I find this interesting. I'm a gringo in love with tortillas, and I am a reader. So, I've done reading on tortillas. Way back when, corn tortillas in Mexico were extremely labor intensive with several steps and an all-day process. Back then according to what I read, beans and corn tortillas were a pretty complete diet. At least what they can tell from studying the bones. Then one at a time each step was replaced by a convenience form. Each step didn't cause a big change in taste, so no one saw a reason to continue with the old methods. But, the bones started to show nutritional problems. Supposedly the corn tortillas today don't taste anything like the ones back then.

There might be a lot to that. My mother kept the books that she read to me. So, before I was pregnant and mom passed on the kid stuff that she saved I probably would have answered a little differently, i.e. that they read even less than they did. But, looking at the books brought back memories of being read those particular books many many times. I even remembered some of my thoughts. Like there was a Golden Book with a picture of Mickey(?) tripping on the deck of a boat. I was always disturbed because I thought he'd lost his dolly through the deck. Don't know where I got that idea. I did make sure to tell DD we will continue to read to her even when she is reading to herself.

Note, I am not a vegetarian. But, I've seen it done healthily and unhealthily. Those who have done it badly were those that ate like your daughter that day. The change to vegetarianism being precisely like they ate except skipping the meat. Making no attempt to get sufficient protein into the diet. So, the resulting diet was very carb heavy. eta: do they allow backyard chickens where you live? Eggs can be a good source of protein and if the hens are free-range in your backyard, I don't think your daughter would think they were unhappy. You can find a breed that is suited to your climate and extremely friendly.

Part of the problem is that identity theft is seen by the authorities as a 'victimless crime'. A friend of mine had someone running around using a credit card with his number, Thanks to instant text alerts from the credit card company, he knew when his card was being used at a gas station and he called the gas station while the scumbucket was at the counter "paying". Cashier said, "Too bad". He called the local police who told them that they don't investigate victimless crimes. It would have taken a half hour to figure out the real identity of this person, since they would have video of the car license plate and video of the person using the card. The half hour includes driving out to the gas station to retrieve the video. I actually had someone use one of my checks. I suspect I'd torn two off at some point. They wrote a check for $450 and it bounced. Lawyers fees for the court trial came to $450 even though the cashier remembered the transaction 3 years later because as she said, "Yeah, I thought it was odd that an Asian man had the name (exclusively female name) (Norwegian last name)." Didn't cause her to ask for ID though.

I think they stopped reading to me when I could read myself. I have a distinct memory of my aunt reading to me and I was staring hard at the words because I wanted to read myself. They definitely read to me, even then I think it was one story before bed and that was it. Nothing like DD gets. I think part of the reason I loved to read is because there wasn't much else to do. We had one TV, and except for Saturday mornings and Wonderful World of Disney, Mom and Dad controlled the TV. There were several years where there wasn't a neighborhood child to play with. I liked crafts, but you can't do them all day. Atari didn't come along until the reading bug was firmly planted. Mom did take me weekly to the library. We were poor then and that was our entertainment. So, without electronics or a playmate there wasn't much else to do.

Back when I was teaching, I had an official mentor teacher that was amazing. I was teaching Physics. She said it was helpful for me to demonstrate working out a problem in front of the class that I'd never seen before. Thinking out loud the entire time, of course. Someone that is learning alongside would naturally do that.

In the U,S., checks don't have to be issued by the bank. There are companies that do them much cheaper and your checks can have pretty background pictures like a basket of fluffy kittens or a waving American flag. I haven't had to buy them in a long time, but when I do I just watch for the next Valpack coupons in the mail. There is always one for checks.

In college someone gave me a book titled something like Where is Mom Now that I need her? It had mostly recipes. inlcuding for super-simple things like how to cook hot dogs, how to scramble an egg. I even think it talked about cooking on a hotplate, but I could be confused on that. It also had a section on stain removing, sorting laundry, and some blank pages for writing in family recipes. I think the idea was for mom to give the child leaving the nest the cookbook.

One reason, so I've been told, is that all you need to WITHDRAW money is the same account number. Someone could make up checks and empty the account.

Just to make y'll green with envy. I figure it is OK, because I wasn't the beneficiary. I was on a scuba diving trip, where we were boat diving. In this area, the rules are that you can take any man-made stuff, but natural stuff had to be left. My dive buddy opened the oven of a WWII American boat and found a LC lasagna pan the size of the oven! It was in excellent shape.

That doesn't work in the U.S. Years ago I was able to make transfers into my parent's account. When I bought the house I'd borrowed money and every paycheck I'd pay whatever I could. Now I can't even do that. That is even within the same bank where most of the employees know both my father and I.

We used them when DD was a very beginning reader. We read before bedtime. Default is one picture book or story from Daddy. One bible story from me plus three other books/stories, plus an extra story for every book she read. She read a Bob book most nights in the beginning. They aren't great, but since they are free... I do remember having to post-it-note the illustrations for awhile. Because she'd look at the picture instead of the words. Then the post-it-note was removed when she'd read the words on that page. Like you I didn't have a complete set. Just ones I'd bought $0.10 each at the Library

I have checks but I don't carry checks. For situations where I am paying the person directly or almost directly, I prefer to pay cash. I figure it costs the same to me, and they seem to really appreciate it. Paying in cash buys me good will without actually costing anything. Sometimes I will do a mix. For example, the people we hired to install the major part to the furnace when it was moved into the attic. I had cash for a little over the expected amount, but there were extra charges. So, I gave them all the cash I had and wrote a check for the rest. But there are situations in which they charge extra for using a card, the amount is really large, and paying cash would raise eyebrows. Property taxes for example.

Did you make a rule that underwear had to purchased first? How did you enforce that rule?

They could do like people used to do, and do their primping in their bedroom. Put a vanity in the bedroom, and only things involving water is done in the bathroom. Then make a rule that any shower lasting more than X minutes, means that other people can come in and use the toilet even if it involves pooping and flushing.

I don't even believe he deserved punishment. What was he supposed to do?

It doesn't.

Yeah, actually eating some of the candy just has to be expected. I have fond memories of laying on the living room floor with my dad with a pile of candy between us while he "inspected" the candy, aka eat some. DD will even bring me some of her candy when I ask for it. Sometimes when I don't. Someone handed her a Snickers and she said, "That is for Grandpa". She also knows that if she asks us to hold something yummy, we might eat some as a form of rent. But, saying or actually eating ALL the candy is beyond the pale. I also think that by definition if a meltdown happens, the child can't handle that prank.

My parents are a member of the Elk's Lodge and I pretty sure they'd be allowed to cook in the commercial kitchen if they wanted to. They haven't, so I'd check it out first.

Just last night I was reading Queen Bee Moms and Kingpin Dads. It had some pretty interesting observations of stay-at-home vs. working moms. She said both could be really amazing moms, or really sucky moms. She put it better. With the stay-at-home moms, if they felt lesser and like their opinions didn't matter because were stay-at-home, then they made bad role models and the kids picked up on what the mom thought of herself and thought the same. But, if they were strong emotionally and was clear that staying at home was what chose to do, then they were great role models. I thought that was great observation. To me, feminism means that you have a choice. it just occurred to me to add her observations on working moms. They were crappy role models when they were harried martyrs. It might be that was you when you worked some. I also think a stay-at-home parent can contribute financially by avoiding expenses.

The year that I saw had this sweet little girl in her car seat saying, "That is OK. But, next year let's share the candy". I wanted to hug her while giving the parent(s) a Gibbs head slap.

Vast majority of these children completely melt-down, and the parent(s) are in the background laughing. I can't imagine any culture that could frame that to make it acceptable. I will admit that I have an unusually low tolerance for Mean. You killed someone? I'll want to know the details, and there are people out there that need it. So, depending, we could still be friends. You did this to your child? I don't want anything to do with you. My boss thought one of the these was funny last year and was watching it when I wandered in. There was one that particularly bothered me. The house seemed prosperous and clean from what the camera showed. The child was walking but in diapers. The mother was fully dressed and not in "The AC is broken" clothing. The ONLY thing the kid was wearing was a saggy disposable diaper. It was sagging in the back and not between the legs, so I guess that means it was old, not dirty. But, still! it isn't like the mother didn't know ahead of time she was going to want a video. The kid totally flipped out and started to beat on the mother, while she laughed. Just ponder what these children learned from this experience.

I hate them so much, I have my doubts about anyone that finds them funny.

Fred looks like an old man.

Mat Sc. Was it called Material Science?