Day off - food post :)

We slept pretty well last night.  We climbed into bed around 11:30pm or so and I don't remember tossing at all.  The Mr. was snoring in just a few minutes.  We both slept until about 3am but we only woke up because his cell phone went off.  It was the thermometer from our chicken coop giving us an update on the temp.  It had not sent an update since we left, so we thought it wasn't going to. Needless to say, he turned off the notification feature this morning. Anyway, I decided to get up to use the rest room quickly, and nearly took off my toe on a goofy step.  There is a 2 inch or so step up into the bathroom and when it is 3am and you are half asleep, it is difficult to remember not to shuffle your feet.  I'm sure that step will be the death of my toes by the time we go home. 

Something in us woke both of us at 7am....just in time to get a shower before Z was supposed to call.  We learned, the hard way, that the hot water heater is not quite as big as ours at home.  It has been a long time since I took an ice cold shower but I have to say,  I was completely awake by the end.  We were nearly ready when Z called.  He contacted the Ministry this morning to inquire about the discrepancy of meeting date.  The contact at the Ministry went through his emails and found that he had, indeed, been told that we needed to wait until after our meeting with the Embassy on Tues before we could meet with the Ministry.  With this being the first Hague adoption, EVERYONE is being super careful to be sure EVVERYTHING is done by the book.  We were fine with the "change" because it wasn't a change in how we thought it was going to work. lol

Having a day off without children is not something we are experienced with (in country).  It was a rainy, foggy day.  We decided to just stay in and save up our energy for the whirlwind that begins tomorrow.  The only place we had Z take us was a bigger grocery store.  Since I had the day off, I really wanted to make banana bread.  Z does not understand my love of cooking.  In the grocery store, I picked up a couple packages of meat....chicken, sausage and what turned out to be veal.  He pointed over to another area and said, "They have prepared foods instead."  When I told him that I am used to cooking everything, he gave me a really funny look like, "Why would you want to if you don't have to?"  I found my favorite chicken seasoning. :)  I was rather proud of myself that I was able to find it (a different manufacturer even so different packaging) 

So many people document what they eat on their adoption trips.  Today is going to be one of those days for me.

The people who inspected my checked baggage probably thought I was insane because I had packed 2 loaf pans and another smallish baking pan.  I remembered, from last time, that the apartment only had disposable type aluminum pans for baking.  I was very thankful that I brought the pans though. 
Banana bread was the first item I baked.  I found an article a while ago telling how to ripen bananas quickly in the oven.  I was happy I read that because the bananas we found at the store were nearly green.  It came out pretty well.  There was some maple syrup in the cabinet here so I substituted some of that for some of the sugar and it made it rather tasty.  I am going to bring this platter of bread with us to the foster home.

 

Dinner was chicken strips (flavored with a really tasty chicken seasoning packet) and some mashed potatoes.  Hubby said it tasted like home which was the best compliment he could have given. He even gave his seal of approval for the milk. And for those wondering, this was all he ate for dinner.  My husband eats like a bird.

 

 

One interesting tidbit I learned today, apparently, you cannot get crackers here.  According to Z, they don't sell them.  With some searching, I found a recipe and was able to attempt my own saltine type crackers.  I didn't roll them quite thin enough and the 2nd and 3rd batch (really small baking pan) were misshapen because the dough stuck to the counter.  But they taste like crackers and should still work well to make cheese and crackers. 

 

And just for good measure, here is a picture of last night's dinner.  Eggs and sausage (bratwurst but still sausage) with toast.  How cool is it that there is a toaster here?  Well, I find it really nice! :)  AND, they have Heinz ketchup!

Tomorrow begins our real adventure.  Pray that we both sleep so we are prepared to remember all the info we are given and that we aren't too nervous to meet our little one.