We got packages!

Alas, no news from China came in the mail. We ordered some items online and they have arrived.

One was the carseat/flightseat/stroller. It's FAA approved and nice and solid. One of the speakers at the adoption convention highly recommended this model. The handle pulls up, the wheels come down, and you can turn it into a stroller instantly - without even removing the baby!

I pulled it out of the box and tried it out right away. One of the builders, Armando, helped me. Ironically, there were no instructions in Spanish. The ONE ITEM that doesn't come with Spanish instructions, and it arrives when the only helping hand I have barely speaks English!

(Armando and I speak Spanglish to each other. I learned Spanglish in Boston y Nuevo York. El habla only a few words in Ingles.)

We did it, though. Aaaand I think I need more practice. I definitely need to get my husband to practice. When we actually have a 20-lb baby strapped inside, that's not the time to learn where the wheel release switch is.

We also got our netbook. It's kid-friendly, shatterproof, and it uses Linux as its operating system. Very cool! I don't know if Microsoft is particularly vulnerable to Chinese censorship while Linux is not, but it's possible that Linux will navigate the censors more easily.

I'm primarily concerned with posting in this blog while in China. If I have the opportunity/energy to post at all, I want this blog to be Info Central for all my waiting family members. Recently, several families have been able to post in their blogs from China. However, the parties who traveled in 2008 reported that they had trouble getting access.

Soo... what's next on our list of things to get?

A few wise, experienced moms advised me not to go overboard with the purchases. I like that advice! I'm frugal by nature. This situation is tough for me, though. I don't want to be underprepared, either, and that's the bigger risk.