Down (Syndrome) With Love - A DC Metro Mom Post

I was at Babies 'R Us today picking up some essentials and I grabbed the September 2007 issue of Babytalk, a cute freebie on "straight talk for new moms". This month's cover model was an adorable 10-month old seated in an outdoor swing, wearing a cozy cable knit sweater and some multi-colored pants, bare feet catching some air, mouth wide open in that "look at me I'm airborne'" smile we're all familiar with. The baby happens to have Down syndrome and the accompanying story is "A new song: Parenting my son with Down syndrome isn't a trial; it's a joy" by writer Jennifer Graf Groneberg.

Flip to page 6 and the Editor-in-Chief's column, written by Susan Kane, is a definite eye-opener. Kane writes,

"Back in 2001, Babytalk was the first national parenting magazine to feature a baby with Down syndrome on its cover. The accompanying article, on the benefits of early intervention, earned us our first National Magazine Award nomination. I figured we had broken a barrier, and I waited to see which magazine would put one of these beautiful children on its cover next. Turns out, it's us again."

Could this be true? Ten years gone by without another national parenting magazine featuring a baby with Down syndrome on their cover?

While I have seen children with Down syndrome and children with special health care needs featured in everything from magazines to shopping circulars, it is striking to me when I do see photographs of these children. Striking not because they have Down syndrome or are in a wheelchair, but striking because it makes me realize how infrequently these children are included in our every day reads.

Why is that? Is it because statistically most parents do not have a child with special health care needs? Is it because magazines and retailers fear that some consumers will be "put off" by the inclusion of children who do not look like them? I truly do not know the answer to these questions, but I do know that there are over 350,000 people in the United States with Down syndrome and that number not only includes babies and toddlers, but also young adults and adults who, guess what, can be savvy consumers too.

If you have never read "Welcome to Holland", a brief essay written by Emily Perl Kingsley, one of the brilliant minds behind the creation of Sesame Street and the mother of a son with Down syndrome, I highly recommend you do. In the meantime, I commend Babytalk for featuring a child with Down syndrome on the cover of their September issue and hope that others will follow suit. It would be wonderful to see these child on the cover of our glossies just 'cause and not because October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month or because of a Down syndrome-related feature.

If what the Editor of Babytalk writes is true, and I have no reason to doubt her, what will the next 10 years bring?

{Down (Syndrome) With Love was originally posted by moi on DC Metro Moms}}

WFMW - Organic Milk and a Not-So-Green Baggie

Ah, WFMW... Today's theme WFMW over at Rocks in my Dryer is Brand Loyalty. What brand names always work for you?

I have said it before, and I will say it again. My secret un-green shame is Ziploc bags. I love how they seal, I love how they repel water, I love how they come in so many cute sizes. As that wacky woman Molly Shannon played on SNL used to say, "I love 'em, I love 'em, I love 'em."

So, let me try to redeem myself by trying to get some green back into the conversation. I just cannot bring myself to buy non-organic milk for my children. My favorite (and it also happens to be the least expensive) brand is Whole Foods' 365 1% milk. Not very sexy, I know. But I am loyal to it.

Emerges

Somehow, the timing seems just right.

ARRRRRRRRR - T. Rex in Freezer Paper

I. did. it. I did a craft. It came out reeeeee-ally well. Perhaps you think I am bragging. Well, I kind of am because, if you must know, I do not have a good crafting history, shall we say. I have started about a dozen "hobbies" and usually give up. But in my, ehem, old age I have finally learned that nothing is accomplished without hard work and some massive mess-ups. So after learning about freezer paper here I became inspired. I did this while the kids took naps and if you want to, you can too. Here it is...T. Rex in Freezer Paper:



***Update***

See my freezer paper tutorial here!

Green Things to Do in a Library

So this evening I was meta-dating my metadata and saw that someone stumbled on Gift of Green by googling "green things to do in a library." Hm. Never thought of that. But, as a librarian and as a wanna-greenie it got me thinking. So, your wish is my command whoever you are:

The Top Five Green Things to Do in a Library

1) Check out a book - yes indeed this is probably the greenest thing you can do period. Borrow a book instead of buying it and you are saving on paper, ink, transportation, printing, and not to mention you are saving cold hard cash.

2) Drop off your used books, magazines, DVDs, and audiocassettes - libraries use them mostly at book sales as library fundraisers, but drop off a relatively brand spankin' new copy of a popular work and that might by *your* donation sitting on the New Books shelf.

3) Use the Internet - How is this green? Oh, who knows. If the library is your only source of internet-access then I suppose you are probably saving yourself from the onslaught of junkmail that usually comes once your ISP has you in their grip.

4) Attend lectures and workshops - I am fortunate to live in a county with a great library system. You can learn how to knit, get help on starting your own small business, or learn English as a second language. From the Green angle you can bring in that leaf with the weird fungus on it for the Master Gardeners to take a look at or attend a lecture on winterizing your home. Love the lectures - and they are FREE!

5) Elect to receive all your overdue notices by email - Forget the waste of receiving your overdue notices by snail mail (I am told that people receive overdue notices - of course I know nothing about this and no I am not one of my library system's largest "contributors" when it comes to fines) have those bad boys sent to your email account and you'll never return a library book late again. Cough. Cough.

What kind of, ehem, green things do *you* do @ your library?

[This post is cross-posted on BlogHer]