Megan's got 47

A wonderful friend over at The Nut house invited me to attend a faux "Dinner Party." If I lived in Iowa, I would definitely eat dinner with this person at least once a week. She is an awesome person that I have meet before in real life and is always honest and beautiful! Check out her blog
, she is a hoot!

Here are the rules courtesy of Barking Mad.

You are going to have a dinner party! Oh yes you are. Well OK, not a REAL dinner party, but hey, if you're so inclined, more power to ya. Anyhow, you're having this swell dinner party and you are going to invite ten bloggers.

Create a post telling us who you are inviting and what about that person's writing makes you think they'd be an intriguing/funny/interesting person to share a meal with. What have you learned about these people through reading their blogs and what would you hope to learn about them through breaking bread with them?

Please Go to Barking Mad if you do this and sign the Mr. Linky saying you participated.

And here goes:
I would invite Renee at Three Little Lady Bugs because I love her to death! We have had dinner in Shrevport, LA, Atlanta, GA, Kansas City, MO and Boston, MA together but never at my house! So come on up to PA and have dinner with me and my family. We love our "Other Renee" LOL. She is a little golden glove, she is a true friend who I couldn't live without and not sure how I did it my 1st 27 years. She is always there for you when you need it. She would add true entertainment to our dinner party if we had some strawberry daquiries to share.
I would invite Bethany at Life with Bubba and Chicky because she is AWESOME. She wears more hats then I have room for in my house (Wife, Mom, friend, US Probation Officer, CEO, Blogger, advocate and now adopting). She is always honest and truthful and GREAT to have backing you up! She is an awesome friend. I would definitely have her at my dinner party because she would keep it going all night, especially if we used her navigational system, LOL.
I would invite Renee from My Special K's because she has the heart of Gold. Would never hurt a fly and advocates and supports so many. She keeps an amazing online journal of her daughter Kennedy and her other children and it touches so many lives. She would have to be at dinner because although she would say "let it go" we (meaning Renee, Bethany and I ) would be plotting to find Krista and KICK HER ASS! LOL.
I would invite Christinaover at Kwisteena's kwaziness because it would be so cool for her and all the above to finally get to all meet and hang out in person. We are all connected by each other and know each other but to have dinner all together in one room would be amazing (although we did at one time we didn't all really get to talk). Christina is an amazing blogger who is such a incredible person. I am always interested in her words of encouragement as I see her 2 daughters as what my 2little girls will become. She gives me a true glimpse into the future and she makes it look so incredibly awesome. Thank you!
I would invite McKenna from Our Blah Blah Blog because, what can I say, she is awesome, smart, funny and all those things you look for in a person. She is so not a person you can ever hate and she is so open and honest with her words that I always find motivation behind reading there. McKenna definitely deserves a seat at my table.
I would invite Jamie from the Tryon Family Blog. She is a one of a kind lady, truly! She has 2 gorgeous little girls with Down Syndrome. Not only is her story amazing and unique but she is too. She is such a cool person and I would love for her to be one of my seats at the dinner table.
I would invite Jennifer from Pinwheels and for obvious reasons. She is just another mom on this journey with us but I can tell you that we all look up to her. She has shared her intimate feelings with the world and in turn will make our world more accepting because of it. Her blog touches so many and her words will forever go on in time.
I would invite Ecki at Opposite Kids. I think she pretends ;) to be the shy one with a huge voice and powerful words. I have personally meet her and adore her. She is an awesome person who just wants to make a change. She would need a seat at our table because I want her to know she will always be included and treasured in my world.
I would invite Diane at Hidden Treasures. She is a little GIANT! She is so strong in her faith and position on this Earth and reading and surrounding myself in her friendship makes me feel like a better person. She will fight till the death when it comes to our children and she is always so confident in her purpose. She was always meant for big things and we need someone like her to round us out at the dinner.
And last but certainly not least Kristen from the Faulkner Family blog. If I told you there was a person on this Earth that had a heart the size of Texas you probably wouldn't believe it but she exists. Kristen would definietly have to be at that table. She is an amazing friend and person who would give you the shirt off her back(I hate this analogy for her because the shirt wouldn't be enough). She has been through so many rough times in her life but it has never kept her down or made her feel sorry for herself, her strength and wisdom are something I wish and pray for for myself. So with the above people, that would be one AMAZING SUPER!
And if I had time I would actually invite ALL OF YOU!
But this has been the longest and most tiring of my blogging with all the copy and pasting. I need a nap.

Prejudice is alive and well……

Why do we deceive ourselves and think that we live in a better world than the times of sexism, racism, serfdom and even slavery? Although it seems we made great improvements in areas of prejudice, I can see these crimes of hate are just redirected. If you look back at the time where we were fighting for equal rights for women and Americans of African decent you can find that at the same time we were locking up anyone who did not conform to some social ideal in some doctor’s head. The mentally handicapped were locked up in institutions, experimented on, everything but being treated like human-beings. Throughout most of the 20th Century the mentally handicapped were treated worst than slaves; they were treated like animals with no use except maybe to experiment on, lockup, and forget about. This is why the “R” word hurts. Just as the “N” word reminds us of prejudice, slavery, segregation, etc, that is what it means to us. My daughter is treated differently because of the way she looks, is this not prejudice? When a child is denied access to a school or put on a special bus because he/she has a disability, is this not segregation. When a human being is locked in an institution from childhood until the day they die, is this not slavery?

When will it end? When will we realize that human beings are great because of their diversity, not despite of it? When will we learn from those that are different from us instead of hate them? When will it end?

It will end when people stop thinking its OK, when people can’t profit from it, when people realize that prejudice is the fuel of hate and fear. We all do it. We walk on the other side of the street when we see a homeless man, we go to war to fight the Muslim extremists, and we say “She’ll never get married or go to college because she has DS.”

Help us take a step in the right direction and tell Hollywood, and everyone, that we won’t put up with this anymore.

Joe

I am feeling upset with friends and family right now. I sent out an email with my blog site asking people to respond and read. I got 2 responses out of hundreds.
Do you all not see a problem with this?
You can leave a response on my blog w/o leaving your name or filling out any info. So why is it so difficult? Are you all not willing to give up seeing this trash? Are you one of those who thinks I am an over reacting mother?

Maybe you didn't see the tag line of the movie "Once upon a time.....there was a retard" or this part of the script:
Stiller: There were times when I was doing Jack when I actually felt retarded. Like really retarded.

Downey: Oh yeah. Damn.

Stiller: In a weird way, I had to sort of just free myself up to believe that it was okay to be stupid or dumb.

Downey: To be a moron.

Stiller: Yeah.

Downey: To be moronical.

Stiller: Exactly.

Downey: An imbecile.

Stiller: Yeah. When I was playing a character.

Downey: When you was a character.

Stiller: Yeah, I mean, as Jack. Definitely.

Downey: It’s like working with mercury. It’s how science makes art form.

Stiller: Yeah.

Downey: You an artist

Stiller: It's what we do right?

Downey: Everyone knows you don't do a full retard.

Stiller: What do you mean?

Downey: Check it out, Dustin Hoffman, Rainman, look retarded, act retarded, not retarded. Count tooth picks to your cards. Autistic. Sure. Not Retarded.

You know, Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump. Slow, yes. Retarded, maybe.
Braces on his legs. But he charmed the pants off of Nixon and he won a ping pong competition? That ain't retarded.

You went full retard man. You never go full retard.

EITHER WAY THIS MOVIE CROSSES THE LINE. I NEED YOU ALL TO RESPOND SO I KNOW YOU NOT ONLY SUPPORT ME BUT YOU CARE ENOUGH TO FIGHT RIGHT ALONG SIDE ME BY MAKING EVERYONE YOU KNOW AWARE OF THIS ATROSITY.

This awesome family with a little brother with Down Syndrome made this flyer. If young kids can find issue with the movie how come Hollywood can't?

I am here asking all my friends and family to please boycott this movie.
Please do not let Ben, Jack, Bob and Tom make any money off of exploiting those with developmental disabilities. I am shocked and offended that actors whom I always enjoyed watching are making fun of people who are mentally handicapped. To read more about the premise of the movie, click here.

It is so hurtful. And after reading my friend McKenna's post, I do not think I could say it any better than her. So here is her post:

"Never Go Full Retard? Are you kidding?

This is definitely not the first time I've been disappointed in Hollywood, but I think this may be the first time I am actually HURT by Hollywood. Ben Stiller's new film, Tropic Thunder has crossed the line. DreamWorks Production has agreed to meet with many representatives from disability rights organizations at 5pm Pacific today. To be honest, I don't know what can come from this meeting other than prevention of further damage. I will be very surprised if the scene is not pulled, but the hurt has already been caused. Sticks and stones may break my bones, and WORDS HURT Mr. Ben Stiller, Mr. Robert Downey Jr, Mr. Jack Black, Mr. Tom Cruise, and Hollywood!! My daughter has an intellectual disability and is not able to defend herself because of her age and her cognitive ability. How dare you use her medical diagnosis of mental retardation as an opportunity to put more money in your pockets. Shame on YOU!

The term "mental retardation" is being replaced with intellectual disability because of this misuse. This isn't the first time this has happened. You know those words, "idiot" and "moron." Those once used to belong to people like my little girl as medical diagnosis and we all know what happened to those words. How wrong is it that my daughter needs a new "term" because of the abuse of her medical diagnosis by people of average intelligence? How long until people start taking the new terminology and abusing it as well?

I have an idea....let's just abort every child with a disability before they're born and we won't have this problem! Let's just wipe our world clean of people with Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, etc... and while we're at it, go ahead and take me out of that world, too, because I'm 5'10" tall and that's just not "normal!" Everyone with large noses can have their lives spared as long as they get plastic surgery.

My daughter has to fight against this ridiculous ideology that she is "not normal" and "different" and "lucky she wasn't aborted" every day for the rest of her life and I'm going to do everything I can so she doesn't have to fight against the mockery and "harmless jokes" as well!

Race discrimination is off limits (as it should be!) but discrimination against individuals with intellectual disabilities has a green light. ENOUGH! I have usually excused comments that I hear everyday: "I'm so retarded," "what a retard," because I know in my heart they are not intentionally or purposefully directed at someone with an intellectual disability. Well, enough! Intentional or not, stop it! Use it properly or don't use it at all!

Leave my child, my friend's children, and the many individuals in our world who work harder than any of you alone! ENOUGH!!"

Jamie, I do not know how to tell you how much our relationship means to me but your birthday seems as good of time as any to say it:
I LOVE YOU!
OUR FRIENDSHIP MEANS THE WORLD TO ME!
I AM SO HAPPY TO HAVE GROWN STRONGER WITH YOU OVER THE YEARS!
Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first associations and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no subsequent connections can supply... ~Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, 1814


A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life. ~Isadora James

I found a great blog, Eight is Great through a friend and I love her Two for TWOS-Day post. So I have decided to join in. Check it out and join with me!
Here is my photo:

So here it is...the rockin hair I promised.

Megan on the phone this morning with Renee:


Olivia zoning out:


The 2 of them not so cheery this morning (I think they may be dealing with allergies):


But Megan is always ready for the camera:

So tonight I decided to perform an old summer family ritual...braiding wet hair.
Did anyone else ever do this?
My sister and I did it all the time so we had the permed look when we woke up.
So tonight after baths we sat and watched Caillou and braided hair.
Olivia and Megan enjoyed handing me the rubber bands and being girly girls.
Here is Part 1. I will post Part 2 tomorrow so you can see the rocker hair.
BTW, the band aide is because Meg got sun poising on her nose and it is the only way to keep the medicine on.

Here is a special person:

Bethany
She has a wonderful family that I love dearly.

They are in the process of adopting a baby girl from Russia and need help raising funds.
Here is your chance to help. For just $5 you can buy a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to the awesome online boutique The Polkadot Platypus.
Click on this link to participate.
To read more about the adoption, click here.
Thank you all!