The stroller is here!

Well, you might know that I have a story to go along with the whole stroller thing...
It's funny because I thought I was being so good about the whole thing - I had looked all over for what I wanted, listened to everyone's stories about why they liked or didn't like their stroller and I was trying to be sane about the whole thing. Having gone with Tracy and Adrian just before Talulla was born to find their stroller (a day which sent me home weeping - I think the whole experience was sort of overwhelming for me at the time; my friends having a baby, the sheer volume of things you supposedly needed etc.) I knew that it could be a big decision - and I knew they weren't cheap. I had discovered the Bugaboo stroller that all the West-Van and Kits shi-shi girls have and I have to admit, I wanted one too. What with the reversible handles, bassinet, off-road capability and more, I thought this would be a great all-around only-one-you'll-need kind of stroller - until I gawped at the price - a whopping $1000+ (plus accessories, if you must have things like a cup-holder). So needless to say, I wasn't going to be getting a Bugaboo, even out of principal. So I looked at the Rock Star (designed by the guys from Bon Jovi) which is like a Bugaboo lite, but even that will set you back a cool $600. So I was kind of stumped. I knew friends who had paid $500+ for their strollers and ended up hating them and there were various opinions about waiting to really know - so I was trying to wait. I decided we would just sling it until we needed the stroller and then we'd worry about it, no big deal. I breathed. I let it go.

Then one night a few weeks ago Ez started in with a little nesting instinct of his own. He was saying how he would like to see us get the bags packed, get the lists ready and really be on top of things. He asked questions about what we had, most of which were quite vaguely answered by yours truly. 'Well, Tracy and Adrian have a NB carseat for us so we don't need that--' (beat) 'Do we have it here?' (beat) 'Er, well, not yet--' (beat) 'Well, then we don't have a car seat then do we?'

Okay then, on to the stroller. 'Do we have a stroller?' he asks, and I tell him all the things as detailed above. This does not seem to impress him, he eyes me dubiously and explains that he would like to have that done and ready to go for when baby comes, one less thing to do, he figures. It's pretty logical and if it makes him happy, I say okay. So I hop online and start looking around again, hoping to stumble onto a Rock Star on craigslist or ebay. I am not long in my internet travels
when I come across a stroller that interests me on ebay. It seems to have all the features that so appealed to me in the other strollers I have researched and I see that the bidding ends in 7 minutes. I scarcely notice as Ez slides behind me to go to the bathroom, as I am involved in my little discovery, trying to find out where the bids lie at this point. I enter an exploratory bid, sure that I have already been considerably over-bid, as often happens when something is at a good base price. Imagine my surprise when I discover that I am the highest bidder - what!? - and with only 3 minutes to go. By the time Ez comes back from the bathroom, I have to sheepishly inform him that in that small interval in time since our conversation, I seem to have...er, bought a stroller.

'What?' he exclaims, somewhat apoplectic at this news. 'What do you mean?'

Translation: Lucy, you have some 'splainin' to do....

Luckily we are both able to laugh at this whole fiasco, even me who has not had pleasant experiences with ebay in the past. $105 USD and $65 for shipping - which turns out to be approximately $200 Canadian, and thus, a gift from Nanabanana and my mom (soon to be a 'GiGi'). Ah, but then comes the waiting for it to arrive and wondering if it will simply be a girl-sized replica or some other nightmare. But here it is, and it is literally how it was in the pictures - and it's great! I'm so pleased, it really is 'the Mercedes of strollers' and I think it will suit us just fine. And for $200 bills, heck, you can't go too far wrong. Yay for us!!