Breakfast on the run...

I toasted my pre-made waffles and topped with bananas & blue-berries. I had Aiden in the stroller while I tried to eat this quickly. Seems to be my time when I throw a quick breakfast :)

Sushi Oscar Sunday!

We enjoyed home-made sushi. The Oscar Roll is made of eggs, crabmeat, cucumber, yellow radish & roe.

We also had a nice Yuengling Lager as well as fresh fried Taro Balls.

Yay Kate Winslet & Sean Penn! & Obviously Slumdog Millionaire, taking in so many Oscars!

I miss Taro Balls!

click here for the recipe and photos!

My grandma made the most amazing Taro Balls!

Winter Recipes

For Superbowl Sunday we made this recipe from Martha Stewart

Spicy-Sweet Chicken Wings

For T's Korean Birthday Dinner I made:

Chawan Mushi , Steamed Eggs

6 eggs
3 cups of cooled chicken or fish stock
3 dashes sake
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 cup chopped cooked chicken breast meat
3 shiitake mushroom, sliced into strips

garnish with fresh parsley

In a large bowl, whisk eggs gently while slowly pouring in the chicken stock, sake, & soy sauce. Add chicken and mushroom.

Bring about 1 inch of water to a boil in a steamer or saucepan. Reduce heat to a simmer, and place bowl into the steamer. Cover, and steam for 12 minutes, or until egg is firm but soft & silky like tofu. Garnish with parsley.

I also made Pajun in celebration of T's Korean Birthday Dinner

Korean Pancake

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups of ice cold water
2 tsp salt
2 large or extra large egg, lightly beaten
5 bunches of scallions cut 3: long
3 spoonful of soy sauce
vegetable oil for frying

Stir together flour, water, & salt until just mixed

Chop the green parts of the scallion into 3 inch lengths

Heat vegetable oil and coat the pan of a 9 or 10 inch non-stick skillet. Fry the scallions until they are soft & completely cooked through. Add some soy sauce to the pan when they are almost done.

Add any other vegetables-bell peppers, kimchi, shrimp, seafood, etc. and toss a few times to heat them through

Pour pancake batter over the scallions, vegetables, seafood, spreading the batter, and cook a few minutes until the bottom is nice and brown underneath

Pour the beaten egg on top then swirl the pan to even out the egg. Cool until the egg is just beginning to become firm on the edges.

Flip the pancake with a wide spatula and cook for another minute or 2, until the egg is set and preferably crispy on the edges.

Remove from heat and cut 6-8 wedges and serve with dipping sauce made by mixing 3 parts soy sauce, with 1 part vinegar.

We bought fresh mussels so we made this:

Mussels Steamed in White Wine

2 lbs mussels
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dry white wine
2 shallots, chopped
2 tbs unsalted butter
2 tbs chopped flat parsley

Fill large bowl with 2 quarts of cold water. Add flour & mussels and soak for 30 minutes, or until the mussels disgorge any sand. Drain the mussels, then remove the "beard" from each with your fingers. Scrape off any barnacles while inspecting them to make sure they are tightly closed. Keep the cleaned mussels out of the water in refrigerator until ready for use-no more than a few hours after washing.

Chop the shallots and parsley. Then put the shallots & white wine into a large stainless steel pot. Add mussels and cover. Steam them over high heat until the mussels have opened. Shake the pot to thoroughly cook the mussels.

Remove the mussels and place them into a large bowl. Boil the mussel soup broth, then add butter & chopped parsley.

Pour the broth over the mussels & serve.

Recipes to try

Korean Beef Bulgogi Recipe

Source from Jon & Kate + 8's fan site

Beef, sliced cross thin 450 gms.
Soy sauce 2 tbsps.
Sugar 1 tbsp.
Black pepper ¼ tsp.
Onions, chopped 1" pieces 4 nos.
Garlic, peeled/crushed 3 nos.
Ginger root, grated 1 tsp.
Dry sherry 1 tbsp.
Red pepper flakes 1 tbsp.
Peanut oil 1 tbsp.

Sesame oil 1 tbsp.
For the sesame salt
Sesame seeds, toasted As required
Salt 1 tbsp.
Instructions1.Mix the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, sesame salt(grind both the ingredients mentioned below sesame salt), pepper, onions, garllic, ginger, dry sherry and red pepper flakes in a bowl.
2.Add the beef, mix well and marinate for 1/2 an hour.
3.Heat the grill, when hot apply oil to the beef pieces and grill the meat till nicely browned on both sides.
4.Once done garnish with sesame seeds.

For T's Birthday dinner we opted to use ready made BBQ sauce. Next time, we want to try our hand in making it from scratch!

Thank God For Baby Bjorn Carrier!

I have been juggling taking care of my newborn son, and life never goes so smoothly. This morning I took out pancakes I had premade and immediately frozen along with strawberries my husband had cut up and made mommy's breakfast treat!


I made cinnamon & brown sugar pancakes. About a dozen or more, and let them cool before I ziplocked them and froze them. Now all I had to do was throw them in the toaster and grab some maple syrup, and the cut strawberries and make myself a quick breakfast with my baby strapped to me.

I had some tea and milk and enjoyed my simple but delicious meal! The pancake mix requires you to add water! Next time I'll look to get the Whole Wheat pancake mix, or the Buckwheat pancake mix!

Now doesn't that sound like the perfect breakfast?

I had made up waffles with this mix! You add water and oil! T & I had a nice breakfast with my baby strapped in to the Bjorn Carrier. We had waffles with fresh kiwi and maple syrup! It's so nice to have breakfast with my husband! Now that's a divine breakfast!

Whirlpool Duet Sport, oh where art thou?

So our Maytag dryer died, but the washer is still going. I quickly did my research and settled for the Whirlpool Duet Sport at Costco.com. I had gone online to look at the reviews, and the dryer had some strong online love. Apparently the dryer is pretty fast, about 30 minutes.

Also, I wanted a machine that was energy efficient. These are Energy Star® Qualified which fit the bill. I figure that we might as well make a purchase that will save our energy bills and not use so much energy. So, I am waiting for the machine to be delivered and to make my opinions of this large purchase. I'm so psyched for this. They also mentioned this model washer & dryer on Jon & Kate Plus Eight. Apparently they just got a shipment of 2 of each machine for their family. I am so psyched!!! More positive reviews! Kate apparently loves to do laundry because of these machines.

Update!!! Dryer is coming in on Thursday!!! February 19, 2009! Wow, can you believe we are 2 months into the new year???

Coolest Giveaway for the Jet-Set Parents & Their Savvy Kids!

Click Here to enter Seriously Spoiled's giveaway for this placemat that reverses into a chalkboard mat. How cool is that for kids who love to draw? I actually want one for myself ;)

Retails at $15 but go to the link to learn more!

Valentine's Day Quote

It is astonishing how little one feels alone when one loves. ~John Bulwer

Yoga for Babies

DVD's Play N Flourish & Sleep N Grow are great visuals to the book Itsy Bitsy Yoga. My baby loved Sleep N Grow and found Play N Flourish to be mixed. We got some smiles, and some fussiness in a span of a few moves.

Still, I am a believer that this is something positive to do as you spend time bonding and enjoying time with your baby.

Green Green Green

Last summer I switched to drinking for the most part out of my Sigg Water Bottle. Who knew drinking water would make my day! Especially with my favorite Sanrio Character. So this is to reduce my footprint with the plastic water bottles that I've been tossing.

This winter I've been stocked with a variety of Cloth Diapers. GULP... I have been the most ambitious amongst my mommy friends when it comes to being green and using cloth diapers. So my research started with www.diaperpin.com & with www.diaperswappers.com

Which opened up into this crazy everything goes sub-culture. Most people cloth diaper very economically with prefolds and covers. I had the items but was hesitant to use that system right away. Cough it up to having a nanny who wasn't going to cloth diaper my newborn. So we were using disposables the first 6 weeks. It's ok. I jumped into cloth diapering after 6 weeks.

The Good...

I started with the wonderful Kissaluv size 0 with Thirsties Cover. This consists of a Fitted Diaper which absorbs all the mess, and a Cover that contains the mess and keeps it from getting out. At 6 Weeks, my baby was at it's last snap. So I barely got to use these diapers. I did get a few cycles out of them since they worked so well for my son. Then I loved the easy to use Drybees Hybrid All In Ones Pocket Diapers size small. These are diapers with an opening to slide an insert into. The insert absorbs the wetness. Works like a diaper but made of cloth and velcro. TThen we used prefolds fastened with a Snappi & an outer Thirsties covers, prefolds fastened with a Snappi & an outer size small & Apple Dumpling Gear wool cover or nb/small lovelybums wool cover or lastly our xs little beetles wool covers. Prefolds with covers was tricky at first. You have to master the Snappi. You also have to find a fold that works with your baby. I've had a few #2 blow outs. Not too terrible, but you do have to rinse it out of the diapers, and then as you do with all cloth diapers, thoroughly clean them with 2-3 cycles in the washer. I find this system intimidating at first, but once you do 1/2 a dozen, it becomes so simple.

The Average...
Thirsties covers with infant Cotton or Hemp Crickett's. This was a bit too bulky for my taste.

The Bad...

We also tried the sm Hiney Lineys because the XS was too small for my son. This system also wasn't very well contained. So I stopped using it. The sizing also runs very small for my baby. The 4 small GAD's were also too small. We kept getting crazy messes with those.

Lastly, I'm looking into cleaning with green products. Shopping for organic items like clothing, linens, etc. I'm open for re-using certain items for the future sibling/baby. Why purchase all boys bedding when the next baby can be a girl. I rather both babies get to use organic linens, blankets, onesies, etc.

I do use cloth wipes at home. This cuts down how much disposable wipes we use. 1 cloth usually takes care of a mess that takes 2-3 disposable wipes.

I'll update this as I come across more ideas and try to see if it works for me and my family.

My Listmania off Amazon

1st Time Parents Baby Essentials

http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/R2MNGHVP8FOS8/ref=cm_pdp_lm_title_2

If I could do it again!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/RXRNXKI8PFXMJ/ref=cm_pdp_lm_title_1

I am an Amazon.com shopper. These are my lists of favorite or cool stuff I have found on their site.

I also love Drugstore.com So these are the main places I go.

Travel Tips & Products for Making a Family Vacation Simple

Planning a trip to see grandmas, both T & my parents are in Asia for the most part so I am slowly gathering tips, products, & important info as we count down to our baby's first international flight, as well as mini-trips we plan as we explore the world as first-time parents and show our baby how beautiful our world is.

Simple Things to Do:

Use your camera phone to photograph your parking spot, as well as the location sign. Just make sure you brought your phone charger.

Speaking of phone chargers, a general tip is to pack an extension cord with your charging items plugged in. When you wake up and go to grab your cell phone, you'll see it all connected like a spiderweb to your ipod, your partner's cell phone, camera battery, etc. & Keep your extension cord and chargers all together in a smaller electronic/power bag. Remember to pack & to re-pack when you leave your hotel.

Bring Anti-bacteria wipes to wipe down remote control, light switches, door knobs, faucets, telephone, etc.

Always pack a zippered soft nylon bag, like a le sportsac and stash it on an outside pocket. In case you are over the weight limit, you can transfer the heavier items and check this bag in. Or you can pack items you have picked up while visiting your destination. Make sure you include address information on this bag. Stick a sticker in the inside with your office address and phone number so they can contact you. Never put your home information on your bags.

Childproofing hotel rooms with the following: masking/ painters tape for covering exposed electrical outlets, also to tape the darkening blinds to keep the light out until you want to open them-a binder clip works too! Baggie/wire ties for keeping curtain pulls out of the way of your little one.

Scan your passport, tickets, and other important paper along with copies of the back of your credit card in case you lose your wallet, so you can contact your credit card. Then email to yourself with these documents as an attachment so you have access to them whenever you check the internet. If you lose your credit cards, file a police report to prove to the credit provider that it is indeed stolen and allows them to initiate an investigation. Also you need to call the 3 national credit reporting organization to place a fraud alert as well as your Social Security fraud line number. Equifax: 1-800-525-6285 Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742 Trans Union : 1-800-680 7289 Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

Keeping children happy

Pack a small bottle of bubbles to blow for the kids to pop, when you are queuing on an interminable line.

Travel by Planes with Babies

Travel by Car

Travel by Cruise or Boat

Travel by Train

Travel Gear-

On-the-Go car seats, carriers, strollers, hybrids

Lillebaby Eurotote is a modern ergonomic moses carrier, bunting bag, stroller bag, play blanket, and travel bedding.

http://www.amazon.com/l%C3%ADll%C3%A9baby-EuroTote-Essential-Black/dp/B0013938Y2/ref=cm_lmf_tit_1

http://celebritybabies.typepad.com/reviews/2008/02/lillebaby-eurot.html

The Nap-Sac 3-in-1 Baby Bag
http://www.amazon.com/The-Nap-Sac-3-in-1-Baby-Bag/dp/B0006UF43W/ref=cm_lmf_tit_5

Kelty Convertible Stroller
http://www.amazon.com/Kelty-Convertible-Frame-Child-Carrier/dp/B000E82YWK/ref=pd_sbs_sg_1
Mealtime
Sleeping

BABYBJÖRN Travel Crib Light
http://www.amazon.com/BabyBj%C3%B6rn-Travel-Crib-Light-Blue/dp/B000XDYLEK/ref=cm_lmf_tit_4

Safety
Toys
Baby Friendly Vacations