#babytime is best time :]

[askbomb]

*Bomb carefully holds a finger out for Stella to grab onto, a feeling of nostalgia filling him*

Shes so cute! Strong grip on your hair there, wow!

Hello, Bomb, correct?

I was informed you might be making bad choices for my sake?

- @ask-mother-spore ((you got snitched on sorry))

.....no? I uhm-

*Bomb looks down at his blood covered wing and his slightly slightly purple fingers before looking back up*

I don't know what you're talking about!

[play-rough]

“Strawb anon your ideas always make my heart melt” 🫂

I have a question about your au- in some littleverses, caregivers are given their own biological needs and sometimes even headspaces too. I imagine that your au doesn’t have cg headspaces from what I’ve seen (but granted we’ve seen very little, given that Chuuya’s not a cg and we’ve only had one chapter with Kunikida) but do they have driving biological needs to take care of littles in the same way littles need to be taken care of? Does Kunikida feel pent up and stressed when he hasn’t taken care of someone properly in a while? (The image of him scooping up Dazai after work and carrying him into his car like “shut up, it’s babytime, idc if you’re little or not” and Dazai’s like “?” Makes me laugh).

Oh! And a follow up question- do cg's have certain age ranges they’re more attuned to looking after? Maybe Fukuzawa’s better at taking care of littles Ranpo’s age and Kunikida’s just naturally better with babies (or yk- the inverse of that. I really like it when omegaverse and littleverse fics go the non traditional route and have characters that don't ‘biologically’ fit together, work well regardless. But then again, I think it’s sweet if, after the initial panic of finding out Dazai’s a babe, Kunikida’s mind’s at “oh my god a baby 🥰🥰🥰🥹🥹🍼🍼☺️☺️“ While Dazai’s freaking out that they’ll cast him away)

No hc this time only curiosity ♥️

-🍓

Caregivers do have their own needs! Someone’s classification is meant to be fulfilling and stress relieving. A caregiver will be compelled to provide support and nurture for something, whether that’s a little or a child or a pet. Maybe sometimes even a room full of plants. I think it’s easier for caregivers to feel like they’ve had their needs met than Littles, but at the same time there’s probably nothing that compares to taking care of a little.

Kunikida definitely gets stressed and starts to overthink everything until he spirals, but taking care a baby is the perfect stress relief. Your headspace is how you relax the best, and it’s all almost instinctual. He doesn’t have to overthink anything or worry about upcoming steps or work, he just has to rock a baby back and forth 🥹 i do think Kuni would have days where he had a lot on his plate and was very busy all day and just feels pent up, and he drags Dazai home and babies him ���

Every caregiver is capable of taking care of every little, but I do think they have preferences! I bet Kunikida loves babies because they thrive on routine and schedule, and Kuni is great at providing that 😍 kunikida probably wouldn’t feel as fulfilled taking care of someone older who is more independent, he likes feel like all his over-preparedness benefits (which it does)

[trixibebe]

oc x canon ~ non-canon babytime

@spicyliumang gave me the brainworms so I gotta jump onto the bandwagon ♥

Headcanons under the cut (I got a bit carried away lmao)

It would totally be an accident. It would be either after she'd return to Japan after visiting home, or during their honeymoon. The jetlag, the different time zones and the excitement would cause her to mess up her contraceptive-intake.

She'd panic when her period would be late as it usually comes even a little early. But it coming a little late would happen every few months for seemingly no reason so this may be the case this time too.

Zhao would immediately note that she seems more tense than usual, and she'd even agree but would brush it off with "happens sometimes", not wanting to worry him (as usual...). She wouldn't really bring it up again until she'd take a pregnancy test.

By the time she has confirmation from the test after her period had been late for longer than ever before, she already kinda made peace with the possibility that she's pregnant. But the reality of it would only settle in when she'd see the positive result.

She's take the test alone after coming home from work one day at a time when Zhao would still be at You Tian. She would want some alone time, no matter the result. If the test is negative then she'd be so relived that she would immediately need a nap. If it's positive then she'd need to process that and think about how deliver the news to Zhao.

Both of them would be the definition of mixed reactions. He'd be coming home in the evening and would find her tear-smeared. She was happy of course. A little person made up of partially herself and part of the person she loved the most. Sounds like the best thing ever. But they didn't plan it. It would be a huge change in their lives. And being a parent nowadays is so difficult. And that made her unbelievably anxious. Zhao was at first in disbelief. He thought she'd definitely get her period and now he's gonna be a dad? Someone who only knew strictness from his own father? Would he manage? Here Kori would be the one for a change who would give him reassurance. That is if he would want the child at all. She would be okay with either outcome.

She always thought about kids as "cool if I have some, cool if I don't". Her life was complete without them. And it's not like she really expected to be a mom anyway being in her mid-30's. But now that there was a chance like this, she would tackle it with Zhao by her side. If he wanted to.

Zhao would be mulling over it for quite a while. It's not like they have never brought up the topic before. But he was also torn between "cool if yes" and "cool if no". He did have fun with them whenever he had to entertain a kid of a costumer. But that was just for a short time. Here he would be in for the long run. Eventually, he figured that he could do a so much better job than his own dad did with him. That lit a fire in him. Zhao was always a person who wanted to give others a place to belong, he would be capable of doing so with his own child.

They would agonize over the name. Should it be Chinese? Japanese? Hungarian? Initially they wanted to go with Japanese, since the baby would be born here. That seemed the most logical, anyway. With a Hungarian name she would probably stand out too much, and Zhao said he didn't wanna "monopolize" the little one's name, making it all Chinese, considering she'd be already getting his last name.

One thing was for sure at first, Kori would get another carnation tattooed on her back once she was done with breastfeeding down the line. And that's when Zhao had the idea of naming the little one "carnation". It would work well since Kornélia is rooted in a flower name too.

The problem was that the Japanese word for carnation is カーネーション or Kānēshon. Basically almost how you'd pronounce carnation in English. That was a no-go for Kori, to her that sounded wrong somehow. But since she loved the idea overall, but Szegfű wasn't an accepted name in Hungary, they eventually went with Kāngnǎixīn (康乃馨). At least that would be on the birth certificate. Some would still go on calling her Kānēshon. Though most of the time she'd end up going by Cara or Carrie. Kori would call her Nyuszifül most of the time, meaning "bunny ear", matching how she'd call Zhao Nyuszi (bunny) a lot (both rather common terms of endearment in Hungarian).

(Cara would later curse her parents a bit for giving her a name so complicated to write.)

Kori would be anxious a lot during her pregnancy, fearing she would do something wrong. Even if she was fully committed to the idea once they decided to keep the baby. To ease her mind, Zhao would spend a lot of time looking up healthy recipes for pregnant women and then cooking them, to at least ease her mind on that front.

In addition she's be quite moody during all of it due to all the hormones. On one hand she's nervous on how to do stuff, on the other hand if you tell her she should do something a certain way she might snark back in a "don't tell me what to do" way. (She would feel extremely bad about it afterwards though.)

In general she'd be pissed more often, mostly at trivial things like when people block the whole sidewalk all on their own, or the mail delivery man not even attempting to deliver packages, rather leaving a note even if she was home. Not that she'd say most of these things out loud (as to "not annoy Zhao") but these things would bother her more than usual.

Giving birth was "fun". *Screams in Hungarian* and God save Zhao if he didn't learn at least some words during their years together to at least minimally get what she means.

Kori would be a tad overprotective (just as she is with her friends and Zhao) especially after Cara's birth. She was a bit worried that her daughter will have a hard time for being of mixed heritage so she tried her everything to make her life as easy as possible.

Cara would grow up speaking Chinese, Hungarian, Japanese and English. Hungarian mostly only for the sake of Kori's side of the family. On that note Kori's parents would call them a lot (something Kori is not really used to anymore) and they would fly to Japan to visit as well especially in the early days after Cara is born. Their help is greatly appreciated.

[Depending on how canon Dumpling and Noodle are in this scenario they would constantly be all over Kori during her pregnancy any chance they get to make her feel comfortable.]

[christiannbg]

Babytime is the best time. If you want feel free to support me via http://ko-fi.com/chrisey or via http://paypal.me/chrisey0911 or give something in the tumblr tip yar under this post :)

[mcschnuggles]

Regressor!Mai headcanons

for the person that asked for more ygo content c:

Doesn't like being around other people but especially doesn't like being around boys. She loses her sharp tongue when she's small so she's always worried they'll try something and she won't have a good comeback.

HOWEVER if she has someone she trusts there, she can tolerate it. She likes Tea because she can be just as sassy, and she knows Joey will protect her no matter what.

Joey's probably the only boy she tolerates, especially since he has a sister. He knows how to do the dolls and tea parties!

That being said, she gets along with Serenity very, very well. Serenity loves getting the chance to be the cool big sister, as well as sharing the things she loved to do when she was little.

Before KaibaCorp came out with actual Harpie Lady toys, Mai had a selection of Barbies custom-modified after the cards. They cost a bit but they look wonderful and they're still her favorites. The licensed action figures don't have brushable hair like her custom dolls do, and she only show them to people she thinks are trustworthy.

Absolutely loves having her hair brushed but doesn't trust many people to do it. People have been not-so-gentle with her hair in the past so it's something she's protective of. The first person she ever lets brush her hair is Tea.

One time the gang went to a carnival and there was a Harpie's Pet Dragon plushie as a game prize. She saw it and went instantly tiny, so Joey spent the rest of the evening and most of his money trying to win it for her. The way she smiled when it was in her arms made it all worth it, though.

She'd never admit it out loud but her absolute favorite thing in the world is when Joey gives her giant hugs. He picks her up and spins her in a circle and it's the best thing in the world. She's still embarrassed because the first time he did it she absolutely shrieked with joy.

Her favorite babytime shows are goofy reality show competitions. Sometimes she'll watch them just to relax and skim the surface of regressing, but not often.

After the events of Battle City, she gets really bad nightmares that have her waking up panicked and small. She put a scent patch on her stuffie because identifiable smells help ground her.

[octocurse-agere]

Splatoon agere HCs !! Squid sisters edition! Part one of a few posts because I feel like I went so far with callie I had to step back because I didn't want to crash tumblr on my end ;;

it went from 3rd person to 2nd person so bare with me pls

Callie!!

I personally think of her as a cg but flip would be cool 2!

Caregiver/Babysitter 4 almost everyone in the NNSS

She's rlly good at remembering everything a little likes! And everything they tell them

Oh, that plush's name is Marshall? I'll be sure to remember!

And she isn't lying AT ALL. You could ask her a year later without mentioning the plush once since then and she'll remember.

She's super strong. Can and will carry any baby who wishes to be held.

Very good at storytelling ! Even without a book, she can recount countless of silly and fun stories to tell

Most are probably from being apart of the NNSS, but from being in octo valley, she heard a lot of good tales, stories and myths that can keep even the most fidgety littles entertained

She's not normally around littles who just want to play, but when they do she can play anything with no stops

Oh, you want to play pretend?

She'll clear out an entire area and set up the most elaborate space, just for you

Oh, you want to play board games?

She has an entire stash, pick your favorite!

Card games, even? Or possibly dress up?

Done and done! She has EVERYTHING. Nobody knows how but she can inherently pull things out of thin air if she wants to.

Will abide by almost every request you have

Not strict with rules

In fact, she only has one

Be nice to yourself

Follow it or else!

She's very good at listening when you need a shoulder to lean on

You can never feel lonely with her at your side! She knows how it feels

She'll give you what ever you need and want to feel better

Even if it's just a simple hug, some time or space

She's always here for you no matter what.

Marie!

Marie is a flip to me. Leans towards caregiving but sometimes even she needs some babytime, y'know?

Doesn't mind babysitting anyone, but only really caregives for Captain 3! But you might be an acception.

Focuses on making sure you're well taken care of.

Have you eaten today? Drank recently?

She makes sure you've done everything required to be happy and healthy.

If you're having a bad day, she'll make you whatever you want

I think she'd cook you lots of food

It might not seem like it, but she's very interested in the culinary arts.

Her favorite? Soup

Don't like soup? She can make almost anything else

Just don't ask her to make anything deep fried

Also, has to be healthy. "A lil' kid likes you needs to eat their veggies!"

Want to be fed by hand? She can do that.

Want to help cook? Can do!

I think she'd call you all sorts of kind and sweet things

And double check every few minutes to make sure you're feeling ok

She can't straight up pick you up like Callie

But will absolutely sit down and hold you in her lap, if you'd like!

She's not super playful, but will try her best

She isn't as creative as Callie, but can absolutely play any role with 100% serious if you want to play pretend

When little, she tends to regress from 0-2 I'd think

Tiny baby brain

She always sticks to someone's side when little

She HATES being alone. Will follow you around like a puppy

Hides under blankets a ton too

Mostly just wants to cuddle all the time.

Has trouble communicating, so you gotta take time to learn how she responds to specific needs or wants

Lots of arm flapping and pointing

Has a stash of baby things and refuses to get them herself

Very picky and has trouble cooperating

Just wants a bunch of attention and cuddles, mainly

Next up : Off The Hook + Deep cut !

[plotting-against-you]

Ellie's Instagram Page 3

Liked by upton_hailey, thatsDr2u, and 1,303,411 others

elle.belle.13 When you text your brother that he's needed at the studio ASAP, and he brings his whole unit like it's going to be a crime scene or something... jaybird a-DAMN-ruz revupkev #overprotectivebrother

View all 700,131 comments

jaybird next time don't just text '911 at studio'

elle.belle.13 my bad...

mouseinthehouse oh i can't wait to hear this story

elle.belle.13 my version or Jay's?

mouseinthehouse both.

Liked by elle.belle.13, jaybird, revupkev, and 40 others

mouseinthehouse when you bring your wife to work and she gets a candid shot of you looking awesome (photo cred: elle.belle.13)

View all 37 comments

sargeincharge Taking pictures in my precinct while you're supposed to be working? What do I pay you for?

burgess.16 that's a good color on him. elle.belle.13 did you buy him that?

elle.belle.13 yep! 'twas a christmas gift

stellaride you guys are so cute.

Liked by trudyplatt, cruz_control, chiefofthehouse, and 5,990,655 others

elle.belle.13 Shout out to all the fans who voted for this. This moment is dedicated to you. I couldn't have done it without you.

View all 4,331,212 comments

jaybird YEAH BABY. You deserve this win!

elle.belle.13 lol how drunk are you?

sylvie.brett Herrmann gave shots on the house for your win.

kellys3 congrats! a drink on me when you get home!

mouseinthehouse that's my girl!

Liked by burgess.16, upton_hailey, MamaDrManning, and 4,667,819 others

elle.belle.13 Can't believe we get to meet you soon baby. Thank God for your uncles being here. Hopefully, you'll get to meet your daddy soon. #itstime #babytime

View all 3,999,890 comments

upton_hailey I hate how amazing you look while in labor. It should be unlawful.

jaybird we're right here for you. we got you.

trudyplatt Halstead get off your phone and help your sister.

jaybird she told me i could look at it!

thatsdr2u you're doing amazing. now let's welcome Baby Gerwitz so I know if I have a niece or nephew!

mouseinthehouse you're amazing. you're the best person in the world. I'll be home soon to see our little one and you.

Liked by stellaride, mouch, not_march_or_may, and 3,245,671 others

elle.belle.13 TBT to my Lover photoshoot #loverera #pinkorblue

View all 1,220,433 comments

m.lockwood Love this look for you, Ellie!

sweetlil123 loved this shoot. so glad I was able to be a part of it!

mouseinthehouse so.much.glitter.

elle.belle.13 we're still finding glitter, huh? #oops

Liked by upton_hailey, sweetlil123, jaxx.maxx, mandapanda, and 5,790,800 others

elle.belle.13 for those of you who didn't see my tiktok videos, here is the list of songs for my upcoming album! #meetmeatmidnight #midnights

View all 4,900,999 comments

upton_hailey I CANNOT WAIT

elle.belle.13 as if you haven't heard the songs already...

upton_hailey I'm just excited for everyone else to hear them!

burgess.16 will be exclusively playing this in my car at work and at home for the foreseeable future so beware a-DAMN-ruz

a-DAMN-ruz noted.

Liked by thatsDr2u, choi33, mouseinthehouse, and 2,344,712 others

elle.belle.13 I can't even go jogging without my brother following me... #getalife #overprotectivebrother

View all 1,122,634 comments

jaybird if you didn't ditch your security we wouldn't have to do this every time

thatsDr2u i'm with Jay. stop ditching your security.

upton_hailey please listen to them so I don't have to follow you again while listening to him complain the whole time

[vael]

2020 Annual Review

I began writing this late December but opted to wait until our baby was born to finish it. This is being posted on January 15th, 2021. 2019 review here.

“2020′s here, it’s a brand new decade!” - Last year’s annual review, so full of hope and possibility

Yes. Well. Actually, it was a fantastic year for us, relative to the rest of humanity.

What went well this year?

We had a baby! Our daughter Violet was born January 5th. She’s healthy and was exceedingly healthy all throughout the pregnancy, which I credit my wife Eve for. Eve didn’t take a sip or bite of anything she shouldn’t once we started trying, and took all the gross supplements she should. She suffered intense insomnia since month 2, but never took medication for it. I’m very proud of her and being a new dad again (we have a 10-year-old son) is invigorating.

My work and work ethic. This one’s going in the not-so-well pile, too. 

I had thought my days of MonBre-level work ethic were over. That I did not have the energy to develop like I once did. 2020 made my childless bachelor game-dev days look like a lazy Sunday.

Most of my spare time was spent in my game engine, GAM3. I started refactoring in November of 2019: almost completely rewriting the player experience from scratch. I considered the refactoring ready -- not done -- in June. That’s eight months. I added plenty of new features to the engine and developed Elevator during that time, but I was hankering to get my hands dirty with the bigger features like ground and feeds.

In August I decided to drop social media usage and have an “ascetic” week of work. It was largely successful and subsequent, similarly themed weeks had me feeling productive and satisfied with what I was making. From that point on, I grinded hard to get my next project (URPG: Untitled Roleplaying Game for now) ready for playtesting. I finally did a soft release on December 26th, not pinging the playtester role on our Discord, expecting a few people to show up. We had 15 players by the 30th. Reception’s been great, and I’m confident that I have something worth playing... and supporting.

As an aside, I did naturally become a better web developer, but I didn’t learn as much as I did in 2019.

Fitness. All it took was seeing one COVID pound. I realized I’d been neglecting my body for work (oops, would end up doing that again) and set out to correct course. In October I looked and felt the best I had in years. I was borderline ready to declare I had a rockin’ bod!

I intended to work on my pectorals, but the best exercise for them also flared up my thoracic spine issue, and I certainly didn’t need to spend more time exercising, so I stuck with dumbbells-and-YouTube and some ab work at night. I walked our 2 acres almost daily.

My job. My workplace only benefited from COVID-19. Our client couldn’t cope with 5,000 employees suddenly having to work from home, so projects slowed and we found ourselves idle, yet always with a project on the horizon: delay after delay. This opened up a lot of time for my own projects, and to manage my son’s e-learning. I received an income boost to help with new baby things as my boss wanted to make sure our new baby was well-supported. I am very grateful for the stability of the job I have.

We figured out Eve’s health problem. She was diagnosed with hypothyroidism early this year. That was what plagued her -- “the wraith” I would sometimes call it -- all these years. In light of this revelation, I felt guilty for what I’d sometimes think of her. Well, she’s on medication for it. We’re expecting to get on better medication for it after the baby. She did see a therapist for some time before the pandemic quelled the effort. It was beneficial but ultimately not worth pursuing in the near future.

What didn’t go so well?

Working too hard. All that production came at a cost. I simply did not make much time for myself. I also failed to uphold my word on not letting it affect the family. With babytime looming over me, I felt like I should fit in as much work as possible. (and to show for it: I released, which makes me happy)

I estimate I got about 2 hours of recreation time per week day past August. I slept about seven hours per night. I’d spend most weekends working this way, rarely escaping for an extended game session and getting a little more sleep. I juggled caring for a pregnant sleepless wife, dealing with my son and his e-learning, exercising, and still working my main job and side job, on top of all I was doing for GAM3. Here’s a bit of what that looked like.

Videogames are my primary source of stress relief. I had a list of games I wanted to complete, but I couldn’t make the time. It took me almost a month to play through Agony Unrated. Being unable to set aside solid hours at a time meant I made more time for browser games Fallen London and Melvor Idle; neither quite hit the stress-relieving itch I needed, and that took me a while to accept. (and do little about)

One night in November, I went into a game and just couldn’t enjoy myself as I should because I knew I had work to do. That is dangerous. I actually Googled the word workaholic to find resources for people who might be like me.

I’ve become dependent on caffeine. I’m planning to let up now that Violet is here, but I know I’ll be doing at least three days a week for the foreseeable future.

My self-imposed deadlines were insane and this has been my worst year for time estimates. Because I would make poor estimates, I’d castigate myself and press on: it was, after all, my fault, so I should suffer. (this is what Vael does) And I just kept going, I rarely crumbled.

Rarely. There were two times. The first isn’t notable, but the other was a little troubling. In early September I think I experienced the onset of a panic attack. I felt short of breath, dizzy, and immediately just laid down outside on the patio. I was able to overcome it and I decided to rest for the remainder of the day.

I grinded my hardest in December. I started to skip reading the daily baby information Eve would send me. When she pointed this out to me, I felt terrible because it was entirely due to the grind. I fell out of the habit of exercise and taking walks. I’d just forget or brush off the notion.

I became noticeably irritable when I’d realize there was more work to do, or I ran into a blocker. While this is human nature, it was worse given the state of everything.

So, my work habits were problematic. I’m trying to take it easy until mid-February and keep myself in check thereafter. I’ll try not to go too hard, but I know me, and as my project and the interest in it  ramps up, I have a feeling I’ll be mentioning overworking in my next annual review.

Loneliness. Eve’s sleep rapidly decayed to the point that we could no longer sleep together without keeping each other up. Insomnia is a common symptom for pregnant women, factoring in biological changes and a living creature partying inside you at any given hour. A good day for her was waking up at 2PM, and I spent most days expecting only to see her from supper and beyond. I know it played a part in my desire to stream on Twitch. I am thankful to all who kept me company, we had some fun.

COVID-19. Obviously, the pandemic sucked. It killed entertainment, restaurants, our Disney vacation, and life as we knew it. It played into my loneliness.

I had trouble fighting the constant desire to learn more. I was fairly woke on COVID: I enjoy the subject of epidemiology. I learned of nCov mid-January and recognized “coronavirus” and “China” together as a bad thing. I watched with great interest as China’s own government suppressed information and the nation went on with their New Year celebrations. I Facebook-posted my deep-enough-dive into everything we knew at the time, on January 27th. My family was all stocked up for the end of the world mid-February. When lockdown hit the US, I dove in again.

But I was becoming obsessive and even straying from the disease itself into conspiracy theories and it was time to stop. It was also difficult to find good research at times, especially early on. 

Relationship with my son. Slightly worsened. If we had a good chance this year, it was nulled by his ever-presence. Instead of our Disney vacation that we were supposed to be making all about him, we were home under lockdown. Instead of socializing at Summer Camp and school, he was home. His behavior tanked, with myself and the pandemic equally to blame.

And, of course, cognitive performance. No improvement. Clearly I am too enthralled in the romance of overwork to take care of myself. Post-baby I was predictably dead and made more bugs in URPG than is acceptable.

What did I learn?

Besides what I mentioned in the above two sections.

Character development. Multiple times this year I recognized that I had learned something about myself, which was surprising for a (now) 32-year-old me. These are personal things.

I also learned about the work of Jordan B Peterson! His lectures helped make some of my abstract notions more concrete, but I have a lot more of his work to dig into.

Time management and deadlines. I finally realized my problem with time management! It was assuming things always go according to plan. In the case of code, I always forget how much time styling and design will take. I’m trying to improve, and most pertinently, just not give time estimates until I improve.

Garbage in, garbage out. A good source of early COVID news (and leaks) was 4chan’s /pol/ board. I’d click on other topics and all I’ll say on the matter is to be careful what you consume. I found myself getting unreasonably angry over shit I shouldn’t care about (and have no control over) and will be more conscious of this effect.

Goals and Expectations: 2021

2021. Is going to suck for greater humanity. The supply chain is straining. Some businesses aren’t coming back. Many people are still (smartly) waiting to see the long-term effects of the vaccine. 2021′s Summer won’t look much different than 2020. There might be a financial crisis coming, but I’m not sure what that will look like or when it will happen.

My family will try to stay afloat. We plan to start going out in April. Outdoor activities such as going to the park and dining al fresco are made more accessible by the warm South Carolinian climate. There’s a long paved walk/bike path only 15 minutes from our house and I’d like to take family walks there with Violet in the stroller.

We expect to send our son to attend school in 2021, and for there to be a mask requirement through 2022. e-learning requires one to be a self-starter and he is anything but, and even if he were, I’m not satisfied with the education he’s getting. Returning next year is a must.

Parenting. I’m all about what I call dividends with parenting. You get what you give: show them love, patience, and empathy. Smash those developmental milestones. Your reward will be a happier child, better poised for success. I have high expectations for my children, which means I have high expectations to meet as well. I have to make Violet a focus. I hope to find some way to socialize our son and give him a Summer.

Body. I want to be “the best shape I have ever been in”, as I say. Cardio is the most important because I need the energy to keep up with small children. I will try to figure out something for the pectorals.

URPG Release. I’m fairly confident I’ll be able to finish all the work I need to release my next game. There will be plenty of updates to follow for the first half of 2022, and anything beyond that will depend on the level of support I get for the game.

Establishing tinydark as an actual company. No, for real this time. I did want to do it in 2020, but the whole pandemic thing made it difficult and anyway it’s not like I planned to make money in 2020, so.

See you next year! Vael

[joyfullightbouquetblog-blog]

BabyTime - Babysitter, Nurse and Preschool Education PSD Template

New Post has been published on https://www.uberbuyer.com/2018/07/28/babytime-babysitter-nurse-and-preschool-education-psd-template/

BabyTime - Babysitter, Nurse and Preschool Education PSD Template

LIVE PREVIEWBUY FOR $12

BabyTime – modern and features rich template for baby sitters, pre school education, online courses, kindergartens and other kids care and education websites. The theme has thought through and well structured layout optimised for further conversion to HTML and popular CMS like WordPress, Jooma and Drupal. We did our best to create easy to use and modify PSD template with carefully layered content and proper layers naming. The theme is built with 12 columns grid. All fonts are free and available at Google web fonts repository.

Features:

11 layered PSD files

Clean and modern design

Optimized for HTML, WordPress, Drupal and Joomla

Carefully layered PSD files

Logical structure and layers naming for better usability

Grid lines included

Bootstrap layout ready

Multipurpose

Free icons used (Included)

Free fonts used

Free textures used (Included)

What Do You Get:

This template has 11 layered PSD files:

homepage.psd

about.psd

404.psd

faq.psd

contact.psd

terms.psd

calendar.psd

team.psd

appointment.psd

gallery_fullwidth.psd

services.psd

Documentation

“rt-icons-2” Icons Font

patterns

Thank You!

Thank you so much for your interests. Your comments and ratings would be much appreciated.

If you purchase this template, you will get support. We will update this template time by time and we want to hear your wishes for the future updates or for complete new templates.

Resources:

Lato is available for free on Google fonts.

Roboto is available for free on Google fonts.

rt-icons-2 was created by us with the help of IcoMoon – it’s included

Images source: DepositPhotos.com

The images used in the template are not included in the main download file, they are only for the preview purpose. BUY ON ENVATO

[ntrending]

The best apps for overworked parents

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/the-best-apps-for-overworked-parents/

The best apps for overworked parents

Parenting manages to be hugely rewarding and incredibly challenging at the same time. The chaos can eat up all of your free hours, leaving you scrambling to get things done. Luckily, technology can save time through savvy scheduling magic or the automation of tiring jobs. We’ve collected seven Android and iOS apps to help you bring up baby—or children of any age.

Babytime

Like the apps that track your health stats, Babytime collects information about your child’s behavior. In this case, you use the app to keep a log of feeding times, diaper changes, naps, and more. Without requiring that you keep a mental log of everything, this app can pick up whether your little one has been sleeping erratically and tell you when they might get hungry.

In addition to monitoring a wealth of habits, Babytime provides an easy-to-use interface—you can add to any of these records with only a few taps. When you launch the app for the first time, it lets you begin tracking the basics, and you can fill out more details as you go. And when you’re tired after a long day of childcare, you can rest your weary eyes by activating a night mode with darker colors.

Babytime for iOS only, $3

Sprout Baby

For an even more comprehensive tracker, try Sprout Baby. Through it, you log medications, growth spurts, and periods of illness, as well as sleeping routines, diaper changes, and feeding times. On top of that, it pulls comparative data from the WHO and the CDC so you can check your baby’s progress against that of the general population.

In addition to activity tracking, Sprout Baby provides neat little extras like a tool for taking photos and recording memories that you can revisit later. It also provides advice and tip sheets on what to expect from your child’s development as he or she grows.

On the down side, the app’s extra abilities also weigh down its interface, so you might find that logging information takes more time and effort than it does with Babytime. Sprout Baby is also pricier than its fellow tracker: Although you get many features for free, in order to access all of the app’s goodies—including a weight tracker and doctor-visit log—you must pay for the premium version.

Sprout Baby for iOS only, free for basic features and $8 for premium ones

Life360 Family Locator

Stop worrying about where your kids are and what they’re doing. Life360 Family Locator shows your family members on a map so you can always keep track of them. It also sends messages to individuals and groups, finds lost phones, and notifies you when your children enter and exit certain locations—for example, when they leave school or arrive home.

While you get those features for free, an extra fee (prices vary depending on whether you sign up for a monthly or yearly account) unlocks additional abilities, such as revealing how well your teens are driving and sending alerts to your phone in case of a potential car accident. Although other apps offer some of these abilities individually, Life360 brings them all together in a single place, which should save some time when you need to check up on your kids.

Life360 Family Locator for Android and iOS, free for basic features and $3 to $8 per month for additional ones

Winnie

When you encounter new parenting problems, tapping into the shared knowledge of other moms and dads can help. Social community app Winnie puts you in touch with other parents. This lets you post questions and ask about recommendations for, say, a fun family day out or a nearby venue that has baby-changing tables.

You can also leave your own advice for other parents, whether you’re sharing a warning, a restaurant review, or a new method for encouraging healthy eating. In addition to relevant tips by parents for parents, Winnie offers a clean and uncluttered app interface. And if you’d prefer to put your phone down, you can access the same core features through your web browser.

Winnie for Android and iOS, free

Cozi

Managing the daily schedule of even one child quickly becomes an overwhelming task. Cozi, a special calendar app geared towards families, employs an elegant, color-coded interface to clearly show, at a glance, who should be doing what each day.

Because it syncs effortlessly across multiple devices, everyone in the family can access the shared Cozi schedules. Pop-up notifications ensure nobody will forget about soccer practice or dental appointments. The app also comes with bonuses like a grocery list manager, a family journal tool, and even a shared recipe book. Although the basic version is free, you’ll have to pay up to access premium abilities like calendar searches, a monthly view, and freedom from ads.

Cozi for Android and iOS, free with ads and $30 per year for extra features

Sound Sleeper: White Noise

To help your baby drift off, there’s nothing like a white-noise app. We like Sound Sleeper: White Noise, for ages from birth to toddlerdom. Once it hears your child start to whimper or cry, the app will automatically activate and start playing soothing background sound. You can choose a variety of clips, from lullabies to rain to a recording of your own voice. In an ideal scenario, the app will soothe a fussy baby back to sleep, allowing you to stay in bed a little longer.

In addition to creating white noise, Sound Sleeper can double as a monitor for keeping an eye on your sleeping baby. If you install it on multiple phones or tablets, you can use one device’s camera to record your child while streaming the video feed over Wi-Fi to the other machine’s screen. A basic version of the app is free, or you can pay for additional audio clips and the ability to play sound for an unlimited duration.

Sound Sleeper: White Noise for Android and iOS, free for basic features and $3 to $15 for additional ones

UrbanSitter

If you ever need time away from your precious tot, UrbanSitter will help you find babysitters, nannies, and child care in your local area. It can even rustle up a helper on the same day you request one. Before getting in touch with someone, you can view a video profile and see their experience level and hourly rate up front. The app also vets potential employees through an extensive recommendations system that lets you read detailed reviews left by other parents.

Through the app, you can get in touch with someone, book child care, and take care of payment. This makes the whole process of getting someone to look after your kids, whether it’s for one night or for long-term care, fast and easy.

UrbanSitter for Android and iOS, $35 for one month with subscriptions for $20 per month or $100 per year

Written By David Nield

[enzaime-blog]

Vegas, Baby,Time Came

New Story has been published on https://enzaime.com/vegas-babytime-came/

Vegas, Baby,Time Came

When the time came for my daughter, Michaela, to turn 21, I knew I wanted to take her to Las Vegas. She caught a bit of the gambling bug from the time she spent in the casinos on the cruise ships we sailed on (gambling age is 18).

Michaela turned 21 at the end of December. I suggested the trip to her in front of Mark. He did not say no. Hmmm….I thought, this is really going to happen! He thought it was a great idea. A fun mother/daughter trip to make fun memories.

Michaela would be on her college spring break in March, which is when we would take our trip. I booked the trip in January and chose a beautiful, contemporary resort smack dab in the middle of the Vegas strip. Michaela would fly home from GW, spend a couple of days with the family, and then she and I would fly to Las Vegas together.

About a week before Michaela arrived home, I started to become extremely fatigued. I was also feeling like I was coming down with a sinus infection. I saw my nurse practitioner at my primary care office, and she put me on an antibiotic because I did indeed have a sinus infection. The following day I was due to get blood work because since going on Ibrance, I receive blood work every two weeks.

In speaking with my nurse practitioner at Dana-Farber, after receiving my lab work results, I explained to her how tired I had been. She told me it was the Ibrance. The Ibrance has also been lowering my white blood counts, and this week was no different. I would receive another week off from Ibrance, which would be nice while I was on the antibiotic, and on vacation.

Because I was not feeling myself, I was becoming a bit nervous about traveling. It would be my first trip without Mark since I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Mark told me all would be fine, and that Michaela would take care of me. He would be right.

Michaela and I had an early flight, and only got 3 hours of sleep before our flight left, in part because it was daylight savings and we lost an hour. We did manage to get a good amount of sleep on the plane. Getting to Vegas was uneventful and with a quick Uber ride, we were at our resort. It was beautiful and super modern. All the controls in the room are controlled by an iPad. Michaela figured it out quite quickly, me, not so much. I accidentally shut off all of the lighting one evening at 3:30, I guess that really is the morning, while Michaela was showering…..I couldn’t stop laughing as I heard her screaming, and scrambled to figure out how to get the bathroom lights back on.

I won’t get into all the details, because what happens in Vegas….well, you know, but we played slots, black jack and roulette. We ate at some very nice restaurants, visited other hotels, and met some nice people. We stayed up very late! By our last day, we were both exhausted. We were ready to go home.

At this point I was not only tired, but feeling a bit weak. Michaela rolled both our suitcases through the airport. Our plane ride home was not the best. We got out of Las Vegas fine, but on the connecting flight to Boston, we were on the plane for 45 minutes before we were told to gather our belongings. It would be another 3 hours before we would depart again.

We arrived home very late. The following day I needed to go for blood work. My white blood counts had rebounded nicely, and I was able to begin the Ibrance, but at a lower dose. I think the reason I am starting to feel weak is because my red blood counts are now dipping. Sometimes, I feel like I just can’t get ahead.

In two weeks I receive scans to see how the Ibrance and Letrozole are working. Obviously, we’re hoping to hear good news. I usually have some inclination on how the scans results will be, but truthfully, this time I do not. We’ll know soon enough.

Meanwhile, my beautiful daughter and I had an awesome trip spending time with one another, creating wonderful memories. It’s those memories that help get me through the sad times of having metastatic breast cancer.

When I’m not feeling well, or frustrated with treatment side effects, or just want to burst into tears, I will remember shutting off the lights while Michaela was showering. I will remember Stephen, our kind black jack dealer. I will remember the woman with the vulgar language. I will remember the man who approached us, and asked if I had cancer, and then did something so special for me. I’ll remember the folks who thought Michaela and I were sisters, and I will remember the guys, who I thought were making fun of my bald head,……Oops, I better stop. I’ve said too much.