Diaper Bags and Strollers

(12/5/04 Note: this is one of the many entries that was started and not finished because someone woke up, Elmo ended, or I just got too tired to continue. I was told to post them anyway, so excuse any glaring errors)

As I write I am pondering the purchase of yet another stroller. I currently own a single jogger, a double jogger, a travel "system" stroller and an umbrella stroller. The umbrella stroller's sun canopy lost a fight with my husband's golf clubs in his trunk, however, and the company wants to charge me $50 for a new one. BUT, for only $112 (including shipping) I can purchase the Maclaren Volo and accessory pack which I have been coveting for well over a year.

I admit, I have a problem. I am in search of the perfect stroller for every occasion and the perfect diaper bag for every outing (I am currently eying the Loom Bandicots as they have a separtate mommy bag that detaches for the oh so many times I go out without my children). My husband has forbidden another diaper bag from entering the house (perhaps if my sister would like to buy me a gift for the holidays, hint hint), but the stroller was agreed to as really, it was his fault that the old one broke.

The guilt weighs upon me a little, however, as the travel system stroller is perfectly adequate, just huge and heavy and a pain to push and lug. But A DOES use her stroller almost daily between the preschool drop off and pick up runs, the jaunts downtown, and the soon to be trips to the gym (yes, I did in fact join again AND prepaid for 11 babysitting sessions to try and force myself to leave A). I salivate at the thought of pushing a lightweight stroller again and being able to easily hoist it in and out of the car. But plenty of mommies use bulky heavy strollers daily and have lived to tell the tale, and I am sure I could too.

There is another component to the guilt, however, as the money to buy it technically isn't mine. I know many people will flame me for this, but there is a very large part of me that feels that since I did not earn it, I need to be somewhat frugal in my spending. There is also a not so small part of me that feels that since I have given up my career to stay home, partially because my husband is a firm beliver in the SAHM (but also because I am a control freak, see my previous entry) if buying a lightweight stroller makes me happy, I should do so. M frequently buys himself $100 "toys" such as a new golf club, so why shouldn't I be able to do so as well.

Th stroller will sit in a cart someplace on the web waiting for me to reach a decision, but for now I am going to fantasize about my new back to work plan, becoming a WAHM so I can still have input into the minutia of my children's lives...