The Stroller...

So I picked up the book Baby Bargains at the bookstore this last week and I just cannot say enough good things about it. I carry it around in my purse, which is weird, but turned out to be a very good thing on Thursday night. If you're having a baby, buy it!

Here's a little background on me, I'm an obsessive, compulsive bargain shopper. I scour sale racks and shop at Marshalls, TJ Maxx and Nordstrom Rack at least once a week...each. Being pregnant has made buying baby things into a whole NEW obsession for me. Yes, I should wait for my showers but honestly, I like buying things for Lucy and get so excited when I find cute stuff for super cheap. So I may have gone a little overboard in the buying stuff department, but I've mainly stuck to clothing so far and my Fleurville Diaper Bag I ordered online for a steal at $70 last week. Below is my stash of baby clothes (from newborn to 12 months, so I feel like it really isn't THAT much) and my new diaper bag. Notice the lack of pink, neither Rob nor I like pink!






But I digress, back to the book and the stroller. Ever since I bought the book I've been pouring over the stroller section. There are just SO many choices! After reading the stroller chapter about a million times, I had narrowed it down to the Urban Single Mountain Buggy or the BOB for joggers and Peg Perego Pliko for a more lightweight option. I had remembered that the BOBs had been on sale at Costco last month online, so I checked there first...damn, of course they're all gone by the time I decide. Well, I still had plenty of time.

So on Thursday I got off work pretty late and decided that I didn't feel like going home just yet, and instead went to my usual I'm-bored-so-I'm-going-to-shop haunt, Marshalls. Of course I make a beeline straight for the baby items where lo and behold, there was the Peg Perego Pliko P3 in this adorable bright, flaming red! There was only one and it was only $159.99! I'm pretty sure it was a 2007 model, but who cares? Not me! What a STEAL! So I bought it, of course.

So that is usually where the story would end, with me triumphantly savoring the victory of yet another bargain found, however, the stroller was fully set up. All the tags were on it but it was open. No biggie, I thought to myself, I'll just take it out to the parking lot and figure it out. It can't be that hard, right? Um... why didn't anyone tell me it takes a freaking master's degree in physics to figure out how a stroller folds up? There I was, struggling with this thing for 30 minutes at dusk in the Marshalls parking lot. When I couldn't figure out how to fold it, I decided I would try and shove the whole thing into the back of my (compact) car. Then, to my dismay, it proceeded to get stuck half in, half out of the car. ARGH!!!! People were walking by me and staring at the crazy pregnant lady wrestling with this fully open stroller stuck in the backseat of her car.

When I finally got it back out again, at this point I was sweating, cursing and panting, I decided that to hell with it, I wasn't even sure I was going to keep the thing, but I was going to open up the sealed baggie with instructions. When I did I saw that there were about 25 diagrams, starting with how to put the damn thing together, and ending with how to attach the car seat. Somewhere in the middle there was a couple diagrams that looked like they might be indicating how to close it, but they weren't exactly crystal clear AND did I mention it was getting dark and I couldn't see a thing! After 5 more minutes of fighting, I finally turned the pages of the book some more to see that they had written out the instructions as well, indicating a diagram number. I read the instructions part and matched it with the picture. I am a genius! Finally, click this, pull that and VOILA!! the stroller is closed. I throw it in the car and get out of there!

So, after our initial misunderstanding, I have decided I really like this stroller. A lot! I think it was fate that brought us together and now that we've been through our rough spot it'll be smooth sailing from now on. Rob loves that it is a sporty red and made in Italy, and my mom offered to buy it for her house if I decide I want something else since she liked it so much. So all in all I'm really satisfied with the purchase. It is so darn cute and lightweight, and after you read the damn directions, it is pretty darn easy to close. I'll probably buy a BOB as well when they go back on sale at Costco, for jogging, but I won't need that for months after Lucy is born, so I can wait for my second deal on a stroller! YAY!

Here's the stroller:



Pretty, right? And it totally matches my new diaper bag. HA!

Also, since it has been so long, here are some belly pics...although forgive me for the poor quality, it was right when I got home from work, on the self-portrait setting, in not my cutest outfit. I'll have to get Rob to get some better ones this weekend.



Lastly, if anyone from Portland reads my blog we're going to the Green Sprouts Fair tomorrow, (Saturday, September 13th) in North Portland. It's a fair with information on how to be organic and eco-friendly during pregnancy and within your family. Here's the link if any of your Oregonians want to take a peek: http://www.redirectguide.com/greensprouts/about.htm.

Fun fun!

"Shopping is a woman thing. It's a contact sport like football. Women enjoy the scrimmage, the noisy crowds, the danger of being trampled to death, and the ecstasy of the purchase."

-Erma Bombeck