One Wild Scavenger Hunt

Okay, so currently I'm home alone with less than 24 hours to go.  I've pretty much finished the list and we're gearing up for our last family night.  Ryan and the kids are still not back because Ryan is finishing up the last of the scavenger hunt.  Well, that's what I'm calling it anyway- the Ethiopian Scavenger Hunt.  Several items on our packing list have turned out to be hard to track down- here are a few of the toughest ones:

A plain white t-shirt for Abe, not an undershirt, a t-shirt. You know, a t-shirt or a onesie that can be worn as a shell with 2/3 of your wardrobe.  After checking Walmart, Target, Kohl's, Baby Gap, Old Navy, and the Children's Place,  we decided they simply don't stock white t-shirts in January.  Then, my precious friend Eve hit the jackpot while buying a birthday gift at the Raleigh Babies R Us.  Yaaaah Eve!  

Powdered whole milk- This is what Abe is currently drinking.  That took a trip to Walmart, then internet research, then phone calls to multiple grocery stores in the Wake Forest area to finally hunt that down.  Apparently it's readily available in most countries of the world, but here in the Raleigh area it's found in the Hispanic section of the Louisburg Food Lion.  Good to know it you're planning on adopting a toddler from Ethiopia- huh!?!

And finally, the item that Ryan is currently shopping for- bubbles!  Why bubbles you ask?!?  Well, here's sorta how the story goes.  The other night, Ryan and I were feeling a little stressed.  We'd done the bulk of our packing on this particular day and the reality of what we were doing was really feeling a little overwhelming.  To top it all off, we'd been in communication with another adoptive family who has recently returned and their "bonding" experience has been less than ideal.  So, we were discussing the what-ifs of our situation.  What if he cries the first week or month or if he never stops crying. At this point, we were both ready to jump off a ledge.  Then a thought occurred to me and I turned to Ryan and said, "Wait a minute, wait just a minute.  If anyone can handle this, we can.  We have four children, we've spent the last 15+ years of our lives working with kiddos.  We have had countless hours of training on seperation anxiety.  Heck, people have paid us to train other people on this stuff.  We need to get a grip!"

To which my precious husband responds,  "Bubbles, that's what we need, we need bubbles. What kid isn't captivated by bubbles?  That's what I'll do, I'll take one of those no spill bubble tumblers."  And it was decided, bubbles would be the therapy of choice!

Well, kind of like white t-shirts, bubbles aren't so easily found in January.  We did manage to locate some wedding bubbles in the party aisle at Target, but they weren't the perfect bubbles. So, right now he and the kids are at the boutiqueish toy store in town acquiring bubbles while I enjoy a few last moments at home.  Ah, I love that man!