Bye-bye fingers!

For the last couple of weeks, the boys fixation on their thumbsucking and finger-sucking has been driving us batty. So, we bit the bullet and bought thumb and finger-sucking guards. We started with them on Friday night and so far it's going surprisingly well.

Quinn has been a superstar and wears it almost 24/7, and he hasn't sucked his fingers since we started. Last night he slept through the night (he had been getting up in the middle of the night because he couldn't suck his fingers to go back to sleep), and he woke up with a SMILE! What a trooper.

Aidan is doing pretty well with it also, but he's having a bit of a harder time mostly because he is just so darned attached to his thumb, and he's worried about what his friends will think if they see him with the guard on. That being said, he did wear it to school on Monday and again today.

Fingers crossed that these drastic measures work because I just can't deal with the oral fixation any more!!

On a totally different note, my parents were in town yesterday so we took the kids and went to Greenview Aviaries. It was such a fantastic day. It was a bit windy, but the kids absolutely loved playing on the playground before we went into the zoo, and then they loved being able to see the animals up close. The wolf, baby chicks, and lemurs were a definite hit with them.

They also loved spending time with my parents, because this was the first time they really got to spend a fair bit of time with them. Now that my dad is retired, hopefully they'll be able to do things like this more often.

Here are some pictures from our day yesterday:

Tribute to my girl

There aren't enough words for my little girl....

Happy Anniversary and quote of the day

Happy Anniversary to Chris and I!! Yep, 9 years ago today (can you believe it's been NINE YEARS!!!?!?!) we tied the knot in wedded bliss. Or, as Chris likes to say - I tied the knot on his noose!!

Here is a picture of us on the big day:


I also have to add my quote of the day. It's taken from my friend Carolyn's paediatrician's office - too perfect!

"Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy."

Kids and sports

From the New York Times: Constructing a Teen Phenomenon, By MICHAEL SOKOLOVE Published: November 28, 2004 (an oldie but a goodie)

I think this article also speaks to the growing trend and problem of kids specializing in just one sport at such an early age. They don't develop other crucial muscles that are needed to help prevent injuries.

Here is what I think is the scariest part:

Left on their own, children are natural cross-trainers. They climb trees, wade in streams, play whatever sport is in season and make up their own games. The lure of the great indoors -- cable TV and the Internet -- has made them, in general, less fit. But what is recognized less is that the way youth sports are now organized has made even those who are dedicated participants less athletic than they should be. The culprit is early specialization: many young athletes can perform the mechanics of their own sport, but too often in a repetitive, almost metronomic way, and they lack many of the other elements of all-around athleticism. ''I see it all the time,'' Sullivan said. ''I look at some kids, and they look good with the bat in their hands. They're perfect. And then they go out on the field, and I say, My God, this kid is a horrible athlete. He can't run. He can't move. He's spent all his time in the batting cage. So many of these kids have played no other sport. They're one-trick ponies.''

I heard variations of this same lament, repeatedly, at IMG, which receives a steady stream of kids who have focused on a single sport just about from the cradle. They have missed out on what David Donatucci, director of the academy's International Performance Institute, calls ''important neural parts of athleticism.'' ''We've got tennis kids who can't hop, skip or jump,'' he said. ''We've got golfers who if you threw them a ball, they'd duck -- basketball players who can't swing a baseball bat. We've got some kids who are really good at their sports, but if you looked closer, you'd be surprised at how unathletic they really are.''

They are also more at risk for injury. ''We're seeing stress fractures, overuse injuries of all kinds,'' Jordan Metzl, medical director of the Sports Medicine Institute for Young Athletes at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, said. The day before we talked, an 11-year-old boy came into Metzl's office complaining of a sore arm after throwing 120 pitches in a game -- more than a typical starting pitcher throws in a big-league game. The boy had an injury to the growth plate, which had been ''pulled off the inside of the elbow.'' Metzl had also recently treated a 9-year-old girl for a pelvic stress fracture. She had been playing soccer six days a week, two to three hours a day.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day was fun! We went out to brunch (YUM!) and the boys decided that ties were in order. I got Quinn dressed and threw on a tie just for fun. Well of course Aidan took one look at his bro and decided that he wanted to wear a tie too. Unfortunately, I don't have any ties for Aidan so we broke into Chris' ties and found one for him (it was a miracle we found one considering Chris doesn't wear ties any more!). Then Aidan INSISTED that Chris wear a tie as well (much to Chris' chagrin!)

It was extra special this year because my parents were in town so I got to spend time with my Mom on the actual day! Brigitte and Mac came to brunch as well, so it was really nice to have time with both sets of parents / grandparents.

Some pics from the day:

Oh... my... cuteness!!

Cheeky little bugger.....

My parents sent me this, and I think it's hysterical - enjoy!

A stranger was seated next to a little girl on the airplane when the stranger turned to her and said, 'Let's talk. I've heard that flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.'

The little girl, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to the stranger, 'What would you like to talk about?'

'Oh, I don't know,' said the stranger. 'How about nuclear power?' and he smiles.

'OK, ' she said. 'That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first.

A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff - grass. Yet a deer excretes
little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps
of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?'

The stranger, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, 'Hmmm, I have no idea.'

To which the little girl replies, 'Do you really feel qualified to discuss
nuclear power when you don't know shit?'