Noah had his 6 month check up today. He is 26.5 inches long (50%) and 19lb 10oz (75-90%). The doctor was not concerned with his weight. She said to feed him as much as he wants now and when he starts moving more he will slim down. Poor Noah had to get a few shots today. He did well. He got a flu shot and some other things. I got my flu shot too since it was convenient. Morry declined.
Today was picture day at Evan’s school. Wendy said he did well. Hopefully it’s a good picture. Evan did not want to leave school today. He wanted to keep playing. Finally I was able to get him to leave by telling him Papa was coming today.
Noah was cranky all day. He seems to be sensitive to the shots. The doctor said to expect some fussiness and fever. At dinner he was really fussy and crying. Nothing seemed to be helping. We tried feeding him, holding him, … I had given him Tylenol 2 hours before, but that didn’t seem to help. We gave him Motrin and within minutes he was so much better and smiling again. That stuff is a miracle drug.
When Papa/Dad/Lenny got here Evan was very excited. He immediately ran up to him and showed him his Wall-E figure. Whenever people come over to the house Evan likes to show off and show them his toys. Evan showed Papa lots of his toys including all his new Toy Story stuff (Bulls Eye, the cups we got from the Disney Store, …).
Once Noah calmed down we had a nice dinner. We had tortillas with fajita meat and chicken, rice, and salad. At dinner Evan asked where Grandma was and we told him she’d be here in a few days.
Both boys are in bed now. Let’s hope they get a good night’s sleep
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Monday... last night at Oasis, walk, ...
We had a nice time last night at Oasis. We got a great table overlooking the lake and could also hear the band from where we were sitting. The Podbers also met us there. Evan loved dancing. He was jumping around and spinning. When the music would stop he would yell “More!”
This morning we took a run/walk. Evan walked a little of the way. As we walked by the elementary school we saw Amy and Abby (from our original Starbucks playgroup). They had just had lunch with Amy’s other daughter who’s birthday is today. Abby was eating a cookie and Amy asked me if it was alright if Evan had one. Evan was very excited to get a chocolate chip cookie. Somehow he managed to get chocolate all over his face though. I never understand how you can give this kid the littlest amount of chocolate, but somehow he manages to get it everywhere.
We forgot to add the other day that Noah is getting another tooth! He now has 2 teeth coming in on the bottom. It doesn’t seem to bother him too much.
I had a busy tutoring schedule tonight. Since a few of my students have a band performance tomorrow I had to move them to today. I was gone from 5-10 this evening. Morry had to take care of the boys on a football night. He’s watching the Steelers game now. Evan is still up making noise in his room. Hopefully he falls asleep soon.
This morning we took a run/walk. Evan walked a little of the way. As we walked by the elementary school we saw Amy and Abby (from our original Starbucks playgroup). They had just had lunch with Amy’s other daughter who’s birthday is today. Abby was eating a cookie and Amy asked me if it was alright if Evan had one. Evan was very excited to get a chocolate chip cookie. Somehow he managed to get chocolate all over his face though. I never understand how you can give this kid the littlest amount of chocolate, but somehow he manages to get it everywhere.
We forgot to add the other day that Noah is getting another tooth! He now has 2 teeth coming in on the bottom. It doesn’t seem to bother him too much.
I had a busy tutoring schedule tonight. Since a few of my students have a band performance tomorrow I had to move them to today. I was gone from 5-10 this evening. Morry had to take care of the boys on a football night. He’s watching the Steelers game now. Evan is still up making noise in his room. Hopefully he falls asleep soon.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Haircuts
This is Morry posting for the first time on this blog. Rachel's feeding Noah right now, as well as getting everything ready for our dinner and dancing at the Oasis.
The Oasis is the "Sunset Capital of the World" according to their tagline. It's this amazing restaurant out on Lake Travis. Really, the thing that is amazing about it is the view. The food is less than extraordinary for sure. They have a restaurant and bar area. Sundays, during the spring summer and fall, a band called the Brew plays there. The Brew is a Latin band that plays Salsa and Latin jazz music. Rachel used to be a groupie. She may dispute the use of the word "groupie", but their first CD had a dedication to her in the cover. If that doesn't scream groupie, I don't know what does. They are a good band though and they are nice guys as well. We haven't seen them play in a long time. This will be the first time this year that we are going.
So you may be thinking, why is the post entitled "Haircuts" when all I've done so far is talk about the Oasis and whether or not Rachel could have been classified as a groupie or not. Well, both Evan and Noah got haircuts today. For Noah, it was his first "paid-for" haircut. My cousin Allison's husband gave him his first haircut when he was 3 months old. This was his first time going to get his hair cut. Evan was up first and he didn't seem to enjoy it. The only thing that kept him from having some sort of hissy fit was the promise of a lollipop at the end. He was in a cranky mood this morning and getting his hair cut wasn't necessarily his idea of fun. The guy did a good job but Evan's hair is very short again.
Noah was up next and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Noah was very calm back in July but he had spend the previous 2 days with Richard. When we took Evan to get his first hair cut when he was 6 months old, he screamed his head off. The 5 to 10 minutes it took to do the job felt like 30 or 40. You would have thought we were torturing the kid. So I wasn't sure what to expect when Noah sat down. The answer is I don't think you could have gotten any more opposite from Evan than the experience with Noah. Noah loved it. He was cooing and squealing and just enjoyed the whole experience. Everyone at Great Clips was looking over at Noah because he sounded so happy. These women were just amazed at Noah and told me that I have a "beautiful family". At the bottom of this post I've included photos of Noah getting his hair cut. We'll add a few of Evan just for comparison's sake later on this evening.
Meanwhile, Evan did get his lollipop - although the guy gave him a mango-flavored Dum-Dum. Evan didn't really like that flavor so he gave it to me. I got him a cherry-flavored lollipop. Now, I'm the type who sucks on a lollipop for about 30 seconds and then I chew it and eat it. I know this isn't good for my teeth and it annoys my mother to death, but I do it anyway. I picked it up from my dad. We both chew hard candy. Well, Evan saw me chew the lollipop and thought that was great. He thought he was supposed to suck on his lollipop. So he immediately chewed it up. I guess this will continue to be passed down from generation to generation among Belkin men.
So that's the end of my first post. I hope you enjoyed it. I'll probably make an appearance every now and then although Rachel will do most of the updating. And I'll probably get the occasional mention in her posts. Until next time...
The Oasis is the "Sunset Capital of the World" according to their tagline. It's this amazing restaurant out on Lake Travis. Really, the thing that is amazing about it is the view. The food is less than extraordinary for sure. They have a restaurant and bar area. Sundays, during the spring summer and fall, a band called the Brew plays there. The Brew is a Latin band that plays Salsa and Latin jazz music. Rachel used to be a groupie. She may dispute the use of the word "groupie", but their first CD had a dedication to her in the cover. If that doesn't scream groupie, I don't know what does. They are a good band though and they are nice guys as well. We haven't seen them play in a long time. This will be the first time this year that we are going.
So you may be thinking, why is the post entitled "Haircuts" when all I've done so far is talk about the Oasis and whether or not Rachel could have been classified as a groupie or not. Well, both Evan and Noah got haircuts today. For Noah, it was his first "paid-for" haircut. My cousin Allison's husband gave him his first haircut when he was 3 months old. This was his first time going to get his hair cut. Evan was up first and he didn't seem to enjoy it. The only thing that kept him from having some sort of hissy fit was the promise of a lollipop at the end. He was in a cranky mood this morning and getting his hair cut wasn't necessarily his idea of fun. The guy did a good job but Evan's hair is very short again.
Noah was up next and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Noah was very calm back in July but he had spend the previous 2 days with Richard. When we took Evan to get his first hair cut when he was 6 months old, he screamed his head off. The 5 to 10 minutes it took to do the job felt like 30 or 40. You would have thought we were torturing the kid. So I wasn't sure what to expect when Noah sat down. The answer is I don't think you could have gotten any more opposite from Evan than the experience with Noah. Noah loved it. He was cooing and squealing and just enjoyed the whole experience. Everyone at Great Clips was looking over at Noah because he sounded so happy. These women were just amazed at Noah and told me that I have a "beautiful family". At the bottom of this post I've included photos of Noah getting his hair cut. We'll add a few of Evan just for comparison's sake later on this evening.
Meanwhile, Evan did get his lollipop - although the guy gave him a mango-flavored Dum-Dum. Evan didn't really like that flavor so he gave it to me. I got him a cherry-flavored lollipop. Now, I'm the type who sucks on a lollipop for about 30 seconds and then I chew it and eat it. I know this isn't good for my teeth and it annoys my mother to death, but I do it anyway. I picked it up from my dad. We both chew hard candy. Well, Evan saw me chew the lollipop and thought that was great. He thought he was supposed to suck on his lollipop. So he immediately chewed it up. I guess this will continue to be passed down from generation to generation among Belkin men.
So that's the end of my first post. I hope you enjoyed it. I'll probably make an appearance every now and then although Rachel will do most of the updating. And I'll probably get the occasional mention in her posts. Until next time...
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Pool, Football, and Never-ending Pasta
Noah woke up a few times during the night and then at 8am we were awakened by our neighbors landscaping company doing their yard. Ugh
We went to the neighborhood pool today and met Matt, Alissa, Ben, and Molly there. There was hardly anyone there. In fact, when we first got there it was so empty we thought the pool was closed. For a little bit we were the only people there. Then Evan and Noah had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the baby pool was closed because the water temp in there has to be at least 80. The big pool is heated so at least we were able to swim in there. They have free life vests for kids and after Evan finally let us put his on, he had a blast. He was swimming all around the pool and shooting baskets into the water basketball hoop.
This afternoon Morry went with Barry to the UT football game. The game started at 2:30. We knew parking was going to be bad since there’s a lot going on this weekend in downtown (for example ACL). So, I drove Morry and dropped him off in campus as close to the stadium as I could get on 24th street. When he got out of the car Evan cried because he wanted to go to the football game too.
I took the boys home. Evan fell asleep in the car for about the last 10 minutes of the ride. When we got home I put both boys down for a nap. Noah slept maybe 30 minutes at the most and Evan didn’t nap at all.
We picked Morry up around 6. When he was coming toward the car Evan asked where the football was. I think that since Evan got a baseball at the baseball game he assumed Morry would get a football at that game.
Then, we met the Podbers at the Olive Garden. We don’t normally eat at the Olive Garden, but they are having the never-ending pasta bowl now. Usually we end up eating there about once a year when they have that promotion.
We came home, did the bedtime routine. Here’s what we normally do before bed. We get the boys changed and go in the gameroom. I feed Noah his last bottle for the night while Morry reads a book, or two to Evan. Then, we all go in Evan’s room and I lay Noah in the bed with Evan (while holding on to him) while Morry goes and gets Evan’s milk. Evan loves having Noah in bed with him. Noah always tries to grab Evan’s pacifier from his mouth and Evan thinks that’s the funniest thing ever. When it’s time to go to sleep Evan gives Noah a kiss. We put on Evan’s Toy Story CD and bring Noah to bed in his room. We usually put on a CD for Noah as well, but it doesn’t have to be the same one every night.
We went to the neighborhood pool today and met Matt, Alissa, Ben, and Molly there. There was hardly anyone there. In fact, when we first got there it was so empty we thought the pool was closed. For a little bit we were the only people there. Then Evan and Noah had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the baby pool was closed because the water temp in there has to be at least 80. The big pool is heated so at least we were able to swim in there. They have free life vests for kids and after Evan finally let us put his on, he had a blast. He was swimming all around the pool and shooting baskets into the water basketball hoop.
This afternoon Morry went with Barry to the UT football game. The game started at 2:30. We knew parking was going to be bad since there’s a lot going on this weekend in downtown (for example ACL). So, I drove Morry and dropped him off in campus as close to the stadium as I could get on 24th street. When he got out of the car Evan cried because he wanted to go to the football game too.
I took the boys home. Evan fell asleep in the car for about the last 10 minutes of the ride. When we got home I put both boys down for a nap. Noah slept maybe 30 minutes at the most and Evan didn’t nap at all.
We picked Morry up around 6. When he was coming toward the car Evan asked where the football was. I think that since Evan got a baseball at the baseball game he assumed Morry would get a football at that game.
Then, we met the Podbers at the Olive Garden. We don’t normally eat at the Olive Garden, but they are having the never-ending pasta bowl now. Usually we end up eating there about once a year when they have that promotion.
We came home, did the bedtime routine. Here’s what we normally do before bed. We get the boys changed and go in the gameroom. I feed Noah his last bottle for the night while Morry reads a book, or two to Evan. Then, we all go in Evan’s room and I lay Noah in the bed with Evan (while holding on to him) while Morry goes and gets Evan’s milk. Evan loves having Noah in bed with him. Noah always tries to grab Evan’s pacifier from his mouth and Evan thinks that’s the funniest thing ever. When it’s time to go to sleep Evan gives Noah a kiss. We put on Evan’s Toy Story CD and bring Noah to bed in his room. We usually put on a CD for Noah as well, but it doesn’t have to be the same one every night.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Ways to save/make money, free stuff, sweepstakes…
I have had requests from lots of you wanting to know all the ways I save money, win things, and make money. So, here it is.
Ways to save money:
I cut coupons from the Sunday paper. Also, http://afullcup.com is a great site to find deals, printable coupons, sales, etc. Before I go to the grocery store I check this site (coupon menu/coupon database search) to find any printable coupons for items I’m going to buy.
Before we buy anything online we do a google search for online coupon codes for that store.
Also, we go through the sites bigcrumbs and ebates . They have lots of stores listed like Target, Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, GAP …If you go through their site first and then click on the store website for them you can save anywhere from 2-25% they send you a check for money back. I think the way that works is many online stores have referral programs where they offer web site owners a percentage for each person that comes to their site through them and buys something. Big crumbs and Ebates just sign up for a ton of these referral programs and then give you a cut of the money they make.
www.restaurant.com sells gift certificates for usually half the price to certain restaurants in your area. They occasionally email codes to get and additional 50% off restaurant certificates.
How to make money:
I tutor students in the afternoons and evenings. I have both a teaching certificate and a Master’s degree, but you don’t necessarily need both of those. I have found that the greatest need is for Math tutors. If you are confident in math you should have no problem finding some tutoring jobs. The majority of the students I tutor need help with math, but I also help them with other subjects such as Spanish, Science, History, and English. I have gotten most of my students through referrals from the school where I used to teach. I have a few neighborhood kids that come to my house as well. I called or went in to the neighborhood schools and gave the counselors my contact information.
ChaCha is a mobile research service. People text or call in and get the answer text to their cell phone. Anyway, they need people to answer these texts. Usually it’s not too hard to find the answers using a Google search. You’ll get questions anywhere from weather forecasts to sports stats. They pay you 20 cents for each question you answer. You can average about $5 -$10/hr http://answers.chacha.com/?page_id=410
You can also answer surveys and join focus groups. Here are a few I do. www.tammadge.com http://www.pineconeresearch.com/index.htm http://www.your2cents.com/ http://www.acop.com https://www.surveysavvy.com?id=3033699&action=join&D=rfrl100208
I just joined a new one. It's actually one of Morry's friends that started this company.
https://www. focusfwdonline. com/signup. aspx
I did a study last week (11/5/08). It was 2 hours and I got paid $200. It was a study for household cleaning products. Two people met me at HEB and we talked some about my cleaning habits and what products I use. Then we went in the cleaning aisle and picked a few things and went back to my house for me to show them how I would use the items. It was super easy.
I just thought I'd pass that along in case anyone is interested.
You can clean out your house and make some money. Depending on what you want to sell you can go through www.craigslist.org or www.ebay.com . Ebay will reach more people, but they charge you a fee to list and they get commission. Craigslist is free to list and they do not take a commission. Usually Craigslist is best for large items like furniture, while Ebay is better for collectables, antiques, and brand name items.
How to get free stuff:
Here is a site that lists websites giving away free stuff: http://www.vickysdeals.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3
Also, if there are products you buy often you can go to the product’s website, fill out the comment form and let them know how much you like the products and that you would love to have some coupons.
If you join She Speaks, occasionally they will send you products to test out and keep. In return you give your opinion of that product. I got a free Sonicare electric toothbrush, shaving cream, potato masher. http://www.shespeaks.com
Freecycle is an online community to help reduce unnecessary waste and keep good stuff out of landfills. Think “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” People post things they are getting rid of or things they are looking for. There is no money involved and no trading. Everything is absolutely free. We have used this mostly to get rid of things, but occasionally you can find some great things people are giving away. Do a search for the Freecycle community in your city. http://www.freecycle.org Grandma Gertrude would be proud. :)
How to win stuff:
This site lists contests/giveaways in different categories ( by prizes, ending date, entry frequency, …) http://www.online-sweepstakes.com
Hope that helps. Let me know if you have questions about any of these.
Our turn to host playgroup
We had a nice morning. Playgroup was at our house today. I was busy last night and this morning getting the food ready. I put out cranberry apple crisp, fruit salad, veggies, pita, humus, the taboli I made the other day, and blueberry muffins (Evan’s request) that Evan helped me make this morning. I also made coffee and put out orange juice. When the playgroups first started the moms just put out a few snacks for kids, but as time went on we started having more of breakfast/brunch stuff.
We had a good turnout. We had Jodie, Allen, and Thomas, Alena and Avery, Leigh and Katie, Yenis and Kevin, Anna and Regina, and of course me, Evan, and Noah. All the kids played very nicely. Evan Noah had a good time watching all the older kids play. The rollercoaster was a hit like always. The first people got here a little after 10 and everyone had left by 1. I enjoyed it. It’s nice having other moms to talk to and it’s good for Evan to get used to sharing his toys. Some of the moms said how much they liked the food and commented that I do a good job of putting out fun, kid friendly snacks. They said I should write a book.
In case anyone is interested here’s the cranberry apple crisp recipe. I think I got it from one of my mom’s cookbooks.
3 cups cranberries (one 12oz bag)
2 apples (thinly sliced)
½ c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ c flour
2 tbsp brown sugar (packed)
¾ c rolled oats
3 tbsp melted butter
1. mix cranberries, apples, sugar, cinnamon, and 1 tbsp flour and put in greased baking dish
2. combine remaining flour, brown sugar, and oats. Then, mix in melted butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit.
3. bake at 375 for 30-40 min
Usually I add a little vanilla to both the fruit mix and the topping. I also double the amount of oat topping since that’s my favorite part.
Yes, I know he needs a haircut.
We had a good turnout. We had Jodie, Allen, and Thomas, Alena and Avery, Leigh and Katie, Yenis and Kevin, Anna and Regina, and of course me, Evan, and Noah. All the kids played very nicely. Evan Noah had a good time watching all the older kids play. The rollercoaster was a hit like always. The first people got here a little after 10 and everyone had left by 1. I enjoyed it. It’s nice having other moms to talk to and it’s good for Evan to get used to sharing his toys. Some of the moms said how much they liked the food and commented that I do a good job of putting out fun, kid friendly snacks. They said I should write a book.
In case anyone is interested here’s the cranberry apple crisp recipe. I think I got it from one of my mom’s cookbooks.
3 cups cranberries (one 12oz bag)
2 apples (thinly sliced)
½ c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ c flour
2 tbsp brown sugar (packed)
¾ c rolled oats
3 tbsp melted butter
1. mix cranberries, apples, sugar, cinnamon, and 1 tbsp flour and put in greased baking dish
2. combine remaining flour, brown sugar, and oats. Then, mix in melted butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit.
3. bake at 375 for 30-40 min
Usually I add a little vanilla to both the fruit mix and the topping. I also double the amount of oat topping since that’s my favorite part.
Yes, I know he needs a haircut.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
School for Evan, HEB, ...
Noah has started reaching his hands up when he wants to be picked up. It’s cute. When you go over to pick him up from the exersaucer or swing he puts his arms up.
Today Evan had school. Evan’s teacher Wendy was not there today because she is sick and right away he asked where she was. He seemed disappointed that she wasn’t there to read the train book to him. He mentioned the train book again before we left the house today.
After I dropped him off Noah and I went to HEB to pick up a few things for playgroup tomorrow. It is our turn to host. We have a little playgroup for kids Evan’s age. We used to meet on Thursday mornings, but now that many of the kids in the group are going to pre-schools on different days we alternate days we meet. One week we’ll meet on a Friday, the next a Thursday. Usually whoever hosts puts out a few snacks for the kids and moms. I’m going to make blueberry muffins, cranberry apple crisp, and a fruit salad.
On our way into HEB we saw Bodar, Marissa’s mom. Marissa is in our playgroup as well as Evan’s class at school. Then inside, we saw Susan and Laurel. Laurel is also in the playgroup, but she goes to school MWF.
Oh, at HEB I was able to buy honeycrisp apples (Morry's favorite). We look forward to this time of year when the honeycrisps come back out. If you haven't had one, you should try it. It's tart and crunchy.
After HEB I went for walk(1mi)/run(1mi) with Noah and Lizzy. I had just enough time get home, shower, and feed Noah lunch. Then, it was time to pick up Evan. Right when I walked in, he came up to me and asked for a muffin. I asked the teacher what that was about, why he wanted a muffin. Natasha said Marissa sat by Evan at lunch and she had a muffin that he wanted. Ms. Aranza (the sub and Spanish teacher) told Evan he should ask his mom if he could have a muffin. So, of course, he remembered and asked me first thing. Anyway, I told Evan we would make muffins tomorrow for playgroup. I asked if Evan was good today and they said he’s always good and listens well. That was good to hear. On the way home in the car Evan asked me where I went today.
Today Evan had school. Evan’s teacher Wendy was not there today because she is sick and right away he asked where she was. He seemed disappointed that she wasn’t there to read the train book to him. He mentioned the train book again before we left the house today.
After I dropped him off Noah and I went to HEB to pick up a few things for playgroup tomorrow. It is our turn to host. We have a little playgroup for kids Evan’s age. We used to meet on Thursday mornings, but now that many of the kids in the group are going to pre-schools on different days we alternate days we meet. One week we’ll meet on a Friday, the next a Thursday. Usually whoever hosts puts out a few snacks for the kids and moms. I’m going to make blueberry muffins, cranberry apple crisp, and a fruit salad.
On our way into HEB we saw Bodar, Marissa’s mom. Marissa is in our playgroup as well as Evan’s class at school. Then inside, we saw Susan and Laurel. Laurel is also in the playgroup, but she goes to school MWF.
Oh, at HEB I was able to buy honeycrisp apples (Morry's favorite). We look forward to this time of year when the honeycrisps come back out. If you haven't had one, you should try it. It's tart and crunchy.
After HEB I went for walk(1mi)/run(1mi) with Noah and Lizzy. I had just enough time get home, shower, and feed Noah lunch. Then, it was time to pick up Evan. Right when I walked in, he came up to me and asked for a muffin. I asked the teacher what that was about, why he wanted a muffin. Natasha said Marissa sat by Evan at lunch and she had a muffin that he wanted. Ms. Aranza (the sub and Spanish teacher) told Evan he should ask his mom if he could have a muffin. So, of course, he remembered and asked me first thing. Anyway, I told Evan we would make muffins tomorrow for playgroup. I asked if Evan was good today and they said he’s always good and listens well. That was good to hear. On the way home in the car Evan asked me where I went today.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Nice day at the lake
In case you didn’t notice, at the bottom of the page are the most recent YouTube videos. I added one yesterday of Evan at school.
Evan loves to use nicknames. He called Mottel “Mottlenose” and Lizzy “Lizzygrowls”. Noah is “Noahknees”. Evan even sings “A, B, C, D, Noahknees.”
Today we met Yenis and Kevin (almost 3 yrs old and in Evan’s class) at
We stopped at Jamba Juice on the way home. I usually get a medium sized drink and they pour some of it in a little cup for Evan. He loves having his own smoothie.
We had a Mediterranean dinner tonight. We made Kofta Kabobs, Saffron Rice, and Tabouli. It was all pretty good. We decided we’d definitely make it again some time. Evan really liked the tabouli. Here are the recipes we used. http://www.recipezaar.com/170045 http://www.recipezaar.com/113983 and http://www.recipezaar.com/8758
We use recipezaar a lot.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Tuesday
Evan had school today. He goes Tuesday and Thursday from 9-1:30 at the Child Development Center in our neighborhood. The last few times I have picked him up he’s been reading a train book. It’s really a book on all kinds of transportation, but the last few pages has pictures of trains and what they are called, like high-speed train etc. He hasn’t wanted to put the book down the last few times, but I had to reassure him he could read it next time. Today, first thing, he went up to Wendy (his teacher) and asked for the train book again.
On the way to school I gave Evan a waffle to eat in the car since we were running late like usual. He didn’t finish it all and he put it in the outer flap of his lunch box to save to for later. I wonder if he’ll end up eating it. I’ll have to check when he gets home.
I went for a run (2mi) with Noah and Lizzy today.
I gave Lizzy a bath today in our shower. She needed one. She and Simon (neighbor dog who comes over between the fence often) have been wrestling a lot lately.
I’m going to pick up Evan in a little bit and then go to HEB with the boys to get some food for the week.
This afternoon/evening I tutor late until 7:30 so I need to try and get dinner ready or almost ready so we wont have to do much when I get home.
On the way to school I gave Evan a waffle to eat in the car since we were running late like usual. He didn’t finish it all and he put it in the outer flap of his lunch box to save to for later. I wonder if he’ll end up eating it. I’ll have to check when he gets home.
I went for a run (2mi) with Noah and Lizzy today.
I gave Lizzy a bath today in our shower. She needed one. She and Simon (neighbor dog who comes over between the fence often) have been wrestling a lot lately.
I’m going to pick up Evan in a little bit and then go to HEB with the boys to get some food for the week.
This afternoon/evening I tutor late until 7:30 so I need to try and get dinner ready or almost ready so we wont have to do much when I get home.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sept. 22
You can now also see the blog at http://www.thebelkins.com
Conversation with Evan today...
Evan: Noah’s Chinese
Rachel: Noah is not Chinese
Evan: No, he’s a big boy
I wonder what Evan thinks Chinese means?
Went for a run(1.5mi)/walk(1.5mi) with Lizzy (the dog) and Evan and Noah in the stroller. Then, we went to the library and got a couple of kid’s movies for Evan. One is about Cars, Trains, Trucks, and Planes. The other is some ABC thing. After the library we went to Hobby Lobby. I needed to pick up a few things. Getting out of the car Evan was thowing a fit for some reason. He had a car in his hand but didn’t want to leave it in the car and didn’t want to take it with him. I told him he could take it, but that seemed to make him even more upset. I had to pretty much drag him out of the car. As we were walking through the parking lot I was trying to push the stroller with one hand and hold a cranky toddler with the other. This woman getting into her car saw us and said something like “Don’t worry, Mom. It will get better.” Once in the store Evan was a lot better. Evan walked while I pushed Noah in the stroller. Evan loved that store. In the sewing department he found this little tape measure that winds up in a little circular case. You can pull out the measuring tape and then press a little button and it all winds back up. He loved that little thing. It kept him busy for most of the time. Both boys were great in the store. Noah was awake most of the time and Evan was pretty good about staying with me. It was so hard to find someone working there to help me. At one point I just grabbed the first employee I saw and asked him a question. He seemed confused and was not understanding what I was saying. At first I thought he didn’t speak English or something but then somehow he commutated that he was deaf. He opened this little notebook he had and pointed to a phrase, “Just a moment. I will find someone to help you.” I wish I could have communicated with him. The only signs I know are from Baby Signing Time. I could have told him, “more” and “dog” in sign language but that wouldn’t have helped us much. After he got someone to help us he signed “Thank you”. I signed it back to him and really smiled. I guess he appreciated that I was trying.
By the time we got home it was 1:00 something. I quickly made cat grilled cheese for Ev. That is grilled cheese with cats cut out using a cookie cutter. I sat Evan down and put Noah in the high chair so I could get Noah’s cereal (3 tbsp cereal, 3 tbsp juice, about 1tbsp applesauce) ready. Noah was crying the whole time I was trying to make his food. I finally got it made and sat down and he wolfed it down. That kid can eat!
Before I went to put the kids down for their naps I took out 2 pita pockets from the fridge so I could make a sandwich when I got back down. I purposely put them away from the edge of the counter. Somehow, when I made it back downstairs there was only 1 pita pocket sitting there and I know Mottel (the cat) didn’t eat it.
By the time I sat down for lunch it was 3:30. That’s about the time I normally end up eating lunch since it is so hard to feed both boys and myself, and get them down for a nap at a decent time.
After dinner I tutored 2 students. I was gone from 7-10pm. Morry took care of the boys tonight. While I was gone Jonah called Morry and asked if Evan would be the ring bearer in their wedding. That will be fun!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Day 1- The first entry
Trying out this whole blogging thing. I thought this would be a good way keep everyone updated on what is going on in our lives.
Today we went to the Wildflower Center in the morning with Zayde/Jack/Morry's dad. Evan had a good time showing Zayde around.
We also went to lunch at Satellite Cafe near our house. Evan ate really well. He ate all of my fruit, some of my beans, the 3 dinosaur chicken nuggets we brought from home. Evan sat next to me in the booth and he kept leaning over and hugging me and saying "I love Mommy." Very sweet.
We felt Noah's first tooth today. He's doing well and eating a ton. He ate 3 spoons of cereal mixed with applesauce and juice this morning as well as half a container of baby fruit. And this evening he also ate 3 spoons of cereal. He's still having about 5 bottles a day with around 6-8oz of formula in each. Noah will have his 6 month doctor's appointment on Sept. 30. We'll get to find out then how he's doing in regards to his weight and height.
Yesterday we went to Wonder World in San Marcos. Not really knowing much about it besides what we read online http://www.wonderworldpark.com we thought it looked fun. We drove out there and they really pushed getting the whole package (cave, observation tower, magnetic house, animal train ride) so we did. The first part was the cave. We walked through the gift shop into the top of cave entrance. We stood there while the tour guide started going over the rules and all. Then Evan started saying "No, no, ..". He wanted to go back in the gift shop. I had to carry him back to the group. As we started descending into the cave Evan was starting to whine and I knew it was not going to be a fun tour with me having to carry him the whole time. I suggested to go back up. As we were going back up Evan said, "It'll probably be scary." We ended up getting our money back for the whole thing and going home.
So, my goal is to update this daily. We'll see how that goes.
Please feel free to leave comments and any suggestions on what you want us to include in this blog.
Here are some pictures from today at the Wildflower Center.
Today we went to the Wildflower Center in the morning with Zayde/Jack/Morry's dad. Evan had a good time showing Zayde around.
We also went to lunch at Satellite Cafe near our house. Evan ate really well. He ate all of my fruit, some of my beans, the 3 dinosaur chicken nuggets we brought from home. Evan sat next to me in the booth and he kept leaning over and hugging me and saying "I love Mommy." Very sweet.
We felt Noah's first tooth today. He's doing well and eating a ton. He ate 3 spoons of cereal mixed with applesauce and juice this morning as well as half a container of baby fruit. And this evening he also ate 3 spoons of cereal. He's still having about 5 bottles a day with around 6-8oz of formula in each. Noah will have his 6 month doctor's appointment on Sept. 30. We'll get to find out then how he's doing in regards to his weight and height.
Yesterday we went to Wonder World in San Marcos. Not really knowing much about it besides what we read online http://www.wonderworldpark.com we thought it looked fun. We drove out there and they really pushed getting the whole package (cave, observation tower, magnetic house, animal train ride) so we did. The first part was the cave. We walked through the gift shop into the top of cave entrance. We stood there while the tour guide started going over the rules and all. Then Evan started saying "No, no, ..". He wanted to go back in the gift shop. I had to carry him back to the group. As we started descending into the cave Evan was starting to whine and I knew it was not going to be a fun tour with me having to carry him the whole time. I suggested to go back up. As we were going back up Evan said, "It'll probably be scary." We ended up getting our money back for the whole thing and going home.
So, my goal is to update this daily. We'll see how that goes.
Please feel free to leave comments and any suggestions on what you want us to include in this blog.
Here are some pictures from today at the Wildflower Center.
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