And kudos to Ryan for her awesome school prep! The balloon is perfect.

I've had that feeling hundreds of times now. When I drop off and pick up Pink P, I expect horrible news and never get it and then feel incredibly relieved. Eventually, it's made me feel sad that I don't have that same sense of relief with my ASD kid, but I'm trying to be grateful for what I've got! :)

My ASD son missed out on the poop joke fad, so we had awkward conversations at dinner where my 3 y.o. daughter has to explain to her 6 y.o. brother why they are so darn funny. (I wrote about it here: http://www.momintwocultures.com/2011/03/pink-princess-potty-mouth.html :) ).

This makes me feel better (only because it sounds like how things have been going at my house). If it were my story, I'd have to add: "Ren can't walk further than the back door and probably won't be able to until he has back surgery" and "I still have to prep and teach my classes while also sending job applications and doing phone interviews." Still haven't figured how why life has to suck so royally sometimes. Good luck! Here's to more sleep for you very soon!!!

If it makes you feel any better, we've been there...It gets a little easier as they get older.

Made another attempt at eating out yesterday. We aimed low--Subway--and almost made it to the end of the visit without catastrophe. Almost. http://www.momintwocultures.com/2011/04/things-we-dont-do-anymore.html

Oh my gosh, I LOL'd a couple of time on this one. (So glad I have my own office!) Of course he didn't flinch--there were signs! In my house, if the reason appears to have a coherent self-contained logic, no one questions anything. The bigger problem will be getting back down to one frog potty. This totally inspired me to write a blog about the Japanese obsession with poop. Alas, today is a dissertation day (see how well I am doing?), so it will have to wait!

We have similar TV issues at our house: http://www.momintwocultures.com/2011/02/to-tv-or-not-tv.html At least Kai would be cutting edge in Japan. T and J are very popular there. In fact, they are the mascots for my bank there. http://www.google.co.jp/imgres?q=%E4%BD%90%E8%B3%80+%E9%8A%80%E8%A1%8C&hl=ja&sa=X&biw=1366&bih=653&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=hsVon10VZ0_VAM:&imgrefurl=http://home.att.ne.jp/green/team-nao/bunguhtm/seel.htm&docid=bsgOPIwR6vQHEM&imgurl=http://home.att.ne.jp/green/team-nao/bunguhtm/jpeg/pen/sag-seel2.jpg&w=200&h=200&ei=KN3LTq_TE6nu0gGH05gL&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=385&sig=116644022497616835849&page=8&tbnh=160&tbnw=160&start=128&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:128&tx=102&ty=55 Pics #4 and #5 from the top. Also, just for kicks: http://www.minatame.co.jp/member/komoda/sekourei_sagaginkou.html This is my actual mountain village bank.

Lately, I've been thinking about what we do for our kids on a daily basis-- http://www.momintwocultures.com/2011/11/day-in-life.html . I hope Grandma and Grandpa can stay for a good long time!

My 3 y.o. was devastated when she learned that there would be no Barbies at the barbecue party. (Although technically, there would be barbies at an Australian one--still not the blonde-haired plastic bonanza she was envisioning, though). Language issues are the best! (http://www.momintwocultures.com/2011/10/conversations-we-have-at-our-house.html)

That's awesome! Seems like so many days at our house. I don't even want to think about what it will be like when #3 becomes mobile. One day, in the space of 90 seconds, the oldest lost a tooth (in a very bloody way on a separate floor) while the younger one disassembled the dining room table with a screw driver. You probably already saw these, but in case you didn't, they should make you feel a little better! http://www.momintwocultures.com/2011/08/before-6-am.html http://www.momintwocultures.com/2011/09/absolutely-awesome-red-letter-day.html

Sigh. I hate this time of year. Obtaining costumes can be tricky! http://www.momintwocultures.com/2011/09/halloween-is-coming-panic.html

I think social stories are a great idea. Unfortunately, I teach college literature and am writing a dissertation, so it is virtually impossible for me to write a simple story. I keep trying and failing, despite my cool new social story app! Somehow there have to be overarching themes and protagonists who are developed over the course of the narrative. Ugh. (I'm not kidding! I just copied and pasted your "red light" social story.)

It doesn't just seem to be a Southwest problem. Seems to be a culture of criticism against bf-ing moms. I had a little rant about this myself: http://www.momintwocultures.com/2011/07/cards-i-shouldnt-have-to-carry-really.html

We have the same kind of pressure-seeking behavior. Does Kai like to plow full force into other people (or walls)? This has been a hard habit to break--funny how friends at school don't like being plowed into by a classmate. Too bad Sky is so darn big, too!

Ha! I call mine Monkeyman, too...

This all sounds very familiar. Older son has PDD (recently diagnosed) and little sister is "normal" (except for the food allergies). Thanks for writing. I'm also attempting a newly-started blog(momintwocultures.com). It may be the only way through this sanely (then again, sanity may be a lost cause at this point).