitchen stuff. I admit they are sturdy as hell. But that is about it.

[JermajestyDuggar]

36 minutes ago, nelliebelle1197 said:

Those are from IKEA. I went shopping with the office manager when we moved into our new office at work and we bought those to store kitchen stuff. I admit they are sturdy as hell. But that is about it.

For some reason I feel like Steve would absolutely hate IKEA.

[Rosie]

11 hours ago, theologygeek said:

I guess now wouldn't be a good time to say that I recently ordered 15 rubbermaid huge bins.  With covers!  lol  I love bins.  I'm going to stack them in the garage.  Bins bring me joy lol  

I love bins, too.  I truly do.

I would not love to receive bins as a Christmas gift.

[Lisafer]

24 minutes ago, Rosie said:

I love bins, too.  I truly do.

I would not love to receive bins as a Christmas gift.

Since I asked for and received a vacuum for Christmas, I'm in no position to snark on organizing tubs. She probably wanted them. That said, the photo is hilarious: her expression makes it look like she was hoping for a REAL present in that darn tub.

[Howl]

I just this second got curious.  What is the Maxell birth protocol?  Birthing suite at hospital? Home birth only with midwife?  I'm assuming everyone gets regular and excellent prenatal care.  Are they anti-vaxx?

[anjulibai]

It depends on the family. Melanie has been all hospital births because of her issues. Elissa and NR Anna have only had home births with a midwife. They all seem to get regular prenatal care - Melanie especially. No idea if they are anti-vaxx, but I doubt it. Steve is too persnickety for that. 

[PennySycamore]

1 hour ago, Lisafer said:

Since I asked for and received a vacuum for Christmas, I'm in no position to snark on organizing tubs. She probably wanted them. That said, the photo is hilarious: her expression makes it look like she was hoping for a REAL present in that darn tub.

Asking for a vacuum for Christmas reminds me of this classic scene from I Love Lucy.  Listen in particular to the last line.

 

[Jana814]

I don’t think they are anti-vaxx. 

[mango_fandango]

Chelsy said in her pregnancy announcement post (on her blog) that she was aiming for a home birth with a midwife. 

Nathan was a hospital birth, it was mentioned in the Rolla post when Steve and Teri visited their college campus. Christopher and Sarah might have been hospital births too, IDK. I think that John, Reversal Anna, Jesse and Mary were homebirths. In the post announcing Ruthanne’s arrival, it’s mentioned that the midwife NR Anna had also delivered the youngest four. Chelsy might use her, or someone else. 

Also, I was looking at the Christmas post again, and I saw this. Lydia’s green dress looks to be a present; understandable that she wanted to wear it.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I can’t remember if Ma Bontrager has said if she homebirths. I think their youngest, Rebecca, was already born by the time they started their blog. 

[formergothardite]

19 hours ago, theologygeek said:

I guess now wouldn't be a good time to say that I recently ordered 15 rubbermaid huge bins.  With covers!  lol  I love bins.  I'm going to stack them in the garage.  Bins bring me joy lol  

I would be thrilled if people bought me bins! Even the cheap, non fancy ones! I really like practical gifts. I got a tape dispenser and nutritional yeast for christmas this year and I was happy. I had placed them on my Amazon list. My mom said she felt weird giving me that stuff for a present but she knows it is what makes me happy. 

So if she actually wanted bins, it was a good gift.