Expertise?

When I was the mom of only two children, we hit a tight money time. Spotty employment and believing the myth of American home ownership had stretched our resources beyond their limit. So, I started searching earnestly for ways to get more from less and cut back. One of the smartest and most capable women I knew was the mother of thirteen and I figured if anybody could give me some budget-friendly tips it was her. I had a list of questions I wanted to ask her, but the first and most important was about groceries, specifically bread. How did she keep that whole crew covered when it came to the staff of life? She told me she baked her own bread and that immediately led to other questions. Did she bake a ton once a week? Some every day? Every other day? What? I needed to know. But when her response started with, “Well, first I grind the wheat…” I knew we were not even close to being on the same page. I had no idea what her version of budget stretching entailed, and I think I looked a little foolish for assuming I did. That happens sometimes when I discover things that were written or said by people who are supposed experts on children--but don’t seem like they’ve ever met any. In the Paradise Press book First Words, there are the usual ball, bear, and shoes, but also leek, parsnip, and toucan. What baby needs to know those?

http://www.amazon.com/First-Words-Hinkler-Books-Pty/dp/B000N4QPIY

http://www.macraesbluebook.com/search/company.cfm?company=733718