Madness leading upto vacation!

I have just under a week before heading off on our annual India vacation - and as usual - nothing is done! There is something about me and last minute madness! Why, why do I leave everything to the last minute!!!


There is so much to do - that I can't think straight ! I actually miss those days, before my daughter was born , when packing was so incredibly simple! Just throw in everything into the suitcase! Its all changed now. Now, just as I was heaving a sigh of relief that my daughter is now completely toilet trained - I don't have to worry about diapers - a friend of mine reminded me that they could get a tummy upset - so back to square one!

And husband and I , being very smart , for some weird reason, did not shop for chocolates, during the Christmas season - when there was a whole load of variety - now when I scan the supermarket shelves - I get hardly anything.. All I get to see is Cadbury's of which we get better variety in India - unless I pick up Easter eggs- which by the way, are already on the shelves!

One of the biggest problems. I face is trying to figure out gifts.. I hardly find anything that we don't get in India these days... Clothes - check, toys - check, cosmetics - check.... Do you think, it would make better sense to just buy gifts in India - instead of carting along stuff from here?

This time, thankfully, daughter is over 2 yrs old - so she gets her own seat - I am so glad of that I plan to sleep my way through the flight.. I remember those days, before she was born, when I always carried books to read on the flight- these days - all the reading that I will be doing is 'goldibocks'(Goldilocks - to the rest of us).

In addition to all the packing,shopping - I have to somehow, get my daughter to forget the word 'Chicken'.. This has become her favourite food - though we don't cook it at home, she's had it just a couple of times, when we've been out.. BUT that's what she wants the whole time! So I have to trick her with soya chunks to get her to eat her food. Now, all that would have been fine - had it not been for the fact that my in-laws are very strict about not eating non-veg.. And madam, even if I ask her, what she wants for breakfast - pat comes the answer - 'Chicken' ! Someone please tell me , how, how do I get that word out of her head!!!

The only thing that keeps me going is the thought.. 'This time next week I'll be..., This time next to next week, I'll be.... ':) And by the way, I am having long, long vacation too - 7 weeks :) These are the good parts of not working and a child not yet in school :)