Daily Routine

Thank you everyone for the wonderful comments. Some of you sent me messages, really sweet of you.Thank you and keep following me for updates.
Today's topic is "DAILY ROUTINE".I am a person who likes to follow a routine, it helps me manage time efficiently and keep things going smoothly.I really wonder how much my routine has changed from being a student to single to married to mom with one kid to mom with 2 kids.I am really surprised when I look at the gradual change and how I have fit or removed so many things in my routine and I cant see it getting any better.
Our daily routine is very crazy.We both are working parents, we  try to wake up around 5:30 a.m but generally alarm goes on from 5:30 and we end up waking up later than that. Then we make lunch for the kids get them dressed, drop our daughter first and then our son. Since we both work at the same office we try to carpool somedays. If no early morning meetings we try to work out, then get to work. We have our lunch together that is when we talk about things going on at work and home. Then we start from work pick up kids,after reaching home one of us cook and the other bathe the kids and give them dinner.Then we read books and spend some time with our kids.Mostly my husband takes them to bed and I do the cleaning and the dishes. Then my favorite time "blog time" ,after kids sleep we watch something on TV for 30 mins and then hit the bed. We do this every day over and over again.Weekends we have a different routine.
In future we will have to fit in our kids home work time, then pick up and drop them in different classes. I dont see this getting any better.
Out of all this we do in our everyday routine I like our lunch time where I get to talk to my husband on everyday things , the time I pick up my kids where I am really happy to see them and  find out what they did that day and my "blog time". Now I feel that these happy moments of the day are the ones that keep you going. I think doing something you like or having some time for your self is really important. It gives you more energy and relieves your stress.Please share with me the moments you all  really like in your daily routine. It could even be having a cup of coffee/tea in peace which is really rare for busy moms and dads.

Husband+Wife =??

Hello everyone..hope you all had a nice day. If you shop at whole foods today I bought a groupon $10 for $5 (http://www.groupon.com/deals/whole-foods-market) it is available only for limited time, dont miss it.

Let me come to today's post. I noticed a big change  in the way people started to look at me after marriage. People started to  see me and my husband as one entity. If you have read my post on (http://preethi-pretty.blogspot.com/2014/02/first-year-of-marriage-lifedos-and-donts.html) I have mentioned that after marriage  "Dont think that your individuality is gone.It is just taking a different shape since another dimension is added to your life" , it is very true.Your (both husband and wife) life changes for good.
So let me come to the question, what do you think is the answer to the question??  friends?? lovers??
no I think the answer is "a team", yes husband+wife = a team ,you both are in one team to win the competition "LIFE".
Me and my husband are in one team where I like to cook and he likes to eat so helps me with  cutting veggies and other small things around the kitchen.
Small things you can do to strengthen your team are:
*Appreciate the work that each of you do.
*Never take each other for granted
*Share the work (divide and conquer)
*Consult with each other before you make a decision.

*Share your thoughts on different areas of interest
*Come to a common ground of how you want to raise your kids.Kids are very smart they do parent hunting and will target the weaker one.
*Spend some time with each other
*Try to understand each other during tough times(tension at work,too much stress,sick etc)
*Dont blow small fights big
*Accept your mistakes, everyone makes mistakes.
*Find your strengths and weakness and take up tasks accordingly.In my house only I can dress up my kids.The teacher or day care provider can easily find out  if my husband dressed up my kids that morning.Same way I cant do taxes.I just let him do it.
The funny thing is the kids become your boss.They demand more work from you and if you both agree to be on same team you will be rewarded with a happy family and well behaved kids.We both are still working to get there.Do share your thoughts on this post.

Am I Pregnant?

For all those who found that you are pregnant and going to have a baby my "hearty congratulations". For all those who are trying to get pregnant good luck. For people who are not married or not thinking about kids just relax and enjoy life. For parents try to read my post on Parents don't replace yourselves with iPhone/iPad and Little Helpers.
I still remember the day I knew that I was pregnant .It was a very emotional day for me and my husband. I was very happy and at the same time scared on how I am going to manage everything. Mixed emotions which I have never felt when I left India or graduation day or even on my wedding day.I just cant explain the feelings you have to go through it to understand what I am talking about.The whole idea of a baby growing within  you kind of freaked me out. Until that day I did everything at home, after I knew I was pregnant I loved all the attention I got at home as well as outside,  at work people will offer you a chair in meeting that is fully packed. Everyone will  give you way and treat you with more respect and empathy.
At home I got a free ride on everything. Whenever I said I am tired my husband would say "Dont worry about the dishes I'll take care of it" which I have never heard before or he will cook for me.  Also people around you congratulate and tell you things about "What to expect while expecting".  Luckily I didn't have any morning sickness with both my kids so I enjoyed the first and second trimester.
Third trimester is the real hard part. All worries creep into your mind such as
       *how am I going to deliver this baby??
       * I dont want this baby to come out before full term
       *will he/she come out??
       * Will it pain ??
       * What if I die??
       *Am I dilated enough??
       *How will I know how contractions feel like ???
        *I want to have a normal delivery but will it become a C section
        * When can I have an epidural when I am in labor??
For women who are in this boat "JUST RELAX" you are all birthing goddesses, dont worry about anything  this is a natural process. "All our moms did it" so  you can do it.  Just think of delivery as the last step to get to hold your baby in your arms.I had my son in Nov 2010 and my daughter in Nov 2012. Both times I knew I was pregnant around this time(Feb) of the year.Since it is 2014 I am waiting for Feb to end without any good/bad news.Please share your thoughts on how you felt when you knew you were going to have a baby. I would love to hear your story. Good night ;)

Maui

For all those who read my previous posts on Hawaii (http://preethi-pretty.blogspot.com/2014/02/planning-trip-to-hawaii-few-tips.html) &(http://preethi-pretty.blogspot.com/2014/02/big-island.html) this is the last island.Maui is the most beautiful of all three and if you are planning to visit only one island I would recommend going here.
Day 9:As soon as we landed we
        *Hiked the the Iao needle very beautiful place, not a very long hike but you can see nature at its best here,for more information (http://www.hawaiistateparks.org/hiking/maui/index.cfm?hike_id=11)
         *Visited Lahaina which is an old charming beach town where you can get tickets for most of the activities that you can do in Maui.We got tickets for our helicopter ride,para sailing,jet skiing, snorkeling, and under water submarine. All tickets are very expensive.Small money saving tip you can sit through a 90 minute presentation to get free tickets for some activities.We were very tired with so much of driving around so we sat through a 90 minute presentation an answered "NO" to all offers and got some free tickets.Then we walked around the town and visited the huge banyan tree for more information (http://www.gohawaii.com/maui/regions-neighborhoods/west-maui/lahaina)
Day 10: Drove along Road to Hanna(http://www.gohawaii.com/maui/regions-neighborhoods/east-maui/hana).Very scenic drive.You can stop at various scenic spots and hike in between. On the way there is a town called Paia for more info (http://www.gohawaii.com/maui/regions-neighborhoods/upcountry-maui/paia).
Day 11: Next day we started very early to drive to Haleakala Crater (http://www.gohawaii.com/maui/regions-neighborhoods/upcountry-maui/haleakala-national-park) to watch  the sunrise above the clouds.It was mind blowing.Then we went to para sailing,jet skiing and snorkeling.
Day 12:We took the helicopter ride to West Maui and Molokai.This tour took us through the places where Jurassic park was shot.We saw so many waterfalls and it was very scenic,it still stays in my mind.Helicopter rides are usually very expensive but worth every bit of it, for more info (http://visitmolokai.com/).Then we went to under water submarine ride and some other water activities.
Day 13: We just visited some beaches around our hotel and just lazed around before we finally took off from here.
Wow!!!!! I cant believe we did so much. I cant imagine doing all this now.We saw a lot of rainbows here and there as we were driving.Finally we were very tired and I really wanted home cooked food and wanted to sleep in my bed.It was a very good vacation which I would love to do again.But the end of it I was really happy to be back to my sweet home.Please let me know if this was useful and share additional info if you have already visited these islands. Happy vacation to all of you who are yet to go visit this beautiful paradise.

Big Island

Hope you all enjoyed your beautiful Sunday. Weather was awesome here and we had fun with our friends. I really like writing this Hawaii trip post as I am able to recollect some of my old sweet memories. For all who read my previous post (http://preethi-pretty.blogspot.com/2014/02/planning-trip-to-hawaii-few-tips.html) today I am going to write on what all we did in Big Island.
This Island has two sides, Hilo and Kona .Kona is the beach side and Hilo is the green tropical side. This island is big so we landed on one side and then took off from the other side.It is a good 3 hrs drive from one side to the other.
Day 5: We landed in the Hilo side of the Island and drove to these places in order:
         *Acaca Falls for more information (http://www.hawaiistateparks.org/parks/hawaii/index.cfm?park_id=2)
         * Mauna Loa Macadamia nut factory ,these macadamia nuts were too good,we bought some from                   here,for more information (http://www.maunaloa.com/visitor-center/)
          *Punaluu Black sand beach for more information (http://www.gohawaii.com/big-island/regions-neighborhoods/kau/punaluu-black-sand-beach)
          *I also remember us going to a deserted beach which served as backyard to many multi million dollar houses and sunset looked amazing.One thing in Hawaii is dont  miss any sunrise or sunset. Wherever you are make sure to stop and watch the sunrise or sunset :).I dont remember its name.
Day 6: We visited the Hawaii Volcano National park ,for more info (http://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm)  and hiked two craters and drove around the park and finally during the evening we saw the lava mix with the ocean,you can take a boat or helicopter ride to watch it closer.
Day 7: We  visited the Hawaii volcano national park as we could not cover everything the previous day.Later noon we  started to drive to Mauna Kea National park  (http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/visiting-mauna-kea/visiting-the-summit.html)for star gazing at night. Dont miss this.It was amazing to see many stars and also the galaxies.
Day 8:We drove to Kona side early morning and then visited these places there:
              *Coffee plantations (http://www.gohawaii.com/big-island/guidebook/topics/coffee-plantations)
              *Hapuna beach (http://www.hawaiistateparks.org/parks/hawaii/index.cfm?park_id=44)
After this we took off to Maui to continue our next Island trip. Stay tuned to learn  more about Maui.
         
       

Planning a trip to Hawaii ??? Few tips

If you have read my post on "First year of marriage..do's and dont's", I have mentioned that you should travel as much as you can during the first few years of marriage.We tried our best and one of our most unforgettable trip is the trip to Hawaii. This travel plan outline was composed by one of our best  friend who visited Hawaii before us and I modified it a bit to make it a better.Since I have been asked several times about what all we did in Hawaii I have it compiled here for you in this post.We also booked some tickets from this website Hawaii Activities. Do check it out , they have some nice deals posted then and there.
We did a 13 day trip to Hawaii covering three main Islands Oahu,Big Island and Maui.We went there in October and the weather was good during that time.This is the itenary we followed.
Day 1: We landed in Honolulu.Just went to Waikiki beach and walked around the International Market place.
Day 2:We drove to the below places in order.
          *We started very early and hiked the Diamond Head State Monument(about 2 -2.5 hr hike) . This is open 6 am to 6 pm and last entrance to hike is at 4:30 pm.Visit website for more details (http://www.hawaiistateparks.org/parks/oahu/Index.cfm?park_id=15).
           *Pali Lookout which is a scenic overview
           * Byodo-In  a Japanese temple it is a very beautiful serene place dont miss this .Visit this website for more information (http://www.byodo-in.com/)
           *USS Arizona Memorial (Pearl Harbor)  last tour to this place is at 3 pm you have to be there before that.Visit this website  (http://www.nps.gov/valr/index.htm) for more details.

           *Dole Plantation (World's largest  garden maze) we really enjoyed watching pineapple farms and took the tour.Visit this website for more details(http://www.dole-plantation.com/)

Day 3: We went to Polynesian cultural center where they  explain about the culture of different islands in and around Hawaii. A must see as we enjoyed every bit of it and then we had the Luau (Hawaii feast there).This takes one full day.Visit this website for more details (http://www.polynesia.com/)
Day4 :We went to Hanuama Bay for snorkeling . Visit this website for maore details (https://www1.honolulu.gov/parks/facility/hanaumabay/information.htm).We enjoyed every bit here especially the snorkeling and then we had our flight the next day morning to Big Island.
You all know now what to do in Oahu, so what are you waiting for???Stay tuned to know more about the other islands.Thanks for reading this post and enjoy the rest of Saturday.Good night;)

More tips to save money while buying a house....

Happy Friday everyone. I am so excited as one of our friends is visiting us and are going to stay with us over the weekend. Dont know if I will have time to update my blog over the weekend.(will try my best to).For all who read my previous post (http://preethi-pretty.blogspot.com/2014/02/buying-new-home-few-tips.html) I would like to add more on what other things you can do to save money.Every couple I have met always says this"We had to pay a little more than our budget" to get this house. So when this happens you really want  to save money on other things. This happened to us also and we did the following:
If you are building a new house with a builder:
* Dont get the blinds from the builder. You can buy them from http://www.selectblinds.com/ they have videos with  step by step instructions on how to measure,order and fix blinds. They have a large variety of blinds to choose from and you can order samples before you make the real order to see if the color and the material is what you were looking for. Very great customer service and I would highly recommend them.
*Never get fans from your builder,you can always buy them from Lowe's or Home Depot when they have a sale.Lowe's always gives you a 10% off coupon when you buy a new home you can leverage that too and fix it by yourself.
*If you want to put a vegetable patch or plant more trees or have a flower bed   in your backyard/front yard plan accordingly.Move sprinklers accordingly and make sure you dont put any grass/lawn in those areas so you have one less work to pull them out when you plan to have them later.
*Never get custom painting done from builder as they will charge too much for it. Get it done from some one local for a cheaper price.
*Try to see if you can pay some one who works there to get small things done. For example we wanted another hanger rod in our bed room closet and we got it done by paying one of the worker who was working there which was a lot cheaper.
For people who are buying an already built house, always inspect your house before you buy and see if you can get an estimate on how much it would cost you to fix damages so the seller can deduct that from the price of the house.I dont have much experience on this one.Someone who went through this process please add  comments on what all we can do here.Have a nice weekend and thanks for taking time to read this post.

Buying a new HOME??? few tips..

Congratulations to who all have a nice home and good luck to my friends who are looking to buy one.As I mentioned in my earlier post ( http://preethi-pretty.blogspot.com/2014/02/watch-for-deals-even-after-you-buy.html) we recently bought a house in the US. Thanks to our friends and family for giving us valuable advise on things to keep in mind while purchasing one.This post is a compilation of everything that we thought through before we signed the contract.
Everyone has a dream house in mind. But in reality very few are lucky to get a very good house with all that they want. You have to compromise on certain things. Make sure that you dont compromise on any of the below.

*"MORTGAGE" What is the price range you are looking for and the max you can go to get your dream home.Do the math first before you jump into this.

 * "LOCATION" this is the most important thing to be considered.We lived in this city for  around 4 years so we kind of short listed certain locations which were reasonably closer to work and grocery shops etc
* "SCHOOL"since in US the houses have assigned schools. Make sure that elementary,middle and high schools are good based on the age of your kids.Though you can try to enroll your kids in other schools it is not guaranteed you will get a spot.
* "STRUCTURAL PLAN"  Do you want a one story or a two story house?? How many bedrooms in the house ??. Master bedroom upstairs or downstairs??Are you particular to have a room and a bath downstairs for your parents when they visit you and things like that.One tip is never have your bedroom and laundry in different floors that is really a pain.Do you want two car or three car garage??.Based on your requirements choose a good floor  plan.
You cannot change the above things once you have bought a house. For all other interiors make sure you have  the list of things that you really want in the house (a must) and what all you can compromise.Owning a house  is a very big commitment .Think well before you take  the big step.

Where do I really belong to???

I just want to dive into a different topic today.This is a question that I always have in my mind.Let me explain.Most NRI's will be able to relate to this post.Many young Indian citizens profile will look like this

•      born in India
•      raised in India
•      went abroad to study (Hoping for a bright future and thinking grass on other land is green)
•      work there 
•      confused whether to return back or settle there 

Believe me I am one of them.I am an Indian with the exact same profile.Even people with this profile who have settled in one country would have been in a difficult position before they really made the decision to stay or move back. I really appreciate all those who made the decision and stuck to it.

I would like to explain the position of people like me who are struggling to make the call.So I am an Indian but I dont live there anymore or cant relate to so many things happening there. I miss every happy/sad event in the family still try to connect to my  parents at least during weekends to find out how they are doing.Every time after visiting India around the last day of vacation I feel like I want to go back to my house and sleep in my bed at the same time  feel like what am I doing abroad leaving my parents here and live with the fear of not being able to make it on time when they are no more.

Let me come to my life abroad. I have a house, a job and routine monotonous life where the country where I am has stringent immigrant laws and not ready to accept me as a citizen. I can do everything here but I am just a skilled worker who cannot have all the rights of a citizen and cant even change my job title until I reach a stage to get my permanent resident status. My kids are born here and they belong to this land (some countries dont allow even that). Even after all this if I still become a citizen of my immigrant land my heart will be really happy to listen only to Jana Ghana Mana. So now you all tell me where do I really belong to? ?

Little Helpers

It has been a week of blogging madness. I am liking it and want to share more things with you all.Thanks for all the comments and encouragement.
Following my previous post I just wanted to give you some ways to engage your kids at home to help you around.When me and my husband attended a parenting class on "RAISING INDEPENDENT KIDS" they gave us a list of things a 2-4 year old can do to help you around in the house, I was amazed to see that list.Slowly we started to try a few of them which we thought were age appropriate and guess what our kid excelled in doing those than what we imagined.Here are few examples that you can start with.
*Try to see if they can help you with arranging grocery items after you get back from shopping.They can pull it out from the bag and hand it over to you and you can place them in appropriate places.Make sure you remove all glass or other non kid friendly items before hand. Slowly you will see them following you and they will know where to keep what.
*Try their hands in laundry.My son loves to put dirty clothes in washer and washed one in drier. He likes to handle it completely with little help.
* When you do dishes give them the non-breakable things and and a basin of water just to dip those vessels and give it back to you.Believe me they love doing it.
*We love methi leaves that we get them from Indian stores every week during the season.Just try giving them a few bunches to separate leaves from stem.They love experimenting with it.
*Buy a small cleaning brush from dollar store like the one on the picture and they will be very happy to clean the mess they create with it.
*You can always ask them to wipe their high chair or table or floor when they spill something on it.

Initially everything they do will be a mess. Eventually they will get better at it. Demonstrate every single step without talking and ask them to just watch you on how you want it to be done. Of course whatever they do wont be like a work of a professional but they will try their best and you will have to do the rest.Encourage them by saying what a "LITTLE HELPER" you are. Also they are moody sometimes they just dont like to do it and it is perfectly fine. Try some of these and share things that I have missed and what your kids help you all around with.

Parents-Dont replace yourself with IPAD/IPHONE

I recently read an article about 3 -4 year old kids addicted to IPad. They want to play games in  it all night. Any time it is taken away from them they scream and yell. These kids dont play even with their siblings and know how to operate every single thing on the IPad which most grown up dont know.
My take on this is we as parents dont find ways to be with our kids and think IPad/IPhone  would be their best friend and give them one but in reality it becomes their worst enemy.It curbs the kids from doing what they are supposed to do. I know some kids who dont eat without watching something like rhymes or baby channel. My son used to be that way too but slowly we got him out of it.If they watch something and eat they have no idea on what they are eating and also they tend to keep on eating to watch more or just dont eat anything and just keep watching.
I dont think we can completely keep them away from media but anything with limited exposure is good.Have a restricted time when they can  watch something or play something on a phone or a tablet.Put a timer and when it ends they are done.Encourage other activities like reading,cutting papers with toy scissors,some art work, playing puzzle,coloring,helping you around and finally when you need a break some media time.This is what I follow.There is no IPad or any tablet in our house so my son targets our phone or TV for baby channel for which we follow this timer rule. 2-5 years are very formative age in a kids life and I think as parents we need to spend more time with them.If you all are aware of this and taking some control on media exposure it is really good. If not it is high time to start thinking on how to regulate it.We cant blame these kids for their actions we as parents need to take charge.

Being a Dad....

All the dads out there I salute you especially the ones who really participate in every little thing of your kids life.
As all moms talk about how difficult it is to be a mom and what all we sacrifice to be a mom, seeing my husband and my brother as a dad I feel being a dad is also tough.
General comments are moms are the ones who suffer and carry their baby during pregnancy and deliver them undergoing all the pain. But from a Dads perspective when he knows that is wife/partner is pregnant the first thing that comes to his mind is the financial responsibility (another dependent),though I carried my kids during pregnancy my husband has carried them in their car seats when they are more heavier for more than a year.Also dads don't get to feel the kicks or any other joys of pregnancy.Another fact is it is very difficult to see your loved one undergo pain during delivery and you are in a situation where you really cannot do anything.
I feel dads in US or anywhere abroad who dont have grandparents or a nanny to help really do a lot.Talking to some people in India even current generation dads dont have much to do  and everything is taken care for them.Though it might seem that dads whose lives don't change much after a baby are really lucky in reality they are missing out on something. They dont know much about their kids and are missing an opportunity to bond with them.
So all dads who are working hard and taking the time to bond with your kids continue your good job all this will turn into a good childhood memory for your kids with you in them. For all those who are taking it easy and shying away(I dont believe anybody would want to do that) from responsibilities it is a wake up call. Get to know your kids more and spend more time with them.You will not regret it.

Sweet Sibling

Very unusually I am happy on a Sunday evening since it is a long weekend and today I got two good news.One of our very close friend delivered her second baby and my husband's cousin is expecting a second kid.This lead me to the thoughts of how we decided to have our second kid.

It was an easy decision for us since I have a sibling and knew that siblings are the best gifts  that we can give  our kid.My husband is a single kid, though he grew up with his cousins I always feel having your own sister or brother is something different.

No one other than your sibling can understand you and your crazy family especially your parents better.Also they are the ones who stand for you when you really need them.They know you in and out.You can share anything with them as they don't judge you.End of the day blood is thicker than water.If you have a sibling you will be surprised to see some of your characteristics in your niece/nephew.Siblings are the ones whom you can trust other than your own family.Even small misunderstandings between siblings will fly with a sorry then you will be back together.

We always didn't want our son to stand alone in this world after us.So we did our part. For those who don't have a sibling I don't think you can or could have done something about it. But you can always give this gift to your kid. So parents with single kids what are you all waiting for? (Thank God I am not in China).

Finding your passion ...

Hello everyone I wanted to post something yesterday night but was out on my first girls night out. It was a lot of fun.Laughed a lot after a very long time.Thanks to all my friends who made it more hilarious. As I have promised not to write about what all we did I am not going to go into it.But a very refreshing "MY TIME" which I think I need more often.I was home late yesterday night thought will wake up to be a tired person but guess what I was very fresh and happy to wake up and more looking forward to having fun with my kids in the morning..Thanks to my best buddy for driving us around and inviting me to join and to my beloved husband for taking care of the kids when I was away.
Now coming to today's topic finding my passion has been a big challenge for me.I am always curious on how people find theirs. For people who know what your passion is "DID IT JUST APPEAR BEFORE YOU ONE FINE DAY ????"... for me it has been a very difficult task.I tried to narrow down on things I liked to do..I figured out I like to cook (I thought this is my passion for a long time),I like to talk to people on phone(don't think I can call this a passion),I like to comfort others when I talk to them ,will hear them out so always people discuss with me topics that is nagging in their mind  (my husband jokes" I think you have a board hanging on your neck saying "I will hear out all your problems"" ; this  can't be a passion),I have a very good memory but didn't know what I can do with it...One thing I was always good at was writing my yearly review at work where I used to write stories about things I did that year( Dont get me wrong I don't get a promotion every year for that). This year after writing my review I thought may be I should start writing a blog. Now I think I have finally found it. Do share with me yours and how you found that you are really passionate about doing it.Thanks for taking time to read this post.

Is he/she the right person..

For everyone who had a valentine to celebrate with yesterday,who are  looking for one and who think relationship is not for me right now I am pretty sure at some point of time in your life you might have asked this question to yourself on meeting someone IS HE/SHE THE RIGHT PERSON?. Unfortunately in real life you wont see angels around them or a bulb glowing when you meet that person.I see relationship as a string with two ends,only when the two ends meet you can tie the knot. So if you are in one end  and your partner on the other end of the string even if  try your best to meet your partners end and if he/she keeps pulling the string further it wont work.In my experience when you meet or talk to a person you will know for sure if he/she is the right choice. Things around you will shape such that it will indicate you that you both are destined to be together.

Very small example from my life when me and my husband started to talk, he causally mentioned that if he lives in US he would like to settle in Austin Texas.He was in California at that time and I was in Vegas doing my Masters. Next day I got an offer to Intern with a company in Austin TX (I promise this was not the only reason why I married him) but things around you will give you a hint.

In any relationship if something doesn't feel right never compromise and settle. You will not be happy. Dont go behind to fix something broken .You can never force anyone to be your friend or your enemy. Same rule applies here too.At  the same time if you screw up a relationship never forget the learning's you get out of it.

For all those who found your MR/MRS RIGHT long back and happily married my hearty wishes for a happy long life together. For those who think relationship is not for me right now I am pretty sure your MR/MRS right is waiting for you somewhere will appear before you when you are ready .For  those of you who found your MR/MRS RIGHT recently and going to tie the knot soon my hearty congratulations and don't forget to read my previous post on "First year of marriage life do's and donts".

Watch for deals even after you buy a product

Happy Valentines Day!!!! I could really feel the love in the air today.We didn't have  fancy plans we just made some dinner at home and had my favorite  tiramisu cake for dessert(it was a surprise and you can make me really happy with 5$). Thanks for the lovely comments people this makes me wake up at 12 in the night to publish a post after I was knocked out in the process of putting my kids to sleep.

Usually we all watch deals for a product that we want to buy and after we buy it we think we are done.I am going to add some more vision to it. Recently we bought a dining table for our new home ( Thank you I hear your congratulations ) from Costco. We have been looking around for a while in many furniture stores and we narrowed down to this one.It was a lot of work to get it home and then my husband who is really good at assembling furniture's (lucky me)  assembled it. We were very happy with what we got and had a feeling of accomplishment and feeling of relief since we don't have to go shopping anymore as it is really hard with 2 kids (next hard thing in addition to eating out) .This happened a month ago. From then whenever we visited  Costco I would go and see if there was any deal on this furniture, guess what there was a 200$ manufacturer rebate on the same piece of furniture that we got. YAHOO ;)...We had the receipt with us and we immediately got 200$  back on our credit card.This is also saving according to me. So watch for deals on  things even after you buy them and always save the receipt for any big purchases.

First year of marriage life....dos and donts

Since most of my friends/cousins have got married recently or are about to I thought this might be an interesting topic.I would like to recollect some of my memories as well.

First let me go over the DO's.
*  Say "I Love you" to each other as much as possible
* Ask "Sorry" when necessary
*  Be patient it takes time to let someone into your space
* Get to know your partner better even if you had known them for years
*  Call every now and then to find out how your spouse is doing
*  Cook or experiment with cooking as much as possible and also eat out you will know why if you read my previous post.
*  Travel as much as you can
*  Treat your wife like an angel and your husband like a friend
* Any misunderstanding talk it out then and there. Never prolong an issue for more than a night believe me it is not worth it
* Try to build a relationship with his/her family based on how they behave with  you rather than being judgmental
* Give each other time as both of you are learning and it takes time to mature
* Never give up on each other
* Never tell the personal things between you both to anyone even your parents

DONT' S

*  Don't take each other for granted
*  Don't let your ego take over
* Dont think your individuality is gone. It is just taking a different shape since another dimension is added to your life.
*  Don't think too much about future just enjoy
*  Dont' harp on things he/she says
*  Don't get into big commitments like a mortgage to pay or a big car loan
*  Don't fight for what his or her parents or relatives do
* Don't get into an argument too soon hear out the other side
* Dont let anything come between you both ;earn each others trust

I can go on and on ....if you ask me if we followed all of the above... Certainly not but most of them and that has helped us march into our 5th successful anniversary... Whenever we face any difficult situation we would stop blaming each other and will always look at how to solve the puzzle at hand. Life is all about it. You don't get to choose your birth,death,parents but you can choose your spouse and friends to lead a happy life with good memories.

What to cook for the week some ideas

Thank you everyone for  viewing my blog. I am motivated to write more.Thanks for the lovely comments.Leave more ideas so I can learn as well.

WHAT TO COOK ?? is a big burning question in my mind everyday. I am a working mom of two kids. I pack lunch and cook dinner for me and my husband as well as my kids.Our family seldom eats out because of the hassle associated with going out to eat with kids..Usually I have to feed my kids before I take them out. By then I am tired and  hungry and both me an my husband will never have the patience to watch them and finally when the ordered food arrives we will not be able to eat peacefully.( I think most of you with 2 young kids can relate to this) We tried going out and always regretted later.Then we started to get home TOGO  boxes but the food didn't taste that good.These days I prefer to make something at home than going out. Then comes the problem what to make?? for people who read my previous blog on weekly deals this is what I do. Usually the ads are out by Wednesday I browse them when I have time and decide on menu items for next week.

For example if there is a deal 3 for $1 bell pepper then I  will make stuffed bell pepper or chilli paneer or capsicum paneer or fried rice or just capsicum onion uthappam and so on..

If broccoli is on sale then I will make broccoli cheddar soup,steamed broccoli,pasta with broccoli,just broccoli curry(same way we make cauliflower curry).

If spinach is on sale then I will make palak paneer,spinach kootu,spinach masiyal so on.

You can add more to your imagination and suggest some more recipes for me to try.

Then I will always make one  lentil dish  for the week channa masala or  rajma masala or  dal makhani,or black channa curry or split mong dal curry or vatanna or just dhal curry. This will go in rotation, each week I pick one. Then I also grind batter like dosa batter, adai batter,aapam batter and pesarattu batter which I keep rotating. Hope this gives you an idea on how to make healthy dishes at home at the same time if you are well planned it is very easy to get dinner on the table within an hour after you get back home from work.Looks like I need a separate post on what I do for kids lunch  will post some ideas soon till then take care and thanks for taking time to read and I am waiting for more ideas from you all too.

Mothers Room Episode.....

 Only working moms with kids can relate to what I am going to write here. My daughter turned one last November.  I work for a company where they have a MOTHERS ROOM for new moms. One of the hardest thing of being a working mom who just had a baby in addition to sleepless nights, changing pee pee poo poo diapers, managing not to sleep at work, trying not to get irritated with people due to lack of sleep is explaining your male coworkers what  MOTHERS ROOM is.I usually try not  to touch that subject.
Recently one of my male colleague came to me and said that he and his wife had a new baby. I congratulated him and asked him everything I remembered about newborns.Then he asked me if I still use the "MOTHERS ROOM" I just said no and started to talk about something else.He came back to the same topic and asked me "you leave your baby in "MOTHERS ROOM "right?. I digressed from the topic and asked him which pediatrician they were seeing.He finally asked me "HOW LONG DO  THEY TAKE CARE OF BABIES IN MOTHERS ROOM?" then I understood why he asked me so many questions.. I  told him that I leave my baby in a daycare and there are chairs,screens,a small fridge and a sink in the mothers room.So to all new DADS who don't have any idea about what a "MOTHERS ROOM" is at work ; it is a place where moms pump their breast milk, store it for their new born.I just realized that I cannot explain this to any male colleague at work but  I can write a blog about it.That is the power of blogging.

Valentines Day is around the corner some tips

Happy Valentines day everyone!!!!. I am really thankful to have a  wonderful family & a "valentine" to celebrate it with.I have 2 kids a son (3yrs) and a daughter (1yr). Usually around this time parents are asked from the day care to give a card to every other kid in the child's day care.When my son was one we didn't know anything about what to do for this. We got a normal card and it did cost us a lot. Then the second year I figured out I can get some cards from dollar stores and I did buy them but each cost 1$. Now I have 2 kids, and there are 24 kids in my sons class and around 7 in my daughters. You can do the math.So this year I figured out we can get blank cards from dollar stores and write your content there. 8 blank cards cost 1$.This is cheaper but you have the overhead of writing something in each one of them. I like doing that so I am happy about this. Some of you might have some doubts about how it might look so I have some pics.Though the pic says $3.25 on top if you get it from a dollar store it is a dollar.Sorry if you thought I was going to give tips on how to surprise your valentine this year. I am pretty sure you all know what to do for that :) .

You can write something like this inside.

Hope you like this please leave me a comment on what you do and if this was useful.

Weekly deals

This is my first blog writing experience. I just wanted to start with something that we do every week, "GROCERY SHOPPING".Me and my husband always shop Friday evening after work and we search every week  to find the weekly deals. I started searching the internet to find for one place where I can find all weekly deals. I found some websites but they did not have specific stores that we shop in. You can also compile a list like below that will  help you to quickly find deals only in the stores that you usually shop and will save time than deciding what to buy on reaching the store.So who does not like to save money ???  everyone does Check this out and leave your feedback if it was useful . This is the compilation of stores near our neighborhood where we shop usually.

HEB:   Put in your Zip code
View Weekly Ads

Sprouts Farmers Market: You can type in your Zip code
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Randall's: Enter Zip code to get deals

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Whole Foods: Select State and Store Location 

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Trader Joes
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Walmart: Enter Zip code

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