Q: My husband and I recently had a baby (five months ago), and now I am looking to go back to work full time. I have looked in to the cost of care for our son, but the prices are outrageous. Meanwhile, my mother-in-law has offered to care for our son every day that I am working. While this seems like a perfect and inexpensive solution, I am not wild about how my mother-in-law handles my son. My husband and I have a very particular way we handle our son, and my mother-in-law doesn't always follow our directions when she watches him. I am afraid that without consistency he will be confused as he grows older about what is and is not right, what he can get away with, and he will waiver from t

Q: I am getting married in six months. I asked my three best friends and my sister to be in my wedding. Fortunately, I could make my sister my maid of honor so that I didn't have to deal with friend drama and jealousy. Unfortunately, I am still dealing with drama with my friends. One in particular has not been the ideal bridesmaid. She is extremely opinionated about everything I choose for my wedding, particularly the dresses, and, frankly, it is more of a headache to deal with her than I am interested in. She has been my friend forever, but I am two minutes away from telling her she can just come as a guest. What do I do? A: There is really only one course of action here. She can put up

Q: Let me preface this by saying I am not a catty or jealous girl. However, my husband has begun hanging out semi-regularly with a few of his female co-workers that have been his friends for several years (some before I was in the picture), and it makes me a little uncomfortable. First of all, he never invites me, which is odd, and secondly they are flirty and suggestive when they are around him, and I don't like it. Although some of them are single, a few are married, and I wonder how it makes their husbands feel! How do I let him know the situation makes me uncomfortable without seeming like I am just attacking his female friends? A: First of all, let me just say that this situation s

Q: I know everyone has this problem, but it doesn't seem like anyone has an answer: in-laws. My wife's parents are terrific people, but they always want to do things with us, invite us places, have dinners, come to our house, have us to their house and on and on and on. Sometimes it just gets to be too much. It is hard to say no because I feel like they are disappointed when we don't do things with them, plus it seems like my wife likes to be with them that often. How do I breech the topic of not seeing her parents so often? A: Mayday, mayday! Abort mission! Just kidding.Seriously though, this is going to be a sensitive topic if you are reading the situation correctly and your wife does

Q: My husband and I have been married for a little over two years. I have really enjoyed the time together, but now I am ready to have a baby. I have always wanted to be a mother and can't wait to hold my own little one in my arms. All of my friends are either pregnant or just had a baby. My husband isn't on the same page as me. He isn't ready and thinks we should still wait another year or two. How can I bring him around to my way of thinking? A: Having a baby is not the kind of decision you want to make alone. You and your husband need to be in 100 percent agreement before you even start trying to have a baby. There are a hundred things to consider, not the least of which are your jobs

Q: I am a single mother with a 5-year-old daughter. Her father has not been a part of our lives for many years. I have been on several dates, but it is hard to get past the first date when I feel the need to drop the "I have a kid" bomb on them before anything serious develops. It seems like there is no guy on earth who is willing to take on that kind of baggage, regardless of how well we hit it off. I am pretty frustrated, but at the same time I don't feel like keeping that from guys until later in the dating process is the right decision either. How do I get to the next step in dating without selling out my first priority, my daughter, in the process? A: You are absolutely right: Keep

Q: I have been married for 4 1/2 years. I love my husband very much. I wouldn't say we disagree on much except one very important topic: what I want to do with my life. I am just about to graduate from college with a degree in English and a minor in Journalism. When I started nearly six years ago, I thought I wanted to be a teacher or writer, but since then I have realized that my true passion is working with abused women. I volunteered at a shelter a year or so ago and realized that I could spend the rest of my life doing that. However, there is very little money to be made in it and we need a double income in our family to survive. My husband, although normally supportive, would really

Q: My boyfriend and I have been dating for almost four years. We have talked about getting married someday, but we both want to finish school first, which is a few years off. The first few years of our relationship were really great, simple and fun-loving, but it seems as life gets more complicated and demanding (or as we grow up) that things have become more strained between us. He has a pretty short temper and gets upset at me sometimes (for some pretty stupid things, in my opinion). He has never hit me or anything, but the things he says to me are hurtful. I want to get us help, but I don't even know how to bring the subject up. I am afraid if I suggest that he get help for his temper

Q: Do most couples, when they get into their more comfortable years, still do a lot of things together? I am still madly in love with my husband, but we never do anything together. I have my friends and hobbies, he has his friends and hobbies, and never the two shall meet. Is that normal? I kind of want to do things together, but I don't know what to do. Any suggestions? A: Never fear. You are normal. I know a lot of seasoned married couples who don't spend much of their downtime doing activities together. It doesn't mean you are growing apart, just that you have different tastes and likes and are comfortable enough with each other to be apart. That said, I think trying to find a few thin

Q: I feel so old-school even asking this, but do couples need to have the same religious beliefs anymore to make it work? My boyfriend and I don't really believe the same spiritually and I wonder if it will become an issue for us in the future. Does he need to convert to Catholicism before I can consider settling down with him? A: There is no right or wrong answer to this question, nor is there one answer that is going to work in every situation. Religion and spirituality means different things to every person, and how that effects your intimate relationships really depends on you. For instance, are you a weekly, daily or holiday Mass attendee? Do you go to confession? Do you pray the ro

Q: My boyfriend and I have been talking about marriage for at least a year now. We know we want to get married, and I feel like we are ready. Actually, I feel like we have been ready for months, and I thought he felt the same way, but still no ring. I am trying not to read into it, but I am starting to worry maybe he is having second thoughts about wanting to marry me. We used to talk more about getting married, but all that conversation seems to have stopped. So am I freaking out for no reason or do I have a boyfriend who is about to turn and flee? A: While I try to talk you off the ledge, consider this: Every guy wants to take his girlfriend by super surprise when he asks her to marry h

Q: I have a super tough decision to make. I am currently dating a girl that I would consider my best friend in the world. She is great. We have been dating for nearly four years. There isn't much wrong with our relationship except one thing: I am pretty sure we aren't actually in love with each other. So here comes the tough decision part. Do we break up because we can never see ourselves actually getting married, or do we stay together because we fear losing the single most important person in our life? I don't know what to do. I can't lose her, but I don't want to ruin our chances of actually finding someone we are in love with. A: Wow. Seriously, seriously hard question. Hard situation

Q: I have been reading a lot lately in the media and other places about the "seven-year itch" that they say married couples get. Some "experts" say you can't avoid it, some say it doesn't even take that long to feel it. My husband and I haven't been married seven years yet, but some days I feel like we are growing apart. I still love him, but at times I feel like we have less in common than we did when we got married. How can we avoid growing farther apart or splitting for good? A: Although I am sure you know this, let me remind you: Marriage is extremely hard work. Couples who believe love is just going to happen for them, and that it will get stronger over time simply by virtue of them

Q: I dated my ex-boyfriend for nearly three years, but we kind of mutually decided that we didn't have a future, so we parted ways. We have stayed in touch and have no hard feelings toward each other. We have gone out a few times with mutual friends and we always have a good time. Occasionally he'll call me if he wants to talk to an old friend. Anyway, I have started seeing someone new, who I really like, but he doesn't like the fact that I am friends with my ex. I want to stay friends with my ex, but I really like the guy I am with now. Is it wrong for me to want to stay friends with my ex? Or does my new boyfriend have a point? A: I see this situation a lot and I think the answer is alm

Over 200 people gathered Wednesday night]at the California State Capitol for a rally and march which marked the first anniversary of the passage of Proposition 8. The event, “A Day of Smiles, Tears and Action,” was led by Equality Action NOW, a grassroots civil rights organization, along with several supporting organizations. The event also followed relevant elections in Maine and Washington on Tuesday. In Washington, voters approved Referendum 71, keeping a law that expanded state benefits to same-sex domestic partners. In Maine, voters rejected a law passed by the state's legislature and signed by the governor that would have allowed same-sex marriages. Maine is now the 31st state to r

 The AP is reporting that a pair of college students have proposed a ballot measure that will replace the word "marriage" with the term "domestic partnership" in all state laws.   Secretary of State Debra Bowen said today that supporters can begin collecting the 700,000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot.  Domestic partnerships will retain all the rights of marriage, and all couples will be eligable for domestic partnership, regardless of sexual orientation.   Is this a good or bad idea?  Please express yourself.