Here’s a pretty funny (but mostly accurate!) panel of comics about how much we’ve cared about Star Wars, starting from the 1970s all the way to the 2010s.
I still can’t believe it’s been thirty-five years since Episode IV first came out; can you?
Aerin was only 4 months old when I first wrote about her eczema. We had been hoping that she would grow out of the condition by 6 months old, or even 1 year old, but that has not been the case. 🙁
However, we have tried new products and changed her skin routine somewhat, so I wanted to write an update for reference purposes and in hopes that it may benefit others suffering from the same condition.
I want to stay clear of prescription medication as much as possible, so we’ve gone from 2.5% hydrocortisone cream to 1%, which can be found on the shelves of drugstores. We still use this to make the half-hydrocortisone-half-vaseline mix which we apply on her flare-ups, but only when it looks especially red and/or itchy.
We also gradually stopped using the EpiCeram® because once again, I didn’t want Aerin to become too dependent on prescription meds.
A couple of months ago, I read about Mustela’s Stelatopia line, which is formulated for eczema-prone skin. I read up on the products and saw that it was getting awesome reviews, so I decided to splurge on the Stelatopia Moisturizing Cream and the Stelatopia Cream Cleanser.
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As much I had hoped the Stelatopia cream and cleanser would be the answer to Aerin’s dry skin, they unfortunately were not for us. Don’t get me wrong — they did not irritate or exacerbate her eczema. And others have had great success with these products, so maybe they’ll work for you. Continue reading »
You guys, I discovered the best thing today…
A Calvin and Hobbes search engine!!!
Calvin and Hobbes remains my favorite comic strip despite the fact that it is no longer published. And as I have written in the past, one of my all-time favorite gifts from J is the Calvin and Hobbes Boxed Set. I can’t wait until my kids are old enough to enjoy this mischievous duo! (But let’s just hope they don’t learn any bad things from it! 😉 )
The only thing I didn’t like about Calvin and Hobbes was that there are literally thousands of strips out there — 3,160 to be exact — so it can be a PITA when you’re trying to look for a specific strip.
But now, my prayers have been answered.
Just enter the term into the search box and voilà! A comprehensive results page displays all strips with that search term, along with information of its release date, a summary of the strip and the compilations in which it has been republished.
And for those wondering, “By Bing? Is the search engine powered by Microsoft Bing?” the answer is no. Bing just happens to be the nickname of the creator, Michael Yingling.
I’m so happy right now. 
What do you guys think? Pretty accurate?
I can’t remember the last time I drank drank in LA (as in go out to a bar/lounge, not just have a beer or two with dinner…or get tipsy at a wedding 😉 ), but what I do remember are the early last calls and the relatively cheaper drinks.
Oh, and at least one person being a DD so he/she could drive us home. 🙂
Via Mandatory.
A few days ago, Claire told her first lie.
She and Aerin were playing together when Claire got angry over something, grabbed the toy in Aerin’s hand, and threw it.
And when J approached her to remind her that she shouldn’t throw things, she outright told him that it was Aerin who threw the toy!
Both J and I had witnessed the entire event from start to finish. When J asked her, “Did you mean that you threw the toy?” She denied it and told him once again that her little sister had done it.
We were incredulous!
I told Claire to give her sister a hug before I took this shot.
Obviously, my timing was off.
While J scolded her and explained that she shouldn’t lie, I turned to the interwebs to see how we should deal with a child’s first lie. That’s when I happened upon this Scholastic article:
The first successful lie can be pegged as a developmental achievement because it marks the child’s discovery that her mind and thinking are separate from her parents’.
And as with most milestones in Claire’s mental and emotional development, she seemed to be a bit ahead of the curve. (She is 25 months old.)
We didn’t know if we should be angry or proud. 😕
I continued to read up on the subject, and learned that at this age, Claire probably does not know that lying is wrong, so there is no point in trying to drill moral values into her. The best thing we could do is explain the consequences of telling a lie (as well as other morally questionable acts), and become models of good behavior ourselves.
And until her conscience matures, we should try to discern what message she’s trying to convey with the lie.
She has recently begun to trick us too. For example, after we put her to bed last night, she called for me once again. She told me, “Umma peepee” which means that she needs to go use the toilet. (We’ve been potty-training her and she’s doing pretty well so far!) So when I lifted her from the bed and opened the door so that she could go to the bathroom, she instead made a beeline for the living room, giggling and gleefully running the entire way.
She then sat herself down on the couch, looked at me with a big smile on my face, and said, “엄마 앉어!” (“Umma anjuh,” or “Mommy sit”) She obviously wanted to play, not go to bed.
I always knew Claire would be a crafty one. 😉
Did you all have a good Thanksgiving? Have you found any good deals on Black Friday?
Because today is Cyber Monday — and because we are approaching the end of the year with the holidays just around the corner — I’ve decided to compile a list of my favorite beauty products. The last time I had done this was more than 5 years ago, so there are obviously some changes as well as additions.
I share this information because I am a classic Maven who loves to share the best ideas, products, and trends with others. Additionally, while I’m not a beauty junkie or makeup expert, I have spent the past 20-or-do years of my life experimenting with various beauty products — more so than your average woman — and I can’t help but shout from the rooftops when I find something good!
For your reference, I am Asian with medium-fair skin tone. I have combination skin and (luckily) do not break out much. My hair also tends of be combination (oily at roots, dry at ends) and it tends to fall flat by the end of the day.
(If a product type is not mentioned, it’s because I have not found a favorite, do not use one, or it does not play an integral part in my beauty routine.)
Let’s start!
Skin:
Shiseido Pureness Deep Cleansing Foam — I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear that my previous cleanser, Prescriptives All Clean Fresh Foaming Cleanser, became available again after Prescriptives counters closed. However, one day when I was without a cleanser, I stole some of my sister’s…and became hooked. The Shiseido Pureness cleanser cleans thoroughly without drying out my skin, it smells amazing, and it even has little beads that help exfoliate your skin. Continue reading »
Books and infographics. How could I resist?
Designed by Italian artist Giorgia Lupi, this timeline of future events as predicted by famous novels was originally published in the Sunday supplement of Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera. She generously created an English version for the site Brain Pickings, and I can’t help but be mesmerized!
The resulting visualization is predictably HUGE, so for those who don’t want to click on it to view it large format, I have decided to add a couple of screenshots to this post: Continue reading »
Ever since Aerin got sick last week, she has been super SUPER clingy to me. Before her illness, she was a pretty independent little girl. Now she needs to be held all the time — only by me, no less, and starts screaming her head off if she can’t see me.
Even her two favorite people after me, her halmeh (my mother) and yeye (J’s father) have been having trouble calming her down.
I know that this is probably just a phase. It might even be a combination of several factors, such as teething or reaching a new milestone (she has been cruising for a while and we’re expecting her to start walking any day now). But you can’t deny that it has been exhausting for me and J.
Confession time: Aerin has NEVER slept through the night. The longest stretch she has gone was the 7-8 hour periods when she was between the ages of 2-3 months.
And now, at just over 1 year old, she still wakes up twice a night.
At this age, Claire was sleeping 10-12 hours straight! And we know from talking with friends and doing the research that this is the norm for 1-year-olds.
Aerin double-fisting one of her favorite snacks, the Korean 뻥튀기 (bbungttigi)
We always tell people that we are hesitant to sleep-train Aerin (aside from the nap-training when she was about 4 months old) because of Claire, and because Aerin’s cries are quite painful to hear. I should get a recording of it one day — she SCREAMS and SHRIEKS in such a way that one cannot help but wonder if she were being tortured. And everyone agrees that her cries are a lot louder than Claire’s ever was.
But I know that there exists another reason I have been putting off sleep-training, and that is because she is the baby of the family.
I have always sworn that I will treat my children equally and without bias. But as they grow older, I can’t help but find myself babying Aerin a little.
It’s not too bad. (At least, I hope it’s not!) I do not rush to her aid for every little thing, and I do say no to her when I feel it’s warranted. And I certainly do not give her any preferential treatment over Claire.
But I have found that I am a bit more physically affectionate with her (perhaps because Claire is much more mobile and independent now?), and I seem to be in no rush for her to grow up.
Do I still hate the baby years? Yes. But you can still savor the moments, can’t you?
Like I said, this all seems to stem down from the fact that she is the youngest. After all, is it not a common occurrence for mothers to baby their youngest children?
I can’t help but think back to earlier this summer when my younger sister got engaged. I remember my mother and I talking about it, and both of us exclaiming, “I can’t believe she’s going to get married! She’s still so young!”
Only then did we realize that she will be 30 when she gets married next summer, and that I was 27 years of age when I got married.
I also believe her to be a more mature, practical, and responsible person than I was at her age.
It’s painfully obvious that my mother and I still think of her as a 16-year-old girl solely due to the fact that she’s the baby of the family.
Do you guys think babying the youngest child does them harm? I’d like to believe that it doesn’t cause much damage — just take a look at my sister, in addition to all my accomplished, well-adjusted friends who are the babies of their families!
I do, however, know that I shouldn’t take it too far, and that I should always be cautious of not giving Aerin any special treatment.
(Although I do believe my sister got some special treatment in the way that my parents were MUCH more relaxed and lenient with her! I always say that she owes me for “breaking them in.”)
As for Aerin’s nighttime sleep? We have decided that we will start sleep-training soon.
Wish us luck!
There are some things I find weird about myself (sometimes, in conjunction with others in my life) but I know there must be others out there who do the same…right?
…while the opposite is true in the cold (i.e., one leg out of the blanket).
I hope all my readers have plenty to be thankful for this year!
(image source)
As for me, I will be headed to two Thanksgiving dinners tonight. My mouth is already watering as I think about all the turkey + kimchi I will consume… (Yes, I eat them together and yes, it’s a rockin’ combo!)
May your tummies be full and happy tonight!
I like books, gadgets, spicy food, and art. I dislike shopping, hot weather, and the laws of entropy. Although I am a self-proclaimed computer nerd, I still have a love for handbags and makeup... and I am always teetering on high heels. To learn more about me, visit the "About" page.
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