Uwish

I have a 4 year old child. My husband and I both work 3rd shift (midnights). Our son goes to a family friend's home at night while we work and then goes to preschool during the day while we sleep. We have been thinking of having another child since my husband and I are both only children. Our son would not have much family when he is older and that I feel guilty that he would be "alone" once my husband and I are gone.

The problem is that we love our jobs and our lives. We both have worked hard to get the jobs we have and neither of us want to quit. But I refuse to leave a small baby with a babysitter at night and during the day, so I'd have to quit and find a different job or stay at home. I also like that our dual income allows us to travel and not worry about bills. We are able to take our son many places and afford things that we wouldn't be able to do if I were to quit my job.

I feel so torn and that's why I just wanted other opinions. I don't want to leave my son alone when he's older, but I don't want to leave a job and lifestyle that I love either.

I have a 7 month old cat that was a rescue from the shelter. I think maybe he was taken from his mother when he was too young (or abandoned) because he does not groom himself well. He does try, and does lick himself sometimes...but not nearly enough.

He is: short-haired, young, healthy according to vet, and indoor-only. So I don't think it's a physical problem. Because of this I have to give him a couple baths otherwise he gets kind of stinky and oily.

Any suggestions? Just keep giving him baths until he learns? Or is this a forever thing?

We got a 7 month old cat from the shelter about 2 weeks ago. Since we brought him home, my 3 yr. old son will NOT leave this cat alone! He isn't really mean to the cat, he just wants to play with the cat and pet it all the time. When the cat runs, my son laughs and chases him.

He knows how to pet the cat nicely and does when the cat is laying still. But the cat can't get a moment of peace. I've been punishing my son, and using positive reinforcement with him. The cat also has full access to the upstairs where my son isn't allowed during the day, AND the door to the laundry room is gated off (where is litter box is) so that he can go in there without my son following him. But the cat doesn't do either! He also has his claws, but has never so much as even hissed or batted at my son...and I wouldn't be mad if he did.

I'm trying everything I can, but it seems like the cat won't help himself by either going somewhere where he can be left alone, or swiping at my son. Any suggestions?

I just purchases a 1800 sq foot home that has electrical baseboard heating, and no air conditioning. I hate these baseboard heaters and they make placing furniture difficult. The house is all electric, but is in city limits, so I'm sure it would just be a matter of cost to get gas hook-up if needed.

What would be my best option as far as efficiency and cost of installation as far as a new heating and cooling system goes? There isn't any existing duct work. The house is 2-stories with a basement. Any ideas of a rough estimate for what I'd be looking at as a total price?

My husband and I have been working with a buyer's agent for about 6 months. We have looked about 10-12 houses during that time, and wrote 2 offers (neither of which went through for different reasons).

She is very new to real estate and I feel that her inexperience contributed to losing out on 2 homes. But now I feel obligated to her because we've been working with her for months. We live in a VERY small community (like 8,000 people) and I'm afraid if we did go to another realtor, it would cause problems.

And if I did find someone else, what if we offer on a home she represents... There are only 2 major real estate companies here so that is a big possibility. I'm just not sure if we should stick with her despite the fact that she knows nothing and does not listen to us? And if not, how do I go about it without ending up in an awkward situation?

We put an offer in on a house that we really liked a month ago. The house was only on the market for 2 days when we put it in, and the sellers would not go below asking price of 103k (but offered to pay closing costs with it). We came in at 100k plus closing costs. So we lost the house over 3k. We live in a very small town, so the inventory is limited, and we still really like this house but refuse to overpay for it either (I think fair market value would be around 95k).

The house has been on the market for a month now, how long should we wait before putting in another offer? Or should we just forget the house altogether?

We saw a house we really liked today, and after months of searching we were so excited that we straight to our agent's office and wrote an offer. The house had only been on the market for 4 days, so we came in pretty close to asking price.

Now, after thinking about it for a while and doing some more research, I feel like our offer was about 8-10k more than it should be and the asking price was inflated. The sellers have not accepted the offer yet (as we just put this in today). Is there anything we can do at this point? We still really like the house and would like to buy it, but we don't want to overpay either!

We are using USDA indirect financing (so it's through a bank, USDA just backs it). Could we wait for the appraisal and then try to ask for less? I just have a VERY bad feeling that we are going to be the suckers of the neighborhood, or be out tons of money because we let our emotions get the best of us!

I was asked to be a bridesmaid at a co-workers wedding. My husband has only met her twice very briefly and we have no mutual friends with them. My friend wants to have a formal head table at her wedding and have the dates/spouses sit at another table.

My husband feels that if he isn't going to be with me during the ceremony, or during the reception, and he doesn't know the bride or groom, he shouldn't have to go. He feels akward about spending an entire day with people he doesn't know when I won't be around.

I think he should come just out of support for me because I would do the same, even though I do understand why he doesn't want to go.

What do you think? Am I being unreasonable for wanting him to attend with me even though we will only be together after the meal?

Thinking of Keaton Alexander for a boy. What do you think?

I had a dessert that seemed like it was an oreo crust and had whipped cream on the top. The middle was a very creamy center that seemed like a chocolate pudding or mousse. It was served very cold from a 9x13 pan.

Is there a name for this dessert? Trying to find a recipe for it online.

We are going to look at a home next week, and in the description it says "new roof on family room in 2008. $3000 roof rebate at close". Does this mean the rest of the roof need to be replaced and they are paying 3k towards it?

I'll try to keep this short, I live in a small rural community in which a woman was recently convicted of fraud for faking disability. During the investigation of her, many pretty gross acts of animal cruelty were discovered (dogs and cats that were starving or dead). She plead down her charges and served very little jail time. She was recently released and our whole city is outraged at her light sentence given the disgusting nature of the animals conditions.

But here's the thing.....she and I share the same name, but my last name is spelled differently (by just 1 letter). I am about to graduate college in December and will be job hunting. I'm afraid my name will be mistaken for hers since her case is very well known here. Do you think this will be an issue? Is it appropriate to note on a cover letter that I am NOT the woman they may be thinking I am?

We are working with a realtor to buy a home. We found one we really liked, but yearly property taxes were almost double all the houses we looked at in the same area in the same price range. I asked her about it, and she said they should lower in a few months "after the assessment is removed". She said there is probably a sewer assessment on it.

I have no idea what this means! Do taxes actually go down after an assessment is removed? Or will we be paying more in taxes than everyone else in the area if we buy this home?

This will be a bit long...so I really appreciate you taking the time to read this and offer help!

Ok, so I've had a 29 gallon aquarium for about 5 years, that has had a pleco, a South African chiclid, and a Feather Fin Synodontis catfish. Finally gave away the chiclid to a friend and decided to set up a community tank. Since then, I've had nothing but problems!!

I figured after having an established tank with a chiclid for so long, my tank could handle the addition of several fish at once. I was wrong! I added some fancy guppies, neons, and rainbow tetras. Well my ammonia and nitrates were slightly elevated, so I added some bacteria starter from a bottle. Now I have a cloudy bacteria bloom AND now my nitrites are elevated as well.. So far, 5 of the guppies and neons have died.

I've added some ammonia tablets and been doing daily 25% water changes to hopefully stop more from dying. But I don't know what else to do. I don't have any other place to put these fish while the tank cycles again, and no petstore will take them.

ALSO...I'm thinking these dainty little fish aren't a fan of my SUPER hard water. My hardness and alkalinity is off the chart, and I constantly fight limescale residue on my tank.

I'm really not sure what to do. Even if the tank cycles without more losses, will these fish tolerate the extreme hardness of my water?

My son is almost 2 and he has a terrible temper! Anytime he doesnt' get his way (diaper change, being told no, etc.) he screams and then hits something! If I tell him No, he will even try to hit me. It's usually just one slap on whatever is closest to him. But I still find it disturbing. He will also throw things if he's angry. For example, if he has a sippy cup in his hand and I say it's bedtime, he will throw it across the room and then scream (directly at me, like mouth wide open just yelling).

We are a loving home, and yes he does get spanked, but not very often. Is this normal behavior for a child his age? I'm worried that this will lead to anger/behavior issues when he is older. And what can I do to stop this before it gets out of control?

I know what some of you are thinking...I probably would think the same thing if someone was telling me this, but this is the honest truth!

Since my husband and I moved into our townhouse a couple years ago, I have always had this odd feeling when I was upstairs even during the day. I can't really describe it, just one of those things where you are always looking behind you because you feel like you are being watched or something. Well over the years nothing extreme has happened...the lights aren't turning on and off and I'm not hearing voices or anything. But things do seem to be getting a little scary.

We have a 12 mo old son, who has slept 10-11 hrs straight through the night for a long time. Now at least once or twice a week he wakes up with no warning screaming like he is being killed. It takes forever to calm him down and he wants nothing to do with going back into his room. This has NEVER been an issue before. He falls asleep in his room just fine.

But this is where it got really weird tonite. I was laying in bed with my husband and I could honestly "feel" someone walking by my bed. There was no sound, but only the vibration on the floor and the feeling that the air was stirred right next to me. I was frozen in fear, but quickly ran downstairs and now I can't sleep. My husband is still up there asleep, and he dismisses any of my claims of a haunting.

Am I crazy or could this be real? I have never really believed in this stuff, but there is just this doom feeling I get when I sleep everynight and now the footsteps have just took it to a new level! Are my family and I in any danger?

thanks

My son will turn 1 this week. However, I can't get him off the bottle! I introduced a sippy cup at 6 months, and in all this time, he still refuses it. The main problem is he won't tip it high enough. I've tried filling it to the very top, but he just doesn't get the concept of drinking while seated. He won't drink from a bottle either unless he is semi-reclined. I really want to get him away from bottle soon, but I see no hope in sight :(

He also won't eat his meals unless he has had a bottle first. I've tried (MANY MANY times) to break this habit. But he throws an absolute fit until he gets a few ounces out of a bottle, and then he will happily eat his meals. I'm sooo frustrated!

My 10 mo. old son had about 1/2 a scrambled egg last night. Several hours later he vomited 3 times. He seemed fine afterwards and slept fine. Then this morning he woke up with a flat, patchy, red rash especially on his face and chest. I immediatly called his doctor, and spoke to a nurse in his office. She didn't seem too concerned since he is acting normal, and doesn't have any swelling or breathing difficulty. She said would talk to the doctor and then call me back (this was an hour ago!).

Do you think he could be allergic to eggs? He has had scrambled eggs once before and didn't have a reaction...so can an allergy develop the 2nd time he has a food? Also, since he is acting normal should I be more concerned and possibly call the doctor again?

I want to know what YOU think is the the reason that minorities only have 1/2 the marriage rate of whites?

****This is NOT intended to be a racist question, and I am NOT asking for racist answers!!! I just want to know why you think minorities choose not to get married as often as whites.

I know this may sound really silly...but I've bought lunch meat at a deli counter before. I know they ask you how you want it sliced, but I'm not sure what to say. I like it pretty thin...so is that what I say? Or do I have to give them a measurement (like 1/8 inch)?

Thanks.