Way to be offensive, Target.

Hi, I'm Melody, and I love Target... even though I'm incredibly angry at them right now.

I can get everything I need for me, my kids, my husband, my pets, and my house in one convenient location! As a stay at home mom, it's really helpful to be able to go to one place and get everything I need, especially since I have to run most errands with my kids. My husband hates it because he thinks I spend too much money there... but it's only because they have e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.!!!

I'm a typical 28 year old stay at home mom... we live in Southern California, we own our home, I have a son and a daughter, I dye my hair (because gray hair -for me- sucks), and I have tattoos.

I'm all for tattoo acceptance and tolerance, among other things. So guess my surprise when my friend posted a picture of a Halloween Costume marketed towards men.

I'm posting the link and screenshot, straight from Target's website.

Adult Prisoner Kit

I'm sorry outraged, WHAT IS THIS? What is this supposed to mean? You give a guy an orange button up shirt and a set of tattoo sleeves and now he's a "prisoner?" This is a "prisoner" kit? Why is this okay? Why do you think this is an appropriate costume? Why are we still associating tattoos with "prisoners?" 

Tattoos are (almost always) beautiful pieces of art, created for the owner. They mean something to the owner, created either by them or the artist.

 I am a mother, wife, daughter, sister, cousin, granddaughter, and niece. I have 14 tattoos, and every single one is so, so important to me. I've designed most of them, and a couple were designed by my artist, with a specific vision in mind. They are me, it's my heart on my sleeve

Your doctor might have tattoos. Your attorney may have tattoos. Your grandfather might have tattoos. Your best friend might have tattoos. As of 2012, one in five adults has a tattoo. In the last 2 years, it's gone up 13%, and approximately 30% of the US population has a tattoo.

It's 2014. Can we please stop judging people for having tattoos?

Haven't we made it clear that anyone can have tattoos? No...? Well here you go:

ANYONE CAN HAVE TATTOOS. 

Target, this is offensive. I hope you realize that, now. With all the other judgmental crap going on in the world, why dp you go to tattoos? Come on...

Please, stop judging people with tattoos.

Stop it.

stop it.

Scribble Monsters!

Here we are, October 1st! Did the year fly by for you like it did for me?

October is here, and it means I can start doing some fun and simple crafts with my little ones! My favorite of our Autumn crafts are what I like to call Scribble Monsters.

I started doing these a couple years ago. My oldest was just a year old, and I was pregnant with his little sister. I love decorating for Halloween, but I didn't want to do anything too scary, since he was so little. I also wanted to find something he could have a big part in, but that wasn't easy.

I started by drawing a pumpkin jack-o-lantern, then gave him all the orange-colored crayons from the box. He had a blast, colored everywhere, didn't matter if he colored outside the lines or not, because I was planning on cutting out the pumpkin and putting it in the window. Then I thought, how about monsters??

We had watched Disney/Pixar's Monsters Inc. already (he loved it, but what kid doesn't?!), and we had been on the rides and seen the attractions at Disney's California Adventure Park at The Disneyland Resort, so I knew some fun monsters wouldn't be too scary for him.

What you see below is the very first monster I drew for my son to scribble all over. He asked me to help, so I colored the horns; can you tell? :) He had SO. MUCH. FUN. with the monsters! We made and colored scribble monsters all day until our windows were full of them! We did them again the next year (which is the other photos you'll see in this post) with as much fun as before. This year, I thought I would share it with you, so you can make the Scribble Monsters with your children!

Scribble Monsters are SO easy. Anyone, any age, can make a Scribble Monster! Read on, and I will show you how! :)

What you will need:

• Blank white paper
• Dark black marker
• Crayons
• Scissors
• Tape

I start by drawing a monster, using the black marker. Just use your imagination! It can be as silly or simple as you want it to be. Once you draw one, more will come to you. You can ask your kids for input, too. It is so much fun!

Next tape down the sides of your paper. This is so the paper doesn't move around, if you have little ones, it's difficult for them to hold the paper while they color.

Give your kids the crayons and let them go crazy (on the monster!). They can do anything they feel like and they don't even have to stay in the lines! Not gonna lie, it's fun for adults, too :)

Once they are done coloring, cut out the monster from the page! You can tape it to the window, hang it on the fridge, or tape it to a blank piece of paper and put it in a scrapbook.

That's it! Awesome craft, awesome Halloween decoration, and so much fun with the kids!

I would LOVE to see your Scribble Monsters, comment with them below, share them on facebook and repin them on pinterest, and #ScribbleMonsters on Instagram & twitter, @itslikemusic!