I highly recommend this to families and mentors to read-aloud to young men, teens and twenty-somethings.  No need to read it in order, just pick and choose, dwelling where you will.  Men will be inspired to live up to their noble potential, and will find a deep comradery with the wide variety of men represented here.

The information was presented in a cohesive manner. Be aware, however, that this is not a novel.  This book can rather be described as a lengthy tome, which is appropriate for the book’s purpose.

I plan to read this with my sons over several years, letting them absorb the truth of real manhood as they mature.  In such a way, they will absorb the concepts and grapple with ideas over time, allowing them to sink in to their very spirit.

*BookSneeze has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book so that I could review it.

By Jo Fazel

1. Fancy a baby shower � la Victoria Beckham? How about playing the ‘create a dress’ game. The guests should split into 2 teams and are then given one or more toilet rolls each. Each team will nominate one member of their team to be the ‘model’ and the rest of the team will race against the clock to create the best dress design around their model with the toilet paper.

Don’t let each team take too long – about 5 minutes should be enough. If you want your guests to be really creative let them choose from different colour toilet rolls for a truly ‘creative’ look! Let the mum-to-be be the judge as to which team created the best look.

2. A twist on the ‘create a dress’ game is the ‘dress the baby’ game. Again the guests should be split into teams and each team should be given a doll or teddy as the model and one or more toilet rolls. Racing against the clock again, the teams should attempt to create baby clothing for their model out of the toilet paper.

This game can require a little more skill as the clothing will need to be on a much smaller scale! Again around 5 minutes is the maximum the teams should be given. If you know the sex of the baby you can go for pale blue or pink toilet paper to blend in with the overall theme. Mum-to-be gets to be the judge of the best outfit as she is the guest of honour!

3. Looking for a good ice-breaker for your baby shower? The ‘toilet paper words of wisdom’ game is a twist on a popular ice-breaker used by many trainers to warm up their delegates. The idea is that everyone takes turns to pull off a length of toilet paper – it is up to each guest how much they pull off.

They may want to take just one sheet or many but the critical point is that they are not told what the game is about or given any indication as to how many sheets they should take off. Once everyone has their sheets the host explains that each guest is required to give as many pieces of advice on pregnancy, birth or looking after babies/children as they have sheets of toilet roll.

This is where the guests who only took one sheet of paper look relieved! The game doesn’t have to have a winner but if you want to make it more competitive you can have the mum-to-be judge which piece of advice she has found the most useful.

4. If the mum-to-be is up for a laugh and doesn’t mind her bump then the ‘measuring mum’s tum’ game is a classic. Each guest should tear off a length of toilet paper that they think is equivalent to the size of mum’s bump.

Once everyone has their length of toilet paper the host can measure the bump (it doesn’t have to be with a tape measure – just a length of string or wool will do) and then compare this to the lengths of toilet paper. Obviously the winner is the guest whose length of toilet paper is the closest.

5. Are your guests a little bit crafty? Test their skill with a game of ‘toilet paper origami’. The idea is that each guest should attempt to create a baby related item using one or more sheets of toilet paper – let them use their imagination and creativity to see what they come up with – clothing, bottles, nappies, bibs, dummies etc. Time the game to add a bit of extra pressure and have mum-to-be judge the most realistic item.

If playing baby shower games with toilet paper isn’t your thing then don’t worry, there are lots more ideas for baby shower games in our baby shower guide available to our newsletter subscribers.

If you would rather buy some ready-made games come and check out our range including our exclusive baby shower games that you can only find here at Best Baby Shower! Looking for baby shower gifts as well? We have a huge choice of gorgeous gifts too!

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By Julie R. Holland

Bamboo cloth diapers are super popular with cloth diapering fans around the world. With the softness and absorbency of these cloth diapers, it is no wonder bamboo diapers are finding their way into so many chic diaper bags. This stuff is environmentally friendly because it grows quickly without pesticides or fertilizers. This gorgeous fabric is also very, very soft, making it a great “green” choice for diapering.

A Japanese study of bamboo fabric found that the fiber retains it’s unique antibacterial qualities even after 50 washings. Bacteria simply doesn’t like to grow on it. Scientists found that when they tried to grow bacteria with this fabric after washing it many times, 70 percent of the bacteria died. That makes it a natural choice for cloth diapers where keeping bacteria down may also reduce diaper rash and odors.

Because the plants grows so quickly, it takes far fewer resources to grow than conventionally grown cotton. These green dynamos can grow 12 inches in a day and since they are naturally resistant to disease and pests, it does not require chemicals to grow. Bamboo is also great for the air quality.

It absorbs carbon dioxide from the air 40 percent better than trees. Due to their rapid growth and strong root system, they also help reduce soil erosion. While hte process for turning the raw materials into usable fabric can still be improved, it is still far easier on the environment than creating synthetics. While there is no perfect environmental choice for any fabric, bamboo is an excellent, eco-friendly fabric for cloth diapering.

This amazing fiber is 60 percent more absorbent than cotton, and can absorb up to 3 times it’s weight in water. Hemp fabrics are 70 percent more absorbent than cotton, but hemp does not always retain that soft feel the way this buttery fabric does.

Combining it with cotton makes it much stronger (often you will see it combined with organic cotton) and many manufacturers use a little polyester in the blend to make it more durable. While 100 percent natural fabrics are great, a more durable fabric is often more environmentally friendly than one that wears out too quickly.

The naturally open fiber that makes it very breathable and it can be made into fleece, velour, woven fabrics or soft knits. It is often used next to the skin because it wicks moisture away quickly. This is one of the softest fabrics you will ever feel, in almost any type of fabric it is still silky and has a great feel to it! It retains it’s softness after many washings better than hemp or cotton. Once you feel this incredibly soft fabric you will want to wear it too!

There are dozens of brands of bamboo cloth diapers available. You can find plain or fancy prefolds, adorable fitted diapers, all in one diapers with natural fiber linings, and absorbent diaper inserts. Cloth diaper wipes, changing pads and other cloth diaper accessories are also available. No matter which option you choose, you’ll love the softness and absorbency while you can feel good about using environmentally friendly diapers.

Julie R. Holland is an attachment parenting author, owner of One Lucky Mama cloth diaper store and the creative mind behind Meadowlark Mountain bamboo diapers. Subscribe to the free One Lucky Mama newsletter for cloth diaper savings and more great articles like this one.

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“Cloth Baby Diapers – Why Buy Natural Diapers”

By Yvonne Sim

Practically every mum or dad has experienced to deal with diaper rash during their child raising years. This is often particularly so with parents who are deciding to use cloth baby diapers, and also have decided to do this in an even more organic means of looking after their children. What is promising for these parents specifically is that we now have some easy and natural cures for diaper rash.

Provide More Comfort

Perhaps you have pictured you relaxing pleasantly within an armchair. Now picture yourself putting on paper and plastic material under garments. My bet is the fact that comfort and ease is not the primary feeling that stumbled on mind. Should your toddler could talk, I am positive they would think similarly!

Cloth diaper materials are comfortable and soft, including fleece, natural cotton, hemp, or bamboo according to the selection of design. They can be extremely tender against your baby’s skin and made to help keep your infant dry and comfy.

Save Cost and Environment

There are plenty of options that you should consider for anyone who is planning to “go all-natural” with your child. Also, cloth baby diapers will maintain your baby thoroughly clean and dry devoid of any type of artificial chemicals. If you go with cloth diapers, you can also reduce on the quantity of diapers that you require to purchase.

Reduce Diaper Rash

If you are choosing an even more organic method of cleanliness, you will be undoubtedly at an edge over other moms and dads with regards to taking care of diaper rash. Almost all baby wipes that are offered on the market contain perfumes or other chemical compounds which could bring about irritation for your baby’s skin.

It may then, add to the chance that your child could possibly get diaper rash. By making use of cloth baby wipes and tepid water, this can be avoided. For particularly dirty diapers, you can utilize some gentle, organic detergent on the cloth baby wipes.

Potty Trained Earlier

Using diapers which are disposable will make you or your baby to think that the diaper is dry when it really is not. Although the external layer may feel dry, bacteria in many cases are there, in contact with your baby’s skin. You always want your baby to notice and notify you that they need to be changed.

This minimizes their exposure to bacteria that can cause rashes and other skin irritations. Little ones who use cloth diapers can in fact sense when they are damp or soiled, they tend to discover their discomfort and would like to make use of the potty earlier. These toddlers then become potty trained years earlier, saving your family both valuable time and expense.

Whatever the technique of natural diapers you decide on, it might be more cost-effective to select any cloth method more than disposable diapers. Nowadays more and more young parents are using these safe eco-friendly diapers.

Do try out these cloth baby diapers, not only your little one is happier, you will feel more at ease knowing that they will not suffer from any skin rashes. You could easily get these cloth baby diapers online with savings if you have trouble finding them at supermarkets.

In order to simplify your search, click here to get your cloth baby diapers and save.

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Now, babies are an favorite of mine.   I love taking their pictures, dressing them in precious little outfits, staying up to date on the latest in healthy baby stuff like wearing your baby and organic cotton diapers. 

And with that said, I am changing my blog topic to babies!

Now, the digital photo posts will remain, because who doesn’t want to tips and tricks on how to capture that cute little gummy grin at just the right angle?  Never fear, sunlight in front of baby is usually your best bet, unless you are hoping for a back lit effect.   So the tips will remain.

My all time favorite authority on baby care is Dr. Sears, author of such titles as The Baby Book and The Attachment Parenting Book, just to name a couple.  I was so glad to be introduced to this wise, down to earth pediatrician!

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you join me for more baby ponderings!

I have seen it before.  You download a series of images to your computer only to find that three or four shots are “laying sideways.”  Generally, you just have to rotate the image on the computer in My Pictures or of course, Photoshop or a similar program.  However, by enabling the auto rotate on your camera’s menu, all vertical orientation pictures are stored in a manner that allows your computer to recognize that the images should appear in their proper orientation.

Most cameras give a horizontal orientation, meaning – the photo is wider than it is high.  You pictures are generally better suited for a wider subject area.  This is great for most panoramic shots but not the image I had in mind.  By simply rotating the camera, my shot became taller and narrower.  I this way I could get my wife and daughter, the ending of the pier and a bit of lake shore, and the tall pines in one frame.

When planing for your digital photo shoot, visualize the image you have in mind.  Do you want height or breadth?  Would your subject best be served in a wider horizontal shot or with a taller, vertical image?

Its as simple as twisting the camera to change the whole orientation, presentation, and drama of your shot.

I’ve noticed that as soon as he takes a picture, my son immediately clicks the camera option to view the image.  He wants to see the photo he just snapped. He even wants to see the photos I take with the camera as soon as I have taken the picture.

Aren’t we all like that in a way?  I almost always view the image as soon as the photo-op is complete.

Yet another way that digital photography is superior.  No waiting for photo development.  And with the delete button, no wasting time or money developing poor quality photo images.  We get to see the image as soon as it is snapped.  No more embarrassing pictures of half-closed eyes or silly faces in the photo album.  We get to see the product of our labor instantaneously.  Let’s hear it for instant gratification!

If You Like This Blog, You’ll Love Our EBook!  Thanks For Watching.