Grocery Shopping List time!

Tonight's pre-prego-vac activity: making the grocery shopping list so my mom can have it all ready in the townhouse when we arrive. Kind of fantastic having my own personal "social sponsor." For those unfamiliar with the concept, people already at a post volunteer to be a social sponsor for an incoming family. The amount of involvement varies from family to family, depending on the relationship, but the mission critical responsibilities are (a) going grocery shopping the day before the new family arrives and (b) picking up the new family at the airport. Other added bonuses are answering questions pre-arrival, helping decipher the school situation, introducing the family to others at post, perhaps a casserole in the fridge or muffins for breakfast, taking the family out to lunch, etc.

Moving to Manila, I had the bright idea (or maybe Greg did) of saving our grocery list to Google Docs, so it was easily accessible the next move. After all, why re-invent the wheel? The staples for starting up a kitchen generally stay the same.

Giving guidance to a family that doesn't know you, who will be shopping in a city where you only have a vague idea of what is available, is pretty tricky. Especially because I, at least, don't want to sound too demanding when the family is helping out a lot. Rereading my list for Manila, I have points like:

• Milk - whole and skim (if possible), preferably UHT and not fresh in packets, 2L each
• cereal - unsweetened or not-to-sweet, along the lines of cheerios, mini-wheats, corn flakes, as available (if available at all)
• chicken - prefer boneless skinless breast, but whole chicken is OK if that’s how they come

I'm revising this list for my mom to take to Safeway in Washington, DC.  I think I can safely take out all the side pointers - safely assuming that boneless skinless chicken breasts, Cherrios, and pasteurized milk are available.  And that everything on my "nice to have" list is also available! 

In fact, I think it's best that she's shopping and not me. I remember that first trip to the grocery store when we were back in DC for training. I had sort of avoided it earlier, because we had stayed with family. But after about three hours, Greg called me very nervous as to what was taking so long. I honestly answered I was just overwhelmed by the store and was coming home with only about half the list procured. The thought of having to face that huge grocery store, the day after getting off a 24 hour flight, with two jet lagged kiddos, at 8 months pregnant, could cause a nightmare if I dwelled on it too long. Better to spend the time tonight and finish the list.