stroller crisis resolved!

I've been agonizing over what stroller to upgrade to. Gaz has long since outgrown the carseat/Snap 'n Go stroller, and the umbrella stroller we were gifted with has certainly come in handy in these between stroller days, but it's almost too short for me and it's way too short for Mark. Excellent for Babysitter Lisa, though, and probably Grandma Cel too.

My exhaustive research led me to the Maclaren brand, which seems to be one of the very few that has generally tallish handles and the more complex varieties have adjustable handles that go up to practically Wilt Chamberlain level. The issue is that Maclaren isn't cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but with few options we held a special meeting of the finance committee and decided to transfer some money from savings to checking. (Insert gratitude over the aggressive saving plan we got started last spring.)

It took three stops (first Target and Babies 'r Us), but I finally ended up at The Right Start's January sale. I generally don't go there: it's yuppie momma land, where everything is fancy and expensive. They do have tons of really good things (breast pumps and food mills and interesting developmental toys/DVDs) but it's clearly the place for people who don't have budgets. So I stroll in in my well-worn vintage French Army coat, looking a bit like a homeless person, but with more money. I see a Quest in the window for 20% off and I heave a sigh of relief. There would be at least one item in our price range. When I actually tried them all out, though, it seemed that the Techno XT (a full $100 more than the Quest) would be the only one that would work. The others have tallish handles, but the Techno's got the adjustable handles and I really wasn't sure that the others were tall enough for Mark. At least one of us shouldn't have back trouble.

While I dithered over Maclarens, pushing each around the aisles and knocking things over with the aforementioned giant winter coat, the salesgal brought over something else I might be interested in: the Inglesina Trip. It's a brand new model apparently, and therefore not on sale. Fortunately, it was cheaper than the Quest already and had almost the same features as the Techno, minus the adjustable handles and enormous wheels. The biggest benefit is that the handles are taller than the Techno at it's base height. It also weights almost 10 lbs. less than the Techno, which is important for those odd times you end up having to use an El station that doesn't have an elevator. So long story short: I got the Trip in gray and left the store horribly late for work, but happy with the purchase. Plus, it's Italian, so we'll look like natives if we ever get to take the Gaz to Europe while she's stroller size.

Can't wait to get it home and let the Gaz try it out!

(P. S. - Hello everyone! Glad so many folks have made it here to keep up with our adventures!)