Lady in Red

My son is on Nutramigen by Enfamil. I have purchased some cans that have a large scoop and some that have a smaller scoop. The larger scoop is nearly 2 times the size of the smaller one, and the directions on both packages say to mix one packed scoop for every 2 ounces of water. This seems strange to me since both cans are the same formula. Why in the world would one can have a much larger scoop than the other? Some of the cans I have purchased from people who no longer needed it. Some cans have come from the doc's office and some have come directly from the store (Target). Can anyone explain this?

Also please include what area of "Chicagoland" you live in. Do you live in the City? North/South/West suburbs? Etc.?

I'm looking for a place where I can buy a wall clock (preferably wrought iron) that will incorporate a family name into the design or just one letter (like a last initial). Any ideas? I've tried so many different searches my head is about to spin. Please help. It's for an anniversary gift in 2 weeks.

Does anyone know of any sewing instructional DVDs that actually work? Or some classes in the north or northwest Chicago suburbs? I'm a beginner and would like to learn how to sew clothing. My mom tried to teach me to sew using a machine when I was about 8 but I didn't like it. Now I'm kind of taking up interest again. I would like to sew things for my family to save money basically.

Does anyone else think this is just about the most unfriendly places to live? Everyone just looks sad all the time. I don't know anyone who isn't obsessed with their careers and climbing the ladder and sacrificing everything else to be on top. I've lived here for over a year for husband's work and just can't adjust.

My husband and I will have our 6th anniversary in a couple of months, I'm 28, he is 32. We've had several friends our age get married within the past year, or they are single, and of course, since they're all recently married, none of them have kids yet. Unfortunately, it feels like only one of the couples has not totally rejected us. I don't get it. We've only known all of them for about 2 years (we relocated for husband's work), so we were married when we met them all. We used to get invited to go places. Either husband would get invited to golf with the guys, go fishing, etc., and I would get invited to go with the girls, or we would get invited together. Now, I am expecting baby #2. I found out recently that the girls were planning a girls night out and deliberately not inviting me. I live in Illinois and smoking is banned in all bars and restaurants, so it's not like my need to avoid smokey places could hinder me from going. My one friend who does not treat me like I have a communicable disease said to them, "what about ****? Has anyone checked with her?" She said they all just kind of looked at each other and avoided the question for a while, then said, "well, she wouldn't want to go, she wouldn't have any fun." My good friend said, "well, smoking isn't a problem and she's probably wanting to get out of the house a little bit, I think she'd have fun. She can drive us." Now, my friend knows me and knows I would gladly drive them around when they've been drinking. It doesn't bother me to be aorund drunk people, I get to soak up the entertainment and laugh at them. It didn't offend me that she suggested this. Anyway, they still baulked at it. Then I found out that one night all the newly married/engaged/single people went out, and my friend said, "hey,were are the *****'s? Didn't anyone invite them?" She said everyone just kind of mumbled and looked at each other, totally avoiding it. I feel so hurt.

I would like to find other friends. I work in a very small office. It's just me and 3 guys (one's a pothead (my husband is a cop), the other is always looking at my chest, and the other lives in the next state and is not close enough to schedule and couples dates or anything). These are all the people we know here, we are hundreds of miles from our families and hometowns, where everyone else we know lives. I feel so rejected. To top it all off, and my husband's Christmas party, all these couples with no kids and singles were talking and I was a part of the conversation until they all turned it into and "kids are evil life-sucks" conversation and about how your life sucks when you have kids, and there's nothing good about parenthood, etc. What do I do?

I didn't have these problems until I was at least 7.5 months along with my daughter, who was 8 lbs 9 oz at birth. My ribs hurt to sit, and every time I sit I feel like my stomach is getting smashed from the top and bottom. That part's not painful or anything, it just feels like I already have no room to sit any way but perfectly straight. My back is already starting to hurt, and I feel like I can only eat very small meals because there's just no room. Also, my pants that I wore up to the last days of my first pregnancy already do not fit around the belly, but they fit everywhere else. With my daughter, my belly always measured 4 or 5 cm larger than it should have, and this pregnancy is causing much more discomfort in the way of simple discomfort. Is my kid just going to be huge this time?

Anyone used this water softening/filtration system? What do you think of the company itself and the product? Were you impressed with the changes in the quality of your water? Did you receive good customer service from them? We've been talking with them about possibly getting a water softener and filtration system for our home. However, I'm not that comfortable with the people we've spoken with. They seem very very pushy, almost argumentative while they were on the phone with my husband last night. I was sitting next to him on the couch while they were talking and I could hear the person on the other end cutting him off all the time. It makes me not want to buy from them.

I have a friend who likes to pretend she is my daughter's mother. For example, we were going to visit her and her husband one night shorty after my daughter's birthday. We had been moving that week and had not had a chance to have our daughter's bday party yet. My parents were coming up the next day (we live far from our families) and we were going to have a family party with them and a couple of friends, including my subject friend. Anyway, she planned on buying my daughter a birthday cake for that night before asking me, even though we hadn't done the party yet (daughter is only 4, she doesn't care when she gets her cake yet). She got all disappointed when, over one month before Christmas, she wanted to take my daughter to see Santa while she was babysitting (I simply explained to her we had plans to take her to see him shortly, and it's a mommy and daddy thing to be there when the kids see Santa the first time every year). Then, we were shopping the other day and my daughter asked me for a blue drink at DQ. I said we could get one when we were done. My friend butts in and says, "I will get you one if you are good while we are shopping". Then she flat out says later to my daughter "you're my pretend kid, aren't you?" Also, we were talking about the super-cold weather we're getting this week and my friend felt she needed to make sure that I have everything to keep my daughter warm. I love my friend to death and don't want to upset her but I feel like she is totally trying to undermine my position as a parent. Don't get me wrong, I don't care if, for example, she tells my daughter not to play with something in her house, or play rough on her couch, or something else that effects her. I want my daughter to learn to respect other people's belongings and respect the fact that others have different rules in their homes and she needs to respect that, but I feel she's taking it too far. Advice?

When I was little, my dad worked constantly. Although I truly appreciate the hours he put in to provide for us, there are some issues overshadowing my gratitude for this. Just to start off, before I was born, my mom and dad were having some problems, and my mom walked in his office (which is in their home) and found him with his hand's on his secretary's rear. Then, although, we didn't get to see him much because of the hours he worked (sometimes just glimplses of him for a few days at a time even though we lived above the business he ran), however, on the rare instances that he went out of town with us for my gymnastics meets, as soon as we'd get to our hotel room for the night, he'd be off to find a strip club. I guess lap dances were more important than the rare times he got to actually relax with his wife and kids. He constantly eyeballs women to this day. I feel awful for my mom. When I was dating as a teenager and in college, he never talked to me about guys or even had an opinion when I had one that would cheat. He never gave any input at all, didn't even say to me that a guy shouldn't have done that. I never asked him to stand up for me to a guy, I could to that myself, but what about just comforting me and letting me know he was on my side.

Now that I am married, he continually, when he and my husband are together, tells my husband, "you should go out of town with us this year, we go to this really great strip club", "look at the boobs on that chick over there" "this one time at a strip club...".

Needless to say, this irritates me to know end, it really hurts. Aren't dads supposed to want only the absolute best for their daughters? Aren't they supposed to think the world of their daughters and want nothing but queen-style treatment of them by other men? I mean, hey, he should at least not actively encourage my husband to do the same things he always did.

My husband and I and our daughter (baby boy on the way, due in May), just bought and moved into a townhome. We have a neighbor, a guy, who is engaged, and his fiance doesn't live with him yet. Well, he and my husband hit it off, which is fine. However, the first day they were talking was was my husband was down tinkering around in the garage. The neighbor was outside too and just stopped by to say hello and chat a little, which is also fine. Then, a little while later, I go downstairs while our daughter is napping to leave to go get a soda, my husband is gone. So I look into the neighbor's garage, and I see my husband's boots by the back door, so I go knock on it. He was just in there drinking beer and hanging out. OK, I just think he could have hollered up, "hey, I'm going next door for a few minutes", that's it. So, while I was there the neighbor's like, yeah, this is a total man-house so your husband will probably be hanging out over here when you can't find him. He'll probably be here a lot". So, I told my husband I wanted to leave for 10 minutes to go get a soda, so he and the neighbor and his buddy come over to our house to play Tiger Woods on Wii, that was last Thursday. While they are playing the guy is talking about playing Saturday, too. On top of that, he routinely has to go down to our garage to fight with his fiance on the phone because he blew her off for dinner (and I think her family) so stay home and play video games, what an adult. Well, my husband had to work. So, last night, my husband was coming home from work and didn't even make it in the door and the neighbor went out on his balcony to ask if my husband wanted to come over to his place and play Tiger Woods for a while. It's like, OK, buddy, did you just wait and watch out the window for my husband to come home from work? My husband has never been into video games, but he really likes Wii, as do I. I'm just like, OK, is he just going to work and come home to eat and then go hang out with the neighbor? Is this going to be a 3 or 4 times a week thing? Am I over reacting?

Right about the time I turned 24, I got a new mole. It's small (a little smaller than a pencil eraser), flesh colored, smooth, and pretty much perfectly round. No black or brown spots or different shades of any color. I am now 28, and there has been no change in the mole since I got it. Should I have it looked at? When it first popped up, I was a little concerned, but thought, "well, I'll keep an eye on it to see if there are any changes". In 4 years, wouldn't there be more signs of skin cancer if there was a problem? Am I all of a sudden being paranoid about it?

My husband and I do not do Valentine's Day. We may say "Happy Valentine's Day" but that's it. His opinion of it is that it is just a Hallmark holiday. He says, "that day is for card companies to make money and for people whose relationship is in trouble to try to fix it in one day each year." Well, personally, I've always had mixed feelings about Valentine's Day. I've always kind of thought it was more for the girl than the guy. Seriously, what do you get a guy on Valentine's Day that they really ohh and ahh over? Anyway, it seems all of my friends get really picky about their gifts from their significant others. One of my friends last year took one look at her husband's gift to her and threw it out in front of him saying something like, "I can't believe you got me that." It was something with some candy and a fake rose. Don't get me wrong I love my friend to death, but I thought that was a little overboard. I'm not asking for snarky comments about my friend's actions or such comments against me because I don't think that day is a big deal. Just trying to show examples of 2 different view points and what are your thoughts on Valentine's Day in general?

My daughter is 4 and just started a new daycare/preschool because we moved. The second day I took her there, we had a lot of snow on the ground and their lot hadn't been plowed yet, so I coudn't see the parking lot lines. I parked close to the door (it was before 7 am and there were no other cars where the parents park to drop off), not knowing, because of the snow, that I wasn't in a space. The lady who met me at the door, one of the employees, goes, "you know that's not a space right?". I say, "umm, no". I also didn't know that we had to provide blankets, etc., for nap time. Her afternoon teacher politely reminded me last Thursday afternoon when I went to pick her up (she only goes Tues/Thurs). So, I tried to remember today, but I forgot and realized it when I got there. So, I told the a.m. teacher, sorry, I forgot, I'll call my husband and see if he can drop one by. She goes, "well, you should if can. It doesn't seem to bother your daughter any, but it makes me mad that she doesn't have one." I go, "what? excuse me?" What a rip. I informed her, well, at home, she never uses a blanket by her own choice, especially not for naps, and she takes her blanket off in the middle of the night every night. She usually doesn't even want one. Does anyone else think that teacher was kind of rude or is it just me being touchy (I'm 5 months pregnant and tend to get that way lately).

I have a jealousy problem, I admit it, which you'd see if you looked at my past questions and answers. I don't stalk my husband, check his call log or messages or emails, nothing like that. I don't call him when he's with his friends (even if I am uncomfortable) or call him if he's late getting home from work, nothing. I do get jealous when he's drinking with his buddies. I don't care if he golfs, fishes, whatever, it's just the rowdy boozing behavior that gets me. Anyway, he wants me to get help, and I want to, too. However, when he suggested I get help, he said "but I ain't f***ing paying for it It can come out of your check". We have a joint bank account, and my check isn't much since we made a JOINT decision for me to only work part-time so we don't have to get a babysitter. When I was working full-time when we lived by our parents, I went to a therapist who I was totally happy with, he would make fun of it and read my journal for therapy and bring them up in arguments.

I need some serious advice. My husband and I just celbrated our 5 year anniversary one week ago. I love him more than words can say. However, I believe I am a horrible wife. I do not trust him. I don't know why. I have never trusted anyone that I have been in a relationship with, and usually for good reason, but I truly believe he is a wonderful person with outstanding morals and not at all unfaithful. However, I get jealous very easily, and I truly cannot explain why. Why can't I think with my brain and logic about it instead of being a paranoid pain in the @**? I don't spy on him or monitor phone calls or anything like that, I don't follow him, nothing. I'm afraid I will lose my marriage, which I can't stand thinking about. I love him, but I'm making him miserable. Please give me some advice. And, please, no sarcastic nonsense or lectures, I feel horrible enough as it is.

I checked mine on some test pics I took last night, and it was fine. Then, I had to take some pics for work today and I didn't realize it until it was too late that the date and time were way off.

Right now, I'm home about to pop open a beer and I'm watching old episodes of My Boys (my favorite show). Who is your favorite character of the guys and why? I think Mike is my favorite. He's hilarious in a Peter Pan Syndrome kind of way, like still living in his bachelor pad with no furniture and nothing on the walls. But Andy is great, too. Jim Gaffigan is awesome. Ever hear/see his standup routine?

Our family is relocating. I made the trip up early Saturday to get the lease signed and my husband was coming later. First, they said we had to have account numbers for our electric and gas. We had the accounts set up but the companies didn't provide numbers. They wouldn't give us keys even though I had other proof we had the accounts set up. Anyway, fine, we did our best to rectify the situation on the phone with the companies, but no luck. We made a deal and they were going to let us in. Then at 4:30 in the afternoon, they said I couldn't sign the lease without my husband when during the week they said it was OK if he wasn't there to sign when I was, he had til 5 to get there that day or we were out of luck. We found another apartment. Now they won't give us any info in our file they have on us, not even copies of our paystubs. We DID NOT SIGN THE LEASE!!!!! Some jerk said our wages would be garnished. How can that be if we didn't sign?

Long story short: we were supposed to move into an apartment on Friday. When we made the 6 hour trip to move, all hell broke lost at the apartment place, they broke promises made to us and we told them to stick it. We asked for information our of our file in their office, basically copies of our paystubs, and the refused to release the info to us. I asked them if they always denied residents (potential residents) access to personal information in their files and they said yes, they didn't release anything. Is this legal?