MOTHWare! - The Maxwells

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Seems the Maxwells have another product for sale now, MOTHWare! Computerized help for scheduling all your MOTH stuff, but internet based, so it requires a subscription of $15 a year (not a buy it once and use it forever thing).

 

Anyhow, in order to get it, you have first be a member of their forums, meaning you must first buy the original MOTH book and send it the registration paper at the back. It seems you can't buy a book and subscription at the same time.

 

Better yet, the only way to see anything about how it works at all is to get their trial preview. But you can't even see the PREVIEW unless you've already bought the paper book and sent in your paper registration form. Paper. Mail. I don't even see any screenshots anywhere!

[MamaJunebug]

Would it be totally horrible to send in a paper registration upon which a Pepsi had been spilled & blotted dry?

Would we hear Teri's wails all the way from Maxwelliana?

I'm a mean old lady today but my goodness the control-freak factor of that outfit brings it out in me! :think:

[IReallyAmHopewell]

One of the evil secrets of Quiverfull is the way they market products that only other QF will buy at terms and prices only a "fellow traveler" would accept or pay. Most of us are capable of stringing together post-it notes into a schedule. We have opposable thumbs so we can insert a chore card into an old-fashioned conference name-tag holder and clip it on our kid if we choose. Since we have those skills we don't have to pay to be "taught" this along with mis-appropriated verses from Proverbs to back up what we are doing! :doh:

[emesbe]

Would it be totally horrible to send in a paper registration upon which a Pepsi had been spilled & blotted dry?

:banana-gotpics:

You made me snort.

[TVR]

I have MOTH. I bought it used (and saved the difference :) :) ) years ago and I made up my own squares etc. I really didn't need the consumables that came with the book. We have a schedule loosely based on MOTH and it works well. Some of the stuff in the book we ignored, some of it we used.

Now, years later, I use good old Excel to put together our schedule, I much, much, much prefer that to the post-its.

When I first got the book, I wondered if it would be worth it to buy it new to have access to their forum. I decided that I am really probably intelligent enough to figure things out especially since nothing is a "one fit for all".

When I bought Managers of their Chores (yes, you guessed it, I bought it used), I realized that if I had seen a picture of or saw the chore packs beforehand, I would never have spent the money on the book. I still use a simplified chore pack for my preschoolers. I have taken photos of what needs to be done, and use those instead of the written chore. It works well for the most part.

[kpmom]

I love how they tell us that $15 a year equates to $1.25 per month.

Where would we be without the Maxwells showing us how to make a schedule,

make up chore packs, and how to divide $15 by 12 months?

[gardenvarietycitizen]

When I bought Managers of their Chores (yes, you guessed it, I bought it used), I realized that if I had seen a picture of or saw the chore packs beforehand, I would never have spent the money on the book.

Bingo. I have a sneaking suspicion that's what going on here as well - if you saw a screenshot, you'd probably realize it's something you can do yourself, or something you just might not need at all.

Paper consumables with elaborate copyrights (enforceable? Meh) are good, but it's not quite AS good as a bona-fide subscription system, as far as tying people in goes...

Mind you, I have subscriptions to quite a few internet sites - but every single one of them either let me use the trial (for a day, or with a watermark, or some similar limiter depending on what the program does) or at least let me browse full screenshots of quite a bit of the application without me paying ONE RED CENT, before I had to commit to anything.

Or perhaps I'm just far too cynical - but if this thing really is truly amazing, you'd think that advertising with screenshots could only help their sales.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I love how they tell us that $15 a year equates to $1.25 per month.

Where would we be without the Maxwells showing us how to make a schedule,

make up chore packs, and how to divide $15 by 12 months?

Next thing you know, you'll be sleeping on the street and guzzling Pepsi by the 2-liter!

[denimjumper]

Is this for people who are too clueless to use Excel?

[Justme]

I hope they realize that when everybody completes ITONRAMP, they can make their own computer stuff. :whistle:

[maybeizfundie]

I never really understood the appeal of MOTH or "homemaking binders" and all that.

Maybe my mind just isn't built to comprehend written schedules. Routine I like. Write it all down, down to the minute? eek.

[TVR]

Maybeizfundie, for us it worked because it helped ME with getting some kind of routine in place. We followed it "religiously" for about 3 weeks, and there after it was just a guideline. It works well as a guideline, as a schedule set in stone, not so much )

[Jessica]

I never really understood the appeal of MOTH or "homemaking binders" and all that.

Maybe my mind just isn't built to comprehend written schedules. Routine I like. Write it all down, down to the minute? eek.

I don't get it either. I have a list on my whiteboard of things I need to get done and do them when I do them. It doesn't matter if the floor is swept at 11.30 and 26 seconds in the morning or 3.45 in the afternoon, or if I sweep before I do laundry. Also, it's just me, my husband, and our toddler. There isn't much TO schedule... other than remembering to get some beans soaking to cook the next day, because I plan my meals.

I do have a sort of "homemaker's binder" but there aren't any schedules in it. There are recipes I want to try, emergency contact information, recipes for homemade cleaners, articles about parenting, Story of Stuff articles, and a pattern for a knitted ball (ironically, from a Proverbs 31 wannabe site!).

[Burris]

Download OpenOffice and use the programs to build a schedule for free.

(In my opinion, the Maxwells overcharge for everything.)

[LynnKaboom]

Heh heh hehehehe...

Thanks, Maxwells! Now I have a great plan to scam people gullible enough to give me $15 per year! I wrote a sticky-note program back in tenth grade for my computer science class! If I can find the flash drive it's on I'm going to call it "KaboomNote" and sell it for $10 per year (undercuttin' yer prices)! Never mind that you can get the exact same result with it by using the Windows sticky-note gadget, or Notepad, which come with your computer! BWA HA HA HA HA HA. I'M RICH, BITCH! :twisted:

*coughs*

Er... sorry. Got a bit carried away there. :mrgreen:

[twin2]

Heh heh hehehehe...

Thanks, Maxwells! Now I have a great plan to scam people gullible enough to give me $15 per year! I wrote a sticky-note program back in tenth grade for my computer science class! If I can find the flash drive it's on I'm going to call it "KaboomNote" and sell it for $10 per year (undercuttin' yer prices)! Never mind that you can get the exact same result with it by using the Windows sticky-note gadget, or Notepad, which come with your computer! BWA HA HA HA HA HA. I'M RICH, BITCH! :twisted:

*coughs*

Er... sorry. Got a bit carried away there. :mrgreen:

Yes, but is your program faith promoting and devoid of humanistic, ungodly, wordly influence. Because if its not the fundies are out.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

I never really understood the appeal of MOTH or "homemaking binders" and all that.

When we homeschooled I used the "subject a day" model--they did math, writing, literature, etc every day, but we spent our "big" block of time on one subject each day--they then worked on the assignments throughout the coming week getting my help and attention as needed or desired. Of course I have a "measely two" [as Jim-Bob's Dad once said] so I didn't need to post a yard-long schedule. I mapped it out---on EXCEL like a normal mom!!

Now the idiotic homemaking binders???

Really?? You have to write down that you clean the oven every Wednesday and disinfect the litter box on Thursdays and sort the mismatched socks on Friday at 11??? Get a life instead! I don't need to scrapbook this sort of stuff either! Nor do I need inspiring Bible verses to goad me into loading the dishwasher. Usually a drawer opening and an angry loud grumble of "S*&! we're out of silverware again" gets me going just fine!

The truth is homemaking is not rocket science [i know--this has been discussed ad naseum here at FJ] but some women must justify what they do to feel good about themselves I guess! Some blogs have even offered "e-books" you can purchase and download that have prepared pages for such a binder! Good grief. Sign up for Fly Lady if you're that desperate to keep a perfect house!

[Munasa]

I've been giving this some thought. At first, I was like almost everyone else, believing that Moms can organize their own days without such structured frameworks.

But when I look back at my own family - I'm one of seven kids - I have to admit that my Mom really needed the kind of structure and guidance that the Maxwells offer. (I am not a Maxwell fan, BTW.) She hadn't a clue how to run a household or organize her children's chores, etc. We lived in chaos. Luckily, Dad loved Mom and never complained, but he was a shiftworker and didn't help around the house so Mom had no way out of her situation. Like many of the Moms targeted by the Maxwells she was poorly educated and had no family close by to offer support.

All of us had to learn how to keep house after we left home. One sister has never learnt and her place is like a pig sty. Really untidy and dirty as well.

Although I hate to admit it, I think Maxwells' materials probably do save some households from being like ours was when we were growing up. And we weren't homeschooled, which would have made things even worse.

[FloraDoraDolly]

When I look at those schedules with all the brightly colored post-it notes, it's like trying to make sense of an old Grateful Dead poster. It's all too much! And in my experience, post-its don't always stay posted for very long. As soon as it's not sticky anymore, it's gone. I'd rather use a simple piece of white poster board like many of the families on "Supernanny."

[MamaJunebug]

When I look at those schedules with all the brightly colored post-it notes, it's like trying to make sense of an old Grateful Dead poster. It's all too much! And in my experience, post-its don't always stay posted for very long. As soon as it's not sticky anymore, it's gone. I'd rather use a simple piece of white poster board like many of the families on "Supernanny."

Grateful Dead poster! :character-beavisbutthead:

I'm having a bad morning. Well, a stressful one. I've just heard a conservative member of my church-body-of-record say again that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice. I know I can't stay in this denomination, in my current congregation. I just can't. Life will go on, it's just that *oh!* feeling when you know it's over.

So "Grateful Dead Poster" = MOTS cracks my bittersweet soul up, right now.

Thank you. ;)

[apple1]

For those who want or can be helped by that kind of scheduling-

Flylady has it for free. You don't even have to join and be inundated by emails. You can print it off her website. (Yes, I know, flylady isn't for everyone, but she is very helpful to some).

[luckylibrarian]

Grateful Dead poster! :character-beavisbutthead:

I'm having a bad morning. Well, a stressful one. I've just heard a conservative member of my church-body-of-record say again that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice. I know I can't stay in this denomination, in my current congregation. I just can't. Life will go on, it's just that *oh!* feeling when you know it's over.

So "Grateful Dead Poster" = MOTS cracks my bittersweet soul up, right now.

Thank you. ;)

Ugh. I'm sorry. Between that and the way your church bars women from leadership roles, I don't know how you can stand it. It's a shame, because I think any church would be lucky to have you in a leadership role.

[kpmom]

Grateful Dead poster! :character-beavisbutthead:

I'm having a bad morning. Well, a stressful one. I've just heard a conservative member of my church-body-of-record say again that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice. I know I can't stay in this denomination, in my current congregation. I just can't. Life will go on, it's just that *oh!* feeling when you know it's over.

So "Grateful Dead Poster" = MOTS cracks my bittersweet soul up, right now.

Thank you. ;)

Forgive the o.t. , but MJB, have you mentioned in the past you are Lutheran? Are there different "flavors" of Lutheran?

Just curious, as when I was "church shopping" recently, I was impressed with how liberal the local Lutheran church was (including a female pastor). I was not familiar with the Lutheran church before this, so I'm not sure if that differs from congregation to congregation.

[urban explorer]

I wonder if there going to make an app for that.