Moving Check List

Here are some helpful tips I would like to share whether you are moving pole to pole or coast to coast... or just to a neighboring state.

The Checklist that was very handy to me -

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4-6 weeks BEFORE MOVE

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Ask for real estate agent interviews

Talk to realtors about the report (3k)

Decide on move (month /Time)

List of things that are difficult to replace and can't be shipped or should have copies

Put items on craigs list

Drop items in Best buy

Create bins for Vietnam vetrans truck

Ask for doctor and dental referrals; arrange for transfer of medical and dental records

Initial trip to the place you are moving

Check on the temporary housing address

Use up or dispose of food, cleaning supplies, and hazardous materials

Fill out change-of-address card with post office

Clean out all closets and drawers

Schedule appointments with a Handy man

Carpet cleaning

Have garage sale/donate unwanted items

Arrange for carpet and drapery cleaning

Arrange for house cleaning

Arrange for utilities (cancel old; start new):

Electricity & Water readings

Local subscriptions (milk, bread,..)

Other municipal services

Telephone/ cable TV

Arrange for transfer of homeowner's/renter's insurance

Begin packing

Make travel arrangements

Make arrangements for moving the vehicles

Confirm moving date and time plus total duration required

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2-3 WEEKS BEFORE MOVE

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Set aside critical documents and items you will keep with you

Change address

Family and friends & congregation

Arrange farewell ( throw a get together/party)

Bank accounts

Health, life, and auto insurance policies

Credit card bills

Arrange for school transfer

Re-establish postal and municipal services

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1-5 DAYS BEFORE MOVE

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Defrost freezer

Empty ice maker and ice cube trays in case of power shutdown

Clean refrigerator, stove, and oven

Disconnect and drain appliances for move

Drain fuel from power equipment

Clean out safe deposit box

Confirm travel arrangements

Confirm arrival time of movers/pick-up time of rental truck

Arrange for refreshments on moving day

Gather and clean outdoor furniture

Uninstall cable box, cable modem, DSL modem if necessary

Organize keys

Clean house

Finish packing

Prepare or arrange food for moving day

Ensure all pvt boxes sealed and labled with Surname and Destination

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MOVING DAY

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Disassemble furniture like beds if not requested

Double-check that all cupboards, closets, dishwasher and other appliances are empty

Give movers tour and instructions of what is being moved

Provide inventory to driver of owner packed items

Arrange assistance with children

Happy moving!!

Whats the BIG deal?

~~~~~Montessori Versus Regular Pre School ~~~~~

My son turned 3 a few months ago. We decided its time for him to go to a Pre school. He is so getting bored at home !!! He mostly spends time either watching TV or quarelling with his sister or looking for snacks / something to eat all the time...since there is nothing better to do!!

So when I started talking to friends around and thats when I heard the word "Montessori" . So naturally I started digging up and looking for Montessori schools and also taking tours to Montessoris and even regualr schools around my house.

The classrooms looked same everywhere. I felt there were more cut-outs and art displays in regular preschool class-rooms compared to Montessori ones. One of the Montessori s had uniforms too., which i found it to be neat. I also felt the regular class rooms had so much activity going on .. like kids giggling, shouting, playing etc. In a montessori class room kids were silent. Even though everybody was doing something...they are awfully quiet! Are they strict?! I did not really feel good to think about it.

The basic idea of a Montessori is : Kids can do whatever they want and teachers teach according to the each kid's learning pace. [ for more information - google and find out ] The regular school program is a teacher-driven structured one. Kids do / learn things according to the School / Teacher's agenda.

When I started compairing notes.. this is how/what I felt :

- I some how dont like the idea of letting kids do whatever they want! At home, anyway they dont listen to us and pretty much get things done however they want it and if its the same thing even at school...then whats the difference? I have seen a few moms complaint that their kids who go to Montessori dont write/read as good as kids who go to the regular preschools / day cares.

- Down the road, all kids montessori / non-montessori have to go to a regular high school. If kids are let on their own .. may be they would have a tougher time getting used to a structured teacher-driven programs at a regular school.

- Kids in Montessori are encouraged to do things together with their freinds etc. In the classrooms, I have seen small groups of kids doing things and also seen some kids who are quiet and lonely.... on their own. Now I dont want that to happen with my son. I dont like him to be left out, considering he is a little shy type.

- Also, many Montessori schools require a time commitment from the parents, along with numerous fundraisers and donations to the school. Atleast one of the parent has to volunteer at least 15 hours a week at the school. If they cannot, they would have to pay some $$$ to compensate! Plus they are always selling things to "raise" money for the school.

- Lastly, Montessori is expensive.

We now decided he would go to a regular preschool for a few reasons I mentioned above and the fact that Montessori is a little far away from where we live. On a daily basis, in a practical sense ...this might get too tedious for us. If I would have really liked it, may be I would have made an extra effort.

Sometimes I think - may be Montessori is a good idea for older kids who are mature enough to know things and are pretty much on their own. I feel initally kids can start off in a regular pre school program and once they get used to friends, teachers, class-room, writing/reading kinda environement , then may be switching to a Montessori is so not so bad afterall!

I also heard if its a private school then its as good as Montessori.

Also , my childhood education, my husband's and my cousins, freinds ..where we come from .. had this teacher-driven strcutured program and we all did well in school that time and are in good positions now, career-wise. Most of us hold Masters degrees as well. So it would be totally unfair to say regular schools are no good.

I feel it all depends on the child. Considering, every child is different .. how they learn and perform is different. Am sure there are kids who do welll in montessori/regular school and the ones who dont .. and then there is good and bad everywhere. It would be like blaming the school when a child fails! Thats unfair!

Bottom-line, What really makes a child succeed? The answer - Parents and the kind of encouragement and help they get at home!! If the child gets all the necessary support that includes love etc.. from his family .. am sure he can do better at anything.

Review - Erasable Activity Table and Chairs : Disney cars theme

My Kids - love this!! You can use them right out of the box. Its perfect for my 3-year old...especially for the fact that he can do unlimited scribbling on the erasable table top. The 3 dry eraser marker pens that come with the package....are almost empty and its been just a couple of days since we bought it home :-)

Its Colorful, Cute, Durable, Fun, and Easy To Clean. The brother and sister... apart from eating, also spending lot of time scribbling, talking , playing blocks , doing things with playdoh ... even watching television on it!!

I would say its a way better than those high chairs concept. Of course kids younger than 1 year can instead use a baby rocker / baby bouncer that come with a tray up front.... for their feeding routines. But once they start walking a little and start eating on their own, Parents can try the Toddler Table and chairs set.

With high chairs... it gets tedious sometimes to lift the kids up every time to put on the high chair or to get them down. Also the fact that they are so expensive!!!! On the other hand, The Table and Chairs set is a fun way to teach them... to sit on their own. The height of the table is perfect and is easy for the little hands to access too!!

We have a hardwood floor and that's the reason these cute looking chairs are very very easy to move around. This way .. am afraid .. have chances of skidding when trying to sit on. Even though they have those rubber tips beneath them..am scared!!

That's the reason I put a Kids play rug beneath it and it helps!! I agree cleaning the carpet beneath after every meal is tiring.. but its all worth the hard work..when you think about the safety.

The Magic Drink - Pediasure : The Epilogue

It was lesson learnt for us - We realized , its all in our head. We assume they probably wouldn't like that or this. We decide for them. I guess we should stop doing that. We should make them decide for themselves. Offer them all kinds things (not just the food) and wait for them to turn it down or enjoy it.

Its just about making your kids eat right in the right way ! All am saying is... we need to be more patient. The mistakes we did with my son, we are trying not to do it again with his sister.

Like, for example -

1. Pacifier : We never gave her a pacifier (not that its bad or something .. getting him/her off it is difficult again)
I would say go for it as a last option. In my son's case we gave it to him..because he was colic and cried non-stop especially in the evenings. Even though you give / not give colic babies ... a pacifier....the colic thing goes off once they are 6 months old. It starts around 2-3 months age.

Also try several things before giving him/her the pacifier from the time he/she is still a baby. I have seen many new moms do it , like me ..to their first borns. Since they are new to the parent-hood, they feel bad when the baby cries. Or may be they don't want to upset the baby too much. So when the baby cries other than the diaper change...its either the bottle or a pacifier.

With my daughter, we can tried - soothing music, stroller / car ride, fresh air, white noise , swing /rocker , a warm bath , skin contact, lots of toys with music and lights or just a lullaby composed by mom / dad in their natural voice :-) My daughter is a fan of all my self-made songs....even now !

2. Bottle : Took her off the bottle soon. Before she turned 18-months old.

3. Baby foods : I gave her lots of home made stuff other than those Gerber cereals / baby food. That's one of the main reason I guess why my son, in the first place ... became such a picky eater. For one reason, he truly never liked those jarred foods. He ate very little of it. I think I can now relate it to how it all started - - he disliked eating because of how the baby food tasted and he was made to eat the same thing everyday.. routine bored him out and that's why he eventually started preferring milk.

He got used to eating bland stuff ... even after he turned a year , one n half year... he never really liked the rice/ regular food routine we follow at home. He got so used to swallowing those purees ... he dint prefer biting,chewing and swallowing ritual :-)

I should have started him off by giving home-made stuff .. sooner. But then again like I said.. I "assumed" he was not ready. I "assumed" it might be too hard for him to eat / spicy and I "assumed" he is still a baby :-) I simply didn't let him explore.

Lessons Learnt - The sooner they start eating stuff you make/cook for the entire family...its better. I would say its totally wasting money buying foods like those in the long run. Start substituting their baby food with one meal / snack you make at home. This way you do not have worry and carry so many things when u are on road trips , at the restaurants , parties etc. They are eating what you are eating and not just the dessert!! :-)

- Lastly and the most importantly never gave my daughter.. Pediasure.


One of my Pediatric Aunts told me - Pediasure is for those kids who are under nutritioned / under-weight. Parents should go for it only after the doctor recommends it. Just because they are available over-the-counter and in every store... does not mean that they are for everyone.

Also, Check Out -

The Magic Drink Pediasure : Part 1

The Magic Drink Pediasure : Part 2

Other Posts you might be interested in :

Baby / Toddler : Bottle to Sippy Cup Transition

Toddler : How I stopped her Night time Milk Routine

The Magic Drink - Pediasure : Part 2

Pediasure's ordeals continued with my son. During that time, we took a vaccation outside the country. Soon we started running out of .. Pediasure , whatever we carried with us. This time instead of milk..we tried giving him food to eat. Since there were distractions around him - new place , lot of traveling etc... he wasn't too bothered by it. He in fact started eating something.

Instead of forcing / scolding , every time he took a bite ... we started making it a Huge deal by giving him lots of hugs, kisses and praising him all the time. Occassionally he even got a small gift, whenever he finished whatever he had on his plate.

Willingly/unwillingly he ate food to survive. He surprisingly did it quite well. He started having all 3 meals. How did that happen? We slowly reduced his milk intake at night. Whenever he asked, we gave him water....through out the night. That made him very very hungry as soon as he got up. He ate good breakfast..lunch and dinner soon followed.

We realized.. My son's eating habits improved drastically with kids of his age around. Whenever he met kids of his age... he wanted to eat whatever they wanted to eat. As soon as he realized other kids his age ate different things, he also wanted to try them. We started socializing more and having play dates. He started eating better. He had milk too .. twice a day.

He also got his dental surgery done. We saved his teeth!!!

Check out the last part of this in the Epilogue page ( link below)

Also, Check Out -

The Magic Drink Pediasure : Part 1

The Magic Drink Pediasure : Epilogue

Other Posts you might be interested in :

Baby / Toddlers : Bottle to Sippy Cup Transition

Toddlers : How I stopped her Night time Milk Routine

The Magic Drink - Pediasure : Part 1

My son is not very good at eating his food like most of the kids. From the beginning he was a very picky eater. He wouldn't eat more than a couple of spoons of anything. He lived mostly on drinking Milk. On the other hand, his weight and height charts were fine @ the doctor's office.

There was always lot of crying during dinner / lunch time. He wouldn't eat and we wanted him to eat. This tug of war became a routine for us. Neither of us were happy. Especially when we went out to parties / get together s and saw kids getting fed or eating food while my son was drinking milk, we were concerned. Even though their moms said their kids were not good eaters... but I thought they all are eating at least something!! But look at my kid!!

We started thinking .. How will he get all those nutrients from? Can Milk alone be good enough for him? He is definitely not eating enough. On the other hand, he is so used to eating on his own and he would never let us feed him. That made things worse!


It was that time when we heard about the Magic drink - Pediasure. It has a great "Kid Approved" taste and is an excellent source of DHA - Omega 3, an important nutrient that helps support brain and eye development. Its milk with lot of other nutrients and comes in so many different flavors. And so..after he liked the taste of it , at a friend's house.. I immediately went and bought bag load of stuff. Good thing about the product is- it keeps the stomach full plus you know ur son/daughter is not missing on anything ...as it a nutritional supplement.

And so we started giving him when we are on a road trips OR when we went out OR when there is nothing good for him around. He liked the Vanilla flavor more and he was drinking all 8 ounces alright!!! Once he started drinking that, he wasn't hungry for a long time after that as it used to fill him up.

Soon we started giving it whenever he skipped a meal or in between meals. And not very long after that .. we started substituting the regular meals with Pediasure, because that was the easy way out. No more coaxing /scolding /forcing / crying. He was happy drinking it and we were happy ( or may be that's what we thought) Even in the middle of the night it was pediasure and he started preferring that more than milk. And not very long after that he was literally living on Pediasure.

One day he fell hard from a chair while playing and chipped off his tooth. That's when my son for the very first time had to visit a Dental Doctor. The first thing after the doc looked into his mouth was - cavities!! not one or two...but too many of them!! The doc seemed to worry more about the cavities than the tooth that got hurt. They said they had to perform a surgery .. giving him a general anesthesia and fix them up. It really came as a shocker!!

Slowly, his eating habits came down to zero...thanks to Pediasure! He used to at least snack on something and now he wouldnt want anything. Soon things started changing.....how it started? check out the second part ...

Also , Check Out -

The Magic Drink - Pediasure : Part 2

The Magic Drink Pediasure : Epilogue

Other Posts you might be interested in :

Toddlers / Baby : Bottle to Sippy Cup Transition

Toddlers : How I Stopped her Night time Milk Routine