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Bright Autumn Sun » Bright Autumn Sun | A South Florida Life & Photo Blog | Photography | Lifestyle | Motherhood

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featured on newparent.com

I meant to post about this a while back, but have been so busy lately that I haven’t had time.

A couple weeks ago I was approached by an intern at New Parent Magazine to be a featured blogger! If you’re a mom, or pregnant, you’ve probably seen New Parent or Toddler magazines in your OB or Pediatrician offices. I was pretty stoked to be asked to write a story for their informative & interactive website.

The story that they featured is called “The Mommy Competition” and describes the competitiveness that new moms often experience following the birth of a child… click here to check out the article, and never forget that your child is a unique individual who will grow at his or her own pace, no matter what anyone else says or suggests. No one graduates high school still sucking on a pacifier, after all, right? :)

Hope you enjoy it!

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starlakittyMarch 17, 2010 - 1:06 pm

that’s great karen! :)

interesting article, too.

Aunt AmyMarch 17, 2010 - 9:14 pm

Great article. However, I do think Zachary is very advanced, super smart, and absolutely handsome!!!! (not that I’m biased or anything) :)

it’s raining.

I just came across some photos (not mine) from the autumn season. Like, really autumn – not the half-hearted season we get here in South Florida. Real leaves changing color. Cold weather. mounds and mounds of different colored pumpkins. It just made me truly long for the season once again! Well, it’s cold-ish now, I guess, but it’s also pouring rain…ughhh. I’m longing for pumpkin bread and pumpkin lattes and pumpkin muffins again. It’s my favorite time of year and I can’t believe I have to wait another 7 or 8 months for it again! I am just dreading the summertime this year. Dreading the heat. It seems to get hotter and hotter every year. I just want this cool weather to stay around.

So, the rain. It’s raining. Again. I have about a zillion errands to do today (including going to the bookstore and buying up the rest of the Sookie Stackhouse series… seriously… I’m addicted now after reading book 1 and part of book 2). And rain does not go with my plans. When you have a toddler, and you want to run errands, it just does not work – getting the kid into the car, strapping them in, getting the stroller in or out, getting the child in or out of the stroller… it’s a nightmare. By the time you get into the car, everyone and everything is soaked and freezing. It’s not even worth it.

I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that the rain lets up so I can get out and get my stuff done. Until then I’ll try to finish some more work and play with Zachary… and maybe read more of the next Sookie Stackhouse book if I get lucky! ;)

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Stroller hindsight

Hindsight. Gotta love it.

When I first registered for all the baby stuff after finding out I was pregnant, I fell in love with the Chicco Travel System because it was highly rated and I was told constantly how safe it was. Well, what no one could have told me was that my son would grow out of the stupid infant seat (which never hooked on to any grocery store shopping cart properly) in a mere FOUR MONTHS, when we had to graduate him to a beautiful Britax Marathon…. and that ginormous Chicco Cortina stroller would become nothing but an extremely heavy hassle to get in and out of the car.

I was incredibly grateful when my mother-in-law, Debi, purchased a Maclaren Quest for us, relieving my back from having to lift that monstrosity of a stroller out of the car, and we use it quite often, but since we are a two-car family, the Maclaren typically stays in Adrian’s car, which we use more often, and the huge Chicco hangs out in my trunk. For the past month or two, I’ve been considering selling my Chicco system as it’s in very good condition (anyone interested? it’s red), and purchasing an inexpensive umbrella stroller for the other car, like the Chicco Capri, which my mom & dad have and like.

So.. today I hung out with my parents and Zachary while Adrian stayed at home to get work done as we prepare for the big photographer convention next week (our studio software company has a booth there), and on a whim, without ANY prompting from me, my mom asked if I needed another lightweight stroller, and then, in an awesome gesture, offered to purchase one for us! We headed over to Buy Buy Baby and after looking at the aforementioned Chicco Capri, then an Inglesina, and then a few different models by Combi, I finally decided on the Combi Cosmo in Sand, a nice neutral color that will work.

The price was very reasonable, at only $129, and it comes with a zillion features, including a little storage pack on the back, a high weight limit,  and a drink/snack cup holder in the front bar. The turning radius is also pretty fabulous and I can steer it with one hand for the most part. The best part is that it folds up in under 3 seconds – SERIOUSLY! We put Zachary into the stroller to test it out and he got sooo comfortable – even putting his feet up on the bar! Our Maclaren doesn’t have a bar, and there’s no way he could get his feet up on the bar in the Chicco, so I think this was a perfect choice for him and will allow him a lot of comfort, especially since he’s in a stage where he’s not very happy in the stroller and would prefer to be running around.

Here’s the stroller we got:

combi cosmo stroller

The great thing is that even though this is a lightweight stroller, the Combi infant car seat works with it, so no need for a travel system! Phew! I’ll definitely be purchasing one of those for the next kiddo in a couple years.

Now all I need to do is sell that Chicco.

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KimFebruary 28, 2010 - 12:55 pm

Thanks for writing this. It’s definitely good to read product feedback from been there done that mom’s!

When reading the reviews for Chicco’s carseats, I read that their inability to clip on the shopping carts correctly is actually by design. They said there is a chance the cart could tip over with the car seat clipped in the front if there is not other weight in the cart. Something to think about!

I have heard a lot of people say the same things about travel systems. We opted for a Chicco Keyfit 30 car seat with a lightweight snap-in stroller to start off. We’ll see how it goes!

JanetteMarch 4, 2010 - 5:40 pm

That’s why I got my stuff on craigslist! I researched the hell out of strollers and found out the same thing about travel systems being bulky and heavy. So I opted for the Peg Perego P3 that folds up in a second just like an umbrella. However, I wasnt about to pay almost 400 bucks for it, so I got it (pretty much brand spanking new) on craigslist for 130. Gotta love a good deal! Got the infant carrier on there too for pennies and then got the convertible car seat as a gift for when he outgrows the infant carrier.

LOL I love how you talk about how much you hate your travel system and then offer it for sale ;o) Too funny!