-Isms

N- The worst part of my day is riding the bus home and the worst person on the bus is (boy's name). First he was annoying me because he always wanted to play video games on my computer, which I put an end to that, then he got a phone and he started playing games on his phone and monologuing about all the different games. He has a game where you literally just get a gun and shoot at everything really like it’s a picture of a gun and you just shoot things. 

M- That's awful! 

N - Yeah it’s terrible. I just don’t know about this next generation.

*****

E, trying a lemon zest herbal tea that I had enjoyed at book club mid-winter. 

It smells so pungent... but it tastes so bad. 

*****

N, while keeping a surprise secret from Emma - I'm not the sort of person who ruins a secret! If I was, I'd be really disappointed in myself. 

*****

E, helping me set up for a game of badminton - Now where are the mittens? 

M- The what? 

E- The mittens! For the badminton!  You know, the (makes the swinging motion)! 

M- Oh! Those are called racquets. But we can call them mittens. 

And we have ever since. 

*****

N- Like when you walk across the stage and get your DI-ploma. 

M- The word is di-PLO-ma. 

N, while setting up trick shots with Adam- It's probably really nau-she-ating watching me walk back and forth. 

M- What did you say? 

N- It's probably really nau-she-ating watching me walk back and forth. Like nau-she-a.

M- No SH. Just S. Nauseating. 

(I always say that knowing big words but not knowing how to pronounce them is a sign of a great reader!)

*****

A conversation on the way home from church- 

N- What is LGBTQ, anyway? 

M & E- explains what each letter stands for. 

N- Oh! I thought it was some kind of disease or something. 

*****

E, while squeezed onto her bed with Mom and Leah - Move over! Look at this! I barely have a fragment of the bed! 

*****

N, reading Stop That Pickle! out loud - It was lunchtime when Ms. Elmira Deeds waddled into Mr. A-DOLPH's deli. 

M- It's pronounced A-dolph. 

N- "I would like a pickle, please," she said.

"Why certainly," said Mr. A-DOLPH, wiping his hands.

M- It's pronounced A-dolph. Do you know what Hitler's first name was? 

N- I thought it was an initial, like A. Dolph. 

*****

L, contemplating the possibilities of her future- 

It wouldn't be the end of the world if (a desired event) didn't happen. But it could be. But it could not be. But it might be. But it might not be. I just don't know. 

*****

Noah fell off a scooter and hurt his wrist. I wasn't overly compassionate, and felt bad about it, and told him as much the next morning. 

M- I'm sorry that I wasn't very sympathetic to you last night when you got hurt. That wasn't very kind of me. 

N- It's okay. Thanks for your hospitality anyway. 

*****

We had two missionaries over for dinner on Sunday. While watching Adam, Noah, and Jason jump up to serve everyone dessert (Adam especially loves taking orders and serving ice cream, and all three of my boys have beautiful servant hearts), the elders turned to Leah and Emma and said - Your husbands are going to have really big shoes to fill! 

They are correct!

*****

A- successfully learning how to drive, but still needing to learn so much about driving, yanked on the wheel while turning down an otherwise deserted country road - Argh! Sorry! The steering wheel looked upside down in my periphery! 

Similarly, while on a trail ride - did that stump look like a human hiding in the bushes to you, too? No? I guess my peripheries are failing me again. 

***** 

E, while shopping at Costco with me- Take a picture! Take a picture! (Sends picture to family group chat with the caption- It's a concrete-bony! 

*****

A, trying to purchase a movie ticket online. 

N- Where are you going? 

A- To a movie. 

M- With his GiRlfRiend! 

N- What? Seriously? In the words of a very wise general authority, that's just stupid! 

*****

Epic contributions from Leah- 

N- Crying is projectile water coming out of your eyes.

*****

N, asking to do something: But Mommy…

M- Don't but mommy me!

N: You call me pumpkin pie, but I don’t complain about that!

*****

SPECIAL DAD FEATURE!

*doesn’t know what the gritty is*

D- Is it like complaining? Is it like that…stinky foot dance you do??

L & E - THE STANKY LEG!?

In case we never documented, he also once asked, "What's a yeeted?" 

*****

Randomly, Noah was given a new nickname by his giggling sisters - Noah Scrap Morales

*****

Noah hates when people say “it’s out of this world!”

*****

M - I love that Noah just plays the bass for fun. Listen to that baddie!

-Isms

N, who has always loved making up a good song- sang out “Food glorious foood! Hot sausage and mustard anddd some buns to make hot dogs, because sausage and mustard and buns is a hooot doooggg!!!!” Moves hand up and down 

*****

E, trying to change her clothes in the temple parking lot- I’m literally flashing the whole congregation right now. 

*****

Many tears of laughter were shed while we were playing Slapzi and trying to figure out if owls have teeth and if an ostrich has hair or teeth.  But nothing was quite as hilarious as the indignant reaction from Noah when he learned that zippers have teeth!

*****

Emma's broken closet door nearly became the cause of a Flat Stanley Noah during scripture study one night.  Noah just explained, 'I pulled on the knob and it wasn't opening, so I tried to pull it another way'.  In the classic mom style, I caught it just before it landed on his head. Could I be the Green Ninja? 

*****

N, while helping me unload the groceries - thanks for buying all of these groceries. You don’t get paid for all the work you do. 

M-  I don’t get paid for most of the work I do. 

N-  Except for podcasts. 

M- Right, except for podcasts, I don’t make any money, but that’s OK. I’ll just spend Daddy's money. 

N- What?! Don’t spend his money! 

M- Why not? He's not using it. 

N- That's true. 

*****

Not exactly an -ism, but I have rarely laughed so hard as I did when we all piled on my bed and checked to see if we have an unecssary tendon in our wrists- you can determine if you have it by putting your thumb and pinkie fingers together.  Turns out, not only does Jason not have the tendon, he can't touch his thumb and pinking fingers together without some serious effort. It was hilarious to watch him try though!  He's a perfect match to my can't-go-straight arms. 

*****

In a conversation with Adam in the car, we were talking about sexuality and gender identity and the self-discovery journey that many people go through to make decisions about things that we generally take for granted.  I shared how I felt, then asked him how he felt. 

A- I'm genuinely amazed whenever even a girl likes one of my friends. I definitely don't like guys.

*****

E, tucked into a massage table and waiting her first massage (a necessary event after her epic scooter fail in the fall. It turns out she sprained two tendons surrounding her rotator cuff and has been suffering through the healing ever since)- I feel like a worm! 

(similarly pictured on my closet floor!) 

*****

I always appreciate learning the ways that my voracious readers pronounce words in their heads that they never would have a reason to say out loud.  Leah just recently learned that the city in Arizona is pronounced Too-sawn, not Tusk-an. 

*****

N- Oh yum, I can take a hoogie for lunch! 

M- A what? 

N- A hoogie!  You know, that good bread for a sandwich!

M- that's called a hoagie.

******

N, with a gleam in his eye while we were waiting in the Target parking lot for the girls- I know what the turbo button does. 

M- What?! No you don't. 

N- Yes I do.  

M- You mean, you know that if you push the button it will eject you from the car? 

N- No! 

M- You mean, you know that it you push the button it makes the car go speedy fast?! Don't push it!  You'll send us straight through the parking lot into that parked car! 

N- No! I know that it just turns on both blinkers. 

M- What?! Who told you that!? That's crazy. 

N- Daddy told me.  So can I push it??

Alas, it's the end of an era.

Contributions from siblings- 

From Adam- Noah, after breakfast when he didn't eat the last waffle he took - Goodbye waffle, you served me well.  I'm sorry I didn't eat you. 

*****

From Leah, who also keeps a record of great -isms- 

Noah During sacrament meeting- (excited whisper) it’s almost bishop buck time!!! 

*

This water is partly sun baked. But it makes it good. 

*

Upon learning about a Fortisisisisisimo from Leah - What? Are you crazy? Is that real? 

*

After marking the tour de stake paper - That’s a bingo! *waggles finger* 

*

Take a picture of this, please. (Backwards Oreo) 

*

No!!! I will make YOU into bone sauce!! 

*

It’s a WITCH! Covered in SAND! It’s a SAND WITCH! 

*

Noah gets a double instead of a single burger. 

Mommy - It’s your lucky day! 

N - Not really. Now I have three patties, and one is a SUBSPECIES! 

M - ??? 

Adam - He considers bacon a patty. 

*

N- Well, you’re already at the tree of life but you have to OBTAIN the FRUIT of joy. 

*

N- *grrr* I’m a rugged animal  

*

*Holding a big stick* I have power! I have authority! I have LENGTH! 

*

So… we just romped around the woods a bit.  

*

I was looking at the words on catchphrase and I was in the family category and one of the words was LICK-WERE! Not in our family!! 

L - …liquor? 

N - Yeah! With a Q!! 

L - …That’s how you spell it. 

*

Taste testing the jam by himself  - Lumpy 1/2 cup sugar... Mmmm....  BLENDED 1/2 cup sugar... Mmmmm!! 

A- weren’t we supposed to try it at the same time? N- 

*

N- I’m Johnny strawberry seed!!! 

*

*Gasp!* a tile-boni! 

*

A - Noah, you only have 8 years until you graduate high school! N - Ahhh! Shhhhh! Middle school is too short! 

*

M - Noah, are you rifling through the trash? 

N - *pops head up* I’m looking at it…?! 

*

E- I think instead of family pictures, we should have a photo shoot of just ME. 

N - Okay, Raquel! 

E -  

N - Hey everybody, look at Raquel! 

E -  

*

General conference tab choir:  my shepherd will supply my need  N: …so this is the spirit of god?? 

*

N, 22 minutes after a church activity is over and our parents are still talking - I’m starting to lose my personality. 

This is what happens when I stand around for too long. 

Hey, maybe if I lock my knees, I’ll pass out and they’ll notice me. Then we can go home.

-Isms

Random thoughts, random pictures. 

L- scraping a pile of mustard off of her Cuban sandwich- I am fine with this.  I am not a victim of this sandwich. 
*****
M- Should we have some apples with our lunch? 
N- Yes!  With the chunky peanut butter, the best in the land! 
*****
N, frantically running into the kitchen - Oh!  There's the puddy (as in pudding, without the -ng)!  I thought lost it. 
M- The what? 
N- The puddy! 
M- That word is pronounced putty. 
*****

Tis the season for mice in the house.  We've caught four so far, all from a random unfinished space in our basement that is nowhere close to the food, thankfully. 
M- Did you catch another mouse this morning? 
J- No. 
M- You set a trap last night, but you didn't get one?
J- Yes I did.  I set two traps and I caught one. 
M- What? You just said you didn't catch one. 
J- No I didn't. 
L and M in unison- Yes you did! 
*****
Noah’s having one of those mornings. He just said ‘don’t slap my nipples! Would you want me to do that to you?!! Of course not!!’
Of course not. 
*****
E- Can we buy tickets for the rifle?! They're selling a Wizard of Oz blanket! 
M- Rifle? Do you mean raffle? 
(We didn't win)
*****

N- looking at a picture that Adam sent from the backyard - Is that the moose that ate our pumpkin? 

Dang it moose. (everyone's favorite saying this fall)

*****

N-, trying to guess how they say hello in Hawaii - Hello!  Hola? A-hola!??

-Isms

M- It’s a good day to be part of our family. 

A- I think every day is a good day to be in our family. 

Woo-hoo! Isn't that all a parent ever wants to hear?

*****

E, after dedicating the bulk of a Saturday to spring cleaning her room- Do you want to come seem my Palestine room? 

L- Do you even know where Palestine is? 

E- It’s a room that looks like a palace!  Palestine!

L- Yeah, don't say that.

*****

E- Whipping a random piece of whittled wood out of her purse-  You guys!  This is my magical flute.  I just I found this in a forest. I didn’t even chisel it or anything it was just like that!

******

N- Bats are disgusting. They're especially gross when they’re all clumped together. 

*****

M- Daddy needs to crack a window. 

N- Crack a window?  Why would he want to do that? 

M- Oh!  It just means open a window up a little bit. 

*****

Chatting with Noah in the morning- 

M- Did you hear that woodpecker on the house? 

N- Yes!  I could hear him pecking on the wall so I went over and banged on the wall but he didn't give up!  So I just went and clipped my toenails. 

*****

N, on a particularly rough morning- I'm so sad I’m going to school in five minutes and then it's back to the rat race…. What is the rat race anyway?

*****

While walking around downtown Kansas City, a noisy motorcycle went roaring down the street- N- Whoa, take it for a walk Jimmy!

*****

E, observing the state of our family and lamenting over the loss of her best big sister over spring break- This isn't what I want us to look like.  I can't even remember what Leah looks like anymore.

0.5 pictures to help her remember.... kind of. 

Noah-Isms

Noah falling apart after a long day and a long week- 

M, teasing him to see if he'll laugh- Geez Noah, are you going to start your period? 

N- What?! No!!!! I’m not even 10 yet. 

(This one from a while ago.  I'm sure he's thrilled to know that even a 10 year old boy never has to deal with a period.

*****

N- Do you think I'm spoiled? 

M- Well you do have an awful lot of Legos.  Do you think you're spoiled? 

N- No... If I had... 5 more Lego sets, then I would be spoiled!

*****

N- Can I put some books on hold on your phone? 

M- Sure. (hands over phone then watches him pull up Captain Underpants) Do you ever read books that are not cartoons or graphic novels, like in school? (not trying to sound harsh, but his at-home favorites are Big Nate, the 13-Story Treehouse series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Captain Underpants, and DogMan. I'm curious and hopeful that he reads something, anything more challenging in school.) 

N- Not really... I need a new series with longer books and these are actually pretty good.  If it wasn't for all of the potty talk. 

M- Yeah, you need to read something else.  I'm not getting these books for you. 

N (a few minutes of quiet later)- Mommy, do you think I'm a good artist? 

M- You're a great artist!  I love your drawings. 

N- Well, I get my ideas for drawings from those books because I study them and how they draw them and that's how I know how to draw.  So if you don't want me to read those books then you're basically saying you don't want me to draw anymore. 

M- Ha!  That's some good reasoning. But I think you've read those books enough for a while. 

*****

M- I miss the clean white snow. 

N- Me too.  It should snow again.  We need to give Auntie Allison a good impression of Iowa!

M- I wonder if Auntie Allison ever thinks about moving to Iowa. 

N- That would be crazy!  We've never had a family member live close by before. 

*****

M- Happy Groundhog Day!

N- (nods)

L- You have to say it back. 

N- Happy Groundhog Day!

L- Do you think there is more than one groundhog? 

N- (totally serious) Well yeah.  Otherwise it would basically be extinct.

*****

Chatting about Trader Joes- 

M- When we lived in Ankeny I used to drive down here about once a year to stock up on Christmas treats. 

N- All of the Christmas treats are mint flavored. (getting a little sad voice) It makes me feel left out. 

*****

N- Where do you think busses park? 

M- explains the concept of a bus garage. 

N- Do you think bus drivers wear headphones so they don't have to listen to all of the noise on the bus? 

M- explains why that's not a very safe idea and that no one is encouraged to wear headphones while driving. 

N- Ahhh.  So no headphones and no tac glasses.  (Hee hee- thank you Liam Thompson!)

*****

Pulling up to the library- 

M- Would you be willing to return these books for me? 

N- Yes!  I love returning books, especially when it's in the 'materials return slot'!

I sure do appreciate his enthusiasm about the little things. 

N- trying to get eye level with Adam- So this is what the world looks like to you?  Whoa!!

Noah is 10!!

 Holy smokes my last baby is officially double digits!

Noah's birthday fell on a no-school Monday this year, which translated to days and days of celebrating! We checked all of the traditions off the list over the course of the weekend (and month).  Noah's birthday party with friends was so much fun- especially their outside games.  

Emma was a huge helper and took all of the outdoor action shots. 

Back inside we had the perfect treat for a bunch of hot and sweaty boys- an ice cream cake!

I love this picture- Noah looks so happy surrounded by his best friends and best siblings. 

I think his birthday wish came true!

Noah wanted to watch The Ninjago Movie as part of his birthday party, and after all that running around outside the boys were all ready to relax. It was such a fun, chill birthday party and a great way to kick off the weekend!

The next morning was all about breakfast in bed- the tradition is that you get to eat in bed while everyone else sits nearby balancing their plates on their laps and shooing away the pup.  A closed lid cup for chocolate milk, we have learned, is a must. 

Noah had his heart set on a retired Lego set, and what fun would a three day weekend be without the chance to put it together? I'm always amazed at how quickly these boys can put such cool sets together. 

Noah's friend Bennett gave him this too-large but cute Baby Yoda shirt, and he got lots of other presents from generous friends and grandparents. 

Adam and Emma gathered a box full of sour candies and sodas for Noah to sample and rate.  He has been slowly working his way through the contents and scoring them on a variety of factors. 

On Noah's actual birthday we went to Center Grove.  The weather was perfect and it was a fantastic day!  Later that week Daddy and I took Noah out after school for his birth-date- he picked IHOP again! Who can resist a pancake the size of your head?  And when we started in on The Birthday Talk, Noah said, "Oh, I was wondering when this was going to happen." Glad to know he looks forward to this birthday tradition. ;) 

It took a ridiculously long time to fit in the last piece of the traditions puzzle- pictures with Mom and Dad!  Look at how tall Noah is getting- he's going to pass me up in no time!

I love this face- Noah has never liked kisses on cheeks, and when he was little he used to wipe them off. Now we just do our secret handshakes when we want to share a little love (the way he plays with my hair is my favorite part of ours). 

I just love my best buddy boo!  

Look at this handsome young man!

10-year old Noah loves- 

The double bass!  He has really leaned into this new challenge and we love hearing him play!

Drawing comics- Noah is always doodling and creating and laughing at the funny world that he is creating. 

Reading Calvin and Hobbes, Big Nate, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and any other silly boy comic books he can get his hands on. I signed him up for the school book club this year because its always nice to have a reason to stretch your reading a bit. 

His siblings- he doesn't always love being the youngest, but he would pick time in the toy room creating Lego masterpieces or playing Candyland in Leah's room or dipping his hands into the wax pot with Emma over just about anything else.  And I love it because he is their baby.  When Emma was 2 and Noah was brand new she used to always need to know where he was in the house, "Where my baby at??" and even now she sometimes double and triple checks to make sure that she knows where her little brother is. 

GT- 4th grade is the first year that GT is offered, and Noah loves his twice-weekly time with Ms. McLaughlin and Samskar, his classmate and friend. 

Hopefully archery- Noah will be joining Emma and Noah in this fun extracurricular activity this year!

Activity Days- they only meet twice a month, but Noah loves being with his 3 best church buddies. 

Anything sour- see the above birthday gift from his siblings. 

Good jokes- Noah really appreciates and is always ready to share a good pun or riddle, and he has even tried making up his own. 

Playing Minecraft- Boy, I fought so hard against this one with Adam at this age, but Noah is reaping the benefits of my older age.  Minecraft is Noah's screen time activity of choice. 

Singing- Noah has joined the ward choir this year and I love hearing his clear voice coming through!

Noah loves Laney but the taller he grows the less he enjoys having her sleep at the foot of his bed. 

Speaking of sleep, now that I think about it, Noah has all but stopped asking to sleep in my bed.  If Daddy is out of town we make a sleepover date out of it, but his months (years) of anxiety about being tucked in and left in his own bed for the night seem to have greatly subsided in recent months.  Halleluiah, there is a light at the end of that tunnel! 

Noah makes us all laugh- sometimes with his curmudgeon-ness, sometimes with his expanding vocabulary. and sometimes because he just has a clever brain!  

Our family is so much happier because Noah is in it. Ready or not, Noah is growing up to be a great young man- happy, happy birthday buddy boo!