Really ...... Boycott Target?

I have seen these Target bashing posts on FB.  At times, my FB is flooded with them.  With the hashtags ... bye target, and boycott target.  It's stupid, I think.

It's fear and hate, and people are seeing it as a protection thing.

I have seen them one too many times.  I felt the need to put a bunch of facts in one place.  So I made this FB posts ....

I am going to get on my soap box for a moment. I have a few things I want to say ... a few points I want to make.

All this crap about ‪#‎Target‬, and their restroom policies. "Let's SHAME Target, let's boycott Target...." ... Let me point out a few facts.

#1: I was molested as a child, and raped as an adult. You are more likely to be molested and/or raped by someone you know than by some random person in a bathroom. A friend of mine posted this fact this morning, I raised my hand thinking - yep, I'm on that boat too. I loved her status, which follows along the same lines as mine will, and told her I might steal it... although I'm not, I do appreciate her pointing that out and owning ‪#‎hertruth‬. STOP USING THIS AS AN EXCUSE.

#2: As a parent who has children of the opposite sex... I have taken my sons into the women's bathroom more times than I can count. I have changed their diapers, I have taken them into stalls. This is no different than a dad taking his daughters in the men's bathroom. I haven't ever felt wronged, or shamed for doing this. I have taken them into the bathroom with me until I felt comfortable and safe that they would be okay going in the "gender correct" bathroom, where I would sit outside the men's room door, and if needed, I would open that door, and call inside to make sure everything was okay - IF I FELT THE NEED TO. I would apologize to any man I would see, but everyone I have ever had contact with has understood. I recently saw a post by a Dad with a six-year-old daughter shaming Target, about how he can't send her into a woman's rest room by herself. My first thought - "Why are you sending your six year old into a strange bathroom by herself?" Do you allow her to cross the street without holding her hand? Can she call and order pizza on her own too? That might be extreme - but ... I mean come on. I am a concerned mother, at the age of six, my boys couldn't go into the bathroom by themselves without an older brother or their father. (so, reality, not by themselves!) If you are a concerned parent, why are you allowing them to go into the bathroom by themselves when they probably are not strong enough to open those big heavy doors by them-self? (no I am not talking about the stall doors.)

#3: You say you are concerned about pedophiles and molesters being able to go into the restroom with your DAUGHTERS - but in reality, they've been going into the bathrooms with your sons forever and that never concerned you. (I just shared a graphic about this.) - Also see point #7.

#4: Maybe you would like to separate the LGBT community - make them use their "own" bathrooms - so everyone is safe from them. Would that be right? It's okay to separate the LGBT community, and segregate them - but you believe that everyone of every skin color is equal because despite skin color, everyone is just a person. We're all made the same. Well.... you are right, we are. This includes the LGBT community. They are no different than anyone else. They still bleed the same. They get the same illnesses we do. They long for family and love and being accepted and heard, just like everyone else. I bet you used the ‪#‎BlackLivesMatter‬ hashtag? How is that ANY different? I have never used that hashtag, until this moment. Because it doesn't matter WHO you are, ‪#‎ALLlivesMatter‬! That's right... ALL of them.

#5: But the bible says...... please, stop right there. I thought God teaches tolerance and acceptance, that everyone should be forgiven and loved! But the Bible says..... ah, no..stop again. I don't care what the books of the Bible say. The thing I was taught in my Christian church was that GOD TEACHES TOLERANCE and everything else I just said. SO where is your tolerance? Where is your acceptance? We are all God's children... or not? There were men who had multiple wives in the Bible, and yet you say that true marriage is between ONE man and ONE woman, and all these men who have multiple wives are breaking the law. Yes some are, some are not, some are just following their religion, some have consensual relationships with multiple "wives" where all parties are knowledgeable and agreeable ... and some do break the laws and take 12 year olds as wives (however this was done back in the Bible too)... so what about these people in the Bible who had multiple wives? Stop choosing which parts of the Bible are acceptable, and which are not - to fit your religious beliefs. If you want to have your religious beliefs, that is fine. I don't judge you for them, anymore then you should judge someone else for THEIR religious beliefs. Jesus was Jewish, and yet people of many faiths believe in his teaching - his teaching of love and mercy, how only God should decide the fate of his flock, etc and so on. The Bible is a book that can be interpreted. The Bible, most important, is exactly what it means to YOU, and that's what is important.

#6: If a person who looked like a man, with facial hair and a deep voice walked into a women's room to use the toilet - people would be shocked and gasp. But the way a lot of people are saying what the law means - of course - HE would have to walk into the WOMEN'S BATHROOM because he has a vagina - or was born with female DNA. If a woman, with large breasts, full make-up, long hair, tight shorts or a short skirt - walked into a Men's room - guys would most likely react somehow - most women think they'd probably whistle or cat-call, women who may see it may go "OMGosh that SLUT! She's probably going in there to have sex with some guy." Women probably wouldn't be happy, especially if their boyfriend or husband was in there... some men might not be too happy either ... however, this woman has a penis and was born with male DNA. This LAW is to ALLOW ... THESE.... people who IDENTIFY as being a MAN or a WOMAN to use the bathroom of the gender that they identify with.

#7: People are mostly making this about MEN going into WOMEN'S bathroom because they want to rape or molest the females of various ages. Because THEY are sicko freaks who cannot control themselves. The TRUTH is - these people who commit sexual crimes are MORE LIKELY to NOT draw ATTENTION to themselves, they long to fit in and go UN-NOTICED so they can CONTINUE to commit their crimes. Let's also address the fact that WOMEN ARE GUILTY OF COMMITTING THESE CRIMES ALSO. It is NOT JUST MEN. So if you use a public bathroom, with people you do not KNOW - you are ALWAYS running a risk of this type of crime happening. Women steal little girls, kidnapping them. Men steal little boys, kidnapping them. Women molest girls, Men molest boys. What about those factors? How are you going to protect your children against that? YOU ARE SO WORRIED about perverted males going into women's bathrooms, "Let's protect our WOMEN and DAUGHTERS ..." ... if they would do that - they would do that without the law. And what about our DAUGHTERS and WOMEN who are with in the LGBT community? What about our SONS who are Transgender? What about protecting them???

I have two gay nieces who are under the age of 18. I have gay friends and probably gay family who haven't expressed such. I love ALL of these people, I want them to be respected and loved and HEARD just as much as everyone else is. They are not LESS, they have rights and feelings. I heart emoticon them all.

If one of my children were to end up in the LGBT community, I would love and support them the SAME WAY I DO NOW. THEY are my children! I would be PROUD of them for being who they are, and not being afraid to say it out loud! I am PROUD of my nieces!! I've told their Mom's so. (one has come out publicly, one has not - I have told the one who came out publicly that I am proud of her!)

I was watching a TV show recently, Marie Osmond was on and she is of one of these religions that is notorious for being LGBT intolerant. She proudly talked about her gay daughter, and when pointed out the religious beliefs, she said that she and her daughter may agree and disagree on several things, however, at the end of the day - THAT is her child, she will love her no matter what.

That is how - I feel - it should be. It's my opinion.

I personally do not care who I pee next two. I have anxiety using a public bathroom - but I pee when I have to pee. I have been known to seek out bathrooms where only one person can go in because I don't like public bathrooms, I would rather relieve myself in private. I am a more modest person. It's who I am. However, if we were to start having gender neutral bathrooms - I would STILL USE THEM. There are stalls that can be gone into - it's not like someone is WATCHING me pull down my pants, and let's face it - you get people who look through the cracks in ANY bathroom. Kids who look under the stall doors because they are curious. That won't change. EVERYONE has to pee, everyone has to poop! If you have a problem washing your hands next to someone of the opposite sex... well, I guess that's your issue. I have issues with spiders, I don't hate on people who love them. I have issues with clowns, if I were to attend a kids party that had clowns, I would have to just suck it up.

It just annoys me when people uses these issues as excuses. IF you don't want to use a bathroom with a man, then I guess you need to ask every female to drop her drawers to make sure she doesn't actually have a penis. Turning that around, other women will be able to ask you to drop your drawers and make sure YOU don't have a penis. But that's a violation of privacy, right?

Making this an issue is taking the privacy away from a lot of people.

The last thing I want to say is that - I have almost, VERY VERY VERY close to .... gone into the men's room to pee because of the LONG LINES at the women's bathroom and how badly I needed to pee. I would have done it, I might have been ashamed, a little, but I would not have been sorry. So much better than peeing your pants.

If you disagree with me - to the point - that YOU feel we can no longer be friends, please feel free to use the UNFRIEND feature. I may not always agree with you, but I have never made that an issue. If this is a point that is drawing the line, I understand. I am not going to debate with you because I believe you have the right to your opinion. Just please, know your facts before you state them as facts.

And then I saw these....

I had also looked at her page and she had posted this ..... said something like "well she said it more eloquently then I had...

Oooooh go HUMP YOURSELF - Hump Day, Hobbit Feet, & Thursday too...

Yesterday morning I got up, before my husband.... just like 99% of every other days.... (there is that rare day he lets me sleep in, which consists of me sleeping in until 8am when he gets the urge to make a big breakfast and has to run to the store to get something.... yeah, like THAT is sleeping in.)  Anyway ...  at 8am I got to go wake HIM up cuz he had to be to work at 9 and he was still sleeping... teehee...

After he left, I had the JOY of watching my almost 3 year old.... SUCK.HIS.TOE. ... yes that's right.   It was completely dark in the room (we have heavy blankets over the windows cuz Nathan has been suffering - we think - from migraines again.) ... so I got some REALLY BAD pictures.

Sooooooooo speaking of feet ....  my precious HOBBIT baby is getting baptized on Sunday.  He still has no shoes..... why?  Cuz he has HOBBIT FEET ... seriously ....  that's why he is the Hobbit.... they are huge and he hates wearing shoes and socks (nevermind we can't find shoes to fit his huge feet) ... the only thing they aren't, is hairy...   does this look like the foot of an 18 month old!?!?

"My what big feet you have!?"
"All the better to run all over you Dad." 

So anyway - he's getting baptized Sunday and I spent yesterday morning going over the details with the church.  There was confusion on which Pastor would be doing it, etc and so on... but it is all ironed out now.  My kids average four Godparents each...   Cal has 2, Noah has 6, Nathan has 4, Kaedyn has 4.  LOL...  (If you don't like multiple Godparents, tough - blame my Mother, I have 6!)   Anyway ....  I ordered the cake last night.  1/4 sheet, marble, whipped frosting, says "Blessings Kaedyn" ...  I made sure all the info she wrote down was correct.  I watched her write it all down.  Told her how they spelled Kaedyn's name wrong on his 1st Birthday Cake... (See, they spelled it Kaeyden ... misplaced the Y and added an E, and actually they spelled it KAEIDEN but I made the I into a Y)

And this is the cake we're getting, the same one we had for Nathan's baby shower.....

So anyway...  they called ... and it was the girl that took the order.  She must have called from her cell phone because it came up Minnesota Call...  annnnnnnywhoo...  she says "Hi this is *** from ******* Bakery and um...  you were in here earlier and placed an order.... um....  and I have written down that you wanted a 1/4 sheet... and ... marble, vanilla whipped frosting... with the baby bud and says "Blessings Kaedyn" and um...  I am just confused on if you wanted the 1/4 sheet or the 1/2 sheet... um... if you could please call us back..." 

Seriously?!?!?  You have it marked I wanted a 1/4 sheet, yet you are confused!?!?!   So I didn't want to deal with it last night, so I called this morning.  "Bakery," .... "yes, I got a call last night with questions about my order,"  .... "name" ...  gave them our name ...  "okay, hang on" ...  yelling back and forth in the background...  "Okay, I guess we had a question on the spelling of the name?" .... Um... HUH???  "According to the call I got it was about the size of the cake, she marked down 1/4 sheet because that's what we ordered.   As for the spelling, that's correct ON THE PAPER because I made sure she had it correct since ya'll spelled his name wrong on the his 1st Birthday Cake."  ...  the call went on from there but it was just more of the same.   Apparently, we're not getting cakes from there anymore.

So then, insert maleness ........ yes MALENESS ..... I was rehashing the story to him and then we have the following discussion.... fight... banter??  ...

"Why did you only get a 1/4 sheet, you should have gotten a 1/2 sheet.... "
"WHY???"
"A 1/4 sheet is TINY... "
"No it's not, it's just going to be us, Cathy & her family, and maybe Missy's family as far as I know...that's the perfect size..." 
"No it's TINY, that big sheet pan I have, that's a half sheet" 

Yeah I know how big a half sheet is..  I would order a half sheet if more people were showing up but since they are not...  PLUS, cake is one of my weaknesses ... I don't want to eat half a cake because it's there... I'm trying to LOSE weight.... 

"FINE, if YOU want a HALF SHEET .. then YOU call and change it" 
"The phone is dead" 

...  well that's true, our phones are dead, can't find two of them and no one put the one on the charger last night...

"Then use your CELL PHONE, I had to use mine" 
"YOU made the order, I can't change it," he tossed back at me.
"It's under YOUR name so don't give me that!"
"WHY IS IT UNDER MY NAME?"
"BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE CAN SPELL DENNIS!!"

:: sigh ::

Meanwhile the kids are shouting "STOP FIGHTING" and we're going "WE AREN'T FIGHTING"  ROFLMBO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Speaking of which, my hunky hubby has an issue with his appearance.   See he's not PERFECT  like me, and he's starting to get gray hair at the ripe old age of 35, but he's been complaining about it for over a year, so really he was getting them at the ripe old age of 33 - not only in his hair but in his beard too...  and apparently the freckling of gray hairs (or white) are annoying to him so he had to pick up some "JUST FOR MEN" .... yep that's right, it's starting already.... 

So he dyed his beard this morning.....

After...

Awwwwwwwwww he's so handsome!

Yes, my children are TROUBLE makers with capital T-R-O-U-B-L-E .... (as Nathan is currently throwing a temper fit, complete with pounding his feet on the floor because I took the boots off of him that he was fitting about not going on his feet........... (rolline eyes) ... is there ANY pleasing him???) ...   Apparently we weren't getting dinner done quickly enough for Kaedyn the other night..... so this happened...

Yep, and ENTIRE box of KIXS ... hey at least they got it on the tray right!?!?   Well, no, the floor was covered too...  I vacuumed and vacuumed and I'm STILL stepping on KIXS once in awhile....


(insert dramatic eye roll here) 

And to end this wonderful random blog....... I want to share the fact that my 18 month old is wearing clothes that my 8 year old wore when he was FOUR!  YES FOUR!!  Never mind the fact that Noah was tiny too (not as tiny as Nathan though, Noah, although started out smaller at 1lb 12oz ... grew better then Nathan is) ...  and in putting said outfit on Kaedyn, it absolutely BOGGLED my mind..... that my 18 month old is wearing clothes my 8 year old was wearing when Dennis and I met......

Noah - Age 4

Kaedyn - 18 months (please ignore the full garbage bin that has since been taken out! LOL)

Don't forget his HOBBIT FEET......

The now 8 year old started yelling .......... "Take a picture of me, take a picture of me, take a picture of me..."

Standing on my couch... what is WRONG with him!?!?   Here is his knock knock joke from last night...  this was after 10 previous jokes......

Knock knock ... nobody's home.... knock knock... nobody's home.... knock knock... nobody's home ... knock knock... nobody's home.... knock knock... nobody's home... ding dong, ding dong, knock knock... WHO'S THERE.... spider... spider who.... SPIDER GOT MY WEB ON YOU... (laugh) ... I gooooot my JOKE on you!! (he's cheering)

Dumb Luck!!

Truck Adventures...

We've had an interesting last few days... full of car salesmen, excitement and disappointment...


So........ putting our "house finding" on hold for another year ... I told Dennis maybe we should concentrate on getting a second vehicle... with the whole ... Nathan's issues ON TOP of Noah's... and having Noah and Calahan in 2 different schools this year... Noah will probably be bussed, BUT Cal isn't - and his is farther - and he can't exactly right his bike hauling his Trombone...

This all started, pretty much, because I was tired of sitting around the house on Thursday... but I didn't say anything until we were walking around Shopko and I told him pretty much what I said above. Well, not for those reasons, but I said because of Nathan's appointments... I have had to reschedule so many appointments because of gas issues... why waste the gas to drive Dennis in, drive back, do what I need, drive back in to pick him up after work, drive back... and I have two boys that get very sick very quickly in the heat (which we don't have right now) ... Anyway... Dennis and I agreed to look around, but on the drive home, Dennis decided to stop at BUCK TRUCK & AUTO on our way home... they are having a "Liquidation" sale of some sort, of repossessed vehicles... Their ad's said first 3 months of payments is "free" ... works with bad credit, ect and so on...

The first truck we looked at (Thursday/Friday) ..

It's a 2004 GMC Canyon - Crew Cab ... It was a nice truck,
however, when I saw it - I was NOT impressed. I like trucks, have a *thing* for trucks really. This was a small truck... small bed, fits five snug (can I really see 2 carseats in there? If not THREE?? I donno)... but it was in nice condition and had several nice features...

Although, we are not getting it. Our credit is not so good, well, Dennis' isn't so good and I guess I am a "ghost" (Hello, My name is Casper!) ... I have no credit at all. So originally when Dennis spot with the sales guy "Ken" ... he was told he was approved, no problem. That he had a truck in mind for him ... said it was in our price range ($200-$250 a month) and that it was a crew cab (the only limitation I put on Dennis getting a truck was it HAD to be an extended cab. A "Crew Cab" is an actual 4 door - all open the same way, instead of the double open of an extended cab.) ...

This sounded AWESOME... right up our ally... I wanted to do this on our own without asking my Mom for help. See - my mom has helped me out SO MUCH and so has my Step-Dad, through the years. Before my divorce, after, and since... Dennis and I are trying to get on our own two feet...

But then, after all this good news.... we go back there and are told ... we need a co-signer, someone who has had an auto loan in the last 10 years sometime... but then he says "just get anyone, doesn't matter their credit" ... So after a few calls, I break down and text my mom, asking her to call me on her lunch break - which she does. I explain to her what is going on, and that after finding out HOW much the truck is (which we never got a straight answer on yet) and make sure the payments are in our range... IF that all falls into place, if I could use her as a co-signer... she says yes... so I gather up her info (all of which I had in various places) and go on about things... until Dennis gets home from work.

The whole time, I'm talking to two of my friends thinking... this just doesn't *FEEL* right.. this isn't sitting right in my gut ... and I actually refered to it as a "bait and switch" ploy because the truck he told us about, and the "price" he was thinking about Thursday - were two totally different trucks, but kept pushing this other truck on us, and never once offered anything else...

Don't get me wrong, the truck is nice... just not the truck I would have picked out.

So we get there after Dennis comes home... and we're there for about 90 minutes. We took a test drive, it was alright. The inside didn't have many bells and whistles as the outside, but it was okay. I pulled out the "inspection" card from the glove box as I'm snooping and looking at all the compartments ... and it says that they wanted 20,000 for it

Ahhhhhhh .... WHHHHHHHHHATTTTT??????????

So for the um-teenth time... we ask "Ken" how much the truck is... all he tells us is that "I'll find out how much is left on it, it's whatever is left on the loan" ... but does he ever give us a number? Ahhhhhh ... no, and we ask him 20 times. Seriously. We ask him what the payment is going to be, and finally he says "well 200-250 is pretty much a small car, and 300-350 is a better car ... " and blah blah... I'm like, I was right. He's trying to hose us....

Bastard...

So after they come back and say that my mom's credit is "not good enough" .. he says "she has good credit but she only has a few credit cards on there and it's just not enough - do you know anyone with better credit" ... I say "my step-father but I am trying not to ask him" ... "Do you want me to call him?" they ask... I looked at him like he had just bite the head off a chicken and said "NOOOOOO" ... gawd, much rude or anything??? .... pretty much 10 mintues later, we were gone.... GOODBYE TRUCK... Goodbye... I wasn't impressed with your fake "I wanna be a truck" self anyway...

Dennis however is upset... upset that he was hosed, upset that he got the run around... upset he got his hopes soooooooooo high, only to be crushed ... grrrrrrr....

So ... why do we need a truck?

• we need a second vehicle for reasons:
• 1: medical with Noah and Nathan
• 2: school for Noah and Cal
• 3: work for Dennis
• 4: so I don't go insane in the same 4 walls
• we need something more reliable with my '94 van
• it would be nice to have something to haul things in
• Trucks are sexy (ha ha - that's my own personal reason)
• Something that will LAST

So... we thought - for about a nano-second last night - screw it... we'll finish getting caught up on bills... and blah blah... we've lived without a second vehicle now for ... over a year...

But NO... the more I thought about it ... the more I thought... this is just wrong, I've had to reschedule appointments so many times, because it was better for Dennis to take the van to work that day - or whatever.. but then I'm like, but with the kids starting school first week of September... Noah is getting bussed due to his disabilities.. Calahan (who's school is farther) is NOT getting bussed, and he has a big arse trombone!! He can't ride with that trombone, trust me, he TRIED.. lol.. "This one time, at Band Camp....... " no no it wasn't anything like that...sheesh people!!

So ... Dennis got on the net this morning and started looking... and found a truck more in our price range... called the guy... we went to look, and I found a truck I liked better. The moment I saw the truck, my head snapped around, and I said "What about that one? I lliiiiiiiike that one" ... teehee...

So he looked at this one with a lift kit that needed a step stool to get into ... and this other one that he had seen... and then he looked at my gut instinct and said... "yeah, I like this one the most too" ..

The front seat... this actually will seat 6 people comfortably (or at least, us two and 4 kids, including carseats!) ... the backseat (the pictures under) has drink holders that fold out too

Sooooooo ... I drooled, he drooled... and then I called my mom to see if she would still be willing to co-sign. The boys loved it ... Noah yelled "we like the truck" into the cell and even said ... "can we take it home" ...

So - we should, hopefully - know more on Monday. :::Crossing Fingers:::Crossing Toes:::

Link w/ more pics: http://www.getauto.com/vehicledetail/adid-10258207/2000/dodge/ram-1500-slt-laramie-qc-4/cadott/wi

It's too early to be annoyed!!!

I am involved in the Disorders of Chromsome 16 foundation... due to the fact that Noah has MT16 (Mosaic Trisomy 16) ... this is an awesome site, and has been my anchor in Noah's life and especially the pregnancy.

After talking to the genetic DR at about 19 weeks pregnant... he gave Noah no hope, none. He told me "he will be so mentally and physically delayed..." .... that ... "it wouldn't be worth it" ... and he HIGHLY encouraged me to "interrupt" the pregnancy....

I'm sorry... my child did not ask to be born, nor did he ask for this genetic disorder.... why should I punish my child by killing him before even giving him a chance to live.

Yes I am Pro-Life, BUT..... that is for myself. I believe in certain situations it is up to the mother, but.... I am Pro-Life.

Anyway.... I told this DR no, and then he had the balls to look at my now ex husband and ask him ... I was thinking... it doesn't MATTER what he says........ luckily my ex agreed with me.

Anyway.... my Mom is doing a Power Point for school on Noah (it could be on any subject chosen) ... and she sent it to me asking if I would change anything - there were a few things... but then I noticed she also sent me an email with a web addy saying "Did you know about this?"

http://www.genzymegenetics.com/pdf/publications/gene_pdf_publications_mcdermet.pdf

And I hadn't know about it.. at first I thought it was cool, but then I realized that A: it paints the site in a somewhat nuteral light, although making some more negitive comments... like.... #2 in the Conclusions.... "(the stories on the website) my not provide a complete picture for prospective parents" ... they are calling the website biased.... the DOC16 ...

In a way HELL YEAH WE ARE BIASED!!! These are our children!!!

BUT........ is it fair to genetics DRs to paint a picture so grim that you lose all hope for the survival of your child!?!?!! That isn't biased at all. Based on a few medical studies, trained in thought on negitive negitive, negitive. What about the positive things????

When I said to that DR when he was telling me that Noah would be so mentally and physically delayed he would have no quality of life..... and I said "that is not necessarily true" he caught my eye line and bore his eyes into mine, and said "He will be mentally and physiclaly delayed" ...

And although, Noah IS delayed.... he was making it sound like it would be to to the point where he would be at an infant mantality forever.

Noah is mildly delayed - unless pointing out a few things he has trouble with.... with just looking at him.... you may think he's 3 because of his size ... but he is so smart and spunky and he is awsome!

And it just really annoyed me this morning... humph :(