I have seen a number of people recommend not starting WWE before a child is at least 7 years old. Maybe she just isn't quite ready?

Keep in mind that wait staff comes in at least an hour early to set up, make tea, roll silver, etc. They are there waiting just in case someone comes in, so often are there for more than an hour before even getting their first table. Then they have to stay after to wipe, sweep, refill salts, etc. On a good night, they might only stay an hour after their last table has gotten up. They do not earn ANY money from the restaurant, and must tip the bartender, host, busboys, etc. Waitstaff minimum wage is usually completely taken up by taxes, so there is no pay other than tips. That $20 per hour is divided over a good bit more than the one hour.

I agree - 15% is absolute minimal - if they took your order, got you a drink, and your food made it to the table, you should leave 15%.

20% is absolutely appropriate. What was NOT appropriate was her commenting in ANY way, whether your tip was enough or not! I have triplets, and you can't imagine the number of rude remarks I have dealt with in the past 7 years. Everything from "I'd kill myself if I were you" to "that's what you get for messing with God's plans" believe it or not. In the beginning, I was just so astonished and embarrassed that I would stand there red-faced and all but apologize for my affront to society. At some point, I began saying in a shocked voice, "wow! What a rude thing to say!" I try to sound surprised, as if I just blurted it out b/c I was SOOOO astounded that they would say such a thing! :) Honestly, I would be prepared to say that to this owner the next time you go in if she makes another comment. She needs to know what kind of impression she is giving off. I would say something to the stylist as well. "I've been leaving a 20% tip, but the owner let me know last time that 30% was your standard. I'm so sorry that I can't afford that. If it's a problem, I can go elsewhere." Say it nicely, as if you are really meaning to clear her schedule for someone who would tip 30%. I imagine she will say something to the owner as well.

When I hit that stage, I call off school for the day and send the kids out to play. They are instructed to use the potty BEFORE going out, cause they aren't coming back in! My mom's rule was "if it isn't lightening or below 32 degrees, there is no such thing as weather inappropriate play in, only inappropriate clothing!". Send the kids out, and CLEAN the messiest area in your house. It will make you feel better!! It's a short-term fix, but will get you through today, anyway!

I had never even heard of Naartjie before - great find!

Too close!

Thanks all!!

OK, maybe it's not both DH & I that are weird, maybe it's just me!!

:iagree: I was thinking the exact same thing!!

Definitely!! I got so frustrated when my mom would ask "are they walking yet?" over and over and over! I kept telling her, "no, but they are only 8 months adjusted - typical kids often don't walk this early, and mine have some challenges - they aren't going to walk anytime soon!". And then the next time we talked, she would ask again.

I'm always looking for coverage on the other end - there's nothing worse than seeing a mom's panties and hiney hanging out the top of her jeans! I buy maternity ones (I'm 5'3" with a really short torso, and 120 pounds). They are really long and have a lot of stretch, so they don't come untucked even when you have to climb to the top of a playset to rescue a scared kid. Plus they are high enough in the front that on shirts that are cut too low for my frame (which is almost everything except turtlenecks and crew necks), they cover enough so my bra isn't hanging out!

32 weeks and 3 pounds are the magic points past which the risk of long-term problems drops dramatically. 34 weeks and 4 pounds and the baby will likely not have any short-term or long-term problems, and may even go home with the mom after delivery. DON'T say "well, I knew someone who had a preemie (born at 36w6d), and they were just fine, so your baby will be too!". I heard that ALL THE TIME, and it was just so frustrating. Technically, a preemie is any baby before 37 weeks, but the vast majority of babies born past 34 are typical, and shouldn't be compared to those born pre-34 weeks. Babies born before 32 weeks are NOT allowed to be out in public their first winter. We were completely quarantined. Yes, that includes friends, family, church members, etc. A cold so minor that you don't even notice it can cause RSV in a preemie, which is OFTEN fatal, and if not, can cause lifetime lung problems. So don't be offended when your friend only allows you to meet the baby by looking through the back glass patio door. If she asks you to scrub down before touching the baby, don't tell her a story about how you took your baby and passed him around to everyone you encountered. It isn't helpful! If the baby is covered in machines, don't act horrified! It's still a baby, and it hurts to have people only react to the medical equipment. Instead, comment about the beautiful eyes or how strong his grasp looks! This is my favorite preemie book - it states the facts without being overly frightening or blindly optomistic. http://www.amazon.com/Preemies-Essential-Parents-Premature-Babies/dp/067103491X Your friend should also be aware of medical staff personalities and how they impact her understanding of her baby's condition. I overreacted several times to a nurse who was just in general a down sort of person, and several times I didn't understand how serious a situation was after talking to an upbeat nurse. Everyday, she should ask two questions: - what are your goals for this child for the next few days? (it may be lowering the oxygen the baby requires, it may be increasing feed amounts from x to y, etc.) Without knowing the goals, you WILL miss progress! - on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being "this baby is not going to survive the next 24 hours", and 10 being "this baby will be going home in the next 24 hours", how would you rate this child's health?

DH & I have opposite views about what is appropriate clothing for various temperatures. I am really cold-natured, and thus am always in a jacket if it is below 80, and he is really hot-natured, and is wearing shorts anytime it is above 50. My kids are starting to select their own clothing. I'd love to be able to give them some guidelines about how to dress like normal people do when the thermometer says x. (We are in SC - the high is supposed to be 80 today, and 63 tomorrow, and that's common, so you can't just count on yesterday's weather as a predicter!) Can you tell me what degree ranges you think most people would wear the following in? (ie - 60-70, 70-85, 85+, etc.) - short sleeves, shorts/skirts - short sleeves, but legs covered (tights, leggings, long pants, etc.) - lightweight long sleeves, legs covered - sweaters/sweatshirts, legs covered - coats/gloves on top of sweaters/sweatshirts, legs covered

That's just the thing - it's NOT mean. It's following through with the rules of the group. Don't make it a bigger deal than it has to be. Just drop her and be done! Especially since it is so easy for her to get back in - what's the big deal? I promise you SHE isn't stressing this much over it! If she was, she would have gotten the money to you. Why should you be so much more concerned about her membership than she is? Quit reminding and prompting and emailing and calling. She's not a five year old! If she cared, she would have taken care of it!

A SIXTH reminder??? Backup and listen to yourself! That's absurd. Just drop her, send her a letter, and be done! :)

My big kids were in public preschool for kids with developmental delays. Two never got in trouble, but the third child is my mover & shaker, and she seemed to be in trouble more due to inability to sit still for periods of time. The first time they pulled her recess, I went up and talked to the teacher, and let her know that while I supported her doing what was necessary to maintain control in her classroom, removing C's recess was going to backfire. C got in trouble when she needed to move. Not letting her run off her energy made it worse. The teacher and I decided together that when C got in trouble, instead of pulling her recess later that morning, they would send C right then to run a "punishment" lap around the playground. (It was attached to their room, so very easy for her to get out, be watched while doing the lap, and get back in without inconveniencing the teacher too much.) Running the lap let her burn off enough energy to then be able to focus for a little while longer.

I just would NOT put this much effort in! I would have sent 1 or 2 reminders, then when she commented that she would pay on the 5th, I would say "I'm so sorry, but I need you to pay by the 1st if you want to remain a member". If she hasn't paid by midnight on the 1st, DROP HER. You've gone way overboard in mothering this lady, and she thinks you will continue to do so. Just drop her and be done with it! Send her a form letter/note saying that her membership has been discontinued due to non-payment, and let her know that she is welcome to reapply in the future.

I keep hearing that you should start AAS in Level 1 no matter how well they are reading. Apparently you can get through Level 1 in no time flat if they are reading well, but you still want to start there. I just bought AAS Levels 1 & 2, hoping that we get through L1 quickly.

CC is JUST memory work. For a kindergartener, add phonics/reading, handwriting, and math. We also added read-alouds related to the weekly CC memory work (timeline, history, and science). We drilled the math & geography, but totally dropped the Latin & grammar. For a first grader, in addition to the above, add spelling, grammar, and writing. If you can manage it, add a history program like Story of the World and a science like Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. If not, just do readalouds as described above. You do NOT have to line everything up perfectly. I tried doing that in the beginning, and found that it was actually better when the reading / discussing a topic was a week or two before or after it was discussed in class - they seemed to remember it better.

No. The timeline is not on the CC audios in any way shape or form, as VP's timeline is their intellectual property. Even in the CC guide (the "textbook"), they only refer to the timeline by their VP card numbers. You cannot get the timeline without purchasing VP materials. What is on the CC audio and in their guide is their fleshed out history sentences. There is one per week. This is much more detailed than the high-level bullet point timeline. (Both are learned at CC.)

I used Velcro for our calendar board, and really regretted it. It is hard for the kids to pull off. All my neat little calendar labels are bent and wrinkled. I don't know how stiff the tiles are (are they truly tiles, or laminated cardstock?), but I would guess that Velcro on a file folder wouldn't hold nearly as long as magnets.

Thanks - some new places to look and some I'd forgotten about,!!

I am beyond frustrated with the selection of girls' clothing for the summer. I LOVED shopping when they were babies and toddlers - too much to choose from! It got a little harder when they moved from toddler sizes to 4-6. For this summer, we need 7s. Oh My Goodness. Is there ANYTHING cute and reasonably modest and not covered in 1000 sequins? We are not super-conservative - I am looking for shorts that are at least as long as they are wide, with coordinating little tops, that are cute. Why is that so hard to find?? I bought most of Gymboree's Tulip collection. I would have bought more at Kelly's Kids had they had anything in stock. (My kids still want to match, so I often buy things from one collection so they coordinate without being 100% matchy matchy.) Where else can I look for collections of somewhat cute clothing with longer shorts?

Hmmm - I thought I understood, but maybe I don't. I thought you had a continuum of conceptual vs. procedural, and also of mastery vs. spiral, and so any one program could be any combo so you could have a conceptual-focused, mastery program, a conceptual-focused, spiral program, a procedural-focused mastery program, or a procedural-focused spiral program. I thought spiral vs. mastery was really just a matter of how it was organized (all of one topic, then all of the next, vs. continual revisiting each topic and adding a little each time). Is that right?