Six weeks to go.
Eeek!
Over the Christmas and New Year holidays we realized that there isn't much time until the Bean makes his arrival. As such, we decided that there are a few 'essentials' that we should think about picking up.
Like clothes.
And diapers.
Maybe some crib sheets.
Pretty much everything to be honest.
Since my pregnancy was announced friends and family members have been giving us baby gifts. Cute clothes from my sis. A crocheted Yoda hat from The Sugar Fairy. A crib from my sister-in-law. Bibs, a soft toy and cash from my mom. The list goes on, but we hadn't actually bought anything ourselves.Time to put that cash to some good use.
Enter the New Year sales.
The New Year sales in Japan are like the Black Friday / Boxing Day sales at home. In a word, mental. Although I like a bargain as much as the next person, I generally avoid shopping from January 1st until about the 5th.
And that's just the outside of the shop.
Of course, now that I'm as big as a bus and waddling at a snail's pace it is obviously time to break tradition and hit the sales.
In order to save our sanity, Shin and I decided to do all of our shopping over two days. One before New Year at Ikea where we wanted to pick up crib sheets other sleeping stuff, and one after New Year to pick up clothes and other essentials.
With a plan like that, what could possibly go wrong?
Well...
I made plans to meet up with a friend at Ikea a few days after Christmas. In Osaka there is a free shuttle bus that leaves from two locations in the city. She had planned to go from the one closest to her apartment, and I from the one closest to me. But the freakin' bus never showed up. No sign. No notice on the website. No damn bus.
And my friend was due to arrive at Ikea in 20 minutes.
So, I waddle-jogged to the subway and headed to the other bus stop. Needless to say, by the time I actually met up with her at Ikea (well over an hour later), I was one sweaty, foul tempered pregnant woman that needed to be fed.
Once lunch was had, things began to look up. I was able to get everything on my list and it worked out perfectly when Shin arrived an hour late to pick us up in the in-laws car.
Crib sheets, nightlight and baby sleeping bags Mikan approved.
Also, you'll notice that everything is displayed on the floor. We still haven't set up the crib as it is guaranteed that the second we do Mikan will have found herself a new bed.
Aside from the bus fiasco, we were pretty pleased with ourselves and began to psych ourselves up for shopping with the crazies.
Side note: after a full day of shopping and racing between the train, subway and bus I slept until 12:00 the next day (minus seven or eight pee breaks). Ya hoo!
Every New Year Shin closes his bar for a few days and we take a mini-vacation. Two years ago we hit the hot springs and tea farms in Kyushu, and last year we went skiing with friends. This year was to be no exception - except that instead of doing something relaxing and fun we were staying at home and shopping.
Hmmm...
The morning of January 3rd arrived. We had the in-laws car, were armed The List and Shin had 9 hours of sleep under his belt.
With preparations like that, what could possibly go wrong?
Well...
Akachan Hompo is one of the most famous baby shops in these parts. They carry everything for little ones from clothes, to strollers, to gift baskets to detergent and bath soap. We were sure that we'd hit a goldmine in sales there! As we pulled up we were even more encouraged by the free parking (for New Year sales only) signs.
When we got inside the place was practically deserted - explaining how we were able to get a parking spot at the front door. Perhaps my memories of sale madness had become exaggerated over time. However, as we consulted The List and began our mission we realized that many of the things we had set out for were not there, not cute, or not on sale.
Stop number one of the day: shopping fail.
Not ones to be discouraged we hopped back in the car and headed to stop number two: Toys / Babies R Us.
The particular store that we'd decided to grace with our yen is located in a huge shopping center, and as we neared the entrance to the parking garage the reality of New Year shopping hit us full force. 30 minutes later we were parked and on our way.
The place was heaving!
Before taking this bull by the horns some nourishment was required and our restaurant choice was made for us after inspecting the length of the line in front of each place. 35 minutes later we placed our orders at the Hawaiian burger shop.
Refuelled and refreshed off we went and as we headed down the escalator to Toys R Us the sound of children in a spending frenzy became deafening.
We waded through the throngs of little people, pockets stuffed with New Year money, to the Babies R Us section at the back of the store. It was much less crowded but again fairly disappointing.
Shin and I couldn't understand what was going on. Two shops, both famous for their absolute babiness but without the items we were looking for.
We finally got lucky and found a set of storage tubs (that nicely match our crib sheets) then waited in line for 20 minutes to pay. After that we wandered around to some clothing stores and picked up some sleepers, onsies and adorable socks.
The Bean will no longer be naked.
We had been shopping / waiting in line for most of the day by the time we headed back to the car, yet half of The List hadn't been crossed off. Time to give up?
Not us.
But honestly, I was absolutely exhausted and Shin was on his 3rd coffee of the afternoon.
With one last burst of energy we headed to a giant Babies R Us near our old apartment. We had been there a few times to buy presents for babies of friends and remembered it having tonnes of stuff.
Baby heaven.
Thank god.
We picked up everything on our list, and of course a couple of extras that couldn't be resisted due to their absolute cuteness. One of the things on our list was something warm to bundle the Bean in for the trip from the hospital home (compliments of his Nanny in Canada).
I have a serious weakness for hats and hoods with ears.
With the car trunk packed full, we headed home feeling satisfied that even though everything hasn't yet been washed and put away, the Bean can make his entrance anytime now and we're ready for him.
As we dumped everything on the floor in front of our unassembled crib we realized that we need a place to store things.
Perhaps it is time to get the screwdriver out...
Eeek!
Over the Christmas and New Year holidays we realized that there isn't much time until the Bean makes his arrival. As such, we decided that there are a few 'essentials' that we should think about picking up.
Like clothes.
And diapers.
Maybe some crib sheets.
Pretty much everything to be honest.
Since my pregnancy was announced friends and family members have been giving us baby gifts. Cute clothes from my sis. A crocheted Yoda hat from The Sugar Fairy. A crib from my sister-in-law. Bibs, a soft toy and cash from my mom. The list goes on, but we hadn't actually bought anything ourselves.Time to put that cash to some good use.
Enter the New Year sales.
The New Year sales in Japan are like the Black Friday / Boxing Day sales at home. In a word, mental. Although I like a bargain as much as the next person, I generally avoid shopping from January 1st until about the 5th.
And that's just the outside of the shop.
Of course, now that I'm as big as a bus and waddling at a snail's pace it is obviously time to break tradition and hit the sales.
In order to save our sanity, Shin and I decided to do all of our shopping over two days. One before New Year at Ikea where we wanted to pick up crib sheets other sleeping stuff, and one after New Year to pick up clothes and other essentials.
With a plan like that, what could possibly go wrong?
Well...
I made plans to meet up with a friend at Ikea a few days after Christmas. In Osaka there is a free shuttle bus that leaves from two locations in the city. She had planned to go from the one closest to her apartment, and I from the one closest to me. But the freakin' bus never showed up. No sign. No notice on the website. No damn bus.
And my friend was due to arrive at Ikea in 20 minutes.
So, I waddle-jogged to the subway and headed to the other bus stop. Needless to say, by the time I actually met up with her at Ikea (well over an hour later), I was one sweaty, foul tempered pregnant woman that needed to be fed.
Once lunch was had, things began to look up. I was able to get everything on my list and it worked out perfectly when Shin arrived an hour late to pick us up in the in-laws car.
Crib sheets, nightlight and baby sleeping bags Mikan approved.
Also, you'll notice that everything is displayed on the floor. We still haven't set up the crib as it is guaranteed that the second we do Mikan will have found herself a new bed.
Aside from the bus fiasco, we were pretty pleased with ourselves and began to psych ourselves up for shopping with the crazies.
Side note: after a full day of shopping and racing between the train, subway and bus I slept until 12:00 the next day (minus seven or eight pee breaks). Ya hoo!
Every New Year Shin closes his bar for a few days and we take a mini-vacation. Two years ago we hit the hot springs and tea farms in Kyushu, and last year we went skiing with friends. This year was to be no exception - except that instead of doing something relaxing and fun we were staying at home and shopping.
Hmmm...
The morning of January 3rd arrived. We had the in-laws car, were armed The List and Shin had 9 hours of sleep under his belt.
With preparations like that, what could possibly go wrong?
Well...
Akachan Hompo is one of the most famous baby shops in these parts. They carry everything for little ones from clothes, to strollers, to gift baskets to detergent and bath soap. We were sure that we'd hit a goldmine in sales there! As we pulled up we were even more encouraged by the free parking (for New Year sales only) signs.
When we got inside the place was practically deserted - explaining how we were able to get a parking spot at the front door. Perhaps my memories of sale madness had become exaggerated over time. However, as we consulted The List and began our mission we realized that many of the things we had set out for were not there, not cute, or not on sale.
Stop number one of the day: shopping fail.
Not ones to be discouraged we hopped back in the car and headed to stop number two: Toys / Babies R Us.
The particular store that we'd decided to grace with our yen is located in a huge shopping center, and as we neared the entrance to the parking garage the reality of New Year shopping hit us full force. 30 minutes later we were parked and on our way.
The place was heaving!
Before taking this bull by the horns some nourishment was required and our restaurant choice was made for us after inspecting the length of the line in front of each place. 35 minutes later we placed our orders at the Hawaiian burger shop.
Refuelled and refreshed off we went and as we headed down the escalator to Toys R Us the sound of children in a spending frenzy became deafening.
We waded through the throngs of little people, pockets stuffed with New Year money, to the Babies R Us section at the back of the store. It was much less crowded but again fairly disappointing.
Shin and I couldn't understand what was going on. Two shops, both famous for their absolute babiness but without the items we were looking for.
We finally got lucky and found a set of storage tubs (that nicely match our crib sheets) then waited in line for 20 minutes to pay. After that we wandered around to some clothing stores and picked up some sleepers, onsies and adorable socks.
The Bean will no longer be naked.
We had been shopping / waiting in line for most of the day by the time we headed back to the car, yet half of The List hadn't been crossed off. Time to give up?
Not us.
But honestly, I was absolutely exhausted and Shin was on his 3rd coffee of the afternoon.
With one last burst of energy we headed to a giant Babies R Us near our old apartment. We had been there a few times to buy presents for babies of friends and remembered it having tonnes of stuff.
Baby heaven.
Thank god.
We picked up everything on our list, and of course a couple of extras that couldn't be resisted due to their absolute cuteness. One of the things on our list was something warm to bundle the Bean in for the trip from the hospital home (compliments of his Nanny in Canada).
I have a serious weakness for hats and hoods with ears.
With the car trunk packed full, we headed home feeling satisfied that even though everything hasn't yet been washed and put away, the Bean can make his entrance anytime now and we're ready for him.
As we dumped everything on the floor in front of our unassembled crib we realized that we need a place to store things.
Perhaps it is time to get the screwdriver out...
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