Reader's Digest Moment
 

Are you sure you're the same bilmore from the old boards? You're slipping.

Reader's Digest Moment
 

I've made a conscious decision to be nicer to children.

Oh, and, nice post.

;)

A Proud Dad Moment
 

On Saturday I was looking through a Sesame Street magazine with Sidd Jr., and we came to a picture with the characters playing various instruments. He recognizes a trumpet (I have one from days gone by), but he didn't know what the others were called. So I told him, then asked if he wanted to hear a saxophone (since that was one of the instrument).

Put on John Coltrane's "Giant Steps." And he immediately broke into a huge smile, lifted his arms, and started dancing. And said "I like this!"

Sigh. Nothing could make this old jazz fan happier.

A Not So Proud Parent Moment
 

At least you guys are having positive moments. After weeks of singing the praises of the Easter Bunny (as in be good or the Easter Bunny won't bring you any candy), we arrived at the mall for our picture with the Easter Bunny just as the Bunny was exclaming that it was "so f***ing hot in his costume." His handlers apologized and claimed that he didn't realize that anyone was behind him. Anon Junior who is at the repeat-everything-just-like-a-little-tape-recorder-even-if-you-don't-know-what-it-means stage immediately repeated this. We cannot get him to stop saying it - he told Grandma that the Easter Bunny was so f****ing hot. I think that we are going to have to resort to telling him that the Bunny isn't real that was just some foul-mouthed person in a bunny suit.

Ps. I'm not posting this under my usual user name because, of course, I've told the story at work - as in "stay away from the Easter Bunny at x mall."

A Proud Dad Moment
 

In light of L'il Ty's near-complete disinterest in music, these stories from you folks have been making me feel like a parenting failure, although I'm trying to convince myself that he's just wired differently (i.e., it's my genes, not my parenting skills).

Not So Proud Moment
 

We had a similar experience with Santa Clause. Fortunately Little Ritz was too little to understand or repeat what Santa said. You just have to keep in mind that these are generally seasonal, low paid workers who spend the day in a sweaty costume. We now try to go early in the day when they are in a better mood.

Music
 

I can't tell which is worse, piano practice with the little thread, or recorder with the bigger thread (string?). Recorder is painful to listen to, but then it's over.

Piano lingers on in the stupid scales and practice songs going through my head in the middle of the afternoon.

Not So Proud Moment
 

I think your kids should be known as the "Ritz Bitz".

A Proud Dad Moment
 

Ah yes. I had so many similar moments with both the Wonk Monster and Princess Wonk. Enjoy these days, Sidd. They will all to soon be replaced with obssessions with Linkin Park, Christina A., and other derivative crap and worse.

On the plus side, they will remember that there is good music, giving you hope that they will one day return from the Dark Side.

Greedy Greedy Greedy wrote "I think your kids should be known as the Ritz bitz."
 

I kind of like that.

Braces
 

My 8 year old was a thumb sucker and now has a stretched palate. Our dentist, who is also an orthodontist, wants to put her in braces in six months. She had her own kid in braces at age 9. This sounds awful early to me. Any thoughts?

Braces
 

We took 13-year-old in last week, after our dentist told us it was time. Ortho-guy (highly recommended from lots of sources) told us it was too early - that teeth were still going to move around a bit at this age (esp. since he just lost his last molar recently - adult teeth are smaller than kiddie teeth, so his mouth has more room to move around now). He suggested that we come back in a year. Said too early can be a waste, while too late is no problem except the braces might be on later in life.

Braces
 

I got braces just shy of my 10th birthday because my orthodontist had a kid starting college, or needed a new Benz, or something.

My teeth shifted after I got the braces off and the retainer didn't completely prevent it. I don't know if there were any advantages to having done it early (perhaps it's less traumatic?) other than not having braces in high school.

r(got the awkward physical stuff all over before 9th grade, but still working on that awkward social stuff;)p

Braces
 

I started wearing a headgear at 10, then had braces from 11-14. My teeth moved a little tiny bit on the bottom in the front after I had my bottom permanent retainer removed a few years after getting the braces off; I lost my upper retainer after only a few months and the doc had a wait-and-see attitude toward replacing it.

It does seem like kids are getting braces younger and younger, and for shorter periods of time. Maybe when they're younger, the teeth are easier to move without causing them trauma? One of my front teeth died recently, and our best theory is that it was a delayed reaction to how far it had to move during orthodontia (possibly as much as a quarter-inch--I had super-buck teeth).

tm

proud moments in parenting
 

So I'm changing a diaper the other night, and the wipe is one of the last ones in the plastic box, which means it's moister than most. It's making those of his regions which are usually diaper-covered moist, and to speed things along and not leave him wet, I blow some air on said regions. This prompts some giggles.

Fast-forward to last night, again changing diapers. My son spreads his legs and says, "Blow me, Daddy!"

Too funny, but we're going to have to put the kibosh on this right away. I really don't want to have to explain this to DFS.