When I attended TC 2018, I was in the midst of an important decision that would have me out of work for some time in 2019. I had taken a voluntary separation from my current (at that time) employer. I knew that if chosen I could be out of work right at christmas time, the end of march or end of june.

I was part of the group at the end of march… which meant that I worked 4 months knowing that my time would be ending at this employer. I had still remained committed to attending CAPCon and TeddyCon both.

While I was unemployed when I bought my ticket, I was hopeful that I would have found work by October. While I had some leads, they wouldn’t hire somebody who was going to need 4-5 days off work shortly after starting and I was not going to loose the money that i had to pay for the ticket, hotel room and miss the fun time with friends.

As the date got closer, my friends Will and Casper and I figured out what the room arrangements were, I had booked a room as had Will. The plan was for me to room with Will and Casper was going to find a roommate and take mine.

I loaded my vehicle up on Tuesday night the best i could, so that I could head out bright and early Wednesday morning. I wanted to leave around 5:00 am, being a 9 hour drive. I ended up leaving at 6:15 am, but I was on the road.

The entire trip was 500 miles one way, and probably 400 of it was some sort of rain, with 100 of them being heavy rain. By the time I got to the hotel I was done with driving. I met up with Will and Casper.

Casper then informed me that he was not able to find a roomate, and wasnt able to afford the room. He wanted to stay with another group. That was fine, but the hotel had already billed my credit card for the $500+ charge. Luckily we found two people who agreed to take the room and just pay me back for it.

Will and I went to the pre-con munch and saw many familiar faces there, when we came back the registration was open for us to get our badges.

I had a very great time at the campfire each night. I did some great arts and crafts that I intend to incorporate into our next OhioABDL party as well.

Best of all I got to meet friends that I only get to see one or two times a year. Great friends are hard to find.

The drive home was bittersweet. Casper flew out sunday morning and Will flew home (can’t recall if I took him to the airport this year or not). I think I was gone from the hotel by noon, as I had a 9 hour drive home.

On the way back I stopped at a travel plaza and got food from Roy Rogers – it was different and good. Talked to my ‘brother’ about the convention, and got calls and texts from others as they got home.

On a bright side, i did not fall and injure my ribs this time!

I think I will certainly be back again if they will have me.

How’s everybody been?

What have I been up to since march? A lot, but not much.

From the feedback I received at CAPCon, the photobooth was a hit. People loved how they could get their photos either printed, emailed, or texted to them right away. I wish other Con’s would adopt a system to do this.

Granted all the photos are posed, but then again that is what people like to have.

For those stat lovers….

• Through the 20 some hours of time i was available. There were 345 emails sent with less than 1% bounced or undeliverable (wrong email address or provider (outlook/hotmail) blocking the message)
• There were 173 outbound texts
• For prints the numbers are uncertain to an extent…
  I had a roll of paper already loaded with an unknown number of prints remaining, but I changed paper on Saturday afternoon and of that roll of 330 prints, 287 were used.
• So I will say at least 500 prints were made.

If your event needs an event photographer who can shoot photos, and give your guests instant delivery of the image…. Contact me

I took a vacation road trip end of may / first half of June. We went to Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone, and then Mount Rushmore. Those who know me, know that I took tons of photos all along the way.

Best of all I was able to remain diapered 99% of the time we were gone.

At the time of this post TeddyCon is only 3 months away. Still I’ve yet to see hid not hair of the photos from 2018’s TeddyCon.

I am beginning the process of seriously looking for a new job at this time. Also I am tossing around the idea of doing a large ABDL party. My big hope would be, to be able to host a ABDL Con in Ohio, but that would be a big undertaking with much help needed.

Holy cow I have not blogged in some time.  Tons of stuff has happened.

In September before TeddyCon my company of 12 1/2 years announced that they were going to offer voluntary separation packages to those who would like to take the exit.

The wording was in a ways that said “If you want to get out, get while the getting’s good, because if we do forced reductions you won’t get this good an offer”

I decided to volunteer.  I had until November to decide that I wanted to do it.  It was announced in December that I was picked and my end date is fast approaching early spring 2019.

With the package that I am getting I will have the funds to take a longer vacation than I normally would have.  I also have benefits to last me for the rest of the year as well.

I plan to use this time to grow my photography business and to try to re-build my DJ and photobooth business as well.

I am going to CapCon 2019 as a vendor – stop over to the photobooth where you can take a photo and have it ready immediately.

I have decided to shut down the forums on my website, there were way underused; which is probably due to the fact that all posts were moderated for new users, and I was not that good at approving posts.  Plus there are so many more places that people congregate at these days, like Fetlife.com, Instagram, and more.

I attended Teddycon in October 2018.

First things first, TeddyCon is not like other cons.  Bigness is not their thing, they keep it small and it works well for them; you are a family at TeddyCon.

Leaving out on Wednesday morning and coming back Sunday was the plan, 500 miles each way in a rental car.

With TC, since it is so far away being an 8 hour trip clear across Pennsylvania; I leave on Wednesday, this way I am at the hotel the night before, well rested and ready to have fun.  Plus if I wanted to get there by the time it started, I’d have to drive overnight, which just is not going to happen with me.

I was a little later coming in than I had planned, and am sorry that my friend William had to wait in the lobby of the hotel since the room was in only my name.  After arriving we ended up eating at Applebee’s before going to Target to get some toiletries that I thought I forgot (I found them later).

We headed back to the hotel to rest as we both had did enough traveling that day.

Thursday morning – the fun begins

Convention registration opens up pretty much right after the hotel has ensured that all the “nilla” guests have departed.  Will and I got in line to get our badges.  As always I find a helper to write my name on my badge because I’m just a little kid with horrible handwriting.

We checked out the space, waited in line for our Build a Buddies,

We attended the crafts, classes and fun events before going off to dinner, I think we did Moe’s Southwest grill that night.

Friday – Day 2 of the fun that is TeddyCon

As if Thursday was not enough, there’s Friday.

I know I slipped into Dr. Rhoda’s class, checked out the swings outside, maybe colored a picture. Did more socializing and visited the vendors.

Saturday – Day 3

I made Oobleck which was so neat. Then I went to the Lil Tykes Swim class…. That was so much fun.

Unfortunately after the swim class I slipped while walking around the pool area and suffered contusions to my ribs.  It did not hurt that bad at the time, but the next morning I went to urgent care.  I honestly am not sure what we did for dinner, because I most likely was sore and did not want to go out.

I must state that when I fell the TC staff took great concern for my safety and health.  I was urged to go to urgent care that night, but deferred going till the next morning.

Sunday – not fun day

I awoke early and drove myself to the urgent care up the road.  Since I was a bit early, I ended up getting Dunkin’ and gassing up the rental van for the ride back home.  After getting x-rays and checked out to find nothing was broken and there was no imminent danger; I was given prescriptions for pain relief and muscle relaxers.  I got my stuff packed up with the help of William and dropped him off at the airport and headed home.

I basically drove until I reached the half-way point right before getting off the turnpike, I got out, went to the bathroom, got food and got back in and rolling on.  I stopped again outside Columbus Ohio to get gas.

After the con….

Honestly I felt ok, just a little sore when I got home.  My mom helped me get the stuff out of the van that night and I got changed for bed.

I had Monday off work, which I always do for the Cons.  I was a bit more sore but thought I would make it for work on Tuesday.

Tuesday morning I got up again sore even more.  By the time I got ready and into my van – I had hit critical mass on my pain.  As soon as I ducked down to get my big head in the door pain shot through me like I had never felt.  Luckily I was now in the vehicle. After waiting for the pain to lessen I called my mom from the driveway and told her I was going to my doctor’s walk-in so he could write me off work possibly and take a look at the x-rays from urgent care.

My doctor was worried about what he saw on the films and had me go to the hospital for further x-rays and made me an appointment THAT DAY with a general surgeon to review the x-rays.

The further x-rays did not find anything else. I was wrote off from work until the next week and was on FMLA.

There was no way that I was able to wear diapers, as every time I lay on my back, my chest muscles and back would start to spasm.

When I fell I put my spine out of alignment but could not go to the chiropractor for over 3 weeks because my chest was still too sore to lay flat on it.

Regrets….

I really wished that I had went to much more of the activities and classes.  Looking back I really did not attend many of them.

I also wish I would have left my pool/aqua shoes on even though they hurt my feet…. This is why I fell because I took them off and was walking barefoot.

 

Overall

I had a great time and I will be back again, as I’ve already bought my ticket and have a room.  Anybody coming from the central ohio area that won’t annoy me to death for that 8 hour drive?

Let me first state that I was apprehensive about attending this event with all the issues leading up to it.

First let me say that this is my second capcon, but not my first convention or large function fetish or not.

I’m going to be fair and honest with you of how I felt about CAPcon.

The annoying stuff

Hotel related stuff – I find it utter bull that rooms needed to be paid up front, not to mention through a shady system like PayPal. Any other convention I have attended the hotel booking was totally handled by the hotel itself and rooms were secured with a credit card (even if the room was non refundable within 7-14 days would be better). What the organizers fail to fully comprehend is that some people truly live paycheck to paycheck so floating an extra $300+ 7 to 10 months out is extremely hard.

The room rates increased because breakfast was not included in the package.

Meals – while it is freaking awesome that you all decided to do meals, the idea of prepaying, then having an 18% gratuity slapped on there on top of the high amount for food turned people off.  From what I heard from others, the food was not truly worth the cost.  It also sucked that you could not just buy a general Lunch or Dinner ticket and use it for whatever day you wanted…. which meant if you missed lunch on Friday, they were not able to be used for Saturday.  Again most travelers expect a breakfast included in the cost of their accommodations it is as simple as that.

The pre-con dinner – frankly being required to repurchase a ticket for an onsite buffet just so you could socialize with people before the con stinks.

Why am I harping on food? – Some people don’t like or do buffets, some people have special dietary restrictions and need to stay away from certain foods, or cannot eat enough to get the value out of the meal.

The schedule – First off the con did not start on Thursday in my opinion.  Other cons that state they start on Thursday actually have activities and con space open on that first day. The only activities were an opening ceremony, which I was not arrived for, and a pre con dinner which as I stated above could have been done different so those who don’t care to eat could at least socialize.  This just seemed to be a ploy to make people think that the con was longer than it was.

Next your schedule was hard to read, not that it mattered as you didn’t keep to it. Class location changes, events added, events moved, etc… in the future you should post a daily board with what is happening, when and where….. or do something like a daily newsletter like a cruise does.  Also have a break in the schedule for dinner and lunch; I mean how are people supposed to eat the overpriced hotel buffet that they had to prepay and preplan for when there is no time to get food.

Digital Devices – This was a big joke.  One there is no way you can see if those stickers had been tripped by just a casual glance.  Two nobody was checking them.  Three, they take away from the convention in a way.  I work for a wireless carrier, i hae a phone in my hand every day all day.  For me it was so nice to NOT bring my phone with me to the con space.  My phone and iPad were in my room unless I was leaving the hotel for dinner.

Photography – I decided to go red band this year due to the debacle last year.  While it will be sad that I will not be in any photos or receiving any photos from the con, it is what it is.  Personally I did not see the official con photographer very often.

A cool idea would be to have an area or “scene” setup for people to get a posed photo (like you have at an amusement park, or attraction).  I think that the spacecraft rocker that Tykeables brought with a space backdrop behind it would have been a great photo opportunity for the attendees to have something that has the convention name and if needed names of the sponsors on it.  The key being that it is something that they can take with them immediately either as a hard print or emailed to themselves.

Just because I am red band, does not mean I don’t want photos…. I just want control over who has my photos.

 

 

Now What I Loved.

The vendors.  I bought pin-on buttons from a vendor upstairs, a pacifier and clip from Little Kink.

I loved the classes that I attended, babiedboi’s  classes always bring the warmth and love of the community out.

I loved the presentation by Cwis  from Abysitter.com and look forward to the results of the survey that he conducted being posted along with the video (update here is the video)  – I want to know that there are others out there like me, those who got their start in diapers at a very very early age.  I want to know what makes up this community, how we all got started, and hopefully find out if there is a common thread in all our lives… so far I really don’t think there is anything that draws us all to diapers and being little other than we just like wearing diapers and being little

Shout out to Zach (Mid America Little) and Andy (The Padded Puppy) for their session on positive social media for the ABDL community.  It has made me get closer to going over the fence and starting to vlog about my life of being an ABDL.  What holds me back now is the fear of my family, friends, etc finding the content and finding out about me.  Also if I can handle the negative aspect of the comments that could ensue, and if I am stable enough to put me out there.  Plus I need to find a place to be able to video at…. those who truly know me know my house is a mess and packed to the gills with stuff.

Last but not least I cannot forget being able to see so many wonderful friends that I have made over the years.  People I follow on instagram and people I have chatted with over the past 22 years that  have been on the internet.  Without the encouragement of many of these people over the years, many of us ABDL’s would not have what we have today.  It is so cute to see AB’s that were not even born when I got back into diapers, many of them still have that youthful exuberance in them as I watched them tear up and down the play space on the big wheels and trikes.  Oh to have that level of physical youth again to go with the youthful mindset.  For me I am happy just snuggling with my Pooh bear, drinking my bottle and relaxing in a quiet place.

I am shy at first and then I will open up and you’ll wish I was too shy to speak.

Some closing thoughts:

If you are an ABDL, Little, AgePlayer, Diaper Lover, Adult Toddler…. whatever you consider yourself.  You are truly NOT ALONE.  I know it can be scary to meet others, but rest assured that we all thought we were alone in this at one time or another.  Look up a nearby munch if going to a full blown party or convention is just too much for you at this point in your life; but get out there and be yourself.

If you are on the fence about going to a convention or party, and it is within driving distance…..GO FOR IT!!!  You will not regret it.  If it gets to be too much, find a quiet place or go back to your room.

 

 

since I missed TeddyCon in 2016, I decided to buy my ticket as early as possible, buying my ticket in January of 2017.  I had made the choice to skip CAPCon as it was too close to another vacation.

Back in January, October seemed so far away for this little…  “It’s 9 months….. That’s forever” my little brain said.  Oh but those 9 months came very quick when it got down to the last 2 months.

The trip was over 7 hours long.  I knew I was not going to try and drive myself, or else it may take two days.  So I decided to ride with my longtime ABDL friend Jeffy (AKA Zippy).

The plan was that when I got off work on Wednesday night we would go get dinner, crash at his house and then take off in the wee hours of the morning.  We went to bed about 10 pm and then got back up a little after 1 am.  We were loaded and on the road by 2:30 AM.

We might have made better time if both of us had been padded up, but neither of us did.  We arrived at the hotel shortly before 11:00 AM.  The Con started at 1:00 but the hotel was already bustling with littles and their personalities.  I walked around and ended up sitting down with a bunch of people in what somebody termed “the living room” a hallway with tons of chairs and couches

By about 2:30 the hotel was letting people check in, which was great as I was very hot and sweaty and my little inside me was about to have a meltdown.  I got to my room and cranked the AC all the way down to 60 degrees while I stopped sweating, then slowly brought the room back up.

I got diapered up and  in my Rearz Safari onsie and I hit the con with Pooh.  I walked over to the ABU table and the guy asked “What size are you”.  Thinking he was trying to sell me some diapers I said XL and he said “well your choices are the lavender or the preschool plastic” and then he grabbed a bag and gave them to me!!!  Shout out to AB Universe, that was so neat

If you have never been to TeddyCon, you have no clue what you are infact missing out on.  There are activities like arts and crafts, story time, a nursery, messy activities with finger paint, shaving cream, etc.  There are vendors there selling all sorts of diapers and clothes.  Bestest of all is all the new people you meet and hang out with.  The con ends at 10 or 11pm but I can tell you the party don’t stop till at least 2 am.  We roasted marshmellows sang around the fire pit and talked.

Often I hear people say “Why are there never any events in my area.  I don’t want to drive that far”

All events start with one person taking that leap to host one.  There are several levels  of events

We have Munches, Parties and Conventions.

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Munches

A Munch for lack of a better term is a publicly announced dinner/lunch date. This is the easiest thing to host!  All you need is a date, time and a place.  Find a place that you don’t mind eating at, some place that is not too expensive, and not too close to being fast food.  We have used Golden Corral type places, and sit down restaurants like Old Bag of Nails.

The reason for munches are to get to know people in a neutral, vanilla atmosphere.  This is often a pre-cursor for going to a party or Convention

Next find a date and time.  You usually want to stick to Saturday and Sunday, as this is usually when people are off work; though some groups do their munches through the week.  Now for time.  I suggest to not make it too early or too late; maybe 2pm to 5pm.  If you make it too late you will not have time for people to stick around, those who drove from a distance will not want to come if they have to work tomorrow.  Too early and people may not be able to drive that distance.  If you want to hold monthly munches, stay with the same place, time and date (ie. 2nd saturday of each month)

If the place takes reservations, make reservations.  This is why we use sit-down restaurants rather than the buffet styles. Try to be early if you are the host, as people will come early and scope out the place and may leave.

The dress at a munch is totally vanilla.  This means that you can wear a diaper if you want, but you must be properly dressed as an adult.  PJ bottoms, obvious little attire, and stuffed animals DO NOT BELONG HERE.  A rule of thumb is if you would not wear it to visit your grandma or if you have seen it on peopleofwalmart.com  – then it does not belong at the munch!

 

The best thing with a munch…. If nobody shows up, you still eat!

 

Parties

You made it through your first munch or two.  Now it is time to let your little out.

Parties are held in private homes, hotels and party houses.  Again, you should arrive in vanilla street attire, and once inside the party there are places to change.  A party often lasts the whole day or sometimes starts the night before.  There is usually a small cost to attend to cover the expenses to host the party

Activities can vary at parties, but there is always food, fun and friends.  When I used to hold parties I would always do food that can simply be heated up and plated.  Finger foods are great (pizza, chicken nuggets, fries, etc) – afterall you are dealing with toddlers for the most part.

Arts and crafts are a major thing at parties – there are blocks, crayons, play-doh, finger paints, etc

There are littles in their little clothing, sippy cups in their faces, stuffed animals at a close grip.

Usually there will be music and movies playing.  People will be sharing their tips and tricks, showing off the diapers that they love, and the clothes that play into who their little is.

You will typically have around 20 people at a party.  A good tip is to have something that everybody can make and take home with them.

As a host, it is always nice when others volunteer to help out at the party; be it helping fix the food, helping setup and clean up, etc… The host would like to be able to enjoy themselves as well.

 

Conventions (Cons)

This is like a party taken to the next level.  These are multiple day events, including a large playspace that includes things like cribs, playpens, ball pits, massive amounts of arts and crafts stuff.  There are usually vendors selling their wares, and some sort of classes/presenters.

The first Con I attended was CapCon 2016 in Chicago.  It was a blast!!  It was 3 days of being able to let my little loose, and to meet with others from around the world.  By some estimates – there were close to 300 people at that convention.

Again you will arrive in vanilla attire and change once in the space.  After the Con at night you may visit a private room party where who knows what will go on.

These events are often a ticketed event and do have rules that all have to agree to.

 

In closing start out at a munch and make yourself known.  This will help you get invited to parties, and able to attend conventions as well.

People always want to know “What got you into diapers?”  I frankly don’t know… The more I look back on my life, I keep finding new reasons why.  At this point I think it almost goes back to my cousin being born, which is strange, because I had cousins older and younger than me already.  Before him, my aunt would watch me at her house.  I think her house was one of the first ones that I slept overnight at.  Once she got pregnant, I wanted nothing to do with the new-to-be baby.  I didn’t want to feel him kick; and once he was born, my mom claims that I didn’t even want to look at him….

It could also go back to when my mom took care of my great grandmother after he stroke; she was in diapers and had to be changed and cared for by my mom all the time.

Then again it could go back to that bag of diapers that were in the front closet (side note: I was kept in cloth except when there was a sitter or we were going someplace – mom said so).

The last incident was when I was 12 and had heart surgery, i woke up in a diaper in the ICU.  I don’t believe I used it, it was mainly to cover me up.  I also saw other kids my age and older in diapers too.

 

The best answer on how I got into diapers would revolve around a typical night.  I grab a diaper and stuffer from my diaper stack, walk back towards the bed, switch off the light and then toss my stuff on the bed.  I then turn on the flashlight on my phone, spread out my diaper and stuffer, powder up the back of the diaper.  I then tell Pooh he’s bad and he replies “ha ha you wear diapees” to which I remind him that he has one on too.  I finish powdering the front up and then pull the diaper up and tape it up, roll over an go to be…. That is how I got into diapers last night, and it will be how I get into them tonight.

Stay Padded, DNH