Army Dad Surprises Daughter at School Dance and She Totally 'Freaks Out' (VIDEO)

vrijdag 30 augustus 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Emily Abbate 2 hours ago

Most 14-year-old girls wouldn't be ecstatic if their dad showed up unannounced to a school dance. But for Louisiana teen Tayla Carrigan, she couldn't have been more ecstatic when her dad, Army Sergeant Kelly Carrigan, surprised her at her back-to-school dance after being deployed for the past five months.

Sergeant Kelly, who left to go overseas in April, endured a serious knee injury that forced him to return home. While his daughter Tayla and her sister Logan thought he had been relocated to a base somewhere in Europe, Dad was really stationed just four hours away at Fort Polk. And as about 800 students sang "Proud to Be an American," Sergeant Carrigan surprised his daughter and she got the hug she's been waiting for for months.

Seriously, this is probably one of the best homecoming surprises I've seen in a while. Watch Sergeant Kelly Carrigan surprise his daughter, here:

How great is this?

Image via GFnews/YouTube

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Sam Horowitz's Bar Mitzvah Dance Goes Viral Because It's That Insanely Awesome (VIDEO)

donderdag 15 augustus 2013

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by Julie Ryan Evans 11 hours ago

Have no clue who Sam Horowitz is? I didn't either. I kept seeing people posting his bar mitzvah dance on Twitter and Facebook, and I kept ignoring them. I mean, really, how awesome can a bar mitzvah dance be? Turns out -- pretty damn awesome.

It's insane. It makes you want to dance. It's over-the-top, and all sorts of crazy to think this is happening at a religious celebration. There are burlesque-style show girls and a glittery object that descends from the sky, appearing to carry Sam, a 13-year-old from Dallas, down to the stage. And ultimately, there's Sam, bogeying to Jennifer Lopez's "Dance Again" like he's been doing a Vegas act for years. You have to see it to believe it.

Wow, right? It all went down last November, and it's hard to believe it took this long to hit the internet. But hit it, it has. People are mad for Sam ... or mad at his parents for letting this happen -- opinions are split. 

As I watched the first minute or so, I was all sorts of indignant about parents going overboard on these sorts of celebrations. Did you see his name in those huge neon lights? These elaborate events for religious ceremonies, Sweet 16 parties, Quinceaneras, and the like, are so outlandish that it's going to be tough for these children's weddings to compete. It's overindulgent, excessive, and we may be creating little narcissists ... but then I saw Sam, and all my indignation went right out the window.

How can you not love this kid shaking his hips with abandon, like he's the happiest kid in the world. If you had the means to give your kid an opportunity to shine like that, wouldn't you? Mazel, Sam.

What do you think of this dance?

Image via Elixir Entertainment/YouTube

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Julie Ryan Evans

can be found writing from coffee houses wherever she may be. The quality of her days is largely influenced by the seat she nabs and whether a protein plate is available.

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Mom Harassed for Breastfeeding 16-Day-Old Outside Daughter's Dance Class (VIDEO)

maandag 5 augustus 2013

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by Jeanne Sager 3 hours ago

Here we go again. Another breastfeeding mom has tangled with a real boob about her right to nurse her baby in public. Only Lucy Eades's breastfeeding discrimination case might just take the prize for craziest place a mom was given grief for feeding her kid.

The incident -- which Eades' husband caught on video -- happened at the Burleson Recreation Center in Burleson, Texas. You know what recreation centers are for, don't you?

That's right ... families. So a family-friendly place, a place for moms and kids, had a problem with a mom feeding her ... kid?

Sigh.

As if it isn't hard enough out there for nursing moms to get respect in shopping centers, courthouses, and restaurants, now kid-centric establishments are a problem too?

The City of Burleson defended itself by explaining that it was hosting a camp for 5- to 13-year-olds the day Eades was trying to breastfeed her 16-day-old daughter while her older child attended a dance class:

To be respectful of everyone's rights we asked the women to cover up. There is nothing in the law that prohibits the city from requiring a mother to cover up. We also offered a room in an attempt to be more accommodative. The city did not attempt to prohibit breastfeeding and we fully support the freedom of mothers to breastfeed as long as it doesn't infringe on someone else's freedom.

Giant. Eye. Roll.

Come on y'all! The "freedom" of a bunch of kids is not at risk because a mom breastfeeds in their presence, especially not if they're from homes where a mom breastfeeds or their parents have taught them that breastfeeding is normal. Heck, the more kids see breastfeeding, the more likely THEY are to breastfeed (or support a partner doing so) when they grow up. It's like that whole circle of life thing Elton John sang about.

What's really at issue here is why a facility would present opportunities for children, claiming to be a place where parents can take their kids, and then not support parents. Being able to breastfeed at a recreation center for kids is just as important as being able to find a diaper changing station at the same facility.

Either you're family-friendly or you're not, and as long as you're not OK with breastfeeding moms, you're NOT family-friendly.

Do you expect the places where you take your kids be breastfeeding-friendly? Have you ever experienced trouble in one?

Image via _shWard_/Flickr

Click the "Like" button below to get Natural Parenting stories on Facebook. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jeanne Sager

writes articles for The Stir by day, slays closet monsters and bounds through bedtime stories with her elementary schooler by night. The Phineas and Ferb soundtrack reverberates through her brain.

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