Look at my big girl

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Blackberry Photos: Life in Mexico

Yep, another edition of "Photos on Kylee's blackberry."

This is Vivienne.
She is cute.
She doesn't really love sunglasses but she DOES love me. :)

This is the gorgeous tree of life outside of my house in the common area. Love.

Gorgeous, no?

Only at Mega, the grocery store in San Jose del Cabo, would you find toddler and baby swimsuits next to the quilted vests and jackets.

This is the perfect example of the climate confusion Cabo-residents experience.

What?

THIS next one IS INCREDIBLE.

Yes, those are HUGE STUFFED lions and tigers on "leather" and micro-suede recliners at Mega.

WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS OK?

Do you get a lion or tiger if you buy a recliner?

Nothing goes together like recliners and lions, if you ask me.

I seriously could go on and on and on about this...

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Special Day! Special Day!

Sweet $al,
All five of the B's love you dearly -- including Ferg.
Why? You're so $weet and kind and you make our heart$ $mile. You're a part of our family.

We cannot wait to see you soon and hug you in REAL life. (omg.)
We are $O glad that you were born.
Please know, $weet friend, you are very loved.

xo,
Unco C., Ky, Lila, Vivienne & The Ferginator


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[insert heavy sigh]

It worked for Spike Lee, but can lightening strike twice?

Ugh.

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The cost of beauty... or at least of maintenance.

A while back I was gifted some trial sizes of Kate Somerville facial products and I fell in love. I adore the cleanser and the moisturizer and use them faithfully. Um, they smell delicious and they leave my skin smooth, happy and well-hydrated.

Well, as a HUGE fan of all-things-eye-cream related I tried Kate Somerville's Line Release Under Eye Repair Cream in the sample size.

I have dry skin. It glided on around my eye-area and I fell in love. And I look 20 years younger. This means I look 2 years old. (Joke.)

So then, after 3 days of using the sample I went to sephora to order some.

It's $125.

Ugh.

Before kids, that would have been IN MY CART and ON MY EYES faster than you could find your sephora.com username and password.

Now? Um. Not so much. $125 is far less than what I just spent out-of-pocket on 2 pediatrician appointments, 6 prescriptions and one ear nose and throat specialist visit in the past 4 days.

Truth? I totally would have rather spent my money on eye cream.

--

Speaking of face stuff, I also really love California Baby's Calendula Cream. I use it as moisturizer. (I have super-dry skin.) It smells amazing and it doesn't have ANY synthetic ANYTHING in it.

I also put it on any skin issues the girls have -- rashes, red spots, dry spots -- you name it. Bottom line? This moisturizer is a bandaid in a jar. Love it.

And guess what? It's not $125. It's $13.74 on Amazon.

Amen.

--

**Nope, I don't get compensated for my product endorsements. But I'd like to. So, someone let Kate Somerville know, um-kay?


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Looks like a slow day on weather.com.

Apparently now they're sharing recipes?

--

Need help.

Someone I know is getting married in Ohio. In a couple of weeks.

I need a dress.

WHAT DO I WEAR?

Store suggestions? Thoughts?


--

ish yer birfday.

There are just some people out there who literally light up a room. When people are around them, they laugh, they smile, they feel... well, they feel good.

Sweet, Iris Took -- you're one of those people.
I am so happy that you were born.
I can speak for my entire family (including Ferg) when I say, we love you.

Happy, happy birthday.

(We can't wait to see you and celebrate with you soon.)

Love,
ky

P.S. While those cupcakes up there are not necessarily for birthdays, I still thought they were hoo-larious. Get it? Hoo-hoo. Owl? Awesome.


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Expanding my vocabulary

There's an adjective that I just don't use often enough: germane.

Not as in, people of Germanic descent, but as a substitute for "relevant."

It can be used like this, "Anything Kathie Lee has to say is usually not germane to the discussion at hand."

Ah, too funny.

And seriously, whoever made up this little gem on the interweb was absolutely right. There is definitely a similarity there.

--

Three outs.

No post today.

Lila has a double ear infection. She hurts. A lot. (Thank goodness for her pediatrician who is available on Sundays.)

Craig's sick.

Vivienne's not well either -- her doctor's appointment is at 11:30 a.m. today.

--

This **always** happens before we're due to fly anywhere. Hopefully everyone is better by Friday.
And I'm praying that I don't sick.

No time for that.


--

Beautiful cupcake, beautiful soul, beautiful day.

Dear sweet Mick,

I hope today is WONDERFUL. You deserve it.
You are gorgeous -- inside and out. Cliche? Sure. True? Absolutely.
We love you so much and cannot wait to see you soon.
We are SO happy that you were born.

Happy, happy birthday!

kiss and hug,
kylee


--

My cupeth runneth overeth...

...into my macbook pro.

So, there's no Vivienne Viernes this week... I can't quite access the photos on my computer, but I had this ONE on my blackberry.

Anywho, so what happened?

I made the fateful mistake of spilling hot tea on my laptop.
Yep. I did.

Kids, the tea was DRIPPING out of the battery signal button. (Dripping.)

So, I waited...

I dried it out. (A cool hair dryer, rice in a garbage bag and a fan were involved.)

I waited...

And 24-hours later I turned it on and... it worked!

Sadly, my glee was short-lived. Apparently she (my computer) no longer acknowledges her power source so what does that mean? It means that my sweet little, not-yet-two-year-old macbook pro is sitting... silently... waiting to go back to Ohio next week to be [cross your fingers] fixed.

Seriously, though? The timing is actually fantastic. Thank GOODNESS we're going back to the States next week and I can take the 'ole computer in.

So, here I am typing away on my relic: my five-year-old macbook pro. She's sweet. And loyal. And I'm so glad I have her. Don't get me wrong, multi-tasking isn't so easy on the 2006. She's a bit slower than my new computer, but I'm grateful that I have her.

(Yep, my computers are my friends.)

So all that said:

If you own a laptop, specifically an apple -- BUY an iSkin keyboard protector. I seriously think this SAVED my laptop. Sure, the battery thing is an issue -- but my data is there and liquid didn't seep into my computer via my keyboard.

'Twill be the best $13-$20 you can spend.

Later gators.


--

Happy birthday, brother!

Dear brother of mine.

You are great.
I love you. I respect you. I enjoy being around you.
You're funny.
You're intelligent.
You're an incredible Daddy -- one that our Dad would have been very proud of.
It pleases me beyond words that our babies are growing up together.
You're a good man, brother. A very, very good man.

I love you to the moon and back and I am so very glad you were born.

Happy Birthday.

Love,
Ky

(Did you like that the image with this post is a steak? Um. Awesome.)



--

I dare you not to cry. And give.

a

--

MexMo: Nope. I wouldn't have believed you.

If you would have told me seven years ago my husband and I would be living in Mexico, with our two daughters that I birthed here, I would have suspected that you were using illegal narcotics.

I had one of those almost-laughing-out-loud, how-did-I-get-here? moments yesterday while attending an hour-long, all-Spanish meeting at Lila's preschool.

Where am I? Whose life is this? Why is it 98 degrees at 6 p.m. in September? Why does is hurt my brain so much to concentrate on what they're saying?

Even five years ago when we moved here I would have never suspected that I would have been confident enough to voluntarily attend an all-Spanish meeting. At that point, I was still attempting to translate EVERY single word that people said in Español.

My sister finally explained to me that I needed to listen and not translate. That was a huge a-ha moment. (I miss Oprah.)

I am by no means incredible in the 'ole Spanish world, but I understand quite a lot. Sure, I still need help here and there. My conjugations are usually off, but I try. I'll have a conversation in Español with anyone, but you just might not know what I'm saying. Praise the Lord that I have hands and that when I get really stuck, I can gesture.

My respect for anyone who speaks English as a second language has grown exponentially since living here. There's nothing more humbling than moving to another country and not speaking the language. In my opinion, you have a get-out-of-jail-free card for the first year or so... then it's time to learn. And you know what, ya'll? Learning a new language and speaking it on a regular basis is hard.

--

So yeah. I can't believe I live in Mexico. I can't believe I had my children here. And I can't believe that yet again I was the only gringo in a room full of Mexicans. And I can't believe that I was so ok with it.

By the way, whenever I'm the lone American I am ever-so-thankful for how welcoming this community is. Perhaps the 'ole U.S. of A. should take a lesson from their neighbors to the south and be just as welcoming to them. (Opening immigration reform conversation now.)

Cabo is lovely for so many obvious reasons, hello 350 days of sunshine per year... but it's lovely because the people are kind and patient with Gringas like me.

Viva Mexico.

P.S. When Vivienne started fussing during the meeting, one of the administrators of the school held her and took her outside so that I could listen. Um. Hello super-nice, family-oriented culture.


--

Blackberry photos

I often wonder if I'm the only person left on earth who still uses a blackberry.

My excuse is that it's for work.

That said, because it's that kind of morning, I thought I'd craft a VERY exciting post showing you some recent photos from the 'ole blackberry. (Photos taken by myself or by C. and then shared with me.)

Remember, the photos are of eh-quality.

--

This is Vivienne. She'll be 8 months old in 4 days. She likes to climb. And she has delicious thighs.

This is Lila. I posted this on my facebook page too but had to re-share.

Um.

She's cool like that.

(How cute is she in her school uniform shirt?)

I have yet to learn the proper ratio of water to swiss miss in my instant {and oh-so-good-for-me} hot chocolate. So, I am forced to open an additional packet and mix in half of it.

There are worse things.

Oddly, I chose to drink that hot chocolate on the same day that my car's thermometer said it was this hot.

Vivienne's favorite toy: an empty water bottle.

WHY DO WE BUY OUR CHILDREN TOYS WHEN THEY PREFER FOUND OBJECTS?

Lila reading to Vivienne. Um. Cute.

Lila was invited to her first birthday party at school. She's kind of pumped. I don't know who this Caren is, but word on the street is that I have to send Lila to school with a gift.

I don't even know if I like this kid or not.

There's was a cat outside of my house this morning. Meowing. Really loudly. I'm not a cat fan.

That's all for now. ;)


--

My "Official" 2011 Emmy Fashion Recap

So at first thought whilst watching E!'s very important coverage of the Emmy's red carpet, I thought, "Well, wow. There's a lot of earth tones and red. Interesting."

[intense thought, no?]

Then I thought, "Where is Tina Fey?" I missed her on the red carpet.

I digress.

Let's dig right in.

--

First off, the Glee ladies. Oh wow. AWFUL.

It's true. I hated all of their looks.

Here's why:

Lea Michelle's red dress was made for a taller person. I'm sorry. It was. The back was gorgeous, but the rest? No. Ill-fitting. (Great hair, though. She works the bangs.)

And Dianna Agron's blue dress? GASP. Are you kidding me? It seriously appears as if she's being choked out UFC-style by that bright blue satin. There couldn't be a more ill-flattering look for her arms, either.

Amber Riley and Jayma Hayes in their pinkish-purplish ensembles were horrendous.

Amber looks like she's 53. Which would be fine, if she wasn't 25. (I IMDB'd it.)

And Jayma Hayes looks like she's starring on the stage at Dolly Parton's themepark, Dollywood. Awful. And do your hair.

Oh boy, now I don't hate the first navy-blue dress on Heather Morris. In fact, I think it's kind of fun. She's the right height for it. But the hair? Stop it. As if you needed more height. That look is wearing her; she's not wearing it.

And Jenna Ushkowitz just looks too severe. That dress is scary.

So yeah, there was a lot of red.