Bubble waffles

Bubble waffle yumminess!

I want to eat bubble waffles but we haven’t been going out much with the ongoing pandemic.  So, I thought I’d try making it at home.

I recently bought a Kalorik Bubble Waffle Maker from Walmart.  It includes 3 recipes in their user manual: Hong Kong Style Egg Waffles, Egg Puff Waffle Cones, and Savory Egg Waffles.  I tried out the first recipe.

It was pretty easy to make, though one batch did overflow out.  The batter didn’t stick and it was easy to remove the cooked waffle with chopsticks.  All three kids liked it - so it’s kid approved here.  I found it a but dense compared to the store ones, but pretty good otherwise.

 

After experimenting, I liked 1 minute to set the bubbles, then add batter on top and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes made the bubbles crispier.

First Day of Preschool

Isaac was awake before 7am, but I told him he couldn't get up until after the alarm went off (set for 7am).  When the alarm started beeping, he started yelling "Wake up!".  He dumped all the lego out and got upset when we made him clean up the mess.

We had breakfast, got him changed but it was still a little too early to leave the house.  The class today is just 1/2 day, and we were slotted in for the 2nd half.  Turns out I didn't need to pack him a snack today.  We got a chance to chat with the teachers, I signed up for a couple of parent volunteer days, and I updated our emergency contact info.

When we first walked into the room, Isaac took off and wanted to play right away.  I had to corral him to his cubby to put his coat and backpack away, and to put his name tag on.  Isaac went around to a few stations to play with the house, trains, and slide.  He didn't want to join in at the circle time, but eventually sat on the rug when he saw the teacher playing with a duck puppet saying "hi" to each of the kids sitting on the rug.  Everyone stayed in their seats except Isaac when the teacher pulled out the "Wheels on the bus" book.  He moved right up front to have a better look at the book.  As they were singing, he looked around to observe (other kids singing, and doing song motions).  When the teachers sang a good-bye song, Isaac took off and ran to the door.  Isaac got a stamp on his hand before he left the class.

We went out for dim sum at Jade Chinese Seafood restaurant.  We didn't make it there in time for the discounted price.  The service was slow - the waiters seemed to be busy chatting up their regular customers.  The food was decent, though the portions were a little small for some of the dishes.  We will probably go back another time, but it doesn't look like it'll be a place we'd go too often.

We went home and I put Isaac down for his afternoon nap.  He fell asleep just before 2pm and woke up at around 4pm.  I went out to VV while he napped and picked up some books.  Time to prepare dinner.  I'm making soup noodles with vegetables, tofu, chicken balls, and leftovers.

Highlights For The Week

Yesterday we went to the mall and checked out a nature exhibit.  We watched most of a safari show/presentation and Isaac got to touch a bearded dragon and an albino bull snake.  He really liked the archeology display, "Bone Zone".  It was a table filled with sand and rocks and hidden fossils.  There were paint brushes scattered around the table and kids were encouraged to gently brush the rocks to reveal bones.

During one of our classes this week, I left Isaac in the class for about 15 minutes to see how he did without me in the room with him.  According to the instructor, he looked for me a couple of times and she was able to divert him to play for a bit before he started looking for me again.  On his third search for me, she led him out of the room to find me.  He didn't cry, but just kept asking for me.

We went out for dinner a couple of times to see some relatives who were in town visiting.

I was able to register Isaac for swimming and a cooking class for this fall.  G will also be in our swimming class, yay!  Isaac will be starting Twos Time this September.  I bought labels from Mabel's Labels so that I can label his clothes, shoes, bags, and containers for preschool.  I also picked up a Cars FUNtainer Thermos water bottle and a Thermos food jar for his snack time.  I'll have to see how these hold up after a few months of use.

On another note, I really dislike the Learning Curve Cars Insulated Straw Cup.  It leaks like crazy because every time he takes a sip, water stays in the straw, then when he opens/closes his bottle, the water drips out.  I had to replace his Playtex insulated straw cup because he chews on the straw and it tore.  I ended up buying a couple more of the Playtex ones because at least those cups don't leak as much!

Today we met up with friends to play in a water playground.  It was a little chilly.  Isaac was shivering and one of the other moms carried him over to me when they noticed he was really cold.

Tomorrow evening we are going to babysit G while Auntie K and Uncle H go watch the Harry Potter movie.  I may let Isaac stay up later to play with his friend (depending on how tired and crazy he gets).  We might attend a music festival on Sunday.  Next week we have a Creative Movements class every morning.

UPDATE: This morning I went to 3 garage sales and picked up a couple of books and a mini-set of dominos.  Daddy and Isaac played together at a couple parks.  In the evening, babysitting G went very smoothly.  We played with trains, cars, had pizza, watched an episode of Hikaru No Go, Daddy and G put some Go stones on a Go board and played some iPad games while I put Isaac to bed, then I gave G a snack, read him a story, and he played with a Thomas the train puzzle.  We're still deciding if we'll go to the music fest or not, there's 60% chance of rain and it's an outdoor event.

Lego Shopping Addiction

Move over ebay... I just discovered bricklink and it's easy to search for random lego pieces.  I have to stop looking on that site or I'll end up buying a lot more stuff.  I've never had any problems with ordering things off ebay, so we'll see how it goes with bricklink sellers.

What I like about bricklink: huge selection of lego, no bidding wars
What I dislike about bricklink: it's hard to determine the shipping costs, and there's a lot of just waiting around. When you submit an order (you have committed to buying it without fully knowing the exact shipping and handling costs), then you wait for the seller to come back to you with the total, they wait for you to pay, you wait for them to check that you've paid, you wait for them to send you the items, and you wait for the items to be shipped.  Granted that you can't control the wait times for the actual shipping... I still find it frustratingly slow compared to shopping on ebay.

I wonder if I should set up a store on bricklink or ebay to sell off some excess lego duplo inventory I've accumulated?  Any how, it's something I can probably do relatively easily.  The barrier to entry is low (hence lots of competition and you're limited by what you have available to sell and the price you want to sell at).  I have some ideas of how to create interesting lots but it's doubtful I'd be able to make any significant money from it.  Since there is a lower supply of duplo on ebay, I suspect that I would be able to make more per transaction by listing on ebay.  I would have to look into the fees involved in setting up a sellers account on paypal and also one of the systems to see if it's even worth my while or not.  I would also have to look into possible tax implications - and consult with my accountant [AKA... my dad].  It could be a fun hobby.