Mom Uses Social Media To Get Son To Take Out Trash

A very creative mom found a unique way to get her son to do chores. When her repeated requests to her son to take out trash didn't work, this mom turned to social media site Ingur for help.

She posted an image of her full trash can, to ingur, along with a message for her son.

“D, this is your mom. Please take out the trash!”

Then she asked readers for a little help getting her post to the front page so her son would see it.

“So my son has been lurking here and constantly has his nose in the phone reading and laughing at stuff here. He doesn’t hear me when I ask him to take the trash out. Help me get this to the front page please so maybe the trash will get taken out soon! Thank you!”

The photo went viral, bumping up to the front page of imgur.  The trash can photo currently has more than 70,000 views.

And, yes. Her son took out the trash.

Kerrisimo updated her message after her photo went viral to explain why she used social media to connect with her son.

"Thank you for helping me get this on the front page. I feel like I have to explain a few things. First I want to thank all of the funny, and up building people who commented. Second, my son is a 20 year old young man who is on the autism spectrum. He is VERY high functioning and graduated 3 years ago from high school and last year graduated from college with honors.
 He is working part time in the field he chose. 

He loves being online as most of his peers do. His recent place to hang out is reading the posts at Imgur....I may not be the cool mom, but I do listen to him and what is of interest and important to him. 

Parenting any child you try to find ways to interact with them. Sometimes just reminding (him) doesn’t work. So I thought maybe I could get his attention and interact with him here.”

Kudos to this creative awesome mom.

And raise your hand if you are going to be sharing some pictures of say, messy bedrooms, on social media today. (Wink.)

Calling All 'Dirty Dancing' Fans: Prepare to Experience the Time of Your Life

Are you a sentimental 'Dirty Dancing' fan? Do you dream you are Baby watch Johnny and Baby practicing those awesome dance moves every time chance you get? Then you need to pack your bags and head to the one of the "Dirty Dancing Weekends' at the very.same.place. where Johnny and Baby hung out that one summer.

Yep. You can be a hotel guest this summer at 'Kellerman's', (aka The Mountain Lake Lodge) just like Baby and her family. And you can even put on your dancing shoes and sign up for special 'Dirty Dancing' lessons.

The Mountain Lake Lodge in Pembroke, Virginia, is the actual destination from the film where Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) meets and falls in love with dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) (insert sigh), while on summer vacation with her family at the fictionally named "Kellerman Resort."

Once a year, the hotel offers three "Dirty Dancing"-themed weekends where guests can enjoy activities inspired by the film, including dance lessons, a scavenger hunt and trivia.

Only 3 weekends ladies. Reservations go quickly. Grab those dancing shoes and go!

How This Teacher Used Apples To Teach Her Students a Poignant Lesson on Bullying

One thing parents universally worry about when it comes to their kids is bullying. We worry so much that our child will get bullied for some reason or another when they go to school, let alone even think for a second that our child could actually be a bully.

Bullying is scary and real in school. Trying to help children understand what bullying does to another child is difficult at best. Rosie Dutton, a teacher in Birmingham, UK, shared a post on her Facebook page recently about a lesson on bullying she shared with her students.

It is amazing.

In the post, which has now gone viral, Dutton explains how she used two red apples to teach her students the effect bullying has on the inside of people, especially children.

Today in one of our classes I introduced the children to two apples (the children didn't know this, but before the class I had repeatedly dropped one of the apples on the floor, you couldn't tell, both apples looked perfect). We talked about the apples and the children described how both apples looked the same; both were red, were of similar size and looked juicy enough to eat.
I picked up the apple I'd dropped on the floor and started to tell the children how I disliked this apple, that I thought it was disgusting, it was a horrible colour and the stem was just too short. I told them that because I didn't like it, I didn't want them to like it either, so they should call it names too. 

Some children looked at me like I was insane, but we passed the apple around the circle calling it names, 'you're a smelly apple', 'I don't even know why you exist', 'you've probably got worms inside you' etc.
We really pulled this poor apple apart. I actually started to feel sorry for the little guy.

We then passed another apple around and started to say kind words to it, 'You're a lovely apple', 'Your skin is beautiful', 'What a beautiful colour you are' etc.
I then held up both apples, and again, we talked about the similarities and differences, there was no change, both apples still looked the same.

I then cut the apples open. The apple we'd been kind to was clear, fresh and juicy inside.
The apple we'd said unkind words to was bruised and all mushy inside.
I think there was a lightbulb moment for the children immediately. They really got it, what we saw inside that apple, the bruises, the mush and the broken bits is what is happening inside every one of us when someone mistreats us with their words or actions. 

I shared my own experience of suffering someone's unkind words last week. On the outside I looked OK, I was still smiling. But, on the inside someone had caused me a lot of pain with their words and I was hurting.

Unlike an apple, we have the ability to stop this from happening. We can teach children that it's not ok to say unkind things to each other and discuss how it makes others feel. We can teach our children to stand up for each other and to stop any form of bullying, just as one little girl did today when she refused to say unkind words to the apple.
More and more hurt and damage happens inside if nobody does anything to stop the bullying. Let's create a generation of kind, caring children.
The tongue has no bones, but is strong enough to break a heart. So be careful with your words.

words. The response to her post was astounding. It touched so many people that Dutton added to her post the following day.

Wow, I didn't expect this to get this kind of reaction, but as there has been many questions popping up I thought I'd clarify a few points. The apple was a red apple and to ensure it remained looking like there was no damage inside it was tapped repeatedly (but gently) on the floor over and over again. 

To touch you could feel the bruising, but you could not see it. No one noticed this within the class. After the apple was cut open and the impact was made, we discussed how I'd purposely bruised the apple before the session to make the point that we don't often see the pain our words cause people. It had a very powerful impact. Children got it and children understood. 

During this Relax Kids class (and every class) we offer children tools and techniques to manage their feelings and emotions, and through our unique seven steps we offer children strategies and solutions to manage any stress or anxiety. All of our activities promote teamwork, respect, peer support, conflict resolution, self-esteem and confidence, and children know where to go for support, if needed. 

Thank you for all your amazing support and kind words. I am aware there are similar activities that have been done many times before me, by fellow coaches and educators. I saw an activity years ago where the apple was thrown to the floor by children to emphasise physical pain. I was extremely grateful for this visual and it really struck a chord with me over the years. But, within my lesson I really wanted to focus on the power of JUST our words and the damage they may cause us inside, the pain no one can see.

We first read about this story on Babble and had to share.

Watch 4 Little Girls Share Some of Their Best Advice With Michelle Obama

Cosmopolitan/ www.youtube.com

This video from Cosmopolitan has to be one of the sweetest ever. These little girls share their best advice with First Lady Michelle Obama, and it is adorable to watch!

Cosmopolitan/ www.youtube.com

Watch This 16-Year Old Cancer Survivor Win Hearts and the Gold Buzzer on Last Night's America's Got Talent

A happy news story today guaranteed to make you smile.

16-year old Calysta Bevier is not just a typical teenager. She is also a stage 3 ovarian cancer survivor. On America's Got Talent Tuesday night, Calysta performed a beautiful rendition of Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” on America's Got Talent, winning not only a standing ovation from the audience, but also the coveted Gold Buzzer coup from none other than Simon Cowell.

Calysta was diagnosed with ovarian cancer a year ago after her mother noticed a lump on her stomach. The inspirational teen credits listening to music and singing helped through her battle with the disease. “Singing makes me feel happy. That’s really the only word I can fit to — singing. And on August 28, they told me I was in remission,” said Bevier, adding “That kinda motivated me to want to do more with singing.”

"I kinda came here today to show people that no matter what you've gone through, to keep chasing your dreams," Bevier explained before she started to sing.

After her powerful performance, judge Simon Cowell told Calysta, "I love everything about you. I just had this feeling when you walked out, I can't explain it -- just your spirit, the choice of song, your voice. I think you're really special."

Then he hit the Golden Buzzer to send Calysta straight through to the live semi-finals.

And our hearts got warmer and fuzzier.

In The News

Blue Wine is Totally a Thing... - Babble

What New Ride at Disney World Has a 300 Minute Wait? - HelloGiggles

If I Could Choose The Gender of My Next Child, I Totally Would - Mom.me

100 Baby Names You've Never Of Heard but Are Going to Want to Use - Pop Sugar

What To Do if That's Not a Snickers Bar in Your Pool? - Huffington Post

Are We Really Running Out Of Peanut Butter?

Uh Oh. Peanut Butter has made the list of foods that may one day be extinct due to global warming. Nope, this is not a joke. But before you start hoarding jars of peanut butter (and maybe jelly, you know, just because.) in your pantry, take a deep breath.

We still have about 15 years worth of PB&J in our future before that last precious jar gets opened. And who knows, maybe scientists will be successful in their search to uncover that rare sturdy peanut that can stand up to climate change. They are researching options to avoid this horrible scenario as we nervously eat gobs of peanut butter by the spoonful speak.

Apparently peanuts are a bit particular when it comes to their preferred growing conditions. They do not like too much heat ( yea, we feel you on that one, peanut.) And they are not fond of too little rain. Yet, too much rain can cause moldy peanuts. No one wants to eat mold.

In short, climate change is not a friend of peanuts.

Remember that ghastly peanut shortage of 2011? Premium prices were paid for one of those sought-after jars of smooth (or crunchy) nutty goodness. Yea, we so do not want to do that again.

Excuse me whilst I run to the store. For milk. Really.