Ashley D

My daughter (28 months old) was in the car the other day, and said "I hate myself". I said "What?!" and she said "When I'm lonely, I hate myself". My husband and I said "No! You love yourself! And mommy and daddy love you..." etc. Anyway, what do you think would make a two and a half year old say such a thing? She does know what the word "hate" means (unfortunately), and often says things like "I hate broccoli" (and, yes, I tell her that isn't a nice word and give her alternate suggestions of words to use). She also knows what the word lonely means (sometimes she says her dolls are lonely if they are upstairs while we are downstairs). Do you think she is just repeating something she heard somewhere, or do you think I should be concerned that she would say something like that?

A few weeks ago, my daughter (who is 2) was showing off her "special blanket" to her cousins, who are 4 and 7. The four year old replied with "I have more blankets than you do." Followed by the 7 year old who said "I have more blankets than both of you." I was pleased that my daughter responded with an enthusiastic "Yeah!", instead of getting in on the competition. Fast forward to the next weekend when we were going shopping, and I asked my daughter what she wanted to look for and she said "A new blanket". I didn't think much of it until we were in the car, and she said "Gracie [her slightly younger cousin, who is also 2] only has one blanket."

So, my sweet little daughter was trying to one-up her little cousin! My question is: is this something normal that kids do - compete with each other to always try to have the most or be the best? Or were my nieces just being bratty, and my daughter picked up on their behavior? Just curious as to what your experiences have been, and what I have to look forward to as my daughter gets older!

I manage a small hotel, and one of my employees had a burst pipe due to weather, so I allowed him to stay for a night at the hotel AND bring his dog (our hotel is pet-friendly). He brought the dog down to the front desk with him while he worked (overnight), and allowed the dog to roam the lobby freely. Luckily, nothing happened (it's a really friendly dog!), but I was wondering what my hotel's liability would have been, had the dog bitten a guest? Would the liability fall on the dog owner, or would the hotel be held responsible as well?

My sister isn't ready to tell my 6 year old niece that Santa isn't "real"... How should she handle the issue?

I didn't actually drop the turkey on the floor, but about half of the brine spilled out... Now part of the turkey is sticking out of the liquid... I was brining in vegetable stock, water, kosher salt, and some spices and stuff... Do you think I should add more water to cover the turkey? Should I also add more salt? Am I too clumsy for my own good??? HELP! Thanks.

We have a lot of puzzles, some with the big, chunky wooden handles... I have them on a shelf, but they always fall over, and the pieces fall out. Does anyone have any storage suggestions?

I work in a hotel, which is open 24/7, so naturally our computers are always on. I have read that it is actually good for the computers to keep them running (the monitors go in standby mode when not in use), but for how long? Should we be shutting them down, say, once a week to let them cool down? If so, how often, and for how long?

When you're parking your car in direct sunlight (like in my driveway!), how do you keep the plastic and metal pieces on your child's carseat from getting so hot? Is throwing a blanket or towel over it enough, or is there another trick I haven't thought of yet?

Ok, my daughter is 15 months old, and I am still 20 pounds heavier than I was before she was born... I work full-time, and I can't seem to find the time to exercise! I would like to work off some of this weight (especially now that summer is here!), but I don't want to waste what little time I DO have with my daughter on exercise... She goes to bed around 8:00, and I spend the rest of the evening cleaning up, doing laundry, etc. We do take walks in the evenings around the neighborhood when the weather is nice, but I need something more...

I'm just wondering if I'm in the minority here, and if so, what does everyone else do for exercise?

I am filling out a performance appraisal for one of my employees, and I want to tell her that sometimes customers see her as being rude or gruff, but I don't want to offend her (because she doesn't mean to be this way, and I'm not sure she's aware that she's perceived this way)... Any suggestions of some delicate wording I could use?

I am filling out a performance appraisal for one of my employees, and I want to tell her that sometimes the customers see her as being rude or gruff, but I don't want to offend her (because she doesn't mean to be this way, and I'm not sure she's aware that she's perceived this way)... Any suggestions of some delicate wording I could use?

Ok, so my husband has had his cousin (who is 7 years younger than us) over at our house for two days, constantly playing video games... He does occasionally take a break to have dinner with us (his cousin included), and to help out with things like giving our daughter a bath, but it is driving me insane. Does anyone else think that it's completely insensitive for a grown man (he's 29) to have a friend over at our house for 2 days straight, dominating our living room? Our daughter's birthday is on Saturday, and I've been making all of the arrangements myself. It's like he's a 19 year old bachelor again. I have expressed my concerns before, and it's like it falls on deaf ears. I don't have a problem with his cousin coming over, I just think he could stay for a few hours, and then GO HOME! Am I over-reacting? What would you do in my situation?

So, I have a habit of keeping birthday cards that people send to me, but they always just end up sitting in a drawer somewhere and taking up space... It just feels not nice to throw them away when people put so much thought into getting them for me. With my daughter's first birthday coming up, I am looking for something creative to do with all of the cards she receives so they don't end up collecting dust. Any ideas?

This weekend, our very large dog (80+ pound German Shepherd mix) got really excited chasing our daughter, and jumped up on her back, knocking her down face first onto the kitchen floor. She definitely hit her mouth, and we are concerned that one of her teeth may have been damaged - has anyone else had experience with damaged teeth in an infant/toddler? It bled initially, and we couldn't tell whether the blood was coming from around the tooth or from her lip (her lip was definitely bleeding, but couldn't tell if the tooth was, too). It looks fine now, and she doesn't seem to be experiencing any discomfort - for anyone who has had experiences, was the child in pain afterward? What should I be looking for? We don't have dental insurance on her yet (honestly didn't think we'd need it until she was a bit older!), so I'm just asking for any input from people who have had similar problems, and anyone who cares to give some advice. Thanks!

Also, please note: This question is not intended to start a debate as to what we should do to the dog - I am just looking for information on teeth!

I meant to give a thumbs up, and I accidentally clicked on the thumbs down (sorry, Sushibug, if you're reading this). Anyone else ever get "click-happy" and click on the wrong thing?

Speaking of clicking on the wrong things, I was looking for something at Dick's Sporting Goods online, and I can assure you that their website is NOT *****.com. Whoops. Lesson learned.

I know this isn't a baby question, but I feel comfortable in this section, and I value your opinions! I am the manager of a small hotel, and one of my housekeepers makes lunch for all of the employees at least once a week (which is SUPER nice!)... However, I have a weird phobia of eating things from houses that I've never been in before... It's nothing personal - she's a super nice lady, and I'm sure her house is clean (she's a housekeeper by trade, for cryin' out loud!), but I just can't do it. What can I say to politely refuse without hurting her feelings? She empties my trash, so I have a hard time throwing stuff in there... And, I've told her I'm on a diet ("You don't need to be on a diet - here - eat!"), I'll just have a taste (then she brings me an entire plateful anyway!)... What to do?

Ok, so we are planning just a little party for our daughter's first birthday next month with just family (grandparents, a few aunts and uncles and cousins). Here is my question: Other than eating and opening gifts, what does everyone DO? Obviously, our daughter is too young for party games... Is eating and opening gifts enough? I mean, will everyone enjoy just hanging out and talking? I am just envisioning everyone standing around waiting for... something... What have your experiences been with first birthdays? Anyone have any suggestions?

This is probably a stupid question, but when do (or did!) you stop using the baby spoons with the rubber tip? I understand they are coated in rubber to be easier on the baby's gums (and I like that they're not too deep so they hold a good amount of food), but my baby has 8 teeth now, and the spoon doesn't touch her gums. We have a really cute set of infant silverware (no rubber tips!) that was given as a baby shower gift, and she uses those just fine... I was just curious as to when others stopped using the rubber spoons altogether. Thanks!

My husband and our daughter and I did a little shopping today, and I noticed that ALL of the baby clothing stores we went into today had NO ROOM to maneuver a stroller (with the exception of Gymboree - thank you!). I was just really annoyed about it, and was wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences?

I have a 7 1/2 month old, and I was looking for recipes using pumpkin that she could eat (and it wouldn't hurt if it might be something my husband and I could enjoy, too!). Any suggestions would be appreciated!