Kitchen Remodel Day #4

Well, I really wasn't planning on dedicating so many posts to our kitchen remodel. Even though it is exciting to get a new kitchen...it isn't that exciting. We thought the remodel would take 2 1/2 days, but that obviously hasn't happened. Oh well. At least the faucet is in & we have a working sink now!

The tile should be installed tomorrow. Between being sick & the kitchen being under construction, I haven't cooked a full meal in almost three weeks. I'm kind of excited to cook again!

Kitchen Remodel Day #3

Well, yesterday didn't go as smoothly as we had hoped. They did get the sink installed, although the faucet isn't in yet...

The oven was installed yesterday as well. Lincoln got it hooked up to the gas, so we are good to go. While this is still a gas oven, it is MUCH easier to use than our old one, so I am very excited about it!

We had to make a late-night trip to Home Depot to buy tile, grout and some other things.Tonight we are going to have to go back and exchange some of it. Hopefully tomorrow our kitchen will be finished. We are also having some work done to our downstairs bathroom & having the grout on our stairs redone.

We will be happy when the remodeling is done & we are back to our regular routine. We are used to having Lincoln do this kind of stuff, so it is kind of hard just sitting back and relying on others to do it. But since the owners are paying for most of it, that is how it goes. Can't wait until it is finished!

Kitchen Remodel Day #2

Today we got new counter tops! It's been exciting to see what comes for our new kitchen each day. Since the owners are the ones who picked everything out, we have no idea what the kitchen will look like when it is finished.

The mess outside our kitchen door...

Because we have no kitchen to cook in, we decided to eat at the local buffet. We tried taking a quick family pic before we left. Kylee wasn't excited about it...

Monday should bring our new stove & sink. The tile should be put in on Tuesday. Then we are done!

Kylee 20 Months

Kylee will be 20 months old on Monday. She sure is growing fast! This past month Kylee has become very interested in Elmo. She likes to try hopping on one foot (which she saw on her Elmo movie) and tries doing headstands & other tricks. She loves asking Daisy & Duke if they want to go on a walk to the park. She grabs both of their leashes & asks, "Daisy? Duke? Walk? Park?"

Kylee likes to ask for "crackers butter" (crackers with peanut butter) but eats a bite or two & then throws them on the ground. She does the same thing with pretty much anything we give her to eat...and she thinks it is especially funny when the dogs eat the food that she has thrown. 3/4 of her time-outs are for throwing her food on the ground or giving it to the dogs. Kylee had a few more "biting incidents" this month. It's really hit-and-miss with her, but she bites the same 2 or 3 kids. She seems to only bite when she is teething though. I'm hoping that the rest of her teeth come in soon, so her biting will hopefully stop!

Kylee loves throwing trash away. In fact, tonight we went to Costco to eat dinner & she was walking all over trying to find things to throw away. She loves her baths (there aren't many houses here that have bathtubs, so we got lucky!) & likes to splash, play, and swim during her baths. She also likes to put her ear to the water while yelling, so that she can hear the difference in her voice. Bubble baths are Kylee's favorite. When we ask "Who do I love?" she yells "KYLEE!" She loves smelling flowers & says "Mmm, good!" while smelling them. Reading books is one of our favorite things to do together. Most of the time, Kylee wants me to get in her cardboard house with her when we read. There's one book that shows a little boy swimming under the water, with his mom's hand reaching out to grab his. Every time we get to that page, Kylee looks at me, smiling, & says "hand", then grabs my hand. It melts my heart.

This month Kylee has become a huge fan of pineapple. She also knows the word "Coke". Hmmm...I wonder who she learned that one from. :) Kylee had her first Ring Pop this week & it was a big hit! Kylee has regressed in a few areas. Last month, I wrote that she can count to 4. Well, now her new way to count is, "1,2....6!" No matter how many times we correct her, she counts that way. She also only sleeps in her "big girl bed" some nights now. She has no problem walking around her room in the dark...so she either falls asleep in her "big girl bed" right away, or wanders around her room until we hear her & stick her in her Pack 'n Play.

Kylee has heard me yell for Daisy when I see a bug. Lincoln sprayed the house a few weeks ago & when Kylee sees a dead bug now, she yells, "Daisy...BUG!" She loves to turn off the tv if we aren't watching one of "her shows". She knows how to climb up the slide at the park in our coto all by herself now. Kylee has fallen in love with our next-door neighbors, Robbie & Montse. She asks Montse to hold her, calls her Mommy & started scratching her back the other day. I've never seen her do that before. She loves to say Robbie's name all day long. If she hears someone outside she says, "Robbie?" or will just randomly say "Hi, Robbie! Bye, Robbie!" It cracks us up. Kylee is more interested in photos now & loves to name the people in them. She even knows that the baby in her baby pictures is Kylee. We think she is so smart. :)

Kylee tried the elote (corn) we made the other night. Our friend Montse showed us how to put mayo, lime juice, salt & chili powder on it. We LOVE it & so does Kylee!

Kylee loved to sit on the cupboard shelves in the kitchen before they were torn out...

We caught her making funny faces at us through the sliding glass door the other day. 

(I didn't even notice the paint splatters on the door until I took this picture. Ha ha.)

Kylee is VERY good at folding her arms for prayer. However, once the prayer starts, she usually runs around & yells "Amen" in the middle of it. We are so proud of her good example of how to start the prayer though. :)

I posted this pic for 2 reasons. #1, so you can see her hair. It cracks me up. I have no idea what to do with it. #2, so that you can get a glimpse of what she goes to sleep with. Here you can see her pillow, two blankets, Bee, Kitty & Bear. Not pictured are her two babies, 2 or 3 books, and both of her Pooh Bears. She has to have ALL of those things in bed with her or she won't go to sleep. She notices which ones are gone & asks for them if they aren't all there!

Kylee loves to clean things. She is constantly grabbing baby wipes to wipe things down. This time she decided her car needed a nice wash...

She gets very scared/nervous/excited when the big gas trucks drive by. Here she is watching one from the roundabout park...

Just had to include a picture of her jewelry...

Wrestling with Dad...

(Daisy is jealous.)

Kylee loves to wear Mommy & Daddy's shoes. She does better in these heels than I do, I think!

Can't wait to see how this little girl learns & grows this month!

Kitchen Remodel Day #1

When we moved into our house, the owners told us that they were planning on remodeling the kitchen. We could wait a month before moving in & have a new kitchen, or they could do the remodel after we had already moved in. Obviously we chose to move in before they remodeled it. We've been really excited for our new kitchen. Here are a few "before" pictures...

The cupboards were stained & chipped & not in the best condition. Plus, some of the drawer/cupboard doors were missing. The main problem with that is that we have a kid the perfect age to climb into cupboards & pull things out. It makes it even harder without cupboard doors to close & lock. :)

The stove was an old gas stove, which I kind of despised...just because I had never used one before & almost caught myself on fire a few times. The pilot lights were constantly going out too.

Today was my first day out & about in 8 days! Yahoo!!! I'm still recovering from the crazy illness I had, but am doing much better. While our new kitchen cupboards were being installed, we spent some time as a family. Daddy & Kylee colored Princess pictures together...

I get chills every time I think about this, but the installers found a big RAT underneath our cupboards when they tore them out. I HATE RATS. Of course I had to take a picture of it though.

This is what our back patio looks like after Day #1...

Our new cabinets are in! Now we just need a sink, oven, countertops, & tile. We'll see how much gets done tomorrow!

What's that you say? You like the view of the camper shell through our kitchen window? Why, thank you!

Let's Try This Again...

Sorry if I sound like a major complainer in this post, but these past 5 days have been pretty miserable. What was originally thought to be a bacterial infection in my throat is now a viral infection. The meds I was taking were making things worse, not better. Now I'm stopping the 3 medications I was on for this & am starting a new medicine that should help the inflammation somewhat. My throat looks nasty...I have big sores all over my tonsils.(TMI? Sorry.) The problem with a viral infection is that you just have to wait it out. Lincoln is gone for 13 hours tomorrow. Friday we are having our kitchen & downstairs bathroom torn out & redone. I'll be thankful when I feel better again! 

This is the first time I've been really sick since recovering from my hysterectomy. It probably sounds crazy, but a flood of emotions & old habits have come back with this illness. Logically I know that it won't last long & that I have good reason to be in so much pain...but I feel like a "sick person" again. Isn't that strange? It definitely has surprised me, & has made me recognize & analyze the insecurities & thoughts that I am having.

It's kind of hard to admit, but I know that these lessons are just part of my journey toward healing emotionally from all that has happened with my health. I know that I just need more experiences with having a temporary physical setback (like everyone has) and being able to quickly overcome it. Being sick or in pain, going to the doctor, taking meds, and being told that things aren't going to get better anytime soon, is something that I became used to. I am so, so grateful to be such a healthy person now, and am excited to have more positive experiences with doctors & my body's new abilities, so that I can change my thoughts & feelings about those things. 

So I'll start over with this new medication, wait this out (cheerfully, I hope!) and then get back to my healthy, full life! I was reminded once again of how well Lincoln takes care of me, and how much I love having Kylee & the dogs around to snuggle with when I'm not feeling well. Plus, I've realized that we already have a support system of such great friends here in Mexico, who seem to be constantly doing nice things for us. I'm truly incredibly blessed.

All Grown Up

Kylee definitely thinks she is one of the adults around here! Obviously that presents its problems, but it can be a really good thing too, as shown in the pictures below. 

She helped Daddy wash the dishes this morning...

Gotta use lots of soap!

She was upset after spilling soapy water down the front of her shirt...

But taking a break to read Mommy's book cheered her up!

Kylee is turning into a little grown-up, that's for sure!

(Notice my hair rubber band on her wrist. These are her new favorite "bracelets" to wear.)

Sick

Well, this past week hasn't been very fun. A week ago, Linc came down with a sore throat, cough, congestion, headache, body aches, plus extremely red and itchy eyes. He looked pretty terrible. He missed two days of school and was trying to study for his biochem test while feeling miserable...poor guy.

Kylee loved having her Daddy home though, and even helped him play games on the iPad...

On Thursday night, I ended up getting sick as well. Friday was kind of rough. I tried to keep Kylee entertained by putting stickers all over her, while I sat around in my pj's all day...

As soon as Linc got home, we headed to the doctor. I've mentioned before that we receive free medical care through a doctor at Lincoln's school. What a blessing that is! I was very proud of myself for spelling my name & giving my age & birthdate to the doctor, all in Spanish. :) The funny thing about the doctors here is that they don't really tell you exactly what you have...they just prescribe you a ton of meds for whatever it is. I do know that I have white spots on my tonsils, so obviously it is some sort of infection. 

After spending almost $100 on 6 prescriptions between both Lincoln & I, we are hoping that Kylee doesn't get sick too. Lincoln still has a cough, but is feeling much better. I was absolutely miserable last night, with the worst chills I've ever had in my life. I had on four layers of clothes, plus two blankets & had my blow dryer on under the blankets...and I was still so cold that my teeth were chattering. Today has been better, but I'm still pretty much flat in bed.

Thank goodness I have the best dogs in the world. I forgot how awesome Daisy & Duke are when I'm sick. They know that something is wrong & never leave my side. It is the cutest thing ever.

Lincoln has Monday off of school to celebrate Benito Juarez's birthday. I'm not going to lie, I had no idea who he was until I looked it up on Wikipedia while writing this post. He served 5 terms as the president of Mexico & has his face on the 20 pesos bill...

 That's really all I know. But I'm glad that they recognize his birthday as a holiday, so that Linc has an extra day off school! :)

I even managed to find a picture that I took of Linc standing in front of a statue of Benito Juarez's head, in Ensenada in 2009. Coincidence? I don't think so. :)

Linc has a huge test on Tuesday that only 15 of 200 students passed last semester. Yikes! Here's to hoping that my meds start working soon, so that Lincoln can resume his role as medical student, instead of having to worry about watching Kylee (who is teething), cooking & cleaning as well.

Daily Life Part #1

I keep thinking that I should post more about the differences that we experience in our daily lives here in Mexico...I'm just not sure where to start! I am realizing that no matter how much I try to describe where we are living & how things are here, I won't be able to explain the culture or environment as much as I would like to. I'm sure that I will make more generalizations than I should and that my way of viewing something here isn't necessarily the way that others would see it...but I'll do my best. :)

Here are a few of the differences that we've seen here so far:

#1-Time. Most people don't stick to a very strict schedule. When dealing with big companies (like the cable company, gas company, etc.) they usually give me a window of time when they will show up (like 2-4pm) and they get here an hour or two after that (5 or 6pm). When dealing with individual workers, who work for themselves, we can expect for them to come half a day, a full day, or even half a week after they say they will come. (We were supposed to have our kitchen completely torn out & redone today. We found out that they aren't coming today, but have no idea if they will even show up sometime this week.) 

#2-Walking. I can walk around the block at any time of day and see at least a dozen people walking or riding their bikes. I LOVE it. My friend Heather & I walk to a park down the street to exercise, and there are usually 8-10 people there jogging, stretching, sprinting, walking, doing sit-ups, and all kinds of things. It helps motivate me to stay committed to exercising...especially seeing the old lady (who is probably in her 80's) there every single morning running laps! 

#3-Maids. This is obviously because of the area that we live in, but most families in the cotos have a full-time maid. Some of them even have a maid who lives with them, cleans, cooks and takes care of their kids. They have food delivered to them on a regular basis (every night I see multiple delivery guys on motorcycles in our neighborhood) and they have people come to wash their cars, trim their hedges, and anything else you can think of. In fact, I think that some people in our neighborhood think that we are very strange for washing our own car and trimming our own hedges.

#4-Dress. I am definitely the most under-dressed person in my neighborhood. The girls here are pretty much always in high heels and dressed nicely. I'm out in my pajamas, with my hair in pigtails, walking my dogs in the morning. And I'm pretty sure I am the only person here who wears a T-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes on a regular basis.

#5-Dirt. The dirt in Mexico is very fine. The doors & windows aren't sealed as well here, so the house gets dirty  quickly. Plus, every inch of our house is tiled. I spend quite a bit of time sweeping and mopping here. Kylee is now in the habit of checking the bottom of her feet to see how dirty they are...and if they are really dirty, she grabs a wipe and cleans them off. :)

Fun With Friends

On Friday, we ate at a place called Que Pacho with our friends the Whitaker's & the Powell's. At dinner, Kylee fell on some stairs & got her first little black eye...

After dinner, we headed to the frozen yogurt shop across the street. It was like Ocean Blue (for those of you in Mesa), where you get your yogurt & toppings & weigh it. The fruit here is so yummy, so my yogurt definitely didn't disappoint...taro (an asian root) yogurt with fresh mango, blueberries & kiwi with mango sauce. YUM. Kylee enjoyed some Captain Crunch & mint chocolate balls in her cup. She also enjoyed sweet Eva's company...

Pretty girls...

After dessert, we headed over to our next-door neighbors', the Whitaker's. It was movie time for the kids, while the adults played games....

We are so excited to have fun friends here. Thanks for the great night guys!!!

P.S. This was my 1000th blog post! I don't know if it is good or bad that I have so much to say about my life. :)

A New Chapter

Moving to Mexico has been such a blessing for me. I am happier. I am more confident. I feel peace and joy and gratitude on a regular basis. I feel like the shock of being here in Mexico finally wore off a few weeks ago. It seems real now and this feels like home to me. Being away from loved ones is definitely hard, but I am so thankful for everyone's support & love. We can feel it constantly! 

I am definitely pain-free and am LOVING it! My life is so, so different now. I walk for at least an hour five days a week. I play outside with Kylee and the dogs multiple times a day. Pain medication is not a part of my life. I don't have to push through pain every minute of the day, just to do the minimum. I have normal friendships and don't have to rely on others for physical help on a regular basis. I feel like MYSELF. It is an incredible feeling, and one that I have been desperately wanting for years. Now I have it!

I truly believe in miracles. I believe that we can make comebacks. I believe that it is possible to fully recover from traumatic experiences. I believe that Heavenly Father loves us and helps us to become better. I love Him & know that He is aware of me. I know that He cares about my hopes & disappointments, my fears & my faith, my successes & failures. I am incredibly thankful to Him for giving me my health. I am so excited to see what this new chapter of my life continues to bring me & my family!

Lately...

A little update on what we've been up to lately:

We went with our neighbor, Robbie, to a REALLY yummy taco shop that we'd never tried before. I tried lengua (tongue) tacos for the first time! They weren't too bad.

A closeup...

(Kind of blurry, but you get the idea.)

Daisy's paw got infected & was totally swollen. She was a sad dog, until we took her to the vet & got her some meds...

I walked in Kylee's room the other day to see another one of Daisy's "tunnels", that she made out of Kylee's clothes. Daisy is very protective of her rawhide bones & hides them whenever she gets the chance. :)

While cleaning out a cupboard in the kitchen, I found this straw doll. Apparently people put these around their house to ward off "bad spirits". I'm not even kidding. We all thought it was pretty funny, including Kylee...

We decided that when Linc has a big test, he should take the night after off & not study at all. He gets a break & I get time with my hubby, so we both look forward to test days now! His past two tests have been on a Tuesday, which is "15 pesos" night (less than $1.50) for a new release at Blockbuster. We rent a movie, buy some treats & just relax.

Brandon & Christa (our next-door neighbors for the first 4 years of our marriage) played Ticket To Ride over Skype with me the other night! I was SO, SO excited to play games with them. I have no idea how many board games I've played with them, but it is a lot! When Linc was working the night shift & I was sick and in desperate need of some socializing, they would have me over to play games. I have so many fun memories with them! Playing a game over Skype was quite interesting. I had to print off a picture of the game board. Then, Brandon or Christa would have to show me my cards without looking themselves, & I would write down each card in my hand. Then, when I was ready to play cards, I would tell them "Ok, I will play my 5th, 10th, 11th & 15th card." They would go through my hand & get my cards, then play & move me. Ha ha. I'm looking forward to many more game nights with them!

The computer screen before we started our game...

Pine Tree Park

We really are so lucky to have so many beautiful places to walk to. This is another one of our favorites...we call it the "pine tree park". It's down the street from us & takes us a few minutes to walk to. Linc & I have been surprised at how many pine trees they have here in Mexico! Daisy & Duke like to socialize with the other dogs that come to the park, while we enjoy socializing with their owners. This place is so open & pretty!

 The entrance...

 Kylee trying to touch the trees...

 The park...

Kylee 19 Months

Kylee is 19 months old now. She has a very strong personality, that has shown itself even more this past month. She says & does absolutely HILARIOUS things each day, but also does things to try to gain more independence & do things her own way. Time-out is a part of each day here, & she is actually really good about it. She now knows how to stay in the corner, so I don't have to hold her there like I did before. She is good about saying "Sorry" and giving kisses when she has hurt someone, but is still working on not doing the same thing a few hours later. Obviously, a lot of that is her age. I have a feeling that the "terrible 2's" may be an issue for us! :)

Kylee is constantly lining her toys up. She also loves moving her toys, books or clothes from one place to another, over & over. She loves bringing us her things, one by one, saying "There you go!" with each item. This habit comes in handy when I am cleaning & ask her to help. She is a great helper! Her favorite thing to help me with right now is the laundry. She is also good about wiping up messes & throwing trash away. Kylee isn't as good of an eater as she used to be, but she has developed a love for tuna, cereal & pretzels this month. She now has her own little table & chair to use at mealtime.

People still think Kylee is a boy sometimes, because of her hair. I put it in pigtails most days, but if those fall out, she is doomed. I'm getting kind of tired of hearing "Oh, he is so cute!" I really don't think that I dress her like a boy, but oh well. :) Kylee is getting better with her Spanish, and loves repeating Spanish words while watching Dora. She can often be heard yelling "Para!" ("Stop!") while watching it. Lincoln just beams with pride when he hears his little girl speaking Spanish. :)

We had to leave Kylee's favorite Winnie the Pooh movie back in AZ, because it was a VHS. Well, we found it on DVD (in English) here at Walmart! She was SO excited about it, pumping her fists in the air and dancing around when I turned it on. When choosing a movie to watch, she always asks for either "Pooh", "Dora" or "Princess" (Snow White or Sleeping Beauty"). She can now show me anything that is pink and can count to 4. Kylee still doesn't like going to nursery on Sundays, unless I stay there with her. I'm hoping that she will feel comfortable there by herself soon.

And one more piece of news...Kylee is now sleeping in her "big girl bed"! Her "big girl bed" is just a twin mattress on the floor. I put her in it once a few weeks ago, when we first bought it, but she fell off during the night. I hadn't put her in it since, but earlier this week I decided to try it again. She was sleeping in a crib before we moved, and has been in a Pack & Play since we got here, so I wasn't sure how she would do. Well, I just told Kylee that it was time for bed, laid her on her "big girl bed" with a pillow, turned off the light & left the room. She didn't make a PEEP! She just fell asleep & has done so every time since then. (We have to leave her Pack & Play pushed against her bed so that she doesn't fall off, but it works for now!) One really good thing about Kylee is that she has always been a great sleeper. She still sleeps 12 hours every night & takes a 2 1/2-3 1/2 hour nap every day. She just sits on her bed & waits for me to come in to get her when she wakes up. It's AWESOME!

I thought that my updates would get shorter as Kylee got older, but I guess that's not the case. :) Here are a few more things that I've captured her doing this past month:

Kylee loves eating mango! (The mango here is DELICIOUS.)

She also enjoys trying to feed herself with a spoon & making a huge mess...

She still loves listening to Daddy's music...

And drawing on the window with the dry erase markers, while Linc draws pictures of bones/muscles/arteries to study...

Kylee helps Lincoln wash the truck by playing in the water...

She's still a Daddy's girl & asks every morning when she wakes up & after every nap... "Daddy?" Most of the time, my reply is "Daddy is at school." Now she asks me, "Daddy school?" This little girl LOVES, LOVES, LOVES her daddy! I don't blame her...he is an awesome one! And by the way, I now agree that these two look a lot alike. There have been multiple people here who tell Kylee that she looks just like her dad, having no idea that she is adopted. :)

Kylee walks the dogs with me every day, & loves to take charge of Daisy & Duke.They're really good about it. I've looked down a few times to see Kylee with a handful of hair that she ripped from Daisy's face...& Daisy is just sitting there letting her do it. See, I told you my dogs are great...

Kylee is OBSESSED with shoes. I don't know where she gets this from, since I wear tennis shoes almost every day. She is definitely a girly-girl, always admiring the many shoes that she has in her closet.

I mentioned before that she is really into wearing necklaces & bracelets. She puts them on every single day. And a lot of times she brings a purse along as well...

Since there aren't quite as many kids around here as Kylee is used to, she has gotten creative & bonded more with her stuffed animals. They even watch movies with her...

A few of my favorite things about Kylee:

The way she says "Thank you Mommy" every time I say "Thank you Kylee".

Feeling her reach over to grab my hand.

Her kisses.

The way she scrunches her face up in a goofy smile when she knows that she has done something funny.

Watching her dance.

Hearing her talk to her toys & stuffed animals when I'm not in the room. 

The way she loves us & makes our lives better!!!