Maxwell 49: Recipes from Those Who Can't Cook

[IReallyAmHopewell]

On 7/22/2021 at 6:52 PM, MamaJunebug said:

Iceland might be that perfect place.  Or Norway, the Netherlands, New Zealand,

I"m in! Let me know when to start packing!

[kpmom]

15 hours ago, Bethy said:

I'm sorry but all I can think of when you say "sell copy paper" is the Michael Scott Paper Company episodes on The Office. 

 

I thought the same thing when I wrote it! ?  But it really was something to do with paper.  It was weird because Steve said it was nothing he had experience with but "the Lord" led him to do it.  But then later he mentioned a friend was in the same business and gave them their start. So much for "the Lord".

[Bluebirdbluebell]

5 hours ago, Bethy said:

They really are slacking on the blog, though. I mean, we haven't seen the 4th of July celebration (maybe the girls WERE gone, and showing that gathering would out them) and for all they have a preemie grandbaby in the NICU, they're only posting once a week, twice a week at most, with updates about her. Nathan's early kiddos got WAY more blog time, and that was back when they actually had stuff going on, ministry-wise, to post about.

Maybe the family at home is trying to help John and Chelsy and they have less time for blogging. I can't say they're slacking since it is a difficult time.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I think they are posting less on the blog because Sarah said she’s done. And I say good for her. She probably realized that when she had to take a break after her concussion, she probably didn’t miss it. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was able to blog again but she just doesn’t want to. 

[anjulibai]

They could trade off doing posts, if they wanted, all 5 of them still in the house. I'm sure they have enough time to put something together once or twice a month. But will they? 

If they don't do that, they ought to have Melanie or Anna Marie take over, or do more posts themselves. They'd be way more interesting. 

[IReallyAmHopewell]

2 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

They could trade off doing posts, if they wanted, all 5 of them still in the house. I'm sure they have enough time to put something together once or twice a month.

A new scheduling conundrum! They could launch a new product: Managers of their nearly dead blogs!

[mango_fandango]

They seem to do those “random life” posts every so often, I think their followers like those posts. Except they last did one towards the end of April, so…

[ElizaB]

I think another problem is they don't really have a clear direction for the blog. It started as a way to inspire large homeschool families and then became an advertisement for their products and speaking tours. Now they are a household full of adults and they no longer go on tour or come out with too many products. Teri is so far removed from homeschooling she can no longer give great advice (especially with how technology has really come into play) and no one at their house is on her "schedule" anymore. They can post fluff pieces about recipes and family updates but they don't have any homeschooling or tour/product posts anymore which were the main "meat" of blog. 

[kpmom]

3 hours ago, anjulibai said:

 

If they don't do that, they ought to have Melanie or Anna Marie take over, or do more posts themselves. They'd be way more interesting. 

I've always thought that too.

What homeschooling mom is interested in hearing from a family of 5 adults, 3 of whom were home schooled years ago?

With Anna Marie's health issues it probably won't happen, but with her homemaking skills and writing skills she's be perfect to take it over.

I'm a little surprised Chelsy still blogs on the Bontrager site.  Aren't fundies supposed to leave and cleave?  Maybe she'll take the Maxwell blog over one day.

[anjulibai]

Chelsy blogs on her own site. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

5 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

Chelsy blogs on her own site. 

And she doesn’t post even close to once a week. The most she has posted is about Madeline. Before that, we would get lucky if she posted once a month. She could never keep up with the Maxwell blog schedule. 

[Green bean satan]

On 7/23/2021 at 2:16 AM, fundieundies said:

I feel like Teri doesn't know what a toddler is like/enjoys/even is (beyond a scaled down human being) because the toddler years for the reversals were "depression auto-pilot" years that she might not totally remember.

Also to the point of Ana & Mary not going to stay with John & Chelsy - maybe it's a small apartment? That's the only obstacle I can think of for two un-employed, un-wed fundie SAHD who have been seen to care for their nieces & nephews

Speculating about Teri’s mental illness and what she can’t remember is not nice. Educate yourself and do better. 

[fundiefan]

18 hours ago, Bluebirdbluebell said:

Maybe the family at home is trying to help John and Chelsy and they have less time for blogging. I can't say they're slacking since it is a difficult time.

John & Chelsy are staying in a hotel near the hospital, so they're not even in the compound neighborhood for anyone to be helping out more than a petting zoo trip.

I think blogging is slacking because they are finally realizing how irrelevant they are, even in fundie circles. There is only so far you can take your same, tired, schtick about homeschooling, reverse vasectomies, scheduling & debt free home buying (particularly when you had one son renting an apartment and one who has a monster sized house and if he doesn't have a mortgage I'd eat my paycheck. Plus, all your daughters are unmarried.

So, what do they have to sell anymore? The schedule has been done to death, by them and others. They don't homeschool so are out of the loop with current practices. Their sons live their own lives & can't be fodder for dad's debt free living schtick. They don't play instruments & pretend to be musically or vocally talented anymore. (That was short lived, fortunately). I think it's been clear for a while that some of their married sons want to be kept out of the blog, and rightly so. They have their own lives, families & jobs to focus on; they are under no obligation to be fodder for daddy's money making schemes. The unmarried daughters at home don't do much & will never marry so they are pretty much out of ways to use them. 

They need to give up the ghost, close up the blog, and find a new way to exploit their remaining unmarried offspring for money. Or just freaking retire & spare the world any more of their nonsense. 

[bertnee]

Guess it's time for the Maxwells to join up with an MLM scheme! 

[kpmom]

15 hours ago, anjulibai said:

Chelsy blogs on her own site. 

She does?

I'm still seeing her blog on the Bontrager site. 

Does she also blog somewhere else?

[freethemall]

20 minutes ago, kpmom said:

She does?

I'm still seeing her blog on the Bontrager site. 

Does she also blog somewhere else?

Here you go:

http://www.chelsyrenee.com

 

[IReallyAmHopewell]

20 hours ago, ElizaB said:

They are a household full of adults

They are a household of aging parents and unmarried daughters--one 40 years old. That's not what homeschooling, uber-sheltering, and making siblings best friends is supposed to deliver.

[ElizaB]

57 minutes ago, IReallyAmHopewell said:

They are a household of aging parents and unmarried daughters--one 40 years old. That's not what homeschooling, uber-sheltering, and making siblings best friends is supposed to deliver.

It is funny they used to preach that kids didn't need anyone else outside of their siblings. It seems like the girls have decided to follow this and now the parents are like...oh wait..

[Bethy]

6 hours ago, IReallyAmHopewell said:

They are a household of aging parents and unmarried daughters--one 40 years old. That's not what homeschooling, uber-sheltering, and making siblings best friends is supposed to deliver.

But it's exactly what that mindset DOES deliver, when taken to the extremes that they've taken it.

I had a pastor growing up who took such a hard stance on courtship that he even preached that preteen crushes were the exact same as a married person having an emotional affair with someone else's spouse and that in addition to literally ALL physical contact, young people ought to save all of their romantic thoughts only for their spouse. I have no idea how he thought anyone would get married under those rules, unless he really believed arranged marriages were the way to go. One of his kids didn't marry until later in life (remember that in these circles if you graduate from college without a spouse or at least an engagement ring, you've blown it) and he and his wife were wringing their hands wondering what to do and it just seems rather obvious that his legalistic mentality had probably not helped the situation.

[Dominionatrix]

On 7/27/2021 at 6:54 PM, ElizaB said:

They can post fluff pieces about recipes and family updates but they don't have any homeschooling or tour/product posts anymore which were the main "meat" of blog. 

Perhaps Steve couldn’t taste the meat so they just did away with it. 

[IReallyAmHopewell]

Ok, now I'm worried something has happened to the new baby. No new post again. Snark is fun, but I do not wish anyone harm or want a family to lose a child.

[Bethy]

49 minutes ago, IReallyAmHopewell said:

Ok, now I'm worried something has happened to the new baby. No new post again. Snark is fun, but I do not wish anyone harm or want a family to lose a child.

I feel like either Chelsy or the fathership would post asking for prayers if something had gone downhill. Is anyone connected with Allison's IG? Seems like she posted asking for prayers when things were urgent before.

[JermajestyDuggar]

6 minutes ago, Bethy said:

I feel like either Chelsy or the fathership would post asking for prayers if something had gone downhill. Is anyone connected with Allison's IG? Seems like she posted asking for prayers when things were urgent before.

I agree. When things are bad, they all ask for prayers. When things are going well, they aren’t bothering to ask for prayers. 

[ClareDeLune]

Whenever the blog goes quiet I imagine one of the sisters is courting and either (a) it's Sarah and she's busy planning her new life, or (b) it's a younger sister and Sarah is too depressed to write.

[Black Aliss]

16 hours ago, ClareDeLune said:

Whenever the blog goes quiet I imagine one of the sisters is courting and either (a) it's Sarah and she's busy planning her new life, or (b) it's a younger sister and Sarah is too depressed to write.

I figure she is probably heartily sick of blogging and after her concussion she realized she could get out of posting anything just by saying her head hurts.

I love her random life posts because if there ever was a phrase that did not apply to the Maxwells, it's "random life".