Continuing from my last post, here’s the second installment, packing for preschoolers and grade schoolers. Traveling with this age group is actually a lot easier than with the younger ones. For one thing, they can carry their own bags (yay!) and they don’t need the cumbersome items like the bottles, formula, diapers, jars and so on. Phew!

If your kids are above age 3, then all you need are a few things for your carry-on. The rest, your kids can carry themselves. If you do have a baby or toddler, then see the previous post.

Your Carry-on
Aside from my stuff (toiletries, cosmetics, extra shirt, book) here’s what I usually take for the kids:

- 1 change of clothes for each child, including underwear (plus one extra top for preschoolers)
- 1 diaper for the preschooler (only for evening or longhaul flights)
- Ziplock bag of snacks
- Small plastic cutlery for each child (no knives in the plane)
- Baby wipes, tissues, small hair brush
- Small pack of crayons, markers and 2 pens - extras in case the kids lose/fight/need extra.
- small pad of paper
- 1 book
- Bottle of water (if flying, get this after the security check)

Kids Carry-on
- 2 small toys (boys tend to go for cars/trains, girls a “Polly Pocket” type of small doll)

- 1 “lovie” like a favorite doll, stuffed toy, mini-pillow or blanket
- 2 snacks - like a small box of raisins, biscuits
- 1 book
- 1 jacket or cardigan
- Small notebook/pad/ coloring book
- crayons / pen, pencil and eraser (neatly in a case)
- Video game (like a Gameboy or DS) - Useful for long airport waits, but keep it handy for airport security.

The Kids Suitcases

- 2 outfits for each day
- 1 “smart” outfit for a party or dinner out
- 1 pair of underwear for each day
- 1 pair or shoes, smart or closed
- Sandals or slippers depending on season
- Swimsuit, goggles, water wings (if needed)
- Winter essentials if needed, like gloves, thermal undies, boots etc.
- Hat or cap
- Cardigan or sweater (depending on season) - 1 every 3 days of trip
- 2 books
- 2 extra toys per child - puzzles, small action figure or car sets, barbie etc.
- Toiletries - 2-in 1 shampoo, 1 bar dove soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hair brush

And Don’t Forget In Your Luggage!

- Small bars or pack of laundry detergent and rubber gloves
- Medical Kit - digital thermometer, first-aid supplies, medicine for both kids and adults, moisturizer, rash cream, mosquito repellent (if needed).
-More snacks, food if necessary (I take a few boxes of organic macaroni cheese if we’re going to a place with cooking facilities. Easy to just add veg for a healthy and quick meal)

Since I have three kids below 8, and given that my husband and actually enjoy taking them traveling (yes, we’re crazy), packing is something I take very seriously. Of course, unless you are Bree or Martha, you are bound to forget some things, so the best advice I can give you is START EARLY, keep the list handy in a place at home where you can tick through it as you go along.

Packing For Babies and Toddlers

Hand Carry - I suggest you purchase a bag that is the right size for you to carry, and not too bulky that it won’t be allowed in an airplane or will give you a backache for the rest of your trip. Pockets and compartments are all good, and even better if there’s is an insulated bit. Backpacks are a good choice!

The Top 14 Essentials For The Carry-On Bag

1. Snacks - “o” shaped cereal, biscuits/cracker (I like organic/low sugar kinds), cheese, fruit pieces, small cartons of juice (not for airplanes).
2. Change of clothes and a cardigan or jacket - 2 outfits
3. Disposable diapers - 3
4. Baby wipes
5. Burp cloth - handy for mopping up any mess on baby
6. Sun hat for hot weather or bonnet/cap for cold
7. Blanket - handy for naps or to lay on a floor to crawl/sit on or as a cover-up for breastfeeding.
9. Formula in container and pre-boiled water in a bottle.
10. Water in a sippy cup or bottle
11. 2 small toys/books/ teether.
12. Band-aids and antiseptic wipes/cream
13. 2 Pacifiers
14. 2 Bibs
15. Baby fork and spoon
16. 2/3 Plastic bags - to dispose diapers, for dirty clothes.

* Don’t forget any medications if your child is taking them and always keep it in the carry-on bag! Ditto with anything else your child can’t do without, like a favourite stuffed toy or “lovie”. Heaven forbid your luggage gets lost and poor teddy is never seen again!

* If going on a long haul flight/train journey, pack enough diapers and an extra outfit for an overnight stay, just in case. Most airports have drugstore/pharmacies now, but it’s still better to have your own stash of necessities.

In The Suitcase

*Some of these things depend on the age of your baby.

1. 2 outfits for every day of the trip
2. 2 pairs of shoes, 4 pairs of socks
3. Bibs
4. Summer essentials: sun hat, sunblock, swim suit or trunks, swim diapers, mosquito repellent
Or Winter essentials: warm clothes, mittens, boots, etc.
5. Toys and books (only bring favorites, new ones can be bought at destination)
6. Toiletries: Dove soap (I use it on both baby’s hair and body), baby powder, baby toothbrush, hairbrush or comb
7. Medicine Kit: antibacterial cream for wounds, small rubbing alcohol, band-aids, thermometer, nasal drops, water replacement powder, antihistamine, paracetamol, Lacticare , Cetaphil cream
8. Diapers - 3 diapers per day, plus 3
9. Formula (I buy enough for the trip, just in case I can’t get the brand we use)
10. Baby food/ snacks - I always bring a small supply of food I know he likes, just in case. Baby jars, instant oatmeal, organic macaroni cheese etc.
11. Baby monitor and universal adaptor - it can be cumbersome to pack, but I’m always glad I did.
12. DVDs - Just a few of your baby’s faves as most places have DVD machines now, even computers. Alternatively, an iPod loaded with the vids works too.
13. Ziplock/ plastic bags

*Stroller - An absolute essential! If travelling by air, don’t check it in, take it all the way to the gate. It’s also handy for hanging duty free shopping and the hand-carry bag!

*Website tip: This site does customized packing lists. Good for grownups.

“He has PNEUMONIA”. It’s a very very scary thing to hear from your pediatrician, and it is just what she told me last Friday when I took baby Wills for a check-up. The thing with being a mother-of-three is that you fancy yourself a pro, even when it comes to health matters. So when little Wills started coughing on Monday and developed a fever which continued throughout the week, I didn’t even call or text Dr. J. Yes, I gave the normal meds and used the puffer for the cough, but only when his fever still spiked after the 72 hour grace period, did I rush him to get checked.

Luckily, she’s also a pediatric pulmonary specialist, and when she listened to his chest, she immediately said “Momma! it’s not good“. I put on her stethoscope and heard some crackling noises, which apparently meant that the infection had gone to his lungs, which meant pneumonia.

Pneumonia is a frightening word to us parents, but it simply means an inflammation in the lungs and can be treated easily, at home. While it certainly isn’t a disease to take lightly, babies, toddlers and the elderly are the most susceptible to the disease, and it is particularly bad in developing countries where antibiotics and treatments aren’t readily available.

How did he get such a nasty bug? Who knows? Nat probably brought it back from big school and did have a mild cough for a few days. But what was important was that Dr.J said that it wasn’t too bad a case (no need for an x-ray or worse, confinement at the hospital), and she was sure he’s be fine in a week if he started taking antibiotics today.

Now, just three days since taking his first dose of clarithromycin, he’s almost back to his useful sunny self. The bad news? I think Mom’s caught it.

I love traveling with my kids. Some parents shirk at the thought of it - and with good reason considering the amount of gear (snacks, toys, diapers, medicine, extra clothes, bottles, strollers etc) you have to take along for the journey, not to mention the pressing need for child-friendly accommodation, food and activities at the destination. But call us crazy, because since they were very little, my husband and I have taken our kids everywhere, from the Costa Brava to Bali, where we went last year when little Wills was just 5 months-old. Ok, so we have a LOT of luggage, and are lucky if we get any rest on the plane/train/car, but what we do have are great memories for the entire family.

Admittedly, with three children now, it’s not easy as it was when we just had Nat. It was a breeze with her alone (Paris), and not too bad either when Ollie came along and we took them both to Koh Samui. But now with Wills a toddler, things have gotten more challenging. Take our widely anticipated trip to Disneyland in February to celebrate Nat and Ollie’s birthday. In a terrible twist of fate, a week before the trip, I got a letter from Nat’s school, saying there was an epidemic of gastro going around the school. The next day, she promptly had the worse case of gastroenteritis she ever had, and although she got better just in time for the trip, both boys had caught it just as we left. Which meant an extra stroller, re-hydration drinks, extra sets of clothes and lots and lots of diapers. Not a big deal compared to the tears we had to deal with when they couldn’t have the creamy Mickey-shaped ice cream or french fries at Disneyland. But in spite of all that, the kids never remember the bad bits (like when our flight was cancelled on Boracay island and we had to spend the night in a really really dreadful hotel), and get very excited when we tell them we are planning our next trip.

In two weeks, we are going on our next family holiday to visit my husband’s elderly Father in Sri Lanka. He moved to the picturesque town on Galle in the South (far away from the war, thank goodness). He’s a great man, eccentric and full of amazing stories, but does not have the most child-friendly set-up - so it should be interesting!

Next- my top packing lists!

I hate to admit it, but I have never been one of those Moms who were adept at budgeting. I have 3 kids, a husband who works from home (and eats all meals at home too), 4 dogs, 3 cats and 2 turtles to feed, plus I host twice weekly playgroups (picture 5 or more hungry kids!), so you can understand that a huge chunk of our monthly expenditures goes on groceries. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a pretty conscientious shopper. I read labels, check prices and compare for the best value, but yes, I do buy some weekly treats for us all - like special organic snacks for the kids, fancy European soda for hubby and that new body lotion for me, but I do keep it to a minimum.

Well, when I saw this article on “The Challenge: Feed a Family on $100 a Week”, I was intrigued, and slightly nauseated that she actually pulled it off while I spend at least three times that (hey, she only had two kids- one of which was a 5-month old, who we know wont be saying “I’m hungry, Mom!!” all the time).

With the state of the world these days, I thought it was time I did try a little (okay, a lot) harder to cut down my hefty grocery bill and hopefully save some money. That, coupled with the fact that I have recently become a huge fan of Suze Orman and am now reading her book, Women and Money, which I find amazingly liberating (but that’s for a another post).

While I’m no budgeting guru, I’ve found a few, like frugal Mom Michelle Jones, who has been doing it successfully for 20 years, “with or without coupons”. I’m more inclined, though, to start off with some of these solid, basic tips from The Consumerist:

1. Make a list and stick to it. Lists focus your shopping and are the single best way to save money.

2. Compare unit pricing, not box size. As with good things, good prices sometimes come in small packages.

3. If you only need a handful of items, use a basket, not a cart. Empty space cries to be filled.

4. If it’s not on your list, don’t pick it up. According to Paco Underhill in Why We Buy: “Virtually all unplanned purchases…come as a result of the shopper seeing, touching, smelling, or tasting something that promises pleasure, if not total fulfillment.”

5. Shop at the edge of the store. That’s where the healthier, cheaper items hide.

6. Disavow brand loyalty and swear allegiance to the lowest price.

7. Consider generics. You usually get the same quality, without the unnecessary branding.

8. Learn to love coupons. With practice, you can buy almost $150 worth of stuff for $5.

9. Make one big shop, rather than several small ones. You’ll save on gas while inoculating against wasteful spending.

10. Buy from bulk bins. Why pay for packaging and marketing when you can reach right in and scoop out exactly what you need?

11. Check your receipt. Don’t let an errant scan ruin your hard work.

12. Shop alone. Science shows that we spend more when we’re with company.

13. Track your spending so you can see what’s eating your money. Committed receipt hawks can spot price cycles to help guide their shopping.

14. Eat a meal before shopping. Shopping on a full stomach tamps down impulse spending and keeps you focused on your list.

15. Shop without a car. Nothing limits spending like knowing you’ll have to carry your goods home.

Last night I was putting the kids to bed, and while I was tucking Ollie into the bottom bunk, Nat started swinging from the bunk’s ladder, saying “Mom! Look at all the ways I can get down”, proceeding to swing to the floor from different directions.

As I kissed my 4-year-old goodnight and tried to listen to something he was saying about a Super Mario game, I found myself saying “NAT!! Get down from there” “NAT! That’s really dangerous!” and “NAT! Stop that right now!”. THEN I heard a loud thud. I looked and Nat had fallen and whacked the back of her head on the floor. She was crying hard, saying “I’m so sorry Mom!” and I rushed to her side, feeling both angry and concerned. Why oh why don’t they just listen???

A goose egg appeared almost immediately, which I applied an ice pack on and I gave her paracetamol to deal with the pain. The fact that she cried loudly, spoke and did not lose consciousness or vomit, were signs that it wasn’t a serious head injury, but still, it was scary and worrying (she slept in our room last night, just to be sure). Especially after the recent tragedy with Natasha Richardson, who we were all very fond of :-(.

I did some research after she went to bed, and was relieved to find out that most bumps to the back and front of the head are not likely to cause serious injury, as opposed to in the sides of the head. Here’s an interesting article I found on children’s head injuries, using case studies to help you understand better. It is such a common yet possibly dangerous occurrence with kids that I think every parent should at least be aware of the basics.

Happy Earth Day 2009! One of the best things you can do to Save the Earth is to educate your kids about the environment and sustainability - making it a fun process that they can carry through for the rest of their lives.

Luckily, most “big” schools now teach kids about the environment, about recycling and even organic farming, so helping kids in grade school or older is easier than ever before. My daughter’s 1st grade class, for instance, visited an organic farm for their field trip last year and they saw how lettuce was looked after and harvested naturally. She knows not to leave the tap running when she brushes her teeth or washes her hands (I hear her scold her little brother that he’s “wasting!” water), turns off lights when nobody is using them, and talks to me excitedly about what it means to recycle.

For preschoolers, it’s a little more challenging. I have been trying to teach my 4-year-old some of the basic principles I taught my daughter, but I just get a sort of “bored” look most of the time. So my project, beginning this Earth Day, is to get my son more involved with some hands-on work. I found some great ideas online, like on iVillage, for instance, they have a useful article about how you can “Go Green at Any Age”. For preschoolers, they suggest things like this:

Teach your preschooler how to help pick out ripe seasonal fruit and vegetables for their snacks and meals. Show them that when they have finished their fruit and vegetables, there are parts that can be composted. Involve your children in composting your food scraps, coffee grounds, etc. Get them used to seeing that food waste is not garbage but rather something that can be turned into soil to grow more food.

Another site I like is Funschool, which has a lot of fun games and activities I know will appeal to my computer-loving little boy.

And lastly, for baby Wills, I’ll be dressing him in organic or sustainable clothing today (and as much as my bank account can afford!) but more often than not, I’ll be doing this: let him use his big sister and brother’s old clothes, shoes and toys. That’s recycling for you!

I get newsletters from a lot of places, and admittedly I mostly just skim through them, only really clicking through if I find something especially interesting - like the other day! In my Fisher Price newsletter was a link to their 50th Anniversary toys, toys from my childhood.

If you grew up with Fisher Price toys like I did, I urge you to visit this page, I honestly got incredibly excited remembering the beloved toys my sister and I once played with for many happy hours. One thing I wasn’t aware of was how the “Little People” toys of today evolved from the ones we played with in the 70’s. My kids have the Christmas sets, which they love playing with, but the characters just don’t have the same appeal. They look too much like cartoons in my opinion (which I admit is completely biased!).

The first “house” I had was this yellow house you see above. I still have it in storage in my Mom’s house but sadly it’s pretty war torn with the pieces all disappeared - boo hoo. Fisher Price now has a “50th Birthday” version, which is just a few “retro” figures in a tin which vaguely looks like the original. A poor substitute, I think! They could have at least made replicas of the original people.

Other favourites which tug at my childhood heartstrings are the Sesame Street “street”, pictured at the top of the post and the airport just above. I could go on, and go the extra mile by actually purchasing these toys on Ebay (tempting, if it weren’t for the exorbitant prices), but for now I’ll just have to be content to look wistfully at these online photos.
For more memory tripping, check out this 1977 Fisher Price catalog, which I think is meant to be a bit of a joke, but for a seventies kid like me, is another lovely walk done memory lane.

We just got back from a perfect beach holiday over the Easter break. Well, it was nearly perfect as holidays-with-kids go if I don’t count:

1. Squabbling between my 4 and 7 year old over so many things I can’t remember anymore.
2. My accident prone 4 year-old’s scraped and bleeding big toes - where he scraped it, we have no idea.
3. 1-year-old Wills getting cut on the lip a grand total of 3 times. He learned to love ice and I found a “cool” way to distract him for a while on the high chair (pardon the pun) - a cube of ice!
4. Our “Marley-esque” Basset hound Wendy going on a destructive spree and chewing 3 bedspreads and a chair, not no mention several toys and my husband’s favourite sandals.

But that aside, my husband and I both agreed that it was one of the most relaxing and lovely holidays we’ve ever had. The kids were outside most of the day, swimming and playing - happily NOT on the DS, Wii, Gameboy or logged on to Nick jr.. Dad had real quality time with them as did I, and we had several family games (amazingly no cheating occurred) of Star Wars Monopoly, Guess Who and The Game of Life, Moms fave which, to my disappointment was too long for my kids (for now). They loved Guess Who, another one of my sister and my favourites. We discovered it on holiday in Paris when we were kids, and I think it was called “Qui est-ce?”. Gosh, how we loved that game, and I think the French did too. Here’s a hilarious video I found of the “Guess Who International Tournament”.

Little Wills is now 14 months (where does time go?) and toddles about the house like the full-fledged toddler he is. With his cherubic golden curls, sunny personality (he screams with delight when he gets excited) and amusing “toughness” (if you take the object of his fascination away he gets angry!), he’s a joy to have around and wherever he goes people can’t help but smile.

It’s his 2nd Easter now, the last one he was a newborn and hardly noticed, but this year his eyes (and hands) are darting around the house, mostly at the Easter decorations that we just put up yesterday. As we are a family big on holidays (it makes life more enjoyable), we have 4 Fun Easter Activities lined up for some quality time with the children.

1. Bake an Easter Bunny Cake - This recipe from Betty Crocker is the cutest and will get the kids excited and hopping around like bunnies for sure. It uses a cake mix and ready-made-frosting so it suits Moms who don’t have the time. If I’m feeling energetic by Saturday, I’ll do it from scratch - time consuming, but a much healthier option!

2. Decorate Easter Eggs - I don’t like waste, so if I’m doing the fragile kind where you poke a hole and let it drain out (will try it with my 4-year-old this year, here’s hoping none get cracked), I must use the eggs by making a big fritatta or quiche. I haven’t tried using boiled eggs just because after a few days - won’t they go off? And even if they don’t, the paint used on the shells can’t be good, can it? Here’s a good method and some ideas for egg decorating day.

3. Make an Easter Bucket - Martha teaches you how to do this, and it has a nice modern take on the trad baskets. You can use her templates or just cut out your own. I also love how sensible Martha says this can be used at the beach this summer after the Easter hols! Check out the video here.

4. Make Easter Printables - This is the easy and effective one, so simple that even Dad can do it! :-). My kids love mazes so it’s a nice activity to keep them busy for a few minutes, and the coloring pages double up at decorative pics you can put up on the fridge, the playroom, etc. for an extra Easter feel.