Noe News is Good News

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.

More niece and nephews fun

Yesterday was Olivia's official photo shoot. The night before, Amaree and I made her some sweet little headbands with a tiny flower and they were just so sweet on Olivia. Of course the boys were VERY curious about everything going on during the photo shoot... especially about the "nest" we placed Olivia in. But it was lots of fun. So here are a few photos of the boys munching on cookies and of Olivia during the shoot. I'm doing something I've never done before by posting the pictures before their artistic edit- I think they turned out good enough, but I mainly want to post them for Grandma and Grandpa and other aunts and uncles who are dying to see more pictures!

 

Olivia is definitely one of the tiniest newborns I've met lately. (and I've met a lot!) She is super super sweet and cuddly and curly. I really had fun taking her pictures!

 

 

Today we took the family photos. We got lots of snow here in the past few days, so unfortunately doing it outside was out of the question. So we headed downtown to see if there was anything interesting and we ended up inside Times Square. Nothing too interesting, but there were big windows with great lighting so we settled there. I got LOTS of cute stuff of Kade and Charlie. They are just so fun. So I just wanted to share a few- also unedited!

As we neared the end of our photo shoot- I must say the boys needed some bribing. The only bribing tools I had were cough drops- and so, in an attempt to get their attention I had them say cough drops. They looked at the camera all right. But the big round mouth only ended up making some hilarious photos. I soon had to tell them to stop saying cough drops, but they couldn't stop. Especially Charlie.









Enough of the cough drops Charlie!



Just a note- For those of you who follow my photography blog (which I hope is most of you because it's gonna start getting really fun!) you might be seeing double of some of these in the next few days- will be posting a super sneak peak of the Matthews Family Photos!

A little bit of fun and silliness

We are in big trouble. Joselyn is already obsessed with shoes. She would rather play with shoes any day than a lot of the other toys we have laying around the house. She often brings me random mismatched shoes to put on her and even tries to put shoes on Landen. She cracks me up.

Here she is trying to put on Adam's shoe with shoes already on!

Poor Landen... he is SO in for it. (This is joselyn's attempt at putting my shoe on him) I can just see Joselyn trying to dress him up in girly stuff.... and Adam won't have it.

My kids have been such fun lately. Landen turns 4 months old tomorrow!!!!? Anyway, he gets more and more expressive. He has been loving his little gym lately.

Words can't express how much I love my children.

Joselyn-silly girl- has been climbing into the toy basket lately. I don't know what her fascination is with it?? Maybe because it gives her more height to get into the stuff on top of my desk? I think that's it.

The new Marissa.

I finally did it. And I didn't do it myself, though I ALMOST did. Thank goodness everyone I knew talked me out of it. Joselyn was asleep and Landen was in the hands of his daddy, so I took a much needed "me" night and went to my friend Tressa's for a new look. Tressa is wonderful. She goes to church with me and I took pictures of her and her family a few months ago. She has 7 BEAUTIFUL kids and they are so well-behaved it's amazing. And they all play the violin! I love her family. Anyway, Tressa, I found out, has a little salon in her basement where she cuts hair a few nights a week. It's a passion of hers. She has a beautiful home too. I walked in and in her dining room on the left I saw a bunch of the pictures I took for her blown up and in frames on her wall. Seriously. What a compliment! Anyway... she led me down to her basement where she had made a cute little salon in one of her bathrooms. She had a little waiting area with magazines and a MASSAGE chair. I'm just trying to help you visualize things here, ok?

Anyway... we discussed hairstyles and looked at pictures. I told her I wanted a big change. I was sick of my hair... and that I definitely wanted bangs. We decided to play it safe at first and kept the bangs lengthy. So she started cutting my hair. And I mean there was a LOT OF HAIR on the floor it was kind of scary! While she was cutting my hair another client showed up... which goes to show that most stylists don't realize how long it takes to cut, dry and style my hair! So while she got the other client started on some color, I got to sit in the amazing massage chair. Talk about a relaxing evening!! Then it was my turn again to finish things off. After it was done, I decided I wanted a few small SHORTER bangs. So that's what I got!

Before I knew it I had been there 2 1/2 hours and it was time to get back to my husband (who was probably wondering where I was!) and Landen. Tressa wasn't able to straighten my hair and play with it more like she wanted, so I did a little last night when I got home. Since I have never had bangs I didn't know how they would behave. Well, I played a little with the straightener and my bangs stuck STRAIGHT OUT! I guess there wasn't enough weight to weigh them down on my face. So... this morning I pinned them down with some bobby pins.

I was kind of wondering what Joselyn would think when she saw me. First thing she said to me... SERIOUSLY (and I didn't even ask her!) was "Pretty!" Love it.

So I bet you are DYING to see my new haircut by now, huh? (I bet most of you looked at the picture anyway before reading the story- am I right?) It is drastically different and I am liking it so far. It is taking some getting used to as it is probably a style that will need more styling- but I can do a lot more with it and I love that. I will also probably be using styling products for the first time in my life. And I am ok with that. So... what do you think??

What I like about it:
-I lost an almost immediate 5 pounds. I'm sure of it.
-It's DIFFERENT than anything I've had before
-I can do a lot of different looks with it so it will be harder to get sick of
-I can actually wear cute hair accessories in my hair and it will look good
-It frames my face perfectly... a slimming effect for my face in my opinion

I'm sure you'll be seeing a few more different looks in the next few weeks as I figure out how to do things with it. Now all I need is a new wardrobe and my pre-pregnancy body back! (and I'm talking before my 2 year pregnancy before Joselyn)

(and yes, I know my eyebrows need some major work!)

Mean mama

The other day as I was feeding Landen, Joselyn decided to go trash diving in our garbage can. She's smart cause she knows I can't really stop her while feeding her baby brother. She found an empty cereal box and must have been thinking there was some cereal left in it. Then she started crying... so I went to check on her and she was frustrated because her hand got stuck in the box! I thought it was so funny so I left her there screaming to grab my camera. I know that was really mean but it was just too funny...

Joselyn with hair

All the talk about hair got me thinking... what would Joselyn look like if she actually had hair! So yeah, I had some more fun. I even tried her out with some celebrity hairstyles! Hope these pics make you laugh as much as I did!

We will miss you Santa Clause

Just a few minutes ago my sister Chelsea called me to tell me some very sad news... our dear Santa Clause passed away today from cancer. We have known Brother Southworth aka Santa Clause for a very long time. Even in my middle school days he was the Santa Clause we took pictures with and who passed out goodies at the church Christmas parties. He was a VERY sweet gentle man and he looked like the real thing. I'm serious... he looked like the picture of Christmas all year long, and carried the Christmas spirit with him always. I couldn't wait for the day I had children and THEY could take their pictures with him. When Autumn was born, he made a special house visit to my parents home to take pictures with her. Isn't that sweet? I'm so glad little Joselyn had the chance last Christmas to take pictures with him. Brother Southworth will be missed tremendously by many here in Kentucky, and his sweet wife and family are in my thoughts and prayers. 

Don't mean to make you jealous Adam but...

I received a sweet little letter from my Grandma Jennirose today and enclosed was this little note I had written to her when I was 5. (on the back: done by Marissa 10/26/86)

*Fixed the pic so you can see who I wanted to maree!
**Oh, and for those of you who don't know, I have a sister named Amaree so I thought it was interesting that I spelled "marry" "maree"

The Verdict

The vote:
62.5% of you said I was going to have a girl
37.5% of you said I was going to have a boy

Yep, today was the big day people! We went to the DR early today and got our 20 week ultrasound... were my intuitions correct??

It's a BOY!!! YAY!!!

It was so fun to see our little guy moving around on the ultrasound... everything looked good and we are so excited to have a little boy join our little family. And I must admit that knowing I am having a boy has brought back the excitement I thought I was lacking... I am excited to see this little boy and Joselyn grow up together, to shop for boys clothes etc etc. This is going to be a fun new adventure for me!

   

First day as stay-at-home mom!

What a blessing it is to be with my little Joselyn Love all day now everyday! Yesterday was my last day at work and today marks the first day of my new job as full-time stay at home mom. It was a little strange... it didn't feel like my last day. It felt like any other ordinary day at work. But today is definitely different... I feel giddy because I don't have to go to work and I've already had so much fun playing with Joselyn. I know that I made the right decision to be home with my daughter... it is right for me. Joselyn has been so cheerful and sweet this morning. I keep on telling her I will be staying home today and always with her... and she just gives me the biggest smile. It's like she understands...

Well, I have a lot to blog about today. Lots of cute pictures to share too!!

She is smiling under there... you can tell by her eyes. They are so sweet when she smiles!

When Joselyn REALLY smiles big, she sticks her little tongue out. It's adorable but hard to catch on camera. Here you can kinda see it. What a sweet baby!!

She had lots of fun in the bath

Lookin' cute in her rabbit hoodie towel