Maxum F

I have twin sons (they're four) and while they will reliably pee in the toilet, they won't poop there. We were slow to start potty training (they had speech therapy issues that were more pressing) so they've only been training for a month, but I'm wondering if there are ways to help encourage them.

Currently:

I take them to the potty once an hour.

I give them a piece of candy corn if they pee.

They get two pieces of candy corn if they go pee without me having to take them.

We have a package of caramels that are in sight, but they aren't allowed to have, and they've been informed those are for if they go poop.

I recently purchased a new ASUS computer that runs Windows 7 and installed Insignia speakers on it. The sound ran perfectly until I plugged in my Microsoft Lifechat headphone and speakers into the front ports.

Since then I've been getting dual-sound (everything seems to play twice, not entirely synced). Audio is via the VIA HD Audio Deck and I suspect that my issue is in the settings there, but I'm not certain what my settings should be.

I'll regularly get a 'tic' in my bicep, tricep, or thigh. Today, though, the spasm is in my right hand, causing my thumb and first finger to twitch.

I've been told before that these twitches are caused by anything from 'too much sugar' to 'a possible brain tumor' and I would like a clearer idea of what is going on.

So what causes these temporary, location shifting spasms?

I've got a small pot of Basil (four inch pot) on a sunny windowsill in my house. It gets watered every morning and every evening with a small amount of water (enough to prevent wilting), but it's never thrived like the other plants with it (rosemary, sage, oregano, and thyme).

The leaves are firm, not limp like they were really wilting, but the edges of the leaves are curling and getting bumpy, as though something were making the veins of the plant shorter and causing the leaves to have to crinkle to match it.

Any suggestions or ideas as to what might be causing this?

Yesterday my computer became infected with FakeAlrt, despite my having two virus/malware scanners running at the time.

I've attempted to remove it from SafeMode using MalwareBytes, AVG, and ComboFix.

MalwareBytes and AVG aren't catching it. Combofix can't run properly because safe mode doesn't let me access the internet.

Please help, as I would like to get this fixed as soon as possible.

I have twin sons that have decided they hate shoes/socks/clothing. The clothes I've taken to duct taping a single strip over the fasteners, which keeps those on, but I wouldn't feel right doing so with their shoes or socks.

When I take them out to visit family, or even to go shopping, I get constant comments about how cold their feet must be, and I've even overheard the occasional stranger accuse me of being a bad parent.

It isn't as though I don't want them to wear shoes and socks, or that I don't provide them. It's simply a matter that they take them off the minute we're in the car and then throw them down into the floorboards where they get mixed up with toys and board books. I've taken to just putting them in footie pajamas for shopping trips, and even that sometimes gets rude comments from strangers.

What can I do to help them learn to keep their socks and shoes on?

I have two highly intelligent boys, twenty-seven months old, who have a special language between the two of them that they speak almost exclusively.

We've had their hearing and intelligence tested on recommendations from the doctor due to the fact that they speak little to no English, but prefer their own language instead. All tests have shown them to be in perfect health and with no mental deficiencies.

My husband and I don't speak 'baby talk' to them, and never have. The closest we come is to increase the pitch of our voices, but the words have always been spoken clearly and correctly. We read books to them regularly, talk to them constantly, and limit their television watching.

Now that all of that is out of the way: How do I encourage them to speak English instead of their own language?

According to my mother (who watched my two sets of twin cousins grow up) it's just a fact of having twins, and they might be three or four before they start speaking English. It's obvious that they comprehend it, since asking them to 'give me that, please' or 'shut the door, please', etc will get them to do as asked, but they just won't say the words themselves.

I've had weight issues my entire life. I was chubby growing up, and was told by a doctor in my college years that I had an eating disorder (depressive eating). The only effect that my weight has ever had on my health is shortness of breath if I run, so I'm fairly healthy despite being overweight. When I got pregnant with twins (five years into a happy marriage) I was forced into seven months of bedrest. I had assumed that I would gain weight, but I lost fifty pounds during the pregnancy. However, I gained that all back due to post-partum depression eating, and more.

Now that my sons are older and can go out more often, I'm working on trying to lose weight, but my husband isn't helping at all.

I regularly forget to eat during the course of the day due to chasing the twins, and so once they get put to bed for the night I'm starving and eat probably more than I should for a single meal. Any time that my husband sees it though, he immediately gripes at me that 'doing that will make you fat', which means that I have taken to putting off eating until after he's gone to bed, so I'm eating even later at night. He also jokes about my weight constantly, calling me nasty names regarding it, and it's only making my depression worse, which causes me to eat less and less healthy foods when I do eat.

He's overweight as well, doesn't exercise, doesn't eat healthy (even if I cook a nice dinner, he'll pull out a microwave pizza to eat instead), and has severe health issues due to his weight (sleep apnea, acid reflux, ulcers).

How do I explain to him that if he really wants me to lose weight, then he needs to support me and clean up his act as well? Any time I try to discuss the topic he turns it around into a 'you're fat and I'm fine' thing.

I have twin sons, just over two years old, and last week one of them woke up screaming from what I assume was a night terror. I picked him up to check and see that he wasn't dirty or anything like that, and laid him back down, but the screaming continued and I ended up bringing him into the bed with me to sleep, so that his father could go back to bed.

Ever since that night he's woken up every night screaming, generally about the same time. Since my husband had work and couldn't afford to miss sleep, I've ended up having to take him into my bed every night until last night (my husband has breathing issues and so we have different beds) which means that I haven't gotten to sleep those nights.

Last night I tried the 'cry it out' method, which didn't work either. He was still screaming well over an hour later.

What can I do to bring sleep back into our household?

I have fifteen month old twin boys, and while sometimes they play very nicely with one another, more often than not they fight.

They fight over toys, they fight over books, and mostly, they fight over me!

If I try to hold them both on my lap they will shove one another and hit, trying to force the other off of my lap. They also will fight over any toy that they're given, even if I give them each an identical toy.

Any ideas on how to curb this kind of behavior?

I have fifteen month old twin sons, and while one is always wanting to adventure and explore, the other wants to sit on my lap or be held if I'm in sight.

He sits in my lap, and I try to keep it from being overly fun by only letting him have toys when he's not on my lap, but he would rather sit on my lap than play with toys.

Any idea why this is and what I can do about it?

I have twin sons that are nine months old, and they eat four meals a day made up of a mix of jarred baby food, rice or oatmeal cereal, and dried formula powder.

They're growing well and are in good health and gaining weight, but my husband thinks that they need to be eating foods like Cheerios, toast, and other foods.

His coworkers tell him constantly that they can eat 'normal' food now, and he wants them to, since it would mean being able to take them out with us to restraunts.

However, when I give them Cheerios or other things, they gag and start choking before they even swallow them. They also gag when chewing on toys or even sucking their thumbs.

Is it right for me to insist that they aren't ready and keep feeding them as I have been?

Is having such a strong gag reflex normal at their age?

How much should I expect to pay to replace the power steering 'pump' on a '94 Buick Century, as well as the pulley that leads from it to the belt of the alternator?

Sorry if I'm not using the right terms.

I'm currently 36 weeks pregnant with twins, who have been growing happily and healthily all along. The doctors have scheduled my C-Section date for 38 weeks, but I've been advised repeatedly that the boys will be here before then.

Any mothers of twins care to share their experiences with me as to how much longer I can expect to wait before labor starts?

I'm seven months pregnant with twins, and they're my first children ever. While we work hard to keep our house clean, and our pets are indoor only, we recently had to care for a dog belonging to a friend, and now our house is infested with fleas.

Is there a way for me to safely treat my animals and my home without risking harm to my twins?