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!!

The Wonderland - A Kingdom for kids

Location : Lancester, PA

We made the trip in the month of August. The park opens at around 10am and has ample of parking space. Plus the parking is free. Eatables are not allowed inside the park. But there is a small seating area , a pavilion ... close to the parking space where you can eat and go. They allowed us to take a few snacks and juice...but sandwiches / lunch items are strictly prohibited.

The Castle entrance into the Wonderland is a highlight, ..the first thing you would notice and a perfect spot to take a quick picture.. The price of the tickets...so reasonable. $30 per ticket and kids under 2 is free. And soon you will discover how reasonable the ticket price is and how totally worth the trip is :-)

You can rent out strollers inside the park. We took a double stroller for $10.

From the time we stepped into the park, we were surrounded by lot of lil kids, colorful rides and could hear fun , giggles and laugher all around. My kids were so excited, they got on every ride.

The following are some of the things the 4 n half yr brother and his 3 yr old sis really loved -

* The train - that gives a quick tour around the park

* The Merry-go-round

* Fun Slide

* The Turnpike

* Dukes Dozers

* Sky Ride

* Monster Trucks

* Whip It

* Space Shuttle

* Boat ride

* Kingdom Coaster

* Bumper cars

* Crazy Plane

* Frog Hopper

But there is one thing... there are huge lines in front of each ride. You have to wait awhile for your turn. Some take a little longer. This kinda waiting can tired little kids, most importantly. So be sure to come equipped with water and some snacks.

And don't forget a hat and a pair of sun glasses for the kids and for yourself... because sometime the waiting line gets extended under the sun.

The big show that we highly recommend to anyone going to Dutch Wonderland is "The Adventures of the Frog Prince". This is a a high-dive water show that is not only entertaining in theatrics but stunning in the sport of diving and especially high-diving.

Make sure you are aware of the splash zone! and if u don't get wet, the performers make sure u do :-) Its a Musical story about a Princess and her 3 suitors who are frogs. The Acrobatic performances are simply awesome.

Food, Water, ice creams are available in the park. The prices are reasonable too. There are small seating areas where u can sit and eat. Restrooms are clean and equipped with diaper changi

ng stations.

If you love water parks...there is one here too. Its called - Duke's Lagoon. The place is very much a kids water kingdom with plenty of playground structures complete with water sprayers, water geysers and huge bucket dumps that will keep the kids running around. The good part is - flooring of the water playground area is a rubber matting material that

is not only serves as padding but reduces the potential to slip.

The Lagoon has a bigger play area for older kids , a small one with mini slides .. for infants and little kids and giant water slides for people of all ages to enjoy! So be sure to get some swim wear for yourself and the kids. We loved hopping around in water. But its terrible crowded and you are lucky if u can find a spot.

Another notable is the The Royal Rompers; a roving horn band that plays tunes and involves their audience in games and fun. They were very animated and entertaining .. played very well. Most of them are kids favorite songs comprising of Eeya eeya oo and itsy bitsy spider...etc. We had fun listening to their tunes :-)

We ended our trip by taking a walk across the bridge on the other end of the park. A place with gardens, fountains and wonderful scenic view.. called "The Island". A best way to sit back and relax a calm cruise ride around the gardens.

Although the Park is apt for kids of all ages, I highly recommend it for families with younger kids ... who usually miss out on rides in regular amusement parks. There are few rides the older kids enjoy too. Some rides need a Parent to accompany the kids. The rides are very age appropriate and my kids are already looking forward to another day @ the park :-)

Our Choo-Choo Train Ride

Location : Ronks , PA

We discovered the place through a friend. My 4-n-half yr son loves trains and we wanted to take him on a coal-burning steam engine train just like in his story books.

We took the train ride on a mid day - Sunday. The weather was nice. The place is about an hour n half ride from Philly. There is a train every

one hour starting 10 AM in the morning till 7 PM. So you can be sure you won't miss the train here :-)

There is ample of parking space once you make the turn into the station. My first impression about the Station was - "Wow!!" It almost feels like a small town. Very neat and maintained well. There is ice cream, a small cafe, gift shop and some fun things to do while waiting for the train. Tickets are reasonably priced. They accept credit cards too. We chose a "Open Car" since it was warm , sunny & breezy that day.

We were there a little early and had lot of time for our train after we purchased the tickets.Right across the road is

Strasburg Rail Road Railroad Museum of PA. Anoth

er must-see place!! The entry ticket is $10. The place has huge engines and trains from old times. Nah...am not talking about miniatures/exhibits .. am talking about the real deal!! Huge trains and Engines of all kinds. If you are a train Lover .. you should visit this. The place is well-maintained. A Great Place to learn lot about trains - dining cars, freezer cars, sleeping cars etc. A walk through the History!!

The Museum also has a small Play area for kids with lot of toy trains...the kids can operate with a remote control. We spent a lot of time there.

Soon it was time for us to go on the Ch00-Choo train .. we were waiting for. We purchased ice-cream and popcorn before we went on

board. The train started with a whistle and the ride was amid Amish farms and houses. The ride is about 30 minutes and the train also stops at a picnic place for anybody who wants to get down and resumes its journey. This picnic place has wooden tables and chairs...but there is no food available. You have to get your own food. Since there is a train every other hour, you can always board a train thats going back towards the station.

Although the ride seems short, the Picturesque of the farms and houses on the either side make it a pleasant experience. There is a Guide on the train who talks about the various things to look out for...including a "Ghost train" :-)

You can spot Amish villagers in their horse carts every now and then .. all around the station. Wave your hand and they wave back :-)

If you happen to forget a camera, there is a photographer on board.. who can take one for the whole family. In spite of having a camera, we had our picture taken. (One small suggestion - Please choose wallet size picture if you happen to take a picture with the photographer. The picture on the computer looked good .. but the quality was bad when the final thing came out. so watch out!! )

Overall a day well spent. A little something for everyone.

You can get more info here :

Railroad - www.strasburgrailroad.com/

Muesum - http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/

Review : The Princess and the Frog

I have kids 4 and 2 who love Dora, Diego and Caillou on TV. They loved Nemo. Basically they are fans of animation , music and dance.

We went to the movie on a weekday and surprised to find only us in the theater. It was my son's birthday and we thought it would be fun. Me and my husband got bored halfway through it. The "Frog" part of the movie was bit more than expected. That kinda went overboard! I thought there would be magic , princess etc... but only for a little while. The story was OK.

I didn't like the movie at all. I usually enjoy all these fairy tale kinda movies...with adventure , action, magic and fantasy. I had a huge collection of video tapes when I was a kid. But this movie didn't appeal to me at all! It was such a bore and waste of money. Its a good idea to rent it out rather than going to a theater.

On the other hand, my kids were glued to their seats though and seemed to enjoy it. My 2 yr old daughter munched on popcorn all along and was quiet .. something that's very rare :-)

Over all I would rate it 3 stars outta 5.

How I Stopped Milk at Night for my Toddler : Part 2

Ok... I have to be honest here! I did give her the sippy cup back at night after an almost successful attempt taking it off. The reason being - she was sick sometime back and totally gave up on eating. The only time she wanted was Milk at night. So I decided to give it back to her. After she recovered, she continued drinking and the habit came back to her :-)

My daughter is 2 yrs old now.

Couple of weeks ago, I had to start it all over again. This time I did not use the water technique. I just stopped offering the milk @ nite. She usually drinks a Sippy cup full of milk just before going to bed. But whenever she woke up for more milk, I simply patted her back to sleep. I was surprised, she slept alright. When she woke up again ... I did the same thing, gently patted her back to sleep. The next time she woke up was around 7 AM.

This has been working well. So for dinners I try to feed her sometimes if I feel she hasn't eaten enough .. just so that she is not too hungry. She still drinks some milk before sleeping and that I am planning to continue for some more time. Mornings she doesn't drink any milk at all.

So as soon as she gets up she is all cranked up and hungry. She insists to be fed right away. But she is getting used to the idea of brushing her teeth and having break fast.

Now something happened here. My daughter usually sleeps in a crib , beside our bed. During my attempt to make her sleep back...I started sharing either my bed with her or sleeping along with her in the next room. A few days back...she started throwing tantrums when I tried to put her back in her crib and pat her while she sleeps in it. She dislikes the idea of sleeping in the crib now. She is getting better with not drinking milk at night ... but wakes up at her designated times and insists on sleeping with me now and not her crib !! Right now I am still working on that :-)

This might interest you:

How I stopped Milk at night : Part 1

Look for these Lollipops ...

...in your local pharmacy!

A little something that would not only help the sore throat to get better, its fun for kids too!! My son and daughter loved it.

When is it the right time?

... The right time to take your kids to movies.

Experience with my son: My 4-year old boy .. I should say is adjusted to a theater/auditorium and the fact it goes dark as soon as the movie/event begins. He can stay put till the end .. happy and quiet. He was like this since he was 3 and half years. Initially, we only experimented with events like Circus, magic shows, puppet shows etc...which lasted an hour or less. His reaction to them was fun, nice and happy. Once we realized that , we were motivated to take him to Movies. Till now its all good!

Experience with my daughter : She went to a Circus when she was around 18 months old. But let me tell you... the experience was not very pleasant. The show started off with huge music and it got her attention. But it was not before long she started getting restless and was either kicking the seats in the front or trying to break-free. The worst thing was .. she didn't have a seat of her own and that made her restless. Of course I don't think she would have sat anyway. We usually keep lot of snacks handy.. and we had to keep her mouth busy. Now that she is a little over 2 yrs..that trick sometimes works. But for younger kids.. its better for the parents to be prepared to take chances .. to get up and take them out or stand near the door.

The best age : Personally, I would say 2-n-half to 3 yrs or older would be a perfect time to start.

Tips for Parents:

1. Stick to animated movies or cartoons for starters. If they have some favorite thing on TV, observe how long can they stay focused.

2. Start with small shows. May be a 15-30 minute lasting puppet shows, magic shows etc. Its important to get them get used to a dark auditorium or theater.

3. Prepare him/her up with what to expect .. a few hours/days before the show. That way they are looking forward to it and is enthusiastic. Its important to talk to the child and prepare him to what to expect. May be show a few trailers of the movie OR if anything that is close to the show theme you are planning to take him to. There are several videos on youtube.

4. Plan ahead while choosing the show timings. My kids are in their best behavior soon after their break-fast and after a lunch+ nap + snack time in the evening. Make sure they get plenty of rest and not hungry before the show.

5. Dress them up in layers. Most of the time, auditoriums/theaters especially become chilly once the show starts. If its a outdoor location .. come prepared with hats /sun glasses etc.

6. Once inside the theater, change the diapers or make the kids use the rest room if necessary.

7. Arrive early while the lights are still on and when it is not very crowded. Find your seat and get comfortable.

8. Always look for Center corner seats which are close to the exit.

9. Have a lot of snacks handy. Something that can be eaten easily with not a lot of mess. You personally want to enjoy the show as well and not spend time looking for snacks or trying to remove hard sticky wrappers or wipe off juicy/greasy stuff with little or no light around.

10. Best bet is having milk / juice / water in a sippy cup or bottle..whichever your kid is used to.. handy.

11. Do not offer any toys that would make noise or flash lights... it would be disturbing for everybody.

12. Have a clean wipe ready at all times.

13. Be prepared to wait till everybody leaves and then leave with the kids. Check for your belongings before u leave the place.