A Boys Day

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, as usual, I got up and got Evan ready for school.  Today, though, he was awake when I went into his room.  He had just gone to the bathroom.

Taking him to school was rather uneventful, though it was cold again.

When I got home, Noah got up.  I got Lucky Charms for him and put Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on tv.

Rachel took Noah to school and then went to HEB.

Rachel had a meeting for MB Squared at 1:30 with one of the clients I've been working with.  She'll be doing Search Engine Optimization for them.  Because of that I picked Evan and Noah up from their school.  Noah was very very slow walking from the car to Evan's school.

Rachel tutored and Gabby came over.

When I stopped working, I made popcorn for us for a snack.  Then I made the boys dinner, since Rachel had a late night of tutoring.

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

Rachel just came home with our food.

Until next time...

Home with Noah

Noah and I stayed home today. I did some cleaning. We played in the backyard. I pitched a few balls to Noah and he was able to hit some with the bat.

We drove to the path to pick up Evan. I would love to be able to walk to school, but the last two times I have done that Noah has been very cranky on the walk home. It's hard to do much with Noah in the afternoon.

Kim came over at 3:45 and I tutored.

For dinner we had the leftover chicken from last night.

The boys are playing around right now, but I hear a lot of whining from Noah. It's just about time to get them ready for bed.

Chilly Morning

It was really cold this morning... in the 30s. Morry and Evan have been walking to school, but not this morning.

I dropped Noah off at school and went to Sunflower grocery store.

Noah had a good day at school and made a pasta necklace. He was very proud of it.

We walked to get Evan from school. It had warmed up. Noah and I had a nice walk there, but on the way home he threw a fit for most of the time.

For snacks, the boys wanted me to make them shaved ice. I made it with our blender and the syrup I bought a while back. The boys enjoyed that.

I got dinner ready for tonight. I got a roasted chicken ready and put in the fridge.

Blanca came and then I tutored.

When I came home we finished getting dinner ready and then ended up eating somewhat late.

The boys are in bed now.

Thanksgiving 2011

Well, we are back from Thanksgiving in Dallas.

We had a very nice time.

Here are some pictures and video from our trip.

While we were there Papa helped Evan with his bike. He taught him some bike basics, but we only spent a few minutes outside since it was cold and windy.

When we got home today we tried again and after a few tries he was getting the hang of it.

Until tomorrow....













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Almost There

We are almost at Thanksgiving... just a few more days.

While Noah was in school I ran some errands. I went to Petco and Bed Bath and Beyond.

Noah seemed to have a really good day at school today. He was happy and telling me about some games he and Cole were playing.

Evan had a good day too.

Blanca came at 5pm and I just tutored one student from 5:30-6:30.

We had leftovers for dinner.

We just gave the boys baths and now they are supposed to be in bed.

Nothing

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today, when we got up, we decided that we weren't going to do anything today.  It was a very busy day yesterday and with Rachel recovering from being sick, it just made sense to stay in.

Rachel made cinnamon buns and eggs for brunch.  We brought the food upstairs and ate on out on the upstairs porch.  Lizzy really enjoyed sitting out there with us with the wind blowing watching everything going on.

Normally, Sunday nights are clean up nights.  Rachel convinced the boys to clean the game room this afternoon by saying if they cleaned up, she'd bring in her iPhone to play the music the boys liked.  We have these wireless speakers for the iPhone so we had the music playing loud while the boys cleaned.  It seemed to go well and they didn't complain about cleaning.

When they were done cleaning, we put the movie, Tangled, on for them and I made popcorn.  Rachel and I did some work (and Rachel laid down) while the boys watched the movie and later played.  They were very well behaved.

We had flank steak for dinner.  Following dinner, we ran out to get a new Kindle (on sale at Best Buy) for Rachel and get Rita's Water Ice for the boys.  We told them they had been so good today that we would take them out for dessert. That's where they picked.  Everyone go water ice except me.  I got frozen custard dipped in jimmies.  They called them sprinkles despite Rita's being a Philadelphia company.  I thought they should have been authentic.

We also stopped at Walgreen's on the way home to get Rachel a decongestant.

The boys are cleaning their rooms now before bed.  Rachel just had to yell at Evan because he was not cleaning up.

Until next time...

UT and a Birthday Party

This morning we went to campus. The University of Texas Children's Research Lab was looking for some kids to take part in a study. We have participated a few times in the past. Evan and Noah both did a study involving puppets to see how children relate to people who are similar to them. Each study took just a few minutes and the boys got to pick out a prize from the toy box. Noah got a mini chalkboard and Evan got a dinosaur figures pack.

After that we walked around campus a little bit. We bought some Texas stuff at the Co-op (bookstore) and got a bite to eat at Einsteins Bagels.

Morry dropped us off at Kevin's birthday party at a jumpy place. He met someone for a lunch meeting. Towards the end of the party Morry came to pick us up. Evan and Noah had a great time and were worn out.

We took it easy the rest of the afternoon and evening. For dinner we picked up Blue Bamboo and made pasta for kids.

Morry and the kids watched a little bit of the Longhorns football game and then we got them ready for bed.

Feast

Today at Noah's school they had a Thanksgiving feast. We brought oranges for a fruit salad. They had turkey, sweet potatoes, and more. Noah came home with a cute vest made out of a paper grocery bag.

For the little bit of time between when Noah came home and when we needed to leave to get Evan, Noah called Grandma. He's very cute when he's on the phone. He walks around and paces.

We got Evan from school and came back home.

For dinner we went to Austin Pizza Garden. We had a Groupon that was expiring soon.

We asked the boys if they wanted baths tonight or tomorrow. Noah said tonight and Evan said tomorrow. So, I gave Noah a bath while Morry got Evan ready for bed.

Evan is in bed now. It sounds like Noah is still up and about.

Flu Vaccines

Noah and I met Evan for lunch at his school. We surprised Evan. I didn't tell him ahead of time because I wasn't sure I'd feel up to going. Evan was really happy to see us. We waited for his class to come down the hallway and then Noah walked quietly with the class in line to the cafeteria. Noah liked eating his lunch in the big cafeteria with Evan.

After lunch, Noah and I went to HEB. We came home to quickly put the groceries away and then Morry came with us to sports class.

Noah was very excited when we got there. He had fun.

We came home for a little bit and then picked up Evan from school.

At 5:40, Evan, Noah, and I had appointments to get our flu vaccines. We got the nasal spray. They were happy not to get shots.

For dinner we had chicken and matzoh ball soup.

So, we are having issues with Mottel again. We thought we had everything under control and things seemed better after moving his food and getting new litter. Now, his thing is peeing on the guest bed downstairs. I have now had to strip the bed, clean the mattress, and wash all of the sheets, comforter, matress pad, and shams 3 times in less than a week. This is really getting old. We try keeping the door closed but the boys come in and out to get their art supplies or whatever. One of them must have left the door open today. Anyway, I don't know how much longer we can deal with this. We need to now look at the various options for Mottel. If you know of a place or person who would take Mottel let us know.

The boys are ready for bed. Morry read to them and they are supposed to be in their rooms right now.

Rachel to the doctor

I have been achy for about a week now and my toe was still really bothering me. I injured the toenail while running and I was worried it was infected. I made a doctor's appointment this morning.

Morry took Noah to school and I went to the doctor. I got my toe all wrapped up. It is not infected but I need to stay off of it for a while - no running. I need to wear open toed shoes and protect the toe with the gauze/tape wrap. They also ran a strep test and it was negative. So who knows why I'm achy and have a sore throat.

Noah had a good day at school. After picking him up we went to Galaxy to get some lunch for me. They gave him a lollipop there.

Morry had a meeting and bought smoothies for all of us. On his way home he picked up Evan from school.

Gabby came over and I tutored.

For dinner I just had some leftovers from my lunch and Morry made both us grilled cheese.

The boys have been put to bed, but they are not asleep.

Thunder Storms

This morning Morry wasn't feeling well. He was up late last night, so I walked Evan to school again.

When I got back home I went back to sleep for a while.

We had a good rain storm today with thunder and everything. It's been a while since we got real rain.

Noah and I stayed home today. I did some cleaning around the house.

We picked up Evan and then came home for a little bit.

Kim was not able to come today so I dropped the boys off at Clubhouse for Kids.

I tutored and Morry picked the boys up.

Morry made dinner, fed the boys and got them ready for bed. Once the boys were in bed we ate dinner.

Noah was pretty cranky tonight and threw a big fit because he wanted to brush his teeth by himself.

Both boys are asleep now.

Oil Change

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Last night, I had a major coughing fit which kept me up a long time.  It seems fine now.  But I didn't get much sleep so Rachel, despite being very sore from running yesterday, walked Evan to school.  He insisted on wearing his Roethlisberger jersey.

Noah slept in a long time.  It was good because he needed it.  Whenever we travel, the boys don't sleep as well.

Rachel laid down for a bit after taking Noah to school.

At lunch time, we dropped Rachel's car off at Groovy Lube to get an oil change.  I followed her and we went to Zorba's Greek Diner for lunch.  We hadn't been there before.  It was pretty good.

Rachel picked up Noah and a bit later she left to pick up Evan.  She told Noah they'd be leaving in a minute.  When she went to leave, she couldn't find Noah.  She saw the door from the house into the garage was open.  Noah had gotten into the car and gotten into his car seat, buckled himself, and was ready to go get Evan.

After "naps", Evan saw the boys he played football with at the Halloween party outside.  He wanted to go out.  He ended up playing football with them for about an hour.  At the end it was just Evan and the oldest boy, Johnny, who is in 2nd or 3rd grade, I think.  Evan was punting the football and Johnny would catch it.

For dinner, Rachel had leftover soup, I made eggs for myself and the boys had leftover.

Rachel gave the boys baths.  Evan was complaining his throat hurt so we gave him some medicine.  Noah showed us this tiny cut that he got days ago and wanted medicine.  He is still throwing a fit that he wants medicine.  Evan is either sleeping or close to sleeping.

Until next time...

Rachel the Half Marathoner

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This weekend was spent in San Antonio.  Rachel signed up to run the San Antonio Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon.  I guess it's called Rock 'n Roll because they have bands playing along the way.  I don't really associate San Antonio with a Rock 'n Roll city.

We left yesterday morning - about an hour after we planned.  Both boys independently and consecutively threw massive fits.  That, unfortunately, was a sign of things to come.  We stopped in north San Antonio at a restaurant called Momak's which has a big soccer field and soccer balls, volleyballs and footballs to play with, as well as a play scape.  It was super crowded and it took forever to order and get food.  The boys did not eat as well as we had hoped considering it was a place that tailored to kids.

Then we drove the rest of the way down where I dropped Rachel off at the Alamodome to get her runners stuff.

From there we went to the hotel and checked in.  Both boys were cranky and caused issues while we were trying to get them to rest.

We stayed at this hotel last year.  At 5pm, they have snacks out including hot dogs and popcorn.  Last year we have a video of Evan eating carrots in the hot dog bun.  Well, Evan again ate that.  Noah just played with his hot dog.

We had hoped they would eat well there so we didn't have to pay for dinner for them.  We went to a restaurant called Zocca's which I made reservations for.  It is an Italian restaurant.  The boys shared a kid's bowl of spaghetti which was a tiny, tiny portion.  They ate that up, which was good.  We basically accomplished our mission of reducing the amount we spent on them.  The food was good for us, but again, small portions.  And the service was very slow.

When we went back to the hotel, the boys spent most of the night before falling asleep arguing with each other or us about stupid things

This morning, Rachel left around 7pm to go the start line.  She signed up for a service from RunKeeper Pro that allowed me to track her movements.  That way I knew when to leave to meet her at the finish line.  The hotel included breakfast with the room, so the boys and I got breakfast and then came up to the room for awhile before leaving to meet Rachel. We saw Rachel finish - with an even better time than last year.  She did great.

We stopped at the hotel for Rachel to shower and to pack, then met Uncle Jay, Aunt Diane, Susie, Ryan, Tegan, Anika, Jonah, Chrissy, Valencia and Aisha at a place called Chacho's for lunch.  It was good seeing everyone.  They have a play area where all the kids played together.  They seemed to have a good time.  The food was not very good, but we got to spend time with everyone and the kids had fun and really, that's why we were meeting so it was a nice time.

We came home through terrible traffic.  The boys played upstairs until dinner time.  Then we had pasta for dinner.  The lunch seemed to make Rachel sick so she only had soup.

After dinner, the boys and I watched the first half of the Steelers game which I recorded.  At half time we put them to bed.  They went to sleep fairly quickly.

The Steelers won, by the way.

Until next time...

Movies

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today is Veteran's Day so Evan did not have to go to school.  That allowed me to sleep in until I got up for my "commute" to work.  It was nice.

The boys still got up before 7 though.  I heard them talking and playing.

I got up and did some work and Rachel and Evan took Noah to school.  From there, Rachel and Evan went bowling followed by picking up smoothies at Smoothie King.

When they got home, Evan went around on his scooter outside for a bit.

We all had lunch outside together and then I did some more work.

But I had promised the boys that I wouldn't work this afternoon and Evan and I would pick Noah up from school and go to see Puss in Boots.  We drove over to Noah's school.  The teacher and another mom told me that Noah had been talking about Puss in Boots, San Antonio and popcorn.  They assumed that we'd be driving to San Antonio to go see Puss in Boots.  I had to explain they were separate things.  We were about to go to see Puss in Boots, but that we were heading to San Antonio for the marathon and staying at a hotel where they have a popcorn machine.  Everyone got a good laugh at that.

The boys and I enjoyed our time at the movies.

When we got home, Rachel suggested that we go out together and drop the boys off at Clubhouse for Kids.  We bought a couple certificates for pre-paid hours from one of those group deal sites.  So we dropped the kids off and went to see Tower Heist.  It was only the second time in my life that I went to the movies twice in one day.  The movie was very good.  It was definitely entertaining.

For dinner, Rachel and I went to the Texas Chili Parlor.  Rachel had their chili, of course.  They had a special for a NY Strip so that's what I had.  The food was good.

We picked the boys up and now they are in bed.

Until next time...

Soupy

This morning I had an MRI done. It was a routine scan done ordered by my oncologist. I don't know the results yet. Before my appointment I dropped Noah off at Clubhouse for Kids.

When I was done (it took about an hour), I picked Noah up and we went to lunch at Panera. I packed a lunch for Noah and I ordered soup for me and cookie for him. Morry met us there and then we went to Noah's sports class.

In Noah's sports class they are still working on football. He had a good time.

We walked to pick up Evan today. Noah did very well on the way there, but was very cranky on the way home. We walked home with another mom and kids who live near us. Noah was throwing a fit almost the whole way home. He wouldn't come inside when we got home. I finally got him to come in the garage and was able to close the garage door. Noah remained in the garage throwing a fit. He wore himself out and fell asleep on the floor in the garage. He slept there for about an hour.

For dinner I made soup and Morry made some fried matzoh.

We got our cookie dough from a neighbor's school fundraiser tonight so Morry is baking a few cookies right now. We had clean up night tonight while waiting for the cookies.

After eating a cookie (or two) we'll put the kids to bed.

Chilly

Noah woke up early again and went with Morry to drop off Evan.

After I took Noah to school I got some stuff done around the house.

When I picked up Noah at school we headed over to Sam's Club. He was very good there.

We came home to put the groceries away and then started walking to get Evan. We had only walked about a block and it started to get windy and pretty chilly. Noah was cold so we went back to get his sweatshirt. Then, I was worried we wouldn't have enough time to walk to school. We ended up driving to the path like we normally do.

Gabby came over and I tutored.

For dinner we had leftover tacos/tostadas from last night.

We just got the boys ready for bed.

Grocery Shopping and Haircuts

Noah woke up early this morning so he walked to school with Morry and Evan. Noah actually walked the whole way there and back.

Noah and I went to Sunflower today (used to be called Newflower). Noah was very good there. There were a few samples for us to try. Noah liked the fizzy juice drink. They had samples of almonds flavored with salt and olive oil. Noah loved them and convinced me to buy some. They were pretty good.

We drove to pick up Evan today since I was worried the path would be muddy. We actually got some rain today. We parked in the front of the school and still had to walk a little bit.

After school I took the boys to get haircuts at Great Clips. They both wanted me to explain that they only wanted a trim. They wanted to keep their hair long.

I dropped the boys off at home and then tutored.

Our usual babysitter, Kim could not come today. She had a class tonight that was just added to her scheduled. Morry had the boys watch TV while he finished working.

For dinner we had tostadas.

We just gave the boys baths. Morry read to them and is getting their milk now.

Bye Aunt Fran

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, as usual, I woke Evan up and got breakfast ready for him.  While we were eating breakfast, Aunt Fran came down to say goodbye to Evan.

Evan actually ate quickly today.  He seemed more awake - I think because of the time change.  Since he finished early, we were able to walk to school.  On the way home, it started to rain some.  Of all the days for it to rain.

When I got home, I did some work while Rachel and Aunt Fran took Noah to school.  Aunt Fran said goodbye to Noah there.  Noah kept hugging her.

After they got back, I took Fran to the airport.  It was a very nice visit.

At the normal time that we'd pick Noah up, we had a parent-teacher conference with Noah's teacher.  We stopped in his room to make sure it was OK to leave Noah in extended care.  He liked seeing us but through a fit when we left and he had to stay some more.

The teacher was very behind and we waited more than 30 minutes to talk to her.  We didn't find out a whole lot about how Noah was doing.

It took so long that I went with Rachel and Noah to pick Evan up from school.

Later in the afternoon, Rachel tutored while Blanca came to watch the boys.

When I finished working, the boys and I made popcorn and watched Despicable Me.  I then made dinner and cleaned up.

Rachel got home around 7:15 and she and I ate dinner.

The boys are in bed now but not sleeping.

Until next time...

Juan in a Million

This morning for brunch we ate at Juan in a Million. It's a popular hole in the wall Mexican restaurant in East Austin. We waited more than 30 minutes, but it was worth the wait. The boys were very good.

We hung out at home during the afternoon and then went to a birthday party at My Gym. Evan and Noah enjoyed running around there. We had pizza and cake.

At home the boys watched some of the Steelers game with Morry and then we put them to bed.

Last Flag Football Game

This morning Evan had his last flag football game at 9am. We all went to the game. It was a playoff game, but since Evan's team didn't win that was the last game.

We came home for a little bit and then went to lunch at Trattoria Lisina. They added a nice playground outside so the boys played for a while after we ate.

We took it easy at home the rest of the day. Fran played football with the boys.

We ate leftovers for dinner and then I made merengue cookies for dessert.

We just got the kids ready for bed.

Welcome Fran

This morning while Noah was at school I did more straightening up and cleaning in the house.

Morry picked up Fran from the airport and then got home right before I got home with Noah.

Noah loved getting attention from Aunt Fran.

Fran came with us to pick up Evan from school.

Both boys seemed tired this afternoon and they took it easy in the game room.

Evan had another baseball game at 5:45 tonight. His team lost, but they still got to bring home a trophy.

After the game we ate dinner at Carinos.

We just got home and now we'll put the boys to bed.

Shopping with Noah

This morning Noah woke up early. Our neighbor's dog was barking and I'm guessing that woke him up.

Noah and I went to both Target and Walmart today. We got some Halloween clearance items, but also some other things for the house. While we were at Target I bought Noah popcorn and a hot dog at the little cafe they have there. He ate while we shopped.

We went straight from there to the Little Gym for Noah's sports class. Noah really had fun today. At the end of class they called the parents in for a game called "Smash the Cheese". Noah was very excited during the game.

We came home for just a little bit and then it was time to pick up Evan.

After school we went to the park with Evan's friend Ben, his mom, and his sister. We stayed there for about an hour.

When we got home it was rest time. Evan had a baseball game tonight and I wanted to make sure they got some downtime. They maybe had about 45 minutes or so.

Tonight was the first baseball playoff game. Evan's team won because the other team had to forfeit. They didn't have enough players. They still ended up playing a game, but it was just for fun. So now, Evan has another game tomorrow night. We weren't planning on that. That was a surprise.

I took the boys home and Morry picked up food for us from Blue Bamboo.

After dinner we had clean up night. The boys cleaned their rooms and the game room. I cleaned all of the floors both upstairs and downstairs. I mopped and vacuumed.

It was another long day.

The boys are in bed and it's pretty quiet upstairs.

Book Fair

This morning at the school they had a special dads event. They are starting this new group for dads and their kids. Morry got roped into going. Evan heard about the donuts and insisted on going. The event was right before school started. They asked the kids questions to see how much they knew about their dad.

I met Evan during his lunch. I brought Icees for both us. There were a few other parents there as well.

For my lunch, I met the Mom's club at Satellite for lunch.

From there, I picked up Noah and we went to Target. Then, we got Evan at school.

The book fair is going on now at Evan's school. Yesterday, during school Evan made a list of the books he wanted to get. I told him we would go after school today. I let Evan and Noah each pick out a book. Noah choose a 3D Star Wars book and Evan chose a Lego book. They both got a little eraser too.

Gabby came over at 4pm and I tutored.

When I got home we ate dinner. Morry and I had leftover pizza.

We just gave the boys baths and got them ready for bed. Morry is reading to them now.

November Already?

This morning Evan gave Morry a hard time. He must have been really tired and still worn out from last night.

Noah and I went with Morry to drop off Jack/Zayde at the airport.

Back at home, I did a little bit of MB Squared work, cleaned the house, and then Noah and I went to the Wildflower Park. That's where Noah wanted to go. We packed a lunch and ate there. Noah was very good.

On our way home we got gas at a new gas station/market that opened near us. Noah and I went in side to check it out. It seemed pretty nice and convenient if we ever need to run out and just pick up a few things.

Noah and I walked to pick up Evan. Actually, he sat in the stroller. The weather was very nice.

At home I got ready for tutoring and Kim came over.

Evan had baseball practice today. Morry took both boys and then picked up McDonalds for them on the way home. I ate leftover pizza. Noah's finishing his dinner now and Morry and Evan are working on homework.

Pretty soon we'll put them to bed.