He did it!

You won't be seeing this anymore!

Parker has officially given up sucking his thumb! I am so proud of him - I know it was hard for him the first week or so, but he was really amazing and resisted its comfort. It's been about 2.5 weeks since he sucked his thumb, so I'm feeling pretty good that this is it. Of course, it wasn't like he just stopped on his own one day... we used the old "oh, you have a boo-boo on your sucking thumb that will need to be bandaged for approximately 10 days" routine. Same thing that got Brandon to quit. Parker got a tiny cut on his thumb, and I just knew that this was my chance. And it worked! Whohoo! I think he was also feeling motivated because the dentist told him he needed to stop, and I had been mentioning it a lot lately. But, do not be concerned that he is without any way to comfort himself in times of need... he still has his beloved fishy blanket, which is Aunt Kelly made for him before he was even born.

We also got our new TV today - yes! finally! The old one had just gotten so bad! It would turn itself off at least 5 times in a row before something clicked and it would start working. And then it would be good for a while and then, suddenly, the whole screen would turn red and click off again. Chad really wanted to move the old (and broken) one up to our bedroom, but did I mention that it's 250 pounds???!!! That is more than twice my bodyweight. I was able to help Chad move it from our family room to our living room, but there is no way I could get that sucker up the stairs. It was ridiculous. Who designs a TV that is 250 pounds?! Anyway, we never really watch TV in our bedroom anyway, and if we do, I certainly don't want to be fighting to get that clunker working.

We had a nice weekend. Yesterday, we went out to the park for the morning, even though it was only in the 30's. At least it was sunny! The boys rode their bikes and played on the playground with Chad, and I ran around the trails and perimeter of the park for 4 miles or so. Better than having to leave them and be at the gym. Although that's just what I did this morning - did a really fun spin class and then went to grocery store alone. I have to say that I actually prefer going to the grocery store with the kids - they are so fun there, asking questions and checking everything out. I love being able to talk to them while I shop. It's kind of lonesome all by myself, sob, sob. Although, it was a lot easier to keep track of what I needed by myself. And I didn't have to stand in front of the lobster tank for several minutes.

Yesterday, Chad went to help a friend of his hang drywall in his basement... he left around 12:30pm and was gone about six hours. I was kind of bummed to be home alone with the kids on the weekend - he even had the car, so we couldn't do much. But, as it turned out, we had a really nice afternoon. The kids did a great quiet time and then we played trains for a while and then played outside until dinner time. I think I sometimes catch myself thinking that they are still a handful like they were when they were younger, but it's actually very easy to be alone with them now.

One other thing to write about... I got rid of all the boys' old sippie cups this week - finally!! We got these new cups that have a button on the side the kids push to open up a little cap in the lid and then they can drink freely. Kind of like an adult's travel coffee mug. So, they still don't spill if they fall over, but the kids drink from them like a regular cup. They are the bomb. And they don't have any of those awful, annoying valves to take in and take out, take in and take out, every time you wash them. I hate those valves, can you tell??? Years of those things is my dishwasher was enough. Plus, now I gained two more slots for utensils in my dishwasher. Awesome. I did hang on to a few of the straw cups, in case of a pinch... but I hate putting those straw parts together, too! They are even worse than the valves.

Chad is getting the boys out of the bath now, so that's my cue to go help them get dressed.