Trouble

So, today I got in trouble for not keeping up with my blog. I know, shame on me!! BUT, there is so much going on lately and I am always so tired once I get home from work, cook dinner, and put Emma to bed. The time just goes waaaay to quick and then it is my bedtime. The long standing joke with our friends is that we always go to bed at 9, which is certainly not true...usually! But the last few weeks I have been so tired that I have been in bed by 9:15. Don't worry, I'm not pregnant. :)

The other day (ok, a couple of weeks ago), I was cooking dinner. And after a few minutes I didn't hear anything coming from Emma. You know when your child stops making noise, that they are probably into something. I quickly finished what I was working on and before I could turn around, I heard running water. Not only did Emma sneak into the bathtub without making a huge "thud," she had also turned the water on. THANKFULLY, she only turns it on enough to get satisfaction from water flow and hasn't turned the hot on yet. So, I walk in there and here she is, sitting, with her clothes on, playing in the water. This girl doesn't have a fear of water...which isn't necessarily a good thing. I learned my lesson from this though. Always, always, shut the bathroom door!

She's got her Momma's taste.

Again, not necessarily a good thing. This girl knows expensive. She has recently taken to carrying a purse. Here, she found mine, which happened to be my Coach purse. She didn't want to put it down! I'm glad I taught her well. ;)

Here is my beautiful baby, climbing trees! Haha, not really of course, but it was the perfect nook for her to sit in. I just love my little angel.

Until next time...hope this pleases the disgruntled. (Kristen) :) Love to all!

Meet Margo

On Wednesday, Ms. Becky, took Emma to the doctor for me. She had a cough for a few days now and it was not getting any better. The result of the doctor visit was bronchitis. She prescribed an antibiotic and wanted her to start breathing treatments! I went to the medical supply store, on my lunch hour, to get a nebulizer. After filling out the paperwork, the lady helping me asked me to pick one. Little did I know I was able to choose an animal nebulizer! How cool!! This adventure suddenly turned into a shopping trip. HAHA! I chose a dog at first because Emma is obsessed with dogs. But, there was also a purple cow that came with a travelling case, which was a barn. The cow was so cute I couldn't turn it down. Ladies and gentlemen meet ............Margo, the Moo Cow!!

Surprisingly enough, Emma has taken her breathing treatments fairly easy. We have learned to distract her by reading a book. She even woke up the next morning asking for Margo. Hopefully, this will be one of the only times we have to use it but seeing that Doug and I both had our bouts with asthma, something tells me we will get to know Margo very well!

Until next time, go enjoy some fresh air!

Oh so much to talk about....

Well, it has been a few days....SURPRISE, SURPRISE! Today's post will be a variety of things seeing as it has been a while and alot has been going on.

MMMMM, Steak!    Last Friday night, Emma had her first steak dinner.  She isn't a big meat eater, so i wasn't sure what she would think. To my surprise she liked it! She didn't eat much of it but it was more meat than what she usually eats.

Do I hear friends?!?!

This poor baby! She has been a huge fan of playing in the backyard since the weather has been so nice. Our next door neighbors have three kids (I think), who are older, and Emma always hears them playing in their backyard. The other day I caught here trying to pry open the panels to see them better. She gets so frustrated, upset, and just doesn't understand why she can't play with them!

The Besties!

There are some days in life where you just need your bestie! We haven't seen ours in some time now, and much to our surprise, the LeFevre family, came to visit us! I think we all needed each other.  As we both will probably have some job changes in the near future, it was nice to discuss different scenarios and just have a nice break from life, if you will. 

Theses pictures make me wonder just what is going on in these precious girls' minds. It is crazy to think that they play most of the time without talking, even gibberish.

  

Not this girl!

Today, was quite the relaxing day. Not too much going on, which isn't always a bad thing.

For the past few days, Emma has been obsessed with Barney and the Furry Friends DVD that she got for Christmas (Thanks Uncle Derrick and Aunt Terra!). And I mean obsessed. If we aren't playing outside or not at home, the DVD has to be on. On one of the episodes there is a song about cookies. Today, when it comes on, for the 5th time (j/k), she goes into the kitchen, somehow grabs the box of cookies off the counter, and brings them to me. First of all, did I miss something? How in the world is she tall enough to take those of the counter!!!! I am in serious trouble now.  Second of all, how did she know that they were cookies. We don't eat cookies alot and they were left over from this weekend, and she didn't have any then. This child never ceases to amaze me. And of course, I had to give her one!

My next move was a mistake. I let her eat it in the floor while watching Barney. While she was sitting there, I busied myself with something else, only to turn around and see what was left of the cookie crumbled on the floor. I made her pick up the "big" pieces and got the vacuum out for the rest. We have been trying to work on picking up after ourselves!  Since she is into cleaning, she had to help vacuum.

You won't ever hear any one singing the song "Fat Bottom Girls" to Emma (better not anyways). Nope, not this girl! We clearly have a sagging issue! The bad part about this is that these capri's are 12 month pants (and she is 16 months) and with the lack of a booty, she can't keep them up! It just made me smile. Neither Doug, nor I, have a "booty" and that was one thing we always talked about when imagining what are children would look like. I guess we were right.

Until next time....baby don't got back!

A Day of Love!

Yesterday, obviously Valentines Day, was a day filled with love for the Joneses. We started the day off with blueberry muffins (doesn't really have to do with love but they are yummy!), then we went on a walk. It was such a beautiful day that our time outside didn't end there. When Emma and I got back from our walk, Emma wanted to play outside. She loves the outdoors! I sat in our "extravagant" lawn furniture, a camping chair, and enjoyed the works of the Lord. I read my Bible and had my quiet time. We then took Daddy a picnic lunch up to the school. Since times have been a little awkward there, we thought we would brighten his day! We enjoyed our short 30 minute lunch with Daddy and headed home for Emma's nap. After nap time, Emma made Doug a homemade Valentines Day card. We also gave daddy a new picture for his classroom. Little did we know that he had a surprise for us! He came home with flowers for me and a teddy bear and balloon for Emma. She is very into both balloons and stuffed animals right now. I can't hardly walk through a store without her wanting one. I guess this is when the begging starts, however, she can't voice it much yet, just more of a fit when she doesn't get it. Haha.

Needless to say, yesterday was a wonderful day, filled with the two of the best things that have ever happened to me. I hope all of you had a great day of love, too!

Don't you love my lawn furniture! Oh, and the cute little girl sitting in the chair! This is the picture that now sits on Daddy's desk at work.

Making Daddy's card!

She wouldn't turn around to get a better pic, so this will have to do.

Until next time....remember, love conquers all!



February 1-4

SNOW DAYS!


I need to play catch up quite a bit. I decided I would start with the snow days that we had last week. We had four days where we were all at home. As I frequently checked my facebook, it was interesting to see how everyone was so excited about the first and most of the second snow day but by the third and fourth day many were miserable from being inside. I, however, LOVED every single moment of our "surprise vacation"! I can't think of any better way to spend my time off, then to spend it with my family. There aren't many times that we are all off together. Enjoy these captured moments of our time together.

DAY 1

Emma loved looking out our bedroom window to see the snow!

Our little princess!

It was so windy this first morning I almost can't describe it. I felt like I was skydiving...ok, ok not quite that bad! ;)

DAY 2

Day 2, was our cleaning day. Why? I'm not so sure why because the house definitely didn't stay clean. How could I expect it to? We were playing with literally every two that Emma has.  But Emma has recently taken up cleaning. She loves to wipe her face and hands and today she decided that she needed to help Mommy and Daddy dust and sweep. Too cute!

(As you can see, our toys didn't stay put up for long.)

DAY 3

Today, there were a pair of redbirds in the backyard. It's hard to tell in this picture but the contrast of their color and the snow was absolutely gorgeous!

Later, I saw this one (not sure if its the male or female) perched in the tree. Again, I loved the contrast with the green behind the bird.

It's MOOSE! He isn't a huge fan of the snow, you won't be catching him rolling around in it. He would go out long enough to scare the birds away and do his "business" and that would be it.

Here is Emma running around, enjoying the snow!

Day 4

When we first moved to S'ville, we were going to put Emma's bed on the lowest setting, so that we wouldn't have to do it later. One of the four screw holes would not let the screw in all the way. Instead of fixing it at that time, we just lowered it to the next level. Now, we have reached the point where Emma is tall enough that she was attempting to crawl out. We knew we had reached a point that we needed to lower the crib to the last level.

We figured out that there was wood glue in the hole and needed to find a way to chisel it out. Doug tried a few of his tricks but I had the ultimate idea! I used one of my hygiene instruments to remove it. After all, it was pretty much like removing tarter from people teeth, without the blood. HAHA.  So, my idea worked and now Emma can't crawl out of her bed! 

Emma's first PONYTAIL! I can't believe our baby's hair is long enough for a ponytail. I won't put it in one very often yet because it make her look like a little girl more than a baby. :-(  I know, I know...I have to let her grow up sometime, just not yet.

Until next time..."A loving person lives in a loving world.  A hostile person lives in a hostile world. Everyone you meet is your mirror." Ken Keyes, Jr.

Well...HELLOOO!

As you can see, it has been just a "few" days since my last blog and where to start?!

Doug's friend, Lance, got an iPhone4 the other day and he was so excited about it. The iPhone4 has a feature called facetime, where you can see the person you are talking to if that person has an iPhone4 as well. So, the boys had to try it out. LOL! This is hilarious and totally changes the phone call.
Jackie decided that she would give us some "facetime" tonight! This is too funny, you even get caught making all of your weird faces that the other person doesn't get to see.

At one point we were able to "facetime" with both Jackie and Lance, retro style! (I know it isn't the best pic, but you get the idea)

Well, long day tomorrow but the next few days will be eventful! Keep reading and I promise that I will keep posting!

Until next time....go get an iPhone4, so that you can enjoy "facetime!"

(Sip)..."AHHH"...

So, as you can tell it has been a few days since I have blogged last. Since Emma was sick, I have been totally worn out. She was/is having a hard time going to sleep. It is getting better night by night. Now, nap time at the babysitter is a whole other story. The way I feel at this moment can be described by one word "AHHH"  AND this picture...

Until next time, enjoy your evening!

Rosey Cheek Girl

Today I had plans to meet up with my friend, Amanda, who lives in Lawton, OK. We planned to meet in Wichita, have lunch at our fav spot, Cheddars, then do a little shopping. I haven't seen Amanda for quite some time now and she is moving to Georgia in May. I was so excited that both of our schedules finally allowed for us to get together! And then our plans came crashing down when I read this....

Emma started running a low grade fever Wednesday night and had a runny nose. I attributed it all to teething. When I got home from work yesterday, Emma was sleeping. My sister watched her yesterday and she told me she wasn't feeling well for most of the day. When she woke up, she had the rosiest cheeks and the poor baby was just burning up! I took her temp and it was 102.4. Out pops the Tylenol and she took a bath. You couldn't tell that she was sick, she was just as happy as ever...until bed time. We fought trying to get her to go to bed for about an hour. Around 11:30, she woke up for the first time, then about 1:45, and again at 3:30. I tended to her every time because Doug had to work today. I tried everything, rocked her, slept with her in the guest room, everything! When she finally went to sleep at 3:30, she slept until 9:15. Her fever stayed down until the medicine wore off and it would spike back up to 102.4.

Against my wants, I cancelled my plans with Amanda and made Emma a doctors appointment. Gotta take care of my girl! Dr. Helen says she has Strep, not good news. Today, she has not been too much fun to be around. :( I don't like having sick babies! She didn't want to nap at ALL, unless I was rocking her. She made herself throw up because she was so upset when I put her in bed. Overall, she just wanted to be held all day. I can't blame her, I know I always wanted my mommy when I was sick. And still do to some extent.  Nothing replaces mommies when we are sick. I started her on her antibiotic today and I am hoping that it kicks this strep stuff to the curb, quick, fast, and in a hurry!


Until next time...please say a quick prayer for her recovery!


P.S. I am enjoying blogging everyday. I wasn't sure at first but it is nice to just write what I want. It is almost like my daily stress relief.

Our little stinker!

Keeping Emma out of Moose's food bowl is ALWAYS a battle. Emma thinks that she needs to be by Moose's side when he is eating, put food in his mouth, or show him what to eat. It is just about on a daily basis that I catch her playing in his food bowls. Typically it is the water bowl, since she is obessed with water. The other day I caught her with her face in the water trying to drink like a dog. LOL! I try to keep the door to the pantry closed but obviously I fail! Today I walked in on this.....

 Just look at that precious little smile! She was so proud of herself. I know that it is hard to tell in this picture but she has taken just about every piece of dog food from the food bowl and transferred it to the water bowl that was full of water. I could only laugh at this and ask her "Who is your mama and why isn't she watching you?!" haha. I told Moose that he missed out and should have eaten when he had the chance. Gotta love toddlers! :)


Later this evening, Daddy had the urge to play NCAA football. Somebody wanted to join him! I thought this was too cute, already wanting to be like her daddy. It was good bonding time for the two of them. She loves anything that has buttons!

Until next time...be sure to thank God for something he has blessed you with today!

Thoughts of the day...

So, this morning I read a quote that really hit me...hard. I also shared it on facebook. But, for those of you who didn't read it there, it goes like this....

"God inspires us to be better people, not bitter people." 

I think I get caught up in turning situations to negative, thus making me bitter. It is easier to be bitter, than it is to take the high road. I play the "pity party" game with myself. I have been trying to remind myself that whatever the situation is, it could always be worse. God has blessed me with so many things in my life and sometimes I take those things for granted.

Here is an example that gets me. I often wonder why I feel like I have one sided friendships, me being the one that calls and doesn't get calls back or rarely gets a call. I feel like I am a good friend, as good as I know how to be. I do let that get to me and become bitter and even hurt by that. And I shouldn't be! I have something that most of my friends don't have, a 40 minute drive after work. Alot of times that is when I do my calling but it is also right in the middle of family time for others. I should use that time to really wind down from the day, so that when I get home I can place my focus on my family. The part that gets to me is when I don't get a call back. Why take my time out to think about you, when you don't do the same. I guess that is the part where I am a better person ;). Maybe it is that I talk too much (couldn't tell, could you). I'll try making my conversations short and sweet. I dunno.

I try hard to forget about these things but sometimes I just can't.   Lately, I have let alot of things turn me into a bitter person. Well, I feel better now!

I guess that this really spoke to me and was something that I needed to be reminded of. In general I am going to try harder to let things roll. Be the better person, not the bitter person.

On a brighter note, I had a busy day at work and tomorrow is Thursday! Yay! HELLO WEEKEND!!

Until next time...goodnight!

Madi's Birthday/Bellybutton

On Saturday, we traveled to the last town that we lived in...Jacksboro. I miss that place...sometimes :) I especially miss the LeFevre family that we left there. Jackie is a coaches wife and she is one of my only friends that really gets ALMOST every aspect of me. (Douglas is the only one who really gets the WHOLE me!) It is crazy because we are so alike but so very different. She taught me a lot while we "coached" together. Like how not to take crap from people and to speak my mind. These are both good qualities, as long as you don't over do it. Haha.

However, Saturday was a special day to celebrate Miss Madi's first birthday. Madi is Emma's bestie, whether they know it or not! She has a super cute ladybug themed party and Jackie did an excellent job on the ladybug cupcakes and cakes. Everyone had a great time playing and catching up!

                                                 The cool girls with matching sunglasses!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADI!


Sunday, was a lazy/catch up day. Emma stayed in her pj's all day and Daddy and I found a home for all of Emma's toys in her room. Key words: IN HER ROOM. For the last two months, her toys have taken over our living room. I am a bit of a neat freak (some of which I have had to let go of since Emma's arrival) and her toys were driving me crazy. Our living room is back to normal with a few toys still in there. I know it will never be the way it was pre baby but that is OK!

Today, Monday, Doug had the day off from work. I was a bit jealous in that I couldn't stay home with my two loves. I had to bring home the bacon! :) Emma and Daddy had a wonderful day, staying inside on this chilly day. They wrestled all day! We baked chocolate chip cookies after dinner. Doug and I had milk in our glasses and Emma wanted to drink out of mine. I let her have the last few sips out of a big girl cup. And, as expected, it ended up all over the floor and her. She thought that this was hilarious and poured out the rest that was still left. Again, she just giggled! I took her clothes off and let her run around with a diaper for a bit. As we were sitting on the couch together, she found her BELLYBUTTON! haha, this was hilarious. Then she had to see if mommy and daddy had one as well. Ours are a bit "hidden" but she found them. I love the moments that she discovers something new, the look on her face is priceless! We finished our evening up with the book "Love You Forever." One of my favs, that makes me cry everytime I read it.

That is all for today. Until tomorrow....have a good one!

Emma's New Ride

Well, last night was the first night to use my new jogging stroller Doug bought me for Christmas. We had been using her everyday stroller when we first started running, as we were waiting for UPS to bring us our new one! The first few times in the old stroller, Emma did fine. However, the last time or so, she was fussing about half way through. The only thing that would make her happy is if I would take out my headphones so that she could listen to the music. I have to say that last night was a successful run!! She loved her new stroller! I did as well! It was so much easier to push and control this stroller. Thank you, love, for my new stroller!!

Here we GO......

So, as encouraged by a great friend of mine, I have decided to start blogging. It will be a great way for family and friends to "Keep Up With the Joneses!"  I don't know if I will be an everyday blogger but we shall see. I am going to use this to relay my thoughts, wishes, fears, and feelings to anyone wanting to read. Please don't hold grammatical errors or punctuation against me! :)

This week was a crazy week with everyone getting back into a routine. Doug returned to teaching/coaching, I returned to cleaning teeth, and Emma returned to Ms. Becky's. We had a wonderful time off and I will post some pictures from Christmas later. This year was great because Doug doesn't have basketball responsibilities and we were able to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted! I was so very thankful for our two weeks off together over the Christmas holiday but it sure was good to get back to work.

Christmas Day

Bonding with Great G-ma and G-pa 

Decorating the tree before Christmas.

We also found out this week that Doug didn't make it into the final group of coaches that will be interviewing for the Athletic Director position at DHS. I know that the Lord has a great plan for us and we will be patient as we wait to see what the future holds!

Doug and I are training for 5k's, using Couch to 5K program. Going back to work this week has made it hard for me to find the time to run. I will figure out a system to include it in my daily routine though, I AM determined! We received Emma's jogging stroller yesterday and we are going to test it out tonight! I am so excited about that!!

I guess this is all for now.  I hope you enjoy reading and keeping up with what is going on in our lives!