Hubs and I were talking about how to carry money in India, should I take a purse, should we get a money belt etc. Hubs did some digging and found a little pouch thing (not a fancy pack, but approaching it) and I said "If you want something like that, why don't you take your green one, it's slightly larger." Hubs of course gave me a blank stare, so I when upstairs to the exact place I keep the luggage and thus easily found his dark green pouch.
I brought it downstairs to hubs wondering why it was so heavy, and opened it up to see what was inside. I found a bunch of suitcase locks (now we have more than enough) and some rupee coins, but in the big pocket I found 1000 rupees and... wait for it.... HIS INDIAN PASSPORT!
YES, this is THE Indian passport that we spent a day shuffling back and forth between lines at the Embassy trying to figure out how to get a PIO card without! Oh my, it gave me such a giggle, I had to share right away...
Monday 24 December 2012
3...2...1...
So it's the night before take off and all through the house
I'm scurrying to pack all our stuff, with a huff and a puff.
Hubs is napping on the couch without a care in the world...
This picture is the "to pack" pile without everything we are still using like toiletries, lovies (blankies and stuffies), my own pillow (my lovie), and of course the potty that we are still employing. (Note to self: wash potty really well, then pack it in the suitcase without my stuff). Today was the do everything we haven't done/thought of yet while we have a couple of hours of daycare left.
My dad has made sure to remind me 20 times to not be late. We have a plan in place, we meet at my Aunt's to leave our car, then my dad will drop us off at the terminal and he will go park the car at park and fly then meet us back at the airport to check in. He's definitely not running on IST (Indian Standard Time, 2-5 hours late) and likes to not only make sure we arrive 3hrs ahead of take off, but to factor in time for everything to go wrong. Our flight is at 5:30pm, so if everything goes perfect and we don't need the extra time we will be at the airport ready to check in at 1:30pm. Did I mention that we are taking our two year old and nap time is 12:30 - 2:30?
Hmmm, maybe now is a good time to write a disclaimer for my possible future actions....
Instead I tell you this little story my sister (Sally's mom) told me. Her kids (ahem, husband) were complaining about having to visit my parents before they left for India. To get them to go my sister said "What if Grandma and Grandpa's plane crashes and they die a horrible death, you'll never see them again!" Then she looked over and saw the sickened looked on Sally's face...
Well, Happy Holidays to all, which us luck on the journey and if I die in a horrible plane crash tell my friend, family and book club that I love them all!
I'm scurrying to pack all our stuff, with a huff and a puff.
Hubs is napping on the couch without a care in the world...
This picture is the "to pack" pile without everything we are still using like toiletries, lovies (blankies and stuffies), my own pillow (my lovie), and of course the potty that we are still employing. (Note to self: wash potty really well, then pack it in the suitcase without my stuff). Today was the do everything we haven't done/thought of yet while we have a couple of hours of daycare left.My dad has made sure to remind me 20 times to not be late. We have a plan in place, we meet at my Aunt's to leave our car, then my dad will drop us off at the terminal and he will go park the car at park and fly then meet us back at the airport to check in. He's definitely not running on IST (Indian Standard Time, 2-5 hours late) and likes to not only make sure we arrive 3hrs ahead of take off, but to factor in time for everything to go wrong. Our flight is at 5:30pm, so if everything goes perfect and we don't need the extra time we will be at the airport ready to check in at 1:30pm. Did I mention that we are taking our two year old and nap time is 12:30 - 2:30?
Hmmm, maybe now is a good time to write a disclaimer for my possible future actions....
Instead I tell you this little story my sister (Sally's mom) told me. Her kids (ahem, husband) were complaining about having to visit my parents before they left for India. To get them to go my sister said "What if Grandma and Grandpa's plane crashes and they die a horrible death, you'll never see them again!" Then she looked over and saw the sickened looked on Sally's face...
Well, Happy Holidays to all, which us luck on the journey and if I die in a horrible plane crash tell my friend, family and book club that I love them all!
Sunday 23 December 2012
The Unerwear Understanding
So a week and a half before we are to leave on our trip, Poohpers randomly says to me "No Diaper, Underwear!" 10 days, before we will spend 48 hours in transit this kid wants to start potty training. Not months before, not weeks before, DAYS. 48 HOURS OF TRAVEL! AHHHH
I tried to stall her by telling her "When we come back from visiting Ajima you can have underwear" but then anytime you mentioned Ajima she would yell out "UNDERWEAR!". Which is a little awkward when Ajima is on the phone and you say "say hi to Ajima" and Poohpers just yells "UNDERWEAR!"
I though I had gotten away with my defferal, but the sheets from daycare started coming home saying "peed on potty" instead of "wet diaper". Plus Poohpers started taking off her own diapers and running around camando.
So six days before we leave the daycare and I had a little chat and decided to try to potty train her before the trip. I ran out that night bought a travelable potty to take to India and 16 pair of itty bittty undies. Well, Poohpers was in heaven the next morning when I showed her the undies and new potty. (Note we already have the seat that fits on the big toilet and a throne of a potty) She gladly donned the undies and proceeded to start using the potty every 20 mins. The first day was very good with very few accidents. The second day was great, with only one accident when she was terribly upset at me for sitting in the wrong spot on the couch three times in a row. Then she was refusing to pee more than once an hour. We even got to a point when she would say "No Mama!" and slam the bathroom door in my face if I tried to help her go potty. The third day we even went out in public with almost no accidents (a little squirt on the way home).
At noon on the thrid day we need to take a 2 hr car trip to visit friends and family before our trip. I pulled out the brand new pull-ups. Fearing that she would refuse these "diapers" I told her they were special underwear for long car rides and plane trips. She flat out refused them. I distracter her with lunch as I frantically tried to figure out how to get her into the pull-up without force. After lunch I just layed it on the line. "Time to put on the Pull-ups" Apparently my wording was just off, because she smiled and started chanting "PULL-UPS! PULL-UPS!" as she eagerly put them on. She even left them on as we went from house to house visiting people.
The next morning to my surprise underwear was met with resistance. "You don't want to wear underwear?" I asked in shock. "No, PULL-UPS!" she proclaimed. So, basically we are back in diapers, but now they cost about twice as much as regular diapers. It was a good 2 1/2 days, but maybe it's all for best, she always refused to poo in the potty and that stuff is disgusting to pick off underwear...
I tried to stall her by telling her "When we come back from visiting Ajima you can have underwear" but then anytime you mentioned Ajima she would yell out "UNDERWEAR!". Which is a little awkward when Ajima is on the phone and you say "say hi to Ajima" and Poohpers just yells "UNDERWEAR!"
I though I had gotten away with my defferal, but the sheets from daycare started coming home saying "peed on potty" instead of "wet diaper". Plus Poohpers started taking off her own diapers and running around camando.
So six days before we leave the daycare and I had a little chat and decided to try to potty train her before the trip. I ran out that night bought a travelable potty to take to India and 16 pair of itty bittty undies. Well, Poohpers was in heaven the next morning when I showed her the undies and new potty. (Note we already have the seat that fits on the big toilet and a throne of a potty) She gladly donned the undies and proceeded to start using the potty every 20 mins. The first day was very good with very few accidents. The second day was great, with only one accident when she was terribly upset at me for sitting in the wrong spot on the couch three times in a row. Then she was refusing to pee more than once an hour. We even got to a point when she would say "No Mama!" and slam the bathroom door in my face if I tried to help her go potty. The third day we even went out in public with almost no accidents (a little squirt on the way home).
At noon on the thrid day we need to take a 2 hr car trip to visit friends and family before our trip. I pulled out the brand new pull-ups. Fearing that she would refuse these "diapers" I told her they were special underwear for long car rides and plane trips. She flat out refused them. I distracter her with lunch as I frantically tried to figure out how to get her into the pull-up without force. After lunch I just layed it on the line. "Time to put on the Pull-ups" Apparently my wording was just off, because she smiled and started chanting "PULL-UPS! PULL-UPS!" as she eagerly put them on. She even left them on as we went from house to house visiting people.
The next morning to my surprise underwear was met with resistance. "You don't want to wear underwear?" I asked in shock. "No, PULL-UPS!" she proclaimed. So, basically we are back in diapers, but now they cost about twice as much as regular diapers. It was a good 2 1/2 days, but maybe it's all for best, she always refused to poo in the potty and that stuff is disgusting to pick off underwear...
Wednesday 12 December 2012
Commuters diarrhea
Now that I have a toddler and live in the suburbs, I typically work from home. About once or twice a month I have to drive into the city for meetings. Well it just so happened that the day I was to take my first installment of travelers diarrhea prevention medication, I also had to drive into the city.
Not really a big deal, I just had to get up a little early so I could down my dose then sit with Poohpers and Hubs as we over-enthusiastically said MmmmMMMmm after every micro sip she took till she was all done. It even tasted better than I though it would. Easy peasy right?
Wrong.
About a third of the way through my 1 -1/2 hour commute I started to feel a little rumble. It was just a little, slightly uncomfortable rumble, but my brain went on high alert. I figured it was best to just keep driving, and take the gamble that I would make it to work okay.
I tried not to think about it too much as I started to sweat. Speeding down the freeway all I could do was to be hyper aware of the up coming exits and which ones had easily accessible bathrooms.
The closer I got to work, the more the rumble grew, the more I started to worry. Was the point of this medication just to clean out your entire body so that there was nothing left to create travelers diarrhea? Was I to be an empty shell for the next two weeks? And how soon could I achieve this now desirable emptyness?
Well, finally I made it to work, and fortunately for me (unfortunately for my sadistic readers) I made it to the bathroom without running, and I fared better than the imaginary scenarios in my head. AND the added bonus was that little Poohpers who took the same medication, and is still in diapers, was at home with Daddy, not me.
Not really a big deal, I just had to get up a little early so I could down my dose then sit with Poohpers and Hubs as we over-enthusiastically said MmmmMMMmm after every micro sip she took till she was all done. It even tasted better than I though it would. Easy peasy right?
Wrong.
About a third of the way through my 1 -1/2 hour commute I started to feel a little rumble. It was just a little, slightly uncomfortable rumble, but my brain went on high alert. I figured it was best to just keep driving, and take the gamble that I would make it to work okay.
I tried not to think about it too much as I started to sweat. Speeding down the freeway all I could do was to be hyper aware of the up coming exits and which ones had easily accessible bathrooms.
The closer I got to work, the more the rumble grew, the more I started to worry. Was the point of this medication just to clean out your entire body so that there was nothing left to create travelers diarrhea? Was I to be an empty shell for the next two weeks? And how soon could I achieve this now desirable emptyness?
Well, finally I made it to work, and fortunately for me (unfortunately for my sadistic readers) I made it to the bathroom without running, and I fared better than the imaginary scenarios in my head. AND the added bonus was that little Poohpers who took the same medication, and is still in diapers, was at home with Daddy, not me.
Thursday 6 December 2012
Broken Breakdown
So we are getting closer to our trip, and the more things I cross off our "to do" and "to buy" lists the more I begin to contemplate the trip in a more philosophical way. Instead of asking myself "what can we die from?" and "how many chocolate bars is enough?" I begin to ask myself "Can we afford to eat when we come back?" and "Am I BLEEPING nuts for taking a two year old on this trip?"
Hubs and I are routine people, we will admit it. We are the slow and steady people, our romance blossomed at school when we were the only people working on our projects every Saturday morning at 9am. You are welcome to call us lame, we can take it. Consequently, our little spawn Poohpers also loves her routine, and we spoon feed it to her willingly.
Some of you might not know, but toddlers go through a "broken" phase. What happens is, if things such as cookies and toys are in imperfect condition, they throw fits and cry, and refuse to have anything to do with the offending object. Recently we have entered the broken phase. Mostly it's been funny because Daddy is the offender. Can you believe he had the nerve to actually CUT a piece off the ginormous salad roll to give her? Or the fact that he stirred her yogurt INTO the lentils! Obviously it called for a major breakdown. But this morning when we left to walk to daycare, I have the audacity to walk through the building and out the other door! (Hey, it's friggin cold outside!) Well, this extra 2 mins of warmth for me resulted in a 10 min walk to daycare with a screaming, crying toddler. How dare I break with routine.
This is what leads me to question my sanity. Maybe taking Poohpers to visit Ajima when she was only two months old and I didn't know what I was doing as a mom, and we could both die horrible, painful deaths from crazy diseases, wasn't actually such a bad idea after all....
If using a different doorway causes a major meltdown, what will throwing the entire schedule out the window for 36 hrs of travel do to this child?
Or maybe the better question is; what will throwing MY entire schedule out the window for 36 hrs of travel with a two year old cause me to do to this child...
Hubs and I are routine people, we will admit it. We are the slow and steady people, our romance blossomed at school when we were the only people working on our projects every Saturday morning at 9am. You are welcome to call us lame, we can take it. Consequently, our little spawn Poohpers also loves her routine, and we spoon feed it to her willingly.
Some of you might not know, but toddlers go through a "broken" phase. What happens is, if things such as cookies and toys are in imperfect condition, they throw fits and cry, and refuse to have anything to do with the offending object. Recently we have entered the broken phase. Mostly it's been funny because Daddy is the offender. Can you believe he had the nerve to actually CUT a piece off the ginormous salad roll to give her? Or the fact that he stirred her yogurt INTO the lentils! Obviously it called for a major breakdown. But this morning when we left to walk to daycare, I have the audacity to walk through the building and out the other door! (Hey, it's friggin cold outside!) Well, this extra 2 mins of warmth for me resulted in a 10 min walk to daycare with a screaming, crying toddler. How dare I break with routine.
This is what leads me to question my sanity. Maybe taking Poohpers to visit Ajima when she was only two months old and I didn't know what I was doing as a mom, and we could both die horrible, painful deaths from crazy diseases, wasn't actually such a bad idea after all....
If using a different doorway causes a major meltdown, what will throwing the entire schedule out the window for 36 hrs of travel do to this child?
Or maybe the better question is; what will throwing MY entire schedule out the window for 36 hrs of travel with a two year old cause me to do to this child...
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