Travelling to India with kids?? Check this post :)

Holiday season is around the corner and I am sure all of you have plans to travel.I know many people travelling to India during this season. All of you have a safe and nice trip. Some people travelling with kids requested me to write about the things to pack for the kids. Here you go!!!

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Usually I will create a checklist of items to take. You always tend to forget something or the other. You can always buy things in India, so dont panic. These are the things I got before India trip
1) Make sure you talk to your pediatrician about the trip and get malaria medicine for the kids if you are going around the season where mosquitoes are a lot there.
2) Pack all the basic kids medicine
   1)Pain and fever reducer Infant fever reducer
   2) Kids Thermometer
   3)We gave our kids probiotic two times a day . This is the one we took Florastor kids . It was very useful when our daughter had diarrhea.
   4)Get this all natural mosquito repellent Mosquito repellent. Get a couple of onesiezes for small kids and spray this on the exposed portions so you can avoid mosquito bites.
    5) Get this Pedialyte, it will be helpful when the kids are dehydrated.
    6)Desitin diaper rash cream. This was very useful when my daughter had diaper rash.
3)Take enough diapers, you can use those there and it wont add up to the weight when you come back.
4)If your kid is still nursing or bottle fed continue that so you can give milk after they are back. Also if they eat cereal still make sure you take some, it will be very useful during flight journey.
5) Even if your kid is potty trained take some pull ups their size and have it in your diaper bag , we used few diapers on or potty trained son during emergency.
6)Always have something to eat and drink for the kids through out the travel time. You never know what they will be cranky about.
7) Have some band aid handy. Whenever my son fell down I would just put a band aid and things were drama free.
8)Make sure you take head phones for the kids so they can enjoy the in flight entertainment if they are 4-5 years of age.
9) I took some pens and paper for them to write. Some stickers and some small books to keep them occupied. I traveled without an IPAD. But if you are taking one take the required charger for it.
10)Dont forget the stroller. It is very much required with small kids.

 If you have something in particular that I missed please feel free to add. And again as usual leave your comments here.

What things to buy from India??

Hello All . Weather is awesome in Austin with rain and temperature is expected to get lower next week. One good thing is we need not water the lawn and the plants.

The weather is slowly getting cooler and this would be the right time to buy some personal home heaters for winter before it gets more expensive. This is the heater we have and we are happy with it Lasko personal heater.This is a very good deal. If you have personal heaters you will save more on your power bills. Since all four of us sleep in the same room we usually keep the temperature lower and use personal heater for the room which we use. Check out this post to know more General money and energy saving tips

We get most of the Indian products  here in the US. Still some  things dont taste or  look  that good as we get in India. Whenever we plan to go to India as soon as we get the tickets we will start making a list of items to get from India. Then and there as we remember them we note it down in our phones. There are some general things that I would like to list out. Here you go

*Jewelry, I always like to buy jewelry from India.

*Ethnic Indian dresses for us as well as the kids.

*All masala powders (rasam powder, sambar powder, garam masala and other masala powders)
*Spices (cardamom, bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon ,cloves) we always get these from India.

*Cashews (Hands down it is cheaper in India, I used cashews to grind and add them in some sabzi)
*Some decorative things to hang on the walls .Last time I got some small tanjore paintings from India. You can request for a fiber glass frames that dont break when nicely secured in the baggage.
*Non-stick tawa's and some stainless steel boxes
*Activity books and some regional language books for kids.
*I always buy some bangles/accessories as we get a good collection there.

*Some flip flops.
*Hindu pooja items like agarbathis , picture of god etc
*Safety valve , extra weights and  gasket for cooker that you have.
*Some tupper ware boxes.
*Some parts related to the mixie that you have.
*Sweets and some snacks
*Pickles and vadam
*I always get Amrutanjan from India as it works well for me.
*Bed sheets, you will get different prints that you can select from.
*If you or your kid is into Indian classical dancing or any playing any musical instruments you can get things related to it.
*Towels and kitchen cleaning towels . I have always found them expensive here.
*Based on the weight you can also get some other groceries that you think are worth buying from there.
*For men get an haircut and for women other things for which you visit beauty parlor can be done in India.

These are the things that I buy from India.  If there are some other things that  you buy please add to the list so I can know what I am missing. Have a nice rest of the weekend and stay tuned.

Is going to India from US with 2 young kids for 3 weeks classified as vacation??

Hello everyone...This week has been really busy .Happy that it is "Friday". In summer, weekends are also busy. I really feel like I need a longer break and the magic word is "Vacation".

If any of you are travelling and looking for some sale on baggage, this is a sweet deal on Olympia 30 inch baggage. It has very good reviews. Its original price is $164. With 47% off it is only $86.94.

After thinking through different places for vacation most of us (Indians) finally decide  to go to India. Around four years back when it was just me and my husband I used to be all excited about the idea.Now I see "going to India"  as a relay race with so many hurdles. Let us see all the hurdles one by one

*Get the vacation dates approved and book the tickets (Later feel wow tickets for 4 people is expensive)
*Next hurdle to cross is getting the  "visa documents" ready and book the visa appointment dates.
*Then do the required shopping.
*Packing : This is a big one. Have to carry most of the required ones for the 3-4 weeks we travel. Especially when you have kids it is a difficult task.
*Finally when the day to leave arrives put a Face Book status update that you are going to India. Then promise some friends to meet there. The "flight journey" which is 24 hours is really scary with kids. It is hard to keep the kids in a confined space.I have done it with just one kid. I am yet to know how it would be with a toddler and a 4 year old.
* Hopefully the flights are on time and land in India safely.
*The first week goes with jet lag and sleep deprived. Kids also are cranky.
* Attend the visa interview and pray that we get the passports before the date we have to  leave.
*Travel between parents and in-laws place.
*Carry mineral water everywhere.
*Somehow get out of the jet lag  during second week.
* Then go to pilgrimage tours. Pray that no one gets sick, welfare of family  and also we should get back to US safe.
*Third week is when you start doing the shopping of list of all items that you want to get back.
*Pack them all and hopefully passport is back.
*End of the trip feel like want to go back home and sleep in our bed in US.
*On the day of leaving, feel really bad to leave the loved ones so many miles away.
*On the flight the thoughts that flash are  "What am I doing??, Why dont I go back to India?? , Kids will enjoy their grand parents if we go back..Our parents are getting older can see them slowing down cant even go and look at them every year".
*Finally reach US and be jet lagged again. Load yourself with coffee and get back to work.
*Answer all colleagues when they ask about your vacation as "I enjoyed my vacation and had a wonderful time".
 Come on what are we all trying to do here. I never treat going to India as a vacation. I cant deny I have some very nice moments and memories, but the whole process is too hectic to call it a vacation. When someone tells me that they did nothing on  a vacation I would really envy that. We Indians try to be over achievers in everything right from education to work to vacation. Now I understand why most of my uncles and aunts who have kids never visit India frequently. Is there any way to make this simpler?? Please share your thoughts.