Looks Can be Deceiving

So as you might guess, things here in Japan are different.  Not only in the obvious (culture, looks, schools, cars, houses) but also in the little things.

Since my son is only 3 1/2 ~ there are still certain things that he likes that are only for little kids. And whenever possible - I go through every means possible to get him the comforts of home that he wants (Cheetos, Marshmellows and even the ever elusive Cinnamon Graham Crackers).
As you can imagine, some of the things he is use to are hard to find.  Sometimes it will take a whole days search & journey around town to find what I am looking for.
One British lady I met recently explained the expat wife's daily searches for the normal as:
"We hunt and we gather.  And when we find it, we gather as much as bloody possible because you never know when you will see it again."  I thought she was joking...she wasn't.

So in my quest to be a great mom, I went on the hunt for Bubble Bath.  We brought over an ENORMOUS bottle when we moved but since we have lived here - my son has decided that he likes bubbles in his bath more than he doesn't.  So starts the search - or so I think!

The first store I hit had this display of the cutest Winnie the Pooh bottles right up front by the register.  I thought - My lucky Day!
I grab, open, smell...PERFECT.

Get home and use the sweet honey-smelling stuff in my son's bath.  It looked a little runny-ier than usual, but I thought - hey, its Japan.  It didn't bubble very much and it made the water a little cloudy.  But none-the-less, my son smelled sweet and his skin felt like butter!

One afternoon when my Japanese teacher was here, I asked her to read a bunch of labels for me, tell me what my answering machine ACTUALLY said in Japanese and to read me the contents of the new Bubble Bath.

She said it was milk & honey scent.  She said to use a capful every-time.  And she said it was FABRIC SOFTENER!!!  Yes, I have been bathing my son in fabric softener!!

Poor kid.  Luckily I have only been washing his hair with fresh water from the spout.
Once again...life changes, and things DO NOT stay the same.
Still figuring it out - one LABEL at a time!

Deeds