Pushing our kids to grow up too fast.

I consider myself a pretty conservative mom. I was raised this way and I think it was good for us to not be exposed to too many things. This meant that when "I Touch Myself" came on the radio, my mom quickly turned the station. Looking back it was a good move on her part. That song came out in 1991 when I was 11. At the time I am sure I wanted to listen to it, but now as a mother I know that I was not old enough to be rocking out to that song. I did see Color Me Badd in concert the next year, but that's another story.

Brooke is exposed to many things that other kids her age are. Nick Jr., Disney Princesses, My Little Pony, etc. I don't let Brooke listen to too much radio other than country music or kid songs. Laurie Berkner is a favorite around our house. She only watches shows on Nick Jr. and isn't allowed to watch shows for older kids. Even if those shows are on a kid channel, I just don't push it. I figure if kids in the 3rd grade are watching it, my 4 year old probably shouldn't. This is how I choose to parent, but I don't think I am too off from other moms of 4 year olds.

Brooke is in tap and ballet this year. She loves it. She did ballet last year and had a ball! Her outfit (which cost me a small fortune) was straight out of TLC's Toddlers and Tiaras, but she LOVED it.



This year I guess I was expecting much of the same. I figured a cute little tutu type outfit for her tap routine. I knew their song was "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. Wouldn't have been my first choice but I guess it could be worse. I thought at four they would have done something cute vs. a song about going to a club but we can deal.

Last week we were all excited when the teacher announced at the end of class that we could come in and get the kids dressed in their costumes to see if they fit! I was handed a bag with a red and blue outfit in it. I thought it fit the "USA" theme they were going for. Then I opened it to find this:



I was immediately turned off. Some of the moms were quiet. Others loved it and were taking pics with their phone. I was somewhat distracted by Madeline crawling around the room and screaming at herself in the mirror. I got Brooke dressed, saw it fit, and got her out of it. The teachers wanted the jeans under the skirt, but none of the jeans fit so it was decided to just do the skirt.

Am I wrong here? My daughter is turning FOUR at the end of this week. Not fourteen. Do I want her dancing in this suggestive school girl outfit with a fake tattoo on the front? I am not savvy to the dance costume world, but I would think this outfit is for older girls. Maybe 9? Even then I would say its pushing it. Don't even get me started on the fake denim vest...

What is the need for this? My daughter is still young. Barely out of toddler hood and moving her way into her school years. She loves Princesses and thinks they are real and wants to grow up and live in a castle. She has no idea who Miley Cyrus is. Her idea of dressing scandalously is wearing hot pink tights instead of light pink tights under her leotard (which by the way she thinks is so great). That is her idea of fun and pretty.

I just don't see the rush or need to make little girls seem older than they are. I will have plenty of years of wardrobe battles and fighting over curfew. I don't need to have it any sooner.

Blind Crawling

Madeline loves to try and get dressed these days. Last week she decided to wear Brooke's jacket on her head and crawl around without being able to see. Why she thought this was fun is beyond me!

Meal Plans week of 3/27

Monday: Chili in the Crockpot w/ cornbread (never cooked last week)
Tuesday: Grilled Lemon Chicken with veggies and rice
Wednesday: Thai Pork Stew
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: Eating out for Brooke's Bday!
Saturday: Cheese tortellini with Garlic Bread and Salad

Destructive Chompers

Madeline has started to chew on her crib! GASP! Another thing her big sis never did. I asked my friend Kristine to make me some crib rail covers so she doesn't completely destroy the crib over the next two years. They turned out GREAT! They are so cute too!

Full view (her room is this small)


Close up of fabric. Love it!


Standing in the sleep sack! Hilarious!


And a pic of the destroyers...the bottom two teeth.



Check out Kristine's Esty shop. She makes awesome bibs, blankets, and more!
Sweet Little Threads

St. Patrick's Day Parade

On Saturday we went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Rockville Centre. The weather was nice and sunny so it was perfect parade weather! Brooke loved the Bag Pipe Bands and the Irish Step Dancers. Madeline loved the fire trucks and flashing lights. We stayed for about two hours and then left since the kids (and adults) needed to eat take naps.









this is the aftermath of the parade:

Meal Plans week of March 20th

As you will see, some weeks we skip meals if something comes up or we end up eating leftovers. I then just carry those meals to the following week to save some planning time!

Sunday: Grilled steak and veggies with Risotto Cakes
Monday: Grilled Cheese and tomato soup
Tuesday: Beef Stroganoff (Curtis' Birthday meal!)
Wednesday: Parmesan Sage Pork Chops
Thursday: Balsamic Glazed Chicken and Bell Pepper Sandwiches
Friday: Chili in the Crockpot with Corn Bread
Saturday: Leftovers

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Love the Galvin Girls!!!

Happy 11 Months Madeline!

Madeline is 11 months old! These monthly pictures are getting hard to take since she won't sit still for a minute.

Here is what is happening right now in her life:
She is averaging 6-8 steps independently and can get to standing from the ground by herself. She spends a lot of time standing now and taking a few steps here and there. We will see if she is fully walking by her 1st birthday or not!

She still just has two bottom teeth. Her top two are about to poke through though!

No more baby food for us! She refuses it. Her favorites are cheese, strawberries, and baby goldfish crackers.

Things she also eats:
Chicken nuggets
veggie burgers
green beans
peas
carrots
yogurt
milk
pasta
ravioli
mandarin oranges
peaches
pears
grapes in the mesh feeder
french toast and pancakes

She is getting much better with the sippy cup so hopefully we can be off bottles within the next month or so. She isn't throwing it as much so she actually drinks it!

Madeline LOVES her big sister. She particularly enjoys taking toys away from her and body slamming Brooke. She loves to push toys around the room and is very into imitating us. She pretends to feed babies food, feed us food, etc. She loves to try and brush her own hair and even tried to put on a sock! She is also very into books right now and can point to an object in a book when prompted. She's just growing up so fast!

No official words yet but I think I have heard her say "more" aka "NA" when eating. She can sign milk, eat, all done, and more. We are working on "bath" right now. She is also very effective by screaming or growling at things she wants.

Meal Plans week of March 13th

Sunday: Grilled Burgers with Corn on the cob and pasta salad (never made last week)
Monday: Cashew Chicken (never made last week)
Tuesday: Spaghetti with Chicken and Turkey Meatballs and salad
Wednesday: Parmesan and sage pork chops
Thursday: Shepherds Pie
Friday: Date Night
Saturday: Grilled steak with veggie kabobs

Standing Tall

Madeline is can now get into a standing position from sitting without using anything to help her! She tries to take steps but ends up just shuffling her feet around like an old man. Quite hilarious. My guess is she will be walking before her first birthday in 6 weeks, but we will see! She is super motivated to steal things from her sister :)

Hemangioma Update! 6 Months Post Op!

I can't believe it has already been 6 months since Madeline had her hemangioma removed! I must say I have zero regrets in having the surgery done. You can't even tell she ever had anything on the top of her head.

Hemangioma's are still dealt with mainly with the "wait and see" approach. Many are not aware that there are doctors who deal with these in terms of drug therapy, laser therapy, and surgery. We were very fortunate to know someone with a hemangioma that was currently being treated and they helped steer us in the right direction in terms of helping Madeline. Her friend Sarah from ballet class was born with a severe hemangioma covering a large portion of her face. She had been in treatment since she was an infant. Her mom, Kim, is the one who told us about Dr. Waner in NYC. Luckily we were moving to NY so meeting with him would be an easy task. We met with him in mid July and were told of our options. 1. Do nothing (not an option for her), 2. Drug therapy (also not the best option as her type of hemangioma did not do super well on drug therapy), or 3. Surgery.

Dr. Waner informed us that Madeline's hemangioma would probably not go away until she was well into grade school (around 9 years old). It could also cause saggy skin to be left behind and lack of hair growth. The decision for surgery was our best option. Although this decision is somewhat controversial with most doctors, waiting to see how much bigger it would get was not an option. It still had the chance to grow up to 50% more than it already was in size, and her hair was not going to cover it. Her hemangioma was removed when she was 4.5 months old on Sept. 8, 2010. We had a follow up appointment in November. They said her scar was healing well and they want us to come back in May to check it one more time as her hair grows in.

Here she is in preop:


Here she is after surgery (got her drainage tube out this day):


Here she is today! It healed beautifully and we could not be happier!





If you would like to check out Brooke's friend Sarah's hemangioma journey, click HERE. Her parents informing me a of Dr. Waner at the Vascular Birthmark Institute helped speed along our treatment process.

Big Girl Bike Shopping!

I took Brooke to Toys R Us to try out some bikes today! We are trying to decide what size to get her. She tried out a 12, 14, and 16 inch bike. This will be her birthday present this year so I need to get cracking on it! Sorry for the bad angles but that place is packed. There is no excuse for Brooke looking homeless though....

Here is the 12 inch. She could ride this well but her knees seemed to be close to the handles when she rode:




Here is the 16 inch. This seemed like a better fit and she was able to ride around on it pretty well:

Madeline Performs

The Sing Along Stage is a favorite in our house. Brooke loved it, and Madeline REALLY loves it. It's a shame they don't make it anymore! She hits the buttons and turns for me to start dancing, and recently she has started putting on her own shows. This video is just a small example of her performances during the day. I love how she kisses herself in the mirror too!

Meal Plans for the week of 3/6

Sunday: Macaroni and Cheese with Ham. Served with green beans and rolls.
Monday: Stuffed Peppers
Tuesday: Chicken and Cashews
Wednesday: Spaghetti with meat sauce. Served with salad and bread
Thursday: Slow Cooker Taco Soup
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Burgers on the grill with Tomato/Cucumber Pasta salad