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? ;)