Kat1286

My son turns 2 this March. My family dynamics are completely weird...my parents are divorced/remarried, some adults are speaking to each other, others aren't, etc. Family feuds abound, and it can be really awkward getting everyone together. We did it last year for his first birthday, and there were about 25 adults together. It was tense, a little awkward, and completely overwhelming for my poor son. He cried through the first half of his party when everyone started showing up. Overload!

My question is, how should I handle future parties? Everyone (my parents, in-laws, grandparents) wants to come, because they love my son. That's wonderful, but the dynamics are tense and uncomfortable. My house can't hold 25 people. Plus, in the next few years, he'll start making little friends that he wants to invite too... so that's 25 awkward (immature) adults, plus little kiddies and their parents all squeezed into the same place.

Should I have separate parties? If so, how do I divide things? If it were as simple as a kid party and then a family party, I wouldn't be posting my question on here. The problem IS the family.

Any thoughts are welcome, thanks.

I started to cook tacos tonight with a package of ground beef bought fresh just a couple of weeks ago and kept frozen in our freezer. When I opened it, it was pink and didn't smell bad, and it was find after I defrosted it in the microwave...however, when I actually put it in the skillet and started cooking it, it smelled so badly of wet dog, I threw it all away! When my husband got home, we tried cooking another pound of meat, and it was fine until it had spent a little time in the skillet, then it too started stinking like a wet dog. It's so gross! Does this mean the meat is bad? This has never happened before! Thanks

I started to cook tacos tonight with a package of ground beef bought fresh just a couple of weeks ago and kept frozen in our freezer. When I opened it, it was pink and didn't smell bad, and it was find after I defrosted it in the microwave...however, when I actually put it in the skillet and started cooking it, it smelled so badly of wet dog, I threw it all away! When my husband got home, we tried cooking another pound of meat, and it was fine until it had spent a little time in the skillet, then it too started stinking like a wet dog. It's so gross! Does this mean the meat is bad? This has never happened before! Thanks

I'm 22 weeks pregnant today, and for the past few weeks, I've noticed a tightening of my uterus. When it became more frequent than four in an hour, I called my doctor (last monday), and she checked my cervix. It was completely closed tight, and showed no signs of softening or opening. However, I was admitted to the hospital that same day for severe dehydration and a bladder infection. I ended up staying until Friday on an IV drip.

Since getting home from the hospital, I'm completely re-hydrated, and the infection is gone, but the braxton-hicks contractions are getting worse. Since I have only been out of the hospital for a couple of days, and I got zero rest while in the hospital, I figure that's what I'm dealing with. I know exhaustion and stress can cause them to intensify. It still concerns me though. Since I only had my cervix checked a week ago and it was fine, do I call my doc to have her check it again, or just trust that I left the hospital in good condition, and I need to relax and rest more, and they'll lessen? I don't want to take any chances, and my doc is certain everything is fine, but they continue to persist. Any advise would ease my fears. Thanks.

Two weeks ago, I had a positive pregnancy test that was confirmed by a blood test. I was having severe pains, and they feared an ectopic, so they sent me in for an earlier-than-usual ultrasound. They saw a gestational sac, but nothing in it. They measured it at 6 weeks along.

I had my blood tested for my hCG levels six days apart. They should raise at least 66% in 48 hours. This was well over 48 hours, and they went from 2500 to 3100. Clearly this isn't doubling, or a rise of 66%. The nurse wasn't concerned, but it didn't sound right to me.

Then I went in for another ultrasound at what should have been week 8. They still saw nothing, and said it was now measuring at 5 weeks along. She compared it to my last us and said it had def. shrunk, but last time, the gest. sac wasn't in the same place in my uterus as this time. What is that all about??

Then this morning, I wake up with excruciating cramps, and find light pink on my toilet paper tonight. Any similar experiences out there??

My period was off this month, which alerted me to something strange. I took 2 at home pregnancy tests, both negative. Then this afternoon, I felt a dull pain in my lower right abdomen, and decided to get it checked out by a doctor since I've had a long history of cysts. He decided to do a pregnancy test just in case. He said the first one turned up faintly positive, so much so that neither he nor his nursing staff could really make a valid conclusion about it. They tested my urine again and found it negative. He sent me in for a blood test, and told me he wouldn't have the results until later in the week. So now I'm up late, freaking out.

He told me that certain types of ovarian cysts can cause false positives on a pregnancy test, and that this could very well be why his test was showing up faintly positive, detecting just trace amounts of the HCG hormone.

Could it be a cancerous cyst? And what are the odds this is an ectopic pregnancy? Please help

In the Beatles' song "Across the Universe," written by John Lennon, what does the line "Jai guru deva om" mean? I don't even know what language it's in. Just curious, it's a beautiful song. Thanks.

I didn't drink too much last night, (2 glasses of wine), I just drank it way too fast and on an empty stomach. Needless to say, today was less than fun. I got sick all night long and practically all day today. I thought once you threw up you were supposed to feel better. Not so with me. Yuck.

Anyway, I've been afraid to really eat anything. I had some soup, some apple sauce, some jello, at different points throughout the day, but I'm STARVING. I want a burger.

I haven't gotten sick in over twelve hours... just felt kind of blah off and on, but none of the soup or apple sauce or anything came back up.

I'm really tempted to get a Sonic cheeseburger, but I don't know if I'll regret it. I need something solid though. What would be best that would fill me up and not upset my stomach? Am I out of the woods?

What plants would be good to use for trellising or scaling a back patio? I know morning glories take hold very well, as do grapes, but I don't want fruit, just something pretty. I have a patio out back made out of maple. It stands on four eight-foot legs (made of maple) and has a lovely covering which is perfect for vines. I don't know how to arrange a plant to allow it to grow up and around the wooden stakes and on up to the covering. How do people have vines scaling the sides of their home in a way reminescent of an English cottage?

My cat is not sick, he's quite healthy, but he's started a strange practice lately. My fiance and I get a big laugh out of it, but my cat (named Tiny) pees in the bathtub... not just the bathtub but directly over the drain. He'll walk around it for several minutes, positioning himself perfectly and then squat perfectly over the drain, not missing a drop. We keep his litterbox perfectly clean, and I can't figure out why he's started doing this. Online it says if cats pee in strange places they might be sick or angry, but this one baffles me. Any thoughts??

We didn't want to paint our small bathroom a dark color, we just have dark accents (towels and shower curtain are all burgundy). I know that painting a room a dark color can make it feel closed in, but how about darker accents? Does that make it feel cluttered and closed in?

How long did all of you parents wait after marriage to start a family?