Noahism 2012

I had just started eating some grits after making the kids breakfast, when I dumped a spoonful of grits on my hoodie. I said, "Great! Really? Again!" Noah asked what was the problem. I told him I had already spilled pancake mix on myself. His sage advice (given in a prophetic voice) was:

"Maybe your time has come and your luck has run out."

Thanks, Noah. Give the Mayans my love.

Weekend Noahisms

Last night as we were talking in Rachel's room I was recommending to Noah that he would make more friends if he didn't constantly interject as if he were a cop about what every one else is doing.

Me: "My only point is that you would make more friends if you weren't policing other people."

Noah: "I don't like policing. I only do it when they do something wrong."




The conversation this morning started out with Noah playing "Ben 10 Ultimate Alien game" on the WII. He noted that a company called Papaya made the game.

Noah: "Papaya is a cool name."

Me: "I think your dad likes papayas."

Noah: "Sometimes I just assume it's a guy lazy with sounds."
(Later on he said...)
"He might as well have said Hiya and added a P."

Observations of a Librarian

On Friday I stopped off at our local branch of the public library to return some books and pick up some on hold. Michael sent me his card information, so I could pick up his books, as well. I grabbed the books off the shelf and chatted with the librarian as I checked out my books, then his. I noticed that we had the same book checked out. I laughed and told the librarian that often he would check out I book that I liked and I would take it from his pile to read, or that we sometimes checked out the exact same book. She looked at me smiling and said, "That is so romantic." I think she is right.
Here is the book we checked out:

*******Problem Solving**********
This is one of my favorite people. He speaks to learning math and science as a basis for problem solving, even if you are not going into a technical field.



*********Poem Project with Noah (age 11)*****
(Noah would point out that he was technically 10 years-old when he wrote the poem because today is his birthday.)

I have been helping Noah brainstorm ideas for his poetry book due Monday. Here is one of my favorites:

"There once was a boy who liked to mope
Then, one day he got a telescope.
He learned to watch the wonders of space.
He yearned to help the human race.
And now the Mope had hope."


*****Noahism*****

As we continued the poem brainstorming session Noah was working on a Diamante poem about a video game. I was trying to clarify the rules of the particular style of poem, so I asked if it needed to start with one word, if so "video game" is two words and wouldn't work. His response, "I think of it as a compound word with a space in the middle."


Later, Noah decided he needed a break from writing poetry and wanted to watch a movie with Rachel. I yelled downstairs, "Noah, you better be working on a shape poem!"
He called back, "I'm helping Rachel pick out a movie."
I reiterated that he needed to think up a shape poem.
He yelled back, "Circles are fun!"
"I came up with a shape poem. Are you happy now?"


Happy Birthday, Noah!!!! I love you, dude!!!

Checkmate

Noah's Cub Scout leader called and asked him to bring his chess set for their activity last night. Noah wanted to get in some practice before the evening, so when Michael came home he played some games with Noah. Out of those games came this exchange:

Noah: "You want to play again?"

Michael: "That was 4 games, Noah."

Noah: "It was? (pause) It felt more like 4 losses."

Don't Tell Time By A Twin...

That is your Noahism fortune cookie of the day. The back story for this little tidbit of wisdom goes like this:

In second grade Noah had one of a pair of, very identical, twins in his class. "If we were outside and to make sure the whistle hadn't been blown I would look around for a classmate. If I saw one of the twins I would say is that the one in my class or her sister. I would say, "Oh, for the love of Pete!" and give up and look for someone else in my class.

I hope this public service announcement helps someone.

Smiles!

Noah's Evening Epiphany

"Have you ever noticed that when you think about anything it makes more sense."


Noah Taylor
age 10 :)

New Year Noahism...

We plied Eve with 2 tsp. of Advil and she and Noah went down to watch Dr. Who. About an hour later Noah came into the room and very matter of factly said,

"Hey dad, the way I see it ...if a guy takes out one of your eyes and you take out one of his eyes eventually all you will get is a lot of blind people!"

Michael asked Noah to come over and stand by him because he wanted to show him something on his laptop. Michael pulled up this quote by Gandhi, "An eye for an eye, only ends up with the whole world blind."

Hear, Hear!

Happy New Year!!!

Snow and Ice(ing)

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Noahism of the Day






There is a tradition at the kids' elementary school to create Dicken's inspired snow villages. Rachel made a beautiful inn she called "The Out Inn" when she was in 5th grade:


While sitting at the table Noah lamented that he couldn't use this box design that he created on Sunday for his snow village:
Noah said, "I guess they wouldn't want a Fusion Reactor Core Generator at School."



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Haley's 13th birthday

Rachel was invited to Haley's birthday party held at an awesome place in Senoia called Cutie Pies and Cakery;


The girls decorating their cake boxes. Each girl iced and decorated their own cakes:





Rachel loves to design with circles and the color blue:














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These are photos from the day before Thanksgiving when the girls baked and decorated cupcakes:









Here is a mash up of two of my favorite pics of the cousins:


Off in a little bit to take photos of this year's snow village.

Remain Calm!!!

Noahisms:::::::::

Yesterday Eve was acting like a maniac with a pair of safety scissors. She was threatening her moon project by saying, "I will cut you!" I was trying to get everyone to calm down to say a blessing over breakfast, so as they promise that they are ready I look up at Noah who has his arms crossed like Bela Lugosi and has his eyes rolled back in his head. I start snickering, but try to get on with the prayer.

Rachel said, "Mom you obviously lack self-control."

Noah quipped, "She lacks all kinds of control."

Pot to kettle, my friends!

A few minutes later Rachel meets me in the hall to relate the next Noahism. She said she had stolen a piece of his cinnamon sugar toast and popped it in her mouth. Noah told her, "That acid will burn through your sarcophagus!"

Rachel: "My sarcophagus?"

Noah: "Yeah, your sarcophagus, you know, that thing in your throat."

Rachel: "You mean my esophagus?!

Of course, I wrote these things down to wit Noah said, "I'm very quotable today!"


:::::::::::::::::Last Minute Science Projects R US:::::

Now to help with Rachel's project where I can!

Later!

Math for the Literally Minded...

Noahism of the Day:::

"Hey Mom, you know people don't really get in lines to get on the bus. They get into line segments".

:::::::::::

A few minutes later Noah asked us how to draw a crowd, so Michael started waving his arms and yelling different things.. I started yelling I've got free money. I've got chocolate. He explained that he meant he needed to literally draw a crowd. So much for homework help.

Smiles!

That's a Blog!

Noahism:

Noah came home from school on Monday and said, "You know you forgot to pack me a snack?"

Me: "Sorry. I realized that after you left that I only packed one for Evey."

He wanted to eat some sugary snacks, so I said, "I know you like to eat crap."

Noah: "I call it unhealthy goodness."

Me: "Nice. Why don't you eat an apple."

Noah: "I said I was hungry not desperate. That's a blog!"



::::::::Neighborhood Clean up:::


Below is a link and article from back in April when we joined Aaron's troop to help clean up the park next to the scout hut. I was quoted, so I thought I would share the article on my blog:

http://www.tuckercivic.org/NewsEvents.html

April 2010




Scores of volunteers at Cofer Park cleanup

More than 70 residents of all ages joined in TCA’s “Give An Hour” at Cofer Park on May 10. There were local homeowners and their children, Boy Scouts, and more than a dozen congregants from Tucker First Baptist Church. After the county Parks Department dropped off a mountain of mulch and four new metal park benches, some volunteers spread mulch around bushes and flower beds while others dug post holes and poured cement to anchor the benches near the park’s fishing pond.

Another large job was removing a two-inch deep layer of silt from the floor of the park pavilion, then digging a trench around three sides of the pavilion to direct future stormwater runoff. There was real enthusiasm for this event. First Baptist Pastor Randy Shepley explained, “Our church exists to love our community through Jesus, which means working with our neighbors for the common good.”

Victoria Taylor, mother of a Boy Scout, said, “Anything that can bring people out to the park to work with their family and others while enjoying nature is a worthwhile effort.” Juliet Melvin, whose 13-year-old daughter plays soccer in the park, added, “We use the soccer fields here, and it’s invaluable for children to see that you have to clean up the facilities that you use.”
TCA’s next “Give An Hour” is scheduled for May 1, 10 – 11 a.m. Volunteers will freshen up Fitzgerald Field, a youth athletics facility at 4877 Lawrenceville Highway, in advance of the Tucker High School spring football game.

For more information, contact Ron Wilkinson at district4@tuckercivic.org or


:::::::::::::::Arts in Education::::::

I got to be the hostess for one of the most fun presenters from Young Audiences. Cathy Kammerlain came to the elementary school this morning to present a show on Georgia history. The kids learned and laughed. Her show allows for a lot of audience participation. Here is a picture of Eve at the show:

Eve represented the month of September in Georgia when we have the Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain.
Now to color correct photos and upload them for the yearbook...oh, and throw in housework.

Smiles, Victoria

Nice (said in my best sarcastic voice)

Noahism of the Day:

Scene: I had just gotten home from the grocery store and was putting things away when Aaron asked:

Aaron: "Mom, will you make me the pizza rolls now?"

Me: "Preheat the oven. Your arms aren't broken."

Aaron: "But you are my slave."

Noah: "That's not til she's promoted."

Aaron: "You really don't want to live long."

Johnny Cakes and Homework Passes...

Noahism


As I waited with Noah and Eve for their school bus I asked Noah if he was sure he had all of his school work ready for the day. With Michael being sick helping everyone with homework was put on the back burner for the evening. He recalled that he hadn't finished his spelling homework.

me: "So, Noah did you get all of your homework done?"

Noah: "Oh...I forgot to do my pioneer spelling words, but it's okay I have a homework pass."

me: "So, because you didn't plan properly you are just going to fall back and turn in the homework pass?"

Noah: "Yeah, that's how I roll!"

I went to school a bit later to help the kids mix some corn muffin mix and blueberry muffin mix in preparation for Pioneer Day. I related this story to Noah's teacher who replied, "Dude, that's what they're for." She totally gets Noah, which is so comforting.

This story reminds me of an earlier argument between Noah and Rachel. At some point, over breakfast, I brought up that I was going to school to help Noah's class with the Pioneer Day baking. Rachel and Sabrina reminisced about the tasty corn muffins. Noah interjected, "They are called Johnny Cakes."
Rachel testily replied, "They are still corn muffins." Noah repeated his first statement. Which made me imagine out loud what it might be like when Noah is older and pulled over by a police officer:

Noah: "I was actually going 67 miles an hour, which would be exactly 12 miles over the speed limit."

Officer: "Thank you for that information, sir. I will duly note that on your ticket, which should cost you about $200.00 more. If you continue talking we can discuss this down at the jail."

Noah: "It should be called a Correction Facility."

If you have met Noah you are aware this scenario might actually occur.

Smiles!

Life with Noah...The Spring Edition

Noah and the Spelling Homework:

Noah: "I have spelling due Wednesday, will you help me?"

I pulled out the sliding shelf in my desk and said, "Come sit down. Be my friend."

Noah: "You already are my friend...(pause)distantly."

Me: (scribbling down what Noah said).

Noah: "Do you write down everything I say?"


Noah and the Book of Weird Facts


While I was digital scraping photos of Noah's Pinewood Derby he was on the couch reading Rachel's newest Book Fair acquisition Weird But True 300 Outrageous Facts. "Did you..." preceded every entry he read to me. After several entries he said, "Did you know the average yawn last 6 seconds?"

Then, Noah yawned.

Noah asked, "Did you time that?"

Me: "No."

Noah: "Crap!"


Noah and the Harp:

My mom returned my phone call this evening and Noah took the opportunity to speak with her. While they were talking she could hear Eve practicing the piano.
She asked Noah: "Is there any musical instrument you would like to play?"

Noah: (Thinks for a little bit) "The Butt Harp!"

As my mom tells me this story my stepfather, Jim, is listening in the background and adds these clever quips, "I guess you call that a wind instrument." Then, he said: "And he is going to be the one cleaning his own reed!"

I hope to post some layots this week. Later, Peeps!

Cookies, Milk and a Good Book

Rachel, Noah and Eve went in for their yearly check-ups last week. Only Noah needed a shot. He got the Chicken Pox booster. I told him he could squeeze my hand if he needed to. I watched his mouth pop open when the needle went in, then he shut it. I looked at him and asked if it hurt? The nurse had the bandaid ready and was looking for the puncture, but wasn's finding it and asked Noah were it was. Then Noah said, "If shots were as painful as they are rumored to be you think I would be able to find it."

Everyone is growing well and pretty healthy. I asked about Noah's ever present bumps on his face. The doctor said it is a hereditary condition called pilaris keratosis. He also has patches on the back of his arms. The doctor recommended Lac-Hydrin. Noah wondered if that meant he could stop washing with the acne wash I had for the kids. I told him no. His skin has a harder time naturally sloughing off cells, so he gets some acne too. Some treatments list Retin-A, but Eve is allergic and so is my nephew Tyler. It leaves red burned patches of skin where the ointment touches, so that idea is out for any of my kids. The doctor said the condition should lessen as he gets older. Noah seemed to get the majority of the attention on this visit. We had him show the doctor how he can pretzel twist his fingers together in a really disturbing, yet interesting way. I wondered if this was a contributing factor to his poor fine motor ability, but the doctor didn't think so. He said that Noah just appeared to have very lax joints. We joke with Noah that he has little paws, and old man ear lobes, so we know his just has lax joints and connective tissue. Hmmm...interesting.



A fun and busy weekend. On Saturday morning I joined Rachel, Julia, Hannah, and Julia's mom, Karen in front of the Wallsmart to sell Girl Scout cookies at a booth sale. It was chilly, but we enjoyed being silly together. Sometimes people would walk out of the store with their carts loaded with different items and we would yell happily about how well that item went with cookies. I made Karen lose her train of thought when I yelled as a man passed by that cookies went great with Bud Light. Later, Rachel told a customer that cookies went well with birdseed. Hey, we worked with what we had. The girls made up a song to the old "Camp Town Races" tune:

C-o-o-k-i-e-s, Cookies! Cookies!
C-o-o-k-i-e-s, Cookies are our friends! Whoo!

We sold most of our wares with just a few dosidos and trefoils left.

Then, we went to Steak and Shake. I called Michael and invited him to bring Aaron, Aaron's friends Jeremy (who slept over) and Shafer. The place was packed so we had to do two nearby booths. Rachel and Julia crumbled a couple of samoas into their vanilla shakes.

The rest of the day I hung out at my mom and Jim's house and kept an eye on my brother so they could go out to a church activity. Michael stayed with Aaron and Rachel. I was able to finish The Lightning Thief by Riordan. Noah begged me to read this book. He gets very animated when he talks about the series and wanted to be able for me to understand what he was so excited about.

I saw the movie before reading the book, which is not the order I like to do things. I was rather stunned as each chapter rolled by that the only thing resembling the book that was in the movie was some of the main characters and the book title. I was less than unimpressed by the movie, but was willing to give the book a chance. The book is directed at the Middle School aged audience, but really hits the mark for the 4th-6th grade set and hovers there. The perils and adventures in the life of Percy Jackson are explained away as the whims and petty jealousies of the bickering Greek gods. I can see why young kids would find this book quite a lot of fun, but I found it rather tedious and am curious its literary staying power.

On a more positive note about this book series, it lit the flame of reading under my reluctant 9 year-old, and for that I am thankful to Mr. Riordan. I find Noah perched (yes, he perches when he reads. I'll have to post a picture of it some time)reading all the time now. He finished every book in the Percy Jackson series and is reading a Mythology book from his teacher's collection. He is also into the ,Animorphs book series.

Another Book Review:
I am absolutely amazed by Navajo Code Talkers. Thanks to Noah's teacher, who lent me this book of historical fiction of the invaluable contribution of the Code Talkers during WWII, I was able to learn more about their struggles.
I agonized over the way the government tried to strip the tribal peoples of their language and culture. The Navajo, along with other tribes, were physically harmed if they used their language or ways, then were called upon to use that same banned language to assist the war effort with their unbreakable code. They were unable to talk about what they did for the U.S. and freedom until the lifting of the top secret status in 1969.
I found it fascinating that they were very suited to the strenous life of a Marine, except for the cultural mistrust of water, which they overcame. Their stoic nature made it difficult for them to get help for the post traumatic stress that the horrors of war brought to them. The war gave them the opportunity to prove that their language is valuable and if the government and bigotry had won out, than that same government may have sewn the seed of its own destruction. I think these cautionary tales need to be frequently read. We can use this story into other facets of our life to realize the thing we destroy today, or disregard its value is the very thing that may preserve our lives tomorrow.



This is the first in the series of books set in the dystopian world a few hundred years from now when the "Rusties" have left some of the world in desolation. There are cities that rose from the rubble with advanced technology and the desire to stop future aggression and destruction by making everyone virtually the same. You are an "Ugly" until your 16th birthday, then you get an operation to make you physically attractive and almost impervious to illness. You also become rather docile. This life of perfection is the thing that most uglies desire. Tally Youngblood, the main character, looks forward to her operation, but in the mean time likes to do "tricks" to pass the time. Tally learns that there are people in "The Smoke" that want to live the rest of their lives ugly.

The book is aimed at the young adult group and really hits the mark. I thought the ideas were a great extension of an old Twilight Zone episode. The book is fast paced and interesting throughout. The character of Dr. Cable is a good foil for Tally's character. A good start to the series.




The second in the series finds Tally "Pretty". She finds friends in a clique called "The Crims" who did a lot of tricks during their ugly days. She lives in a world of beauty, parties, limitless food (with calorie purgers), yet is visited by feelings of inadequacy and longing for something she can't quite remember.

This series is like watching a chess match. The interesting thing is that Tally Youngblod's character seems to shift from pawn, to queen, to pawn again. Again the pace is fast and the pretty language is kind of Valley Girlesque, but appropriate. A solid sequel. I look forward to the third book.

The book I'm reading now is, Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell.

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Well, Michael made a yummy late lunch of scrambled eggs, bacon, and sweet potato/russet potato hashbrown, so I'm ready to curl up with a book. Two kids are in timeout for fighting and the other two just got out. There is an air of peace in the house, so maybe I could slip in a nap too?

Later!

This Lack of Posting Has Been Interrupted to Say...

The Noahism of the Day:

Noah: "Why do kids have to wear warm clothes?"

Mom: "So you want freeze your butt off."

Noah: "I will some day freeze my butt off to have that exact discussion."

Stay frosty!

Ding Dong

The kids are preparing the "Ding Dong Cobbler":

It is made with yellow cake mix, Ding Dongs, marshmallows, and hot cocoa mix.



Michael cooks the Cobbler and a Chicken Gumbo concoction:


Eve with one of the ropes:



Eve plays with her shadow:





Aaron belays Rachel and Michael gives some climbing suggestions:



Aaron lets his feet dangle for fun when he gets to the top:



Noah found a handprint his size:


Eve plays on the rocks:


We all think stickbugs are so cool:


I went up on two routes. I didn't top out on the second, but I got pretty close for being so rusty. No photos because Michael was belaying me and the kids were exploring the rock formations.

***The Noahism from the trip:
***edited (Noah was misquoted by me...thanks for reminding me, Michael)
We were sitting in the tent and Noah piped up, "You know those books by that comedian..."Are you sure you're not a redneck"? We all busted out laughing. We told him they were called "You might be a redneck". His matter of fact title just seemed a heck of a lot funnier. I can't remember the point he was trying to make, but this was great for the rest of the day.

******Book Review*****



The voices are distinct for each character. Growing up in the South I hear these voices and their is some familiarity. The voice of Aibleen is one that I particularly enjoy. Kathryn Stockett does help crack the veneer of Southern gentility. There was more than one occasion when I was younger when a relative of mine would be friends with a specific black person, but whisper under their breath that they didn't want a black person to be seated next to them in a restaurant. I always found that odd.
Each of the stories were woven together so well about this community where secrets were kept, while so many people seemed to know everybody elses business. I wanted to hug Aibleen and Louvenia. I wanted to listen to Minny talk about life. I kept wanting Leroy to man up and stop drinking. I wanted Stuart to pour out all of the bourbon. I bristled at the horrors and indignanties that human beings who happened to have a different skin color had to endure by people professing to be morally, spiritually and mentally superior. Her message of mutual respect is one that, unfortunately, needs to be retold.

p.s. the story about the word Crisco is priceless.

Later, gators!