Princesses, Dance, and Stranger Danger

I hope I am not going to be a parent who lives vicariously through my children.  Frankly, I don't see that happening.  My life is pretty good right now and I have no desire to relive my younger years.  (As a side note, I remember a boss telling me how high school gives you the best years of your life.  I am not sure what her high school career was like, but I think that college was better than high school (and I enjoyed high school), grad school was better than college, and then having a job with real money was better than grad school.  I can't wait to see what retirement is like!)  So, the point is, I am happy in my adult life and don't quite understand people who seem to live through their children.  I feel qualified to voice an opinion on the subject, having viewed more than one episode of Toddlers and Tiaras.

But, I do have one big childhood regret. <cue sad music>... I never took dance lessons.  I was given the option once at the age of 11.  But, I was already too self-conscious and politely declined.  I can't even begin to imagine how my life would have been different if only I had said yes to "Intro to Jazz."   Recently, I asked Anna if she wanted to take dance lessons.  She, of course, immediately said yes. Jack wanted to go too, but since he can't manage to pull himself off the floor at Jump Bunch, I told him were going to wait until he was a little older.  He actually seemed to understand and has moved on to wanting to play t-ball.  Back to Anna, I told her that if she could independently follow all the directions at Jump Bunch, I would enroll her in dance.  She did, so I did.  It's only been 2 weeks, but so far she loves it.  She looks so cute in her little pink tutu and I am counting down the months until the big June recital.  We have already previewed the costumes--adorable!

On Saturday, the family went to Princesses on Ice.  We let Kara and Anna dress as princesses.  I told Jack he could wear his Buzz Lightyear costume, but Thomas pulled out a recently purchased (straight from Hawaii!) superhero shirt and he opted for that.  As another side note, my husband owns about 6 superhero t-shirts.  Jack now has 4.  Is this normal?  The show was good and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it.  It kept their attention the entire time and Jack is now asking when we can go see Larry Boy (from Veggie Tales) on Ice.  Unfortunately, there is no such show, but if there was, we would certainly take them.  After Disney on Ice, we went to Red Robin and then out to a big outlet mall in the area.  It was a long, but superfun day.  Thomas' favorite part was when Anna and Kara started dancing at the end.  I like seeing Kara smile and clap, even for the bad guys when the audience was supposed to boo.

Yesterday was playgroup.  On the way to the park, Anna asked what a stranger was.  We had a long conversation about strangers, acquaintances, and friends.  I kept it child-appropriate (I don't want to freak them out) and gave some examples:

Me: If some man at the park comes up to you and says, "my name is Ned, would you like me to push you on the swing," what should you say?

Them: Yes

Me:  Well, is Ned a stranger?

Them: No!

Me:  Ned is a stranger, we don't know anything about Ned.  He may be a nice man, but we don't know him.  Remember, a stranger is someone we don't know.  Even if they tell us their name, and offer to push us on the swings, they are still a stranger. 

What they heard:  blah, blah, swings, blah, blah

Fast forward two hours.  We are at the park.  Jack has mosied himself up to two women trying to enjoy lunch with their children.  I gently try to get him to go somewhere else and play.  He refuses.  Fast forward 20 minutes.  Jack is still there.  By now, these women know his name, his two sisters' names, and he is calling one of them (Cindy) by her name.  He also invited them to his birthday party (in 49 weeks I guess).  When I told them it was time to go and to say goodbye to his friends, he yelled "bye Cindy," forgetting our actual playgroup friends, whom he knows very well and sees on a regular basis.  I think it's genetic and I blame his grandfathers; neither my dad nor Thomas' has ever met a stranger. 

Finally, Thomas and I had a date night Friday.  We went to dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise and did the Ghost Walk at Summerseat.  It was a fantastic date night.  Anna begged us to go, saying she promised she wouldn't be scared.  Since she was scared when they dimmed the lights at Princesses on Ice, I know we made a wise call.