Rachel

I'm part of a church drama ministry, and I wrote a monologue based on my personal life for an upcoming service. Because of the type of service it is, I've been asked to tell it as a true story instead of having it acted as a monologue. The problem is that I perform frequently during services---people know I'm an actor, so they may just think it's another monologue. I need some creative ways to present the story so it doesn't seem like a script. Ideas?

My son will be a year old in November, and he's not crawling yet. He rolls all over the place, but he rarely tries to pull his legs up to crawl. He prefers being on our laminate flooring, no matter how many times I put him back on the carpeting, and he slides and spins around. He gets where he wants to go, but I read that 90% of babies crawl by 11 months. Should I be worried?

I have several sport cups and sippy cups that seem to grow mold very quickly after use. I can get the mold out of the cup part OK, but the straws and lids have little crevices and such where I can't get a brush or anything. I also don't want to use something like bleach, since my son drinks out of them. How can I get rid of this grossness?

I love my family, and I love getting together with them every year. However, I feel our reunions are kind of boring. Attendance is dropping more and more every year. We have a very large family, but only a handful of people come (and it's always the same people).

Right now, our reunions are run kind of like business meetings. It's been like that for 70 years or something. We have a pitch-in, and we talk for a little while, but that's about it. No games, no sports. I think that's why the younger people stay away.

I've tried funny photo contests, things for the kids to do---everything I can think of. There are lots of older folks in the family I don't want to exclude by doing something too active, but I don't want to exclude families with kids by doing something too expensive. Most people live in the area where we have the reunion, but even I drive about 6 hours for it.

How can we make this even more worthwhile and maybe get some people to show up?

I want to try making some sweet tea for a get-together we're having tonight, but all I have is orange pekoe tea or the Snapple orange tea. My other options are loose masala tea from India and green or chrysanthemum tea from China. lol I have an infant, so a jaunt to the store isn't as easy as it once was. Is it worth the trip, or would orange tea taste OK? I don't actually like tea myself, but my husband and our friends do, so I probably wouldn't end up having any regardless!

I typically use a sleep sack when he sleeps at night, but his hands are always so cold! The sleep sacks that fit over his sleepers don't have any sleeves. He's only 6 months old, so I know I'm not supposed to use a blanket in his crib, but how can I keep him warmer than those sacks do?

When I was young, I spent my summers with family in another state. I made a friend there who I only played with during the summers, and she and I would write occasionally during the year. Now we're both around 30 years old, and we don't have anything in common anymore, yet she still calls me her "best friend." She recently took a computer class to figure out how to use the internet and everything (seriously), and now between e-mail and Facebook, she's making me nuts! We're going to be just a few hours away from her home in a few weeks, and she knows it, but I really don't want to have to make a trip to see her. Is there any way I can back away from her gently? I feel bad, but I really don't feel "friendly" toward her anymore.

We've had bed risers on our bed for a few years, and we love the extra storage. However, we just got a new bed that has a foot board. It changes the way the bed skirt hangs, and now the risers show. I've looked for cherry risers to match the wood of the bed, but they're not as tall as the risers we have now. What is a tasteful way to hide the risers so we can keep them?

My baby is two and a half months old. He typically doesn't like to sleep much during the morning, and in the afternoon there's one feeding where he wakes up to eat and wants to go right back to sleep. It's not the same feeding every day, but it's typically the 1pm or the 4pm feeding. I let him sleep, but I feel like I'm letting him sleep so much in the afternoon! He still sleeps 6 or 7 hours at night, so I don't think it's hurting him, really. I read that he's supposed to take three 1.5 hour naps a day, but it's more like one 3 hour nap and one 1.5 hour nap. Is it normal for a baby to kind of develop irregular napping patterns like this?

Whenever I bake a bundt cake, it rounds on the top. Then when I flip it out, it looks kind of weird because the bottom is rounded. I can't really use Even Bake Cake Strips on a bundt pan, really, so is there a way to get it to bake a little "flatter?"

My husband and I always get a bottle of wine when we go on vacation---kind of our "souvenir." We've sometimes waited a year to drink it, and we've wondered if that's good or not. It's not like we get very expensive wine---maybe $30 a bottle, at most---so we've wondered if it "ages" like more expensive wines. We tend to get sweeter wines, like Riesling or blush, so I don't know if that makes a difference in how long it should be in the bottle. Thoughts?

We've had quite a few thunderstorms in the past week here in Indiana. I've noticed that my plants have a huge surge after a storm---buds appear where there were none before, flowers bloom when they weren't even close to opening. My husband says, "Oh, it's just the rain," but I remember hearing about the effects of electricity on plant growth. Is there any truth to that or any proof? Does the electricity in those storms cause my plants to boom? I really think it's more than just the rain---I want to prove my husband wrong!

I'm not feeling great about my OB/GYN. I had to have back surgery because I had a very serious ruptured disc, and I'm in my fourth month of pregnancy. My OB never once called to speak with me personally about it, even though I called the office several times. He also wouldn't speak to my neurosurgeon about it. I had the surgery, which relieved my pain and other symptoms, and when I went for my 14 week checkup the other day, my OB seemed miffed that I got the surgery. I don't really feel like he cares about me personally, but I'm nervous to switch OBs in the midst of my pregnancy. Plus I already paid his office for the delivery and all that, and I'm not sure I can get it back. What would you recommend?

I'm going to have a baby in November, and I've been looking over registry recommendations. My husband is really against getting a full-size stroller, since they take up a lot of room and are a "hassle" to carry around. He thinks we can just get by with an umbrella stroller, but I'm pretty sure those aren't safe for infants, who need more support. We'd probably get an umbrella stroller anyway because they'll be handy for when the baby's a little older, but what kind of stroller(s) do I really need to get?

We have a set of Pfaltzgraff stoneware dishes, and I chipped the bottom of one of the bowls the other day. We don't want to put it in the dishwasher and risk it soaking up water and cracking. Is there a way to seal the chipped area so it can be dishwasher safe again?

Because of medical reasons (a super bad back that can't withstand a long car ride), I can't attend a friend's wedding shower. What's the etiquette here? Do I still need to send a gift to act as a shower gift (which I wouldn't mind), or do I just wait and give a gift at the wedding? Seems that if I don't send one, she's missing out on an extra gift. Advice?

I'm learning to play bass guitar, and I'm having a difficult time figuring out which songs are going to be easy to start out with. Anyone have suggestions for some easy bass tabs? I like everything but really heavy metal (Metallica and such). Thanks!

I have some 6th graders who are reading on a 3-4th grade reading level, and I need to choose some group reading books for them. I would like to choose books that don't seem like "baby" books and that would keep the kids motivated, encouraged, and interested. Any suggestions?

I'm going to a New Year's ball and it's semi-formal, so I was thinking of wearing a tea length black cocktail dress. I'm not a "round" person, but I'm really self-conscious about my calves---I think they're too big, and I hate them! Do your eyes zoom to a girl's legs when she's wearing a skirt that length, or only a short (or inappropriate length!) skirt? My friend is wearing a full-length gown, but I also don't want to look like a prom leftover. What do you think?

I have a class of middle school students in an urban setting who are really giving me a hard time. When I ask them to correct their behavior (i.e., stop talking, go back to your seat, etc.), they say, "Why you gotta get a attitude with us?" I get a lot of backtalk or just straight up ignoring me. I've tried a card system, I've called their parents (they just act worse the next day for me "getting them in trouble"), I've written office referrals (and now they want to get suspended so even THEY don't have to deal with their class)---nothing seems to work. I feel like I can't get through a lesson without having to stop a million times, and they don't seem to care about getting in trouble. It's not just one or two---it's half the class. I've never worked with kids who are so disrespectful! Help me!