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Mama2Three

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  1. Mama2Three
    My DD is very strong in LA but seems to have trouble keeping math in her head. Addition facts that she knew yesterday, she forgets today. At times she seems to "see" math and can do more difficult work, like adding up a handful of coins in a moment (not asked, just does). She can do whole/part circles in a flash but makes more mistakes when the problem is in an equation format. We've been working on SM 1a (US edition) for almost a year, after flying through the K workbooks. We do math a few times a week, and I have been concentrating on using the abacus for adding, as with RightStart and playing games. At this point, though, I almost feel like we've idled for long enough. I'm not sure whether she needs more drill to just memorize her facts, or maybe even to try a more straightforward program like Mammoth Math. Right now she is at the end of SM 1a, where you make a 10 to add (7+8 becomes 5+10) or use 10 to subtract (15-7 becomes 10-7, +5). I'll walk her through a problem, then she can do the steps independently, but I know she doesn't really get it because she'll forget it by tomorrow. Thoughts?
  2. Mama2Three
    :iagree: Especially the cheers! Hopefully you will now be able to enjoy watching your children, as you originally intended.
  3. Mama2Three
    Thank you for your kind remarks. And thank you to all the others who have shared constructive input. :001_smile: As the OP, first I want to say that I'm rather amused by all the turns and twists this thread has taken. And for all of you who are sitting on the edge of your seats wondering what I served, here goes... I chose to grill a large salmon filet and some chicken breast strips. The salmon was very easy without the hovering that cooking steak to various degrees would have required. Most of it had a tangy bbq sauce and some I made plain (my friend asked for the bbq sauce recipe). We had a salad, mashed sweet potatoes, corn, and fresh bread. The cheesecake and blackberries went over very well (she asked for that recipe, too). The meal was given rave reviews by all and even the children had multiple servings. My friend brought dolmas for an appetizer and a lovely table runner from Turkey as a housewarming gift. We all had a wonderful time, the whole reason for getting together. To clarify some misconceptions, I called my friend in advance of the evening to allow her input into what I was serving because of religious reasons and because I know her children are picky eaters. I never mentioned steak specifically, but I had that idea in the back of my head because I had frozen leftovers from our NYE meal (now I'll probably hear about wanting to serve meat that I bought for another occasion ;) ). Her kind response about all my questions was that I shouldn't make myself tired from preparing the meal. I decided on the salmon because I cook it often, and the chicken in case someone didn't like salmon. I never for one moment thought that my guests deserved something "less" because of how they wanted their meat cooked -- although I appreciate others' responses that it wasn't completely unreasonable for me to change my mind because of the doneness issue. Even if I had served burgers, I don't think that this would have meant my guests were less worthy. Rather, my guests deserved my attention and for me to be less stressed over the meal. PS -- When I asked my friend's son what his favorite food is, he said steak, lol! So when the weather is warmer and the days longer, we'll have them back again and serve "cook your own" steak. But I'm not promising filets. ;)
  4. Mama2Three
    Thanks, I needed that. I've decided to grill a salmon filet and chicken for the kids. I'll save the steak for another time. Perhaps if it were warm and we were all outside, the husbands could cook the steaks for everyone, each to his family's own preferences. But not in the dark in 20 degree weather, even if the porch is covered and there's a light. Really, I can't believe how much I've stressed about this meal. I just want to get it right. Now I need to go and straighten up the house. ;)
  5. Mama2Three
    Ha! That's just how I feel right now!! :tongue_smilie:
  6. Mama2Three
    I have never cooked a steak well done. Never. I don't know whether I'm up to the culinary task of timing a lean steak to be cooked with no pink that's still tender and juicy. I don't want my guests to have to avert their eyes, as another poster mentioned, because of the dislike of seeing blood on my plate. And I don't know whether there are any religious issues with this. It's not about "wasting good meat on them" -- rather, I want to serve something yummy and have a good time. That's what entertaining is all about, right?
  7. Mama2Three
    As I mentioned in a prior post in this thread, the real question, in my mind, is whether I can cook the steak well and tasty, and whether they might be offended by my steak which would be less done. Burgers or chicken is easier to cook, with less of a narrow window -- for me, anyway. And I know that some people refuse to cook a filet to well, as prior posters mentioned, too. Even you say that restaurants will serve your "well done" meat with pink in the middle rather than actually cooking it to well -- so I would need to cook the steak more than most chefs feel comfortable cooking it and still having it taste good. As I mentioned earlier, I didn't specifically say that I was going to grill steak. I first asked about lasagna, which she said her kids wouldn't eat. Then I asked if I made beef, how they like it cooked. She said that they always have it well done. I was just throwing out ideas. I'm not trying to skimp on this meal. I've already bought blackberries to go with the mascarpone cheesecake that I made yesterday and several nice bottles of wine. Not everyday staples in our home. Trust me, our guest will feel special. ;) PS -- Now I'm thinking salmon filet.
  8. Mama2Three
    No, I'm pretty sure that it's always well done. Actually, that's how I grew up. I didn't realize that meat could be cooked another way than on the stove simmering for a couple of hours. When I was a teen I experimented with medium for steak and as a grown up finally settled on med rare.
  9. Mama2Three
    Emphasis above is mine. If I knew that I could cook the steak well, and it would still be good, I would definitely serve that for dinner. The flip side is that I don't want to offend them if mine still has some moo in it.
  10. Mama2Three
    I didn't specify what I was going to make, and I never mentioned that steak might be an option. I simply asked that if we had beef, how they like it cooked. I also suggested lasagna, which was vetoed. The family is Turkish, the kids are picky eaters, and they all tend to be meat and potatoes eaters. I love to cook, but for some reason, this meal is stumping me. At least dessert is done -- a mascarpone cheesecake that smells divine. ;) Interesting takes, thanks for your input. At first, I thought I was a loner in my perspective about "good" steak.
  11. Mama2Three
    This year for NYE, I bought a huge filet roast for a great deal. I sliced it into 1" steaks and froze what we didn't use. Now we are having company tomorrow, and I had planned to grill the leftover meat. But when I called to check on dietary restrictions and asked how they liked their meat cooked, she answered that they all take their meat well-done. Personally, I'm more of a medium rare girl myself. Now I'm wondering if I should just go out and buy some burger or chicken to grill instead. These are good friends and will be happy with whatever is served. WWYD?
  12. Mama2Three
    Thank you for your replies and the book recommendation. I'm excited to go buy some needles, hooks, and yarn!!
  13. Mama2Three
    Very interesting. I didn't count everyone's vote but from reading the responses, it seems that folks are split almost 50/50. I may try the crocheting with them first since I could help more with that... but I'll see what my DC have to say, I haven't broached that idea. **I** want to learn to knit -- so I'm going to start that on my own. Wish me luck!! :)
  14. Mama2Three
    I have a 8 yo DS and 6 yo DD who are both interested in learning to knit. Christmas stockings have brought up the idea again. I haven't learned to knit, but I have crocheted -- not recently, but it's not completely foreign. I'm not sure whether to steer my DC to crocheting, or try to all learn together (I'd get a head start). Waldorf starts knitting in first grade, so it seems like it should be age appropriate for my little girl. Thoughts? Anyone BTDT?
  15. Mama2Three
    From a few days ago... Me: Son, why is there pee-pee all over the floor in the bathroom? Did you forget to aim? DS: The book was so good, I didn't want to put it down. Me: Rrrrrr. (And a million other reasons, too. If I've done nothing else, I've raised my DC to love reading.)
  16. Mama2Three
    So, I'm getting a lot of things to consider, but I'm going to throw out my original question... anyone sue and win? Or knows someone who did? I'm wondering what the basis of the lawsuit was and whether it was worth it -- both economically and emotionally.
  17. Mama2Three
    :iagree: (even about the part about being grumpy tonight :tongue_smilie:) I don't clip coupons because I don't see any for fresh fruits and veggies, plain rice, and meat and fish. That's about 80% of what we eat. The rest (cereal, bread, etc) I buy Trader Joe's -- good prices and no coupons.
  18. Mama2Three
    This gives me a lot of great information. From the attorney with whom I spoke, we could pursue either a civil or criminal suit but not both. He thought it would be hard to prove intent. It would be expensive for us to sue the inspector, plus the personal turmoil of going through a lawsuit, and even if we recovered something it would be very unlikely we would be "made whole" (attorney's words). Do you think that a letter to the inspector requesting payment for the cost of construction work specific to fixing the foundation would get any results?
  19. Mama2Three
    Apparently he attended the US Naval Academy (I didn't verify) and has a naval engineering degree. I asked him how that pertains to home inspections and structural engineering. He responded that naval engineering covers a wide range of engineering specialties including structural engineering. Also, in addition to his home inspection business, he advertises on his website and told me that he is able to perform structural inspections as well. We thought we were getting the best of both worlds.
  20. Mama2Three
    I would absolutely do this if/when we purchase another house. And I'd add structural engineer to the list. :)
  21. Mama2Three
    The seller hid defects -- or probably more accurately, had the realtor hide defects when she hired workers to pretty up the house before listing it. Seller handed over the keys to realtor and never returned to the house after doing so. Seller also happens to be an attorney, handles real estate transactions, and I suspect that he did this on purpose to have no knowledge of the final condition of the house. Co-seller -- the seller's son was also on the contract for the sale of the house -- is also an attorney. Enough said.
  22. Mama2Three
    Three things -- a toy or game, a book, and something they need. Plus some small things for their stocking (gum, chapstick, etc). I like the idea of something that they want from Santa, I always struggle to figure out what's from Santa and what's from us.
  23. Mama2Three
    We bought a house during the summer. When we first saw the house, we noticed a crack running through the mortar at one corner of the house. When we hired a home inspector, we chose one who purported to be a structural engineer. He ok'd the crack as cosmetic because he saw no evidence of cracking in the walls, ceilings, and attic of the house. Turns out, the crack is not cosmetic, it's structural, mainly due to differential settlement. Also turns out that the home inspector is not a true structural engineer and does not have his Professional Engineer licensing (didn't know this existed when we hired him). It's costing us tens of thousands to repair the structural damage, plus we had to gut the basement due to water damage and mold. We still need to finish the mold remediation and re-finish the basement into the family room it was when we bought the house, which will cost 10s of thousands more. We talked with an attorney who said that it is very hard to successfully sue a home inspector in VA because the courts tend to side with the professional. Also, we signed a contract that limits the inspector's liability to the cost of the inspection, about $400. According to our realtor, this language is standard in home inspector contracts. It would be expensive to hire an attorney and the likelihood of a profitable outcome, after fees, is uncertain at best. The whole thing makes me sick (literally and figuratively). I just want to move, although I hesitate because of not wanting to make a bad situation even worse. Since we've done a fair amount of cosmetic work to the house, we probably could have broken even, even factoring in realtor fees -- but not factoring in all the costs of the construction and repairs. So, anyone want to share some success stories? I'm trying to find the positive in the situation, but it's very hard right now. One of the reasons that we bought this house was because we could make it our own -- open up the kitchen to the living area, add a screened in porch, etc, and now that's no longer a possibility.
  24. Mama2Three
    Thanks everyone for your responses -- I always learn a lot when I ask a question on these boards. This list is just what I was looking for. :)
  25. Mama2Three
    Hi there! I've been meaning to pick up some of these for my DC. I'm just wondering, are some of them better for certain ages? Are there certain publishers that do a better job with the stories (and illustrations, if they have them)? A preferred order to read them in? Thanks!
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