Thanks to a cupcake and a yoga class, things are going much better today than yesterday, thanks for asking. I really do think that part of the problem was that I missed out on two yoga classes last week, thanks to a sick kid on Wednesday and a sick husband on Saturday. I�ve worked up to a three class a week habit and I�m finding it hard to break, so much so, that I found myself on yogafinder.com looking for classes in Pittsburgh for next weekend.

Of course, I�ll be spending three nights in a four-star hotel all by myself. That might be all the relaxation I need, even give the double presentation duty. Speaking of which, I got an email from the chair of the session of paper number two. I�d originally been told to plan a 30 minute presentation � the norm for my field is 20 at most conferences, so this was a somewhat bigger presentation than I�d done before. Yesterday�s email informed me that the presentation was to be 15 minutes long. Now if I�d actually finished writing the thing, I�d probably be pissed. But as it happens, it will be much better as a 15 minute deal. Plus, now I don�t have to write � I have to edit. Which means cutting out all of the jokes that were probably going to fall flat anyhow. But really, what were they thinking by cutting the time in half one week before the conference? If that had happened to the other paper, the one I�ve already finished, I would be having a heart attack.

Today was a big day for AJ and I. I had the privilege of chaperoning his class on its first ever field trip � 27 kindergartners, two teachers (his regular teacher and the ESL teacher) and me. We took a school bus � a first for many of the kids, including AJ � to a nearby orthodontist�s week where we learned about tooth care. The kids were already beyond excited just about being on the bus and were announcing every landmark we drove by: �There�s a movie theater! There�s an airplane! Look! The jet trails made an X!!� There are not enough exclamation points in the world for a busload of kindergartners on their first field trip.

The office was impressive and the presentation even more so. They clearly get a lot of school groups. They kids filed in past a fountain and up a curving staircase to the office where they were told to �make a mountain with their coats,� which they did with great enthusiasm. The hygienist giving the tour, whose name was, quite ironically, �Candy,� asked for volunteers to play the parts of different people who work in a dentist�s office. AJ got picked to be the dentist. He put on a white coat, a face mask, a pair of safety glasses and a pair of rubber gloves, which made it hard for him to hold onto the angled mirror he was supposed to show. I helped a girl into a coat so she could play the dental assistant and then helped a tall boy into a flowery coat that was far too small for him so he could be the receptionist. I tried not to think about the gender stereotyping implied.

They walked over to a computer station at the front desk. Candy asked the children if they could think of some things you used a computer for. Every hand went up. �Playing games!� said one boy. �To do your homework,� said another boy who has a lot of older siblings. She called on AJ next, �To do research!� Poor kid, he�s doomed living in this house of research. We�re all about the research.

The kids were given nametags shaped like teeth and plastic bags. As the tour proceeded around the office, at each stop the kids got to �trick-or-treat.� Their bags filled with pencils with pictures of teeth, stickers of teeth, toothbrushes, dental floss, and finally, a package of animal crackers. They got to look at X-rays and ride in the dentist�s chair. They got to duck under their plastic bags as the two hygienists running the tour demonstrated the water squirters by having a water gun fight over their heads. They looked at models of teeth and had their mouths measured. It was great fun for all. As we were lining up to go, one of the girls tugged my sleeve. �AJ�s mom, I�m having the best day ever!�

After school, AJ and I set up his science fair project against a wall in a corner of the school cafeteria. Tomorrow parent volunteers will move it to a table for us. The classes will walk through the science expo to see all the projects during school and at night we�ll all go and see what there is to see. I�ll be sure to take plenty of pictures.

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