Drooly Bibs Tip

It seems like I've been shifting my focus to watching my baby girl and coming up with different ways to make live easier. Here's a good use of those Asian hanging laundry drying holder (was that a good description?).

Our baby girl was drooling so much and going through TONS of bibs each day, so this is how we dried them.  Mike's mom came up with this idea. Isn't it genius?  We could then dry out her cloth bibs so they did not get all stinky and have that "wet dog" smell before we had time to wash them.

Sushi Man

The other weekend we celebrated Mike's grandparents 90th birthdays! We had a Sushi Man come over to Mike's aunty and uncle's house and he and his wife prepared sushi-to-order and other Japanese food. 

Here's a picture of some of the nigiri sushi

Here's the set-up of the sushi.  I had some California rolls and some spicy tuna rolls.

We also had garlic chicken, noodles, green salad, macaroni salad, and BBQ meat.

Dessert was lemon crunch cake from The Alley.  Yum!

Snow Puffies

The other weekend, Mike and I attended a birthday party and someone brought Snow Puppies.  Well, at least that's what I heard her call it. I thought, what a cute name for a pastry.

I searched "snow puppies hawaii" online and then realized that these cream filled Napoleon-like pastries are called, "Snow Puffies."

These are so airy and not too sweet.  I'll have to remember to stop by this bakery if I am ever on this side of the island again.

Paalaa Kai Bakery
66-945 Kaukonahua Rd
Waialua, HI 96791
(808) 637-9795

Other Baby Shower Gift Ideas

Here's the continuation of the list of our favorite baby items.  I did not realize how many items we have received and/or purchased for our little baby.

Ergo Carrier I have to agree with the reviews. The Ergo Baby Carrier is probably one of the best carriers out there. Mike and I also have a Snugli (very little support), and a Baby Bjorn Active, but the Ergo does the least amount of damage to your back and it feels like the baby is not going to fall out.

Ice Cube Tray These silicon trays are wonderful.  I prepare baby food for our little girl and enjoy using this silicon ice cube tray because the cubes of food pop right out.

Crib Sheet Protector
We have the Summer Infant Crib Sheet. Other brands might be just as good. I like it because instead of lifting the whole mattress to change the bed sheet each time our baby's diaper might leak, all we have to do is unsnap the crib sheet protector and wash that.

Disposable Bed Pads This is something that Mike thought of. We had some extra bed protector sheets from when we were house training Butters. (We did not buy the puppy pads for Butters, we bought the pads used for humans). We bought these pads in bulk at Sam's Club and pack them in our diaper bag.  Just think how dirty the changing tables in public restrooms are. Instead of placing a fabric diaper pad on the table, we  place one of these pads on the table and dispose of it.

Baby's First Toothbrush Our baby started gnawing on this toothbrush. She actually sought it out to chew on when she was teething. Then one of the dogs decided to chew it and Mike found pieces of the chewed toothbrush in the doggies poop. 

Graco Snug Rider. Love love love this stroller frame. (Well, we had the older model) and a Graco infant carrier.  You just snap the carrier into the stroller frame, and voila, you are good to go. No bulky stroller to lift out of your car trunk and assemble.

Bumkins Waterproof Bibs These bibs are great when you start feeding solids to your baby. It does not seem to stain and the pocket on the bottom catches extra spillage.  

Aden and Anais Swaddle Blankets I really like these swaddle blankets.  They are a bit pricey at ~$35 for a pack of four, but sometimes they can go down to $25 on Amazon.  There seems to be a lot of hype about these blankets, but I like how soft and large these blankets are.  I did not like them initially because they were too large for our tiny baby, but by the time she was about 10 lbs, we started using these swaddles more.  

Oh and if you are an Amazon Mom member, there's a 20% Appreciation Event going on from May 8-31. So some select items will be on sale.

Baby Shower Gift Ideas Part I

Mike and I have enjoyed all the presents we received from people for our baby girl. I finally have gotten around to posting about our favorite baby items.  So if you are going to a Baby Shower and need gift ideas or if you are an expectant parent creating your Baby Registry, here's some ideas.  

This mini pack was recommended by the nurse who was teaching classes at the hospital.  You never know what your newborn will be allergic to, so why buy a Costco/Sam's Club size of shampoo/lotion? Buy the travel size first and then test it out on your baby before you commit to a year's supply.

Nose Frida  This is a wonderful item (well, the baby does not agree with this statement), but Mike and I love this contraption. It's basically a tube used to suck boogers out of our baby's nostrils.  She cries and cries when we use it on her, but afterwards is super happy that she can breathe through her nose.  

Sophie the Giraffe. This is a great teether.  Is a $25 teether really worth it? Mike and I think so and so do many other parents.  Our baby girl was really into gnawing away at this giraffe when she was teething...she'd go for the giraffe's legs, ears, nose...but stopped reaching for it a couple of months ago. I think it's because her teeth stopped bothering her.  

WubbaNub. We received this pacifier as a gift and I first thought, "Wow, do we really need a pacifier with a mini Beanie Baby type stuffed animal on it?" YES.  It was  great when our baby was younger and the weight of the stuffed animal helped to keep the pacifier in her mouth.

Then she got a little older (4+ months) and figured out she could pull the pacifier out of her mouth by tugging on the animal.  But then she outgrew that stage and started feeling around her crib for the stuffed animal and then maneuvered the pacifier to her mouth.

We now have two of these things.  I purchased another one at ~$13 and I still think it was a good investment. Especially when I view our baby in the baby monitor and she sits up, cries, finds her pacifier and soothes herself to sleep.  I think she also likes to hold the stuffed animal portion and "pet" it.    

Tommee Tippee Milk Bibs Love love love these. Even Butters loves it (see the picture of our chewed up bib).  Our baby would get milk stuck in her neck fat folds and we would smell this stink fermented milk smell.  gross, yeah? But  with this wonderful bibs, the bib would be sopped up before hitting our baby's neck. 

I'll add a couple more posts about items that Mike, baby, and I like.  These are our honest opinions and have not been paid or given free samples for these reviews.  

Early Cinco De Mayo

We decided to celebrate Cinco De Mayo with a "Chipotle" style dinner this past Thursday.

Here's our healthier version of Chipotle's burrito.

Since I was in charge of the meal, I cut down some of the fat in the dishes. Mike said that it was not like Chipotle's meat because Chipotle includes all the extra fat in their meats, while I try to pull off all the excessive fat chunks.

Crock Pot Carnitas. I found a Chipotle barbacoa recipe online and then used it on some boneless pork shoulder roast (pork butt is on sale at Times for $1.89/lb until 5/7/13 but I used the Safeway Price Match to buy the pork shoulder).

Black Beans, Pico De Gallo, "Sour Cream'(Nonfat Greek Yogurt)

Cilantro Lime Rice

Here's what I put in my burrito.

Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone!

Hawaii Restaurants~Sushi Bay

I read an article in February 2013 that mentioned that Sushi Bay was under new ownership and the owner had ties with KuruKuru Sushi.   I convinced Mike's parents that we had to check it out.  There is always a long line at the Pearl Kai Shopping Center's KuruKuru Sushi, so we made the drive to Kapolei to avoid the lines.

Scallop Mayonnaise

Natto Sushi! I always have to order this.  Yum! It's on the yellow plate ($1.50) so it's slightly cheaper than Kuru Kuru Sushi.

Kabocha Tempura 

Here's a picture of the spicy salmon bowl at Sushi Bay ($8.99). They also sell a mini bowl for $4.80 (purple plate price) which does not contain the pieces of fish and is in a smaller bowl. I think the small bowl is about the same size as the current Kurukuru bowl. This is a picture of the "old" kurkuru" bowl for comparison. I do not have a picture of the current Kurukuru bowl.

Mike and I would definitely go back to Sushi Bay in Kapolei. I've actually been there a couple more times since.  My only complaint is that it seems like there is never sushi on the conveyor belt. I've been there for lunch and early dinner and the only items going around the conveyor belt is tofu and cold noodles.

Sushi Bay 
Kapolei Shopping Center
590 Farrington Hwy, Ste 130

 Kapolei, HI 96707
(808) 693-9922