Thanks to my mother-in-law we now have a double stroller at our disposal. And it has opened up all sorts of new possibilities for us.
Like going to Crate & Barrel to shop my sister's wedding registry.
But let me back up. Crate & Barrel was not our maiden voyage with the double. We used it at Trader Joe's on Tuesday after speech therapy. Trader Joe's seemed like a good place to try something new. We're used to them and I think they're pretty used to us, or at least people like us.
I don't know if you've noticed this but the shopping carts at TJ's are just a little too small to accommodate the infant car seat. It's too precarious in the front, and yes, it fits in the basket of the cart, but then there is zero room for groceries. I also still need to strap Johnny into something, he's not trust worthy enough to walk around in the store. I could put Trixie in the sling and Johnny in the cart, but it's winter and I'd have to take my coat off to put the sling on, and the Trader Joe's by speech therapy doesn't have underground parking like the one by my house, so I'd have to be outside without a coat and I'm pretty wimpy about the cold. And yes, the agonizing details of how we are going to go to the grocery store are what I lay awake thinking about at night. (That and new knitting projects.)
So anyway, the cart was out, the double stroller was in, and it worked great. Johnny was tickled by the idea of Trixie riding next to him, and Trixie liked being able to see the sights. I took a basket and stuck on top of the stroller and while we probably looked a little out of place ambling through Trader Joe's with that giant stroller, just using the basket prevented me from making too many impulse buys and the children remained quite happy. Win, win.
Crate & Barrel was a much more serious endeavor. I normally would not have even bothered with carting my children across town to a fancy home furnishings store like that, because what is internet shopping for if not too keep us moms from having to take our kids out in public. But my procrastination in getting a shower gift paired with Alex's dire need for quiet study drove me to this desperate measure.
It went pretty well, aside from the handicapped entrance being out of order, leaving me to fumble my way through the door. And then when chatting with the sales person I referred to us as the "elephant in the china shop", then realized on the drive home that I confused my expressions. It's "a BULL in a china shop." But I think my sentiment still got across.
We made it through rows and rows of stemware and dinner plates without anything bad happening. I crammed the double stroller, 2 kids, and 4 Crate & Barrel boxes into my Honda Civic (I'm already seeing the appeal of a minivan) nursed Trixie in the passenger seat, and we headed home. Alex met us in the garage to help carry in all the things. Then I poured myself a nice glass of ice water. Because it's lent.
All in all, a success.
You probably didn't expect you'd hear that much about using that double stroller. But you did. Those who stuck with me to the end, I hope it was worth it.