Follow Up #1

It's about time to follow up on two old posts :

Back in March 2013 I wrote a post about how much my husband & I enjoyed listening to the audio book of Ender's Game.  Well, the movie is finally out and it's not going to let you down.  I must admit, I watched the entire movie completely fascinated with how they portrayed Ender's character.  He seemed more intelligent and stronger than ever, and they did a great job bringing the book to life.  I must admit when we listened to the book years ago I envisioned Atari Space Invaders, but with this was obviously way better. For any of you sci-fi fans out there, don't miss this movie!

And speaking of children, this brings us to the follow up of a post from last October.  Barbie Dream House has been one of my most viewed posts yet.  I wish I could say its because the post is so captivating, but most likely it's because of the title and when people search for info on the house, coincidentally my blog pops up.  Anyway, my grandma did me a favor, dug around in her vast collection of photos, and mailed me a pic from when I was kid and had my own Barbie house.  My daughter was thrilled to see I had one also, and it looked just like the pictures of the 70's Dream House we had found together online.  And just so you know, my 4yr old loves her Barbie house and I recommend one to all little girls who love playing dolls.  The only problem now is she is determined to collect all the dolls from the tv show, she is well on her way and even saved up for one and bought it herself.

Well, that's it for today, think my next follow up should be in a couple weeks and it will have to do with the Jazz Dance class I participated in and maybe I'll find a 2nd one to throw in also.

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Jazz Dance

Well, I've done something I never expected... I joined a jazz dance class.  For someone with no rhythm or grace this is a huge step.  Sure, when I was 3yrs old I took ballet, and somewhere in my 20's I participated in a solo salsa class with coworkers, but this, this is different.  Salsa I understood, besides tripping over myself or forgetting the steps, my body knew how to make the moves.  Even street dance or hip-hop would be understandable for me, I like rap, and since my teenage years I've found myself trying to copy the videos (I should be ashamed but I'm not).  But jazz dance, border line modern dance, what the hell have I done!  A small speck of a conversation has spiraled out of control and now four moms have signed up for the 30yr + dance class.  Fitness wise, moving around for 45 minutes is great.  Social wise, meeting these moms from my daughters new school only makes integrating into the school easier.  But confidence wise, wow, what a blow!  Flat out, I am really bad at jazz dance.  I'm used to exercise classes, water aerobics or pilates, but this is way out of my comfort zone.  Someone has to be the worst in the class, I guess.  My body build doesn't agree with the moves, and my lack of gracefulness is startling obvious.  When my friend said, oh it's 30 +, I guess I didn't take the class serious.  Turns out all of the women in their 40-50's have been dancing for over 20 yrs and all of us newbies in our 30's have 0 experience, and they're putting us to shame.  As I performed the chasse or jazz walk, I felt more like an elephant charging through the room.  I am a confident woman, but this is really bothering me.  I know it will make me stronger in the end, blah-blah-blah.  It also doesn't help that the other moms just seem to get it, the teacher even called one elegant.  Then there is me.  You hear all of these talks about body image, that a lot of women don't truly see themselves as they are...and well, I'm going through this.  Looking in the mirror during class I feel twice the size of everyone else, and my bulky frame doesn't resemble their slim physiques at all.  I keep reminding myself we're all different, and that I've only attended class twice.  I know I shouldn't snack at night, but I do, we only have one life, and it's understandable I have some extra weight.  I keep reminding myself, these women also have their insecurities and all I can do is keep trying.  I've signed up for 6 months, and if I haven't progressed by then I'll go back to my comfort zones.  I keep telling myself new experiences are good, and that stepping out of my comfort zone will only make me a better person.  But it's not helping yet.  It also doesn't help that I am competitive, and I'm failing as of yet.  I don't usually write these kind of posts, but it's really been playing on my mind.  I'll do my best to keep you updated over the next 6 months of classes, one thing is for sure though, I AM NOT A QUITTER!

Disappointed Parent

Multiple times this weekend I have found myself bringing up an event that just didn't sit right with me, and here I am telling you all about it.  I felt this past week a school and fellow parents let me down.  How you ask?  I was able to leave a school yard with two kids I didn't know and no one stopped me or even questioned my actions.

I guess I'll have to start from the beginning for you to understand (and I want to be clear on one thing, in no way do I blame my friends).  Some close friends of ours were hosting a birthday party for their son after school and I offered to help out, especially since my daughter was already attending the party.  Here in The Netherlands once a kid turns 5 yrs old they start hosting b-day parties just for kids, this means the parents of the birthday boy or girl get 5-10 kids handed over to them and they're responsible for their well being for 2-4 hrs.  To me that's not so unusual except in the fact half the time the parents aren't even asked to drop or pick the kids up, it's left up to the host.  Different culture, different ways, or maybe I'm just clueless to how elementary aged kid b-day parties work, since mine is still a toddler.  Our good friends said they could use help transporting the kids from the school to the playground where the party would be held.  I was happy to help, even though part me assumed I would end up with one of their kids and maybe a friend in my car.  Since I'm unfamiliar with the school I ended up parking around the corner from where the other party cars were parked.  So once all 9 kids were rounded up (I think I saw 3 parents hand their kids over) they were divided and sent to 3 different cars.  I ended up with two little boys who I had never seen before.  Trusting our friends, these kids followed me & my daughter to our car and hopped in.  Then they rode to the party 15 minutes away in another town with us, all the while telling me everything about their personal lives (they're 5-6yrs old). 

This event sent up so many red flags to me, maybe I'm over reacting but I am really disappointed in these kids parents, the school, and any onlooker at the school.  Why? 

An unfamiliar women at the school (my kid does not attend there) led 3 children off to her car and not one teacher or parent stopped to ask any questions!  They were purely handed over by their parent or teacher to a b-day party and never asked for any more details.

Am I overreacting?  All I can think about is my kids future and the many parties she'll be invited to, I would never want my kid to end up in a vehicle with someone I had never met, I would never just assume she would be o.k. and get dropped off at home hours later. 

I expressed this to our good friends and they agreed with me, they too were shocked at how blasé the parents were.  Our friends are good parents and very trustworthy, maybe that's why the kids were handed over so easily, but even so I am disappointed in the way parents handle their kids these days.  Just because something is considered the norm doesn't make it right.  I plan on attending b-day parties with my daughter until she's older, and even then I will be the one dropping her off and picking her up.  Again, am I blowing this out of proportion?

Sneakerz

Some friends of ours were visiting from Australia so this called for a night on the town.  And being that there is always something to do in Eindhoven, to our benefit there was a huge stage and dj's set up not far from where we live.  We enjoyed a few drinks at the bar many internationals seem to migrate to, the Irish pub.  Then we hit up our favorite steakhouse.  And after that we were off to find out just what the music echoing through the city center was all about.  Turned out it's called Sneakerz in de Stad.  It's a platform for international dj's to present their house music and even better, the event was free!  In my daily life you're not going to catch me playing techno around the house, but when you just want to jump around and have some fun on a night out, techno is perfect to get the crowd excited (at least here in The Netherlands).  At some point when I looked around the event I definitely thought... I'm getting old, all of these kids are in their early 20's...  why am I the only one wearing a fluorescent shirt standing in front by the stage...  don't loose your slip-on shoes because the ground is disgustingly sticky.  But overall, it was fun and worth popping by to join in the mayhem.