Mrs.Gaddis

I'm babysitting all of my siblings for the summer, so on top of my picky husband and my two picky boys I have three more children to cook for. Ages 8, 6, 4, 4, and 2.5... I have a handle on breakfasts they enjoy but lunch and dinner not so much. Lunch especially! I usually go with macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, lunchables, or I make a turkey roll up or grilled cheese.... stuff like that but I don't want to serve them the same things all the time.I don't want anything super complicated or time consuming as I have my hands full. Any ideas would be appreciated.

My mother is homeless, and has been a drug user for years. I was raised by my grandmother, along with my other sister. I have a 5 year old sister who is in my mother's care right now in a domestic violence shelter (my mom was not abused but claims she was in order to stay at the shelter). My family has every reason to believe that my sister has been molested, she demonstrates innapropriate sexual behavior towards other children, and has stated that her father has molested her. She later says that she was lying. Clearly something has happened to her, and she has a lot of issues. I do not know exactly what happened, whether she was molested or exposed to pornography, but she needs help. My mother just says she doesn't know what to do for her. My sister needs stability. She has been moving from place to place her entire life. In the last year alone she has lived in 7 different places, with people or in shelters, even in the car. I don't want to hurt my mother so I am trying to convince her to sign over custody. I know if I just "take her for now" my mother will turn back to drugs and will blackmail me for money and threaten to take my sister back. CPS has had 3 cases opened and closed with my mother because she will flee from one county to another so they have been no help. My question is what kind of documentation would I need to make it legal if I convinced my mother to sign her over to me? If she won't give me guardianship, is there any other avenue I can pursue other than contacting CPS again? I want to give my sister a stable home and get her the counseling she needs, but I feel helpless. Any suggestions?

I am in the process of purchasing a swing set for my kids, but my backyard is all concrete. I don't really want to build a box to put wood chips or mulch in because of the mess it will make. A friend told me that I should buy a thick rubber mat to put underneath it, and that I just cut holes to put the legs of the set into the rubber for stability. I have looked at Home Depot and Lowe's and I can't find anything like this. I'm not sure if there is a special name for it or not and was wondering if anyone else might know? Or if there are any other cheap ideas for what to put underneath to keep the kids safe? Thank You!

When I completed my 2010 taxes, married filing jointly, my refund went down $2000 when I entered my W2 information. My husbands alone would have gotten us a bigger return. I only made $8,000 last year. Do I have to file if I only made that much? Can't my husband just file as head of household and I would just not file at all?

I am a part time employee at a mental health facility, and I work 12 hour shifts. I do not receive overtime for any of my hours over 8 hours in a shift. Even full time employees do not receive overtime for 12 hour shifts. I looked up the law and it says that I should be paid overtime, but my employer states that because I work night shifts from 7pm-7am that my hours fall into two separate days. I think that is ridiculous, because regardless I am there for 12 hours straight, and even when I work a day shift from 7am-7pm I am not paid overtime, and those hours are all in the same day. Is this legal?

I am giving a presentation about communication in families, and am trying to find some kind of documentary related to the topic? Preferably one I might find at least clips of online?

My husband just found out his company shuts down for 2 weeks at Christmas time and that is crazy for us right now, we just had our second child and I am not going back to work until after the holidays, my job won't even consider it until it's been 6 weeks since I had a c-section. I know there is a waiting period of one week, but can he still apply for the other week if he is technically not unemployed just temporarily suffering a loss of wages due to the company being closed?

My 3 week old is only having 1 bowel movement a day and is struggling ALOT just for that one. I have switched him to the Gentlease formula, but that was about 12 days ago so is obviously not helping much. Could a lactose sensitivity cause this? I just hate to keep switching formulas because I'm afraid of making it worse. He hasn't been breast fed since he was 6 days old so I don't think it could be the transition. I have given him a suppository twice already because he was in such pain. He did have bowel movements but still hasn't become regular. The pediatrician STILL hasn't called me back after calling 3 times today. HELP?! Suggestions?

Working on my little ones baby book, and trying to figure out what would be good national and world news stories to put in there. Seems depressing to just put recession and unemployment, any suggestions for good stories that will probably mean something in the years to come? Already put Obama's nobel peace prize. Any help appreciated. Thanks!

On tonights episode of Daisy of Love, where the people from the guys pasts come on, London's friend Natasha looks super familiar but I can't place her. I think she was on another reality show of some kind, but I know I recognize her!

I need information about getting respite care in Washington... insurance will not cover, fee waivers have been denied twice, there is a two year waiting list and respite care is desperately needed...

My husband and our 1 year old son are making plans to move to Arizona next year to be closer to his family. Neither of us have lived anywhere but Southern California before. I'm just looking for some basic information about the area we are moving to. We are moving to Surprise, AZ, which is Maricopa County I've been told? I already have a job with Wells Fargo but my husband works in pipeline construction, and he'll be heading out there to look for a job. I'm wondering what the crime, schools, employment, etc. is like in the area. We know the housing is much much cheaper, which is great since we are renters right now, but are considering purchasing a home out there in the next few years if we like it out there.

Thanks for any information! It's greatly appreciated!

I just finished my first month of bc pills after being off of them for a while. My period was due yesterday, but instead I'm just getting light spotting today. I've been on these bc pills before and my period was always normal. My husband is out buying me a test, but I'm wondering if the spotting means that even if I am pregnant, it's too soon to test. I always thought that the first day of your missed period should yield a pretty accurate result, but the spotting has me thinking otherwise.

I got pregnant with my son who is now a year while taking the pill, so it isn't a big stretch, but I hate to waste the test. I know the only obvious answer is to just take it, but I'm just wondering if anyone has similar experiences with the spotting.... if so were you pregnant or not? If yes, did the test come up positive even with the spotting?

I haven't taken the pill in about 3 months now, and am about to start a new pack. I have always done the Sunday start, but I would like to start this new pack as soon as possible, so I am considering a day one start? I just want to make sure I understand it. Can someone give me a quick explanation? For example if my period starts on a Thursday, I take the pill that day, would I always start a new pack on a Thursday? Thanks for any help...

My 9 month old son no longer shows any interest in his bottle, and pushes baby food away, which he used to love. He has become a screaming, sleepless mess. I'm losing my mind. He has been going to sleep on his own since he was 4 months, and sleeping through the night, now it's a 2 hour battle of screaming to put him to bed, no matter what I do. He doesn't want to be rocked, doesn't want a bottle or sippy cup, he just screams. He only had one wet diaper yesterday, because he refuses his bottle. His pediatrician thinks it's just a phase, but I'm really worried. He's been teething for a while now, and already has 6 teeth, and he's never acted this way. I give him Tylenol or Orajel, he has teethers, but NOTHING seems to help. I'm desperate for a shower, we're running out of clean laundry, and I am exhausted. I've tried riding this out but now I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience, or knows what the problem could be?

I've finally realized that pretty much everything that we as consumers are buying for our children is garbage, and have thrown away everything in my house that isn't organic, bought only glass and polypropylene baby bottles, and am done with immunizations until my son is at a more appropriate age.

My son has always eaten the regular Gerber baby foods, and is now 9 months old. I've switched him to organic baby food, and I bought the Natures Best kind, but they don't have alot of variety of fruits and vegetables, so I was wondering, for Moms who have tried one or both, is the Organic Gerber food as good as the Natures Best brand?

My 9 month old son has been running a low grade fever on and off for about 4 days now. It's usually only around 100.3, and hasn't gotten any worse. I have been giving him Tylenol and it goes away temporarily. My problem is that he isn't sick. No cold, and I took him to the pediatrician suspecting an ear infection, and they told me that he doesn't have one. He has been scratching at both of his ears, and the doctor thinks he just has sensitive skin. But why the fever? I'm frustrated because the doctor doesn't seem concerned at all. But last time my son got a high fever, I found out he has a seizure disorder. That's all under control now, and he has had normal EEG's, and just saw his neurologist, so it's unlikely the fever is linked to that... I'm just going crazy trying to figure out what's going on. Can allergies cause a fever? I think he could have allergies because I do. Help!?

My son is itchy all over! I took him to the pediatrician today, thinking he had an ear infection since he has been grabbing at his ear, but the doctor believes he just has sensitive skin, since he not only itches his ears alot, but his head and his nose too. They gave me some samples to try that are given for excema, and I'm waiting to see if they work. I already use Dreft baby detergent on all of his clothes. I am pretty sure it is excema, since my husbands family has alot of it, his dad, sister and nephew all have it pretty bad. I just want to know if you have a favorite shampoo, body wash, lotion, etc. that is moisturizing or good for sensitive skin? I've thought about trying the Aveeno stuff, since right now he just uses regular Johnson's baby shampoo, and the Johnsons bedtime bath and lotion. But I would like to get some suggestions before going and purchasing a whole bunch of stuff that I don't end up using. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks!

My son is almost 9 months old, and eats only baby food, as well as formula. He's a really good eater, has teeth now on the top and bottom, and I'm pretty sure he is ready to start trying some solid foods. I just don't know where to start. What are some good solid foods to start with? Also, I'm so afraid of him choking on something, so I'd like to start with pretty "safe" foods. He chews on the Gerber "biter biscuits" since they don't break, and he loves them. So I really want to start him on some foods that he can chew. I just need any suggestions that other Moms have for starting solid foods. Thanks!

It just started recently. It isn't anywhere near his ear or anything, he just scratches his head. He has always kind of rubbed his head while drinking a bottle, but it's different now, he's scratching like it really does itch. He had cradle cap when he was a newborn, but I know he doesn't have it now. Could it be lice? I don't even know how to check for that. I also have no idea where he could have gotten it. He doesn't go to daycare or anything. I'm a stay at home Mom, and he is my only child, so there are no brothers or sisters that could have brought it home. Any suggestions?