shannonscorpio

As a last gift for my dad and stepmom, I want to give them a gift card to a chain restaurant. I've already gotten them a few other "nice" gifts, so this doesn't have to be extravagant. Would $30 be enough for a meal out without alcohol? (Neither drinks.)

I have a ton of flat-rate boxes at my home. I'm selling items on eBay and it would be cheaper for the buyer (and more advantageous to me!) if I shipped the item another way other than priority mail. Will the post office allow me to ship something in that flat-rate box although I'm sending it another method??

I'm pretty sure the answer is yes, but can I add uncooked sausage to marinara sauce to cook the sausage? I don't know why I'm drawing a blank to this one!

We live in a fairly spacious 2-bedroom condo, however, the second bedroom is my husband's home office. Home office really is just a computer setup. It's imperative that he is able to work at home nights and weekends as needed. Anyway, at first we're discussing shifting everything in our living room/dining room to accomodate an office. Talk about tight. But now I'm thinking, can we put baby in the office? My husband would have to work at night sometimes, but whenever he does, he works by a desk lamp. We could put bookshelves (or something) to divide the room and to block out a lot of the computer light.

My question is, would the keyboard sound and minimal computer light bother the baby? And if you've dealt with a baby in a tight space, what did you do?

We live in a fairly spacious 2-bedroom condo, however, the second bedroom is my husband's home office. Home office really is just a computer setup. It's imperative that he is able to work at home nights and weekends as needed. Anyway, at first we're discussing shifting everything in our living room/dining room to accomodate an office. Talk about tight. But now I'm thinking, can we put baby in the office? My husband would have to work at night sometimes, but whenever he does, he works by a desk lamp. We could put bookshelves (or something) to divide the room and to block out a lot of the computer light.

My question is, would the keyboard sound and minimal computer light bother the baby? And if you've dealt with a baby in a tight space, what did you do?

I'm 24 weeks pregnant tomorrow. As of yesterday, my entire breast, especially the areola and nipple, are as hard as rocks. Not hard meaning erect (when you're cold) but swollen and hard. I know there are tons of breast changes during pregnancy and I'm already experiencing a bit of leaking. But could this mean the leaking is going to pick up and I should get some breast pads? Or could it be something else?

I have a few questions about jogging strollers. First, do they make any that accomodate a newborn and can change to accomodate a bigger baby? I wouldn't jog with my newborn, but take him out for trail walks. Second, could I use it for non-trail stuff? Like going to the mall or to the zoo? Lastly, if you have a jog stroller or know someone who does that does what I need it to do (multi-aged baby and all-terrain) what brand would you suggest? Thank you!!!

Perhaps the dumbest cooking question ever: I want to crumble the chicken sausage I have for dinner. How do I take it out of the casing? Is it just as simple as slitting it with a knife and taking it out? Will the uncased sausage crumble as if it were hamburger then?

I'm 12 weeks pregnant and have a burning sensation across my pelvis. I have no pain, cramping or bleeding...just this odd burning feeling. It's not ligament stretching as I get that, too, and know what it feels like. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this or knows what it is? I go to the doctor on Friday for my 2nd appointment. It's possible it's a UTI...I've had one in the past and while I don't feel like I have one, there are some similarities.

I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow and have been packing my bags the last couple of days. This morning, I went down into the living room where one of my suitcases is and I found a cat poo about 6 inches from it. The litterbox is clean and she's acting normal otherwise. I suspect she knows what suitcase means (that my husband and I are leaving and she'll be babysat by the neighbor) and is acting out. Do you think that's it or should I be concerned that something else, like being sick, is wrong?

As last minute stocking stuffers for out-of-town family (I'm the one travelling and need to pick them up asap), I wanted to get Massachusetts State Lottery scratch tickets. Does anyone know if I can buy them with a debit card? You can buy ANYTHING on debit, pretty much, but I didn't know if lottery is different. Thanks!

I am nearly 6 weeks pregnant. The pregnancy is very much planned and our child will be coming into a stable, loving home. I have my first OB appointment in exactly 2 weeks. I was doing great until I started reading and keep seeing information about miscarriage. I'm now suffering from major anxiety...really weird because *before* all the reading I felt that whatever will be, will be.

I know if someone else were saying this I'd say "you're not having any symptoms to make you think something is wrong, your pregnancy symptoms come and go normally, and there's nothing you can do...so enjoy your changing body." But my rational self is drowned out by this anxiety. Did anyone else deal with this? How did you make yourself chill out?

I learned that I'm pregnant last week and am about 41/2 weeks. I knew even before the test, really. Part of that was from uterine cramps and nipple soreness. But the past couple of days, those symptoms have been very slight. No spotting or anything. Is it normal for symptoms of pregnancy to come and go? Do you have days where you feel great and basically not pregnant and others that you feel like pooh? (This morning I felt a bit nauseous and headachy, so maybe I'm getting morning sickness as my new symptom?)

I guess it's just nerve-wracking as I don't have an OB appointment for another couple of weeks!

Just days after trying to conceive, I started having pregnancy symptoms. I totally blew it off as all in my head until I passed out on the fourth day! I went to the doctor since passing out is never a good thing. She said everything she tested for...including pregnancy...was negative.

Fast forward to today, which is a couple of weeks later. In the meantime my breasts have been sore (I have zero sensitivity in my breasts, even during PMS) and I've been a little "off." My period was supposed to start yesterday and didn't. Didn't start today either. Took a home pregnancy test...and positive.

Was the test at the doctor's office just too soon? I'm more than likely positively pregnant, right? (I used to work in family planning, so me asking this makes me feel like a dummy. But if you've ever TTC, you know how crazy this stuff makes you!)

I have a call into my doctor about this, but as I wait, I'm just wondering: my husband and I are trying to get pregnant. If it happened, conception would have happened on Sunday, 3 days ago. It's too early for a pregnancy test and too early (or so I thought) for symptoms. I was exhausted yesterday and today to the point that I've taken 3 hour naps both days. That could be anything. But this morning, as I was eating breakfast, I passed out! I know that my blood pressure, iron and blood sugar are OK. Could it really be a symptom of "pregnancy" so soon?? (I know I'm not "pregnant" as implantation hasn't happened, but my hormones could be whacked out, right?)

If I'm pregnant, I'd be about 5 days pregnant. In other words, much too soon to be able to test with a home pregnancy test kit. However, all yesterday I slept and had weird cramping. I thought it might just be psychosomatic (I want to get pregnant) but this morning, as I was eating my breakfast...I FAINTED! Isn't it too early for that stuff to happen? Or could I really be pregnant??

Ever have a song stuck in your head? And the lyrics are NO WHERE to be found on the internet? Anyway, I have "Seven and a Half Cents" stuck in my head from the musical "The Pajama Game." It's the chorus I can't remember: seven and a half cents doesn't mean a helluva lot/seven and a half cents doen't mean a thing..." something, something, something, "that's enough for me to be living like a king!"

What's the something, something part??

We locked a file cabinet at work by mistake and don't have a key for it. Aside from calling a locksmith, any ideas of how to open it? Jiggling a paper clip in it doesn't work. Thanks!

I work in youth development. One of my coworkers is having a really hard time with boundaries. She makes herself crazy trying to help the teens in her program. For example, one of the girls has multiple health issues that aren't being taken care of. None are life threatening...like needing glasses. She makes the proper referrals, but when they aren't followed through, she gets obsessive with MAKING it happen. I'm trying to find some online resources for her. Our boss should be taking care of this directly, but that won't happen. Any organizations or articles you can suggest?

I bought ground chicken made from dark meat today at Whole Foods. Does anyone know how many calories? Raw, dark meat with no skin is 138 calories per unit according to one site. What's one unit??