On Saturday, Will and I conquered our fears and set out on a serious baby-product fact-finding mission. The primary target: strollers. Secondary targets: cribs, dressers, car seats and cloth diapers. Destinations: Ikea and buybuy Baby.Now, I consider venturing out to any sort
of suburban retail establishment on a Saturday or Sunday highly dangerous.
But, given our schedules and the locations of the target destinations, we had to take the risk.
Ikea was surprisingly breezy. I liked the dresser. Hated the crib. After a $.99 ice cream to bolster my confidence, we headed to the stomach-churning mega-store: buybuy Baby.
Talk about distractions. Video monitors. Swim diapers. King-sized cribs. Baby blenders. I simply had to model the Ergo Baby carrier - a must-have recommendation from Charlie's mom and my besty, Karyn.But, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by buybuy Baby. Yeah, it's big and sells ridiculous things (Pee-pee Teepee) but it's more manageable than Babies R Us and supposedly, accepts Bed Bath and Beyond coupons.
Now, what we were really there for... Stroller research has brought me to tears and forced me to break into a cold sweat. About a week ago, I pulled Will into the game, thinking a level head and Excel expertise might come in handy. He quickly admitted it was over his head. (I mean, check out the showroom.) There's weight, foldability, car-seat-compatibility, tire type, handle configuration, steer-ability, two-child-compatibility...Lucky for us, buybuy Baby employed Kyle. This 20-something blonde-haired Bieber back-up dancer whipped through key stroller points and car seat safety ratings, provided insightful recommendations and took us through the finer points of stroller folds. After we picked our jaws up off the floor, we thanked him.
After testing out about 8 strollers we narrowed it down to two. This little gem, the Baby Jogger City Mini and it's counterpart, the Baby Jogger City Select.The City Select can accommodate a second seat (don't get any ideas, Grandma Betty - it's just in my nature to think ahead) but weighs about 10 pounds more than the City Mini. Not great for hauling. More decisions ahead.
Looks like an enthused father-to-be, right?Will did make a keen observation: "It's kind of weird shopping for somebody who doesn't really exist yet. I mean, how do we know if he or she will like this stuff?" Though I pointed out, the stuff is for us too, and it's not like if he/she was here, he/she would tell us, "No! That is simply a wretched pack and play."
But, I have to admit, I see his point.
Of course, no Enlarging Marge post would be complete without a food bit. . . After an exhausting day of baby-related tasks we rewarded ourselves with a visit to one of the final two BBQ spots on our list from a fall Detroit Free Press article: Roundhouse BBQ in Trenton, MI.Always looking for good local barbecue beyond Slow's, we gobbled up an article listing Detroit's top 8 joints. After Saturday's jaunt, we've visited 7 of the 8: Lazybones, Lockharts, Slow's, Redsmoke, Roundhouse, Rub and Union Woodshop. The remaining joint: Bad Brad's.
Roundhouse was alright but not worth the drive. We tried the baby backs and st. louis style ribs, brisket, chicken wings and pulled pork. Though the smoke was nice, the meat hadn't been "rubbed," making it flavorless without one of their 5 sauces.
High marks to each place except Roundhouse and Rub (which was terrible). Especially high marks to Detroit Free Press 2011 restaurant of the year: Union Woodshop. As Jim Shahin asks: Can barbecue save the Motor City? I'm not sure but I think I should re-test all these places before baby, don't you?
