Mom, I'm sorry!!!

I think just about everyone has had the same experience of having their mom cut their bangs the night before school pictures. And considering that 'Asian hair' is one of the toughest types of hair to cut, I never really gave my mom any slack for my crooked bangs.

So mom, let me be the first to say: I'm SORRY!!!

It is WAY harder than I thought. Claire's hair is always in her face, and even her little cousins will walk up to her and try and push her hair to the side. I finally hit my breaking point when Claire kept waking up with her hair stuck to her nose (she has a snotty nose right now - I think a slight bug). So being the spontaneous person that I am, I whipped out my scissors and cut her bangs.

I have to say, it's really hard. Not only because you're afraid of cutting you kid's forehead, but sometimes the hair just doesn't lay right. Plus, I have to factor in that Claire's hair wants to grow straight foward, and I'm trying to train it to go to the side. At first I did an 'angled bang', but it just looked like it was REALLY a-symetrical, and NOT in a good way.

The jury's still out if I made the right decision. I go back and forth thinking it's cute. Honestly, she looks like my wii character.

Sweet Boots!

Back in February when I did that Baby Expo, I picked up some shoes for Claire. They are these super ANNOYING shoes that squeak when you walk. Even though I knew it would be the death of me, I still bought them, because the image of Claire walking around with them on her feet made me laugh really hard.

And to my delight, I was right.

The other 2 pairs of shoes I bought are too small now (hmm. bummer.) but the boots totally fit - if not a bit roomy. They are completely ugly (unless you bought them for your child - then they are SO adorable) but in the privacy of our own home, they're not too bad.

Claire completely freaked (in a good way) when she first started walking in them. She couldn't figure out where the squeaking was coming from. But after about 10 seconds, she was running around, and I was laughing really hard. Fortunately - she doesn't seem all that interested in them - it was fun, but now she's over it.

A Little 'Claire' to Brighten Your Day

Well... I'll be honest. I'm totally in love with Claire lately. She is becoming such a little person and I think it's the best thing EVER!!! I'm afraid of becoming one of those moms who always talks about their kid and you're standing there with a smile on your face, nodding in agreement, while thinking in your brain, 'shut up, shut up, shut up.' So I figure I can get away with posting pictures on the blog because if you really don't want to see them, you can close out the page without me knowing.

So, without further ado - here are a couple photos of my dear little Claire. (which by the way, we call her 'the girl', and 'pookie' or 'pook-ster'. I know some people think I'm saying poop or poopie, and that's SO not the case!)

On the rare occasion where the carseat is in the house, you'll find Claire playing in it. I don't know what it is about the carseat that she finds so fun, as all she can do is sit or stand in it. (please excuse the dirty outfit - this was shot after she consumed one of her meals)

Hay y'all!!! Ya like my hat?!?!?!

Caught in the act of reading.
Yes, she's brilliant and will probably attend an ivy league school. I mean, she IS Asian!

I honestly don't recall her being angry at me when I took this picture - even though she looks like it. I just thought the green beard was funny. The girl loves her avocado!

I'm a believer!!!

As some of you may or may not know, Claire and I were pretty sick a few weeks ago. We both went to the doctor, and luckily for me, I could take antibotics. They worked great, I felt better within days, and I'm thrilled to say that Claire made a full recovery... and then I got sick again.

I don't know if there's anything more frustrating than getting sick, getting better, and then immediately getting sick again. Oh I know, not being able to TASTE anything ranks pretty high too. I REALLY hate that. So poor me, couldn't breathe, yet again, and so I loaded up on tylenol, advil, sudafed, zyrtec and afrin. My best friend afrin even disappointed me. Almost at the point of breaking, I called Bob to see if there was ANYTHING else I could possible take (which there wasn't) and so I said - 'hey, can you find me a netipot? I'm going to have to go back to the doctor if I feel this way tomorrow, and I'm willing to try anything!'

For those of you who don't know what a netipot is, it's this little plastic miniature 'watering can' that you fill with warm water and add this salt solution. Then you lean over the sink, turn your head slightly to the side, and poor the mixture up one nostril, until it comes out the other side.

I know. SO weird.

And no. You don't feel like you're drowning.

I first saw this little contraption on Oprah. (go ahead and laugh) Dr. Oz was saying that this is supposed to clean out your sinus' really well - even better than medications. It gets rid of infections and allergents.

Anyway, I tried it, and low and behold it WORKED!!! Now, I didn't make a complete recovery over night, but I was able to breathe and I only took Sudafed as a 'suppliment'. I was doing it twice a day with the sudafed and honestly - I was shocked at how much better I felt! In fact, I haven't even had to do it for a couple of days now!

So I HIGHLY recommend getting one of these bad boys and just stick it on a shelf somewhere until the need arises, or maybe use it as preventative care. Bob got ours at Raley's.. so I'm assuming any grocery store would carry it.

*** Also, when buying sudafed, don't by the stuff that's out on the shelf - the GOOD STUFF is behind the pharmacy counter (you don't need a prescription, but they regulate that stuff now because I think you can make speed or coke - not the carbonated beverage - from it.) You're wasting your money if you buy the 'weak' rendition. To me, it's nothing more than a placebo.

From boring - to buttons...

... which some of you still might find boring.

It's been a while since I last updated this thing. Sorry about that for those of you who are just dying to know what's going on in the Lesiw house. Nothing much really. Both Claire and I got sick this past week so that was SO not fun. But we're both better (well, Claire is ALMOST better) and life is getting back to normal.

I've actually starting making a new type of 'bow' - or rather, a new hair clip. They're flowers made from fabric using the method 'kanzashi' which is a Japanese fabric folding technique. Did you see the movie 'Memoirs of a Geisha'? Remember how when they would get all 'done up' they'd put these combs in their hair that had flowers, and flow-y things hanging down? Well - those are actually made from silk fabric. Now, mine aren't nearly as elegant, but I think they're cute nonetheless.

This is a style that I just starting making yesterday - no joke! I finally figured out the fold. For some reason that one really gave me a run for my money. The centers are fabric covered buttons. I really like making those. SUPER easy, and I like that I can co-ordinate any fabrics I want - rather than trying to find the right 'button'.

These are a different fold and are more 'rounded' than the other ones - and also slightly bigger. This is the first 'style' that I started to make.




And here is Claire modeling one in her hair. They're not super big, but bigger than what you would think. I can make them smaller, but it's tougher on my fingers! LOL. So anyway, that's my new obsession: fabric flowers, and fabric covered buttons.

It happened again...

So I got 'Tagged' by my dear sister Sara. So if you're totally bored outta your mind by this post then blame it on her. You can even leave mean comments on her blog: garates.blogspot.com

At least this one is different from my last. You must list 6 random 'quirks' about yourself. Also, you must list the rules (as I just did) and name 6 other victims that must follow suit.

So here it goes:

#1: I like plain, weird food combinations. For instance, I love taking white rice and adding either something like mangos, or tomatoes. That's it. I could eat a vat of the stuff.

#2: I can write backwards. Like, not only would I write right to left, but the letters would be backwards as well. If you flip the paper over you can read it and it'll look like 'normal'. Does that make sense? I discovered I had that talent one night during OT Survey II (or a class like that) and I hate to admit it - but I was bored. I would write hymns backwards. Call me crazy, but it was kind of fun.

#3: I have a secret fantasy of wanting to be a back up dancer in a music video. I don't think this needs further explanation.

#4: I love to listen to songs on 'repeat'. I go through 'kicks' where I really get into certain songs. About a year ago, my song of choice was 'Poison' by Alice Cooper. I couldn't get enough of it. So I made a CD that played Poison twice, and then a few songs by Def Leppard, and then Poison again. When asked why Poison was on there so much, I responded with, 'I like that song'. (and as a little hint, when played on 'repeat', at certain points you got to hear Poison 3 times in a row!!!) Right now I like Leona Lewis and I can run all my errands during the course of about 3 songs. So I just play the same ones over and over. If we're driving anywhere for a decent period of time, Bob won't let me listen to certain CD's more than one time through, no 'repeats'.

#5: I cry really easily in movies. I remember babysitting the first time I saw The Little Mermaid and I started crying at the end. (don't knock it - if you didn't tear up when Ariel hugged her father and whispered, 'I love you daddy' then your heart is made of stone!) It's also not the coolest when you can't stop crying in E.T. while watching it with the entire 8th grade class. In college after watching Message in a Bottle, I couldn't stop crying for 10 minutes after the credits ended. If I tried to talk about it, then I'd start sobbing again. Same goes for a TV version of Phantom of the Opera. I think this was around highschool, and I remember afterwards just going into the bathroom and letting myself 'ugly cry' for a little while. I got a migrain after crying from My Girl, and ask Sara how I was after Becoming Jane or even Brother Bear.

And I don't limit myself to movies. I can cry in books too. Most notably: The Notebook and Jane Eyre. Bob will just look at me and say, 'you're kidding me, right?'

#6: I love what Sara and I refer to as 'factory work'. I love doing things with my hands over and over again. Stuffing envelopes? I'm your girl. Data entry? Sign me up. I can cut, fold, tie, wrap, - you name it! I'll do it! So the next time you find yourself needing to stuff and address 5000 invitations, just call me up! And don't forget Christmas time... I'll wrap all your presents too. Just make sure you have bowl of rice and mangos for me.

And for those of you just dying to know, here's the next six I've tagged!
Cousin Elizabeth - you need to update your blog anyway
Kim - Since Big Boy is gone - you gotta have some time to kill, right?
Aunt Pat - since you just found your blog's password again, I'm not taking any more excuses!
Nancy - sorry friend - but I just gotta do it
Doreen - don't pretend you didn't read this
Heather - yes, I'm talking to you. Stop sewing and list your quirks!

It's OFFICIAL!!!

Today Claire is forever a LESIW!!! For those who didn't know (I didn't tell very many people) today was the court date to finalize Claire's adoption. I wouldn't say that I 'stressed' over this during the wait, but I have to admit, it is SUCH a great feeling knowing that it's all over. Nothing can change this, Claire is FOREVER my daughter. She's 'felt' like my daughter since day 1, but now it's just legal and binding. Gotta love it.

Funny thing - our adoption hearing was the FIRST for our judge - EVER! I think he was more nervous than we were.

The bailiff took all these nice pictures for us. But to you, they would have been really boring. Just photos of us sitting at the table signing the forms - can you see Claire checking out the paper? She was REALLY good during the whole process.

And here we are, outside of the courthouse. (It was really windy - so cut us some slack) The entire 'hearing' took 7 minutes - and that was including our photo-op with the judge.

It's hard to believe that a little over 13 months ago our precious Claire came into our lives. We are so incredibly thankful to God for giving us our daughter. She has given us so much joy, and we can't wait to see what her future holds.