A note about birthdays....

I suck at dates. No, seriously I do. I don't remember most people's birthdays. If you're a friend of mine and I remembered your birthday it's probably because I set 2 alarms on my iPhone and noticed it on facebook. Thankfully my closest friends don't mind one bit. In fact I'm pretty sure these people know without me telling them that I normally don't know what day of the week it is without checking my computer or phone.

Today is Squish's first birthday. When did it get to be Nov 2nd I have no idea. It just snuck up on me. But it came. I haven't really reminisced about what was going on a year ago. Let's just say that's for the best since I hated my birth. Tomorrow marks good stuff though. 1 year of breastfeeding and 1 year of holding a cute baby boy! With luck I won't ever forget his birthday date....of course I almost forgot my husband's birthday and just remembered about it 2 days ago....

Not Forgotten

So I haven't forgotten about this blog. I've started a few entries over the past few months. Then stopped. I didn't want this to be all about my kid, parenting, etc. I wanted this to be about me. Well, me right now is putting up with Squish and the military whims 24/7.  While there is a lot more to me than "mom" and "military wife," it's time for me to face the facts that those titles are what affects me the most these days. So from here on out, expect a lot of rants and raves related to things that affect me. What you won't ever see here though is political discussions. I have my definite opinions, but they won't be shared here out of respect to my husband and others. Plus I'd rather waste my breath on things like cloth diapers and others stupidity. :D

A bit about me. I'm a 28 year old Air Force wife. My husband, DH, has a really cool job. He loves it. I love it... most days. We have one son who is about to turn one (eek!). I call him Squish on here cause he used to be squishy. Now he doesn't sit long enough to let the fat settle. I spend my days chasing Squish around the house, doing cloth diaper laundry, cooking for my family, picking up 999 toys, watching Star Trek Voyager on Netflix, and texting my best friend. Oh, and spending way too much time online during Squish's naps.

Proud Mommy Moment

My son learned how to pick his nose this week.

He's growing up!

*sniff*

You Get What You Pay For

....At least when it comes to strollers.

While I was gone visiting family earlier this month, a small piece on my Quinny Buzz 4 stroller broke. It did affect the integrity of the stroller and, being the paranoid mom I am at times, I decided that Squish was not riding in it again. I wore Squish in carriers for the rest of the trip. When I got home, my husband called Quinny customer service. (I would have called, but there would have been unproductive cursing every 4th word.) Without hesitation, they set up for FedEx to pick up our stroller (we had to box it of course) free to us and they sent us a brand new Quinny Buzz 2011 stroller by FedEx. I even got to pick what color I wanted. Of course I went with red.

I have no idea if the stroller piece broke due to something from traveling, others using the stroller while I was there, or if it just had issues. I loved my Buzz stroller and was not happy about the break. What I am extremely happy about is that Quinny came through despite my stroller being out of warranty. In my book they're a great company!

My old beloved Quinny Buzz 4:

     

I love the very padded seat, the ease at which it turns, the adjustable handle bar, the easy to use brakes, that the seat can face parent or traditionally away, the seat recline, and the fact that with just one push the stroller OPENED ITSELF. Genius!

My new Quinny Buzz (and they did tell me to keep the front wheels of my 4, I'm just giving the 3 wheel version a try):

There are a few noticeably different changes. All of which I'm very happy to see.

1. Just one seat. I don't have pictures, but the older Buzz models had one smaller padded seat and then you could remove it from the metal frame and replace it with a bigger unpadded seat. I never attempted to use the larger seat since Squish is so small, but I heard it was a major pain. And best of all the weight limit is still a wonderful high 50 lbs!

2. Bigger basket! The walls are higher and the bottom is larger too. I never had an issue stuffing my large purse in the basket along with something else, but I'm sure those who use huge diaper bags love this bigger storage basket. I'm sure I'll enjoy this feature the next time I get the bright idea to walk to the commissary instead of drive.

3. The bumper bar. The older models had a thick foam bumper bar. Looked great, but I couldn't string toys on it easily. The new model has a removable thinner padding that looks like it can be washed. Still looks very sleek and will hold up well (if not better because it's not just foam).

4. I swear the canopy is bigger. I haven't found any mention of this, but it definitely seems like it's extending just a tad farther than before.

There are a couple of other changes too, but these are the ones I immediately noticed and care about.

Thanks Quinny for being great in the customer service department! And I'm glad to see what little negatives there were to begin with have been improved upon.

Oh the Zucchini

The zucchini plants are creeping up above my waist.

I had no idea that desert soil would grow zucchini so well.

Still waiting on my tomatoes and cucumbers to produce.

But that's okay.

We're struggling to eat dozens of pounds of zucchini right now.

Zucchini for breakfast anyone? ;)

Zucchini, anyone?

Just picked out of my garden today. 

I promise I had checked on them just 2 days ago and they were little bitty runts. 

Almost

My son is now an official babbler of tons of constants. It's exciting to stand in the background and listen to him experiment. For a few weeks now he's been doing "mamamamama." Too bad he only does that when he's upset.

Today I was changing his diaper as always. I look at him, he looked back at me. He smiled. And out came, "Da da!"

Of course.

Bringing Down the Neighborhood

Threw Squish up on my back and hung his diapers to dry.

A Day in the Life of a Sea Monster

8:30am - I awake to Squish batting a hand against my boob. He thinks this is funny. I do not.

9:00am - I'm showered, dressed, and have make up on. Squish has a clean diaper and onesie. We head off to the base clinic for some of Squish's 6 month shots.
9:10am - My prayers have been answered and for once I don't have to argue with them about only getting part of the normal immunizations (we delay certain vaccines). It's amazing how much quicker you can get through when no one spends 10 minutes telling you that you're a horrible parent. Squish cried for .3 seconds and then smiled. Score!
9:20am - Done and in the car headed to the BX.
9:30am - Cuss out AT&T because it keeps dropping my call between my dad and I. It only happens when I call home, so I guess they have tower issues there. Finally get the info I wanted.
9:35am - Back home. Finally pour myself a cup of coffee and have an apple muffin with it. Meanwhile I play "Fetch the Baby" as he rolls places he shouldn't and chases after the cat.
10:05am - Are you getting tired yet kid? Apparently not cause eating the floor is a lot more fun! And when did you lose a sock?!

10:20am - Squish is finally shows a sign of becoming tired. I nurse him, change his diaper twice, read him 3 books and he's out asleep in his crib by 10:35.
11:00am - I've put away last night's clean dishes, washed this morning's dishes, started a load of diapers in the washer, and finally addressed and put in the mail mother's day cards.
12:00pm - Spent the past hour sitting on my butt, enjoying the magical world of the internet. Somehow I always find myself looking up baby carriers and cloth diapers. What did I do before Squish? Oh yeah, read a lot and get board easier. lol. I finally get off my butt and throw the diapers into the dryer. And promptly get back online, enjoying the extra bit of silence since Squish doesn't often nap this long.
12:30pm - Squish is up and it's time for lunch! I enjoy leftover deep dish pizza while Squish demonstrates once again that he does not like banana. Gave him some steamed zucchini too which he seemed to like a bit more despite his funny faces at it.

1:00pm - After a quick nursing, Squish's diaper is change and we head out the door for a couple of errands in town. Squish enjoys a cat nap on my back in an Ergo while I roam around. As always I get a lot of stares. I take my time looking at stuff that I know I'll never buy though.

2:45pm - Home! Squish is energized from his quick nap, so he teethes on our rocking chair and then plays with the cat (the cat was dumb enough to go up to him). I'm tired and wondering when my nap time is (too bad I am not a napper).

3:30pm - Squish finally showing signs of wearing down. I change his diaper, nurse, read him 3 books, and he's out by 3:40. I turn on the TV and watch Jordan's episode of 16 and Pregnant while I work on cutting out cloth for cloth wipes.

4:30pm - Squish is up! He's confused by the crying baby on the TV (haven't quite finished 16 and Pregnant). Have to say this is one of the better episodes I've ever seen. It looks like this teen is trying so hard and is doing everything she can to be a good mom.

4:45pm - Done with my daily trash, so I spend a bit playing games with Squish who is finally seems to be enjoying sitting up.

5:00pm - Squish suddenly has a break down and starts yawning. Oh yay. Try rocking and reading to him as always, but he fights sleeping. Eventually try the baby swing. That poor swing is definitely being outgrown. :(

5:30pm - Ordered 2 new cloth diapers for use overnight. *crosses fingers that these work*

5:35pm - I put up dry dishes, wash lunch dishes, and start dinner (tonight it's spaghetti squash tacos).

6:20pm - My hubby is home from his 12 hours of training and dinner is almost done! Unfortunately, Squish is awake and still cranky. We sit down to eat as a family. Squish tries spinach, cheddar cheese, and black beans. The only thing he actually ate was the spinach. Weird kid.

7:00pm - Done with dinner. I convince hubby to watch Squish while I do the dinner dishes, clean the kitchen counters, and sweep the kitchen. Is it sad that I was excited to do this right after dinner instead of later tonight?

7:20pm - Laugh at my husband attempting the chicken dance. Continue working on cutting fabric. One day I'll finish.

7:30pm - Gave up cutting fabric. Again. Fold diapers instead. Jealous of my day yet? Why not? ;)

7:45pm - DH takes off to study. I'm left with Squish the Grumpy.

8:00pm - I've had enough "fun" with Squish and get him ready for bed. Finally down in his crib asleep by 8:30pm. I make DH a lunch, pick up the living room (hide all the baby toys), and sit down with a glass of wine. I enjoy typing up my day and watching random TV.

10:00pm - Squish is still asleep (WOO HOO). I'm going to post this and get ready for bed myself. I will read on my iPad till Squish wakes up to eat. Then it's cosleeping till the morning. :)

I have pretty boring days. But somehow managed to write quite a bit. lol.

See why I don't post more often?

I'll upload pics from today sometime tomorrow and update this post then.

Look at that!

My garden attempt is more than just an attempt now!

I think it's the prettiest cucumber ever. 

Can't wait for it to get bigger.

(Or is it a zucchini? lol. Ya know, I'm pretty sure it's a zucchini.)

Still decluttering

Last Friday I emptied our refrigerator and freezer. I cleaned it down. Double checked expiration dates. Got rid of the last bit of leftovers that were left hanging around. Organized everything so it's pretty. I spent a few minutes on the pantry, but it was already in fairly great shape. And all in less than 30 minutes.

Why was I putting that off? Didn't take much time at all. It's one of those things that should be done frequently, but yet many put it off as if it's this horrible long task. It really isn't.

And we had red kool aid spilled on the bottom of the fridge.

Sorry, no pictures.

Need to get my butt in gear soon on that paper pile though. Still haven't gone through that. It's just growing taller each week too.

What the heck is this? (And how to go out of town with a baby.)

Seriously. What is this thing?

(Yes, I'm talking about the man with the preschool aged boy that's so high that he's peering over his daddy's head.)

Saw that contraption at Sea World in San Antonio on Sunday. That place is like a big game of stroller bumper cars. With that family and me not participating, of course. Don't get me wrong, I love my stroller and did tons of research before buying one, but there are times when a stroller is inconvenient. Like at Sea World. You can't take them into the shows. You can't take them up to some of the animal exhibits. Do you no good for the rides and the water park. I actually saw about a dozen families who were holding their little ones and pushing the empty stroller. Meanwhile my little man was on my back in an Angel Pack LX. Took two good long naps. When awake I walked right up to the exhibits for him to see the animals. I did take him out and hold him (or had a friend hold him while I rode roller coasters lol). It was a fun day! And I could take the stairs. ;)

I saw one other baby wearing mama while in San Antonio. She had her little one in a Bjorn type carrier that was super low (the baby was by the mamas crouch, no kidding). Not sure how comfortable that was. This was at the Riverwalk on Friday. That day I wore Squish in a mix of a ring sling, a mei tai baby, and the APLX. He did spend a couple of hours out of carriers thanks to my sister who when around insisted on holding him because "I don't want to look funny." Oh well, I did get him to take two great long naps thanks to baby wearing.

Now before you think I'm completely crunchy here, Squish spent half of Saturday enjoying his stroller. Can't figure out a good way to try on clothes and baby wear. Just not that talented. ;)

Squish was a great baby on our trip though. He slept great at night (we co slept). He was just a happy baby who was grateful to see all the new stuff as we made our way around the city. 

Freak

According to my husband I'm really weird for wanting to meet strangers that I've met online. A few years ago I was able to meet a few military wives that I only knew from an online spouse forum. Since then I've met a couple more from that same source. I'm sure I'll meet more in the future!
Monday we took a day trip out of this hell hole, I mean grand border town. Ha. We enjoyed some real shopping a couple of hours drive away. While there, I was able to meet up with...yep, you got it! A friend I had met online! This time it is a mamma who has a little girl about the same age as Squish. My husband tried warning me about all the freaks out there in the world and how do I know that this person is who I think she is....but I trusted my gut. And she was as nice in person as online.

Nice to meet ya!

I think she liked Squish.

Later that day before we left the real city. 

Notice the costume change? 

Yeah, that's what happens when you back carry a baby. ;)

Date Day

Wasn't really a date night since we went in the middle of the afternoon (when Squish is happiest), but my husband and I got our first time out without baby since Christmas week. We finally checked out Casa de Vino that's here locally. Over 3,000 bottles of wine which is pretty impressive considering how there really isn't much of anything other than a Walmart out here. I know I really enjoyed having some quiet time without shrieking baby. Hopefully I won't have to wait another 3 months for a 3 hours of baby free time. ;)

An empty Casa de Vino 

(because who goes out to drink a bottle of wine at 3pm in the middle of the desert)

(other than us)

Happy baby who thankfully wasn't sad to see Mommy and Daddy go.

Baby Wearing

For those that don't know me well IRL, I love love love baby wearing. I started with a Moby that a friend gave me. Found the wrapping really frustrating, but I did use it. I soon bought a Mei Tai Baby which doesn't require a long piece of fabric and found the baby wearing love. Squish gets worn every single day. Some days just for a few minutes here or there. Other days he's worn for hours. Just depends on what's going on.

Recently I've been wondering if I gave up on wrapping too early. My biggest complaints about the Moby were that it was super long and HOT. I'm still not convinced that wrapping is for me, so instead of buying a baby wearing wrap (they seriously cost about $100!) I bought fabric that can be safely used for baby wearing. For about $20 I've got two wraps cut out of it. I still need to shorten the tails a bit more and find someone to do a quick stitch along the ends to keep it from fraying, but I've got a cheap solution to play around with wrapping over the coming months. 

My first attempt at a kangaroo carry.

As far as my decluttering failing goes, I still have not finished the paper clutter by any means. However, I did spend time today in Squish's room. I packed away most of his 3-6 month clothing. I washed the last bit of his 6-12 month clothing and put it away. He's getting way too big, way too fast! I do feel great knowing that all of Squish's stuff is put away and organized though. So I've done 2/3 weeks. Better than none, right?

Decluttering Failure

I'm failing in decluttering. Maybe instead of one challenge a week I should aim for one every two weeks? I was supposed to have taken care of paper clutter. We only have one spot with it. It just happens to be a big one.

This is the office/guest bedroom/extra storage/this-doesn't-fit-in-this-current-house room. The main purpose is seriously to collect dust and allow the cat a quiet place to get away from cat obsessed rolling baby.

Just this little section is stuff that I'm allowed to touch. The rest is from DH's pilot training. 

I wouldn't say that as a family we are a complete failure at taking care of last week's challenge. My husband actually took care of a good deal of his paperwork. Mainly because he had to turn it back in. 

My little section though? Yeah, it's still there.

Maybe posting my mess for all to see will give me motivation.

Maybe.

New Party Trick

I didn't realize till last night that doing a back carry with a mei tai carrier qualified as a party trick.

But apparently it is. 

And it's impressive and amazing (according to others).

I dream a dream

Yeah, totally did not think this through.

Got the bright idea to container garden. Most people try a small herb container first. Maybe even one of those can't-kill-them-if-you-try plants. I have ambition though. I'm going to go all out with tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, zucchini, and peppers. I truly have no idea if it's even possible to grow all of these in a container. But, I bought the seeds anyway. For a couple of dollars I got my stash. I've watched the seeds grow a heck of a lot faster than I ever expected them to grow. Back in elementary school they would take weeks to do anything. In my house? A mere weekend. This morning I had 50 little pants sprouting in my dining room. Yeah. 50. Would have been 72 but the peppers weren't so fond of me. Smart little seeds.

I have 5 descent sized pots.

See a problem yet?

I didn't till this afternoon when I convinced my husband to help me out on the patio with my project.
"Uh, honey? Did you research how many plants for a pot? And how far deep to plant them?"
"Ummm...buy the seeds, watch them sprout, and then plant them! Water them every day. Reap the rewards this summer."

Yeah, my response did not inspire confidence.

At least last weekend we had cleared out the back flower bed (we killed all the previous flowers lol), so some of the overflow plants were put back there. The rest have met their fate in the garbage. My husband is pretty sure we're not supposed to garden in base housing, but I figure it's in the assigned flower bed spot so we're good. Besides, we killed the last flowers back there. What are the chances of my garden surviving?

I still have this wonderful dream going through my head of using my vegetables to cook with this summer.

This is assuming that we don't get orders to move in April. I mean how hard could it be to transport a garden 280 miles?

(And before you think I'm completely off my rocker, I do have a fairly good idea how to maintain a garden thinks to years of helping my parents who still grow a successful garden every year. I just never paid attention to the planting aspect.)

Project: Simplify WEEK 1

Who doesn't need to simplify their homes and their lives?

I'm a military wife. Let's just be honest and admit that there's a lot of moving with this lifestyle. We moved to our current base at the end of July. I got rid of a TON of stuff last June while DH was TDY and I was a pregnant housewife looking for something to do. Felt great. And know what I miss of everything I got rid of? Nothing. But there's more to be done. And oh boy did some stuff pile up during my extended 3rd trimester and during the newborn phase. Time to get back at it. Project: Simplify is a good way to get started!

And I'm already a week behind.

*gulp*

Today I decided to take full advantage of Squish's first nap. I tackled the closet and my dresser.

 

Before. Yep, that's a stuffed bunny up there. I really didn't change a thing before snapping photos!

 

After. I didn't get rid of much, just two Walmart sacks worth, but things are better organized. I finally put away all of my maternity clothes. I put my shirts together, my skirts together, and my dress pants together. I can't fit all of those tops yet, but I have high hopes for achieving my after baby weight loss soon. Up top I separated jeans by what's starting to get too big, pants that fit me well, capris and shorts, and jeans that I hope to get back into one day. I also finally found a place for all my shoes. And above my shoes? Yep, that's my whole winter wardrobe put away (seriously that's it). 

I did tackle my dresser and made a huge difference there. I don't want pictures of my underwear online, so use your imagination (but don't go too wild). 

I got rid of a lot of unneeded clothes last June, so there wasn't much to do with my clothes other than to organize. I feel better about it. I no longer have to dodge around maternity if nothing else. 

My husband's closet on the other hand? Yeah, that's all his. He'll get a small break of a couple of days soon, so I hope to get him motivated to deal with his mess during that time.

Bring Sexy Back

There's just something sexy about a man who wears the baby while doing yard work. 

Especially when it gives mommy two hours of baby free time.

Meet my squish

He has big expressive eyes. 

Easy to tell when he's truly frustrated, upset, happy, or tired. 

He doesn't real cry much, so when he does I KNOW something is up. 

He's extremely ticklish, which I love.

Most of time he loves being worn. 

I call my mei tai carriers my sanity saver.

He's a rolling monster now. 

He's also recently learned to scoot himself on his tummy with his arms.

I already miss the pet rock stage.