Noe News is Good News

Frying pans! Who knew, right?

IN this house, we really love frying pans. Sometimes one of us have maybe even suffered a bonk on the head from one. And yes, we will blame Tangled for that!

Squirly Squirly the caterpillar

As Joselyn said "I can't believe I got my first pet and it's a caterpillar!" It was love at first sight when Joselyn laid eyes on this fuzzy little guy at the side of our house. We made him a little temporary home, filled it with some soil, leaves and dandelions (apparently these wooly bear caterpillars love them) and Joselyn carried him around for a while. Adam looked up information on them to be safe :) Isn't he so cute?







Then we let him play a little outside.. and slowly but surely Joselyn and "Squirly Squirly" (she came up with the name all by herself) warmed up to each other.











At first Joselyn was a little skeptical about even touching him, but you've got to admit, he does look soft and fluffy. So she started by gently petting him and then by the end of their 1-2 hours together she had him crawling around on her arm. Braver than me!

"He's so fluffy I'm gonna die!!" Name that movie!














It was actually quite sweet to see how much she loved Squirly Squirly. She talked to him, made sure to get him lots of dandelions to eat, made up a caterpillar dance AND song for him, and gave him lots of cuddles.











She also drew his portrait- twice.

As the sun started to set, we told Joselyn we would have to set him free and say good-bye so that he could turn into a butterfly (er... moth, actually). It was a sad parting, but she made sure to give him a big kiss good-bye and said she would come see him in the morning.





Sure enough, the first thing Joselyn wanted to do was to go see Squirly Squirly this morning. He wasn't anywhere to be found. Although sad, Joselyn stayed optimistic- suggesting that maybe he had built his cacoon somewhere and that the next time we saw him he would be a butterfly!

What do I do now?

Kids are at my in-laws and I am home "de-stressing".  Usually when I send my kids off it's because I have a photo shoot or something else pressing to do... but this time I feel like I'm cheating. I told myself I wasn't going to do anything, at least for today, that could be considered stress inducing. No work, no cleaning, no worrying about anything. So I get to do what I want today. Funny that I find myself in front of the computer. It could partly be the fact that Adam is home and he is in the office working so I wanted his company. But I also think it hints at what I *think* makes me happy, and it makes me laugh. Can anyone guess what I am doing online right now? It's an awful obsession... looking at cute valentines day stuff, cute kids clothes and rooms. I promise I won't be on long... and that I will take some time to read a favorite magazine or start a book. Or even watch a movie that I want to watch.

I Don't really feel like taking a nap, which is something a lot of people would recommend, I'm sure, but I went to bed at 9pm last night. That's SOOOO early for me and I ended up waking again at 3am to my side hurting again, my lymph nodes swollen and my back tingling. I got my iPad out and starting reading about shingles and came to the conclusion that I never had a pulled muscle. I think it was all shingles to start with. I read that sometimes the pain, depending on where it is, can be mistaken for pulled muscles or even heart attacks. It would explain why it was so so tender to the touch when Adam tried to massage it out. It would also explain why it is starting to tingle again. Everything I read started bothering me and I couldn't go back to sleep so I woke Adam up and he gave me a blessing. I seriously love that man. He was able to calm me down and help me feel better. I was then able to go back to sleep and wake up at 7:30am- which I consider sleeping in.

It's actually nice to start thinking about Valentines Day. I love the holiday that celebrates love and I love the combination of red and pink. Wanna see what has been making me happy today- and helping me de-stress?

The following bedding and clothes from Room Seven- a clothing line I stumbled on this morning. CUTE.

 



Martha Stewart

 









From here and there- can't remember where.

I started an anti-viral today that is supposed to help with the pain and hopefully heal things sooner. But that's another story in itself... we've had a little bit of bad luck with our new insurance coverage. Like, it doesn't exist. No stress today so I won't talk about it right now. I'd rather look at pretty things!

It's 5 am...

It's 5 am and I am awake... mostly because I fell asleep at 9pm last night and second because Joselyn woke me up so I could tuck her back in and fix her blankets. I couldn't go back to sleep. So what have I been doing? I've been posting a few recent sessions on facebook and reading some of my favorite blogs!

I've seen some really cool stuff, so I thought I'd share

-This Christmas greeting is so awesome and since we also do a video greeting every year, something like this would be fun some day!
-A cute little online boutique
-An idea for preserving your children's art work- I love this idea and you can use different shapes!
-Felt balls for cheap! So many possibilities...
-Stalking Santa- I am going to have to get this movie.
-I want a doll like this for Joselyn- any talented people who can sew who'd like to make one for me? Made by this gal.
-This blanket looks so comfy!!
-Cool popsicle makers!

Alright! On to finding more fun stuff!

The Kitchen Sink

There are many things that I have had to "get used to" as a mother. Hard things... and one thing that always has thrown me a curve ball is what to do while I cook and wash dishes. Up until recently, the kids were kind of too young to be involved so it was always a challenge just letting them cry or whine while I did those things. I know there are many of you mothers out there who have this down, but I struggle. Especially since I'm not a great cook to begin with and it takes all my concentration just to get it done... if I even do. In an effort to make things a little easier, I moved Joselyn's play kitchen set downstairs where her and Landen could "cook" while I cooked. It has worked wonders. So my next step was to try and figure out how to keep them out of the dishwasher and off my pants while I washed the dishes (that seem to stack up in no time and that I avoid).

I finally figured it out. I filled one side of the sink with a little bit of water and dishsoap and pulled two chairs up to the sink. Then I let the kids play in the bubbles and water next to me while I use the other side of the sink to rinse dishes and put them in the dishwasher. This works wonders... keeps them occupied a long time... even after I've finished with the dishes!

Anyway, the other day after I had finished washing the dishes, I sat down at the kitchen table with Adam to have a conversation while the kids continued to play in the bubbles. Landen and Joselyn were giggling having fun and it was a nice sound :) I looked back to check on them and found them in the sink. Taking a "bath". In their clothes. Landen still in his diaper (which I had thankfully JUST changed!) Adam and I laughed so hard and then ran to get our cameras.

I honestly don't know how they both fit in there and still managed to stay giggly and happy.

Photo Shoot at Waveland

There were so many reasons why a photo shoot was in order...

1. Birthdays coming up and I needed to document
2. Christmas updates
3. It was a beautiful fall friday and we had nothing else to do!

I came very prepared with lots of orange tic-tacs (Great idea Kauti- works like a charm!!) and other treats and brought along some props. I was expecting the worst, but hoping for the best. But I wasn't going to let it stress me out. Mainly I just wanted the kids to have some fun!

But they surprised me and did wonderfully!! I am so happy to have these pictures of my children to remember them and how they are right here and right now! I mostly got pictures of Joselyn and a few of the 2 together since Landen just had his photos taken by my talented friend Stacie!! You MUST go look at them!

Here are the pics I took of the kids (pre-dog bite!)

I love Joselyn's little finger to her mouth... she does this when she is acting shy or she's nervous. She is definitely acting here. Landen just wants his candy and is taking it very seriously.


I love that I caught this part of Joselyn- her silly laughing cute little self.

I can't believe I actually got my kids to do this!! It was one of my first shots... I don't know if they would have done this further in to our shoot...

These just about make me cry... Joselyn seems so grown up here in my eyes...

Some cute Landen faces with his pouty bottom lip. Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks? They are so pincheable!!









I was being very very silly but nothing I was doing could get Landen to laugh! Silly boy.







This took a lot of breaks and a lot of bribery. But OH so worth it!! I love my babies!!

Preschool Prep

I have fond memories of shopping for school supplies when I was little. I loved lining up all my new pencils, folders and notebooks and organizing them. They were all so pretty. I love new backpacks. So when I signed Joselyn up for Preschool, you can bet I was excited for the school supply shopping!

First item of business was her backpack. I was actually excited to use her little preschool backpack that my friend Kasey got her- A pink backpack with a cute little elephant on it personalized with her name.

But we were specifically told that they needed a backpack large enough to hold a folder, so I knew it wasn't going to work. Since we loved the elephant one so much (from Pottery Barn Kids) I decided to look there. I wanted something well built that would last her a few years. The Fairfax backpacks were on sale, so I decided on a small fairfax backpack. I knew it would still be a little big for her tiny back, but she'll eventually grow into it.



We decided on the pink one with blue trim. It's super cute but definitely a little plain for my tastes- and for a little girl. So I bought some really cute patches from Etsy and at Micheals to adorn it. My mom helped me sew them on and it turned out adorable!

AS far as a lunchbox, I already did a post on that... remember? The cute little owl?




Unfortunately, it won't be in until early October as it was back ordered. So I had to get a temporary one, lol. I wasn't originally going to, but Gap was having a sale on their lunch boxes and they were super cheap, so I got one of those to hold her over (and to possibly use for myself)

I also got a little ID tag made at this little Etsy shop. It turned out adorable!

 

Of course I couldn't leave Landen out. I also got him a little backpack to put his items in when we took Joselyn to Preschool. I am volunteering in the Nursery there this year so that Joselyn will get free tution (awesome little program!) and Landen was going to be joining me in there. I found him this cute little monkey backpack.

 

There is something comforting about having all of these things taken care of and ready. I felt good about it all- and excited. It turns out that I will also be putting Joselyn in another Preschool on Tuesdays- a lot of the gals at My School (the one I signed Jos up for first) are doing that since their programs are very similar. I'm hoping that it won't overwhelm Joselyn- I just know that she is the kind of a girl who needs a lot of stuff to do, and this will help keep her busy as she learns and makes new friends!

Bene "drill" and other funnies July-August

Some funny things being said and done in the Noe household lately:

On Labor day our family met up with my parents at a park for a barbecue. While there, Joselyn got eaten alive by mosquitoes. (as did I) Poor little thing had about 10 bites on one of her arms and 1 on each of her hands. I was so mad at myself for not putting bug spray on her. Anyway, she's been itching up a storm today and tonight as I was putting her to bed she told me she wanted some medicine. Here's our dialogue:

Me (talking to Adam): Can you please get me the Benedryl for Joselyn?

Joselyn (in a very concerned voice): No mom, a drill will hurt me! It's a tool! (Bene-drill)

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Joselyn: I LOVE you so really much!
                 I am SO love you!
                  Buh-llller-fly (trying really hard to get the diction and pronunciation right on "Butterfly"

-Singing some primary songs:

-(Love is spoken here) ... mine is a home where every hour is blessed by the strength of Preschool power
She even corrected me when I sang "Priesthood" and said "No, mom, say Pre-school."

-(Teach me To walk in the Light- 2nd verse)  ... home to his presents to live in His light... she asked me specifically to sing the song about Presents and I couldn't figure out which song she was asking for so I had her sing it for me. Ah-hah! moment. 

-After finding out one of my best friends Kasey is having a baby girl, I told Joselyn and she screeched, clapped her hands and in the most excited voice I've probably ever heard from her said "OH!!!! I am sooooo EXCITED!!"  (8/30/10)

- I don't know if I've ever documented this before, but when Joselyn smiles really big or laughs really hard she gets a small little dimple on her right cheek.

-A few days after we got rid of the pacifiers (which we tied to balloons and sent up into the sky) Joselyn had an ah-hah moment after Watching Little Einsteins. She said something like "Mom, I know! We can get the little Einsteins to take their rocket into the sky and get the balloons and our pacis!!!"  (8/16/10)

-After Joselyn freaked out when a fly landed on her, I told her not to worry. Flies don't have teeth and they can't bite! Well, later, she was playing with some ants and I was afraid they WOULD bite her, so I told her to stop playing with them. She looked at me and said "Mom, they can't bite me. Ants don't have teeth!" (7/25/10)

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-Landen calls Joselyn "uh-uh" and it's the cutest thing. MUST get this on video before he grows out of it! He'll say "I love you uh-uh"

-When Landen concentrates really hard- like when he is building a tower out of blocks- he'll raise his right eyebrow really fast. 

-Landen has never been much of an ice cream guy. When I got them a 49 cent ice cream cone from McD's the other day, he started eating it from the bottom of the cone. He definitely likes the cone much better than the ice cream. (8/16/10)

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My Daughter is Just like me...

I used to love it when my mom would tell us stories about what we used to do when we were little. One of my favorite stories she's told me is about the time she found me organizing shoes in pairs in her closet. I've always had this thing for organization... I'll be the first to admit I don't have the most organized house, but I love to line things up and have some order when I put things away. So I just about melted when I walked into Joselyn's room and saw this:

Funny thing is, I don't even know when she did this! It just makes me smile so big.

I must mention the fact that Joselyn will NOT go to sleep until her room is SPIC and SPAN. She pretty much points out a little piece of dirt and says I need to pick it up before she will go to sleep. At first I thought it was a tactic of keeping me in her room a little bit longer so she wouldn't have to go to sleep, but I've learned otherwise. Now she helps me clean up her room to her liking before she goes to bed.

On a side note, Landen slept in his crib last night for the VERY FIRST TIME in his LIFE! Poor little guy has been stuck in his pack n' play his whole life because there was never enough room in our townhome for another crib or his own room. We let him continue to sleep in it when we moved here so that he would grow accustomed to his new room, and then to the crib being in his room. When we finally made the move I was a little bit nervous... but it all worked out just fine. It's like he'd been sleeping in that thing since the day he was born! I'm sure it's MUCH more comfortable!

Speaking of sleeping... the kids have routinely started sleeping until 7:30-8:30 am (compared to the 6:30am from before). Man have I been loving it... looks like it's not just the rain after all!

I love the rain and a few other things...

Like most of you here in central Kentucky, I woke up to loud thunder and pouring rain this morning. It was around 7am that I really "woke up" and realized that the kids were still asleep. They usually wake up around 6:30am. I laid in bed just listening to the storm outside enjoying the peacefulness of actually just laying in my own bed and snuggling under my covers... and I didn't get out of bed until 8:30am! I must say that it was such a nice way to start my day. I'm in a much better mood if I can just start my day at my own pace. 

I got a lot done- cleaned a lot, got some much needed unpacking done (though I still have a LOOONG way to go) and most exciting- planted some flowers in the front of our house! (pictures coming later)

A few pictures from our life these past few weeks from my iphone...

 

From top left: 1. Landen hiding under his blanket 2. Joselyn posing with her star sunglasses 3. Gatti Town 4. Jos and Melanie cuddling 5. Our gallery wall- pictures still needing to be replaced 6. Joselyn greeting daddy (she is actually singing "I'm so glad when daddy comes home") 7.Joselyn holding some mannequins hands (on her own accord- hilarious by the way) 8. Jos and Landen playing in their "boats" 9. Jos playing with a puppy 10.Jos playing dress up 11.Jos, Melanie and Landen cuddling on the couch 12. dressed in all pink 13. Jos and Landen getting into the fridge 14. Joselyn holding some mannequins hands again 15. Autumn with zhu zhu pets 16. Jos looking in her purse 17. Adam as a teenager (so cool) 18. Rainbow last night from our front porch

Life is so good lately. I'm enjoying every minute with my kids although I sometimes struggle with patience. I'm just having a hard time understanding why they can't get along sometimes... Most of the time they play GREAT together, but I just don't get where kids learn to be mean to each other. But most of the time Joselyn and Landen are so sweet to each other. And honestly, neither one likes to be without the other and they say it. If Joselyn wakes up before Landen (which she often does) she asks for him over and over again, or sometimes tries to tell me he's awake when he's really not. Having two children this close together definitely has it's challenges here and there, but I love how they are best friends now. Love it SOOO much!

 

Landen is saying some awful cute things lately... he definitely doesn't talk as much as Joselyn did at this age, but he can definitely communicate. Today he was trying to tell me he wanted to brush his teeth. He first pointed to his teeth and said "teet" and I admired them and thought he was telling me his teeth hurt. Then he pulled me up and took me to his bathroom and I thought well maybe he said "drink" but then it hit me he wanted to brush his teeth! And sure enough, that was it. He was very satisfied that he got his point across.

He calls his paci "bobby" for some reason and his blankie "ki ki" so we've kind of nick-named them that too. I think it's adorable. I love this little dude.

 

Landen is very much a momma's boy. He LOVE LOVE LOVES to cuddle- which I love and he lets me pinch his very pinch-able cheeks and pulls his shirt up in the back and lets me "tickle" it. I just had to write down those few things because I remember- they grow quickly and change so fast. I'm so lucky to be Landen and Joselyn's mommy and to have such a great caring and sweet husband. I'm just blessed- what can I say? And I am feeling grateful today.