Photos of our Dancing Ada…Sweet Adelyne!

Posted in Adventure, Celebrations, Uncategorized by Urban Baes LLC

Here is our Sweet Adelyne!

xoxo from here to there,
b

The above photos are of the dance that Adelyne and 3 others performed while 2 of the students sang the song. Adelyne was so excited—but she couldn’t believe that she had to dance with a BOY! Ah the fun of being a kid.

This dance was choreographed by Adelyne and her friends. They were so excited to create a dance and perform their very own creation for the grandparents. They did a FANTASTIC job and looked as cute as could be in the process (these are also Adelyne’s best friends at school).

Here the headmaster of the school is welcoming the grandparents of the 1 and 3 grade classes to the presentation (It was the 1st and 3rd grade classes that performed).

The students that were not in the dances were in the play Little Red Riding Hood (especially fitting since there is a grandma in the play, right?). They were phenomenal and OH SO CUTE!

Guess who was the biggest fan of the entire show? JOSEPHINE! She watched almost the entire play and the dances and all of the songs like this:

Anyhow—hope you enjoyed the photos. If you didn’t have a chance to watch the YouTube videos of the dances, I hope that you’ll click on the link and go right to them. They are as cute as can be.

(Of course, my camerawork is a bit shaky considering I am also monitoring a very mobile 1 year old at the same time)

The dancing ballerinas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv5gdDUUzMo

The dancing gals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygYbewb2BoY

20Jan2015

The Return of GoGo Baby and her Momma…

Posted in Adventure, America, Attitude, Babies, Celebrations, Children, Family, Poland, Uncategorized by Urban Baes LLC

Last year I shared a photo when my husband returned after a month of travels to Africa. It was of my daughter and son—and my son simply laid his head on my husband’s lap, in awe of his daddy and his closeness and presence.

Sometimes as the mom, since we are typically the “No” parent, we wonder how our presence is felt when we are not there or what our homecoming would be like.

After all, Daddy is always “So Much Fun!” and the “Tickle Fight King!” And the list goes on…

Me, as Mommy—Well, I am the do your homework, clean your room, brush your teeth—EXCUSE ME?! lady.

Yet. Just yet…They must have missed me quite a bit these past two weeks when I went to America to help my mommy out (she broke her shoulder and had emergency surgery) because I got a glorious homecoming from the one that made me a momma and the other that fought with his entire being to live (and live he did thanks to the Grace of God and your prayers around the world)…

And Daddy got his baby back. His final baby. She was tired and in shock. And just as cuddly as could be. She is her daddy’s girl—although in the photo, you may wonder 😉 Chalk it up to jet travels. The two days we have been home since, she has trailed after him in the home continually shouting, “Dadda! Dadda! Dadda!” and then just stares and smiles at him until he responds.

All in all, my journey finally brought me home to my babies and my Richie…And Josephine and I couldn’t be happier. Because together, as 5, we are complete.

Xo for now from here to there. My next cultural blog post will be…
Europe! It makes it easy for you to get fat.

So stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy our glorious reunion…

Waiting for Momma…

But GoGo Baby came first!

After I gathered all the luggage, I finally arrived.

And I was in heaven with my hugs and cuddles.

Rich and I still have yet to take a photo. It’s probably because we are now in survival mode with jet lag taking over the warped bodies and minds of Brooke and Josephine. But we get to go to Kalisz on Thursday for the celebration dinner from our Christmas in the Square (raising money for children with cancer) event. Perhaps then we’ll snap a childless shot together. And, maybe-just maybe, I won’t fall asleep at the event. We will have to wait and see.

Ciao for now (or Pa in Polish).

As always. We love you…

B and R

12Jan2015

I broke my bra. The saga of nursing in America!

Posted in Airplanes, America, Babies, Breastfeeding, Europe, Nursing, Uncategorized by Urban Baes LLC

About 200 eyes fixated on me. The tired and weary, haggard world traveler that had been toting my 11-month-old halfway across the world all day. We were two airplanes down, 2 continents nearly flown completely over. More time zones than I know. And one Atlantic Ocean safely crossed.

I was tired. Baby was tired. And we had time before our last flight. That’s when it hit me! My epiphany! Pure brilliance.

Problem. I was now in America and America makes it REALLY hard for me to be brilliant.

So this is how the story goes…

I have 3 children. THREE! And I have raised most of them in Poland. Land of the free. Free to nurse, that is.

I am not a hootie-hider, cover myself, hide in the bathroom stall, nursing momma. I am a very European, baby needs to eat, nurse your child while you continue to have conversation and sip your latte, type of woman.

To be honest—I drive my lovely American girlfriends batty. They all offer me hootie-hiding contraptions all of the time.

No.Thank.You, my lovely friends.

On my way to America, I nursed my baby on flight number one while seated next to a MBA student from Mexico. No problem. And then she slept. The entire plane’s passengers, if they weren’t in such a hurry to hustle to their connecting flights, would probably have liked to thank me for it.

Plane number 2. The big one. The nearly 11-hour-flight one. Swedish University Student to my left, Polish business couple to my right. Me. Smack in the middle. Nursed my baby multiple times while carrying on conversations. Bam! Super happy baby. All 11 hours. Super happy passengers all around me.

Plane number 3. Take off and landing on American soil. Uh-oh! I already could sense the trouble. Americans LOVE organic. Must pay super duper lots of money for healthy produce, healthy meat, healthy diet regimens, and healthy air filters, and healthy…Okay. You get the idea.

But, heaven forbid, a woman nurse her child in public. And then America is out for UNHEALTHY, UNSANITARY, UNCOMFORTABLE…No baby boobies in public, please!

But do you think that stops me?! Well…As I glanced around at the 100 plus uncomfortable looking people, I thought to myself, I will be uber kind today and nurse before the airplane. THAT WAY…That way, baby will be fed, happy, and sleep the entire flight from Colorado to Arizona. Baby wins. Uber sensitive American traveling passengers win. All around, everyone wins.

But, you see…America has the problem with fixation and sensationalizing everything.

The minute that I sat down to discreetly nurse (not using a hootie hider but still able to usually nurse very politely), it seemed as if the news media brought out cameras and everyone—old, young, male, female…EVERYONE could only focus on me—the nursing mom. My baby. Oh heavens, you soon-to-be-travelers. You woke the sleeping giant!

As all eyes were on me. Literally. Stopping. Staring. Focusing on my plight and struggle. As all eyes were on me, my baby grew more and more agitated. And the more I tried to politely nurse, the more and more people stopped, turned, and stared.

Not wanting to become the National Headliner that a lot of nursing moms become, I tried to be even more careful—by this time, baby is tired (in her time, it was nearly 3am), I have completely covered myself up, and now the entire room of waiting passengers can’t seem to do anything but stare at my chest, my screaming baby, and the fact that I am TRYING to discreetly nurse. Seriously? Doesn’t everyone have smart phones nowadays? Can’t they get on them and find SOMETHING else to do? Anything? Nope? Nothing???

And that’s when it happened. Baby was tired of American etiquette and went all Hulk-like on momma!

Josephine, apparently, did not care if mommy was about to make national news by offending fellow travelers and nursing in public. My 11-month-old was like, “Oh yeah, take that!” And pop! There you have it. She broke my bra and finished nursing.

Yep. My bra broke. The saga of nursing in America. And there is a moral to this story.

Here it is:

If you are uncomfortable when a mommy is trying to nurse her baby, perhaps turn a different direction and go about your own business. Otherwise, baby will make sure you are SUPER uncomfortable later .

And like Kenny Rogers sings, “You’ve got to know when to hold em; know when to fold em; know when to walk away; know when to RUN…” because this nursing momma ain’t going nowhere!

9Jan2015

American Ninja Warrior—Love that show!

Posted in Adventure, American Ninja Warrior by Urban Baes LLC

Okay, seriously. I have absolutely no idea how long American Ninja Warrior has been around. BUT I did discover it this past summer when my kids and I were staying at my sister’s house while my husband was working in Poland.

And not only did I see it—I quickly got. What’s that word? Oh, yeah. ADDICTED to it.

It was so fun and suspenseful and JUST PLAIN exciting to watch.

It was as if I was the mom of the competitors. I nearly bit my nails watching them attempt or complete their runs.

I think there were even a few times that I actually jumped out of my seat or yelled out loud.

It, IT being American Ninja Warrior, is seriously one of the best shows I have ever seen on TV—reality or non-reality TV.

After that introduction, I now encourage you to see my childhood friend and his audition tape for the show.

First of all, you should know that he is practically one of the nicest guys you would ever meet. And his wife is simply stunning. And their children are as cute as can be. In fact, when we were both newlyweds, we lived in the same apartment complex—and then later our daughters were in the same grade at the same school.

It is a fun world sometimes, that is for sure!

With all of that said—his tape is awesome—and it would be awesome to sit on the side of my couch watching him compete for American Ninja Warrior.

Now I encourage you—sit back, watch his audition tape, and let’s just hope that he gets chosen. Then we all can cheer Chad on as he competes for American Ninja Warrior.

That would be super fun.

I am pretty sure that you would agree.

***

Here’s the link: American Ninja Warrior_Chad Brower

14Apr2014

Get ready, Get set, Get the EGGS!

Posted in Adventure, Easter, Europe, Expat, Uncategorized by Urban Baes LLC

My daughter has grown up in Poland. And, in Poland, we hunt Easter eggs like this:

There are 12 eggs and 4 kids hunting. You each can find 3 eggs. Bring them to me, dump the contents into your basket, I will refill them and rehide them. Get ready. Get set. Go!

And the 4 kids run and hunt and find and dump and close their eyes so that we can do it all over again. We have a blast and enjoy every moment.

Problem.

We came back to the States. There were a million eggs. And a million kids hunting them. And they didn’t stop at 4. Or 40. And hunting? They were professionals. Like the Daniel Boones of Easter Egg Hunts!

Then there was my daughter.

Wee. Happily skipping. Slowly moving. Lightly looking.

And there we sat…Or stood…Or sweated…

Look for the eggs, Adelyne! Get going! There’s one right above your head! Don’t you see it? There’s another below your foot! Yikes! They took it. Grab the egg! Fast! Adelyne…GRAB THE EGG!

And while we were shouting, sweating, and stressing…all eggs in relatively close proximity were promptly and deftly swiped—by professional egg hunting children. My daughter, her Easter basket bare yet her spirit full.

That’s when I learned…

We have grown up in two worlds. We, my husband and I, in America. My daughter in Poland.

We have grown up as eager, aggressive Easter egg hunters.

My daughter as a “Yea, this is fun! Look, I have 4 eggs!” kind-of-child.

Two worlds. One family. And, in the end, all that really matters is this:

She had fun!

Oh, and technically, she doesn’t really like candy. So all of that candy we sweated about her grabbing—she never ate and we threw out anyway.

Sweated for nothing, eh?

Parents, sometimes we are the death of our children. Especially their spirits of contentment.

And, so, this year, I will do the following:

Fill the eggs

Hide the eggs