Your baby can take part in the Pampers Great Baby Relay

I wanted to share something really cool from Pampers for my readers that have babies. Join in the Pampers Great Baby Relay. You can submit a video of your baby crawling or walking for the Pampers casting call to be in the upcoming Pampers commercial. I wish they had something like this when Noah was a baby. He was adorable when he was crawling and just starting to walk. Submit your videos to Pampers by February 20, 2010. The commercial will air February 28, 2010. Happy crawling and walking!

Here are the official details:
Did you know that a cruising baby in one day can take as many steps as a marathon runner in a race*, and a nine-month old baby can crawl up to 400 meters in 20 minutes**? It's this active play that continually inspires the Pampers brand, and that's why moms and dads are encouraged to log on to Pampers.com beginning February 15 to join in celebrating the development of their own best players. Parents can upload videos of their babies crawling to the world’s great baby relay on Pampers.com. All videos featuring babies crawling from left to right that are uploaded by Feb. 20 will be included in a casting call for a commercial that will air on Feb. 28!

I have a relationship with Pampers so I have the opportunity to tell you about exciting news and about new Pampers products.

Anonymous comments welcome, blog trolls are not.

I am going to let you all in on something. You probably should already know this as it is common sense in my opinion but, the internet is not as anonymous as you think it is. When you go to a website someone somewhere can figure out who you are. Well, OK not exactly who you are but if it is someone the person knows of they can. It really is not hard to figure it out, especially if you have left a comment or visited before. They also can tell where you came from and where you visit and how long you stay on the site. How often you visit and what you do.

Leaving anonymous comments is perfectly fine but at the same time know that you are potentially only anonymous to others that visit. I am not saying I know who every person is but it is not too hard to figure out who a blog troll is. Part of the reason I get some of the opportunities I do have to do with my stats. I have to keep track of them somehow. Makes sense right?

I got my first nasty comment on my blog Thursday night. It was on my compassion post. I had never received anything negative on my blog. Besides the occasional spam comment which everyone gets. I don’t really get bothered by spam. It is just a couple clicks and your comment about flowers in India or your foreign symbols are gone. I don’t know the difference between Chinese and Japanese symbols so I can’t say for sure what it is. Everyone up to Thursday night has been really supportive and nice on my blog. It really was rude. Of course curiosity got the best of me and I had an idea of who this blog troll was.

So I looked at my comments and the website I use and figured it out within moments. I have great investigative skills comparable to Monk or Sherlock Holmes. My hunch was right and I decided not to allow the comment to go through because it is my blog and my space and I choose not to litter it up with negativity. It wasn’t that the person had a different opinion than I do. It was the simple fact that the comment was an intentional attack. It was someone who had never been to my blog, at least I don’t think they had. It was a personal attack and while I understand and embrace that people think differently, I won’t let people maliciously attack me or my readers or friends. I am not saying you have to agree with everything I say; just if you decide to leave a comment do so respectfully. I want my readers to feel safe on my blog and know that I don’t tolerate trolls and mean spirited comments.

So, thank you to all my readers that are supportive and kind.

Have a little compassion

Where has all the compassion gone? Seriously, I don’t know why people think it is funny or nice to make fun of people because they dress different than you or are a different race or look different. It is not cool to say go to a store and take a picture of a stranger and then exploit them on a website where they purposely make fun of people and the way they look. Not everyone dresses the same. That is part of being different and unique. Just because someone is not dressed like a cookie cutter image of what is in a fashion magazine does not by any means give someone the right to hurt their feelings or make fun of them. Most people do not walk around trying to get on a stupid website. I am sure there are many people that don’t know what it is. I also think that they don’t do it for attention either. Maybe they never will know that they are being laughed at behind a computer screen but maybe someone they love will see it or it really doesn’t matter because it is wrong in my opinion. I doubt someone would want to be made fun of on a website that is mean spirited disguised as humor.

I also don’t think it is funny when people make jokes about disabled people to be funny. They say things like special Ed this and helmet that. People with disabilities are people first and the disability is just a challenge and a part of them. Do I think that everyone that uses the R word and tells jokes about disabilities is purposely making fun of those that have those challenges? No, not always, I know it is “acceptable” in our society but that makes it wrong none the less. Think before you speak, and have some compassion and understanding. Embrace other peoples differences don’t draw a line between you.

There is room for everyone in this world. The world is such a big place. I think that there should be room for everyone to be whom they are and feel comfortable enough to where they can and not be exploited and made fun of for doing so. Everyone is different and that is great! I wish people looked more on the inside than on the outside. In a perfect world they would, but sadly it is not and people will continue to be cruel and uncaring. I invite you to help make a difference by bringing back a little compassion. Maybe it will spread like wild fire and encourage others to be compassionate.

I grew up being taught about compassion and being caring. I was taught it is wrong to make fun of people because they are different. I was taught that words that put down groups of people are wrong. I am teaching my son the same things. I was taught to love and accept people for who they are, not what they look like. It really is heartbreaking to me. I am going to make sure my son has the same morals I have. I think that I have really strong morals and a big heart and I can tell even at age 3 Noah also has a big heart. I hope to teach him and show him that differences are not a bad thing.

I hope you take a little time to think about others feelings and sit down and talk to your children about compassion and embracing differences. I think that would help the world be a better place.