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Ok, so I think I found my stroller.  Its a Graco Duoglider, fairly new so it has a cup holder and tray for me.  The basket is huge, it stears well, and has trays for both kids.  I found it for $50 on Craigslist and it was in great condition.  We take it everywhere and its working out great.  The only problems so far are that my younger pulls my older’s hair, but he currently sits reclined because of the cast, so when he can sit up again this won’t be such a problem.  And it doesn’t take our Evenflo carseat which I thought it did.  Not too bad, cause the baby sits in the stroller most of the time.  I may have to get a new car seat for the next baby though.  Hope it’s easier than finding a stroller.

So I just saw Made of Honor (my first trip to a theater is almost a year thank you). The movie was pretty good, and predictable, but then most romantic comedies are. I’m not big on watching Grey’s Anatomy, so I don’t see Patrick Dempsy often, but I had to wonder, what’s all the fuss about. The whole McDreamy thing is a mystery to me, I don’t get it. He’s kind of funny looking really, big crooked nose, droopy face, short. I kept thinking about his dorky movies from the eighties, namely Can’t Buy Me Love (great 80’s flick if you haven’t seen it) where he plays a dorky kids who pays for a popular girl to date him. He played dorky so well, then he stopped acting for 20 years and now is Dreamy? I just don’t see it. Props to him for turning the image around. That kid from 16 Candles will never be anything but dorky.

So my need for the perfect stroller led to the Graco website where I was looking for replacement parts for my yard sale find.  I figured I could take the bare bones stroller that I liked and add the features that I needed.  The pieces added up to like $60, not an option.  So to Craigslist I went.  I figured I could get another stroller for less than that that had the pieces I was looking for.  I found a couple and gave low offers, about half what the replacement parts would cost.  I haven’t purchased one yet, but I’ve emailed a few people.  In the back of my mind I keep thinking about a side-by-side stroller as my 5 month old is already kicking the front seat of the double.  Those a more expensive, especially if I want to satisfy all the requirements I have.  Here we go again.

I love being a stay-at-home mom to my two kids.  We stay in or go out, but we play all day.  It can however, get a little lonely.  My two year old is getting better at talking, but not the witty conversationalist with whom I can share my deep thoughts.  His deep thoughts are “have poopy mommy”.  Ok, so there have to be other moms in this situation, right?  I live in a family area with kids all around, don’t any of these moms stay home?  I never see them during the day.  I can’t seem to find anyone in my area to make play dates with.  Anyone else have this problem?

My third stroller needed to have everything.  I looked for a long time to find this one.  I finally found a baby trend one that I liked.  It was cheap (under $40), had a tray for my son, a tray with cup holders for me, a basket on the bottom (although not terribly big, it did the job), and steered pretty well.  Then, I got pregnant again, time for a double.  I searched online and in stores and asked everyone I saw with a double what they thought of it.  I found a Graco DuoGlider at a yard sale down the street for $20 so I bought it.  Stroller number 4.  It maneuvers great and had a big basket.  This one being a hand me down however, it was missing both child trays and the front sun shade.  It, therefore, could not hold my infant car seat, and it had no cup holder for me.  I needed something that could hold that car seat and wanted one that could grow with my growing toddler, because my husband said I had reached my limit of strollers.  After hours of research, I picked the Baby Trend double Sit ‘n Stand, stroller number 5.  I figured that my older one would outgrow the stroller sometime and the standing option would be helpful.  I use it as a double seat-er for now, and it has great features like cup holders for me and a tray for the front child, but there is no tray for the back child, a really small basket, and the steering is poor.   Now it’s been a few months, and I’m restless again.  I’ve been searching on Craigslist for a new one.  I know my husband will kill me if I come home with yet another stroller, and my sister makes fun of me for it, but I can’t help it.  I am on a quest for the perfect stroller, optimistic that I will find one sometime before my children start college.

So I love Sweet Tomatoes Restaurant, and going with my family.  It’s a soup and salad buffet place with lots of extras.  I get salad, my son gets pizza (disguised at ‘focaccia bread’), and if my baby cries, it’s not too bad, because the dining area is informal and loud anyways.  My only problem, my husband.  From the moment we get in there, he turns into this crazed animal searching for food.  His favorite thing; meat, namely chicken.  The only place to find it is in the chunky chicken noodle soup.  There are huge pieces of chicken breast, and he spends lots of time at the buffet scooping out all the chicken, leaving broth and noodles for everyone else.  I don’t feel too bad, because I’ve seen other men do this; it’s the only way the wives can get them to agree to go.  Ok, so he scoops out the chicken who cares, right?  Well the last few times we’ve gone the chicken noodle soup has been empty when we get there.  Forget talking to him, he’s on a mission.  He spends the next 20 minutes popping up out of his seat and checking the bin for more soup.  His eyes dart around and his breathing rate increases.  His muscles get all tense.  I really think he thinks that they will put out the soup and 100’s of men will charge the soup station looking for meat.  Finally, he told an employee that the soup was empty (what a novel thought) and they put out more.  Ah, sweet victory.  He sits down, calm.  “This is fun,” he says.  “I like this place.”  I roll my eyes.

So I have a secret.  I am obsessed with strollers.  Some women buy shoes or purses, I buy strollers.  I can’t help it.  My first stroller was a travel system.  The stroller was great.  It held the car seat, maneuvered well, had cup holders, trays and a large basket.  The only problem, it was huge!  I had to take the wheels off just to fit in the trunk and it weighed a ton.  It was a huge pain in the butt.  In the summer, I was sweating by the time I got in the car.  I decided to but a second stroller for outings and keep the big one at home.  My only requirement was that is was small and light.  I bought a Chicco umbrella stroller.  It was small and light and easy to push, but it had no cup holder, no tray for my son, and no basket for my stuff.  I had to hang the diaper bag on the back, which made the stroller tip over every time I took him out.

I had a great Mother’s Day.  My husband, though he can’t cook, and didn’t want to try for fear of having to do dishes after, bought me breakfast lunch and dinner.  The invention of curbside to go was genius by the way.   He  got me a card, and helped my kids make one.  He  taught me 2 year old to say “happy mother’s day” which he said in the cutest voice all day.  He rubbed my feet, let me sit and read a magazine, and even watched the baby while I took a nap.  Oh, and he took out the diapers (without me even asking).  Now I know he has the ability, ha ha.   Ahh, I think we should do this at least once a month.  We moms give to our kids and husbands every day it seems like it is always either “kid’s day” or “husband’s day”, it’s nice to be able to relax a little and have things done for me for a change.  Thanks hubby!

So it’s been a few weeks, and it’s time for our first check up. We took an X-ray at the doctor’s office and waited forever. We finally saw someone (not the doctor, of course) who said the x-rays look great and there’s a good chance we’ll be able to take the cast off in 4 more weeks. Great news! Here’s hoping!

Before I had a baby, I thought I knew what I needed, mostly based on what looked good in the store.  Furniture-wise, this I what I really need. 

• a crib
• sheets (ok, I bought the pretty bedding set, but you don’t need it)
• a dresser (don’t buy the stupid changing table, get a long low dresser with a changing pad on top, then baby can use it forever)
• a glider (buy a good one, you spend hours in it, make sure it had padded arms and a gliding footrest)