Dear Storm & Chris,

Help!  Halfway through dinner the other night, my wife announced that very soon our family is going to have an “unplugged week” where we don’t use any devices. 

So her idea is that everyone (there’s me and her and our 10 and 12 year old kids) will not use anything with a screen for one week.  Naturally, I balked.  No screens…?  No iphone, no macbook, no TV, no video games? I mean, I agree that it’s certainly a good idea for our kids but, I’m not so sure I can do it!

I told her we might be able to do it during one of the weeks I have off this summer.  She says she wants to do it next week, but she realizes I’ll need to use some electronics for work.  I’m no psychic, but I guarantee you if this unplugged week is planned for next week, there will be arguments between me an my wife. 

So I’m wondering if there’s anyone who’s actually been able to make this unplugged thing work.  Do you go 100% cold turkey for everyone?  Only use stuff for certain hours of the day for certain people?  I know in our house, my wife will SAY she’s okay with me using stuff for work but somehow my use of gear will wind up causing problems anyway.   How are we going to do this???

Plugged In

6.09.11.2.How Can We Get Our Family to Unplug

6.09.11.3.Unplugged Family Call

6.09.11.4.Another Unplugged Family Call

Dear Storm & Chris,

Every year, my husband, son and I go on vacation for a week after school gets out.  We usually make it a road trip.  This year, we were planning to go to North Carolina.  Our son is 17 years old and says he doesn’t want to go on vacation with us this year.  He says he’s old enough to stay home and take care of himself and he can watch all the movies he wants, play video games and eat junk food.  He’s graduating in June and says we should trust him to stay by himself.  I think we can trust our son, he’s a good kid, plus if he stays home, we won’t have to board our dogs because he can take care of them.  My husband says I’m out of my mind if I think we can leave a 17 year old by to his own devices for a week.  We’d like to hear from other parents and see if they have left their teens home alone when they leave town.  Did it work out okay?  Was it a disaster?  Some advice would be great.

Thanks!

Mark’s Mom & Dad

Tell us!  Can you leave a 17 year old home alone for a week?

5.11.11.1.Can You Leave a Teen Home Alone

5.11.11.2.Home Alone Calls

5.11.11.3.More Teen Home Alone Calls

Dear Storm & Chris,

My wife  asked me a few days ago what I was planning to do for my mom on Mother’s Day.  I mentioned that I would probably just send her one of those e-cards and she FREAKED OUT.  She says it’s lazy and if I really care about my mom I can do better.  I think it’s fine and she’s overreacting.  I never really make a big deal out of Mother’s Day and my wife usually gets her a card or something.  It’s a made up holiday anyway!  She says if we had kids and did that to her, she’d be mad.  What do you say?

Mama’s Boy

Tell us! Is an e-card okay for Mother’s Day?

5.6.11.1.Is an E-card OK for Mother’s Day

5.6.11.2.E-Card for Mother’s Day Calls

5.6.11.3.More E-Card for Mother’s Day Calls

Dear Storm & Chris,

Last week, my boss and I went to lunch to discuss a project we are working on together.  During the meal, he would occasionally sample something from my plate.  It was very casual, as if we were a couple sharing a meal together.  Then, he ordered a dessert for us to share!  Doesn’t this seem like something you would do if you were a couple?  Doesn’t it seem kind of intimate?  I’ve felt strange about it ever since and now I am wondering if he is kind of hitting on me?  Do you think he was flirting with me?  What do other people have to say about this?

Thanks!

CR

Tell us! Is her boss flirting with her?  What does it mean?

4.25.11.1.Is My Boss Hitting on Me

4.25.11.2.Boss Sharing Food Call

Dear Storm & Chris,

I work in a small office where we all have our own cubicles.  The woman who’s in the cube next to me is very fond of her perfume.  She wears a LOT of it.  And it STINKS!!  We don’t have a fragrance policy where I work, so she can wear whatever she wants.  She even resprays herswelf a couple times a day!  I taste that perfume all day long.  It’s nauseating.  I HATE the smell of it and I find myself getting angrier at her by the day.  I think she’s rude to soak herself in so much perfume, but I feel like I would be rude if I said something to her about it.  I’m not allergic to the fragrance, I just can’t stand the smell!  What am I supposed to do about this?

Sitting Next to Stinky

Tell us! Have you ever had a problem like this?  What should you do?

4.20.11.1.My Coworker Marinates in Her Perfume

4.20.11.2.Too Much Perfume Calls

4.20.11.3.Another Perfume Call

4.20.11.4.Last Perfume Calls

Carol adds:

I AM allergic to most perfume…it makes me choke and cough for days…my throat was radiated due to cancer many years ago, so I am sensitized to stuff like this….I try to politely tell people who are bathed in perfume that I can’t handle… it, and sometimes they try to accomodate me and others are either stupid, don’t believe it or they just plain don’t care about others and have said outright “I’M not going to stop wearing it!” I think it ought to legally be the same as smoking in closed buildings, outlawed! ditto for movie theaters,restaurants….

Dear Storm & Chris,

My boyfriend and I have been fighting for the last two weeks because of a joke he played on me for April Fool’s Day.  We have been dating for a year and a half.  On April 1st, he took me out for dinner to a nice restaurant.  After we ate, he got down on one knee, in the restaurant, opened a ring box with a ring in it and asked me to marry him.  I got hysterical right there.  I started crying and said yes, very loudly.  People in the restaurant started clapping and then he got up, yelled “April Fool’s!” and high-fived the waiter, who was apparently in on the joke.  I was so shocked I couldn’t believe it.  The ring was a cheap fake, the whole thing was a joke.  Then he told me he does love me, but he’s not ready for anything like marriage!   I’ve been furious with him ever since.  He says I should have known it was a joke because it was April 1st, but at the time, that didn’t occur to me.  My friends say I should dump him and that he’s just mean to do something like that.  We’ve been together for a long time and I don’t know if I should throw that away over one fight.  What do you think?

Annie

Tell us!  Should she dump him or can this relationship be saved?

4.14.11.2.Jerk Fake Proposes as April Fool’s Joke

4.14.11.3.Fake Proposal Calls

4.14.11.4.More Fake Proposal Calls

4.14.11.5.Still More Fake Proposal Calls

Dondi adds:

Hi Chris,

We need to give that boy a Scarlet Letter “J” for jerk and make him wear it. That way all women will see he’s a jerk and steer clear.

And Crys says:

That is not a joke, it is not funny. What will his next joke be? Letting her catch him with somebody else? “Oh baby, it was just a joke. She means nothing to me.”

Honey, be smart you deserve better.

DUMP HIM!!!!

Dear Storm & Chris,

My husband has a daughter from a previous marriage, who lives with us full time.  Her mom lives out of state.  My stepdaughter is about to graduate from high school in June, and her mom is going to fly in for it.  My husband has invited her to stay in our guest room!  They get along just fine, and he thinks it would be good for her to be close to her daughter.  I am not thrilled.  I’ve only met his ex one time, and although there is no animosity between us and we have spoken a million times on the phone over the years, I just think it would be very uncomfortable and awkward for everyone involved if she stayed at our house.  My husband says I am being too sensitive about this and that we’re all adults and should be fine for a couple of days for our daughter.  What do other spouses think of this? Anyone ever been in a similar situation?  I’d love to hear it and we’ll be listening!

Thanks!

Christine & Joel

4.06.11.2.Can Husband’s Ex-Wife Stay in Guest Room

4.06.11.3.Ex-Wife in Guest Room Calls

4.06.11.4.More Ex-Wife in Guest Room Calls

Dear Storm & Chris,

My husband Steve and I have been married almost two years, and recently Steve has stopped wearing his wedding ring.  He says he’s very happy in our marriage, and not interested in meeting other women. BUT, he says he doesn’t believe in the “archaic form of branding” to let the world know he’s married.  I’m angry!  I’m proud of my wedding ring and proud to be married.  Steve says he equates wearing his wedding ring to having a ring in his nose… to be led around by his wife!  Really?  This is how he feels about the one outward symbol to the world that he’s married?  What does that mean?  He says I’m making a big deal out of nothing, but it hurts my feelings and I think he should be happy to wear his ring. 

Steve’s Wife

Tell us! Is there something fishy here? Is it weird that Steve won’t wear his ring?

3.14.11.1.Husband Won’t Wear Wedding Ring

3.14.11.2.Husband Wedding Ring Calls

3.14.11.3.Another Husband Wedding Ring Call

Dear Storm & Chris,

My husband and I have a question for your listeners who have teenagers.  Our daughter is 16 years old and has been dating her boyfriend (who is also 16) for about a year now.  He and his family are going on vacation for Spring Break and have invited our daughter to go with them.  If it were one of her girlfriends and we knew the parents, obviously, we’d let her go.  We do know and trust her boyfriend’s parents, and they have promised to make sure the kids are chaperoned for the entire trip.  I trust our daughter and am willing to let her go.  But my husband says I was never a 16 year old boy and that we’d be nuts to let her take a trip with his family!  Are they any other parents of teens who have had a simialr issue?  Should we trust our daughter and let her go?  Or is it too risky to let teenagers take a trip like this?

Thanks!

Mom & Dad

Tell us!  Would you let your teenager take a trip with her boyfriend and his family?

3.08.11.1.Should Teen Couple Be Allowed to Go on Vacation Together

3.08.11.2.Teen Couple Vacation Calls

3.08.11.3.Another Teen Couple Vacation Call

3.08.11.4.More Teen Couple Vacation Calls

Dear Storm & Chris,

My husband and I have been bickering since Valentine’s Day over my birthday and Valentine’s!  We have been married for 12 years.  My birthday is two days after Valentine’s Day.  Usually he fails on Valentine’s and forgets or does something really lame.  This year, however, was the best year ever for Valentine’s.  A romantic dinner, flowers, candy, a beautiful card – I loved it!  But then, on my birthday, two days later, he FORGOT!  It’s not like we’re newlyweds.  It’s not like my birthday hasn’t been two days after Valentine’s Day forever.  And then, when I was upset that he forgot my birthday, he said he should get a pass because he did so well on Valentine’s Day!  I know I should be over this by now, but it keeps coming up and he won’t just ADMIT that I’m right to have hurt feelings!  Every time we talk about it, I get mad again!

Is he right?  Amd I being a big baby about this?  Or am I right to have hurt feelings that he forgot my birthday?  We’ll be listening to you guys and hope some other couples can weigh in on this.

Sincerely,

I’m With Stupid

Tell us!  Is she wrong to be upset that he forgot her birthday?  Is he an inconsiderate oaf?  What do you think?

3.07.11.1.Help – My Husband Forgot My Birthday

3.07.11.2.Forgotten Birthday Calls

3.07.11.3.More Forgotten Birthday Calls

3.07.11.4.Last Forgotten Birthday Calls

One wife had this to add:

My husband and I have been married for 23 years.
I am the type to put a lot of thought in to planning things for him, such as a full out Luau for his 50th Birthday, planning picnics or family gatherings for Father’s Day even saving for a  honeymoon cruise after 20 years.  Heck he hasn’t even had to put any thought into gifts for his own family for holidays since we met. One of the reasons I believe our marriage has lasted so long, is that I have have come to a realization that, just because I put forth all this effort, the only thing he plans are his hunting trips. We Love them for the multitude of little things and appreciate the big ones.

Not saying it doesn’t hurt, from time to time, but if you want a certain gift or him to do something, you have to come right out and tell him.  Sometimes I just leave him out of the loop completely and send myself flowers.If he hasn’t gotten it in twelve years, he’s not gonna, I think he did great for even knocking Valentine’s Day out of the park. He showed some initiative.

–
We Love them anyway