Grrrrrrrrr

It was fully my intention to try to remain positive and only really discuss products or services that I have had a good experience with, but of course that would be impossible. With that said, I loved my Zooper Tango http://www.zooper.com (to view) and http://www.elitecarseats.com (to buy - if you feel so inclined even after reading this) every day until the last one we used it. I did a ridiculous amount of research before buying it. I mean friends and relatives (OK just my mom and husband) were tired of hearing that "there was no one double stroller out there that fit all of my criteria." Criteria being, it had to be cool looking, safe, have a five point harness, have a nap bar across both seats, fold easily, be light enough for me to lift but not so flimsy it might break easily, have a large storage basket, drink holder for parents, be well rated, under $500, fit through all doorways, etc. So, OK, I had more criteria for this than I did when choosing my husband or my car but come on this stroller was holding my kids it had to be perfect. Oh and it also had to be a side by side, because believe me after borrowing a friends' Graco Duoglide (thanks Catherine) for the first three months, I had put in my time pushing what I referred to as "the boat." I really had not wanted to spend over $300 originally but that left me with the Combi's which were awful to steer and felt flimsy and Peg Perego which I read one terrible review after another for. So I decided to raise my price point and see what was out there. Going over $300 allowed me to see the McClaren which had no nap bars and less than average storage, several Inglesia's which looked nice and were well rated but again no nap bars. For those of you wondering the nap bar is key for small kids (my little one is only 8 months) and allow a place to put drinks and snacks, key for both kids.

So there it was - the Zooper Tango. I literally could not find a bad review for this thing and it was a new model and came is such great colors. I was, well, let's just say - swept off of my feet. I was hard to swallow the price $406 with tax, but I felt confident that the Tango and I were going to do great things together. Let me also explain that though my older daughter is 3 1/2 she loves to have the stroller. She likes it as a place to rest when she is tired of walking and frankly she likes it b/c her little sister has it and though we have been relatively lucky so far with the sibling rivalry the idea of her sister getting pushed while she walked was more than this princess was willing to tolerate.

So of course as soon as I chose my new love, I encountered the first problem. It was not sold at any brick and mortar in all of Columbus (BIG surprise). So I found a well rated website www.elitecarseats.com (they are just a distributor, Zooper does not sell there own merchandise) and placed the order. Three days later the stroller was on my door step. I followed every direction and proudly showed off a fully assembled stroller to my husband when he got home that night.

And for 3 months or so this stroller was almost everything I dreamed of. Much like most relationships are in the "honeymoon phase" when no one has told the other about the number of partners they have had or about the places on their body that used to be pierced, or that they like to sh*t with the door open. Anyway, with the exception of being a bit hard to open and close, this was the real deal.

Then we decided to take a walk last wee. It was the first nice night in a while and I figured we could all use the fresh air. I still have no clue how is all happened but the next thing I knew the stroller had flipped over onto the sidewalk, the kids were headfirst on the concrete, I was stuck on top of the stroller and the front right wheel was 10 feet away on someones lawn.

I won't bore you with the details but needless to say we would up in the emergency room with the little one to check for a concussion and the big one looked like she'd had a round with Mike Tyson and the bruises I have on my legs better clear up before shorts season really arrives. In the end everyone was fine.

Let's just say I was on the phone with the company first thing the next morning. What made me soooo mad was not that they were blaming me (very indirectly) but that they wanted me to find a box and ship it back to them for testing. Only then would they decide if it could be fixed. Like I wanted it back. Almost as much as you'd want a guy back after you found out he'd given you herpes. COME ON. Well let's just say that at the end of it all, they sent me a box, paid for all of the shipping and refunded me the $406 dollars.

Then I realized the real drama of the situation - what the hell am I going to do for a stroller now. I am the newly single girl who thought she'd be marrying the guy so she forgot what it was that she was looking for in the first place - Grrrrrrrrrr!