Our Dogs of Disrepute

Saturday started out as a beautiful day. The dogs definitely needed a bath, and we decided to try taking them to this gas station near us that has a doggy wash attached to it. Basically it's got a timed sprayer through which shampoo, conditioner, etc come through with water (you just have to indicate which ones you want). Then it's also got an air hose to help dry the dogs off (neither dog liked that at all!).

Other than us winding up sopping wet as well as the dogs, it worked pretty well.

And then the rain started.

And I let the dogs out for their last trip to the backyard in the late evening.

And this is what they looked like when they finally came in.

Mara Jade knew they were in trouble. She wouldn't even look at me when I took a picture of her. Instead, she decided to start licking Calista to get some of the mud off--as if that was going to help at that point!

Add this to the recent discovery we made that at some point in time Calista has apparently learned how to smoke cigars, and I'm beginning to be very concerned about the character of our dogs!

Housework

So here are some pictures of the fun times we've been having the last few weeks with the work on the house. Current status--we're almost done. Just a few more bits and bobs to get finished up, need to finish putting away things in the study (waiting on shelves), and this project will be about done. Phew.


Big Brother hard at work.

Painting-Party! We have been blessed several times now with a number of people being willing to come over on a Saturday and help us out with this project. We have awesome friends.

The disaster areas.

Lunch! People like food. It's a good motivator.

We have normal friends (and relatives). And then we have our weirder friends (and relatives). That or the paint fumes was causing people to just be weird (and high).

Our orangy-yellow-peach-sandy room.


The crib and dresser set we scored from Craigslist recently.

Literary themed nursery--I know, I know. She's going to come out with a book in hand!
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A Strolling We Will Go

If I can make up my mind on a stroller that is! That has been the big question the last few days--what stroller to get?

Originally I had thought of just registering for one of those travel system things with the infant car seat that attaches. But then after considering it some more I don't think that's the best idea. For one, they're really heavy. Two, they take up a lot of room, and we have cars on the smaller side and we're not particularly planning on buying a new car in the near future. I just question how beneficial they will really be in the long run. Besides, a lot of mom posts I've seen lately have been all about how they would not recommend buying one. Only downfall, buying some of the options below actually cost total more than just buying one of the big travel systems.

So, that left me back on square one--what do we get? Obviously I want a stroller, even though I do plan on registering for a carrier and/or wrap as well. But there are places and circumstances where strollers are very much needed. Also, we obviously need a car seat. I like the infant carriers for their carrying versatility, so I would prefer to get something along those lines to begin with.

Basically I've narrowed it down to one of two options. (still waiting for my husband dearest to weigh in on these as well)!

Option 1:

Get an infant carrier/carseat. Register for something that seems to be mostly called a Snap and Go that basically is a frame for hooking an infant carrier into and that acts as a stroller until Blueberry is big enough to fit in a regular, lighter umbrella stroller (the kind that are much more compact and lighter). Here's a pic of the frame I'm talking about. This one is the Jeep Universal Car Seat Stroller.

Option 2:

I did find one of the umbrella strollers that I was looking at that actually can fit an infant carrier on the front of it. So basically it acts like one of the travel systems, has a lot of their amenities, and will even recline (which not all umbrella strollers will), but it's much lighter and smaller to begin with. Downside: it's also a bit more expensive.

Peg Perego Si Stroller

And then to top it all off, there are so many brands and kinds of strollers to actually choose from! Again, it's been a lot of reading reviews, evaluating what I want, etc, etc, etc. And the prices! Oh my goodness. They range from $20 to $800! For a stroller!!!!! I'm thinking that stroller better come with a maid who will do the grocery shopping for me if I'm going to pay $800!

Any ways, for those who are interested or who might actually have some information that I could weigh into all of this, these are the options of strollers and car seats to which I've narrowed it down.

Obviously the ones above are included in this mix. Click on the links if you actually want to see what they look like. They range in price from $130 for the Keekarro one to $220 for the Mclaren Quest to $250 for the Peg Perego one I mentioned earlier.

And that's the other question I have. What if we get one and then we hate it?! Strollers aren't cheap! But it also seems that you get what you pay for to a certain extent.

KeeKaroo Karoo Lightweight Stroller

Maclaren Triumph Stroller

Maclaren Quest Stroller

Here's the infant seats I've been looking at. These run in range from $80 to $170. And honestly, on the stroller front, I would have no problem buying a stroller that is used but seems to still be in good condition, as long as it would suit our needs. But obviously the car seat is something I want to buy new. And yet at the same time (not to seem like someone who isn't going to care about my child's safety), are the more expensive ones really that much better than the cheaper ones in an accident?

Graco SungRide

Graco SnugRide 35

Safety 1st on Board

Safety 1st on Board 35

Safety 1st Starter DX

Safety 1st Starter LX

Evenflo Embrace

Thoughts?