Preparing For Our Trip

Since we will soon be leaving to meet Big Sister, I have begun preparing for our trip.  I have several categories of "stuff" that I am getting ready.  Here's a sneak peek:

1) Emilia's travel entertainment.  Emilia is old enough and interested in wearing her own backpack, so we filled a mini one with things for her to do while we are en route to Big Sister's country.  There are some books, her letter cards, some matching cards, stacking cups, finger puppets, play dough, wiki stix, a plain page notebook and colored pens (her preferred scribbling utensil).  We will also have a current favorite toy, a magna doodle, and the Kindle in my carry-on for her.

2) Rex's travel entertainment.  Rex is not a fan of wearing a backpack, so his things are in a big ziploc bag that I will be carrying.  He's got some bubble wrap, spinning tops, flashlights, silly putty and glow in the dark putty, balloons, light-up toys, masking tape, cars and a fidgeting toy.

3) Snacks, snacks, snacks.  I have measured out a bunch of GFDF snacks into portions for the kids to eat while we are traveling.  I will also be packing sandwiches, individual servings of hummus, and bananas for them.  We requested special diet meals from the airlines, but I know from my experience as a vegetarian traveler that this does not always pan out.  We were fortunate to find a bakery/restaurant in the town we will be staying that is going to make us several loaves of GFDF bread which will be delivered to us upon arrival.  Their menu sounds delectable.  They're like a Panera Plus.

The two containers in the back
are for checked luggage.

4) Kids' entertainment while in country.  We hope to spend a lot of time outdoors with the kids sightseeing etc. when we are not at the orphanage, but just in case those plans don't work out, I am packing a few things to do indoors.  I have three cans of shaving cream, bubble wrap to pop, balloons, and a beach ball.  Our apartment will also be in close proximity to two parks which will be helpful in keeping wee Martinis happy.

5) Fun activities for Big Sister.  I think that our visits with Big Sister will be very different from the ones we had with Rex and Emilia.  Big Sister is completely verbal and quite bright which means she will understand what is happening.  We want her to feel comfortable with us and enjoy our time together, so we are bringing supplies for joint activities.  I am not going to lie, most of these things came from clearance racks, the one dollar bins at Target, and some we even already had at home.  We are bringing a purse, coin purse and compact mirror along with hair accessories.  We have stickers, markers, crayons, paper and play dough to get creative.  There are two beach balls, balloons, more balloons to make animals, bubbles, a hat and most importantly a custom made book that explains to her how we found her and how this adoption process works.  It's got photos of us and of her in it and I left several pages blank to add more photos from our time together as well as for her to draw or dictate her experiences into the book.

6) Orphanage donations.  I don't have unlimited luggage room, but a donor made 52 beautiful summer dresses for the girls at the orphanage.  Since I didn't want the boys to feel left out, I reached out to some amazing mommy friends and with their help was able to gather 10 t-shirts, over 60 new toothbrushes, and 34 pairs of socks for the boys.  Now each of the 126 children at Big Sister's orphanage will receive something new.  In addition, a few of my friends made generous cash donations that I can use to buy more things for the kids while in-country or that I can add in with any funds raised this summer for whatever we may realize or be told is needed at the orphanage.

7) Carry on.  Aside from the items I already mentioned, our carry-on luggage will contain an extra outfit, diapers and wipes for each child, a blanket for Emilia, our passport, tickets and other paperwork, small toiletries and toothbrushes, antibacterial wipes, and snacks for grown-ups.