traveling with children prt 2: Plane tickets

Start Early and think ahead (about booking flights)

If you are like us, you want to find the best deals you can on travel, whether it's flights, cars, or hotels.  The best thing is to start as early as possible.

 I am on the mailing list for the major airlines we use to fly internationally.  This way, I find out when they are running specials, so if an amazing deal comes up, even if my trip is 4-5 months away, I can go ahead and get the tickets.  If something like that doesn't come available. then I start really looking to purchase tickets around 90 days before our trip.   I use some of the sites bigger, multi comparison sites like expedia, orbits, jet abroad, and a few others and I also go to individual airlines webpages and compare prices there.  Most times you can find cheaper deals online than you can by calling, but it doesn't hurt to call either.

Try if you can to be a bit flexible with your days, sometimes just moving your trip forward or back a couple of days can equal big savings.  In our latest search just shifting our trip forward one day and back 2 saved us over $1500, so play around a bit and compare.

Some things you might want to consider when you are traveling with children and looking at different flight options.  

1-What time will the flights occur: Are they overnight flights? Are they during nap times or peak wake times? How many layovers? How long are the layovers?  Are their options in layover cities?  

The answers you will be looking for will vary with your family and with whether you are doing an international flight or just cross country.

-Overnight flights vs day time flights--we have done both of these and each has it's own benefit.  Over night flights can be great with smaller children. Since these longer flights occur during their usual sleep time, it means they will rest a bit better and more.  This typically means we, the adults, can get a bit more sleep. This trip home we opted for the shortest travel time possible which has us doing our longest flight during peak wake times.  We have done this before and even though the children slept less during the flights, we seemed to adjust to the 12 hour time difference fast since we were so exhausted when we arrived.  Which ever way you choose, it's a long slog and you are going to be tired.  

-How many layovers--Let's face it if you are traveling around the world there will be layovers, but if you are flying within the same country, or even one within around 10 hours or so, you can usually find flights without them.
 Layovers can be good and bad, they are transition times which means getting all your stuff together and moving it and children around which is a bit of work, especially if you made the mistake of not keeping to the minimum we'll discuss later.
As a couple we have decided that for us it is worth the extra $50 dollars or a bit more to fly direct instead of having layovers wherever possible.  This cuts down on travel time and transitions from one plane to the next and also the taking off and landings which can be hard on the kids ears.(Tips to help with that coming in a later post on "On the Plane")
When a layover is inevitable, embrace it.  I love airports, I love the little shops, food outlets, all the people going different places, the fact that I am going someplace, and getting to watch people and how others travel.  It also means getting a chance to move around and expend some energy.  Bring along a ball or something the kids can chase around in an area that's not being used, do stretches together, play I spy, teach them to enjoy it.  

-Also for longer layovers (we have had as long as 15 hours in one place, research a bit about the airport.)  Find out does it have an area to take a shower?  Does it have rooms you can rent to sleep for a while (many international airports do--I found this GREAT when I flew with Matilda on my own when she was only one.  I rented a room with a single bed and that way we could both have a nap in an inclosed area, take showers, and freshen up for only about $8 on hour) Does the airport have a kids area (this is becoming more common in international airports)? How easy is it to get to the nearest city to do a bit of sightseeing (for ex. SanFrancisco's rail system goes from the airport to downtown for very cheap and you can check all your carry-ons at a luggage counter right near the rail so for long layovers it very easy to go spend a couple hours in the city walking around and getting some great clam chowder in sour dough bread bowls)  It's all about doing a little internet work before you go but can make the layovers much more enjoyable!

In our next traveling post we will be looking at tips for on the plane.  

Ok Enough about choosing tickets, what tips do you try when booking trips?  

Traveling with children

This is a throw back to a former post, but since we are once again making a trek back to the US, I thought I would resurrect the blog with it.

Traveling with children.  . .

Those words, whether they excite you or send a shudder down your spine, are something that all of us with kids (at least those of us who live far from our families) have to think about. 

I am writing this post because in 6 weeks we leave for another trip back to the US to see our families.

I will begin by saying that my husband and I both love to travel. We love seeing new places, getting to enjoy new experiences, trying new food, and witnessing different cultures, all of which are things we want to pass on to our children. 

 It has added so much to our joy getting to be with them and seeing them experience different parts of the world.  However, it can still be difficult traveling with small children. 

Living in Australia, and not just Australia, but Western Australia (as my mom will tell you the furthest spot away we could possibly move and still be on dry land),  has given us ample opportunities to hone in our travel skills.  For us to travel back to see our families, we have to fly across Australia (5 hours plane ride), across the Pacific Ocean (13 hours plane ride), then across the US (another 5 hour plane ride) and that is just the flying time and doesn't take into account and of the layovers along the way.

 By the time we reach home, we’ve usually spent around 30 hours of travel time, have flown halfway around the world, lost a day in there somewhere, and to put it nicely are looking a bit haggard. 

This will be my fifth trip back to the states since we have moved here to Australia. We have also traveled to various destinations in Australia, Paris, Bali, and various other destinations with our small children.

We are blessed with 2 tried and tested pretty amazing travel kids, currently 5 1/2 and 3 ½ and this trip we will add for the first time our 3rd who will be 7 months old.   As amazing as the two older kiddos are they can still be handfuls, and still bring a whole extra level of craziness to travel. I will not deny that there have been moments where I have wanted to hide behind a pillar and deny they are mine, and moments where I would give anything for them to go to sleep so I can, but we have found that it’s worth the hard parts for the joy it brings. And let's face it, we can't just leave them here :)

So how do we cope? 

Over the next few weeks as we prepare for our journey, I’ll be writing some of the tips we use for traveling.  I'll look at how and when we go about booking flights, tips for getting ready, things we plan for the plane ride,  how we go about adjusting to jet lag,  and tips on traveling around different cities.  These are just suggestions and the ultimate thing is to be flexible and do what works with your family.

Please share any and all of your tips you have for traveling here as we can always use advice :)  

A sweet tooth

I love desserts. Let's say that again I LOVE DESSERTS!!!!  I love seeing them, smelling them, cooking them, and of course eating them.  There isn't much that beats a nice warm gooey chocolate dessert on a cold evening, though I have to admit I am as big of a fan of fruit desserts as I am of chocolate.  If I'm honest, there are very few desserts that I'm not a fan of, I think I draw the line at flan/custard like desserts (it's a texture thing, I know I'm weird) but usually I'll even give them a go just to see.  I try to refrain from making desserts except when we are having company or going to someone else's home or else I would eat the whole thing.  I had just the excuse the other night and was definitely in the mood for chocolate, something warm, rich, nutty and scrumptious.

(note: I'm terrible at remembering to take pictures of the things I make, it's on the list of ways to improve)

So I made for the first time:

Ooeey Gooey Caramel Brownies

• 1 box (18.5 Ounce) German Chocolate Cake Mix (I Used Duncan Hines) you can use Devils Food cake this will just give you a richer sweeter flavour 
• 1 cup Finely Chopped Pecans (toasted beforehand is best)
• 1/3 cup Evaporated Milk 
• 1/2 cup Evaporated Milk (additional) or you can use heavy cream
• 1/2 cup Butter, Melted
• 60 whole Caramels, Unwrapped (if you can't find these you can used the tinned caramel filling or make your own caramel)
• 1/3 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips or dark chocolate (i usually lean for dark chic myself)
• 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar (optional i actually left this off and just ate it with ice cream.  

Mix the cake mix, nuts, 1/3 c evap milk (or cream if you are using that) together, will be a thick mixture.

-spray a 9 in springform pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with baking paper

-push half of cake mixture into bottom and bake on 150 degrees Celsius or 350 F for 8 min

-if cooking down caramels combine them and cream and double boiler until melted then pour over cooked cake, then cover with choc chips

-flatten out the rest of cake mix and cover top (i just did it in small pieces and patted it out

-bake another 20 minutes

-remove and let cool

-serve with a good vanilla bean ice cream

Go Make some now, you will not be disappointed, they are delicious, even left over they are awesome!!!!  

Warm deliciousness (aka Curry)

Last night I had my first experience with making an Indian curry.  I'll be the first to admit here that up until recently I wasn't a huge fan of Indian curries, or more like my stomach wasn't, but lately I have found a new love for them.  Last night we had a study with some friends and decided to all share a meal  together, you know one of those awesome meals where everyone contributes so you only have to cook one things but get to try several different ones. Our hostess decided it would be curries, which worked out perfectly because I have had a hankering lately to try my hand at one.

I can only begin to describe the deliciousness that greets you when you are cooking with all the wonderful spices that go into the curries.  On a cold rainy night (which is what it was last night)  the house just smelled so warm and inviting, talk about comfort food.  I have discovered Indian food works well with groups too because it can easily be made vegetarian or gluten free, hot or mild, whichever way you choose it is rich and warm and filling.

My experiment was a Chicken Korma and Naan, and I must say they turned out delicious.

I made the curry in the crockpot because I had a lot on yesterday and also was taking it over to someone else's home so thought it would travel better (another good thing about curries is that you can do them this way and they are just as good). You could also cook it in a large skillet at dinner, whichever is easiest, but as I did it in the crockpot that is how I'll write about it.


Chicken Korma ( I adapted this recipe from one of Jamie Oliver's from Ministry of food cookbooks)

1-2 lb of chicken diced
1 pkg slivered almonds (about 1/2 c)
1/2 butternut pumpkin (squash)  cut into large cubes
either 2 pkgs of korma mix (pre made) or 2 tbsp Korma paste (recipe to follow later) and I can of coconut milk
1/4 c water

plain yogurt
fresh cilantro (Coriander leaves) diced


-If you are doing it in the crockpot just throw it all in together and stir occasionally, I also only cooked it 3 hours on high, but if you wanted to leave it longer I would cook it on low and add a bit more water.
(if you are doing it in a skillet first cook your chicken and your pumpkin (same time or separate, then add in you curry sauce and slivered almonds and allow to simmer for about 10-20 minutes)
-Serve with saffron rice or brown rice and a big dollop of plain yogurt



Naan
2 cups whole meal flour or you can use chickpea flour
about 1/4 c luke warm water (add a TBSP at a time, may need more)
1 tsp salt

-mix flour and salt
-add in water until forms a smooth dough
-leave in warm spot for 10 minutes
-roll into 6 small balls
-use rolling pin and roll out flat
-heat TBSP of oil in skillet and cook 1-2 minutes per side
-serve immediately



We are repeating curries again the next time we meet in two week so I'll be experimenting once again. I'll let you know how it goes.  Now go try a curry :)

What's cooking at our house. . .

Lunch:
As it's getting to be cooler here (remember I'm in Australia so for you Americans are seasons are reversed) I like to do a big pot of soup at the beginning of the week and then eat on it for lunch every day.  I feel like it's a good way to have something warm and healthy each day, plus it's a great way to get those extra veggies in.

This weeks soup is the standard Vegetable, and while I like it, it's not the hubbies favourite.
Veggie Soup

1 lb or so of some sort of protein (sometimes I use mince aka ground chicken or turkey or heart smart beef) this week I used lentils instead
can of cream of mushroom soup
large jar of V8 juice
box of frozen spinach
can of diced tomatoes (or two)
2 bags of frozen veggies (i like to mix it up here, some big veggies and some smaller ones)
Season Salt
1 tsp (or more) diced red chilli pepper

-Soak lentils or saute meat if using that
-Combine all ingredients either in a large pot on the stove or a crockpot
-If on the stove bring to a simmer and cook for 1-2 hours, if crockpot cook 3-4 hours on high setting

Yummy, healthy, lunch chock full of veggies.

Welcome, or should I say welcome back

So we are giving this old blog a facelift and a new direction. Since I wasn't doing a great job at keeping it going before, I decided that maybe it would be better served as a place to pool all my ideas together, a sort of reference point.  The focus is going to be on how to live out everyday.  I'm no genius or guru that has all the answers or anything, just a mom, wife, woman, christian, foodie trying to make it all fit together.  There will be recipes, healthy tips, all things pertaining to kids and the joys and challenges they involve, and just every day real living.  Welcome to our lives.