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I grew up as an only child, and I absolutely hated it.  It wasn’t really a choice that my parents made, but once my father fell ill and subsequently died, the thoughts of having more children were pretty much out of the question.

I had many friends, but none of them were close enough to me, to keep me from being lonely on occasion. I still longed for a playmate that would stay in my home with me, and grow up with me. Someone who wouldn’t move away, someone with whom I could have a lifelong bond.

When my Mother remarried, they decided that they didn’t want any further children because I was enough.

Well, that decision may have been an easy one for them to make, but for me- I was very unhappy without siblings. In fact, I begged for years to have siblings, and even to this day, part of me is still bitter that I didn’t have any. And if you bring up the subject on a day when I’m just in the right mood, I still have a lot of animosity about it.

When I voiced my concerns over the years to friends and family, many of them told me, that siblings were just a headache…

Well, not everyone’s siblings are a headache.  Some families are very close to one another and love one another, and try their best to live close to each other so that they will help each other out.  Well, for me, I’ll never have that option, nor will I ever.

Now that my son is 15 months old, I watch him as he plays with other children and a part of my heart is torn because I see how much he enjoys the attention and playtime with other kids.

I only hope and pray that in the near future, he will have many siblings to play with and grow up with. In the future, if my kids do or don’t get along, they can be there for each other through all the tough times. But, I think it would be a dumb decision to not have kids, just because some people who had siblings had difficulty with them.

Because not everyone’s family is the same… And lets face it, if we stopped doing things because it didn’t turn out favorably for others, we’d stay in place. Not moving, not working, not eating, not living… And that’s just a life I’m not willing to live.

When my son was first born, being a first time Mom, I wasn’t sure which diapers to use. So I decided to do some tests including trial and error, to find out which brands were the best for leak protection as well as affordability.

The diapers tested were:

• White Cloud
• Parent’s Choice
• Luvs
• Pampers
• Huggies
• Kirkland’s best

I was originally sent home from the hospital with Pamper’s brand diapers and was unimpressed with the price and decided to keep looking for a product that was better, and more economical. Neither the pricing or the performance, were up to par, in my opinion.

My favorite diaper was one of the cheapest, called White Cloud.  It was sold exclusively at Walmart, and the reason why I loved it so much was because it provided awesome protection, with thick adjustable accordion straps, and it was my favorite.  Unfortunately, ever since I became hooked on this product, Walmart discontinued it, to my dismay.

My next favorite choice was ParentsChoice, also sold in Walmart. It is Even cheaper than White Cloud, and doesn’t provide any bells or whistles, but works just as well.  Although the adjustable straps are a bit thinner than  White Cloud’s (super straps), and thus can be ripped off and cause problems somewhat easier.

I like the smell of the Luvs diaper, because they smell fresh as if they’re covered in baby powder.  But, they are very thin, and the straps aren’t accordion like, so they don’t stretch with every movement the child makes, which is one of the reasons I didn’t care for it very much.

Huggies was pretty similar to Luvs and Pampers in performance, it was  pratically identical (performance wise).

My least favorite of the bunch and the one I strongly suggest you stay away from is the Kirkland’s Best brand, found exclusively at Costco.  This brand of diaper is very thin, and although it has “2 walls of protection” to hold spills in, the outer wall doesn’t cling to the body and leaves a wide open gab between the diaper and the outter thighs.  Opening up room for leaks and spills. Infact, you shouldn’t even think that there are two walls of protection on this diaper because this diapers’ outter wall is a complete joke, and although the diaper is cute and playful- we are more interested in how it works,versus the looks that sell.

The outcome of my testing pushed my favorite diaper high above all the others. I highly recommend using the Parent’s choice diapers from Walmart, and I suggest you keep your eyes peeled for new things that come onto the market to see what else is out there, with good leak protection as well as cost.

But for the price, quality and leak protection currently available, I think Parent’s Choice is your best bet.

*We were not compinsated in anyway for the testing or promotion of these diapers*

Well, anyone who grew up with parents knows that parents aren’t always right.

They often give us their advice on situations when not asked, and expect us to follow it, without ever thinking about it.  But, following our own path is the whole point in life.  You learn from others experiences and then you decide what you think is best for you and go for it.  Sometimes it leads you  somewhere, but more often than not, you end up failing at what you started.  But, it’s important for everyone to try and attain their goals, not their parents or grandparents goals.  But, their very own.

Often times when parents discipline their children, they forget to mention WHY something is a certain way. Such as, “NO, I said you can’t do that.” When prodded further, their responses are, “Because I said so.”

Well, sorry to burst your bubble here folks, but that just doesn’t cut it.  It just causes animosity and hatred between the children and parents .  But, a decent explanation that’s short and sweet should suffice all curiousity and keep the child from doing the very thing you wish them not to do.

Parents often forget what it was like when they were children, and how they felt when they were being told to do things, instead of asked to do things, or forced to do things instead of feeling they were being helpful to do things.

I know in my own experience, if my Mother told me to do something, I’d usually try to find  a way out of it, but if she asked me to do it, and said it nicely, I would do it happily.  No matter what it was. Usually she would request me to help her around the house.  But, don’t forget, just because they are children doesn’t mean they don’t have pride in who they are at that very moment.

Even though they will evolve immensely over the years, the person they are now, the carefree spirit that is a child, will soon fade away as the troubles of life begin to saturate them, filling them up like little sponges, soon too full to be able to absorb anymore.

A fun activity is plan a day with your kids, and let them choose what they’d like to do.  Once there, do everything that they want to do, and on the way back home (if you’re driving) take that opportunity to tell them how much they mean to you and then ask them how you are as a parent.  Then put your feelings aside and really listen to what it is they are trying to tell you.  Ask them what you can do to make their lives better.  Let them know that they have a voice, and it needs to be heard, but when they are happy and joyful, it’s time to communicate and not bicker.  It’s important for you to know how your child feels about you and what they think you need to change in order to be a better parent.

So, the next time you bark orders at your children, remember what advice you heard here. Talk to them, explain things to them, and ask them how you’re doing as a parent. Because you are their role model and their best teacher.Your kindness and generosity will mold them into the caring adults, that think things through before making hasty decisions, and ultimately they’ll become just the person they were meant to be.

Sometimes it seems like no matter what you do, the decision and implementation of your goal is still nerve wracking.

I know when we were just a couple, in the years before we had a child, whatever life decisions we made, that didn’t work out, were just another bump in the road.

But, when a child comes into the picture, the mistakes are thus magnified and human nature causes us to have immense fears that a bad decision will make us fail miserably.

It seems like there are times in our lives when we are tested to the brink of insanity. Trying to juggle everything we do day to day, as well as plotting and planning out the rest of our lives.  Needless to say, our plans change and morph over the years, but they basically stay the same or improve in some way.

Then there are those times that nearly everything we try doesn’t work out.  I guess right now in my own family’s lives, we are at a crossroads deciding what decision is the best one to make for the future of our family.  It’s difficult to decide because we want to make a giant leap forward, not a jump back.

Guess, we’ve just got to sit down with a pen and paper, and decide what options we have, then pick the one that suits us the best.  I just hope that our decisions are well thought out and are not hasty, and will definitely improve our way of living.

That’s about all we can hope for…

If you ask anybody, most people would say that they absolutely hate being sick.  The feeling of being miserable from: body aches to a stuffy/runny nose coughing, sneezing, wheezing, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, etc.

But, your own feeling of misery is quickly magnified when you see your child in that kind of anguish. It’s hard to describe the feeling of utter guilt that surges through a parents body when they see their child sick.  Most of the time, the germs the adult has brought into the home, causes one or both parents to become sick, then it swiftly shifts over to the child.

When children get sick, they usually become really cranky, clingy, and hard to please.  Then there’s those times when they’re so ill that their little chests get congested with phlem and when they cry (trying to complain, non-verbally) they end up gagging and then vomiting all the food they’ve recently had. It’s really a sad site.

Not only is it a nasty, stinky mess that a parent must deal with, but a very painful process to watch, when your child is in pain. That nurturing soul inside of every person, just jumps out to try and help a child in distress.

It’s important for every person to value their good health, because once they become ill, they wish it would soon be over, but once it is, they’re so caught up in their own lives, they don’t realize how much the illness was a blessing in disguise.