This is the Bugaboo. Stroller extraordinaire. Wendy and I have been coveting this little beauty after seeing it in a British pregnancy magazine. Yesterday evening while sitting on the patio at PF Chang's having a little Combo Lo Mein, we saw a mom pushing a pink Bugaboo just across the street from where we were sitting. In total glee, Wendy exclaimed with a sharp intake of breath, "It's a Bugaboo!" And we both began to stare. Now, it's not like we could really hide our ogling since we were on an outdoor patio, but the mother didn't seem to notice. About this time, our waiter came over to see if we needed anything and we both whispered, "No...we're fine" to which he asked, quite bewilderedly, "Why are you whispering?". We whispered back, "Because we're spying on that lady over there!". Needless to say our little waiter looked at us quite oddly and did an about face and left the two weird chicks alone to do their spying!
So, we watched her stroll down the sidewalk and then, as luck would have it, she stopped at the valet parking pick-up stand to have her car brought around. Yee haw! We were going to get to see the "breakdown" in real life!
As background to all this excitement you have to understand that being the planners that we are, we had already been to a local store that carries the Bugaboo line and did a little test drive of our own. We had spent 30 minutes or so in the store taking it apart, breaking it down and putting it back together. Of course this involved the assistance of 4 store clerks as well...not because it was hard or we really need help, but because the Bugaboo is an expensive little contraption and they all wanted the sale!
Anyway, back to the real-life Bugaboo breakdown experience. Before our delighted eyes, the car was brought around and the mom brought the stroller to the back of the van. A boy, who looked about 8 or 9, reached over and snapped off the seat with one swift, easy motion. He then flattened the little sunshade down and !wah-lah!...that part was done...and he slid his part into the back of the van. Next, mom broke down the main carriage with a slight flick of her index fingers on both sides of the handle (which released it) and then dropped it flat while reaching with her other hand to the front center section and grabbing the whole unit by its cross bar beneath the two front wheels. She picked it up (it was virtually flat) and loaded it easily into the back of the van as well.
The whole process took less than 20 seconds. We continued to stare as they shut the van up and drove off, gazing longingly at the lovely Bugaboo snugly stored away in the back. Sigh....
OK...is this normal behavior? Does anybody else out there surreptitiously eye other people's strollers? We truly got a big kick out of the whole viewing experience. What's next? I wonder if the good folks at Babies R Us would let us sit in the back while they put together baby furniture or something? Hmmmm....
We have decided, after having been consumed with a huge fascination for all things baby (and in this instance, strollers in particular) that we need to start a new kind of Olympic games in which all the "sports" are related to all things baby. There could be events like Swaddling, Diapering, Feeding and Burping (just to name a few). But the real glory could be found in the Stroller event. Each competitor would have to start with a brand new, just out of the box, stroller (make and model of their choice with a few basic requirements as to size, type, etc). They'd have to assemble it, put the child in (safely strapped in of course) and complete a small obstacle course. At the end, the child would be removed, and the stroller would have to be broken down and placed into a trunk-sized storage bin. The winner would get their picture on a Wheaties box leaning confidently against their winning stroller! Sounds like a real hoot to me!
Got any good spy stories of your own? We'd love to hear! And, we'd love to hear which strollers or other baby equipment you are coveting. We'd love to have other items to add to our "spy" list!
- Karen
[6w,2d]
3 comments:
LOL. You must really want that stroller!
I let Angele do all of the research on what to buy. She loves that sort of thing. She has picked out a Quinny stroller which we'll get sometime before Christmas, I think. It comes with the carrier/seat.
Other stuff we've picked up include an Eddie Bauer carseat (adjusts to different sizes), Fisher Price Nature's Touch or something swing, Fisher Price booster seat to use instead of a highchair, Graco Pack & Play, Fisher Price bouncy chair... Those are the main things, I think. :) Baby stuff is fun and we love looking at it.
Hmmm.... I like my zooper.
Stay away from EB carseats though. Far, far away.
My forte is the carseats. It's my passion in life and I'm a bit too obsessed. You'll come to me when you need carseat advice. I know you will. Everyone does. I'll set you straight on it ;)
The thing I coveted was a Britax Boulevard... I waited anxiously for it to be released and bought it the first day it hit store shelves for the bargain price of $312 after tax. Of course, my kid wasn't even BORN yet and I wasted 6 months of shelf life by buying it then, but I needed it. I've since bought two more and love them.
Right now I REALLY want to get my hands on a Sunshine Kids Radian... but I just don't NEED another carseat and it's hard for me to justify spending $200 on a seat I don't need and likely never will. If I knew someone here who needed it though...I also really want to get my hands on a Safeguard Child Seat and a Recaro Sport.
Love your carseats much?
We already have the EB carseat. I'm sure it'll be just fine for us.
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