Monthly Archives: June 2022

I forgot! Kind of?- Self Care Thursday – June 30th 2022

Self Care Thursday's, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

(This post contains some affiliate links, This is to help a kick back to the blog financially by simply shopping as you normally do. If you choose to support the blog by this way, thank you, your support is greatly appreciated!)

I actually forgot to write last week! ( and the week before that lol) What is funny is that I actually thought about it more than once how I was even looking forward to the update due to the fact I had so much stuff happening with my dog that it would have felt great to get it off my chest. I didn’t write it. But I guess this week is the update. Not so much fitness but a bit of mental health AND some goals for the summer also too!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Last week (Well more like 3 weeks now) I had to take my dog to the vet. Mind you he was feeling off and not behaving normally. I dropped him off later (1100$+) to find out that it may be his teeth but also he had a weird part on his chest xray. Fast forward to now and he was trying to get his food but not eating the hard stuff. I tried putting water in to soften it up and he did in fact eat it so Im wondering if maybe it was his teeth after all. They do have tarter he is not a young dog, but it seems go be well I guess for now anyways. I will say that I used these pill pocket treats from the vet and they have been a huge life safer. They are basically a gummy playdoh type treat you push the pills in and hope for the beat. Last time I had to give him pills he caught on with the peanut butter pretty fast and was not feeling taking them so this you literally pop it into his mouth and its done.

So fast forward to now. Everything seems to be going alright. I have recently taking out some money, well waiting for it to get into my account anyways. So I can get my book covers done. Id like the same artist to do all three however that will be challenging financially since it will cost a few hundred dollars. We also are getting home stuff done and need a few bigger items like a new car seat for my youngest as he is way too big for his bucket seat and also getting a second seat for the double stroller. In the summer when my partner is off on parental I’m hoping that we can walk every morning. That is my goal anyways and I hope he is also on bored with it too! I am getting excited to finally release these books and mentally am preparing myself for the fact that the books wont be immediate successes. I need to keep going with that.

I also am struggling (surprise) with weight loss. As usual. I am eating my feelings and my thoughts are not safe in the way that I feel like not eating the next day after a binge. I never binge enough to throw up but I binge enough to feel like complete dog poop. One goal I have said while my spouse is on parental is that I want to be able to go for walks. Recently I have purchased a little board that can go on our stroller for my oldest son. This will help with walks tremendously though. I am so looking forward to doing daily ones because I think it will be a huge thing for me to get energized and I hope we can go right after breakfast so that we get it done and over with. He also wants to get back into a bit better shape so that when he gets back to a regular routine for his job he will be able to not be winded.


As far as writing goes though, I think for the summer I will be writing these updates bi-weekly. He is on parental and I really dont want the pressure of writing these every single week though. I do have blogs to release though on Thursdays a bit more in depth about my life. I know by how I read some of you are maybe questioning things that I eat when I say I am a picky eater etc. This will be a great way for me to keep these active however not majorly thinking about it. I plan on being live more too so if you want to physically be able to talk and chat you are more than welcome to check out the stream here.

5 Binge Worthy Shows – Part 1

Life, , , , ,

If you are anything like me, you love to have a good binge or whatever show on Netflix, or amazon prime, or *Insert streaming service of choice*. I do love me some good ol binges however with 2 young kids it can be challenging. Sometimes a binge to me lasts a week or two due to the fact that I have to think about a lot before I even begin to watch, such as will I have enough time to pay attention? or is this a show to watch when my son’s are asleep so I can enjoy it? These would be some top shows that I would recommend to binge to anyone and have even done it multiple times myself too.

Photo by Shamia Casiano on Pexels.com



How I Met Your Mother is such a quick and versatile show. Episodes are only 20 minutes long however seasons are typically 20+ episodes. They are quick to pick up and watch a few and then switch to another or you are able to watch a few hours in a night. I know this has to be easily a top 3 show of my partner’s and when they finally removed it from Netflix on the 31st of December of 2021 he was more than a little upset. He was straight bummed out about it! The characters you see grow and mix and mingle. There are tons of inside jokes and if you miss an episode or two by chance because you maybe got carried away cleaning or something you are still able to pick it back up and also enjoy it too without losing a whole lot in terms missing major key points of the story. This is a show that I am able to put on during the day time if I am doing a few things and don’t want my son to really focus on it either too. It has many laughs and is well worth it for sure!

*** If you are someone who is really enjoying the blogs and has the financial freedom to want to support this through tips, you are more than welcome to do so by clicking on this link to bring you to my personal Ko-Fi page. Never will you ever be pressured to support in this way however the option is there if you wish to do so! Your continued support regardless of financial or not is greatly appreciated.


Vampire Diaries is more of a guilty pleasure show for me. It is a teen drama relating to , wait for it, vampires. It has love stories and twists and turns. The ending few seasons can be a little bit dry but if you keep up with it you are more than likely to be hooked on the show and unable to stop. Another thing also is the fact there is currently 2 spin offs. One being Legacy’s and another being the Originals. I cannot speak to either of those however I did discover that The Originals are on Prime Video so I will be probably checking that out in the near future to binge. It has a little bit of everything and I have also watched this multiple times. It kind of has a bit of a dry spell through the seasons though like many other shows, especially with their length about 40 minutes, however you can totally dive into these and get reeled in immediately.

Photo by Daisy Anderson on Pexels.com

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is simply a classic. No matter the ways you look at it. Again similar to Vampire Diaries it does have some sexual tension as well as it is more maybe teen directed at least in the beginning seasons due to the fact that they are in high school. I have watched this series countless seasons no matter how rummy the special effects are in the beginning to how they get even a bit better towards the ends. Following a teen becoming the chosen one who is the Slayer and must destroy and protect her town from all sorts of demons and other monsters that haunt their world. You follow her life as she grows struggling to balance her new normal and regular average teenager life too.

Stranger Things I will admit, was a show that I normally would never in my life watch. With drama and a retro feel to it, I am not one to typically choose a sci-fi type show however co-workers back in the day commented how great it was and I had to watch it. Now I find that I am binging it whenever the newest season comes out. I may even dive deep and re watch the previous season as a little refresher to the new one. There is so many things that I could say about this show however I do not want to spoil it for you. If by now you have not at least given this show a shot you truly are missing out on what all the hype is about. And yes, it is worth it!

Supernatural is one of the top shows there can be out there. From episodes that range in length around 40 minutes, and with 20+ per season normally, you have a good way to kill some time by starting this series. This show starts by following two brothers in search for their demon hunting Dad. He goes missing and they keep each other company trying to catch up to him. With over 10 seasons to watch, there is no shortage of episodes to be seen here. You may want to watch them all semi-close though or you may miss out on particular time line lore.

Whether or not you are looking for a bit of teen drama, friendly humor, or a little bit of demon action, there really is endless shows to binge. As long as you are willing to look at shows and have a basic idea of what you would like. For me, I’m about to finish Wentworth, Another binge worthy show we will talk about next time!

5 Canadian Stereotypes

Opinion, , , , , , ,

If you were unaware, yes, I am a Canadian. And being a Canadian there are many many stereotypes that come along with it. Just like other countries have their own we are no different here. Some of them being more outrageous than the next. While some of them do in fact have some little bit of truth to them. If you want to check out the first 5 stereotypes that I talked about you are more than welcome to read them in this blog post here. Now let’s talk about the next five that seem to follow us around no matter where we go.

Photo by Daniel Joseph Petty on Pexels.com

We All Live in the Middle of Nowhere
While there is a lot of people who do live in the middle of nowhere there are also a lot of people who live near or in the cities. For me, I am only 30 or so minutes if not less (depending on traffic) from Halifax. I never wanted to live in the middle of no where because that would be more travel for things. There are plenty of people who live further out because they enjoy that lifestyle. That being said, I don’t think there is any more people living further out than another country. It may seem that way though due to the fact our country is so large and much of it is forests and places that people really do not live. Like up north where there are people living there, however the number of them there is very low.

*** If you would like to support this blog financially you are more than welcome to do so by clicking this link here to bring you to my Ko-Fi website. Supporting the blog via tips is NEVER pressured however if you feel so inclined to help out in another way this is a perfect way to do so! You can see some behind the scenes items as well as insider info on the store updates and uncensored blogs also coming soon!

There’s Nothing to Do
This count not be further from the truth. Sure there may not be everything and anything you want like other countries but there is plenty to do here. If you live close to a major city chances are they have nearly everything you could imagine. Even if you live far from the city they normally have heritage buildings or museums that you are able to go to also. If you know where a lake or pond is than chances are in the winter time you have a pair of skates and are skating there, provided the ice is thick enough and it is safe to do so too. And if you are close to the city there are probably specific activity places for kids, adults, parents, teens that you will be able to see. There is plenty to do in Canada as long as you have some idea what you want to do and where you want to do it at!

Photo by Andre Furtado on Pexels.com

We Live Solely on Poutine
Before I begin, know that as I write this I have already written a blog post about how I do not like Poutine and how it is overrated. Though I will say poutine is very popular across the country it depends on how it is made. Quebec obviously has the best poutines due to the fact they are French, poutine is French.. You get it. They actually make it with cheese curds which is the proper way. The further east or west you venture from Quebec they seem to just use mozzarella cheese which is not the same. Believe me, As someone who has been with a fella who is Quebecois for the past 10 plus years I hear all about which poutines are the best and what is wrong with the worst ones.

Everybody Speaks French
This is such a misconception when it comes to Canada. In fact, there is only one province that is primarily French and that is Quebec. New Brunswick, respectfully is bilingual and other provinces such as Nova Scotia has communities of people who speak french like the Acadiennes (Which my grandmother is). Most people in the country would have taken some French classes in school but if they never pursued it further they would probably have lost what little they did know. French is a language that I learned as an adult and only because my in laws speak it so it opened up a whole new level of communication with them. However, the vast majority of Canadians probably do not know much French in terms of conversations.

We Love to use Duct Tape
I think this is debatable as some people I am sure love using duct tape however I think it depends on the project. Have I seen people get injured and grab the duct tape to wrap it up? Yep. Have I seen someone put more then they should back on to their car with duct tape? Of course. That being said I don’t think I would really judge and say that Canadians use duct tape more than another place though. While I am not saying that it does not have many, many uses for just about anything under the sun, I just don’t see people absolutely LOVING duct tape like the stereotype may be. But if you do love it, You just might be a fan of Red Green.

There you have it, five more stereotypes that have been de-bunked (kind of) when it comes to Canadians. I, of course cannot speak to all of them since I am only one person, however living here for my 30+ years on the planet as well as in 2 vastly different provinces I guess I consider myself able to let you know which of these have any shred of truth.

Are there any stereotypes from the country you live in?
Which are they and are they completely false too?

Let me know in the comments below! I would love to read all the different ones about where you are from!

Why I Disagree With Home Births

pregnancy, , , , , , , , ,

This may be a controversial subject but apparently that is what we are all about here at the blog so why not talk about this!

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

If you are fortunate to live in a place where you have options in the health care, you may be given these choices in terms of where to give birth. The main one being a hospital, with a birthing center next and then the home birth choice. In Canada I am unaware if we even have birthing centers and for me, the thought never crossed my mind as I always would prefer a hospital for many many reasons. However I have seen stories where people do in fact in the year 2022 decide to have a home birth because they are an “ideal” candidate. I have 2 kids and I would like to have a third here in the near future and there is nothing in this world that could ever per sway me to ever agreeing to having a home birth. The only way it would remotely happen would be if labor came on super fact and I had no idea if I would make it to the hospital.

**If you like what you are reading through out these blogs, and are looking at ways to financially support the blog, please consider checking out my Ko-Fi link here. You will NEVER be pressured to contribute to towards put any type of money towards the blog however if the thought has crossed your mind, here is a great way to help a stay at home mom provide some financial relief for her family.

One of the reasons why I think many people like myself choose a hospital is, simply put, you just never know. You really have no idea what is happening when it comes to giving birth. For example, my 2nd was breech and we never knew he was until I was actually in labor. You can read all about his birth here which ended in a c-section. If I hypothetically was to try for an at home birth I would have been right to the hospital for that anyways. And in the process maybe wasting time and potentially risking my life or my child’s life. Call it harsh if you must, but that is the reality of a home birth.

Being in a hospital is such a safe place to be due to the immense amount of resources that are available. If anything were to happen and it needed to have a situation that could be ready for anything this would be the place to go. In my own situation, I never knew my son was breech until I was in labor. What if we had attempted a vaginal delivery just like my first son, and then something happened and I needed to be rushed to a hospital to save the life of myself of even my child. There really is anything that could be happening. And with doctors and specialist and nurses there you really could not be in any safer place for welcoming your child into the world.

Then you have birthing centers from my understanding, is mainly for low risk pregnancy’s. They are a lot more laid back than a hospital so to speak however they do have a bit more specific rules that must be included in a birth plan. I really don’t know any examples of this due to the fact I am not aware if Canada even has birthing centers. Especially with our universal health care I think it would be a home birth or a hospital birth. From my understanding though, a birth center is some what of a middle ground in terms of giving birth. It is more or less a mix of a home setting with some hospital interventions if necessary and to some extent too.

And finally, home births which are just that. They are hiring some sort of professional whether a midwife or a doula or maybe even a nurse, and having your baby inside of your home. There is minimal interventions medically so to speak and only people with low risk pregnancy are even considered for this. The whole purpose is to have a birth as natural as possible without the hospital setting. And well, if something goes wrong then that is a whole other story. This includes not having any medications to help and maybe even having a minimal amount of monitors even checking the health status of your baby.

Photo by Ryutaro Tsukata on Pexels.com

This may come off blunt (but if you are already a big reader you will know I don’t sugar coat things) but in 2022 there should not be any home births. There is so much that can happen in the blink of an eye that if not at a birthing center at the very least, you could not only be putting your baby in danger but also yourself too. This also raises the question, if something were to happen during child birth at home with the baby or the mother, who is to blame? The parents who decided to have the home birth? The people who encouraged this practice or were essentially helping the baby be born into this world? There really is a bunch of raised questions that could be asked when in terms of what if’s and if something goes wrong.

I am a firm believer in science. I think that with so many interventions to help with child birth there is little reasons why babies should be born and die due to neglect (Which is what home births are in my honest opinion). I dont even understand how any parent who decides this and has something happen (Heaven forbid it does) would be able to live with themselves knowing that the situation could have many been prevented provided they were in an established center that was well equipped to handle crisis when it should show up.

Child birth can be stressful enough, being in a hospital may be stressful for some and I understand the reasoning for wanting a home birth, however I don’t agree that they should happen. A hospital is there for a reason, and that reason just may be to save the life of your baby and yourself.

Overlays, Good or bad?

Streaming, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

An overlay is a great way to display to your community different things that you want to achieve ie: A sub goal, Tip goal, Follower goal, Top tippers and anything of that nature as well. You can even display most recent followers if you wish too. As simple as it sounds there can be a right way and a very wrong way to do this as well. Here are some questions you should ask yourself when you decide to add an overlay to your stream.

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Pexels.com

Should I get an overlay?
This should be the 1st question you ask because there are certain circumstances where you will not be able to use an overlay. IE: if you stream from console and DO NOT use a capture card then it will be harder/not possible to use an overlay. I have been told that if you use a console and stream directly from there to Twitch or whatever platform, that if you use the remote play feature or do it through a computer then you should be able to use an overlay. Personally, I have no idea how to use that as I never needed to but apparently it is possible. I used to have an overlay when I did use a capture card though. This is because it runs through OBS and you are able to add the file/image to your scenes. If you stream through a computer then you will have no problem adding an overlay to your streams to make them a bit more personal as well too! I personally never got one until I was on a PC/Capture card. If you are in a position where you are unable to have an overlay, that is totally okay too! You will be able to add one eventually as you continue to progress in your journey!

*** If you are someone who is really enjoying the blogs and has the financial freedom to want to support this through tips, you are more than welcome to do so by clicking on this link to bring you to my personal Ko-Fi page. Never will you ever be pressured to support in this way however the option is there if you wish to do so! Your continued support regardless of financial or not is greatly appreciated.

What is an Overlay?
An overlay is any type of information or design that you want to display on your stream. In order to do so you need to either be using a capture card or streaming from a PC. Some streamers have different scenes where their overlay displays chat, or the top donators or subscribers and things as well. It really depends on what you are looking to show to your community in your stream as far as how you would like this to be shown. If you wanted you could also display certain types of goals you might have for your channel as well too. It really depends on what you are looking for as a streamer! For myself, I sometimes show the subscriber goals that I have when trying to save for certain things, I also try to show things like followers sometimes. I also have a chat overlay as well sometimes depending on the scene that I am using too.

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

How can I get an overlay?
There are places where you can get a pre-designed overlay. This would be the quickest and one of the easiest ways to get one. Another more expensive way would be to commission a graphic designer and ask them to do a one of a kind overlay for you. Keep in mind if you want all the “Bells and whistles” then it will cost some money to get done. I always say when looking for ANY type of graphics it can be extremely helpful for the artists if you have somewhat of an idea. Even knowing which colors you would like on there is a huge help! And if not, that is also okay since your artist should be able to articulate your idea’s for you if you have trouble.

My Overlay
When I decided I wanted to do a little revamp, an overlay was something that I wanted. I knew I wanted it to be simple and I knew I wanted it to be timeless. I asked for my name “StaySeeJ” to be on there and I dropped the 08. Why? Because eventually if I got to the point I wanted a name change I would be dropping the 08 if it was possible. Spoiler alert: Fast forward to now, and I have actually dropped the 08 from my name which is great I thought ahead and am able to continue to use the same overlay! And I felt this was going to be cleaner without the number too. My colors that I liked was blues and white/black. The whole point was to have it slick and clean looking. I wanted it to be very minimal at the top of my screen and that’s how mine was done! Its simple, customizable and easy to add to any streaming software. I have also added through Streamlabs the different information that I wanted at the top. ie: Sub count, Sub Goal, Top Bits, Recent follower, Recent sub. The best part is that if I want to change out the displays I just need to add text and find the different spot in Streamlabs to get it done!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

DON’Ts of Overlays
– Don’t make your overlay too cluttered. People are either watching your stream for yourself or game play. Nothing is more annoying when you click a stream and 75% of their screen is filled with different alerts, text, logos and many other things. Its cool to display things but making your overlay look like a collage board from school is not the way to do it. It also can be very distracting to what you maybe trying to portray. If you are a great Apex player and all everyone see’s is your logos and things flashing on the screen it will make it incredibly hard for anyone to really focus on what it is you want to people to focus on.

– Don’t make donation goals the center of your overlays. Though I think it can be important to showcase a tip goal for your community I don’t think making it the most important thing is going to do a lot of good for people wanting to help out. If you do have one on your overlay make sure you STRESS the importance of your viewers simply being there instead of making them seem like your only goal is to get their money. When streamers talk about money as their goal it can really put a damper on things especially if people in the chat are unable to financially support your stream.

And lastly, As I have mentioned with lots of other posts. Be careful who you get to commission your work! Make sure you do your research before putting your trust into another person. Word of mouth when it comes to designers is a huge way to see how they are and if they are worth your time and money. If someone is known for copying other artists or not getting back in a timely fashion then they may not be worth you giving your ideas to. If you aren’t sure with what you want and are not in a rush post on your twitter, discord, ask in streams, or even check reviews if a person has an online portfolio in order to make sure you choose the right person for you! Go with your gut too, If you have a feeling that the person may not deliver what you expect then don’t go with them! This is something for YOU to showcase your brand and you shouldn’t take anything but the best for that!

How to Deal with Mom Guilt

Parenting, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This is something that I am sure happens to both men and women who are parents however I can only speak for the moms out there. I welcome any men who may stumble upon this to write in the comments if they too feel this “Parenting Guilt”. I assume there must be this to some extent however I have no idea what that extent may be though! After all, as parents one of the most challenging things we can do is feel guilty for something or another even if the moment doesn’t warrant feeling guilty at all!

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Mom or Parenting guilt is just that. It is something that you do as a parent that you may be guilty about doing. Maybe it is disciplining your child, or maybe even you miss an early diaper rash sign and you now have a full blown rash on your baby and feel guilty it got that far too. Honestly you can have guilt for just about anything and everything when it comes to kids. There can even be times when maybe you wouldn’t have guilt for something and suddenly that changes and now you feel super guilty over some thing!

*** If you are someone who is really enjoying the blogs and has the financial freedom to want to support this through tips, you are more than welcome to do so by clicking on this link to bring you to my personal Ko-Fi page. Never will you ever be pressured to support in this way however the option is there if you wish to do so! Your continued support regardless of financial or not is greatly appreciated.

Breast feeding is one if the biggest things I think Mom’s in particular can have this guilt for. In fact, I even wrote about how we need to normalize formula feeding in a blog post here. As a society we put such a heavy weight on women to be able to breast feed our babies that it can be a huge guilt trap when you decide to stop or if you decide to jump right into formula. So much so that women who do end up stopping before they maybe planned to stop will see out donations of breast milk from random strangers on the internet. That is a whole other story that I cant even describe how alarming or dangerous it is. As a society we make it sound like breast feeding is the only way to feed a baby and if you don’t do it you are somehow taking away things from your little one. Which is completely wrong as there are many different reasons why a parent may choose not to breastfeed including for their own mental health which is also important too. It stressed me out. Especially with having my first son have jaundice and I was not sure if he was drinking an adequate amount to get rid of the jaundice too. And with my second I just went to formula and felt great!

Being sick can be tough sometimes. As parents sometimes we forget that we are not super human and that we also can get sick. Which in turn can result in our little humans missing out on something perhaps. Maybe we have a TV day because we have the flu so bad we are unable to do a whole lot. Maybe we have a cheat day with meals and make things that are incredibly fast or easy to give ourselves a break. We do not need go be feeling guilty for prioritizing our health. Which I know is a lot easier said than done. Funny enough, I am also guilty of feeling guilty!

Society constraints or how they think people should parent, I am sure is a huge source of parental guilt for parents. These are the expectations that as a society we put on parents for literally no good reason but to drive them crazy. This would be the breastfeeding part. It may also be the proper meals every single meal time of the day. Let’s not forget either the maybe having to go many many places or even the no television or ANY screen time before a child is 2 years old. As a mother to a 2 year old at the time of writing and a 4 month old I can say with confidence we limit our sons screen time but we do not eliminate it completely either. And I certainly am not going to never give my older son TV time for fear my younger one will see something.


Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com


At the end of the day you could feel guilty about anything in your life. However when it comes to parenting there is something about it that your guilt is almost amplified and you feel even more guilty for something super small than you may not feel when it comes to something outside of parenting too. I know for me I think about things that make me guilty for far too long even though I know there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It can be as silly as something like making eggs for supper one night instead of doing a long and thought out supper. Maybe my oldest is having a meltdown and to break that I put on a TV show earlier than I typically would put on a TV show. It really just depends on the situations but for some reason us parents are our own hardest judges.

And lastly, we have a fear that what we are doing may never be enough. Something like maybe your house is never clean enough, maybe your meals not exotic enough, maybe you put extra hour of TV on, or you never spent the money on that new expensive place for kids in the city that everyone and their dog is paying for. Maybe you don’t have your kids in the hardest or most expensive sport either.

It is so important to remember that as a parent each and every one of us learns and teaches differently. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that either. Just do what you are comfortable with and I am sure you will be raising a little genies!

Wish People Said About Birth/Pregnancy – Part 1

Parenting, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Before I begin, I want to say this is something that I had asked the people on the app “Peanut”. This is an app where mothers sign up and can meet other moms around their towns and essentially become friends and hang out (Not a sponsor). However for me I felt it was far too overwhelming and in typical fashion I stopped using the app. I did however ask a question to the community, that question was “What is something you wish people told you about pregnancy or birth”. These are some responses and once the other parts become active I will be posting them below with links. And you are more than welcome to check them out yourself too!

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels.com



What do you wish people told you about pregnancy and birth Part 2
What do you wish people told you about pregnancy and birth Part 3

Breast feeding hurts is something that popped up a few times. You guys may know my stance on breast feeding in terms that I formula feed my son and did the same for my first. I breastfed for 3 days with my first child and it was not for me. When you look at movies and things you always assumed that breastfeeding was this easy thing and any parent loves to do it. This couldn’t be further from the truth. It is something that you have to literally teach yourself. And before anyone says, “maybe it hurts because of latch problems blah blah blah” it does not have to be physical hurt. I wrote a blog about normalizing formula feeding that you can read here before we often forget the mental strain of stopping the breastfeeding journey due to guilt society and other mom’s put on others.

*** If you would like to support this blog financially you are more than welcome to do so by clicking this link here to bring you to my Ko-Fi website. Supporting the blog via tips is NEVER pressured however if you feel so inclined to help out in another way this is a perfect way to do so! You can see some behind the scenes items as well as insider info on the store updates and uncensored blogs also coming soon!


Another mention someone had said was postpartum anxiety. Anyone hear the phantom crying? I know for us, my spouse and myself felt this with our first. I will also mention that the second child we had these anxieties seems to feel a bit more relaxed, maybe because we know that we have the skills needed to raise human however it doesn’t change how it felt for our first. These would be the anxiety’s that you have with your children, often times they are irrational and don’t even really make sense however they are important to note that there is a lot of anxiety after the birth of your baby. Feeling these are completely normal and if you feel like it may be something that is excessive you should reach out to a health care provider to validate those feelings and work through them as they can be hard to work through.



The physical recovery, not during child birth. I know for me I am completely guilty of this. I totally slipped my mind the use of pads and things after giving birth and only did it click when I was having my first son and a friend had given birth a few months prior had given me their heavy duty pads they used and no longer needed. I know sounds completely dumb to forget that but I never even thought about bleeding even though it made sense. That being said there is multiple types of recover. I have had the no medication birth with my first and a vaginal delivery which you can read about here. I also have had a c-section birth that I talk about here with my second child too that you can read about here. But no one prepares you for how challenging it can be to have either birth. If I had to pick I would say the c-section was the harder birth due to the fact you legit had a major surgery. I am really hoping that our last and third child when the time comes is a vaginal birth and NOT a c-section however it it happens the only thing saving me mentally is that it will be the last c-section that I ever have. The physical pain you go through, even a vaginal birth with no tearing having to walk up stairs after arriving home was so challenging holy smokes. I never even thought of that either!

Breastfeeding is not birth control. I know a few people who learned this the hard way. And based on the people commenting on this answer there was a lot of others who found that out also. Though breast feeding may delay your period and what not, it still can not be used as a contraceptive. Unless you are on birth control or using controls, if a man ejaculates inside of you there is a strong change that you could be pregnant from this. This also goes for the “having sex before 6 weeks” and you may not get pregnant. False. There is a reason why you are told to wait 6 weeks and that is due to your body healing. Saying breastfeeding is a way to prevent pregnancy is not a solid one and you may find yourself playing with fire and having a little surprise bundle in 9 months time too.

Photo by Jonas Kakaroto on Pexels.com

Milestone obsessions is something that is very real and I again feel like having multiple kids does ease this up. When you have one child you become obsessed with milestones. Are they crawling on time? Rolling? Walking or standing? The fact is the spectrum is so broad that your child may be doing one or all things at once and there is no really right or wrong way. Use the milestones as a guideline but there is no need to panic if they aren’t hitting everything that they need to be at the time. It is also important to note that if a few milestones are missing at one age they may catch up and have multiple milestones happening at other ages though. Sometimes milestones are grouped up and they aren’t as spread out for people.

As you can see there is multiple things that may seem pretty obvious to others however this is not the case. This is something that maybe by writing these out a new parent may know before the situation arises! And if you are pumped to read this I can’t wait for you to read the other ones when they come out too!

Surreal Feeling of Parenting

Parenting, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If you are not a parent I’m not entirely sure that you will know what this feels like. I don’t mean that in any way disrespectfully either. Just that for this particular blog, it really is only since becoming a parent that I have really noticed this.

Photo by Josh Willink on Pexels.com

Since becoming a parent I have become such a sad sap it isn’t even funny. I swear that I am one of those people who now cries at any animated movie no matter how small the inconvenience is. I tear up and think about things and it makes me feel like trash only because I would poke fun at my mom who also would get sappy about things too. Before becoming a parent I would never feel this way or even admit to it but here we are.

Another thing is that I find myself feeling an overwhelming sense of relief or even sense of serenity. I know that makes me also sound like a weirdo but it’s not. I mean sometimes I am sitting on the couch. One of my son’s is playing with his blocks in front of me. We have the TV on for background noise, and then we have my other son trying to bit his teether toys furiously like he means business. I just look around and I feel a sense of happiness that I dont think I can even describe because it doesn’t even feel real. I feel a sense of wow and wonder that this is actually my life. That this is something I could never have imagined how it felt until I was in the moment. I still can’t believe that after over 2 years, maybe 3 including pregnancy, that I have been a mom and my life has been changed.

*** If you are someone who is really enjoying the blogs and has the financial freedom to want to support this through tips, you are more than welcome to do so by clicking on this link to bring you to my personal Ko-Fi page. Never will you ever be pressured to support in this way however the option is there if you wish to do so! Your continued support regardless of financial or not is greatly appreciated.

Another thing that I know people talk about often is this, Time passes sooo fast with children. I know you know people with kids and have heard at some point, whether a parent or not, you may even have heard your own parents say it, is that “before you know it, they will be growing up like weeds”, “Or off to college soon with them in the blink of an eye” or something along those lines. THIS IS TOTALLY TRUE!! Which is mind blowing right. It really is.

When we had our first child, we knew time was passing fast. When you had to change clothes or even go up diaper sizes you would think to yourself holy moly, there is a lot of time that passed we are already changing up! Well, let me tell you this, when you have more than one kid, you will notice that that time is then going twice as fast as it was with just one child! Maybe I find this is because my second son is growing so quickly and at the time of reading it is 5 months old and next month we start baby foods. I feel like we just had him!


There are even times now when both of the boys are asleep when my spouse and I are laying on the couch and we have to look at each other and wonder, “Wow, we made them” as we look at their monitors form their rooms, which is still hard to grasp. Like we made two human beings. Two little pieces of both of us mixed together they are us. I always knew when I was younger that I would have kids one day. I knew that I would be a mom. It was just a feeling that I knew. And again, I want to state if anyone not a parent is reading this, there is nothing wrong with not wanting to have children! There is enough pressure for couples to have a family that I do not want to be someone who does that. There is people who want kids and others who do not and there is nothing wrong with that.

I also know a lot of parents feel this strange passing of time due to the amount of parents on my Facebook that when their child’s birthday comes around they comment about how they maybe turned around and they already have a 10 year old! which is again, mind blowing when it comes to things also too. it really is that when you decide to have kids that time has a new meaning. I feel like days in particular happen fast too. There is a lot of times when I turn around and feel like the day has flew by and my spouse is already home from work.

Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.com

Being a parent changes you. Or I should say, being a good parent changes you, we know there is a lot of bad ones out there which I would assume their lives don’t really change at all. Being a good parent makes you want to do better, be better, get better. I have been a parent for over 2 years, including pregnancy though I would say closer to 3. I know that I have been changed by my kids and remembering who I used to be and how I dont do some of the things I did before is tough. But there is still many many days when I sit around and think in awe how great my life is. How thankful I am to have 2 children and hopefully we plan for our 3rd and final one towards the end of the year. I am starting to think that this feeling doesn’t ever fade either, It hasn’t since my oldest was born! And it still feels like he was just a little baby and in the hospital and how excited and nervous and happy I was holding him! Even if not he is Mama’s big big baby now!

Why I Disagree with Vegan Lifestyle for Kids

Parenting, , , , , , , , , , ,

If there is one thing for sure, there is no shortage of how people want to try to tell others how to parent their children. Anywhere from waiting to pierce a child’s ears til they could consent to circumcision without consent(You can read either blog about those subjects here!) but there is nothing more wrong (IMO) than trying to push a specific lifestyle upon your children. Again this is going to be a more or less a personal opinion piece so if you dont agree well, that is completely fine also. This is just how I feel about the subject and as always I welcome any and all opinions in the comments.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com



Why I dont think vegan lifestyles should be pushed on kids is just this, they are unable to voice their opinion whether or not they want to pursue that lifestyle and forcing them into it just is plain cruel. Veganism is a very difficult lifestyle. Sure you can face the argument of well you can get everything from other products without eating meat or animal bi-products, however does it really compare to the real deals here? Maybe not. Have the parents been like this for a long time? Maybe, but that doesn’t mean that they should be doing the same thing for their growing child.

The fact is, when kids and babies are growing and they need to have nutrient rich diets. That isn’t to say that aren’t allowed to have treats or sweets and things by any means. It just means that there are nutrients that are majorly important to a growing human being. There just are some things that to substitute out of their food or to even get the proper amounts can be challenging at best. That is not to say that there isn’t specific ways you can actually get the same nutrients. Remember too that kids do not exactly have the largest bodies including their stomachs. In order to cram everything in to get their nutrition for the day may take a lot more than the original choice of getting the nutrients.

*** If you are someone who is really enjoying the blogs and has the financial freedom to want to support this through tips, you are more than welcome to do so by clicking on this link to bring you to my personal Ko-Fi page. Never will you ever be pressured to support in this way however the option is there if you wish to do so! Your continued support regardless of financial or not is greatly appreciated.

So why is it now a days people are so quickly to judge others and how they raise their children but when it comes to dietary needs they are turning away and pretending that they don’t see it. Why is it when people are doing these specific lifestyles and pushing this on to their kids people aren’t also asking the question of why wouldn’t you wait til they could consent to this way of living?

I also want to state, I am not talking about children who may have allergies or sensitivities where they are unable to eat certain things or process certain things either. I am talking about where a parent chooses a lifestyle where they are no longer eating certain things in this world and they are making their child then not eat the same things they will not be eating. Allergies and sensitivities are a whole different ball game which to be frank, could mean life or death if ingested. I am also not saying that people who choose to life a vegan lifestyle are right or wrong in that either. I am sure anyone has valid reasons for eating the way they do, I am just talking about trying to have your children follow the same lifestyle, without them being able to say if they wanted to or not.



I personally am under the understanding that this is wrong and should not be enforced on children. I for example, barely eat a lot of many food groups. I talk more about that in my blog here, however when it comes to say meat, I dont eat much at all. No bacon or steak or hamburgers. Does that mean I make sure my kids don’t eat that also because I dont eat them? No. They eat all of the things I cook for them even if I dont like the taste or am too much of a picky eater. Their dad eats just about anything and everything from snails to frogs legs. I make these things because I know the importance of them to have a well balanced lifestyle when it comes to foods. I cant imagine trying to make my children eat what I eat (Which is carbs carbs carbs) and watching them not have the proper nutritional value per day because of myself. My own way of eating or lack there of is based on me, I dont want to be the reason my children get sick for following my diet.

Just because you lead a specific lifestyle does not mean that you should be forcing your children to also lead the same lifestyle. Until they can consent and form their own opinion on this they should, again in my opinion, be eating the same things anyone would be eating. Which is including all of the food groups and not excluding anything. Would you feel the same way about ear piercing or the same way about male circumcision?

And I also want to throw it out there that I am not talking about making your children lead a vegan lifestyle and then on top of that trying to give them all of these supplements and crap to try to make them have the same nutritional value. A multi vitamin makes sense, but to fill them up with drops and chewable Flintstones vitamins does not make any sense. Eating a certain way only to have the nutrients in those forms is not a way to live either.

Different Ways to Support Streamers

Streaming, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

There are many different ways to support streamers. Some are financial ways and there are many many that can also be done for FREE! Yes, you heard that, FOR FREE! People think a lot of the time that if they cant support a streamer financially that they aren’t doing a good job at being a viewer. There are a lot of things that are extremely helpful for streamers that cost the viewer absolutely nothing! These are the many various financial and FREE ways to support streamers on Twitch or even any platform that you tend to watch someone entertain you on.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Financial Support
This is obviously the way viewers think about when they think about supporting a streamer. Sure, if this is a streamer who does this as their full time job it can be important . However it is equally respectable if you are able to just be there. Most streamers don’t talk about finances on stream however they may have goals set up and things that can help you decide if you want to help them with a sub and or bits or tip as well too! Here are some ways to financially support a streamer:

Subscribing
Subscribing is when you choose to play a monthly fee, ie: on Twitch it can be 5.00, 10.00 and 25.00 to which the streamer gets a percentage usually a minimum of 50% of the price. If by chance they have a higher percentage that they take home it was because of the negotiations of their contract. Affiliates only take 50% though. You also get some perks like their emotes being able to be used in different channels and also sometimes streamers have different perks ie: Subscriber movie nights, sub only channels on discords and even first dibs when playing games as well too! You can also cancel this at any time. Mixer has a feature though I think there is just one base price in terms of subscribing. Not to mention on Twitch they have a feature called “Twitch Prime” where if you have Amazon Prime you are able to connect your accounts on amazon/twitch and receive a free gift sub to use on a channel across the site. The only thing with using Twitch Prime is you have to remember to RE-SUBSCRIBE every month so it doesn’t go to waste! Not to mention at least on twitch, You can also sub gift to a streamer. Sub gifting is a great way to help out a streamer and bring a few extra people into the community as well too!

*** If you are someone who is really enjoying the blogs and has the financial freedom to want to support this through tips, you are more than welcome to do so by clicking on this link to bring you to my personal Ko-Fi page. Never will you ever be pressured to support in this way however the option is there if you wish to do so! Your continued support regardless of financial or not is greatly appreciated.

Bits
This is the currency that you can buy on Twitch. You would use your currency for the country that you live in to buy it. This is a currency that you can only use directly on Twitch. You can use as many or little as you like to support your favorite streamers. Some might be for different things or actions to happen on the stream and can be a safer way if you wish to donate to a streamer. Where it is already bought currency through the platform there is no risk for charge backs though there is normally a time frame or a minimum amount to be made in order to get paid for that month ie: Twitch you need to have minimum 100$ in your “account” in order to be paid out that month.

Donations
Donations can be a bit trickier in a sense because it goes directly to the streamer. No need to wait for a minimum to be cashed out or anything but there is the risk for a charge back. This is when a jerk will donate an amount of money for a specific reason, and then and they charge back. A great way to look at this is having buyers remorse. The best thing you can do is have chat logs ready and protect yourself. I always encourage people to use bits or even sub because they get something back from that. Now charge backs might depend on the streamer there have been times Ive seen streamers have REGULARS charge back when they don’t get their own way. There is no streamer big or small that is protected from this however the better notes you keep the better chance you have of this person not being successful in getting their money returned.

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

Free Ways


Here are some ways that you can help your favorite streamers that are TOTALLY FREE. I mean lets be honest, using your time is not exactly free and some streamers even view it as more important then subscribing or being a help financially (*Cough* Me *Cough*). Viewers make a stream even if they don’t feel like it. Having many viewers can bring in folks who are capable of supporting financially and building a community stronger as well too. Let’s jump in and explore the ways!

Chatting
Pretty self explanatory. As we all know streamers love when chats are active and engaging. Its never fun when chat can be dead and quiet so just by being there and contributing to to the stream and welcoming new viewers can be a huge help as well too.

Lurking
Though this may be a bit harder and more chilled it can still help a streamer. I do a lot of lurking while I’m writing my blog posts for example. Though it doesn’t give a lot back it still helps the streamer you want to support by putting their numbers up a bit higher on the viewer list to bring in potentially new viewers. You do not need to be an active chatter (Though it helps, we understand you have a life outside of being an active viewer!).

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Sharing Social Medias
This can be huge! It can help reach potential new viewers and sharing the stream is a great way to do so. Whether you are retweeting a live tweet or following their socials or sharing the stream with friends it all helps. The more reach someone has the easier it is for growth. Word of mouth is a powerful way to help a streamer who you enjoy watching their content to reach new heights. Legit free with a click of a button!

Active in their Discord
Discords are a great way to connect with a community of a streamer you enjoy. Discords being dead can be super hard to bring new people in but they are a great central place to get the useful information from a streamer out to their community. Even checking in and contributing to conversations is great and a fun way to meet members as well who also enjoy things. Even make some new friends as well!

Clips
Clips is another great way to help support a streamer for free. Whether or not that make YouTube videos with them or they are used across social medias as well too. They are a great way to clip memorable moments in a stream to share with others. Especially for different commands that streamers use for moments and to help make streams more interactive too!

As you can see there is MANY MANY MANY ways to support streamers that doesn’t require money and some that do. Don’t feel like just being a viewer is not enough. If it wasn’t for viewers whether they support financially or not streamers wouldn’t be where they are today without the viewer!