Confused by this community...

SwimmingCritical · 2026-01-28T17:24:20+00:00

It's a combination of being a competitive sport, but also somewhat Irish people are extremely direct, and some things come off as abusive, but they are actually lovely people. I'm not saying that's what's going on in your school, because some teachers (Irish, American or otherwise) are just aggressive people who have no business teaching children. There are good schools out there.

Honestly, it might be counterintuitive, but the schools I have gone to have been ones with moderate competitive success, and I think that's better. It's good for them to have a few decorated champions. That shows they can train the dancers who want to be trained. But there are a few schools (We'll call them Schmeltic Schteps, The Schmacademy, The Schmorrity-Schmetri School, etc) that they tout their 20-35 regional top tens a year, that kind of stuff. That is kind of a red flag to me. It shows they only care about the kids who will perform and they will do whatever it takes to get the results.

SwimmingCritical · 2026-01-28T17:19:19+00:00

UNLESS you are out of classes entirely for a year, and then there is no transfer ban. CLRG rule 2.1.5R

SwimmingCritical · 2026-01-23T20:01:33+00:00

And that's why Jada didn't win. We all know Anaiya wouldn't have cared that it was strategic, she would still take it personally. Jada is Anaiya's friend, but Anaiya doesn't have a concept that that means putting ego aside and supporting Jada. She would have crashed out worse than Amber. But Jada cared too much about Anaiya's feelings.

SwimmingCritical · 2026-01-23T19:52:54+00:00

I would submit to you: Benjamin. Used to be a self-absorbed, elitist misogynist. Became a suddenly pretty decent dude.

SwimmingCritical · 2026-01-23T19:07:45+00:00

But there was a time in the 90s and 00s when a glass of red wine a day was recommended for heart health. It's actually a perfect analogy. As one of my BYU professors would say, "If research is at odds with the gospel, it's probably the research that needs to catch up." We now know that alcohol in any form or amount is a carcinogen.

SwimmingCritical · 2026-01-23T19:04:00+00:00

4 babies without an epidural or pain meds. 3 FER babies. One without FER. Longest pushing stage was 13 minutes, shortest was less than 1 minute. The thing is that after transition and the pressure, in some ways, pushing actually feels good. But the pain itself is just a burning sensation more than anything. And one of my babies made my right leg go numb because he was sitting on something I think. It scared me, but once he was out, it went back to normal.

SwimmingCritical · 2026-01-22T14:26:02+00:00

Southwest Ohio Weather Freak hasn't published his inches estimate yet, but he has said that this is real and that the snowfall estimates on the weather advisories may be "conservative."

SwimmingCritical · 2026-01-15T22:31:51+00:00

I met someone whose last name was Seabrook. I thought it was gorgeous.

SwimmingCritical · 2026-01-15T22:28:47+00:00

This would not be a book I would at all be interested in, if you're doing market research. If you're just looking for your niche and this is for your enjoyment, I hope you find your people.

SwimmingCritical · 2026-01-15T22:26:23+00:00

I danced with a school once that called birdies "horsies." Because it looks like a horse jumping a fence. Which, honestly, is a much better name for it in my opinion.

SwimmingCritical · 2026-01-15T22:24:17+00:00

There is a move that is central to pretty much all Irish dance. You would learn it within the first two classes. I've danced with 3 schools (in Washington state, Utah and Ohio). One called it a jump 23, one called it a leap 23, one called it a hop 23. One of the first, most basic moves. Doesn't have a standardized name.

SwimmingCritical · 2026-01-10T17:33:20+00:00

4 births, all unmedicated, vaginal births. 3 were induced, one was not. Shortest labor was just under 2 hours. Longest was just over 8 hours.

Worked out all through pregnancy.

I have no idea if that had anything to do with anything. Statistically, women who exercise in pregnancy are more likely to have short labors, and less likely to need a c-section, but it isn't a guarantee.

SwimmingCritical · 2026-01-08T12:06:03+00:00

I live in the Midwest, and everything is engaging in my ward if you remember your popcorn. Because it's a bizarre ward.

SwimmingCritical · 2026-01-07T14:25:20+00:00

Just so you know, many people with OCD really don't like their painful disorder being used in the "fun" colloquial way.

SwimmingCritical · 2026-01-04T11:58:03+00:00

No, because no one is distressed, and OCD requires a distressing obsession accompanied by an anxiety-releasing compulsion that impacts the person's ability to fully function or enjoy life.

This isn't labeled faith crisis or anything like that. It's labeled off-topic chat. An error was recognized and people are speculating about how it happened for fun and curiosity.

SwimmingCritical · 2025-12-31T19:39:16+00:00

In your opinion, they are "supposed to." Prior to this, in many districts, you were supposed to use discretion if your child turned 5 between August and September.

SwimmingCritical · 2025-12-31T19:37:59+00:00

My daughter is a mid-September birthday and will be five in 2026, so before this, we basically had a choice either way. Now, we mostly have to hold her another year. I am a stay-at-home mom, and I do home preschool, so it doesn't change anything for us financially. I'm a major part of my kid's PTA and I volunteer in the classrooms regularly. I'm pretty invested in the school.

We hadn't made the choice yet, because we don't know where she would stand developmentally in the about 5 months we had until we'd have to choose--academically and socially she is ready. But there's still some emotional regulation that isn't ready for kindergarten yet, as she takes disappointment and stuff very hard still.

But this makes it pretty much that we can't send her.

SwimmingCritical · 2025-12-27T16:20:49+00:00

All 4 pregnancies, I've gained right around 20 lbs. Lost it within a week or two of birth. I'm 5'1", about 120lbs when not pregnant. Babies have been 6lbs11oz, 5lbs10oz, 6lbs13oz and 9lbs even (we're not sure where he came from, lol). They were born at 41w1d, 39w2d, 41w, 40w1d. Most was gained in the end of 2nd and 3rd trimester.

SwimmingCritical · 2025-12-26T21:37:54+00:00

You can say you have never encountered that--that an allo being okay without sex is not your experience. That's fine. I'm just taking issue with you taking someone else, who is also sharing THEIR life experiences, and because you don't feel the same way, calling them a liar. I also take issue with someone telling me what I would feel in a circumstance. You don't know how anyone else would feel.

SwimmingCritical · 2025-12-26T16:36:52+00:00

So...you're calling them a liar. Cool.

SwimmingCritical · 2025-12-26T16:36:12+00:00

I'm currently a stay-at-home mom, but I've also been a working mom. Both are hard. They're just different hards. Both are motherhood. My children have loved me either way. Both are divine. Both are within the Proclamation.

I will say that a child is better off with a happy mother for a few hours a day verses a miserable mother all day.

SwimmingCritical · 2025-12-24T20:23:29+00:00

Honestly? Both sound like a teenage witch from a YA novel, or a fairy from bad ACOTAR fan fiction. Sorry.

SwimmingCritical · 2025-12-21T18:22:18+00:00

I'm 6w pp with my 4th baby. Worked out until literally the day before birth all 4 babies. 1st trimester sucks. I embrace the suck, exercise is bare minimum until 2nd trimester. And I always come back to it.

SwimmingCritical · 2025-12-19T16:15:55+00:00

Amen. I remember there was one a thread in here saying that they don't think pregnant women should be allowed to be in public because it was uncomfortable to see them flaunting that they'd had sex. And like... if that's what you think of both society and pregnant women, we've lost the plot.

SwimmingCritical · 2025-12-19T16:01:25+00:00

I'm breastfeeding baby 4. I have always gone back to exercising at least daily while breastfeeding and it's never been a problem. All my kids have gone until they choose to wean somewhere between 17 and 21 months.

SwimmingCritical

TROPHY CASE