Maxwell 33: Managers of Their Vests

[SPHASH]

16 hours ago, FloraKitty35 said:

It's nice to see Arnold. He's my favorite Maxwell. 

Him and Ellie.  Did Ruthie and Lydia participate, doesn't look like they did.  Also Josh and Drew are old enough to help, why aren't they?

Edited October 10, 2019 by SPHASH
ETA

[FloraKitty35]

1 hour ago, SPHASH said:

Him and Ellie.  Did Ruthie and Lydia participate, doesn't look like they did.  Also Josh and Drew are old enough to help, why aren't they?

I hope Ellie is ok.  I thought the "fundraiser" was put on by Nathan's older daughters.  

[Foudeb]

Josh and drew have penises. Therefore they don't have to do any of that show busy work for the benefit of their relatives. 

[MamaJunebug]

A friend is a radical vegan for the last 15 years. 

All the plants, but No added salt, sugar or oil. 

Nothing that had a face, or a mother. 

No caffeine. No alcohol. 

Nothing with an ingredients label. 

And he’s the only one in his family doing it. You’d never know he has what’s generally a  debilitating illness. 

[SilverBeach]

On 10/5/2019 at 9:09 AM, fundiefan said:

I wear camisols under everything. Everything. I am never without them.

Are you my DD? She has a million of them, black, white, and tan to go with all her tops. You won't catch her without one on.

20 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

I have read there have been studies done that show that some people with Type II diabetes  can reverse the diagnosis by following a vegan, whole foods diet.  

As a long time (28 years) insulin resistant Type II diabetic, I have had amazing results with a lower carb diet and losing pounds (I am overweight). I still take some meds, but much less than before, and I anticipate taking even less as I continue to lose.  Carbs and total calories impact my blood sugar.  I eat mostly complex carbs. Couldn't do vegan, too restrictive for me. I do try to just eat healthy, much less processed food, but I could never just wat stuff without a label. 

[PennySycamore]

@SilverBeach, Dr Neal Barnard who did some of the studies about a plant-based diet and Type II diabetes admit that not all Type II diabetics can get off medication even if they follow a strict vegan diet.

[NancyDrewFan1989]

On 10/9/2019 at 11:15 AM, mango_fandango said:

I have noticed the other daughters-in-law calling Steve and Teri “mom/dad” in posts. But yeah, we know how close Chelsy is to her parents; not sure about the other daughters-in-law. 

My grandfather is one of seven. My great aunts and great uncles are called mom and dad by some of their children in law. In fact, one of my aunts by marriage calls my grandparents mom and dad. They still acknowledge their own parents by calling them mom and dad. Honestly, I thought it was something that was normal growing up.

One time I asked my mom about about it and she told me that when you marry into a family you have a new mom and dad called in-laws, who love you as a new child in their family. She explained that some people call their in-laws mom and dad to shorten it. She did emphasize that it is a choice by each family, as some of my cousins call their in-laws by their first name. Furthermore, she explained that in-laws don't replace your own parents as both sets of parents gain a new child. 

[mango_fandango]

I guess when I wrote the post I was writing it from my own perspective, I guess I’d find it odd to call in-laws “mum and dad”, I feel I’d need to make the distinction between my actual parents and my in-laws! (Not that I have any, but still). I probably also thought that it was odd, given the Maxwell dynamic of Steve having so much control, what with all the married sons living so close to the mothership, and NR-Anna, Elissa and Chelsy also all moving to Kansas (Melanie already came from there, right?) 

[Jody]

10 hours ago, MamaJunebug said:

A friend is a radical vegan for the last 15 years. 

All the plants, but No added salt, sugar or oil. 

Nothing that had a face, or a mother. 

No caffeine. No alcohol. 

Nothing with an ingredients label. 

And he’s the only one in his family doing it. You’d never know he has what’s generally a  debilitating illness. 

Nothing with an ingredients label? I thought labels were mandatory even for the super vegan foodstuffs (like €20) for some nuts/berries Miles that are completely organic. My friends are raw-foodists, and they always bitch about the food we serve them, even though it comes from a local farmer’s market where the farmer read it a bedtime story every night. So last year, i filled a big bowl with biological rabbit food. They were the only ones who couldn’t appreciate the joke?????

[sparkles]

Both sets of my grandparents ended up becoming close so my parents referred to their in-laws as mom and dad. On the other hand, I barely knew my in-laws since they lived in another state (our NY to their Florida). We got married in ‘81 and I think I met my FIL three times before he died in the early 90s and might have met my MIL twice more (I don’t even remember when she died. Might have been the late 90s or early 00s.) The dynamic in Mr. Sparkles family is/was an odd one and they barely had contact with each other—he might have spoken to them twice a year, at most. There was no way I was going to call my in-laws mom and dad, the same thing I called my own beloved parents. And since I almost never saw them or spoke to them, I got around the issue by not calling them anything. 

I guess since Steve long ago eschewed meat in burritos, he didn’t have too many issues switching to his new meat-free diet. ?

[IReallyAmHopewell]

Oh, Sarah! Please! Good grief! Learn to write.

 

"...invitations to the rest of the family who might be free and spur-of-the-moment able to come"

This is the right-version of Meghan Markle's "word salad" speeches. 

[mango_fandango]

Apparently that post was done by Teri... who educated Sarah. Unless it was Sarah writing as Teri.

[usmcmom]

I think I have mentioned this before but the Operation Christmas Child post made me think of it again. 

It seems that Nathan’s girls are often up in front of the family, doing something that makes them the center of attention.  About once a year, it seems, Joshua recites something; but the OfNathan kids seem to do a lot of “presentations.” 

I tell you what, I love my nieces and nephews.  But I would get real crabby if I kept receiving invitations to drag my own kids over to yet another “program” done by the same few kids.  

It could cause problems, even in the closest of families. The main performers could start feeling entitled to the attention. The kids made to sit snd watch could start feeling resentful that their cousins are once again in the limelight. They could also wonder why THEY don’t get to do this stuff. 

Perhaps Nathan and Melanie want to give their kids lessons in public speaking, organizing an event, etc. That is all great.  If they were in a school group, they would have the opportunity to speak in front of their peers, get ideas about how other kids handle the same situations and learn that others have ideas worth sharing too. Because they are so isolated, these kids just keep performing in front of “The Extended Family,”  It is just odd to me and I can’t imagine that it is NOT causing some eye rolls with other family members. 

[sparkles]

A trip to a park/playground with your kids should not be a “special outing.”  I think what makes it such a big deal for the Maxwell clan is that it has to be carefully planned so there’s no chance they’ll have to share the space with the unsaved masses. Judging from the light in those photos, they were either there early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Color me unsurprised that it was organized by Christopher, who’s definitely the fundiest of the MaxSpawn. But on the other hand, color me surprised that their girls were permitted to do something as unladylike as play on the monkey bars. 

[Giraffe]

Do the Maxkidults know they’re sheltered? I mean seriously, that “how to communicate” books is as “how to stick out like a sore thumb in this society” as possible. It’s stilted and not age appropriate. Sadly, “stilted & having expectations that are nowhere close to developmentally appropriate” seems to be their calling card. Their lack of self awareness - and believing they’re even more astute than the rest of us - is mind boggling. 

[courtlylove]

Teri, Teri, Teri! Your children's children are your grandchildren. Why the parentheses? Do your readers a service and assume they have some intelligence. 

Steve and I delight to see our children investing in their children (our grandchildren)

[Giraffe]

45 minutes ago, courtlylove said:

Teri, Teri, Teri! Your children's children are your grandchildren. Why the parentheses? Do your readers a service and assume they have some intelligence. 

Steve and I delight to see our children investing in their children (our grandchildren)

“No shit, Sherlock!” feels so apropos on this one. ?‍♀️

[anachronistic]

Oh for goodness sakes. A trip to a park should not be memorable for a kid, unless it’s Glacier National Park or something. I’ve taken my niblings to so many parks so many times I’ve lost count, and we don’t even live that close to them, only see them every few months or so. What do you do when the weather is non-terrible and the kids are awake? You go to a park. Grab a diaper bag for a toddler or baby, sunscreen and water in summer, done. 
 

I do remember certain park visits: my last day with the kid I used to take care of, the first time a very-medically-complicated kid went on the swings, going to the park the day after Trumps election and watching the kids play and managing not to cry.....but an every day park visit? Nope. Even in winter, common as heck. Kids learn so many great things at parks, social skills, fine and gross motor skills, exercise......they learn to say ‘do you want to play’ to a stranger and ‘sorry’ when they knock a smaller kid over. They learn that sometimes adults just want to sit on a bench and not play, and that’s fine, that’s why you go to the park, to find other kids. The Maxwells don’t think their grands need any other kids but their families, but anyone observing them can see at a glance that their kids could have benefited an awful lot from free time at parks when they were young.

Edited October 11, 2019 by anachronistic
Typo

[JermajestyDuggar]

6 hours ago, usmcmom said:

I think I have mentioned this before but the Operation Christmas Child post made me think of it again. 

It seems that Nathan’s girls are often up in front of the family, doing something that makes them the center of attention.  About once a year, it seems, Joshua recites something; but the OfNathan kids seem to do a lot of “presentations.” 

I tell you what, I love my nieces and nephews.  But I would get real crabby if I kept receiving invitations to drag my own kids over to yet another “program” done by the same few kids.  

It could cause problems, even in the closest of families. The main performers could start feeling entitled to the attention. The kids made to sit snd watch could start feeling resentful that their cousins are once again in the limelight. They could also wonder why THEY don’t get to do this stuff. 

Perhaps Nathan and Melanie want to give their kids lessons in public speaking, organizing an event, etc. That is all great.  If they were in a school group, they would have the opportunity to speak in front of their peers, get ideas about how other kids handle the same situations and learn that others have ideas worth sharing too. Because they are so isolated, these kids just keep performing in front of “The Extended Family,”  It is just odd to me and I can’t imagine that it is NOT causing some eye rolls with other family members. 

You know I never thought of it that way but I bet there’s some truth in what you say. My family was totally heathen compared to the Maxwell’s, but I have a ton of cousins close in age and they were some of my closest friends growing up. Some of us went to the same school, participated in the same activities, and were always sleeping over at our grandparents’ house together. Oh and we also went to church together! But I can tell you, we fought a fuck ton. Like we were always arguing or bickering over some silly game or fort we were making. I can remember so many screaming fights filled with insults. Then we would make up and be friends again. We definitely got jealous of each other on occasion. We loved getting attention from our grandma. If she had shown favoritism (she didn’t), we would have been so hurt. I bet there is jealousy amongst the Max grandkids but they are never allowed to express anything other than happiness. 

[NancyDrewFan1989]

18 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

I guess when I wrote the post I was writing it from my own perspective, I guess I’d find it odd to call in-laws “mum and dad”, I feel I’d need to make the distinction between my actual parents and my in-laws! (Not that I have any, but still). I probably also thought that it was odd, given the Maxwell dynamic of Steve having so much control, what with all the married sons living so close to the mothership, and NR-Anna, Elissa and Chelsy also all moving to Kansas (Melanie already came from there, right?) 

I was just drawing from my own experience as well. I noticed on this thread that the subject got brought up. I was writing from my own perspective as well.

[Bethy]

Chris looks thinner in the park pics than I've ever seen him (and I've been following the Maxwells darn near a decade.) I wonder if he's on the same diet as his parents? He might be looking at his parents and deciding he might as well do his best to mitigate the DNA package he was handed, but he looks thin to the point of gaunt. If he feels he ought to follow dear ol' Dad's diet, then so be it, but I sincerely hope he's not forcing NR-Anna or the kids onto it. I have a friend who did a very similar diet (all plant-based, no oils) and when I asked her about nutrients she said if she did ever get pregnant, she would have to take a bunch of supplements to make up for vitamins that she simply isn't getting on her plan.

[johnhugh]

Not that there is anything wrong with going to the park, but  it’s certainly not worthy of a blog post! As another poster pointed out it must be early or late as no other families are around. Heaven forbid there could be children around who they could interact with or have conversions with great Conversationalists who could be defrauding in their dress or tell them what they watched on the BEAST last night.

They used to have an annual trip to the Zoo, or did that end when they saw some animals having sweet fellowship. Oh wait a minute, I remember in the days when I could comment on the blog I recalled a story to them about how another lion mounted another one to look over the fence.....

 

 

[NancyDrewFan1989]

On 10/9/2019 at 3:45 PM, defraudingjezebel said:

Correct me if I'm wrong- was their Operation Christmas Child fundraiser only attended by their family? Seems strange to use the formal label of "fundraiser" for an event attended only by close family.  

This was fundraiser by Maxwell standards. Remember Griselda Teri and Coward Steve like to keep their children and grandchildren away from the evil influences of the outside world. So, a fundraiser is a family gathering to us. 

[freejugar]

Maxwells either go hard or go home. They have zero self regulation skills. It's either  pepsi every day or none at all, no tv, no oil or salt instead of in moderation. All or nothing, black and white. It's a crazy  world they live in. 

[grammyj]

Well, it's Steve's worldview and as I recall, he is by profession and training, an engineer. I have quite a few engineers in my family and I gotta say, these folks are Smart! They can make an algebraic formula to solve a problem or put together a 17 piece Ikea anything--with instructions in a language they don't speak-- like nobody's business.

 But, and I know I'm generalizing here, and my observations are based on my own experiences, if these same folks have one thing in common, it's the inability to see the world in anything other than black and white.  I dont know if it's training, or if the profession maybe attracts such type of thinkers. Again, just based on my own experiences. Steve seems to be a black/white thinker too. His total control  of their world prevents anyone pointing out the grey areas which are so important.  Life is seldom just an equation. It's mostly grey.

Anyhow, this family does not cease to fascinate and enrage me. I think, from reading the blogs and Corners, Teri/Steve is getting more and more rigid and self-aggrandizing. I'd like to live long enough to see how the grandchildren turn out.  I think it's pretty much over for the Maxwell daughters. I hope I'm wrong. So sad. Christmas Shoeboxes the focus of their years.  Sighing, shaking head....Ok, I'm ranting now. Am done.