The ugly side of spring

Don't get me wrong - I'm thrilled spring is here. But just so you know, it's not all sunshine, bubbles, and chalk on the sidewalk.

It's also ocean-sized puddles caused by two feet of melting snow.

And gross collections of cigarette butts outside our back doors. I have no idea how this happened since we don't smoke, but I'm guessing the motion was something akin to when glaciers advance and melt and move rocks and debris across the landscape. Just far more disgusting.

Stroller Junky

Did you know there was such a thing?

I did. I knew before I had kids. I raised my frugal eyebrow at anyone who spent over $100 on a stroller. I raised both eyebrows at anyone who owned more than one stroller. How many people REALLY use their jogging strollers for their intended purpose? (Don't get all offended. You know it's true.)

I'll take that plate of crow Provençal now.

We currently own four strollers. We are trying to sell one of them. We use two of them. We are keeping the fourth - the stroller frame that goes with our infant car seat - in case we have another baby. We used to own one more, but have since given it away.

But we have four strollers.

And now I'm kind of obsessed with them. You know that mama who studies your stroller as you walk by? I'm her. I can spot a fancy stroller on the street a mile away. I can't tell a 4Runner from a Tahoe, but if you need to pick out the UppaBaby in a crowd of Bugaboos, I'm your woman.

I wasn't always this way.

Our first stroller was the Graco Snap n' Go. It is designed to work with an infant car seat and was very handy when Natasha was little. It was also handy for Jeremy when we were in the U.S. He used it, without the car seat, to convey groceries home from the Ramstore a mile away. It's the one on the right.

This was our second stroller, bought during my judgmental it's-crazy-to-spend-more-than-$100-on-a-stroller days. It's a Graco Mosaic, and is actually a rather nice stroller. It has more features than your standard umbrella, but still folds up pretty nice and small. We paid $25 for it on Craigslist. It worked fine in the States, but here in Moscow, with the stupid perekhod ramps, it was not ideal. It now lives with my sister and niece in Virginia.

The king of umbrella strollers, this is a Maclaren Volo. No recline and the sunshade isn't great, but it only weighs 8 pounds and you can sling it across your back with the shoulder strap if you need to. Great for the Metro or any time I am going somewhere with just one kid (or when I'm taking a short walk and can wear Zoia in the Ergo).

This marvel is the Baby Jogger City Select. It was chosen after painstakingly careful consideration. As a single stroller, this baby is incredible. It fits on the ramps here (well, most of them), reclines, has a huge basket, pushes like a dream, etc. Have another baby? Add another seat! It's the fancy stroller du jour in the States. Unfortunately, I've found that the second seat adds a LOT of weight onto the front of the stroller, which makes it hard for me to get it up and down stairs. That's a problem in Moscow. Still, we love this guy and are sad to be selling it.

And our newest acquisition, the Phil & Ted Explorer. We bought this one to replace the City Select. The second seat is on the back, making it easier to get this thing up and down stairs. We had originally decided against the P&T because we thought the second kid would hate riding back there. Also you can't recline the second seat at all, nor the main seat when the second seat is in use. And you can't use the basket when the second seat is on, because that's where the kid's feet go.

As it turns out, none of these problems were deal-breakers compared with the biggest problem I have with the City Select - not being able to go up and down stairs for fear of capsizing and sending my babies flying.

I haven't totally gone off the deep end, though. I have sworn not to buy any more strollers. Though I really think that a double umbrella stroller would be super-useful for our R&R back to the States this fall ...

Must.Not.Buy.Another.Stroller.

Tots Around Town on the Trolley to the (New) Tretyakov

Now that the weather is warmer, we are joining our friend A and his mama in their explorations of the city. Yesterday was our first "Tots Around Town" adventure. We took the trolley to the New Tretyakov Gallery near Gorky Park. The art there is most 19th and 20th century, and to be honest, not really my thing. But it was nearly empty, had a stroller ramp AND an elevator, and nice wide rooms perfect for toddler exploration. So off we went.

This is Z and A on the trolley. N is in the jump seat behind Z.

Exploring the gallery.

Natasha decided that this painting was best contemplated while lying on the floor.

We spent about an hour and a half checking out the exhibits, and then walked back outside to wait for the trolley.

Mama and Natasha happy on the trolley.

It inevitably broke down, and we ended up walking the remaining mile back home. But it was a nice sunny day (have I mentioned it's finally spring??), about 45 degrees, and we enjoyed the walk.

Are you sure you want that?

Moscow has obviously changed quite a bit since I last lived here in 1987. Back then, there wasn't a place in the city that you could mistake for the United States. Today the lines are a bit blurrier. Many of the local pharmacies looking on the inside just like a CVS, complete with an ATM by the door. There are McDonalds', maybe not on every corner, but certainly enough that you need never fear lacking for a Big Mac. So it's occasionally jarring when you do run into a bit of local flavor.

Like at the grocery store. In the United States, when you end up with an un-barcoded item at checkout, a price check is no big deal. Saturday morning during my weekly Auchan run, I found myself in the check-out line with two unmarked items: a badminton set and a play tambourine (it's birthday party season here). The cashier sighed and asked whether I wanted the items. I nodded. She signaled a stock girl who looked at me, sighed heavily, and said "Are you sure? Are you going to buy them?"

I confirmed my intention to, in fact, pay for the items that I had put in my cart. She stared me down with that look of mingled boredom and disgust that Russians are so good at. How dare I force her to do her job?

I should emphasize that this was not an isolated incident. It has happened before to me, and it happened to my friend who was in the next checkout line over with a barcode-less bag of frozen tilapia fillets. Every time, they ask whether you are really really sure you are going to buy the item.

A few minutes later, though, the price-check had been completed, I paid and was very politely thanked for my purchase. (Something, by the way, that I find Stateside cashiers don't very often do.)

Refashion: Long and Blah to Short and Flirty

On Sunday it was 50 degrees and sunny. It was the first spring-like day we've had. There was cause for celebration. And some wardrobe-tinkering inspiration.

So I pulled out this skirt, which I bought some 10 years ago for like $7.99 at TJ Maxx. I feel like, at some point, long flowery bias-cut skirts were fashionable. But this skirt has mostly just hung in my closet for awhile. I pull it out occasionally to try on, lifting the hem and thinking "This might actually be cute if it were shorter." And then I put it back to hang for another eight months.

Not this time, though. I measured my skirt. It was 37 inches long. And I determined that I wanted the finished skirt to be about 21.5 inches.

I cut 18 inches off the bottom, leaving 19 inches on the main skirt.

Then I chopped three inches off the bottom piece, including the hem. This was my ruffle. I could have made it more ruffly by cutting up more of the skirt to add width. But I was in a hurry, so I left it as is.

I gathered the ruffle and pinned it to my main skirt, then sewed it on. I also cut the faux-drawstring tie off the skirt's waistband (seriously, what is the point that? Since I am not in the habit of tucking shirts into elastic-waist skirts, it just pokes out under the shirt and looks dumb.)

Ta-da!

Bonus, I now have 15 inches of fabric left, which will be plenty to make Natasha a matching sundress. Look for that in the future.