The View from Here

The view from here, June of this year.

The view from here, September of this year.

There are many differences!

In June:
Gedalya didn't go to cheider. He was still home with me, and Zusha was our only school kid. The boys still had their S2H exercise watches. They have since become broken, lost or stolen. Who knows. Adi's Crocs still fit her. She outgrew them mid-summer. And we still had our Graco carriage.


In September:
Gedalya had started cheider, so Adi is now the only kid at home. Our Graco carriage had started breaking down in the middle of the summer*, so now we have the Jeep Cherokee Stroller. And Adi's hair was finally long enough for a braid. (It wasn't in June.)

See the cute braid?

And! Tomorrow is the last day that I will have this view during most of the day. Because on Tuesday, Little Miss goes off to school! Unbelievable!

*One of the wheels of the Graco carirage would fall off every once in a while. Then it started happening more often, until one day we were walking home from a mile and a half away and we had to stick the wheel back on once or twice on every block. I contacted Graco, and they sent me replacement wheels and axles, but it was impossible to replace, since the axle assembly was sealed shut. So we started looking for another stroller. We only had the Graco for half a year!
We used an old umbrella stroller with nowhere to keep shopping bags until I researched what I wanted to buy.

My criteria for strollers used to be a reversible seat, but Adi is already big and doesn't need to face me. My new criteria was that the stroller should be lightweight, but not at the expense of features. And it should be able to be folded easily for trips.

I went with the Joovy Scooter stroller in orange. It was very roomy, which is what I need for Adi, who will need a stroller for a good, long time. But the fold was impossible! There's no way I'd be able to take the thing on buses. And I noticed right away that the handles were too short. Not as much short as too close to the hood. It was impossible to walk quickly! It was too bad because I really loved every other feature of it.

That's when the Jeep Cherokee Stroller appeared on the scene. It was only $50! It's pretty much stripped of features, but I love it. It has one-hand fold, and stands freely when folded. It's lightweight. It fits through those bars that prevent shopping carts from being taken out of stores so I don't have to wait for the workers to buzz me into the gate. It has pockets on the sides of the basket for little stuff (I keep wipes there) and the basket itself is a decent size. And I love the kid and parent trays!
But the canopy is small, the seat is lacking padding, and the wheels won't survive the NY winter.
So I am searching again. I think the Baby Jogger City Mini Stroller in purple or sage would fit the bill. Light enough, sturdy, easy fold, good recline, roomy, wheels fit for NY winters. I just don't like the dinky basket and lack of trays. They sell a kid tray, but I saw one in use, and it's positioned right by the kid's face. :/ The parent tray, I can get a flimsy fabric one.

Decisions, decisions!