Diagnosis-ma for Drew, and thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster for good pain meds in the meantime.

Dylan just asked to wear underwear at naptime for the first time. Hopefully this means progress and not just extra laundry.

Pix and ND - my goodness guys. I hope that today brings answers and results. Much love and ~~ma to you guys.

Jess, that is such excellent timing. Dylan's baby shower gift to you will be that you won't have to change diapers for two little beings!

Dylan's baby shower gift to you will be that you won't have to change diapers for two little beings!

He's been in underwear during the day for a while now, but we usually still do pullups for naps and bedtime.

Mainly I just want to stop buying the damn things. After three years in cloth, it's killing me how expensive the disposables are.

Crossing fingers for Drew, that sounds just awful. Good god.

Did you get pears?

Just noticed this. HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHHAAHAA.

"We'll talk inside."

I am sorry to break in here, but I have a drug interaction question-- is Steph around?

I am now. What's up?

Do you know if I can use Gold Bond powder at the same time as a prescription antifungal (econazole nitrite)? Now that I am no longer in pain, the itch is unbearable.

I truly feel sorry for them. You and your brother (and, I imagine, your sister) are a parent's DREAM. No joke.

This is my thought exactly.

It really is sad when people have everything and can't allow themselves to be happy.

So often, parents succeed in pressing their wills on their children and then have to find yet other things to be critical about. That well is bottomless, tragically.

Someone has to.

And I am more than happy to oblige! I may have actually been told this summer that I was the silliest person they have ever met. I’ll take that label! I'm also the Popsicle Monster, the Grandma Monster, the Tickle Monster, and the developer of a new playground game (at our school, anyways), "One, Two, Three, Blastoff!" Good times.

vw, that's very interesting about the kids and the failure to play. I'm so glad you have given the opportunity to play. It's so important, so enriching and revitalizing.

I know! I mean, I understand it’s Montessori, but they still need to play!

Val: thanks for teaching the kids to play! I have a lot of Indian students, too, but by the time they get to me, they know how to play (which is important in my classes and in life in general) and it's because of teachers like you.

I should clarify that it wasn’t only the Indian children that I needed to teach how to play. There were also a couple of Asian kiddos and one Caucasian that just didn’t know what to do. So, I modeled playing, and eventually they played along, and we had a great time. Kind of makes the job really fun. And seeing how far the kids come—socially and verbally—makes EVERYTHING worthwhile. There were a couple of kids that were like completely different kiddos at the end of the summer—happy, smiling, social, and connected to their peers. I am certain that will make the school year much easier for them this year.

Yay, vw on the board!

Don’t get too used to it! I’ll probably disappear as quickly as I appeared. Life is so much in the way of my Buffistas these days!