SUMMER FAMILY FUN

Thursday, February 19, 2009

If You Were Me . . .

After yesterday morning's experience I decided that the below statement would be my mantra for the day:




However, I then had to remember my new life's motto (that I saw on a quilt at the California Quilt Show my mom and I went to when she was here) which is:
You may remember at Christmas when I announced that I had gotten my dream stroller. (below)Well, Baby T started back this week and I wanted to take the kids to Music Makers yesterday, so I decided it was time to get it out of the box and put it together. It took me about 45 minutes to get it together and by the time I lugged it downstairs (it's heavy!) and tried to get it into my trunk, I was a sweaty mess and I had about 10 minutes to get us all ready to go to Music Makers.

Oh! But wait! The giant stroller (which has a 20% smaller fold) doesn't fit in my Neon's trunk! I wanted to scream. I tried putting it in the front seat and that didn't work either. BLEH!!!! So I leave the thing in the garage, madly brush my hair, grab my makeup bag, throw the 3 kids in the car and rush to MM. The Boy is crying because he was all excited to be able to ride in a stroller with The Girl and I had told him he could take it for a test drive before we left. Ha! So, we get to MM right as they are starting and I have The Boy walk in, put The Girl in the single stroller, and hold Baby T in my arm (she's light as a feather) and we make into the primary room just fine. I'm sure we were a sight, but we made it.

So that afternoon I research strollers to try and find one that people have had success fitting in the trunk of Neon. I came up with a few, but of course, they are side-by-sides, which I wanted to avoid. At Disneyland Will and I always curse the SBS people because they are so wide and are always blocking the way. Well, maybe they have a tiny Neon or Honda and have no choice, like me:(

Anyway, I found this Chicco stroller and it is exactly like our single Chicco, but even cooler because it reclines all the way down and has boot so that little baby infants can ride in it. I went to Babies R Us last night with my two kids to check it out and I liked it pretty well - for a SBS. However, they are out! It's on sale and they didn't have any. So, I ask at the front to see if they can call some of the other stores to see if they have some left. The GUY WAS SO RUDE! He told me the sale was over and he doesn't know why they haven't changed the price and NO ONE has them. He didn't even try. When I get home I call 5 BRU in the area and 3 of them have them! So I put them on hold and vowed to go and pick one up today.Well, Will helped me assess the stroller situation this morning and if you pop the big wheels off, then my dream stroller will fit in my trunk. So, now I have a dilemma and I need your advice. So, all you blog stalkers need to stop stalking today and leave me a comment.

Which stroller would you keep? The dream stroller is a Graco and my car seat is a Peg Perego, so the car seat does not snap into it like I originally wanted, so The Girl has to come out of the car seat anyway to ride in it. The SBS is lighter and easier to get into the trunk, however, the kids are next to eachother and can therefore poke and harrass one another and I will also be one of "THOSE" people that takes up all the space and makes a huge issue getting through a doorway.

What would you do? Weigh in. I have to make a decision by aound 4pm today. AHHH! I hate choosing.

ETA: Another thing to consider, will the wheel attachment hold up to being removed each time? And Graco sells a replacement part for $16. Hmmmm . . . too many things to think about.

9 comments:

Cory said...

that's a tough one!! i know what you mean about the side by sides. those things are annoying and there will definitly be places where you would not be able to fit if you use it. like the other day when we went to wendy's. you would not have been able to fit a side by side down those isles!! but with the dream stroler you have to pop off the wheels? that's pretty annoying too. i don't know. i guess i would rather have five minutes of hassle everytime i use the thing with having to pop the wheels on then to have my kids poking each other and no be able to fit down isles in stores. so i say go with the double not the side by side. also.... does one of the seats pop off on the dream stoller so it folds up skinnier. that's what mine does. i just pop one seat out and fold it up skinny, then stick it in there and then put the extra seat just laying on top. what about that??

Mandy said...

I'm going to vote to stick with your side by side. I have a side by side, and here's why I wanted it:

I run with mine. I do not shop with mine. Therefore, it never needs to go in the car. The two times I *have* taken it in the car were to Disneyland. And I like to walk fast down Main Street, so I like to think I'm not in anyone's way. :) I have to pop the front wheel off of mine to get it in my van, and it's not that big of a deal.

So you have to ask yourself: Why is this my dream stroller? So you can shop with it? (Because mine does not go through most doors and aisles...the times I've walked to the grocery store were a nightmare.)

But it's my dream stroller because even though it+kids weighs over 70 pounds, I can push it with my pinky finger and it will glide forever.

Good luck with your decision!!

Mandy said...

Oops, I mean stick with your FRONTBACK, sorry, I made a mistake in the very first line. :)

Harrisons said...

O-kay, I'll finally come out of hiding ;) It's Naiyana from Eaglecrest and I found you through Mandy of course. It's been fun to see your life as a mom since neither of us were at that stage back then. I just can't keep quiet about this stroller thing though because they're so expensive and really make a huge difference in your life. I personally went with the SBS like Mandy. The best advice I was given is that you really have to sit down and decide what you personally are going to use your stroller for. Nobody else can tell you what stroller to buy because everyone wants them for different purposes. I bought a cheap lightweight one from Walmart for throwing in the car and using on the rare instances I need it to shop. My little boy is big enough to walk now and won't ride in the stroller anymore anyway. You may face that situation soon. I love my SBS because I only use it to exercise and it is very easy to push. However, my sister loves her front to back because she shops a lot. The SBS will not fit through store doors. Good luck and fun little family you have!!

(BTW-- (This is really long) I now have a boy 5 and a girl 2 today. Staying at home is the best!)

jenerekfamily said...

I will say that a friend of mine has this Chicco one and loves it. She had one part come off and Chicco replaced her entire stroller - just sent her a brand new one.

Kirbell said...

How about anew car? We can dream, right?

The Titmi said...

I had a side by side and hated the small wheels- I always felt like I was having a harder time pushing than anyone else- but. . .not being able to stick it in my car would be bad too. I absolutely hate double stroller issues and felt free as a bird when we switched back to one.

Kikal said...

I have a side by side bc I use mine for jogging so it only has three wheels. And yes my kids poke each other but they just gotta learn to dill. And yes I took it to the grocery store by my house today for the first time and said excuse me a thousand times. And yes, I am one of THOSE people at Disney World. But I just figure people will always find a way to hate you for having kids and not parenting them right or transporting them correctly, so they can just dill with whatever: you decide what is easiest for you. I do LOVE my SBS it's awesome for jogging; however, I have never used a front back so...there's my 28.5 cents. Speaking of cents, watch this, I think JJ will like it too :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCJ3Oz5JVKs

Jaime said...

So what did you decide? I hate all double strollers except for the phil and ted's which I can't have anyway because it's too much stinkin' money anyway. Lucky for me my kids are 5 years apart and I only need a single stroller for which I highly highly highly recommend the Joovy Kooper. I love it and receive many compliments on it and my husband can't stop raving about it, which is pretty big for him since he doesn't get excited about anything but the Angels and his annual ski trip.

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