Let there be light...

Three weeks ago, I had reached out to many of you to help support a cause that is close to my heart - educating a girl child. I had started out with a goal of contributing $400 towards the educational expenses of girls in India by holding a bake sale. 

With over two dozen families and friends raising their hands to support followed by a weekend of some intense baking, packaging and distribution of over 400 cookies, I am absolutely elated to share with you that we have collectively pooled in ~$1500 towards this cause.

I am even more pumped to share that my employer United Health Group is matching the donated amount and we have therefore been able to double the numbers and donate ~$3000! 

After extensive research on several organizations, the organization that I have chosen to support this time is https://www.nanhikali.org/ - an organization that supports school education for underprivileged girls in India. 

Through our combined efforts, we will be sponsoring the secondary education of 35 Nanhi Kalis (literal translation: little/young bud), for a year! 

I can't say thank you enough for all of your support - Thank you to N for all the meticulous packaging and to Amma & Appa for taking care of the kids so I could give my best! A BIG THANKS to each and every one of you that not only supported monetarily but also reached out to ask if I needed any other help! 

In the words of Desmond Tutu, "Do your little bit of good where you are; It's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." 

Thank you for helping me do my little bit of good! Happy Diwali!

Fall festivities and an important cause - join me!

What's not to like about Fall...The cool crisp mornings, the gorgeous foliage, air scented with falling leaves , pumpkins and mums every where, hot apple cider, kids trick or treating....The Indian festival season is in full bloom as well, kicking off with my most favorite nine days of Navarathri Golu that celebrates feminity and culminating in Diwali, reinforcing that good triumphs evil! 

This year, I am also grateful to be crossing a milestone birthday and there is no better way to appreciate what this life has given me, than to support a cause near and dear to me - empowering young girls with education, a powerful tool that no one can take away from them (as my appa and amma would say).  

To make this season more colorful and to support a worthy cause, I am holding a bake sale this October with a goal of contributing $400 towards educational expenses for a girl child.

I will be putting together cookie boxes for sale which will include (4) Raspberry and Almond shortbread thumbprints, (4) fruitcake cookies and (4) chocolate brownie cookies.

Let me know if you'd like to join me in supporting this important cause and enjoy some baked goodies along the way! :) Pay what you wish!

• Please reach out to me with your order requests by October 17th via Facebook, Texting, Email or if you see me in person over the next few days :)! 
• I am happy to deliver in person if I can or ship it to you, if you live farther away - expect to receive your cookie box(es) by October 31st! 
• Payment methods - Venmo, Cash, Zelle, ApplePay works...

For those interested, more to come on the organization that we will be supporting! 

Valley Fair - A New Experience

It was summer of 2005 and a bunch of 20 something year old grad school students pranced around the Valley Fair grounds, flaunting our dare devil attitudes by brushing off the intensity of the "Steel Venom" and cherishing the stuffed toys won from "Wack-a-mole". Fast forward 16 years, my sister-in-law's family and us decided to spend an entire day at the Valley Fair - with our two elementary school kids and two toddlers! (and a naïve 24 year old me thought that the "Steel Venom" was the most dare-devil thing I'd ever do at the Fair)!

If you kind of ignored the numerous diaper changes that we executed in all the weirdest of spots, meal times, snack times, outfit changes, the heat, making sure that we dint lose any of the four kids, and oh - the classic "throw-up-on-amma-right-before-getting-into-the-Wave Pool" incident,  I'd call the day a grand success! Not to mention, the loopy rides dint quite sit well with me 16 years later.  To whoever disagrees - Age is more than a number. 

I am not a Valley Fair expert by any means (I have a sum total of 2 experiences). Nevertheless, I thought I'd share some lessons learnt with the fellow parents so there's one less thing to worry about when you get there! Here you go:

Do's:

1. Water - Get your own refillable bottles (there're enough water stations + bottled anything is pricey and not worth spending your moolah on). Stay hydrated; it gets hot.
2. Food - Its ok to get food (meals, snacks) for your infants/toddlers. They do not allow you to pack food for adults (they screen your bags at the entrance). There are lots of options for food; but there are long lines everywhere (especially during weekends). So make sure you and your kids are decently fed before you head out so you can spend a good chunk of time before you take your meal break. For those with dietary restrictions, you have the option of storing your food in the car. Just get stamped before you step out of the park and you can re-enter. That said, we did take some snacks along and they dint get thrown out. So maybe we just got lucky?
3. The park opens at 11. However, the entrance lines for parking are quite long. It takes a good 30-40 minutes to just get inside even after google announces that you've arrived at your destination. Plan to arrive around 10:30ish so you can be one of the first ones to enter the park. That way you can hit many of the rides before the crowds start trickling/pouring in. 
4. Pack your towels, swim suits, sunscreen, sanitizers etc. Backpacks worked best for us. 
5. Might be worth getting along a zip lock bag for your phones/other electronics that you don't want to mess with at Soak city. 
6. Pack more than one swim diaper and swim outfit for your little ones - you never know.
7. Bring your strollers along for the little ones. They are allowed and they were super useful to dump stuff. (They rent them out at the grounds too - but again - not so cheap).
8. Visit Family Care Center - We did not do this and wish we had. Multiple reasons:
1. Kids get measured once and get appropriately colored wristbands that'll then allow the ride operator to say yay/nay quickly at the ride entrances.
2. Kid-Track Program - They will also document your cell phone numbers on their wrist bands as a safety precaution + more to track them in case they get lost.
3. Parent Swap program (see the "Dont" section for more details)
9. Download the App for the list of rides/layout/choosing where to go next. It was chaotic for us and we just went with the flow. But maybe we could have done a better job of tapping into this resource. It had approximate wait times (but not sure if it was accurate). Might be worth exploring.
10. They have life vests free to use for all ages. Use them if you'll feel safer at Soak city (We put these on the kids and were more at ease - specifically in the Wave Pool; they dont let you use it on the other water rides). 

Don't:

1. Wear flip-flops that do not have straps - they will not let you in on the rides. It's recommended to wear strapped floaters/water shows that you can then wear to both the regular amusement park as well as Soak city. (or you can wear shoes and switch; but you'll need to lug them around since I assume most of us would prefer not to wear soaking wet shoes and socks). 
2. Bother buying beer - It takes an hour; you can get only one drink per individual and its expensive (unless this is your idea of chilling out while the rest of the family races on to the next ride).
3. Follow the crowd. Try to get early and perhaps do the more popular/dare devil rides at the outset. Most people turn left and start with the first ride (which is what we did too...and perhaps wasn't the most prudent decision)
4. Parents with kids of various age ranges - don't try to go on all rides together/wait around. Split up so you can divide and conquer. There are rides for various age ranges and you cannot possibly go on all rides together. I read that Valley Fair offers the Parent Swap Program ("What is it? Basically one parent can take the bigger kids on a thrill ride and when they are exiting, the other parent (who was tending to the younger kids) can hop into the exit line, grab the Parent Swap slip from their partner, and go directly to the front of the line with one of the big kids AGAIN." - MinneMamaadvetures)..Wish I knew this existed...
5. Finally, don't try to do too much. There is no way you can hit 75+ rides on a single day spanning across two parks. We literally spent 3+ hours at the Wave Pool just bumming around. Could we have done more? Sure...but did we want to? Maybe not. The older kids were happy soaking in the wave pool all afternoon and us parents were ok with not having to make more decisions for the rest of the day. 

There's so much to explore - even for the little ones! So yes - 16 years later, it was certainly a different experience. A little more about the kids, a little less about the self. Tiring as hell. But then, when you see the glee on your kids' faces - it all just seems worth it! 😄