The excitement is building here! We are packed and ready to go. A few days ago my eldest was teasing me that I'd better stop shopping because I kept coming back with more to pack. But now that I've actually been zipping bags shut, I'm going the other direction and kicking things out.

The microwave popcorn is out-- turns out there's no microwave anyway. The battery-powered fan is gone -- we decided that a little radio tuned to fuzz would be almost as good for white noise at night at 1/10 of the weight. And the orphanage donations that ended up overflowing the bounds of my bins will be heading to Ethiopia in a couple weeks with a friend. ... more

In planning to go to Ethiopia, I have been trying to decide what might be the best way to carry our 28 pound 2 year old. She can walk, but in strange situations she insists on being carried, and does not have the stamina for walking long distances. In Addis the roads are rough (and often muddy)making a stroller an impractical option, except maybe for wheeling around in a hotel.

Over my years of parenting I have tried a variety of carriers. In the next two posts, I'll be giving you my impressions of the NoJo sling, the Snugli frame-style backpack, the Hug A Bub, the Hip Hammock, and the Ergo. All of these are decent carriers with plenty of good points. I'll try to explain what I... more

Since we’re traveling to Ethiopia with two children (5 and 2) and returning from Ethiopia with 4 kids, I’ve been giving this topic some serious thought.

My husband says I’m overthinking this-- maybe so. But I have a three-part plan for occupying the little girls on the way there. Our first flight is only a couple hours. I’ll be bringing fanny packs loaded with goodies for the girls, and plan to keep them in my own bag until after take-off. Hopefully we can get through at least the first half hour just with windows and tray tables and the novelty of flying. But when restlessness sets in, I’ll hand each little girl her own fanny pack filled with goodies.

Each fanny... more

I have been hard at work on the mother of all Ethiopia packing lists. I thought I'd share it here in case others might find it helpful.

MARY’S PURSE Passports/tickets Water bottle/ sippy cup (fill after security checkpoint) Snacks in no-spill cups: Fruitio's, Cheerios,Goldfish Bib, wipes, tissues, hand sanitizer Notebook/ sheets of stickers Pipe cleaners/ beads (easy beading activity for small hands) Tiny story books Tiny dolls Benadryl strips Chapstick, Gum iPod Uno Sm. trash bags for keeping our area on the plane neat while waiting for flight attendant to collect trash. (Will also... more

I’ve been on a hunt for the perfect purse. I want one that is small enough to be called a purse. But since I’ll be traveling with two kids on the way over and four on the way back, obviously I need it to have some serious storage capacity. Pockets and partitions are a must. Ideally it should be usable as a backpack if I need both hands free. But, again, it can’t be as BIG as a full sized backpack because I want it to fit easily under the seat in front of me.

Incidentally, one of the serious downsides of getting bulkhead is that you have no underseat storage... more

On my last trip to Ethiopia, I traveled with my 36 month old and my 13 year old and brought home a 6 month old. (Parent to child ratio- 1:3). This summer I am intending to go with my husband and my 33 month old and bring home 9 and 11 year olds. (Parent to child ratio- 2:3). Judging by the parent: child ratios, this trip might be a little easier than the last one. However, if you figure the "known-child" to "unknown-child" ratio (2:1 last trip, 1:2 on this coming trip) this next trip might be more stressful. Who knows? I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes.

In any case, as I dream about/ pray for/ long for a June or July court date, I’ve also been thinking about how we... more

I have a confession to make. My best, most optimistic guess is that we will be traveling sometime in August, two months from now, and I already have the packing bug. I've so far resisted the urge to pull out my mega-suitcases -- who wants to trip over those for two months? But I'm already working on my lists. Last night very late I jumped out of a perfectly comfortable bed so that I could run add another item to my list.

Here are some items on my growing list, in no particular order.

Pepto tablets Years ago on a China-adoptive-parent list I read about the Pepto Bismol tummy treatment. Lots of people traveling to 3rd world countries end up with stomach... more

When you're planning to go to Ethiopia to pick up your baby, it can be hard to know what is important to bring. Here's my list of the most essential items to have in Ethiopia.

DIAPER SUPPLIES

Diapers--Plan for at least 10 diapers per day for every day you will be there. For a week I'd pack 70 diapers. Don't forget to account for the flight home. That sounds like a lot, I know. But many babies and toddlers have diarrhea and go through diapers REALLY fast. You can buy more diapers in Addis, but the quality is not nearly as good as those available in the USA. (translation:... more

When you're heading for a third world country to pick up a child, there's something that kicks in and makes you want to be prepared for every eventuality. But watch out-- on most airlines each traveler is allowed to check only two 50-pound bags, and you can't use your new child's luggage allowance until the way home. Here are some tips for making the most of that precious luggage space.

Start a list at least a month ahead of time. Every time you think of something you might want to bring, jot it down on the list. You can start your list with... more

One thing that I always try to do when I go to Ethiopia to adopt a child is to bring supplies to the orphanage where my children lived. Awhile back I wrote about using Rubbermaids as auxiliary pieces of luggage for this purpose.

My sister who just returned from Ethiopia gathered supplies for her son's orphanage that she had planned to deliver to Ethiopia in this way, but due to several mix-ups in Washington D.C. the luggage never made it farther than Dulles. She toted the whole heap home, and I volunteered to deliver them when I travel(hopefully) later this year for our adoption.

... more