baby teeth brushing tutorial

I saw this mini Häagen-Dazs the other day. So cute and just perfect size.

We love sweet, but we also love nice teeth. Today, Eli is going to show you how to brush your teeth.

Make sure to get those teeth that are way back there

Smile while you brush

Brush the top

Brush the bottom

Brush to the left

Brush to the right

Now put your clean teeth to good use

beauty talk

Hey girls! So I want to talk about makeup and hair product this time. Since Eli was born, I haven't felt pretty or the need to pretty up myself. I mean, I think it's important to put his needs first, right? Now that he's older and easier to take care of, I'm spending more time on myself again.

As most of you know, I'm a super girlie girl. I love playing with makeup and hair. I also love reading about it. I even enjoy reading the descriptions and instructions that come in the box. I know I'm weird. Before I try any new products, I always read tons of reviews. One of my favorite website to go to is makeupalley.com. They have reviews on all kinds of beauty products posted by actual customers. Since this a neutral site, I think the reviews are as honest as you can get.

So now you know I am a beauty freak, you must think that I have tons of make up. Actually, I only have a drawer full of it. That's really not a lot if you ask a true makeup junkie. I guess you can call me a recovering makeup junkie. I try to keep my quantity to the limit of my drawer. As long as I can still close it, I'm fine. I have never been fateful to any of beauty products that I use. Wait, I take it back. I have been using the same Laura Mercier's secret camouflage concealer for years. By the way, Laura Mercier is one of my absolute favorite makeup artists. The other one is Bobbi Brown. I love how their makeup enhance your natural beauty without looking fake. When it comes to foundation, I always go to Laura or Bobbi. I feel like if I keep talking like this, I'm never going to finish this blog. Maybe I should just make a list of my daily makeup routine. Here we go...
Face:

• Laura Mercier secret camouflage concealer or MAC studio finish SPF15 concealer. I just bought the MAC concealer yesterday, and I really like its smooth texture and medium to full coverage.

• Laura Mercier foundation powder in the summer. Bobbi Brown moisturizing cream compact foundation in the winter.

• NARS orgasm blush or Bobbi Brown shimmer brick compact.

Eye:

• MAC eye shadows for really special occasions. I'm still trying to learn how to apply eye shadows. It's tricky with my small asian eyes. If apply it wrong, it will make my eyes look even smaller.
  
• Bobbi Brown long-wear gel eyeliner or MAC liquidlast liner. Also bought this MAC eyeliner yesterday. This eyeliner is seriously long-lasting. I made some smudging this morning, and it was so hard to get off.
• Shisedo eyelash curler. Hands down The best eyelash curler.
  
• Kanebo 38℃ silk performance mascara. I like how it gives my eyelashes a feather like texture. As for the name 38℃, it can be washed off only with water at 38℃. I can say that based on my own experience, it's true. Interesting, isn't it?

Lastly, I set my makeup with a few spritz of MAC fix+. Then a little lip gloss or C.O. Bigelow lip tint No. 1139, and I'm good to go. Really, it only takes me about fifteen minutes to do my makeup every morning.

As for my hair, right now, I'm trying to grow my hair out again. When I was pregnant, I decided to chopped my hair off to above my shoulders. A lot of people said it's cute, but I really wish I kept the length. Oh well... no big deal, it's just hair right? It will grow back... very slowly. I like switching out my shampoo and conditioner every so often. I don't have the scientific proof, but hair products do seem to be less effective overtime. It's like you hair becomes immune to the effectiveness of the products, if you know what I mean. When half of my Aveda shampoo and conditioner (I used the rosemary and the scalp benefit lines) bottles were gone, I decided it's time to try something new. Right now, I'm using TIGI bad head control freak shampoo and conditioner alternate with L'Oreal vive pro nutri gloss shampoo and conditioner. I love how they make my hair feel so soft. I don't blow dry my hair. I wash my hair the night before and let it air dry. I find it easier to style my hair the next day after I have slept on it. Speaking about sleep, I'd better go get some beauty sleep. But first I have to finish watching the men and women swimming events. Go Phelps!

olympic and lasagna

2008 Olympic is finally here! I know it's weird to hear this me, someone who doesn't care and watch any sport. Actually, Olympic is THE ONE sport event that gets me excited. My favorite events to watch are swimming, diving, and gymnastic. I was looking forward to the opening. I had high expectation for my people. The Chinese know their fireworks and if all fell short, they could still put on a kick-ass firework show. I have to say, the opening ceremony was spectacular. I heard the drums count down at the beginning was incredible. My husband said it was so good that made him feel proud for the Chinese. Well, I had to cook dinner for my husband and baby, so I missed the first half. I was so upset that they didn't broadcast it live, and I had to miss the best part. I tried to find that on youtube and was sure there would be many. I mean, what can you not find on youtube anymore. I was so bummed that all of the videos were removed due to "copy rights claim by a third party" ARGH!

With all that said, I have to give kudos to my friend Amanda. I found a link to The Pioneer Woman in her blog. I have to agree with Amanda, Pioneer woman is awesome! She is a great cook, photographer, and a cowgirl. I made her "the best lasagna. ever" tonight. It's very easy and full of flavor. I forgot to take a photo. I was too hungry. Wen it comes to Italian food, my husband always has a strong opinion. No, he's not Italian. He loves his Italian food. I asked if he thought it was the best lasagna he had ever had, he said the Paula Deen's seafood lasagna that I made was the best. But then he admitted it's the best meat lasagna he had ever had. While I was preparing the lasagna, I managed to make a pan of brownies using the Ghirardelli brownie mix. I feel productive today.

Eli's new favorite snack

seven months

Eli is seven months old already. Can you believe it?! I'm still amazed that he came out of me. He's been trying to pull himself up lately and crawling everywhere. He's a speedy crawler. He started having more redness on his left cheek and chin. We think it's from all the drooling. I'm not sure if this is just a phase, but he's gotten more whinny too. What happened to that sweet little boy? I'm just trying to keep myself cool and patient these days.

date night

We just saw the new Batman movie. It's not bad. This is the first date night for my husband and I since my mom left. My husband's friend Omar and his wife offered to babysit Eli. Their son Henry-Pete is just a couple months older. We thought they could be good playmates. I admit at first I had the first time parent paranoia, but I decided I didn't want to be the mom that keeps her kids in a bubble. We hung out at Omar's place for a while before we headed out for the movie to make sure Eli was okay. He quickly warmed up to Omar's family. He had such a great time with them. Looks like there will be many more play dates for Eli and Henry-Pete.

cans

I was shopping at the dollar general today and saw this. I was mesmerized.

just feel like venting

I don't understand grown men and their computer games. It's not like I don't know how to have fun or enjoy life, but how is staring at the screen shooting things and people fun? Besides, computer games can be very time consuming and take your time away from your family. I wonder if they will ever grow out of it.

crafty mind

I have been trying to be crafty, but I haven't had much time lately. Also I'm not as motivated as I hope to be. The first thing I need to do to get my crafty spirit going is to create a craft work space for myself. We have a big basement that's not being used much right now. We just need to install some good lighting down there. I also need a nice big table to do all my drawing and cutting. I want a table with simple design, a smooth top with four straight legs. Once I get that, I will need a new sewing machine and few sewing supplies then I will be good to go. We will see if we can get this going in the next couple months.

videos

I love laughing baby videos. It's more fun when it's your baby. Eli has a low laughing point. Here all I have to do is to brush my hair against his hands, somehow he thinks that's funny. The other two are Eli crawling. Hurray for reaching another milestone!

baking and cooking

I had a sudden craving for cheesecake yesterday, and I used a recipe from Martha Stewart living to make a cheesecake with blueberry topping. This is the simplest cheesecake recipe I have ever made, yet it's so rich and creamy. After putting Eli to sleep, I stayed up to bake the cheesecake. This tells you how bad I wanted it. I was so tempted to take a bite after it came out of the oven, but of course every baker knows you have to refrigerate a cheesecake for at least eight hours or overnight before it can reach the right consistency. I didn't go to bed until one in the morning, and I had to wake up at five to feed Eli. Although I was very sleepy, I couldn't help but to serve myself a slice of cheesecake before I went back to bed. That was good breakfast. For lunch today, I made a curry chicken salad sandwich. I used the recipe from my friend Amanda. I chose to use a store bought rotisserie chicken instead of making my own, and I think it added extra flavor.

jayhawks baby

fourth of july

this week's photos

Rose garden

My new favorite pastime

Eli has been making this face lately while teething

photos by amanda lucero

You can find her at APL Photography.

deck of cards

This was my only purchase at a garage sale last weekend. I love the tin box.

first tooth

Is there something on my face?

First chair

I'm not sure if you can see from this picture, but Eli is having his first tooth.

clouds

Looks like a dragon, don't you think?

napkin

My first sewing project. I used an old pillow case because I didn't know how it would turn out.

dinner

Grilled salmon with avocado mayonnaise and arugula. Simple and delightful.

home safely

My mom has arrived Hong Kong safely. When she went up to the gate in Des Moines, they told her she missed her flight. They had anther flight that was about to take off to Chicago, so they were so kind to turn around and let her get on that one. Then she got upgraded to first-class from Chicago to Hong Kong! She was able to rest comfortably the whole way. They had to detour to Beijing because of bad weather and were stuck on the plane for five hours before heading to Hong Kong, but who cares? She was in first-class.

goodnight

felted stones

I made these today (instruction here). They were my first crafty project.

I took today off to take my mom to the airport and stay home with the baby. We had a little incident at the airport. Upon checking in, we were told that two of my mom's luggages were overweight. It would cost her fifty bucks for each one if she wanted to keep them as is. At the last minutes, she was scrambling through her luggages trying to rearrange. I don't understand it. She had more stuff when she came. All these new airline rules are really irritating. It would have been okay if my mom didn't pack a lot of unnecessary items. She had a bag of uncooked cheesy hot dogs from our house that my husband and I weren't going to finish. She didn't want to waste them and was going to take them all the way back to Hong Kong. I wish we didn't have to send her off in such hurry, but there were only minutes to spare after that whole incident with the luggages.

wish list

I have been wanting to learn how to sew. I have a sewing machine that my mother-in-law gave me, again she's my source of homemaking. I got some fabrics last week and I have a sewing book. Now I'm ready to make something cute and sweet. There are a few more craft books I would love to have. They make good birthday, Christmas, mother's day, or just any day gifts. *wink*

baking

On my mom's last day here, I decided to make some cookies for her to take home. Per her request, I made toffee crunch cookies. I made enough for her to take home as gifts for my aunts. I love baking, even more so after I got a kitchenaid stand mixer from my mother-in-law couple Christmas years ago. I always use this bottle of pure vanilla from my husband's ex-worker who brought it back from Mexico. It has a really rich flavor but not overwhelming.

I try not to think about my mom's leaving too much, but all day long people were asking me about it at work. It just made it even harder. Truly, all good things come to an end. My mom has been here for six months, in spite of the sadness, I think we are both ready for a little separation. I know my husband is too. It must be a bit strange to have your mother-in-law who you can't communicate live with you for six whole months. We can't express enough how grateful we are for her help with taking care of the baby and all the cooking and cleaning she did. Tonight as she cooked her last meal here, she cooked extra food for us to have the next couple days. Bless her heart. We will miss her so much.