How About We Stop Saying Things Like This to Our Kids?

This. Justin Lookadoo... you are misinformed. Kindly stop speaking to teens until you get it.


1. No one has to make themselves "dateable." If someone insists that you have to contort yourself into a version of you that they deem appropriate, that person does not love you for who you are.

2. Telling teens that boys only want to get in a girl's pants tells our boys that they are incapable of controlling sexual urges. It sells our men short.

3. Telling teens that girls need to "know how to shut up" tells our teens that girls do not have a voice that deserves to be heard. It helps create a society that blames women when they are raped.

4. Why do we insist on asking women why they are being abused instead of asking men why they are abusive?

5. For the love of God, and all that is honest and good and true in this world,  do not build a speaking career on a message that perpetuates the cycle of abuse. 

I Only Blog When I Have A Problem

Here I am again, complaining. There is an article circulating in pro life circles about a teacher that is being pushed out for objecting to Planned Parenthood coming into his classroom. This is the link to the story I have seen shared five billion times. Here is another link on the same matter. Do you see the difference? I am not so sure there is such a thing as unbiased journalism in this country anymore. Pro life news sites add a vomit inducing spin 90% of the time that makes the article just unreadable. Mainstream media adds the same spin into the other direction. Am I alone in wanting a journalist to just report the facts?

Here are my thoughts. For starters, I really wish that pro lifers would get their ish together. Do you believe abortion is murder? Then STAY ON TOPIC. Circulating an article that throws in a jab such as
"the local PP that affirms homosexuality, promotes “sex-positive celebrations,” and offers abortions." confuses the message. There is enough of a case for promoting the idea that pro life individuals have just as much of a right to be professionals in their chosen field as those that are not pro life. That is enough.

The work I did as an advocate was rewarding, but there is not a day I went to work and did not worry about how my pro life views would be seen. At the local level, my supervisors knew my views and knew that my primary goal was to be an advocate for survivors. At the state level, (perhaps even at a bigger DV/SA organization) those views fall under more scrutiny. Am I somehow less of an advocate for women because I believe we should not choose between our women and children? Is Bill Diss less of a math instructor because he does not hide his pro life views? Is a doctor not competent for taking their oath to first do no harm seriously?

Moving on. What the crap is a "sex-positive celebration?" Quit making up terminology! If you are against the idea that our kids become teens and suddenly are hormone crazed beings, say that. If you are against our culture that seeks to separate sex from making babies, say that. Most importantly, if you take issue with Planned Parenthood being in our schools, don't write an article that throws homosexuality into the mix for kicks.

If you want change, it begins at home. Do I think that sex education really should be taking place in schools? No. I plan to embrace my role as my children's primary educator and have those uncomfortable conversations. Do I support abstinence only education? When it looks like this, yes. When it tells our girls that they are comparable to garbage if they make a mistake, no. When it teaches our sons that they go to hell for making a mistake, no. When it tells our children that girls must be modest to protect boys and implies that boys will grow into men that can't control themselves, no. Until parents are having candid and age-appropriate conversations with their children about sex, life goals, fertility, hormones, rape, and abuse, we have sex education in schools, and the majority believe PP is the best equipped to handle it. Our children deserve better, and we need to fight for it.

As our wise Pope Francis has said, (in more eloquent terms than this!) we have to lay off all the things we are against, and show those that disagree with us the love within our faith. We oppose abortion and the goals of Planned Parenthood because we seek to support women and children. We seek to eliminate the reasons women feel trapped into aborting their children. Our reporting and journalism should reflect this.

What I Wore Sunday (11.10.2013)

It has been a long time.

Click here for more Mass fashion

I decided to link up today. It has been a long time since I took photos for WIWS, so here it goes! (My daughter was saying "Boo!" in the first photo. My cameraman thinks he is funny. Then he made me move to another location for the shoot.

The Breakdown:

yellow top: NY&Co

white cardi: Target

black pants: NY&Co

pewter shoes (Yeah!): Target

It took me a long time to get the shoes in my size, and multiple Targets. It is a great, versatile color!

On a related note: looking for Christmas outfits for the kiddos. Is there anywhere in the US that sells a green cardigan for a toddler?! 

We are loving the new parish. The kids are pretty well behaved in Mass, and we are enjoying the priests. It is nice to feel settled in when it comes to Mass!

Enjoy your Sunday