I Should Have Listened to My Mom

It was almost my 11th birthday, and I just knew I was getting a new bike. I told my friends exactly what it was going to look like, how big it was going to be, and how excited I was to ride it around the neighborhood. When my birthday came and went and I didn't get that bike, I was not only heartbroken, but embarrassed. What made matters worse is when my friend got the exact bike I wanted for her birthday.

I was 11 when my mom taught me a lesson I'll never forget... Don't brag about something until you have it. At least that's how I interpreted it, though she didn't tell me in that exact way.

Last year a woman working on a new website for women (I'm not going to mention any names) approached me and asked if I'd blog for her, tweet for her, and promote her site, and in turn be their "Future Mama" which they'd pamper with gifts like baby monitors, strollers, nursery decor, and more.

I was emailed pictures of the three choices for baby monitors and asked to tweet about it and promote it on my site to get people to vote for which one I should get. Really, I didn't care, they were all fancy and great, and I was grateful to be getting one.

A couple of months after that it was the same thing, but with strollers... But not just any old stroller, a BOB stroller. Kind of like a Lexus of strollers. A stroller my husband and I wouldn't be able to get unless we scrounged and saved, donated blood plasma, then sold one of our cars... Ok not really, they're not THAT expensive, but they're really nice, and I was so excited and grateful to be getting one. So, I once again blogged, and tweeted, posted on Facebook and everything else to get people to vote for which of three BOB Strollers I should "win." It's what she asked me to do in turn for getting it. And really... Who wouldn't do some promotion in turn for a $400 stroller? Over the course of the voting I got a mix of responses from "Man, I wish I could have one" to "Ooh, I'm getting one of those." The latter comment immediately reminded me of my mom's words of wisdom, and I had a gut feeling things weren't going to end as I hoped.

Like with the monitors, the contest ended and I got nothing. I've communicated with the woman behind the site, and while my monitors should be coming this week, BOB apparently fell through... Or maybe never was, who knows!

So... After months of guest blogging, tweeting, video chats and promoting I'm back to square one, yes, a little ticked, but mostly disappointed.

I cried this morning when I got an email response saying I wasn't getting the stroller, and my husband (just wanting to stop the tears I'm sure) told me not to worry, we'd get a stroller... He said we'd get a BOB but that's before he knew how much they cost.

Now don't get me wrong. We are UNBELIEVABLY blessed to seriously only have this ONE thing missing from our baby checklist... As a matter of fact, I have enough baby wraps and carriers to where we quite possibly don't even really NEED a stroller. But it's poor Snoop I worry about... I promised him I'd take him for jogs once Lil' J was born but that will just be hard without a stroller. Just look at his face!So... I'm browsing Craigslist now looking for baby strollers but I have no idea what kind to start with. I initially was obviously thinking "jogging" and I was going to buy an adapter for our Graco baby infant car seat so it could snap in when she's small. I like the idea of being able to go running with a stroller, and one that can also even stand trails and such since there's a lot of that around where we live.

I found this one on craigslist for $225. Much cheaper than the $400 retail.I've heard pluses and minuses about the... I forget what they're called, but the big strollers that the car sear just pops in, and they fold up... I think I heard they're heavy or something, I dunno.

So what kind of stroller would you recommend? Would you get one of Craigslist or is that considered "unsafe"? How much did you pay for yours?

I'm a stroller novice but I've relearned a life lesson from my mom, and a new lesson about social media... Don't promote something until you have it.