ShortnSweet

My mom lives about 100 miles from us. She has been asking to have my daughter visit and spend several days (and nights) with since she was potty trained. My husband is very uncomfortable with the idea mostly because he doesn't entirely trust my stepfather. I just don't want to leave her anywhere for several overnights. My mom is acting like we are being selfish jerks.

Our modest ranch style house (one story, 1550 sq feet) needs paint. I got estimates for a pro to paint it- around $1800. We estimate we can paint it ourselves for $800- BUT we have never painted an exterior before and it is going to need a lot of prep. My husband hates painting, but really doesn't want to pay someone $1000 to paint the house. I think it's totally worth it. However- it is both his money and his time- I'll be watching the kids while he paints. Any advice - should I just leave this up to him?

We have a new, ~4 lb, 9 wk old maltipoo puppy. I want to train her using positive reinforcement and treats, but she isn't wild about the treats we have- Bil Jac liver treats and Milk Bone treats which we break into smaller pieces. Anyone have suggestions for treats that would really motivitate this dog?

In the past 3 years, my friend, age 45, has gone off Paxil twice. Both times she explained (in too much detail), that it was to regain her libido. Both times she complains bitterly about how hard life is (hers is actually Really Easy, just boring). Is this one of those just be supportive things or is it ok to tell her she needs to talk to her Dr about it.

My 3 yo has two wooden train engines that are missing- green Percy and grey Diesel. He told me they are "in the spooky". I have looked EVERYWHERE that I can think of. Any suggestions?

Do anorexics/bullimics think that chubby people (say a 5'3 woman that weighs 135 lbs) are weak or grotesque or do they not care what other people look like?

Specifically, what direction would you give to highway/bikeway/mass transit planners for solving transportation problems in the next 20 years.

Example: increase funding for busses and trains in California's urban areas (San Francisco, LA, San Diego)

to find out more: http://www.californiatransportationplan2035.org/Co...

I have a Dirt Devil upright that I bought 6 years ago. I have been happy with it, but it seems weak lately. Do these things just wear out or is there a way to "refresh" them?

My 3yr old son has a pretty bad cold. He sat on the couch wrapped in a blanket all day yesterday. He went to bed last night at his normal bedtime and now it is 15 hours later and he is still in bed. I have asked him a few times if he is hungry, wants to go outside, etc and he just says "NO, I want to sleep". What would you do- get him up (for fresh air, etc) or let him lie in bed?

For my 3 yr old and 6 yr old, we've been having dinner at 7, bath at 8, in bed at 9 for a long time. For preschool, I need to get my 3 yr old up at 7, so I figure he needs to go to bed at 7 or 8 at the latest. Do you feed your little one dinner before everyone else and put them to bed early?

My husband just found out he got a big promotion. We had champagne last night and are going out for dinner with the kids tonight, but I think I should get him a present too. Any good ideas- what you'd appreciate from your wife? No dumb bedroom answers please.

Our family was invited at the last minute to an informal, kid-focused New Years Eve party. My husband said he didn't want to go. I told the hostess that I would just come for a couple hours with our 6 yr old. Now my husband is unhappy and says he'll stay at home by himself and I should take both kids so our 3 yr old doesn't miss out. He really wants us all to stay home with him. I could call and say we're not coming, but I don't think its fair to the rest of us or the family that invited us. Comments?

My husband's younger brother got married in May. His wife got pregnant immediately (they didn't expect it so soon). She is due in early February.One problem is she complained bitterly and often during the 1st trimester about how much it sucked to be pregnant and how she hated gaining weight (She fully intended to get pregnant. Also, I have 2 kids, BTDT). The other problem is that she is real east-coast silver-spoon type and the brothers and I are real low-key west coast types. She snootily turned down all potential hand-me-downs from my kids (the only other kids in either family) saying that her baby will get so many new clothes and toys she just doesn't want to take on the 'clutter' of my kids 'old things'. Fine. but now I have ZERO interest in buying her anything for her baby shower or new things for the baby when it comes in Feb. Am I being a jerk?

My little boy has been a challenge since he started walking (at 10 mos). But in the past month he has become extremely negative and argumentative. If I say "Time to get up", he says "NO! I don't like 'Time to Get Up': If I say "Come have your breakfast", he says "No! I don't CARE!!" He seems to only be happy at home, playing quietly with toys, watching movies or playing outside with his big sister. If we need to get in the car to go anywhere, especially A.M. preschool, he cries and argues about every detail- getting dressed, getting in the car, everything. At school, he will sit for a solid hour in a chair without joining the rest of the class. On the two occasions that he has been to the doctor in the last year, he sobbed the whole time the doctor was trying to look at him. I hope this is just something he will grow out of, but it seems like I have the most difficult toddler in town.

I have 2 kids and tomorrow we are going to host 5 more for the morning so their mom's can get a bit of work done on the first day of Thanksgiving break. Altogether, I will have four 6 yo girls, one 9 yo girl, one 4 yo boy and one 3 yo boy. I know that they will mostly entertain themselves, but I'm asking for a couple ideas for a structured activity in case they need to be calmed down or get bored.

I get a popup window many times a day that offers FREE Screensavers. Some of them look great, but I wonder why are there so many "free screensavers" available on the web. What's in it for the developers/marketers?

In a police report, a suspect is described by witnesses as a "pico" or "pica", which the report says means someone that only speaks Spanish. Since I've never heard that, I wonder if you have?

Serious question- please don't trash me for the question. My 2 yr old has been sick for a week (with a cold). He is not eating much and sleeping a lot. My mom had planned to drive up tomorrow morning ( 2 hr drive) to stay with both of our kids while we go on a long-planned river rafting day trip. I am so torn- I really want to stay with my son, but I also really want to go rafting. What would you do?

Our Frigidaire top-freezer refrigerator is running, light is on, mostly empty-- and WARM. The meat that was in the freezer is thawed and I so I think the refrigerator and freezer have been not cooling for two days. The black tubes on the back are clean, the dials are turned to mid range, but when I turned them all the way up, nothing changed. I will call a repair man on Monday, but wanted to see if anyone had some advice.

I tried to return two un-opened bottles of alcohol (vodka and rum) to the grocery store where I bought them, with the receipt, 5 days after I bought them and was told by the manager that "You can't return alcohol". When I asked why, he said "State Law". I have googled this and can find no reference to a California State Law banning the return of alcohol to a store. Is it true?