Puneeta Chhitwal-Varma, Author at Urban Mommies

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Puneeta Chhitwal-Varma

Puneeta lives in Toronto with her husband and two kids, and loves the colour her Indian roots bring to her life in Canada! You can find her at MapleandMarigold.com where she writes about family, food, kids, and how to make every day enjoyable, healthy, and delicious.

Tips To Make Travelling With Kids on Long Trips Easier

FAM, International, kids, ROAM By Puneeta Chhitwal-Varma August 15, 2019 Tags: jet lag, overseas travel, travel tips 4 Comments

Travelling with kids is a chore, there’s no disputing that. Fortunately even relatively “quick jaunts,” like Toronto to LA, can be made easy if one goes prepared with electronic devices and snacks. But the longer trips? Ones to far off countries? Those are a different story.

Moms Hate Summer: 4 Tips to Reclaiming the Sunny Season

FAM, health, kids, self By Puneeta Chhitwal-Varma June 3, 2019 Tags: moms self-care, summer No Comments

There was a time when Ella sang, “Summertime and the livin’ is easy,” and I believed her. Growing up in the 80’s summer was always about watching movies at the outdoor movie theatre, playing outside late into the night, and of course popsicles, lots and lots of them. And then I became a mom and my priorities shifted. To be honest summer didn’t change for me in the first few years of motherhood. I was working full-time, and if there was vacation, Yay! Otherwise there was always day care! And then I had my second little pumpkin, we moved to Toronto and I decided to work from home. That’s when reality hit me like a ton of bricks: moms hate summer.

Why I Don’t Go To Church But Celebrate Easter

EAT, holidays By Puneeta Chhitwal-Varma March 21, 2016 Tags: canada, featured No Comments

Spring is almost here and I’m excited not just because winter is coming to an end. I’m ready to put away my Christmas wreath and pull out the ceramic bunnies that will decorate my living room for the next month. Yes, Easter is coming soon! My shopping list ready for Easter-themed craft for the kids (paints, wax, eggs, yes, I’m that mom!), and on top of that list are as many chocolate eggs and bunnies as I can get away with without setting a bad example. In fact a few years ago when we lived in a condo building in downtown Calgary I found the kids were missing out on back yard fun but I still managed to organize an indoor Easter egg hunt. Not as fun or challenging as one outdoors would have been but it was the tradition that mattered.

10 Items Parents Should Take in Carry-On Bags

Canada, FAM, International, kids, ROAM, USA By Puneeta Chhitwal-Varma February 20, 2016 Tags: air travel, flying with kids, Travel, travel with kids 1 Comment

I travel often with my kids and while it’s much easier now as they’re getting older, I still remember the horrific time with one baby in a carrier, the other standing beside me trying to manoeuvre in a tiny airplane stall. And then there’s the flight where at least one child has cried for 9 straight hours. Yes, I have experienced flights from hell, and lived to tell the tale.