Why I should of NEVER let my Diaper Bag Go!

My kids are 4, 6 and 8. Well out of diapers, thank you very much. (See? IT IS TRUE. No one goes to high school in diapers!) But that did not keep me from grabbing a cool diaper bag out of a pile of clothes during a yard sale, and squealing with delight.

I mean, it still had the tags on it, for heaven’s sake.

To be honest, at first I didn’t realize that it was a diaper bag – but then, I started to notice some things. Like, the thermal bottle pockets on the sides. And some accessories that were attached to the bag with one of those plastic tag-thingies. And instead of recoiling and dropping that bag like a hot potato, I inspected it further. And that is when I realized: diaper bags (much like maternity clothes) have gotten better with time (I remember when I brought Ben home from the hospital and actually used the ones they gave me for the first 4 months... YIKES! Remember the pastel animals and the alphabet letters). This one is a basic red with a faux leather black trim. It is not made of plastic (though it does have rubber on the bottom which is fine with me – the bottoms of my bags always get filthy and beat up) and is not pastel or covered with teddy bears or the name of a formula company. It’s simply a nice lightweight water-resistant swag bag that is TOTALLY AWESOME. Just like I can no longer live without baby wipes (seriously, what did I DO before baby wipes??) I have decided that I also need to keep a diaper bag at the ready.

So next month, when I get in the car to drive to California with the kids, I am rocking the diaper bag. I am forgoing my fancy-pants designer luggage for a red diaper bag I found at a yard sale. Don’t believe me? Here are some things that I love about diaper bags, that could possibly ensure that I have one in my closet until the end of time:

1. Those thermal bottle pockets.

Listen. They keep cold water bottles cold during an afternoon out. They keep my lipbalm from melting. They are awesome.

2. The changing pad.

Okay, I admit….a harder thing to repurpose. BUT if you have ever had to sit on a rocky park bench or on a damp football field, you will know the benefit of having a padded plastic barrier between your butt and the ground.

3. The fancy zipper access.

My brand new diaper bag – I MEAN SWAG BAG – has a zipper going all the way down the back between the two shoulder straps. So I can take this bad boy off, and unzip it right down the middle to locate whatever has fallen to the bottom – my phone or sunglasses or the lip balm I forgot to put in the thermal pocket.

4. Serious pocket action.

Inside, outside, waterproof, breathable mesh, see through……..the list of pockets goes on and on….like the list of stuff I need to put in them. I love me some pockets. Diaper bags have them in spades. Pockets for my laptop, pens, hi-lighters, cellphone, charger, cans of diet coke, Disneyland tickets, and all of the other necessities that I drag along with me on my adventures.

5. The “wet items” bag.

Just because we are all potty trained, does not mean we don’t have accidents. Ahem.

I could go on and on. But I won’t, because I have to go play with my new diaper bag I MEAN SWAG BAG.