Dont miss these as you or your company pays for it

I am learning a lot through this blog experience. I recently learnt how to add  Facebook Like and Share button to my blog so if you like  my post, like and share it.It really motivates me to see your comments and your likes.

Today's topic is about some things that we should not miss as you or your company is already paying for it. These are some things that I think you should not overlook, initially when I came to US I had no idea about these.
*Talk to people and find out which health insurance will work for you and your family.
*Find a primary physician and get your physical/preventive check done if  it is free in the insurance plan you have opted for once a year and dont miss it.Ladies find your Gynecologist who is also an OBGYN so you can go to the same doctor once you decide to have kids.
*Dont forget to find a dentist and get your teeth cleaned twice/once a year based on your insurance.
* For working moms if you are planning to buy a breast pump to use the mothers room (to know what it is read this post http://preethi-pretty.blogspot.com/2014/02/mothers-room-episode.html) find out if your insurance will pay partial or full cost for breast pump. My insurance paid a partial amount.
*Never miss any employee stock purchase program offered by your company.Find out more information about this if you haven't already
*Find out if your company has  tie up with any child care and provides an employee discount and try to see if you can find a spot for your kid there before you start searching in other day cares.
*If you have kids dont forget to deposit money in DCAP  (Dependant Care Assistance Program) and claim it by end of the year.
*Once you decide to have a kid make sure you enroll in short term disability for that year as only this pays for FMLA(Family and Medical Leave Act).
*Find out information about HSA (Health Saving Account) and deposit money in it.
*Some companies provide classes and advise on investment. Do attend those and find out what better options you have to invest your money.
*If your company has a fitness center try to use that ,so that you can avoid getting expensive membership in other fitness centers.
These are some of the things that I watch out for. If you have any additional things please add to the list. I would love to learn and save more ;). Enjoy the rest of your day and thank you for taking time to read this post.

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? ?