Yesterday afternoon I sat in on a meeting while T. happily watched Dora's Halloween Adventure in the adjacent office (with ear buds on, no less). Someone in the meeting mentioned being "math challenged," and my mind instantly sprang to attention--not in a good way, but in an empathetic way. If there had been a soundtrack to my thoughts at that very instant, you would have heard the music from the Psycho shower scene playing in the background. More than one person at the meeting groaned and admitted to being "math challenged" as well, so at least I wasn't alone.

Have you noticed that as soon as your child sets foot in a school, whether it be a preschool or an elementary school, there's a definite increase in the amount of paper that is spontaneously generated--much of it stuffed in backpacks that are too big, or flapping out of large brown envelopes or colorful folders? We noticed this right away when L. started preschool a few years ago. All of a sudden we were dealing with stacks of paper: artwork, information sheets, calendars, inclement weather notices, party planning notices--you name it.