For lounging in front of the laptop. Or even a run to the store for soda and smokes. Seriously!

I see students from the local nursing program at the corner store all the time. If they can wear that medical scrub top (and comfy pants) out and about - so can I. In this incredible summer heat, scrubs have to be more comfortable than even my jean shorts.

Don't get me wrong, I'd never throw on a lab coat or try to create a "doctor uniform." Although, if you haven't checked out the styles lately, you might be surprised at just how non-medical many lab coats look. I actually could see myself throwing one, just a simple white jacket, over a tank top and jeans for a lunch date or trip to the grocery store.

What I didn't expect to find was scrubs for kids. These are seriously cute and incredibly practical. With their easy-on tops and elastic-waist pants, how great they must be for busy parents.

For adults or kids, I imagine part of the attraction - beyond comfort - is that they wash and dry like a dream. Who needs to stand over an ironing board for hours every week? I own an iron, but that doesn't mean I routinely buy clothes that will ever get to meet it.

Eventually, we got really good at being just-the-four-of-us. Okay, maybe not really good - but, hey, nobody died and we're still together. But, starting in 2007, the kids started to disappear. First Frankie; then Michael. We were back to just-the-two-of-us and, although sad at first, we got good at it again.

Over the last 18 months or so, we've had one kid move in and out and in again. It really changes the dynamics - and floor space - when you add a third body (and personality) to the mix. He's been here for about 10 months now and we've adapted, as much as we're going to. Then, last night -- he left.

Granted, it's not a permanent move; he just went to spend the weekend with his older brother. But - Wow! It's quiet in here! And he's not even that noisy. If the room were bigger and you couldn't see him - constantly - out of the corner of your eye, you probably wouldn't even know he was here.

So how does the presence, or lack thereof, of one not-so-noisy person make the whole place seem different? I don't know, but I'll be glad when he gets home on Sunday. The silence is deafening!

Internet access is a privilege not a right for children, but with the new technology and free access to so much information it is also a good idea to have it right at hand. Since children are vulnerable to the whims of others it is also a good idea to make sure that you have control over what they are accessing via the satellite Internet West Virginia connection.

When we decided to install Wild Blue satellite Internet so that our daughter would be able to get the kind of information she needed for her school work we also installed some parental controls so that we would not have to worry so much about where she was going when browsing the net. With those controls we were also right there watching what she was doing by placing the computer in the family room where we could keep a close eye on her travels.

Prior to installing the Wild Blue wireless Internet to the computer we spent some time discussing what could happen while she was spending her time on the net. We cautioned her to be careful about what information she gave out about herself and where she lived. We also made sure that she knew she would give up her computer privileges if she disobeyed our instructions as to how she was allowed to use it. Over all it's been a good experience.

ADHD and pesticides, to start with, is not a new research topic. Studies have been done before, frequently focusing on the children of migrant farm workers who have a higher pesticide exposure risk. Correlations have been made between pre- and post-natal exposure to organophosphates, lower scores on the Bayley MDI¹, and higher incidence of PDD² diagnoses.

However, as other articles point out, this is the first study to look at "the effects of exposure in the population at large." It is, to date, the largest study of its kind - measuring the levels of pesticide byproducts in the urine of 1,139 children, aged 8 to 15. But, this is where I start having a small problem.

The samples were collected during the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted annually by the CDC on about 5,000 people in 15 counties across the United States. Only one sample was collected from these specific participants. One sample, upon which all subsequent conclusions were based, with no follow-up.

Briefly, the study found that children with higher levels of pesticide byproducts in their urine were more likely to be diagnosed with attention-deficit problems. It does not say that pesticide exposure causes ADDs. It also cannot, due to the lack of subsequent sampling, verify that the urine levels may fluctuate, may have been a one-time elevation, or that non-ADD-diagnosed children also experienced periodic higher levels.

Nonetheless, the connection does make sense to me. Organophosphates work by attacking the nervous system of pests. It is believed that they interfere with the function of acetylcholinesterase³, which controls acetylcholine⁴ levels and prevents excessive firing of neurons.

It can, therefore, be extrapolated that inhibited acetylcholinesterase / excess acetylecholine can be expected to negatively impact motor skills, learning, memory, and mood. Obviously, further extended studies are needed.

¹ - The Bayley Mental Development Index (MDI) is one-third of The Bayley Scales of Infant Development and "evaluates several types of abilities: sensory/perceptual acuities, discriminations, and response; acquisition of object constancy; memory learning and problem solving; vocalization and beginning of verbal communication; basis of abstract thinking; habituation; mental mapping; complex language; and mathematical concept formation." The other two scales measure motor skills and behavior. Together they are used to identify children who may be at risk for developmental delay.

² - NINDS (the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) defines Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs) as "a group of disorders characterized by delays in the development of socialization and communication skills." They include Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and Rett's Syndrome.

³ - Acetylcholinesterase, according to MedicineNet.com, is "an enzyme that breaks down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine at the synaptic cleft (the space between two nerve cells) so the next nerve impulse can be transmitted across the synaptic gap. Pesticides of the organophosphate and carbamate types act ... by inhibiting ... acetylcholinesterase."

⁴ - Chemistry Encyclopedia explains that Acetylecholine is a neurotransmitter involved in "skeletal muscle movement ... the regulation of smooth muscle and cardiac muscle ... learning, memory, and mood." For nerve signals to transfer from neuron to neuron or muscle cell, acetylecholine must diffuse; higher levels in neuromuscular junctions inhibits signal movement.

We have, however, heard the stories. Usually they involve high-profile court cases, jail time, public humilitation, and a ban from contact with minors. Then, there are employees in New York schools.

One such teacher/molester, Francisco Olivares (Google it; the stories are all over), was employed in Queens. He married and impregnated (NOT in that order) a 16-year-old that he had (according to some reports) molested at age 13 while she was his student in math class. (Many weird math analogies come to mind, but I will spare my readers.)

Over the next 14 years, he is accused of molesting three other students. In two of the cases, he was charged and, due to a technicality, his conviction overturned. He's not alone; there are dozens of similar reports in New York schools.

What really riled me up was that - wait for it! - he's still on the payroll, kept away from students and earning in excess of $94,000 a year! As one report put it - Olivares, now 60, is being paid (handsomely, in my book) for NOT molesting students! And he's only one of over 600!

Attempts to get rid of him were, apparently, against state laws and - yup! - union rules. The department of education is settling for having him (and his 600+ 'friends') away from students. Hmmmm!?

I don't molest minors, which may immediately disqualify me. But - for $94,000 a year - I could be persuaded to continue my, abnormal by NY schools' standards, non-molesting behavior.

The study, being given some exposure in the press, claims that parents, stressed out by their economic situation, are shaking the life out of their infants. "A team of researchers led by child-abuse expert Dr. Rachel Berger at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh reported a significant increase in cases of shaken-baby syndrome." according to Alice Park's article.

Is this an increase in SBS, or an increase in reporting? Are more parents losing their cool or are more CPS teams misdiagnosing the situation? The articles in the press seem to say parents are shaking their infants to death, out of stress.

The other school of thought is that CPS departments around the country, to whom questionable injuries are reported, are designating accidents as SBS, in order to justify their existence and continue their funding. Sites like kidjacked.com and fightcps.com claim that CPS departments are out of control. The truth probably falls somewhere in between - doesn't it always. Yet,

There is a story of a toddler who fell and hit her head on a table. Her mother took her to emergency and was reported to CPS. It took 2 years to have the case dismissed, according to the story, yet the parents were branded child-abusers and never got their kids back. Is this a true story, or one of those urban legend offerings, designed to fire up (my apologies) any idiot who'll jump on the band wagon?

It doesn't really matter what stories are true and what stories are fabricated. If nonsense is given front-page status, the wrong people will respond. And serious threats to our children will be buried in false truths.

Since I barely recall having or attending a baby shower, I was amused to find that there are still silly games and favors. Most seemed like fun. Some suggestions were more practical than others: creating scrapbook pages or redeemable coupons sounded like great activities. The creativity behind some of the ideas for couples showers that I ran across was actually inspiring.

Do most people still hold the shower before the baby's birth? or are they waiting? Waiting always made more sense to me. That way the baby doesn't spend the first six months of his/her life dressed in the somewhat limited range of non-gender-specific items on the market.

Although, frankly, the baby doesn't care. And Mom and Dad are going to be too bleary-eyed from lack of sleep to even notice what color sleeper they just pulled out of the dresser. So, maybe before-or-after isn't that important, after all.