Back at Home

We are back from our long trip. We left Friday, May 22 and got back today. We went to Philadelphia first and then drove to Pittsburgh. We flew home today and just got in not too long ago. It's been a long day so we'll write more tomorrow with details about our trip.

Good night.

Errands

After I dropped off Evan at school, Noah and I went to run some errands. We went to Michaels to return something. Right next door is Barnes and Noble. I decided to go to the bookstore for a little bit to let Noah play with the trains. That is the first time I have taken Noah there without Evan. I think Noah enjoyed playing trains without Evan bossing him around.

We went to Ulta and then came home. I cleaned up a little, but besides that I couldn’t get much done. Noah was being very clingy and demanding.

We ate lunch and then picked up Evan.

When we got home I put Evan and Noah down for naps. Noah napped, but Evan did not.

Blanca came at 3:00. I tutored and came home a little after 5:00.

We had pasta for dinner. Evan ate really well.

After dinner Morry took the boys outside in the backyard. Morry and Evan played baseball and Morry was very impressed with how well Evan hit the ball.

We gave the boys baths and now they are in bed.

Zilker Park and Hula Hut

When I was pregnant with Evan I found an online message board on Baby Center. It was for first time moms with babies due in April 2006. Almost every day I would read and participate in discussions. I got to know the other women on the board and the message board is still going (though I don’t keep up with it as much as I did). For the first time, I met one of the moms in the group. She and her family live in Tacoma and are here in Austin visiting her husband’s family. She has a boy just a few days younger than Evan and a girl who turns one next week.

We met at Zilker Park. We rode the train and played on the playground. Then, we ate lunch at Hula Hut. She and her husband were very nice. The kids were cute. I wish we could have talked more, but I was having a hard time dealing with both Evan and Noah. Evan threw a fit when it was time to leave the park and he was very antsy at the restaurant. Noah was good at the park, but cranky at Hula Hut. He wouldn’t eat much there. We might see them again when we go to Seattle later in the summer.

The boys took naps when we got home.

Blanca came at 3:30 so I could shop and then tutor.

I came home at 7:00 and we ate leftovers from last night.

Evan and Noah are in bed now.

School and Shopping

I dropped Evan off at school this morning. Noah and I came home for a little bit and then went to HEB.

Noah didn’t eat much for lunch. He was really cranky for some reason.

We picked Evan up and school and I had to change his diaper in the back of the car.

Blanca came over at 2:15. The boys were still not down for naps so I asked her to try to put them down around 2:30. Noah napped, but Evan didn’t.

I had an appointment to get my bangs trimmed and I did some shopping. Then, I tutored one student at 4:30. I got home around 6:00.

We had Coke ham and salad for dinner.

Evan and Noah are in bed now. I hear Noah playing with his bear.

Lake and Smoothies

Noah woke up at 7:09am this morning and Evan got up around 8:00, which is early for them.

I took Evan, Noah, and Lizzy to the lake. I wanted to run, so I told Evan if he was good and stayed in the stroller we could get smoothies afterward. I ran most the way around the 3 mile loop. We stopped at one point and let Lizzy swim a little. Evan enjoyed throwing the ball to her.

After the lake we went to the shopping center with Babies R Us and Jamba Juice. We went into Babies R Us first to get some diapers. We only had 2 more of Evan’s diapers in the house. Then, we walked over to Jamba Juice. I bought the largest size and had them split it among 3 cups (2 kids, one regular). Evan and Noah drank their own smoothies. That was the first time I gave Noah his own Jamba Juice cup. He was very happy.

We came home and ate lunch outside. I made peanut butter and jelly for the boys. Evan ate well. Noah just smashed it in his hands.

Evan and Noah took good, long naps.

Blanca came over at 4:00. I tutored and came home at 6:00.

We had tacos for diner and sat outside. Evan ate his own taco with just cheese in it. Noah ate quesadilla.

We gave the boys baths and put them to bed. It seems to be quiet.

Evan's First Soccer Class

Hello everyone, this is Morry. Rachel's folding laundry so I'm writing the blog tonight.

Today was Evan's first soccer class. This is Evan's birthday present from Grandmom. Everyone has been excited for it. This is the first sport that we have signed Evan up for, and we were curious to see what it was like. It's an indoor soccer facility. They had lots of drills and little games for the kids to play. At first they had a game without any soccer balls. Evan was trying to figure out why they couldn't play soccer. So he left the game, walked over and picked up a soccer ball and kicked it into the goal. He seemed happier once they started to play soccer. He had some difficulty listening to instruction but caught on. He also kept wanting to use his hands. He was more interested in scoring goals than dribbling the ball. After 45 minutes, he ran over to me and told me he was "all done." He said he had fun but i think he was frustrated not being able to use his hands. Overall, I think the class was good and Evan enjoyed it.

After soccer, we went over to Yenis and Kevin's for lunch. Rachel and Yenis made spaghetti.

When we got home, we put the boys down for naps. Evan didn't sleep as long as I thought he would have, given how hard he played today.

We decided to go to the Oasis tonight to listen to salsa music. It's the band that Rachel used to go see all the time. We stopped on the way and picked up a Happy Meal at McDonald's for Evan. We also got an extra thing of nuggets in case Noah wanted some or Evan wanted more. Noah ended up eating two nuggets.

Everyone enjoyed the Oasis. Evan danced with me for one dance and danced with Rachel later on. We watched the sunset. Noah liked listening to the music as well.

We got home very late so the boys went down without too much of a fight. It's quiet up there now.

Until next time...

Wet

Hello everyone, this is Morry. It's my turn to write the blog today.

This morning, Rachel got up at 5am so she could help Alissa with the garage sale. She picked up McDonald's coffee on the way for the two of them. Rachel thought the coffee was pretty good.

I stayed home with the boys and we had plans to meet Barry, Lisa and Lincoln at the fountain that's part of Zilker (I think it's still considered Zilker). Evan got up at 8:50am and I went in and put on his swimsuit and got him all lathered up with sunscreen. The two of us went into Noah's room and got him ready. We came downstairs and the boys had breakfast while I got everything together like towels and food for lunch afterwards.

This was the first time I was taking both boys to a place where they were going to need sunscreen and swimsuits by myself. In fact, I'm not sure if I have ever taken Evan by himself to something like this. I was determined to get there on time. I had us moving and we got there 5 minutes early.

Unfortunately, it was raining when we got there. It seemed like a quick shower and it was. By the time the Kincarts got there, it had stopped raining (they were on time by the way). The boys had a great time playing. Noah started to kick and squeal when he saw the water. It was also really fun hanging out with Barry and Lisa and getting to see how big Lincoln is getting.

After we were there for 45 minutes or so the skies turned black and a really cold wind picked up. We knew it was about to rain, and rain hard. Thank God Lisa and Barry were there. We each had to grab a very wet kid. I grabbed Evan, Barry grabbed Lincoln and Lisa grabbed Noah. We ran back to the cars and each changed a child. Lisa had the toughest time because Noah was screaming and carrying on.

After we got the kids dressed, we drove over to Mighty Fine Burgers. On the way, though, Rachel called to tell me that, during the garage sale, the skies opened up without much warning and just started pouring down on them. They got soaking wet trying to get everything out of the rain. They are going to have to do the garage sale again.

I was thankful, again, that Barry and Lisa were with me at Mighty Fine Burgers. They helped me bring the stuff and the boys in and helped again on the way out. Barry actually strapped Evan in the car for me on the way out. The food was good at Mighty Fine but it was packed. Noah and Lincoln sat next to each other and it was really cute. I had told Evan he could have a milkshake after lunch if he was ate well. He didn't eat very well so we didn't get a milkshake. But the Kincarts had a gift for Evan so I think that made up for the lost milkshake. Evan ended up playing with it for the rest of the day.

The boys took good naps today. I watched the Preakness. I thought Mine That Bird was going to pull it out again. I think, had the track been longer, he would have won. Of course the stupid sports reporters say nothing about that.

For dinner, we went to Logan's. When we got there Evan remembered that he had heard the Life is a Highway from the Cars soundtrack the last time we were there. He wanted to hear it again. Their jukebox is free so we went and picked it out. Both boys were incredibly well behaved at dinner.

We gave them baths and they are now in bed. They seem to be quiet which is good.

Until next time...

JCC and Panera

This morning there was no playgroup, so I thought we’d just go to the JCC. By the time I was able to get both boys out of the house and get food for lunch in the diaper bag it was after 10:30.

We got to the JCC about 11:00. They had already done the Tot Shabbat. Evan and Noah still had fun just playing. The toys are really for babies or toddlers, but Evan still seemed to find stuff to play with. We only stayed in the room for about 30 minutes and then went outside to the playground. When it was time to leave Evan threw a fit. It was really hard carrying Noah and getting Evan to the car.

We met Yenis and Kevin at Panera. I got there before Yenis and took the boys to the bathroom there. Noah needed a diaper change. I was really having a tough time managing Evan and Noah in the bathroom. There was no changing table, so we took the handicap stall and I had to change Noah on the floor, on top of the diaper pad we have. I had to do this while trying to keep Evan from touching things. He kept touching the toilet or the trashcan. Then, he was unlocking the door. I heard a woman ask me if I needed help. I said, “Thanks, but I’m ok.” She offered to help Evan (must have heard me say Evan’s name a few times) wash his hands. I thanked her, but kept Evan in the stall with me. Somehow, I managed to get all of our hands washed and get out of the bathroom. That was really tough.

While we were in line to order Yenis and Kevin arrived. We ordered and got set up outside. My buzzer went off saying my food was ready, but it was a while before I could get it since it took a while to get all the other stuff to the table and get a high chair. I ended up eating cold soup. Kevin and Evan had a good time playing on the deck outside. Evan didn’t eat much. He just had a blueberry muffin and a yogurt drink. There were two women sitting near us who brought a dog with them. Noah and Evan enjoyed petting it. Noah called the dog Lizzy.

We came home and I put the boys down for naps. Evan did not nap. Noah slept a little bit until the phone rang and woke him up.

After nap time we went out front and Evan rode his “big boy” bike a little. He was very good at going downhill, but he needed me to help push him up the hills.

For dinner, we went to Blue Bamboo, a new restaurant near us. The food was good, but the boys, especially Evan were not well behaved.

We put the boys to bed early. I hope they sleep well tonight.

I have to get up very early in the morning. I’m helping Alissa with her garage sale and I’m going to her house at 5:30am. There are still a lot of things that need to be priced, we need to set up, and signs need to be put out.

Noah Walks For Real

This morning I planned on walking Evan to school. Everything was loaded in the stroller (stuff for school, breakfast, drinks). Evan fought getting dressed which made us run late. Then, when it was time to go, Lizzy wouldn’t come inside. She kept barking, but I didn’t see anything. Finally, I realized the old guy in the walker was coming. She hates the dogs he walks for some reason. I was yelling at her, throwing baas, nothing worked. I couldn’t catch her to come inside. I took probably 10 minutes for the guy to finally pass our house. So, now I was running even later. I decided to go ahead and walk Evan to school anyway. I wanted the exercise and everything was already in the stroller.

We got to school pretty late.

I walked Noah home. We didn’t do much today. I just cleaned the house while Noah played. I made a smoothie for us at lunch and put some in a cup for Evan for later.

We drove to pick up Evan. When we got in the car I gave Evan his smoothie. He finished it by the time we got home (5 minute drive).

Evan and Noah took good naps.

Blanca came at 4:00. I tutored and got home at 6:30. We made flank steak marinated in Soy Vey and had potatoes and carrots for sides.

After dinner I made instant Jello pudding. We let Evan have a little.

We came upstairs to get ready for bed and all the sudden Noah started really walking. We were in Evan’s room and Noah just started walking across the room. I grabbed the camera and we got some video of Noah walking in the hallway. Evan kept disrupting, but you can still see Noah walk some.

What’s really funny is that this is the exact date two years ago when Evan started walking.

The boys are in bed now. Let’s hope for a good night.







Here's Evan walking for the first time, 2 years ago today.

An Outside Day

Last night was a better night. Noah woke up at 5am and then again at 6:30am. Evan slept until about 9:00.

This morning we met Yenis and Kevin at the lake. Yenis and I ran most of the way to the Auditorium Shores water fountains. That’s about half way around the lake. We stopped and let the boys play in the water for a while. Noah seemed even more comfortable this time. He went right in the water. Evan and Kevin had a good time splashing each other. After playing in the fountains we made our way back to the trail.

As we were almost back on the trail we heard a train coming over the bridge. Evan, Kevin, and Noah got very excited. We waited for the train to cross the bridge. It even blew its horn. Noah kept saying, “woo, woo!”. We started walking, but both Evan and Kevin wanted us to stop and wait until the whole train had passed before we started again. It was a long train!

Yenis and I ran/walked the rest of the trail to get back to our cars.

Morry worked from home today. He took Mottel to a specialty vet because our regular vet couldn’t figure out why Mottel had lost so much weight. The vet ran another, more sensitive thyroid test just to make sure it really isn’t a thyroid problem. Hopefully we’ll get the test results in a few days.

When we got home from the lake we ate lunch. During lunch we Skyped with Grandma/Lynn and Bubbe. Evan actually ate a really good lunch while we were Skyping. He ate a ton of veggies and all of the leftover shrimp. Evan sang the ABCs with Bubbe. Skype is pretty cool.

The boys took really good naps.

Blanca came at 3:00. I tutored and got home at 7:00. For dinner we had already made HEB hamburgers (we just had to heat them) and a pasta side.

We just put the boys to bed and it seems to be quiet.

Another early start

So, again we had a rough night. Noah woke up multiple times. We just let him cry and eventually he went back to sleep. Then, Evan woke up crying at 7:14am. Ugh. He started doing this forced cry. When I went in there he said he wanted to play Geo Trax.

I got the boys dressed and fed. We took Evan to school. He gave Wendy and Natasha their cards and brownies. I think Evan was disappointed that he didn’t get any brownies, though I did let him have one later after school.

I went to the bank to deposit some checks. I drove up to the teller window. I’m not going to be depositing any more checks through the ATM.

Noah and I met Melissa at the lake. We walked the 3 mile loop. It was nice, but a little hot out. Noah did really well and only got a little fussy at the end.

Then, Noah and I went to HEB. I had a lot of shopping to do and Noah did very well. He ate a few samples (some streusel thing and a little cupcake). When we went to put the groceries in the car, I had forgotten about both strollers (regular and jogging) being back there. I had to place the bags in various places around the strollers. Luckily everything fit.

By the time we finished at HEB it was almost time to get Evan. There was not really enough time to go home so we just got to Evan’s school a little early. Evan was very excited to see us. I put Noah down on the floor so he could play too. Evan wanted to stay a little longer and do the songs with everyone before we left. The kids gathered on the carpet and sang a few songs. After the second one, I told Evan we needed to leave. I had the groceries in the car.

We got home and I opened the back of the car to get the groceries. Things must have shifted, so when I opened the back door a bag of groceries fell out and hit the ground. Guess which bag that was? The eggs, of course. Only a few broke, but it was still a mess.

I brought the boys inside and put the groceries away. I let Evan eat a brownie while I fed Noah. Then, the boys went upstairs for naps. Noah napped, but Evan did not.

Blanca came at 4:00. I tutored and got home at 6:00.

Morry made pizza and I made the salad for dinner. Evan insisted on sitting at his red table. He almost always sits at the dinner table with us. He ate a lot of veggies and dip (ranch dressing), but just the olives off his pizza. He didn’t sit still and was all over the place. Somehow Evan was under the little table and tipped it so his whole plate of food fell off and on to the carpet. We told him that next time he needs to sit the table with us.

We gave the boys baths and Evan was a real pain. He didn’t want to be washed. Then, he didn’t want to get out. He was just overly tired.

Evan and Noah and in bed now and it sounds quiet. Let’s hope they both sleep through the night and late in the morning.

Early Start

Last night Noah woke up twice. One of the times I had to go in there. He was crying for a while and I realized he needed a diaper change. He has been waking up at night and we decided just to let him cry, but this time he had been crying for a while. I felt bad since he really needed a diaper change. It’s so hard to tell if he’s crying for attention or if he really needs something.

Then, Evan woke up crying at 7:13am and didn’t go back to sleep. I let him play in the gameroom and Noah woke up about an hour later.

They were both pretty cranky this morning. I was trying to just get to 1:00 when I could put them down for naps. I didn’t want to put them down any earlier because I thought it would mess up their sleeping tonight.

We played outside for a little bit this morning and then had lunch. Evan ate really well. He ate leftover pizza and shrimp. He also ate pepperoni and red peppers. I let him have Jello after lunch.

Evan and Noah both took about 2-hour naps. I was able to nap a little too. I was really tired.

Blanca came at 4:00. I just had one student today and got home at 6:00.

We had spaghetti and green beans on the side.

Tomorrow for teacher appreciation week many parents are bringing in stuff for the teachers. Evan made a card for Wendy and Natasha and I baked some brownies to bring in. Evan had fun coloring and putting stickers on the cards.

Evan and Noah are in bed now. Let’s hope for a better night tonight.

eating fruit this morning for breakfast

Mother's Day

Hello everyone, this is Morry. Rachel is talking to her parents and her grandmom so I'm writing the blog tonight.

Today is Mother's Day, of course, so I got up with the boys. Evan got up around 7:50am and Noah got up around 8:20 or so. We came downstairs and had breakfast. Evan wanted to watch the Polar Express so we watched that. Both boys were well behaved at first but then they started fighting and whining. I ended up taking the cozy coupe away from them and putting it in the garage.

When Rachel came downstairs, I had Evan run up to her and say "Happy Mother's Day". Rachel said she wanted to get some coffee at Starbucks and take the boys to the park. We went to this old school park that Rachel has taken the boys to before. It has an old metal slide and a metal merry-go-round. We quickly figured out why most places don't have metal things on parks anymore. All the metal stuff was hot. Evan did go on the merry-go-round and we played on some wooden house they had. Both boys were fairly cranky and Noah ended up falling asleep on the way home.

We got home and made the boys lunch. Evan said he wanted blue eggs and ham. Rachel made some for him by putting blue food coloring in it. He ate all those up and wanted red eggs and ham. Rachel made some more for him. Noah had some of the blue eggs and ham.

We put Noah down for a nap but Evan played some more before he went down for a nap.

There's a site called Woot and they sell one item per day. The descriptions of the products are always very humorous. Last week, I saw they were selling a Philips Upconverting DVD player for $19.99. This is a DVD player that takes your standard 480 pixel DVD and converts it to 1080i for HDTV. I figured for $19.99 it couldn't go wrong. It was refurbished but came with a 90-day warranty. It came yesterday and I hooked it up this morning. We watched 10 minutes of Wall-E before it broke and stopped playing. I ended up calling Philips today while Evan napped but after Noah got up. They are sending us a new one. I don't know if this replacement is refurbished or not. If it's not then we got a great deal.

For dinner, we met Aunt Susan, Lauren, Shelley and Aaron for dinner at the Triangle. We ate at Fish City Grill and ate outside. The boys enjoyed eating outside I think. Evan didn't eat that well, but he was well-behaved.

After dinner, we went and had frozen yogurt at Yogurt Planet. Noah sat on Lauren's lap while Lauren gave him some of her frozen yogurt. Evan had his own yogurt and was acting very silly.

On the way home, Evan started to sing "We will, we will rock you. Sing it!! We will, we will rock you. Sing it!!" I don't know where he got the "sing it" part but it was very funny.

Both boys are in bed now. They are both quiet. Evan told us he was tired on the way home.

Until next time...

Food

Hello everyone, this is Morry. It's my turn to write the blog.

The day seemed to revolve around food. I'm not sure why. It started when Evan woke up and he heard that Noah was awake. Noah was still in his room with his door closed, but Evan came to his gate and started yelling "I've got a cookie for you, Noah" over and over again. Evan likes to pretend to bake cookies for Noah. Rachel got up with the boys. She went downstairs with Noah, while Evan stayed upstairs to play with GeoTrax.

When I got up, I played with Evan and his GeoTrax. After a bit, we went downstairs and decided that we'd all go for a walk on this hiking trail around a shopping center near us. There is a Smoothie King in it. We thought we'd get smoothies when we were finished. We brought Lizzy for the walk. Everyone was very well behaved including Lizzy.

Afterwards, we got smoothies. We also had two coupons for that free meal from Kentucky Fried Chicken. We drove over to it where they had a sign that said they were giving rain checks out for the meals. I knew that some stores had run out but I hadn't heard that any stores in Austin had. So we went home and had lunch. Rachel made hard-boiled eggs and I made fried matzoh. Evan had some of each.

Rachel had to go tutor so she left me to continue feeding the boys. She said that we had some blackberries that needed to be eaten and she washed them off for me to give to them. The boys, as most of you reading this know, absolutely love fruit. I gave Noah 5 blackberries and started to clean up from lunch. I looked over and he had some smeared around his mouth, but nothing too bad. He wanted more so I gave him two more. I continued cleaning. I looked over at him. What I saw, I'm not sure I accurately can describe. There was virtually no skin on Noah's face that did not have blackberries rubbed in. It was on his eyelids so when he closed his eyes, there were no gaps. It was on his hands and wrists almost up to his elbows in places. There was some in his ears. It took me forever to clean him off. I realized that Rachel must have been saving those blackberries for just such an occasion - when she was not there and didn't have to clean up after them. You can see for yourself below.

After I got Noah cleaned (actually I'm amazed he's not purple anymore), I put the boys down for naps. Rachel got home shortly after.

After naps we went to Hangtown Grill for dinner. It's a place where you order at the counter and they call your name. We ate outside. The boys love eating outside. Evan got ice cream with his meal. He enjoyed that.

When we got home we gave the boys baths. But before baths, I was with Evan and we had to put his Cars boots back in his closet. He wandered in his closet, after he put his shoes down, so I closed the closet door on him. I yelled "where's Evan?" and Evan opened the door. He said "Daddy, you closed me in the closet accidentally. I thought I was going to have to sleep in there." Those were his exact words. I was hysterical because he was not upset, he was joking back with me. He just has such a good sense of humor.

Both boys seem to be quiet. I told them they have to be good for Mother's Day. Nope, just heard Noah. They'll be asleep soon.

Until next time...

JCC and Haircut

We had a busy day today.

For some reason Evan woke up at 7:15am. That’s early for him. I let him play in the gameroom while I lied down in bed some more. I didn’t truly go back to sleep. I know he’ll be ok in the gameroom, but I kept checking on him. I closed the bathroom doors and the gate at the top of the stairs.

Noah woke up around 9:00.

Once I got everyone dressed and fed we went to the JCC. We hadn’t been there in a while. Our normal playgroup is normally on Friday mornings. No one volunteered to host today. The playgroup is kind of fizzling since many kids are in pre-school and busy. Anyway, I decided to try the Tot Shabbat at the JCC again. Evan and Noah seemed to have a good time. Evan ate a lot of challah and juice. Noah enjoyed exploring the toys in the room. There were a lot of people there. I didn’t know anyone except for the lady that leads it. I talked to a few people.

After the JCC we went to the Great Clips near there. Evan and Noah really needed haircuts again. Great Clips is having a promotion. All haircuts are $6.99 and the deal ended today. We normally go to Great Clips, so I thought I might as well try to go today. It was busy in there and they told us the wait would be around 30 minutes. I put our names down and we went a few doors down to have lunch. The boys were very good at lunch. Evan and Noah shared a raisin bagel as well as other stuff from the diaper bag. I had lox and bagel. As we were about to leave I thought Noah had pooped so I wanted to change him. We went in the bathroom there. Luckily they had a changing table. I put Noah on the changing table. There was only pee in his diaper. I had his diaper off and was reaching across the table for the clean diaper. Noah started peeing. It went all over his socks, a little on his shorts that were at the end of the table, and on the table itself. The paper towels were on the other side of the bathroom. I couldn’t reach them. They were high up and the kind you have to wave your hand in front of to get the paper to come out. I had to ask Evan to get toilet paper for me. I cleaned up what I could with the toilet paper and then carried Noah over to the paper towels. What a mess!

After that we walked back to Great Clips. We had to wait just a minute and they were ready for us. Evan and Noah got good hair cuts and Evan got a lollipop.

When we got home Evan and Noah took very good naps.

When they woke up we Skyped with Grandma/Lynn. Evan was being very silly. Noah was excited, but kept saying “Papa” for some reason.

Morry got home from work and then we went out to dinner. We ate at Carinos. This week they were having “Moms eat free”. We thought it would be a good place anyway since the boys like pasta. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a table. Evan and Noah were very good and ate well. They had stuff from the diaper bag, bread, and spaghetti.

After that we went to Petco. We needed to get more food for Lizzy. Evan and Noah love Petco. They had a great time there. Evan loves looking at the fish. They both liked the mice and birds too.

We just put Evan and Noah to bed. Let’s hope they sleep well tonight.

School and Tutoring

I dropped Evan off at school and then Noah and I just came back home and did stuff around the house. I cleaned and did laundry. Noah played. He was in good mood this morning.

We ate lunch and then picked up Evan. Evan had made some Mother’s Day stuff for me. One was a laminated paper with his handprints on them.

On the way home and at home Evan was very cranky. He kept wanting different things and whining if he couldn’t have them.

I put Noah down for a nap first, then Evan. Noah slept well. I thought Evan was going to nap, but then I heard him playing at his door.

He was whining to come out and play Geo Trax. I let him play while I got ready for tutoring.

Blanca came at 4. I tutored on student and got home after 6:00. Traffic was bad for some reason.

We had pork loin chops and biscuits for dinner.

The boys just had baths and now they are in bed.

Tonight, I’m going over to Alissa’s to help her get organized for the garage sale on May 16.

Cooling off in the fountain

This morning we met Yenis and Kevin at the lake. Yenis and I ran most of the 3 mile loop with the kids in the stroller. It was pretty hot out. It was a good workout.

After the lake, I took Evan and Noah to the water/spray fountains on the other side of the lake. Last time Noah didn’t want to get wet, but this time he had a good time. He was still kind of timid. It took him a while to get in. He played in the little pools they have around the fountain. Evan had a great time running around. It was tough getting the boys out when it was time to leave.

On the way home, we stopped at KFC and got our free chicken meal.

Evan and I shared the chicken. I tried to get him really excited about eating a drumstick. He thought it was neat eating chicken like ice cream, but he only took a few bites.

Noah fell asleep in the car on the way home. I tried to put him down for a nap when we got home, but he wouldn’t sleep. I tried again around 3:00. Evan took a good nap, but Noah did not nap at all.

Blanca came at 3:00. I tutored 3 students and got home at 7:00. We had hamburgers and corn for dinner.

We just put Evan and Noah to bed. Evan did really well and did not fight going to bed. We believe it was because he took a good nap today.

Queso

This morning after dropping Evan off at school Noah and I went to HEB. Noah was very good at HEB. Normally, he starts fussing pretty early, but he did very well. I saved almost $25 in coupons today!

After eating lunch at home I put Noah in the stroller and ran to Evan’s school. It was already pretty hot out by 1:00.

When I got to Evan’s school, his class was outside playing. Evan and Kevin ran up to greet us.

On the way home Evan told me he had queso for snack today. He told me he didn’t like it. While walking a few streets away from our house we saw a UPS truck. Evan got very excited and said something like, “what are we getting?” I guess he thinks UPS comes only for us. I explained that it probably wasn’t for us, but for someone else near us. He said maybe they are getting a birthday present. He decided there was a Buzz and Woody in the truck.

When we got home I put Evan and Noah down for naps. Noah slept well, but Evan didn’t nap.

Blanca came at 4:00. I tutored and got home at 7:00.

We had pre-cooked chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. I wanted something easy for dinner tonight, so I got those at HEB today.

Noah did a little more walking today. He took about 4 steps while going between Morry and me.

We just put Evan and Noah to bed. It appears to be quiet.

Sink Fixed

This morning I had planned on running and then taking the boys to the spray fountains. Plans changed. The boys were both cranky this morning. I had to call to arrange someone to come fix our sink. Then, I thought maybe I would just run around the lake and then go to the fountains near by. While I was loading stuff in the car, the boys were really being fussy. Evan was whining about wanting different things. Noah was crying because I wasn’t holding him. I was worried about the car ride and being out at the lake with the boys moods. I changed my plans again. I had to get out of the house, so I strapped the boys in the stroller (with Evan crying/whining) and just walked around the neighborhood.

Evan and Noah really needed early naps. I fed them lunch. Lenny, the repair guy, came at 1:00 to fix the sink. I let Evan play outside while Lenny was fixing the sink. I would have liked to have them in bed, but I needed to wait for Lenny to finish. Lenny fixed the sink and left around 1:30

I put the boys down for naps. They were both asleep for maybe 30-45 minutes when Noah started crying. I could not get him to calm down. I tried his pacifier. Then I took him out of bed and tried rocking him. He was screaming. I thought something was maybe wrong. I had to change his wet diaper and I could barely hold him down. By this time Evan had woken up from all of Noah’s crying. I took Noah on the upstairs patio and he calmed down right away and was happy. A little while later I put him back to bed and he threw another fit. I knew Evan would not go back to bed so I let him play in the gameroom. I left Noah in his room so I could get ready for tutoring. He quieted down, but did not go back to sleep. I brought him downstairs right before Blanca got here at 4:00.

I tutored one student and got home around 6:00.

We ate our leftovers from last night.

After dinner we let the boys play a little before bed.

Noah took a few steps! Morry and I sat a few feet away from each other and encouraged Noah to go back and forth. Most of the time he just sort of fell or dove to the other person, but a few times he actually took a few steps.

Evan did not want to go to bed. He was crying after we put them to bed. He just quieted down. I hear Noah’s bear singing. So, both boys are still awake. I hope they fall asleep soon.

The Zoo

This morning I made cranberry, blueberry, strawberry muffins. It was what we had in the house. Papa had a meeting to go to. We had breakfast with Grandma and then went to the zoo.

We all had a nice time. When we first got there we rode the train. Then, we fed some of the animals and walked around. We stopped at one point by the bear and monkeys to sit down and give the boys snacks. Evan walked the whole time. He was pretty worn out.

After the zoo we met Papa for lunch at Which Wich. Evan and Noah shared a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Evan also had chips and a rice crispy treat that came with his kids meal.

After lunch we came home and put the boys down for naps. Grandma and Papa drove back to Dallas.

Evan and Noah took good naps. They had a big day. We wore them out.

When they woke up we got dinner ready. We made a pasta salad like thing with zucchini squash, corn, and chicken.

When I was cleaning up from dinner, the sink broke. It wouldn’t turn off. If I put the faucet in the off position the water was still running. Morry was able to get under the sink and adjust it a little. At least he got the water off, but we still need to get it fixed. We’ll have to call someone in the morning.

We just gave Evan and Noah baths and put them to bed. Evan started crying again after we left his room. I just went in there to calm him down. He now has almost every one of his stuffed animals in bed with him. I don’t know if he is scared and wants them in bed with him or he’s just stalling by asking us for more things.

Home Slice

Hello everyone, this is Morry. It's my turn to write the blog this week.

This morning Evan woke up a bit before 9am. He said "Mommy, I want to play GeoTrax". So Rachel got up and let him out of his room so he could go and play in the game room. About 30 minutes later, he came in our room, ran over to my side of the bed to tell me he needed a diaper change. So I got up with him and he said he wanted to be carried. I picked him up and he hugged me tight and said, "I love you, Gallo (pronounced Guy-yo)". We've mentioned it before but Evan always says Gallo and he has started to refer to me as Gallo.

We played in the game room for awhile and the boys went downstairs and played more downstairs.

When everyone was up and ready to go, we drove over to Home Slice for pizza. Papa/Lenny loves to go there when they come to visit. It's the best pizza in Austin. Evan was very well behaved at lunch, but Noah was especially cranky. Papa/Lenny and Rachel took turns holding Noah. Eventually I took Noah outside and walked with him. He calmed down. Grandma/Lynn came out and relieved me. Meanwhile they brought a dough ball for Evan to play with. He really enjoyed that.

We came home and put the boys down for a nap.

We were watching all the hoopla building up to the Kentucky Derby when the boys got up. I thought Evan would enjoy watching the Derby but he wasn't really into it.

Papa/Lenny and Grandma/Lynn took the boys out to Waterloo for dinner while Rachel and I went to the Alamo Drafthouse for dinner and a movie. They said that Evan and Noah were very very well behaved. They had live music playing there and the boys love live music. Evan and Noah both ate well and Evan was able to play on the playground outside of the restaurant.

Rachel and I saw I Love You, Man at the Alamo Drafthouse. We enjoyed it. I thought it was hilarious. Before the movie, they advertised that they will be showing the movie Airplane and it will be a "Quote-along". I guess everyone can say the lines with the movie. They will be serving "Don't Call Me Shirley" Temples and promise not to serve any bad fish.

After the movie we went to BJ's for dessert and got a Pizookie. It's a fresh cooked deep dish cookie with ice cream on top. It was very good.

Evan apparently went to sleep easily but Papa/Lenny had to rock Noah to sleep. They are sleeping well now.

Until next time...

House Cleaning

This morning we were woken up around 8am from our neighbor’s landscapers. They usually come really early on either Friday or Saturday morning. I was especially tired since Evan woke up in the middle of the night last night. He was crying for some reason. He calmed down pretty quickly. When I went in his room he told me he wanted water. I filled his cup with water and then he went back to sleep. Maybe he had a bad dream?

At 9:45am the housecleaning lady came. She didn’t speak any English so I had to show her around the house and explain things in Spanish. It was her first time at our house. I negotiated a price with her, but then called Yenis to translate and make sure I really understood. I had understood, but I just wanted to be sure so we didn’t have any problems at the end.

Evan, Noah, and I went to Newflower and got some fruit and veggies for the weekend. Then, we met Morry for lunch. I needed to be home by 1:15 for an online focus group. Morry was on a call when we met him at work so we were late going to lunch. We went to Chick-Fil-A (Evan’s request). I had to quickly eat lunch and rush home. Morry brought the boys home a little later so they could stay and play longer.

I got home, signed on to the computer and a few minutes later got a message saying there were too many people in the focus group. I won the lottery and was dismissed from the group, with pay. It was supposed to be an hour long chat session on drinks for $75. So, I got paid $75 for nothing. Great deal!

I took the boys in the backyard and we played for a little while. Evan watered our little garden. We noticed a little green tomato and a few jalapeno peppers finally started growing. Evan was pretty excited about the tomato. I explained that it wasn’t quite ready to eat yet and we’d have to keep watching it until it turned red.

Evan and Noah went down for naps around 2:00.

Grandma/Lynn and Papa/Lenny got here around 3:00. Since the cleaning lady was still here we just sat outside on the upstairs patio. Noah woke up at 3:30 and Evan woke up a little later.

For dinner we went to Cypress Grill. Evan and Noah were very well behaved and ate well. Evan had his own shrimp kids meal.

We just put the boys to bed, but Evan is still awake. He was just crying for Daddy, so Morry is up there trying to get Evan to sleep.