the quest

For the past few days I have been OBSESSED with finding the perfect double stroller. Before Little Missy was born I went back and forth on whether or not I'd need one because at the time G refused to ride in the stroller. So Hubby and I bought a cheap double stroller that was terrible: difficult to push, nearly impossible to turn, and didn't have canopies on the top to shade the kids from the sun. So I rarely used that one. Then in one of our moves it got smashed in our trunk and we couldn't bend it back to it's original shape, so I glady said adios. In our new neighborhood we have sidewalks and interesting old houses so I love to take walks, walks much longer than either G or Little Missy is willing to walk. So I bought a stroller off craigslist that is ghetto (as in, when we go over bumps the back folds in and smooshes G. It truly is ghetto). So I really need a new one. And I want it loaded. I have never had a nice stroller (our single stroller for Gideon was the basic umbrella model) and I want a nice one this time: I want canopies for the kids, I want a basket underneath, I want cupholders for all of us. So, on three different days, I have ventured out with the kids to find the Perfect Stroller.

Day One: Babies R Us. I drag the kids in there. They want to run around and look at everything else, but I focus their attention on the strollers and we start taking them out and looking at them. Brandy, a very friendly associate, comes over to help. She shows me how they all break down to load in the trunk, how to switch the seats around, and lets me push my kids in all the strollers. Well, the one with all my requiremetnts is UGLY. I'm looking at it, knowing I shouldn't be so worried with how it looks, but I cannot spend $150 on a stroller that will make me cringe every time I look at.

"Does it come in any other colors?" I ask hopefully. Maybe they keep different fabrics in the boxes.

"No, it either comes in this one or the one next to it (which is a HIDEOUS alphabet pattern) or the French Roast."

She points to the French Roast stroller and it is very pretty. Hubby would even like the colors.

"But it's $70 more??"

"Yes, but see how the cup holders are different, also." Brandy and I both knew she had a weak argument.

So I left Brandy and all her helpfulness and went to Target. You all know how much I love Target. This Target would not let me pull down the strollers and push them around, and after the first double stroller I bought, I know to pull down the stroller and push it before plunking down any money.

Day Two: Once Upon a Child. Friends, this store charges almost as much for a used stroller as a new one. Except with the used one I get to wipe off the dust and try to clean out the stains. So we move on.

Next to a different Target. This one lets me get down the strollers to push them around. G and Little Missy are sitting in the Sit N Stand model when I crouch down to fix G's seat and the seat strap breaks. Obviously we left empty-handed.

Day Three: Sears. I get the kids out of the car, pull them through the wind to the store, convince them we don't need a shopping cart, get them successfully on and off the escalator, and over to the strollers where there is only one. ONE. And the floor model doesn't even have front wheels. So we're back down the escalator, past the shopping carts, and back out in to the wind.

Our last stop is Wal-Mart. Really, Wal-Mart was always my fall-back. As much as I dislike Wal-Mart, I just knew this is where I would find my double stroller for a good price. I get the kids out of the car, back through the wind, into a cart and push them to the back of the store. And there are the strollers. All the nice, fancy, SINGLE strollers. Not one double stroller. I pushed the cart in circles around the strollers, convinced I was missing it. But *it* wasn't there.

Now I'm at a loss. What do I do? How do I take long walks without my double stroller? Do I hold my nose and buy the double stroller at Babies R Us with the ugly color, the color Hubby will dislike even more than me, the color he will laugh at every time he sees it? I'm travelling to Austin in a few weeks and I suppose I could wait until then, but I really wanted the stroller for the airports, and I don't think my mom and sister will be enthusiastic about going to lots of different stores all over town just to find a stroller. All over town and to lots of different stores for a purse, maybe, but not a stroller. I'm not up to looking for a stroller anymore, either.

So now I'm back to the uncertainty of craigslist. And if you ever see someone from far away, pushing two kids in a stroller of a horribly-tacky color, that just might be me.