Did Pageant Mom Give Daughter Botox?

Did a pageant mom give her eight year old daughter Botox? Depends on who you ask.

At the beginning of this year, British journalist Alley Einstein was introduced to Sheen Upton and her daughter. Einstein says she saw Upton inject Botox into her daughter's face. She then wrote a story about it, which was published in the February issue of a British magazine.

Upton is now telling the Associated Press that the whole story was made up and that even her quotes were scripted. Einstein says she is not lying about what she witnessed.

According to the Associated Press, "Both accounts appear murky and are filled with dubious details."

Having seen what pageant moms will do to their children on national television, a mother giving her daughter Botox does not surprise me. In fact, it seems very believable that that would be something a parent in the pageant world would do.

Whose side do you believe?

The World Did Not End

Well, seeing as you are reading this, you know the world did not end on May 21 as predicted by televangelist Harold Camping. For most of us, May 21 was just like any other day. We have no thoughts to the world ending. For others, however, the fact the world is still here is a great disappointment.

True believers quit their jobs, dropped out of school and preached the end of the world was coming. Now they must return to their daily lives knowing the end didn't come and maybe never will.

Now the big question is what will Camping do with the $120 million he received in donations now that the end did not come.

Watch the reactions of true believers:

Are You Prepared for a Zombie Attack? The CDC Is

It's official, someone at the Centers for Disease Control has lost his mind. Or maybe he just has a good sense of humor. The CDC is urging people to treat the threat of a zombie apocalypse no differently than any other natural disaster.

People are being told to prepare by having supplies on hand and by having escape plans should their lives be threatened by zombies. The CDC, meanwhile, would treat the zombies the same as they would an outbreak of disease.

But a threat of a zombie apocalypse? Seriously? While it has been proven that some people can be put in a zombie-like state after being drugged, no one in all of recorded history has been turned into a limping rotting corpse who roams around aimlessly in an endless search for human brains. A zombie disaster plan makes no more sense to me than having a vampire disaster plan or one for werewolves. While we're at it, why don't we have a disaster plan for when a museum brings a cursed mummy back from Egypt or a plan for when Godzilla attacks?

Sounds to me like someone at the CDC has been watching too much of AMC network's The Walking Dead.

Read more on this story.

Will Cutting Activities Mean More Crime?

Cleveland, OH, is like many rust belt cities. It's struggling for money. But is Cleveland making cuts in all the wrong places.

The city intends to close three rec centres and public pools will close two days a week.

These cuts will hurt impoverished minorities the most. The rec centres, especially provide a healthy place for kids to go after school or when school is not in session. Many residents wonder whether the closings will mean more crime. And I have to agree. These closings are taking place in neighborhoods where children and teens have few opportunities. What will they turn to occupy their time? Sadly, without structured activities, some of them will probably turn to crime or vandalism.

So, what do think? Does a lack of structured activities for our youth equal a rise a crime?

What Would You Do for Love?

What would you do for love? Would you kill? That's exactly what Karla Homolka did, along with her serial killer husband, Paul Bernardo.

Tomorrow, May 19, Lifetime Movie Network will air the 2006 movie Karla about Homolka and Bernardo's 1990s killing spree.

Bernardo and Homolka's life of crime began together in 1990. That's when Bernardo, upset his then-fiancée wasn't a virgin, ask her to help him take her younger sister Tammy's virginity. Karla Homolka worked for a veterinarian and stole an anesthetic he could use to knock Tammy unconscious. Then, two days before Christmas, Karla helped Bernardo rape Tammy, and videotape the crime, but something went wrong. Tammy vomited from the anesthetic and chocked to death. The couple covered up the crime and called an ambulance. Everyone thought Tammy's death was accidental.

Bernardo had raped Tammy but, since she had died, he still felt he needed a virgin to deflower. He complained often to Karla, who decided to find a virgin for him. Their next victim was a 15-year-old girl. They videotaped her attack as well.

Eventually, the couple attracted the attention of the police and, after evidence of their multiple crimes was found in their home, they were arrested. After standing trial, both were sent to prison.

Karla was released from prison in 2005 although restrictions were placed on her movements.

You can read more about the Homolka/Bernardo case here.

Breaking or Making Stereotypes

Are we really supposed to feel sorry for the women on VH1's Mob Wives? Yes, their husbands and fathers are in prison, but so what? These women are living luxurious lifestyles, enjoying parties and girls nights out and now they have a television show.

According to VH1's website the women on the show are "sick and tired of the lies and stereotypes that exist about their lives" so they are doing the show to set the record straight. Hum, these women are tired of stereotypes. If that's the case, then why all the tough talk, the jokes about people getting "wacked" and references to the mob lifestyle? One of the participants is even the daughter of Sammy "the Bull" Gravano.

If anything, the wives are reinforcing stereotypes. They know more people in prison than out of it. They talk about dating street guys and thugs. They talk about the mob openly, but nothing they say make it sound any different than it is portrayed in entertainment or in the media.

I give VH1 an A for original concept and a D for making us believe these women are actually likeable characters worth our time to watch. I could only stomach one episode and even then, the only good thing that came out of it was this blog post.

Love It or Hate It: The Breastfeeding Doll

Is it about time or is it ridiculous? A breastfeeding doll named Baby Gloton has hit the U.S. market, complete with a $125 dollar price tag. Parents seem divided. They either love the doll or hate it.

The doll works by having the user wear a special apron. The apron has sensors imbedded it. When the doll comes in contact with the sensors, its mouth moves and it makes sucking noises. If the doll is removed before its "meal" is complete, it will cry.

Parents who favor the doll say it is more realistic and natural to have a doll that breastfeeds. Whereas, parents who dislike the doll say it is teaching them too much about the human body.

I have to admit I fall into the camp which thinks the doll is ridiculous. Little girls don't have breasts and, if one of their younger siblings is being breastfeed, they can mimic that behavior with or without an expensive doll. On the whole, I think there are too many stereotypical toys and girls on the market. We all know girls play with more than just dolls and boys play with more than just trucks. What are we teaching our daughters when we send them the message that they are expected to play with dolls and pretend to housewives or else they aren't feminine but instead are tomboys? What are we teaching our sons when they are expected to play with trucks and guns or else they aren't masculine but instead are wimps? Why not just let our kids have imaginative play and let them decide for themselves which toys are fun and which ones aren't?

What do you think of the breastfeeding doll?

Protect Your Photos Online

You're probably tired of hearing about all the computer viruses going around or about people having their identities stolen because they gave away too much personal information online. Unfortunately, here's another thing to worry about. 

A local television reported on the naked app. No, the naked app isn't an application available for iPhones. It's a software program some people are using to steal photos off of social networking sites and electronically pasting the person's head onto photos of swimwear clad bodies or naked bodies. The images are then reposted elsewhere on the Internet.

The scary part about this is that it is legal. Should you find your headshot superimposed on someone else's body, there is nothing you can do about it, no agency you can contact.

It goes without saying, be careful what images you post online. You never know who might be using your photo for their own gain.

Not Taking Anything For Granted

No female trainer has ever won the Kentucky Derby. This past Saturday, Kathy Ritvo came close. Her horse, Mucho Macho Man came in third. Had he won, Ritvo would have added another victory to her already impressive record of more than 150 victories.

But the real victory for Ritvo is simply making it to the Kentucky Derby at all. Ritvo is a heart transplant recipient. In 2001, she was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a weakening of the heart muscle, the same disease her brother suffered from and eventually killed him. Seven years later she spent six months in the hospital near death before receiving her transplant. She fought on because she didn't want to leave her children without a mother.

Despite doctors' concerns, six months after the operation she was back training horses. Ritvo couldn't stay away. She was determined to do what she loved.

Today Ritvo takes 30 pills a day to prevent organ rejection, but she's optimistic and loves life. She says, "To wake up every morning, I pinch myself. I don't take anything for granted ..."

Read more about Ritvo.

Autism Screening Leads to Early Diagnosis

Many people claim autism has risen dramatically in recent years. I do not believe this to be true. Instead, I believe it is the number of people correctly diagnosed with autism that has risen. In past decades, many of these children could easily have been dismissed as mental retarded or "slow". A good number of them were probably institutionalized without ever being properly diagnosed.

Well, now doctors are one step closer to a time when no child goes misdiagnosed or goes undiagnosed for years. A study, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, shows that a five-minute test, given when children are 12 months old, can diagnosis autism and get these children early treatment.

The study followed 137 San Diego pediatricians as they screened babies at their one-year checkup. As part of the screening, parents were asked to fill out a survey which asks questions about how the child plays, observes the world and interacts with others. The children who failed the screening were retested every year up until the age of three. Of the over 10,000 babies tested, 184 fail and 32 were eventually diagnosed with autism. Those who failed received treatment at 17 months.

Further studies need to be conducted, but it proves autism screenings can be done systematically and as part of a routine wellness visit.

View video:

Our pediatrician does a routine autism screening exactly like the one in the study at 18 months. Does your pediatrician routinely screen for autism? Do you believe doctors should?

This is Not Our Lot in Life

Women are not baby machines. Our sole purpose in life is not to produce babies and do nothing else. Yet, sadly, even in today's "enlightened" society, many people still believe this. One of the most aggravating, not to mention disturbing, things I heard after I had given birth was I was free to die the next day because I would be content knowing I had done one good thing in my life.

My one good thing? What about my college degree? What about being a published writer? What about having never spent any time in jail? Apparently, these things mean nothing compared to a pooping, crying newborn.

Claiming having babies is a woman's lot in life is like saying a man's purpose in life is to be a sperm donor. It makes no sense.

The first post I ever wrote for this blog was about how the media lumps all mothers together into one category as if we were one size fits all. Not only does the news media do this but so do advertisers. The advertiser who inspired this post is the Baby Bullet. The Baby Bullet is nothing more than a small electric mixer. But it is marketed to mothers for making baby food. What makes the Baby Bullet different from the regular Bullet is a ridiculous smiley face on the mixer and the sales pitch.

Happy, perhaps too happy, "mothers" give their testimonials while holding their babies. These women, no doubt actresses, have perfect hair, perfect make-up and perfect clothes. They live in what looks like large homes. In other words, they are one of two stereotypical mothers in the media. The other is the haggard mother who sacrifices everything and has no time for herself. Still, she could use this product, too.

For once I would love to see products advertised to parents. Yes, parents, not just moms but moms AND dads. Dads have a stake in raising their children. These aren't Victorian times when women bare the babies and raised them while the fathers are the breadwinners and are aloof with their children. Modern dads are involved in their children's lives, helping to raise them and take care of them.

Royal Wedding, Royal Hype

The United States declared its independence from Great Britain in 1776, but you wouldn't know it from all the fuss that was made over the past several weeks about the royal wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton. There was everything from a Dunkin' Donuts doughnut to a Papa John's pizza. There were knock-offs of the engagement ring for sale. There was television show after television show, viewing parties and wedding reenactments.

It is often said that many little girls grow up wanting to marry a prince. A number of grown women still find this idea very romantic. They are seduced by the idea of living in a palace, having all the opportunities in the world and being lavished in furs and fine jewels.

In reality, there is much more to being a princess than elegance and wealth. There is decorum and tradition. There is a sense of duty. Moreover, there is living with the tabloids making up stories about you, living with some people loving you and others reviling you.

Princess Diana disocered what living life in fish bowl was like. The paparazzi literally hounded her to death. Let's hope Kate Middleton is better prepared for the celebrity that has been thrust upon her and that she will be able to deal with the pressures of being a prince's wife.